News: ‘Climate & Energy’ Archive
‘David Cameron’s commitment to the green agenda will come under the fiercest scrutiny yet this week when top climate-change experts will warn that only greater use of renewable energy – including windfarms – can prevent a global catastrophe.’
via UN urges huge increase in green energy to avert climate disaster | Environment | The Observer.
‘Almost half of new electricity generation is now renewable, and the costs of wind and solar power are falling sharply. It “should give governments confidence to forge a robust climate agreement” next year, says Achim Steiner, director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).’
via Almost half of new electricity is now clean and green – environment – 07 April 2014 – New Scientist.
‘On the same day the world’s scientists issued their latest report on climate change and the risks it poses to society, the nation’s biggest oil and gas company said the world’s climate policies are “highly unlikely” to stop it from selling fossil fuels far into the future.’
via Exxon: Highly Unlikely World Limits Fossil Fuels – ABC News.
‘Exxon Mobil, the US’s largest oil and gas company, said in a new report that world climate policies are “highly unlikely” to stop it from producing and selling fossil fuels in the near future.The firm says its oil and gas reserves will not lose value as the world adapts to rising temperatures.’
via BBC News – Exxon Mobil shrugs off climate change risk to profit.
‘Serious about battling climate change? Then you might want to consider going vegetarian. That’s because it’s looking like world temperatures will continue to climb unless people stop chowing on so much meat and dairy, according to new research from Sweden.’
‘YOKOHAMA, Japan — Climate change is already having sweeping effects on every continent and throughout the world’s oceans, scientists reported Monday, and they warned that the problem is likely to grow substantially worse unless greenhouse emissions are brought under control.’
via Panel’s Warning on Climate Risk: Worst Is Yet to Come – NYTimes.com.
‘Even a relatively small regional nuclear war could trigger global cooling, damage the ozone layer and cause droughts for more than a decade, researchers say. These findings should further spur the elimination of the more than 17,000 nuclear weapons that exist today, scientists added.’
via ‘Small’ Nuclear War Could Trigger Catastrophic Cooling – Yahoo News.
‘Much of the extreme weather that wreaked havoc in Asia, Europe and the Pacific region last year can be blamed on human-induced climate change, according to the World Meteorological Organization.’
via Scientists to climate change skeptics: Get real – CBS News.
‘It has been widely argued that if oil prices remain high, the Northern Alberta Oil Sands will fi nd their way to market, irrespective of whether the Keystone XL pipelinei s built or not. In this note I show that until 2030 the supply of Western Canadian heavy crude is projected to be signi ficantly influenced by the timing of which of the currently proposed pipelines get built. The Canadian petroleum industry projects that the supply of oil sands based heavy crudes will almost quadruple by 2030. Even if all currently proposed pipelines are built, there will be a need of additional transport capacity roughly one and half times current day production. This must either be met by additional low cost pipeline infrastructure or high cost rail/barge… These calculations suggest that Keystone XL is indeed a key requirement for Canadian producers to be able to meet their projected growth path. I suggest that not permitting Keystone XL will keep at least 1 billion barrels of Alberta heavy crude in the ground.’ ~ Maximilian Auffhammer
See the full article here, or Haas blog post
‘The report warns that the effects of human emissions of heat-trapping gases are already being felt, that the ultimate consequences could be dire, and that the window to do something about it is closing.’