The people who dig up, transport, sell and burn fossil fuels are the proud beneficiaries of this subsidy-through-omission. An aggressive union of vested interests has created a haven for those who want to profit from an industry incompatible with human life.
NASA just released the first direct evidence that humans are causing climate change | ZME Science
“This is the first calculation of the total radiative forcing of Earth using global observations, accounting for the effects of aerosols and greenhouse gases,” said Ryan Kramer, first author on the paper and a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “It’s direct evidence that human activities are causing changes to Earth’s energy budget.”
IEA to produce world’s first comprehensive roadmap to net-zero emissions by 2050
The new special report, The World’s Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050, will set out in detail what is needed from governments, companies, investors and citizens to fully decarbonise the energy sector and put emissions on a path in line with a temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius. It is part of a series of new IEA projects to support efforts to reach global energy and climate goals.
Investors place Australian bets on compulsory emissions reductions | Sydney Morning Herald
Companies are buying up Australian carbon credits at an increasing rate even though they're not required to offset their emissions under local laws, in what experts say is a bet on future international regulations.
Market Advisory Group managing director Raphael Wood said investment in Australian carbon credits was doubling every year, albeit off a low base.
BHP targets China's steel sector emissions as climate pressure builds | The Age
BHP and China Baowu Steel Group (formerly known as Baosteel) have entered into a five-year agreement to work on projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the highly emissions-intensive steel sector, estimated to be responsible for up to 10 per cent of global emissions.
Gladys Berejiklian says reaching net zero emissions by 2050 is achievable and would be 'the stuff of dreams' | The Guardian
Berejiklian said she believed a post-Covid world would present opportunities to consider “more sustainable ways of living, more sustainable ways of working”. “I think as we emerge from Covid that the public will feel connected and more in tune with protecting the environment,” she said.
A 60% rise in industrial emissions points to failure of Coalition's 'safeguard mechanism' | The Guardian
RepuTex’s executive director, Hugh Grossman, said emissions from electricity generation had fallen 9% since 2005, but those gains were being eroded by unchecked carbon pollution in other areas. “While we have seen record levels of investment in renewable energy technology in the electricity sector, the industrial sector has been largely missing from the national emissions reduction challenge,” he said.
Business leaders back net zero emissions by 2050 | AFR
Australia is third largest exporter of fossil fuels behind Russia and Saudi Arabia | The Guardian
And more on that topic: “On any reasonable assessment of the data, the climate impact of Australia’s fossil fuel industry are immense,” said Richie Merzian, Climate & Energy Program Director at the Australia Institute.
“Many argue Australia’s emissions are small on a global scale, but this research shows the complete opposite: our domestic emissions are large and our exported emissions are even larger.”
https://www.tai.org.au/content/new-analysis-australia-ranks-third-fossil-fuel-export
The worst-case scenario for global warming just got 14°F worse | Think Progress
And halfway through the book he says, in all caps, “If you have made it this far, you are a brave reader.” He admits that any of those chapters contains, “enough horror to induce a panic attack in even the most optimistic of those considering it.”
Greenhouse gas emissions contribute to coal mine refusal | Norton Rose Fulbright
In an Australian first, development consent for a new coal mine was refused by the Land and Environment Court of NSW (the Court) for reasons that included its material greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribution to climate change.
Woodside Petroleum joins BHP and Rio Tinto to call for carbon price | The Guardian
‘By the time the science is proven, it will be too late to act,’ chief Peter Coleman says
Dutch appeals court upholds landmark climate change ruling | The Guardian
“Governments can no longer make promises they don’t fulfil. Countries have an obligation to protect their citizens against climate change. That makes this trial relevant for all other countries.”
Special Report of Global Warming to 1.5°C | IPCC
One can only hope that governments will start acting with urgency to avoid this fast moving train crash and the scientists writing the reports are not suffering from “conservative bias”.
In order to achieve the 1.5°C target, we have the enormous challenge of reducing net emissions to ZERO by 2050!
Below are the links to the report published by the IPCC. It assesses the impact of not achieving the 1.5°C target of global warming. We have also included the reporting from some of the major newspapers.
b) Stylized net global CO2 emission pathways.
Billion tonnes CO2 per year (GtCO2/yr)
IPCC
Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C approved by governments.
The report highlights a number of climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to 2°C, or more. For instance, by 2100, global sea level rise would be 10 cm lower with global warming of 1.5°C compared with 2°C. The likelihood of an Arctic Ocean free of sea ice in summer would be once per century with global warming of 1.5°C, compared with at least once per decade with 2°C. Coral reefs would decline by 70-90 percent with global warming of 1.5°C, whereas virtually all (> 99 percent) would be lost with 2°C.
Associated Press
UN report on global warming carries life-or-death warning.
“Preventing an extra single degree of heat could make a life-or-death difference in the next few decades for multitudes of people and ecosystems on this fast-warming planet, an international panel of scientists reported Sunday. But they provide little hope the world will rise to the challenge.”
The Guardian
Huge risk if global warming exceeds 1.5C, warns landmark UN report.
“The world’s leading climate scientists have warned there is only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5°C, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.”
The Washington Post.
The world has just over a decade to get climate change under control, U.N. scientists say.
“There is no documented historic precedent” for the sweeping changes required to hold the planet’s warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found.”
NY Times
Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040.
“A landmark report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change paints a far more dire picture of the immediate consequences of climate change than previously thought and says that avoiding the damage requires transforming the world economy at a speed and scale that has “no documented historic precedent.”
Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: March 2018
This update was published the day before the AFL Grand Final and consequently received little attention. It is likely our appalling track record documented in this report will receive considerably more attention in the future - particularly from the EU!
Tracking Progress To Net Zero Emissions | ClimateWorks
Behind the 8 Ball
The latest Tracking Progress report from ClimateWorks (September 2018) shows Australia is not yet on track to meet its emissions reduction targets as stipulated under the Paris Agreement - but there are still many opportunities to get there.
Australia’s new PM risks climate trade-off with EU | Climate Diplomacy
When asked how Australia’s new approach to climate policy might affect the ongoing talks, a Commission spokesperson told EURACTIV that “it would be difficult to imagine concluding a broad trade agreement without an ambitious chapter on trade and sustainable development”.
It's the end of the earth as we know it. Read all about it! | The Guardian
“In a nutshell, the findings suggest that emissions drive climate changes that trigger abrupt changes to Earth systems when they cross certain thresholds. Ten of these feedback loops are identified in the report, including the release of methane trapped in Siberian permafrost and the impact of melting ice in Greenland on the Antarctic.”
Climate Horizons Report 2018 | Centre for Policy Development
"Climate change is not some distant threat. It is a global tragedy unfolding before our eyes, disrupting ecosystems, communities and economies. For companies, investors and financiers the risks and opportunities are immediate and pressing. The expectations of markets and policymakers on emissions reduction targets and adaptation measures are ramping up. Customers, shareholders and regulators demand increasingly sophisticated responses. If Australian businesses and company directors fail to react urgently and coherently, then they will jeopardise their own future: assets will be stranded or uninsurable, investment will stall, debts will go unpaid, and companies will collapse.” Download the full report here