You are here

Latest news

Global atmospheric CO2 levels hit record high

UN warns that drastic action is needed to meet climate targets set in the Paris agreement

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased at record speed last year to hit a level not seen for more than three million years, the UN has warned.

The new report has raised alarm among scientists and prompted calls for nations to consider more drastic emissions reductions at the upcoming climate negotiations in Bonn.

Continue reading...

New data gives hope for meeting the Paris climate targets | Dana Nuccitelli

Global carbon pollution appears to be close to peaking

Over the past half-century, growth in the global economy and carbon pollution have been tied together. When the global economy has been strong, we’ve consumed more energy, which has translated into burning more fossil fuels and releasing more carbon pollution. But over the past four years, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions have been decoupled. The global economy has continued to grow, while data from the EU Joint Research Centre shows carbon pollution has held fairly steady.

As I read the agreement it requires the Chinese to do nothing at all for 16 years while these carbon emissions regulations are creating havoc in my state and around the country

Continue reading...

Hurricane Sandy, five years later: 'No one was ready for what happened after'

Survivors of the 2012 storm remain haunted. As hurricanes continue to batter the US, many say plans to mitigate climate change have not gone far enough: ‘People need to open their eyes’

Hurricane Sandy still assails the thoughts of Annie Willis, haunting her with its onrushing black water and the harrowing sound of shattering windows. The storm mauled a cherished home that Willis and her family are still unable to return to, five years since it ravaged New York City.

“I’d seen nothing like it in my life, the water was surging above the cars. It was like an out of body experience,” Willis, now a 20-year-old student, said. She lived with her mother, brother and dog in far Rockaway, part of a jawbone-like peninsula that juts out near JFK airport in Queens.

The water was surging above the cars. It was like an out of body experience

Related: It's a fact: climate change made Hurricane Harvey more deadly | Michael E Mann

Irene put these people back on their heels and Sandy was the knockout punch. It was like ‘boom, we are out’

People here love the ocean. This is where they want to stay. But at some point we will be underwater

Things haven’t been perfect but we are moving as fast as we can. We will be at this the rest of our lives

Related: Climate change will likely wreck their livelihoods – but they still don't buy the science

Continue reading...

US winter has shrunk by more than one month in 100 years

Scientists find that climate change has helped push first frosts later across the country

The length of the US winter is shortening, with the first frost of the year arriving more than one later than it did 100 years ago, according to more than a century of measurements from weather stations nationwide.

The trend of ever later first freezes appears to have started around 1980, according to data from 700 weather stations across the US going back to 1895 and compiled by Ken Kunkel, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Related: Sea levels to rise 1.3m unless coal power ends by 2050, report says

Is there a link between the storm and climate change?

Related: 'We will be toasted, roasted and grilled': IMF chief sounds climate change warning

Continue reading...

Sea levels to rise 1.3m unless coal power ends by 2050, report says

University of Melbourne paper combines latest understanding on Antarctica and current emissions projection scenarios

Coastal cities around the world could be devastated by 1.3m of sea level rise this century unless coal-generated electricity is virtually eliminated by 2050, according to a new paper that combines the latest understanding of Antarctica’s contribution to sea level rise and the latest emissions projection scenarios.

It confirms again that significant sea level rise is inevitable and requires rapid adaptation. But, on a more positive note, the work reveals the majority of that rise – driven by newly recognised processes on Antarctica – could be avoided if the world fulfils its commitment made in Paris to keep global warming to “well below 2C”.

Related: Antarctic sea ice levels hit record low, but experts are not sure why

Under all scenarios we are going to have to adapt

Related: We need to talk about … Population and climate change

Related: Where global warming gets real: inside Nasa’s mission to the north pole

Continue reading...

Electric cars emit 50% less greenhouse gas than diesel, study finds

Exclusive: researchers calculated the total lifecycle emissions of an electric car, including its manufacture, battery manufacture, and all of its energy consumption

Electric cars emit significantly less greenhouse gases over their lifetimes than diesel engines even when they are powered by the most carbon intensive energy, a new report has found.

In Poland, which uses high volumes of coal, electric vehicles produced a quarter less emissions than diesels when put through a full lifecycle modelling study by Belgium’s VUB University.

Continue reading...

Big companies' climate change targets are 'unambitious', say analysts

While almost all companies have plans in place to reduce carbon emissions, those plans don’t go far enough, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project

Nearly nine out of 10 of the world’s biggest companies have plans in place to reduce carbon emissions, new research has found, but only a fifth of them are doing so for 2030 and beyond.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) also found that only 14% of its sample of 1,073 large companies around the world had “science-based targets” – that is, goals to reduce carbon emissions which are in line with the global agreement to hold warming to no more than 2C, enshrined in the 2015 Paris agreement.

Continue reading...

'We will be toasted, roasted and grilled': IMF chief sounds climate change warning

Christine Lagarde warns of ‘dark future’ if the world fails to take steps to address global warming

The world will be in deep trouble if it fails to tackle climate change and inequality, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde has warned.

“If we don’t address these issues... we will be moving to a dark future” in 50 years, she told a major economic conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday.

Related: BBC apologises over interview with climate denier Lord Lawson

Continue reading...

Australia-New Zealand divisions exposed as Ardern takes tougher stance

The new Labour-led government is ready to take on its bigger and brasher neighbour over immigration and education

As the New Zealand coalition government begins to take the reins, there are questions arising about how the generally close relationship with Australia will be affected after 10 years of relative stability between the two nations.

Jacinda Ardern, due to be sworn in as prime minister on Thursday, said visiting Australia “as soon as possible” would be a priority for her, after tensions between the New Zealand Labour party and the Australian government emerged during the campaign.

Related: Australia v New Zealand: how they line up in the great trans-Tasman tussle test

Related: Julie Bishop doesn't need to apologise to Jacinda Ardern, Turnbull says

Related: New Zealand Labour signs coalition deal and makes Winston Peters deputy PM

Related: Australia leads fight to save Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact

Continue reading...

Pages

Join us!

Now everyone can fight climate change. Together our small changes will have a huge impact. Join our community today and get free updates on how you can fight climate change everyday!

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.