IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Crunch time at COP28 U.N. climate treaty negotiations in Dubai; Climate change intensified ongoing, catastrophic floods in East Africa; PLUS: Biden announces biggest-ever investment in U.S. high speed and passenger rail... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Endangered species list grows by 2,000, due in part to climate change; With new House Speaker, billions in climate and energy funding hang in the balance; Alberta sets new methane 'super-emitter' record; One side of Florida is running out of water. The other is getting bombarded with too much rain; Rising sea levels threaten hazardous waste facilities along U.S. coast; First Biden-funded electric car charging station opens... PLUS: Specter of second Trump term looms over global climate talks... and much, MUCH more! ...
STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...
- COP28: Treaty negotiations go into overtime:
- BBC Live Coverage: Countries battle to save COP28 climate deal after row over ending fossil fuels (BBC)
- Guardian Live Coverage of COP28 (Guardian)
- As COP28 nears finish, critics say proposal 'doesn’t even come close' to what’s needed on climate (AP)
- What does means of implementation actually mean and why is it so crucial? (Guardian):
So that’s partly why developing countries simply cannot accept a fossil fuel phase-out – or any new target – without means of implementation, as they’re already unable to even fund their current mitigation and adaptation plans (all while loss and damage costs are spiralling). - IEA: new pledges still not enough to meet 1.5C target:
- COP28 pledges so far not enough to limit warming to 1.5C -IEA (Reuters/MSN):
A raft of new pledges announced at the COP28 climate summit - from tripling renewables to reining in methane emissions - won't be enough on their own to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Sunday. - Pledges from climate talks not enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, IEA says (CNN):
The results show that the commitments would slash greenhouse gas emissions by 4 gigatons — less than one-third of what is now required to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above temperatures before industrialization. Science shows that life on Earth will struggle to adapt beyond that point. - IEA assessment of the evolving pledges at COP28 (IEA)
- Saudi Arabia, OPEC behind impasse on fossil fuels at COP28:
- Saudi Arabia Is Trying to Block a Global Deal to End Fossil Fuels, Negotiators Say (NY Times):
The world’s leading oil exporter has become the most forceful opponent of a new agreement at the U.N. climate summit, according to people inside the talks. - UN climate chief slams opponents of fossil fuel phase-out at COP28 (Al Jazeera)
- COP28: Surge of emissions-reduction pledges:
- COP28 Climate Delegates Agree to Loss and Damage Fund with "Deficiencies" (Democracy Now!)
- $700m pledged to loss and damage fund at Cop28 covers less than 0.2% needed (Guardian)
- A New UN ‘Roadmap’ Lays Out a Global Vision for Food Security and Emissions Reductions (Inside Climate News):
Critics applaud food-related ambitions at COP28, but say they don’t address livestock emissions and rely too much on bioenergy. - COP28: 120 countries back goal to treble renewables capacity (Business Green)
- Curbing powerful methane emissions is big focus at COP28 climate summit (Axios)
- At COP28, the Role of Food Systems in the Climate Crisis Will Get More Attention Than Ever (Inside Climate News)
- At COP28 meeting, oil companies pledge to combat methane. Environmentalists call it a "smokescreen" (AP)
- 20-plus countries pledge to triple the world’s nuclear energy by 2050 (Canary Media)
- Global carbon emissions rose slightly in 2023, but are relatively flat:
- Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels to hit record high in 2023 -report (Reuters)
- Growth of Chinese fossil CO2 emissions drives new global record in 2023 (Carbon Brief):
The new report finds that the increase in fossil emissions in 2023 has been largely driven by increased emissions in China – without which the global total would have remained approximately flat at 2022 levels. - Global Carbon Budget Report (Global Carbon Budget, Univ. of Exeter):
Fossil CO2 emissions are falling in some regions, including Europe and the USA, but rising overall – and the scientists say global action to cut fossil fuels is not happening fast enough to prevent dangerous climate change...[It's] part of a 10-year "plateau" – far from the steep reduction in emissions that is urgently needed to meet global climate targets. - Climate change doubled intensity of East Africa's ongoing floods:
- Scientists: Climate change intensified the rains devastating East Africa (AP):
“What the planet is telling us is that ‘You’re continually warming me, and there’s no way I can dispel that heat other than to increase in the way the atmosphere behaves,’” said Kimutai, who is also a researcher at Imperial College London. - Kenya raises alarm as flooding death toll rises to 76, with thousands marooned by worsening rains (AP)
- Heat wave breaks records in Sydney, Australia
- Record-breaking temperatures in Sydney - with more 'severe heatwave conditions' forecast (Sky News/MSN)
- GOP Debate #4 - Climate change mostly ignored, again:
- Ramaswamy enters full conspiracy mode in fourth GOP debate (Washington Examiner)
- Vivek Ramaswamy Called 'the Climate Change Agenda' a Hoax in Alabama’s First-Ever Presidential Debate. What Did University of Alabama Students Think? (Inside Climate News)
- Trump Slams John Kerry In Wild Town Hall, Insisting Climate Change Isn't A Problem (Huffington Post)
- Biden announces largest-ever investment in US passenger rail, high speed rail:
- Biden pledges $8.2B for first U.S. high-speed rail system, new rail corridors (UPI)
- High-speed rail projects get a $6 billion infusion of federal infrastructure money (NPR)
- Biden puts a shine on his infrastructure record – and goes after Trump’s (CNN)
- Biden calls California high-speed rail the ‘most ambitious’ train project in Western Hemisphere (SF Chronicle/MSN)
- VIDEO: President Biden Delivers Remarks in Las Vegas on Infrastructure Investment (C-SPAN)
- Transcript: Remarks by President Biden on Investing in America in Las Vegas, NV (White House)
- FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Billions to Deliver World-Class High-Speed Rail and Launch New Passenger Rail Corridors Across the Country (White House)
- Why doesn’t the US have more passenger trains? (CNN)
'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (Stuff we didn't have time for in today's audio report)...
For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists' Daily Headlines page
- Endangered Species List Grows By 2,000. Climate Change Part Of The Problem (AP)
- Specter Of Second Trump Term Looms Over Global Climate Talks (Washington Post)
- With a New Speaker of the House, Billions in Climate and Energy Funding—Mostly to Red States—Hang in the Balance (Inside Climate News)
- Alberta Sets a Methane ‘Super-Emitter’ Record (The Tyee)
- One side of Florida is running out of water. The other is getting bombarded with too much rain (AP)
- Tennessee tornado outbreak updates: NWS says EF3 tornado hit Clarksville; EF2 hit Madison (The Tennesseean)
- Rising sea levels threaten hazardous waste facilities along U.S. coast (Axios)
- First Biden-funded electric car charging station opens (Axios)
- Barcelona may need water shipped in during a record drought in northeast Spain, authorities say (AP)
- Two Men Indicted For Killing, Trafficking Montana Bald And Golden Eagles (State Newsroom)
- Newsom Advances Delta Tunnel Project Despite Environmental Opposition (LA Times/Phys.org)
- Lithium ‘Gold Mine’ Buried Under Portuguese Heritage Farming System (Mongabay)
- 'A Scam All Around': Navajo Nation Groups Oppose Hydropower Projects (Guardian)
- How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
- The trillion-dollar quest to make green steel (Canary Media)
- Rising Temperatures Are Wreaking Havoc Year-Round (gift link, Bloomberg)
- Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (Climate Crocks)
- These are the places most at risk from record-breaking heat waves as the planet warms (CNN)
- Building Steam in Lithium Valley (The American Prospect)
- Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here's How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
- VIDEO: See what three degrees of global warming looks like (The Economist/YouTube)
- The 7 climate tipping points that could change the world forever (Grist)
- The 1977 White House climate memo that should have changed the world (Guardian UK)
- Four solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC (Dr. Michael Mann, Penn Today)
- Environmental Sacrifice Zones: 8 Places We've Given Up-Probably Forever (Environmental Health Network)
- Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
- VIDEO: 2050: what happens if we ignore the climate crisis (Guardian UK)
- 99.9 percent Of Scientists Agree Climate Emergency Caused By Humans (Guardian UK)
- Climate Fund Choices for Investors Are Multiplying (Bloomberg/Yahoo)
- How climate change could undo 50 years of public health gains (Grist)
- Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
- Exxon's Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
- VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
- What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like: How to hit the most stringent targets, with no loopholes. (David Roberts, Vox)
- A Global Shift To Sustainability Would Save Us $26 Trillion (Vox)
- Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
- An Optimist's Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)
- The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. (Politico)
- The world's bleak climate situation, in 3 charts: We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. (Vox)
- The Climate Risks We Face (NY Times):
To stabilize global temperature, net carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero. The window of time is rapidly closing to reduce emissions and limit warming to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the goal set in the Paris climate accord. The further we push the climate system beyond historical conditions, the greater the risks of potentially unforeseen and even catastrophic changes to the climate - so every reduction in emissions helps. - The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):
Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak - sooner than you think. - A beginner's guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it's possible for the whole world to run on renewables - we merely lack the "political will." So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.