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President-designate of Cop26 talks says tackling the fossil fuel is ‘a personal priority’
Coal must be consigned to history as the world faces its “last hope” of holding back climate breakdown, the president of the Cop26 climate summit says.
Alok Sharma, a former UK business secretary and now president-designate of Cop26, to be held in Glasgow this November, is expected to say this Friday morning: “This is our last hope of keeping 1.5C alive. Our best chance of building a brighter future … of green jobs and cleaner air. I have faith that world leaders will rise to the occasion and not be found wanting in their tryst with destiny.”
Continue reading...Nigel Topping says the Morrison government will face ‘a certain amount of pressure’ at the G7 meeting in Cornwall in June
A leading UK climate official says Australia is alone among major countries in that neither its national government nor opposition have a significant climate plan, and frustrating local business leaders.
Nigel Topping, the UN’s “high-level champion” whose role involves global outreach to drive global ambition ahead of the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow in November, said he had not seen another country in which no major political party had a plan to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Continue reading...Exclusive: prime minister’s short flights cast doubt on the sincerity of his pledges to fight the climate crisis, say critics
Boris Johnson has been criticised for taking a short helicopter flight from London to the West Midlands to promote a local bike hire scheme, despite the train from London taking just more than two hours.
Critics said the flight was “completely unnecessary” and cast doubt on the sincerity of the prime minister’s pledges to fight the climate crisis. Air travel produces far more global-heating emissions than other modes of transport.
Great to show the PM around Stourbridge by bike as well as visiting local businesses & residentsHaving Govt's support over the past 4 years has been key to driving investment & jobs so I hope I'll have the opportunity to continue to fight for our regionhttps://t.co/GDymh329gt
Related: Boris Johnson’s advisers may push for a virtual Cop26. He should ignore them | Fiona Harvey
Continue reading...Indonesia’s capital Jakarta – plagued by pollution, flooding and heatwaves – tops risk assessment ranking
Of the 100 cities worldwide most vulnerable to environmental hazards all but one are in Asia, and 80% are in India or China, according to a risk assessment.
More than 400 large cities with a total population of 1.5 billion are at “high” or “extreme” risk because of a mix of life-shortening pollution, dwindling water supplies, deadly heatwaves, natural disasters and the climate emergency, the report found.
Related: One in four cities cannot afford climate crisis protection measures – study
Continue reading...Carbon credits to cut US emissions may benefit big animal operations but lock out small, climate-friendly food producers
Nicole and Aaron Bradley’s diversified livestock farm is a far cry from the industrial pig operations that dominate the landscape in North Carolina, the second biggest pork-producing state in the US.
Instead of confining thousands of animals and managing their millions of litres of waste in lagoons that release methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), the Bradleys raise 200 pigs at a time on pasture and in wooded areas, where the animals’ manure is integrated into the ground naturally as fertiliser. Similarly, they move their 40 grass-fed cattle using a “mob” grazing system that maximises soil health, with laying hens following behind.
Having the support of multinational agribusinesses ... has given folks the illusion that family farmers support this
There's something offputting about rewarding large-scale farmers who plant some cover crops but keep the rest conventional
Related: Cash cow: could carbon credits get US farmers to plant trees?
Continue reading...The volume of funds being put forward in the federal budget is staggeringly low and can only be seen as window dressing
If anyone had any doubts about the federal government’s complete lack of substantive commitment to take ambitious action on climate change and the need for a clean energy transition, it was confirmed in treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s federal budget on Tuesday.
Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that the budget pours billions into fossil fuel projects that will exacerbate the problem, and does little to help Australia and its citizens to adapt to the rapidly rising risks from extreme heat, drought, more extreme rainfall events and flooding, increased risks of diseases, coastal flooding and inundation due to sea level rise … the list goes on.
Biden has put climate at the centre of his government
Related: Joe Biden’s move to net zero emissions will leave Australia in the (coal) dust | Bill Hare
Continue reading...The Morrison government prefers a gas-fired recovery to a green one and has offered no new support for renewable energy or electric vehicles
Cutting through the budget spin: breaking down the cash splashBudget infrastructure; immigrationExplore all of our 2021 federal budget coverage hereThere was little talk of the climate crisis or the environment in Tuesday’s budget, perhaps because the Morrison government has succeeded in framing them as side issues.
But once you dig into the detail there is plenty to know. Here are some key points.
Related: Confusion over Covid vaccination targets as Josh Frydenberg defends big-spending budget
Related: The Coalition is backing a gas plant that also runs on hydrogen. Is this the future or a folly?
Related: Cutting through the budget spin: breaking down the Coalition’s cash splash | Katharine Murphy
Related: The complete 2021 Australian budget: choose what matters to you
Continue reading...Mayor overseeing a green regeneration in city where temperatures can already surpass 40C
Like every Athens mayor, Kostas Bakoyannis is acutely aware of the illustrious heritage of one of the world’s oldest cities. After all, he says, it is busts of Pericles and his mistress Aspasia that adorn the entrance of the neoclassical town hall. From the windows of his cavernous office, he can glimpse the Parthenon through the jumble of concrete buildings and antennas.
But Bakoyannis prefers to talk about the present, not least his plans for fountains, parks and trees – antidotes to the afflictions of more modern times.
Continue reading...In this extract, top atmospheric scientist Dave Lowe explains why despite political inaction he believes we can build a sustainable future
When it comes to the political will and leadership needed to drive the world towards a sustainable future, I’m a pessimist. Time and time again, I’ve heard rhetoric from politicians focusing on short-term goals at the expense of planning for the future. In 2021, the mainstream media promote responsible journalism and take a hard line with climate deniers. Many journalists hold governments to account over climate change goals. However, hard scientific data is often still manipulated and cherrypicked by politicians. I’ve spoken to many and liken the experience to walking through treacle.
Does their bland decision-making have to do with the structure of democracy itself, with its short electoral terms and lack of incentives for incumbent politicians to make hard and binding decisions for the decades ahead?
Related: New Zealand emissions rise as government vows urgent action
Dave Lowe is an atmospheric chemist and a lead author of the 2007 Nobel Prize-winning IPCC Fourth Assessment Report on climate change. This essay is an edited extract from his book The Alarmist: Fifty Years Measuring Climate Change (VUP, NZ$40)
Continue reading...BloombergNEF forecasts result of falling cost of making batteries as well as dedicated production lines
Electric cars and vans will be cheaper to produce than conventional, fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2027, and tighter emissions regulations could put them in pole position to dominate all new car sales by the middle of the next decade, research has found.
By 2026, larger vehicles such as electric sedans and SUVs will be as cheap to produce as petrol and diesel models, according to forecasts from BloombergNEF, with small cars reaching the threshold the following year.
Related: Electric car insurance in UK ‘is £45 less than for petrol or diesel vehicle’
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