Hello, and welcome to Forge the Future, your weekly rundown of the latest climate news.
The balance between individual and collective action on the climate is a tricky one. Whilst many parts of our collective climate impact are out of our control, diet is an area that often comes up as both important and actionable. I’ve made a real effort in recent years to cut my meat consumption way down, and despite my relatively carnivorous upbringing, I found it surprisingly easy. No doubt this was aided by the plethora of really excellent meat alternatives available these days.
However, I’ve struggled more with limiting my dairy consumption. Cheese in particular is a massive guilty pleasure for me – I know its climate impact is significant, but I’ve yet to find a decent alternative. So I was excited to read about the work going into genuine dairy-free cheeses. Whilst none of these products are on the market just yet, it seems like it won’t be long before we can finally enjoy a good Gruyère without the guilt.
State of the world
Climate research and findings, weather events and studies
CO2 and methane levels both surged in 2020, according to the NOAA. The rate of CO2 increase was the fifth highest ever recorded, and methane increases were the highest on record – a particular worry given the potency of the gas as a warming agent. GHGSat, a firm specialising in the detection of greenhouse gases, found large, frequent emissions of methane over Bangladesh – a country extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. It’s not yet clear what the source of the emissions might be – a minister suggested it could be related to rice farming, or gases emitted from landfill.
A new study has found that endemic species – those found only in a single region – are expected to be consistently more adversely affected by climate change than those less specialised. The effects are particularly acute if warming climbs to 3°C above pre-industrial levels, at which point more than 90% of endemic species would face negative consequences, with 20% of land-based and 32% of marine species facing risk of extinction at such temperatures. Conversely, invasive species are expected to largely see either neutral or positive impacts from warming.
In a trio of more positive stories, rhino poaching in South Africa has fallen for the sixth consecutive year, falling 33% versus 2019 levels. It’s thought that coronavirus restrictions prevented poachers from getting into game reserves to kill the animals. Ivory Coast has created its first ever marine protected area, covering 1,000 square miles of mangroves, reefs, and a globally important nesting ground for sea turtles. The move is a first among West African nations, and the country plans four more similar reserves in coming years. Finally, the Bangweulu Wetlands will see their first cheetahs in nearly a century, with 3 recently introduced to improve biodiversity in the region. All small steps, but every little helps!
Planet positives
Moving towards a greener and more equitable world
A positive habit
A new piece of research looking at cycling habits found that the addition of temporary cycling infrastructure in European cities during the pandemic has resulted in significant increases in cycling. It’s one of the first studies to look at the effectiveness of ‘pop-up’ cycle infrastructure such as additional bike lanes, which have led to up to a 48% increase in cycling in some cities. In public transport research, there’s often debate on the effectiveness of bike lanes in encouraging more people to cycle, but hopefully these findings encourage more cities to support cyclists.
One of the cities really doubling down on cycle-friendliness is Paris, where mayor Anne Hidalgo is leading a massive revamp of the city, making it less car centric and much more accessible for cycling and pedestrians. One of the latest schemes plans to completely revamp the Champs Elysées. The famous avenue has lost its shine for many Parisians, who view it as polluted, congested and expensive. The plans would see it filled with trees, cutting car traffic, and more small-scale shops, hopefully taking it from pricey tourist trap to chic hangout.
Right to Repair
France’s new ‘repairability’ score seems to be already having an impact. All new electronics sold in the country must come with a score for how repairable they are. Whilst the scores are self-assessed by manufacturers, so far responses seem to be honest, and the big names are performing… poorly. Both Apple and Microsoft scored extremely poorly, with Apple falling down on disassembly, whilst Microsoft fails to make spare parts readily available. However, more encouragingly, Samsung has recently made full guides on repair available for its latest flagship Galaxy smartphone – something it has never done before. Hopefully others follow suit and begin to improve their act. It also emphasises that more information is almost always a good thing. Even for those not actively seeking out the knowledge, simply knowing the impact of items can help change behaviour.
Adverse circumstances
Events that move the needle in the wrong direction
Less talk, more action please
I’ve noted in previous issues that the UK seems to have a disconnect between its headline net-zero target and day-to-day policy. It seems I’m not the only one to feel this way, with everyone from the Climate Change Committee to environmental groups growing increasingly uneasy with the UK’s climate policy stance. The general sentiment is that policy is unclear and hesitant, which in turn means that businesses are reluctant to commit to greener policies. Just this week, expert testimony in a challenge to England’s £27bn road expansion scheme suggested that emissions from the plans could be up to 100x greater than claimed in the supporting documentation. The 2050 net-zero target is great, but unless it’s backed up by serious and concerted policy, it will mean little.
Long Reads
Interesting deep-dives into climate-related topics
The Washington Post dives deep into the history of the environmental justice movement in the US, looking at how pollution and its effects on communities has long been divided along racial lines. The movement has been slowly building as a ground-roots effort for nearly four decades, but with the Biden administration finally promising major support, has its time finally come?
Grist examines abandoned oil wells across Texas and New Mexico, looking at how they come to be abandoned, who cleans them up, and how many more wells might be abandoned in coming years. Whilst oil companies are required to pay bonds to cover clean-up costs, they are in no way sufficient, and companies are expert at dodging fines and abandoning wells once they look like they might have to pay up.
Quick Headlines
Some quick climate news nuggets to sate your appetite
The UK’s electricity was the greenest it’s ever been on 5th April, hitting just 39g CO2/kWh, with nearly 80% of power from zero-carbon sources.
UK BEV registrations nearly doubled in March 2021 versus 2020, making up nearly 7.7% of market share.
France is banning domestic flights with a train alternative under 2.5 hours.
Sweden is to increase airport fees for the most polluting aircraft, to encourage a shift to more efficient airliners.