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Category: Curated Climate News

Curated Climate News

May 2021 Climate Change News

Dear Friends,

In May we saw remarkable steps in the fight against climate change from such unexpected corners that the possibility of a tipping point in climate action can’t be ruled out. If that sounds like a hesitant ‘hallelujah,’ it is. Without doubt, there’s cause for celebration. From the boardrooms of Houston to the courtrooms of the Hague, an unlikely collection of shareholder activists, investors, and environmental litigants scored a series of big wins that – separately and together – were hailed as game-changing developments against business as usual.

But countervailing winds are blowing, too. For example, we’re tracking the fallout of a letter from the treasurers of 15 U.S. states to the Biden Administration, threatening to pull the states’ assets from financial institutions that agree to decarbonize their lending and investment portfolios.

Helping our readers sort through stories like these is exactly what C-Change Conversations was created to do. We hope our resources educate and inspire you to talk more about climate change, especially with elected officials, and encourage everyone you know to listen to the evidence and heed the logic that some of the world’s most hard-headed business leaders see clearly.

The tides are turning. Let’s not allow this progress to be too little, too late.

Warmly,
The C-Change Conversations Team

Notable Quote

“China is not the only perilous threat to our nation. We are regularly warned of the consequences of climate change. Many of us take the only actions we know how to take: turning down thermostats in winter, buying energy-efficient vehicles, separating our trash. Politicians pass small-bore measures to appease progressive voters. Being more attuned to political advantage than to actual impact, politicians shy away from committing to remedies that have the potential to slow the warming: putting a price on carbon, carbon border adjustment tariffs, nuclear power and direct carbon capture. These, too, would require investment, sacrifice and political courage.”

– Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), writing in the Washington Post

News of Hope

May 26th saw a veritable hat trick of three portentous scores against the sluggish response of big oil – ExxonMobil, Shell, and Chevron, specifically – to climate change. “Stunning defeat ” [paywall] is how some news outlets described ExxonMobil’s face-off with activist investors in their campaign to elect new board members dedicated to steering the oil and gas giant toward a more climate-friendly stance. The revolt is evidence of the growing strength and willingness of Wall Street firms to push CEOs toward greener policies.

On the same day, a Dutch court issued a landmark decision [paywall] compelling the oil titan Royal Dutch Shell to cut carbon emissions 45% by 2030 – far faster than previously planned. The case was filed by seven activist groups on behalf of more than 17,000 Dutch citizens claiming the company’s business model endangered their lives and human rights. The plaintiff’s lawyer called it a ‘turning point in history’ that could set a precedent in other jurisdictions around the world.

And then, an astonishing 61% of Chevron shareholders voted in favor of a resolution to not only lower its own emissions but also, remarkably, to cut the emissions generated by the users of Chevron’s products.

Also from within the industry, the conservative International Energy Agency issued its own roadmap for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This report, like other roadmaps we’ve told you about, concludes that net-zero emissions are achievable and, strikingly, that no new fossil fuel supplies will be needed to meet global demand beyond those being tapped today.

And remember the ‘Texas freeze’ this winter? Some state lawmakers responded to the deadly storm and the catastrophic failure of the Texas power grid by falsely blaming windmills. Legislation has even been introduced to target the renewable industry with added charges and responsibilities. But it appears economics may trump politics, as a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts Texas is on track to rival California as the state with the most utility-scale solar. A full one-third of large solar facilities planned for the next two years will be in the Lone Star State.

News of Concern

While we are hopeful that the surge in shareholder and investor awareness will spark more positive steps in climate action, scientists continue to deliver warnings that 7 of the earth’s climate systems may each be reaching a tipping point – and possibly faster than predicted. Also in May, the Environmental Protection Agency released a report [paywall] that delivered alarming evidence that the U.S. and the world have moved into unprecedented climate territory.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who prefer to look the other way (like the aforementioned consortium of state treasurers). Another example: commercial agriculture enterprises in some 23 nations that haven’t lived up to commitments on deforestation. Governments and corporations promised more than seven years ago to stop clear-cutting the tropical forests so critical to global climate. In that time, however, an area more than twice the size of California has been stripped of its trees – representing a 50% increase in the rate of deforestation.

Meanwhile the world’s top meteorologists have upped the odds to over 40% that global warming will exceed the limits set by the landmark 2015 Paris agreement within the next five years. The repercussions – including crop failures, flooded cities, and more disease – are increasingly predictable. In fact, insurance giant Swiss Re has put a price tag on the economic losses [paywall] we can expect by 2050 from climate change at an eye-watering $23 trillion or 11-14% of global economic output. The company’s conclusions might influence how the industry prices insurance and directs its investments in the coming years.

The human costs of climate change are very real and very now. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre reports that extreme weather displaced some 30.7 million people in 2020. That’s about three times more than the number of people forced to move by conflict and violence.

Notable Graph

Surprising fact: heat kills more people than all types of weather hazards, including hurricanes and tornadoes. Roughly 12,000 Americans die of heat-related causes annually, according to research by scientists at Duke University. Hotter summer temperatures can contribute to poorer air quality and heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses. Baby boomers and older individuals are especially hard hit by summers that have grown hotter because of climate change. So, in addition to doing what you can to curb greenhouse gas emissions, please be extra careful this summer, and check on elders who are alone in sweltering weather.

Howard Design June 8, 2021 0

Curated Climate News

April 2021 Climate Change News

Dear Friends,

After decades of slow walking and fractious talking about the climate crisis, we see a notable consensus forming across society that climate change poses a real and significant risk. President Biden’s Climate Summit last week underscored both the need for a big and coordinated effort and the difficulties of doing so on a global scale.

It’s important to note that the business community and economists are pushing Biden to be aggressive – recognizing the potentially crushing economic losses ahead if we do not act quickly and forcefully enough. Republicans have rolled out their own climate platform, and legacy players from oil giant ExxonMobil [paywall] to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia are adding their voices to the concerned climate change chorus.

We applaud the movement, but also ask: What next? Recent news (highlighted below) gives us a hint to the answer as we race to develop new technologies and understand the changes we are triggering in the natural world.

Understanding “What next?” makes our mission – to build the consensus across party lines needed for bold action – all the more critical.

Warmly,
The C-Change Conversations Team

Notable Quote

“We are at the point where climate change means systems change – and almost every system will change. That understanding is long overdue, but I don’t think we know exactly what it means yet. It’s a moment of maximum hope; it’s also a moment of high risk.”

Rachel Kyte, Dean
Fletcher School of Business at Tufts University

Notable Innovations

The first mass-produced car that runs on sunlight puts to bed any ideas that non-emitting cars need be dull and fusty: it seems solar batmobiles [paywall] may be the vehicle of the future.

And while watching cement dry may be no one’s idea of excitement, this turned our heads: a new recipe for low-carbon concrete that permanently absorbs and traps greenhouse gases. This is a “Eureka” moment, and something academics thought impossible. Nearly 9% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions come from concrete production already, and with the projected growth of megacities we will need a lot more concrete in the future. This breakthrough provides new hope.

News of Concern

If anybody still needs convincing that we may be losing our race against time, consider this: scientists believe climate change could literally be causing the earth to tilt on its axis. A new study concludes that glacial melt on a massive scale caused by global warming explains why the position of the poles has moved about four meters since the 1980s. Read the plain language summary here.

New research also shows that global warming is weakening planetary ocean currents that affect climate on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The changes are expected to cause rising sea levels and change weather patterns across the globe.

Not surprisingly, such galactic shifts could have devastating economic consequences. Nearly three-quarters of economists agree that “immediate and drastic action” is needed to curb emissions. A 300-strong group of major corporate leaders urged Biden to “go big” on emission reductions. Adding to the chorus, a new report by insurance giant Swiss Re warns that $23 trillion could be lost from the global economy by 2050 and concludes starkly: “Climate change poses the biggest long-term risk to the global economy. No action is not an option.”

It is therefore deeply concerning to see that global demand for coal [paywall] – the dirtiest fossil fuel – is set to rise by 4.5% as the pandemic recedes. China saw a major increase in coal generation last year.

News of Hope

The growing consensus noted earlier has resulted in tectonic shifts in Washington and beyond. The new administration this month pledged to cut U.S. emissions by 50-52% by 2050 – and there are viable scenarios to achieve that target. A big part of the answer is embedded in the $2 trillion clean infrastructure plan [paywall] that the president’s team unveiled a few weeks earlier.

One incredibly promising sidebar for all this comes from the coal miners’ union. The United Mine Workers announced this month it will back the push to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources if their jobs can be guaranteed.

We continue to be encouraged by analyses that show that is possible – as well as by technological breakthroughs may help lead the way. The cost of solar energy, for example, has plummeted since the early 2000s. And the Department of Energy has announced targets to cut costs of utility-scale solar by more than half again by 2030.

And, after decades of unrealized promise: wave power may be on the horizon. The federal government recently approved the first full-scale, utility grid-connected wave energy test site in the U.S. We also note with pleasure a burgeoning ‘carbon market gold rush’ (or should we say ‘green rush?’) in America’s agriculture industry, as large firms sell “carbon credits” when farmers adopt practices that reduce emissions.

Notable Illustration

The New York Times has published the beautifully illustrated A Climate Change Guide for Kids, a good introduction to the basics of climate change. It is written for children, but we hope you will read it and share it with people of all ages.

Notable Graphs

Here’s a good visual for understanding the growing consensus around climate change. While the U.S. is making progress on coming together around this issue, we are still an outlier to other countries.

Solar is the cheapest energy in history, and the Department of Energy aims to make it cheaper.

Howard Design May 6, 2021 0

Curated Climate News

March 2021 Climate Change News

As we close out the third month of 2021, the winds of change around climate action continue to gather force. From energy storage and transmission to solar and wind power, we have the tools to keep our economy growing while moving to net-zero emissions by 2050. But do we have the will to use them? What would it take for America to embrace what Forbes Magazine has called the “biggest technological transition” in human history? To use new technologies to power our economies while decreasing pollution today and protecting the world for future generations?

The conservatives among us may not gravitate toward a self-proclaimed liberal voice like The Guardian, but the paper’s deep dive analyzing the plan for a net-zero future and cogently explaining what changes could be ahead was too good not to share. We encourage you to take a deep dive yourself, and think about what this transition will mean for you.

We hope our message remains clear: we all have a stake in this, and we need to come together to lower the risk. Please help us reach others by sharing our newsletters and telling them about our outreach.

Thanks as always for your continued interest and support.

Warmly,
The C-Change Conversations Team

Notable Quote
“You can stand at the tracks when the train is coming at you, or you can stand at the switch. I chose to stand at the switch.”
– Mayor Terry Weickum, Rawlins, WY, explaining his support for wind projects

Notable Video
This short but compelling clip features Jerry Taylor, a former climate change denier. Jerry says, “When you think about it, it’s not ‘conservative’ to hold on to old technologies that are causing pollution, more violent weather. It is conservative to understand the risks involved in climate change and to do what we can to protect ourselves and our families against that.” Watch the video.

News of Hope
Just this week the White House announced initiatives designed to spur development of large offshore wind farms. According to a new report, there is enough wind potential off states stretching from Maine to Florida to generate four times the electricity those states used in 2019.

This is welcome news, but what makes us really hopeful is that the economics of the energy transition are forcing change in some very interesting areas, including Wyoming. Rich coal reserves have long colored the state’s preference for fossil fuels. But thanks to another abundant state resource – wind – Wyoming will soon be home to one of the nation’s largest wind farms [paywall] and stands to become a national leader in renewable energy.

Back East, a Maine startup aims to “run the oil industry in reverse” and is counting on large-scale kelp farming to capture and submerge massive amounts of CO₂ where it will stay locked on the ocean floor for thousands of years. If kelp doesn’t inspire you, maybe a trip to your local restaurant will. Carbon footprint labeling on menus is now taking off in “fast-casual dining” around the country, giving customers a simple tool to choose less carbon-intensive foods. It’s an old idea gaining traction thanks to better carbon reporting and more customer demand, and it’s an important one: globally, food production contributes more CO₂ and methane to the atmosphere than transportation.

News of Concern
Despite the economic downturn wrought by COVID, we are disturbed to see that global CO₂ emissions are predicted to hit a dangerous milestone in 2021: concentrations that are 50% higher than pre-industrial levels. In other words, it took 200 years for levels to rise 25% and just 30 years to approach the 50% threshold.

It’s increasingly apparent that everybody is quite literally paying the price for this rise. From spiking utility bills in the wake of the Texas cold snap to taxpayer-financed disaster relief after record hurricane and fire seasons, Americans are paying personally to cope with climate disasters – even if they live far from climate hotspots. Those facing predictable climate effects might soon be priced out of town. Municipalities along America’s coastline are grappling with the cost of protecting homes, roads, and schools from sea level rise – and are looking to huge tax increases [paywall] to fund the work.

Upper earners, though, are likely to be more cushioned than less affluent citizens – especially when it comes to housing. ‘Climate gentrification’ describes a growing trend where property on higher ground commands higher prices, leaving poorer residents to tough it out in more climate-vulnerable areas.

Equally troubling is the specter of mass migration caused by climate disasters. The U.S. can expect more climate refugees from South and Central America as people flee extreme weather and the devastation it leaves behind.

We’ll end with disappointing news from China. Despite recent pledges to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, its new five-year plan is mum on details and notably avoided any bans on new coal projects. The international community was underwhelmed.

Notable Graph
Projected change in energy sources based on a scenario in which the U.S. aggressively works to adopt electrification to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Notable Innovation
A solar panel prototype the size of a pizza box has harnessed the sun’s energy from space. Someday larger solar energy systems – like the one pictured here – could beam the power to Earth.

julia April 5, 2021 1

Curated Climate News

February 2021 Climate Change News

Is it too early to see signs of Spring … or signs of thaw in the frozen debate about climate change? Probably. Here in New Jersey, there are undoubtedly many weeks of frigid weather ahead – both real and metaphorical. And yet we can hear ice cracking near and far.

From city councils to state legislatures to both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, from local businesses to the heaviest of global industries, from private investors to the Federal Reserve, so many green shoots have been poking through the snow this month that we’ve decided to forego our usual format of ‘news of hope and concern’ and stick to the sunny side of the street. After all, who can fail to grin when comedian Will Ferrell advertises GM’s stunning decision to phase out gas-powered vehicles by 2035?

We’ll be back flagging causes for concern again next month but we hope you enjoy February’s roundup of exclusively hopeful news. As always we welcome your feedback and questions.

Warmly,
The C-Change Conversations Team

Notable Video

This Super Bowl ad made us chuckle AND feel excited and hopeful! View the video here.

News of Hope

Let’s hit the big news first: you may have heard that the U.S. officially re-entered the Paris Agreement on February 19. Just weeks before, more than 400 companies – including steelmaker ArcelorMittal, shipping giant Maersk, and Shell Oil – announced they would work together to decarbonize by 2050. These are some of the heaviest hitters in the world’s heavy industries.

Meanwhile, reports are circulating that BP, the world’s fifth largest petroleum company, has reduced its oil exploration team from 700 a few years ago to just 100 today – part of its rapid and ongoing shift away from fossil fuels. It’s yet another sign that even the world’s biggest carbon emitters recognize there’s greater risk in ‘business as usual’ than in decarbonization.

That same conclusion has mobilized the highest levels of America’s Federal Reserve. You’ll recall that in November, the Fed acknowledged climate-related risk in its semiannual Financial Stability Report. This month the Fed announced that it is creating a first-ever committee to assess climate risks facing the financial system, including companies, infrastructure, and markets.

Signs of adaptation are less easy to find in the coal industry. Coal communities, however, may be more proactive in the face of climate (and political) realities. We’re excited to see that coal-state economic development groups have called for the immediate creation of a White House Office of Economic Transition, focused on rebuilding the economies of coal communities as the nation transitions to renewable energy. These sorts of efforts are needed for the transition to help all Americans.

The best evidence projects that the wind and solar industries will see the most immediate build-outs but we’re intrigued by smaller industrial innovations, too, like converting garbage to fuel [paywall]. We’re also closely watching startups working to make ‘green cement,’ which would help replace a crucial building material that is responsible for 8% of carbon emissions.

And on the futuristic end of the technological spectrum, we’re delighted to hear the narrative around fusion energy – the ‘holy grail’ of renewables – has changed from ‘if’ to ‘when.’ Scientists have been working to achieve this limitless, clean energy source for decades. A report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine calls for efforts to start building a pilot fusion power plant by 2035 and have it running by 2040.

It seems we at C-Change are not alone in our sense of cautious optimism about renewed energy in tackling climate change. The mood of climate scientists around the nation is also on the upswing.

Notable Graph

The Energy Information Agency projects renewable energy generation will double by 2050, while coal and nuclear will decline and natural gas will stay relatively flat.

Notable Quote

“[The United States] is the best resourced nation in the world for a transition to net zero … [It has] abundant solar and wind resources both onshore and offshore … plentiful and economically accessible natural gas, and enormous geologic and terrestrial reservoirs for CO₂ sequestration. Achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the U.S. by 2050 is feasible and would not only help address climate change but also build a more competitive economy, increase high-quality jobs, and help address social injustice in the energy system.” – From Accelerating Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy System, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

julia February 23, 2021 5

Curated Climate News

January 2021 Climate Change News

What a difference a day makes. As we predicted last month, the final hours of the outgoing administration were spent locking in fossil fuel projects and climate-related regulatory rollbacks.

Then came January 20th. Cue the soundtrack: screeching brakes, spinning tires, and swooshing air around one of the most dramatic U-turns in modern American politics. On his first day as the new president, Joe Biden pivoted toward a clean energy economy and promised to address what he called the climate “crisis.” C-Change Conversations applauds the recognition of the severity of this threat to our health and economic well-being and hopes for meaningful bipartisan action.

emilyHDG January 1, 2021 0

Curated Climate News

December 2020 Climate Change News

Like it or not, the presidential transition is now in full swing. The outgoing administration is working overtime [paywall] to approve a collection of new, large, energy and mineral projects on federal lands in hopes of locking in their version of a ‘business first’ approach to climate and the environment.

Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden’s key cabinet nominees view the relationship between the environment and the economy quite differently from the Trump team. Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Energy, for example, is bullish on renewables and the jobs they’ll provide, and his chosen ‘climate czar’ sits on the board of CERES – a nonprofit composed of investors and environmentalists who make a powerful business case for climate action.

That’s been our mindset for some time, and it is good to see it’s gaining traction. As always, we welcome your feedback and reactions.

Warmly,
The C-Change Conversations Team

Notable Quote

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” –Socrates

Notable Video

Kicking off our theme of innovation and investment toward a green economy, enjoy this video that envisions American roads paved with something more valuable than gold: solar panels.

News of Hope

We’re buoyed that such economic opportunities seem very much in the sights of the climate and energy team that Biden announced this month. As Fox News reports, the lineup signals the President-elect’s commitment to “ambitious” climate action and – combined with his chosen economic team [paywall] – we see a coherent strategy emerging to align U.S. economic, energy, and environmental policies behind a climate agenda.

At the same time, ever more members of the business community are backing economy-wide climate action. The Wall Street Journal (among others) carried the news that leaders of more than 40 large U.S. corporations representing a broad swath of the American economy penned a letter to Congress urging cooperation with the incoming administration on climate issues. The letter echoed arguments that leveraging U.S. innovation and investment around climate solutions is a recipe for economic growth and called for the U.S. to rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate.

That agreement commits its national signatories to major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. And while the Biden Administration begins to chart a new course in that direction, Princeton University offered a roadmap to get there, itemizing exactly what needs to be built, when, and where. The Net-Zero America study spells out no fewer than five energy-mix scenarios that could transition the economy to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. Crucially, none of the five scenarios would cost more than the country spends now on energy, and all would result in net job gains for American workers.

Meanwhile, Congress proved that bi-partisan cooperation around a green economy is possible when it passed the massive COVID relief and federal spending package. Forbes magazine described the bill as a “stimulus for clean energy,” noting the legislation’s many green tax credits and bipartisan support for them.

News of Concern

Climate change, however, hasn’t slowed down while the American political transition unfolds. A new scientific paper warns that rising sea levels may exceed even the highest projections of recent years. NOAA released its annual report card on the Arctic, and it describes a ‘new normal’ in the so-called frozen North that includes far less ice, more wildfires, and huge disruptions to ecosystems.

And although several large banks have aligned themselves with the fight against climate change, Bloomberg News [paywall] reports that some banks are still financing dangerous energy projects to the tune of billions of dollars. Three top international banks have invested $295 billion in 12 projects with the potential to release CO₂ equivalent to 75% of the remaining carbon budget we must maintain to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to researchers at Climate Analytics.

Such financing continues in a year that’s seen 16 separate climate disasters (see image above) as of the end of September costing a billion dollars or more – tying the records of 2011 and 2017. Given that three months have passed since since the data were tabulated, it is expected that the previous records will be broken this year.

Also for the record books, 2020 is neck and neck with 2016 for the hottest year in recorded history. In this context it’s disturbing to see that emissions of a super-polluting greenhouse gas called nitrous oxide—which is 300 times more potent than CO₂ and released primarily from fertilizer—is rising far faster than previously thought at a rate consistent with a worst-case trajectory for climate change.

Notable Graph

julia December 19, 2020 2

Curated Climate News

November 2020 Climate Change News

Hands down, the most prominent news in the month of November was the presidential election and its long tail. Poll watchers have been debating the role that global warming played in the vote. Many see climate as key to victory, while other analysts aren’t so sure, pointing to mixed messages from the electorate. Whatever the poll parsing ultimately concludes, this was certainly the first presidential election in which climate played such a prominent role. Furthermore, November was a month when even more large American institutions – including conservative institutions with a history of denial – saw the climate handwriting on the wall … and united around its mandate.

We hope you enjoy this month’s roundup of climate news and welcome your feedback and questions.

Warmly,
The C-Change Conversations Team

Notable Video
Let’s start with a win-win. Take a look at this “new” food that will please our palate while helping save the planet.

News of Hope
It is extremely promising to anticipate a U.S. administration mobilizing to battle climate change from every cabinet department simultaneously.

It’s equally promising to see groups that have previously denied anthropogenic global warming (or that have resisted efforts to address it) now suiting up for action. The American Farm Bureau Federation is the latest big organization to agree that the impacts are just too profound to ignore. And this month the Federal Reserve for the first time identified global warming as a risk to financial stability. (Readers might remember that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce did an about-face on climate last year and President Trump’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission released a report with warnings of grave financial consequences last month.)

As these institutions turn their attention to climate, renewable energy sources look increasingly robust as economic pillars. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has upped its growth projections for the renewables sector and now sees wind and solar installations setting records. The IEA also issued a detailed report with a clear bottom line: sector growth is outpacing expectations even through the COVID downturn.

And in one of those wonky details that may be critically important, a new look at the efficiency of burning fossil fuels suggests that transitioning to renewables may not be as big a reach as previously thought. That’s because only about 1/3 of the energy stored in coal is converted to power on average and only about 1/5 of the energy stored in gasoline is converted to auto propulsion. The rest ends up as waste heat. Renewables pack a much better punch. So that means we will need less “new” energy to replace the work of the “old” energy – though it’s still a daunting task.

News of Concern
The hard work of transitioning, of course, is still ahead – and the harsh impacts of global warming aren’t slowing down. New research shows the inland damage of hurricanes is greater than before because tropical storms no longer lose as much force when they hit the shore. And homeowners in the paths of climate disasters are having more trouble getting insurance, threatening local communities with economic disaster. The choice ahead could be painful, allowing climate-endangered communities to decline as insurance costs get out of reach or asking the rest of the country to foot the escalating bill.

Meanwhile, on the health front, a new study predicts that a warmer climate will dramatically increase the spread of diseases among wildlife over the next five decades. This is also bad news for humans because 75% of our new diseases start in the wild. COVID-19 is an example of how deadly these diseases can be. The International Red Cross, while on the front lines of the disease spread, this month declared climate change a greater danger than the pandemic and demanded a similar urgency from world leaders to coordinate a response.

And speaking of animals, National Geographic reports that methane flares in America’s 2,627 landfills are causing widespread destruction to bird populations around the country. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas released by decomposing landfill waste (and by other natural and human processes including leakage from oil and gas production facilities).

Notable Quote
“There are three categories of truth: personal truth, political truth and objective truth that shape our understanding of the universe. The interesting thing about objective truth is that it is true no matter what.”

Science communicator and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson

emilyHDG November 10, 2020 5

Curated Climate News

October 2020 Climate Change News

Welcome back to our monthly roundup of climate news … both encouraging and, well, not-so-much. Just days before the presidential election, though, it’s striking to note more optimistic signs than expected. And we’re not alone. Some are describing a ‘sea change’ in the way the American electorate, politicians, and business people are now talking and acting on the issue of global warming. We concur. To set the tone, watch this new video about the biggest, baddest vehicle of the automotive world — which is now electric! The closing lines say it all.

Warmly,
The C-Change Conversations Team

Notable Quote
“Introducing the world’s first all-electric supertruck, the revolutionary GMC Hummer EV, with no limits, no emissions and no equals. It will leave everything you thought possible in a cloud of dust.”

– General Motors marketing video for the new electric Hummer

News of Hope
Let’s turn to the presidential debates. In a sign of a sea change, the final debate between President Trump and former Vice President Biden was the first in 20 years to feature a substantive discussion about climate change. Even more important: the issue was treated as fact by both candidates who then sparred over policies.

While Biden made news by calling for a speedy transition away from fossil fuels, the world’s oil companies largely shrugged at the proposition, which many have already incorporated into their business plans. And coal? After years of retraction, the coal companies clearly see the handwriting on the wall and are divesting from coal themselves.

Meanwhile at the United Nations, the leader of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter pledged to achieve carbon neutrality in its economy by 2060. Yes, China— the country currently burning half the world’s coal supplies (see the pie chart, below). China has expressed good intentions before but this commitment from its top politician has been followed up by a concrete plan charting a viable path to get there.

While many researchers in the U.S. are developing similar plans to transition the U.S. economy, it’s encouraging to see evidence that American workers are beginning to recognize that job growth in clean energy is outstripping job losses in fossil fuels. A sea change, indeed.

News of Concern

Of course, a sea change doesn’t mean smooth sailing. The annual report of the world’s most authoritative body of energy analysts, the International Energy Agency, concluded this month that the globe is headed toward more warming than the top manageable limit set by the Paris Agreement.

Meanwhile, another international body — the G20 (the premier forum for the world’s largest economies) — backtracked on previous commitments to end oil subsidies. The rationale cited was the disruption to oil markets caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

On the theme of backward movement, Bloomberg News divulged leaked documents from Exxon Mobil showing plans to increase the company’s annual CO₂ emissions by 17 percent by 2025. This trajectory clashes with plans by Exxon’s main industry rivals to reduce emissions and cut fossil fuel production.

Exxon’s short-sightedness may be part of another sea change we’ve witnessed this month: the Dow dropped Exxon Mobil from its index in favor of a software stock. XOM had been part of the Dow Jones Industrial average since 1928 and was its longest-serving component.

And lest we forget the climate-linked fires still burning in the West, consider this: a growing body of research shows significant and enduring health risks from wildfire smoke. That’s an extra layer of pain on top of the coronavirus pandemic and the arrival of flu season.

Notable Graph

When taking second place is not to be congratulated. How countries compare in CO₂ emissions. (Source: Union of Concerned Scientists)

julia October 13, 2020 3

Curated Climate News

September 2020 Climate Change News

Sometimes it is difficult not to get depressed. On the surface, this election cycle has laid bare that the polarization around climate change created in the early 2000’s continues to divide us at a time when we must come together to stay safe. But delve deeper and there are glimmers of hope.

More Americans, including conservatives, say they believe climate change is happening and that they want government action to address it. In fact, latest polls show that 65% of Americans believe climate legislation should be a key priority. And the steady drumbeat of recent devastating natural disasters, which scientists say have been exacerbated by climate change, is making the concern more visceral and immediate.

In addition, we’re also seeing a groundswell of alarm about climate change from businesses, investment groups, regulators, and the military. A growing contingent of sober-minded leaders find it impossible to ignore the costs of climate change. They’re calling for immediate action to protect our economy, our homes, and our national security against systemic risk. Among these leaders is H. R. McMaster, a three star General who was President Trump’s National Security Advisor for 13 months and who considers climate change a top security threat to our nation and the world.

If you’re a returning reader, thank you for revisiting this newsletter and please let us know how we can improve upon it. Our format presents a sampling of non-partisan news grouped in two moods: hope and concern. As we all know, both are in large supply this election season.

Please let us know what you think — and please share this newsletter with others.

Appreciatively,
The C-Change Conversations Team

Notable Graph
We don’t know where 2020 will end up, but it is in the running to be one of the hottest years ever.

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“So what should be the goal? To effectively decarbonize the U.S. and the global economies by mid-century without shock and disruption. It will be hard, but so was going to the moon.”

Rear Admiral David W. Titley, U.S. Navy, (Ret.)
(Calling for an Apollo-scale, public-private program to address climate change;
C-Change Conversations speaker, 2016)

News of Hope
Even the highly polarized U.S. Senate has found some common ground. Senate Republicans and Democrats joined forces earlier in September to cut the use of hydrofluorocarbons — refrigerants that are considered ‘super greenhouse gases’ and among the most powerful drivers of climate change.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission released a seminal report concluding that “climate change poses a major risk to the stability of the U.S. financial system and to its ability to sustain the American economy.” The report proposes 53 climate change solutions, including a price on carbon and a Securities and Exchange Commission mandate for companies to fully disclose climate risk. Bob Litterman, who spoke at a 2017 C-Change Conversations event, chaired the subcommittee that produced the report. The subcommittee was made up of diverse interests like Morgan Stanley, ConocoPhillips, and the Environmental Defense Fund.

The Business Roundtable, a business lobbying group composed of CEOs from more than 200 of the largest US corporations, now supports market-based carbon pricing to fight climate change.

And an investing group managing more than $47 trillion in collective assets has ratcheted up pressure for net zero emissions among companies it holds. Led by investment giants like BlackRock and PIMCO, Climate Action 100+ sent a letter this month advising companies to set concrete objectives to reduce emissions by 45% within 10 years to try to meet the 1.5℃ goal set at the Paris Agreement.

News of Concern
National Geographic says that science has “incontrovertibly shown” that historic fires like those raging across the American West have everything to do with climate change. In California alone, more than 3 million acres have burned so far. And fire season is just beginning. The LA Times aptly describes this year as “The worst fire season ever. Again .” And record-setting fires also bring record-setting health threats. Washington, Oregon, and California suffered “the worst air quality on earth” this month due to the fires.

Fires aren’t the only climate-related disaster the West had to endure in September. CBS News described a simultaneous heat wave of “insane” and “unprecedented” levels with temperatures “never before seen in modern history.”

Meanwhile, scientists report that rising sea levels caused by melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are in sync with the ‘worst case scenarios’ projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Despite it all, the federal government remains dangerously out of step with the scientific consensus. So much so that six former directors of the Environmental Protection Agency from both Republican and Democratic administrations issued an appeal this month for an agency ‘reset’ after the election. They were endorsing hundreds of pages of recommendations by a bipartisan group of more than 500 former EPA senior managers and employees.

emilyHDG September 10, 2020 1

Curated Climate News

August 2020 Climate Change News

What a month … The California wildfires. The Iowa derecho. And now, Hurricane Laura. Back-to-back, high intensity natural disasters are exactly what we’ve been warned about and are harder to respond to due to the pandemic. Each is a sobering reminder why C-Change Conversations makes it a priority to understand and discuss climate change and demand more from our elected officials at all levels to address it.

To assist in that effort, we offer this month’s curated list of non-partisan articles that focus on important developments in the story of global warming.

You may be struck, as we are, by the sense that the issue of climate change is gathering velocity on all fronts. The stories shared below describe acceleration in the speed of planetary warming and in the impacts that warming is having on people, businesses, and ecosystems. At the same time, the stories also suggest acceleration in humanity’s response to those challenges — even amid the overshadowing immediacy of the COVID pandemic.

As we did last month, we’re offering you this collection in two groups: developments that inspire hope and those that cause concern. You will find an equal number of both — but we look forward to the day when the balance tips toward optimism.

We welcome your feedback and invite you to share this newsletter with others.

With gratitude for your support and interest,
The C-Change Conversations Team

Notable Quote
“Don’t live in your own echo chamber. A lot of the polarization starts with us. And it’s because we’ve been afraid to engage with people with whom we don’t agree … I tell my students this all the time, ‘If you constantly find yourself in the company of people who say “amen” to whatever you say, find different company.'”

— Condoleezza Rice
Former U.S. Secretary of State
Faculty Member, Stanford University

News of Hope
A substantial majority of Americans think the government should do more about climate, according to a Pew Research Center report …

And a MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner makes a convincing case that the transition to a low carbon economy now could supercharge the economy for the future.

Fossil fuel companies wonder about exploring for new oil and whether even tapping known fields makes business sense.

And BP announced that it is radically cutting back its oil and gas business and basically rethinking its business model.

There’s good news in bad: COVID-19 hasn’t caused the financial sector to backpedal its climate focus. Instead, there’s evidence that the pandemic may be galvanizing money managers to be more proactive on the crisis. And …

One large investor group just launched the world’s first step-by-step plan to help pension funds and others align their portfolios to bring us to net zero emissions by 2050.

News of Concern
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a methane regulation rollback unpopular with fuel companies, climate scientists, Wall Street, and public opinion …

While at the same time, projections for planetary heating are getting worse.

As if on cue, California’s Death Valley hit an unfathomable 130 degrees earlier this month, and Baghdad’s temperatures were close to that a few weeks before. The descriptions and images of the Iraqi experience are breathtaking.

Some 19% of the world might face hot zones with similarly uninhabitable temperature peaks by 2070, fueling massive waves of human migrations that some say have already begun …

And experts believe even the Earth’s more temperate zones will be facing the overwhelming challenge of overlapping crises on an ongoing, rolling basis.

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CHARTING PROGRESS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY

To end on an optimistic note, the amount of solar energy generated around the world, led by Asia and the Pacific, has grown exponentially in the last 20 years. Wind generation shows a similarly sharp upward curve, with Europe and the United States generating a larger proportion.

emilyHDG August 10, 2020 2

Category: Curated Climate News

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