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April 25, 2016
On April 22 in New York, delegates from a record 171 countries signed the Paris Agreement on climate into effect. This image, courtesy of the President of Mexico, shows the heads of each delegation.
On April 22, representatives from a record 171 nations gathered in the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York City to officially sign into effect the historic deal on climate change agreed to last December – the Paris Agreement. “We are breaking records in this chamber. But records have also been broken outside . . . global temperatures, record ice loss, record carbon levels in the atmosphere. We are in a race against time," commented UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Secretary of State John Kerry signed the agreement with his toddler granddaughter in his arms, and said, "I am reminded of Nelson Mandela's very simple words, 'It always seems impossible until it is done.' While it isn't done yet, today we are on the march." The agreement needed 55 countries accounting for 55 percent of global emissions to sign it in order to come into force; it far exceeded the threshold.
For more information see:
Huffington Post, Scientific American, Time
On April 19, seven investor groups, all members of the Investor Platform for Climate Action, announced their support for the Paris Climate Agreement and called on governments to quickly implement it. These investor groups represent more than 400 investors in 40 countries, with $25 trillion in assets under management. “The agreement reached in Paris was an historic breakthrough that delivered an unequivocal signal for investors to shift assets swiftly towards the low-carbon economy,” commented Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, which represents more than 120 asset owners and managers in Europe.
For more information:
Ceres, Press Release
On April 20, the We Mean Business Coalition released a report finding that national plans to address climate submitted in the lead-up to the United Nations Paris climate agreement last December represent a minimum $13.5 trillion economic opportunity through 2030 – just for energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies. As nations invest in transportation, energy, buildings and other infrastructure, and change their policies, the report says there will be expanded market opportunity, benefits from policy alignment across borders, more long-term investment certainty and increased confidence for investors in climate management. We Mean Business is a coalition of 374 companies and 183 investors, which have a combined $7.8 trillion in revenue and manage $20.7 trillion in assets, respectively.
GreenBiz, We Mean Business
On April 18, officials in President Obama’s administration told Politico that they are poised to propose rules which could compel transportation projects that receive federal funding to track emissions and make plans to cut them. The proposal, which will come from the Federal Highway Administration, would not impose penalties or emissions targets, instead asking funding recipients to do their own monitoring, reporting and target-setting. A Department of Transportation (COT) official commented to Politico, "You can't manage what you don't measure. This is groundbreaking stuff." The administration plans for the rule to be finalized in 2016. Obama proposed a $320 billion plan in February to cut transportation emissions with a tax on oil, but Congress rejected the proposal.
Politico
On April 18, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry stating that the United States should stop supporting the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with $10 million annually, due to the membership of Palestine. Sen. Barrasso refers to a 1994 law which forbids the United States from funding any UN agency that admits a member country not internationally recognized for its sovereignty – like Palestine. Barrasso says the cutoff date for funding should be the date Palestine joined the UNFCCC. The UN climate agency is responsible for 2015’s landmark Paris climate agreement, as well as the Green Climate Fund and other global initiatives to curb global carbon emissions.
The Hill
On April 21, the United States Senate voted 85-12 to pass S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016, a bipartisan and comprehensive energy bill that supports energy efficiency projects, updating the country's aging energy infrastructure, and energy research and development. Debates on offshore drilling and funding for the Flint water crisis initially delayed passage of the bill, but a compromise reached this month moved the bill forward. It's the Senate’s first comprehensive energy bill since 2007. S.2012 will have to be reconciled with a House energy bill passed in December, which President Obama has threatened to veto. Bill co-sponsor Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she wanted the bills reconciled and passed before August.
Utility Dive
On April 18, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that cities and towns in the state can apply to receive part of a new $11 million fund for clean energy projects and to prepare for the impacts of climate change. Coinciding with Earth Week, Gov. Cuomo said that they would be awarding grants ranging from $100,000 to $2 million. New York’s latest budget appropriation increased the state's environmental protection fund to $300 million. An additional $1.4 million in grants will be awarded to farmers to support water conservation, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts. Governor Cuomo said in a statement, “With this funding we are continuing to take a proactive role in creating greener and more resilient communities while growing our economy and improving the quality of life statewide.”
New Jersey Herald, Press Release
On April 18, a study published in the journal Ecography showed that polar bears are more frequently swimming longer distances, due to climate change-related reductions in Arctic sea ice. The scientists, from the University of Alberta and Environment and Climate Change Canada, studied polar bears in the Beaufort Sea and Hudson Bay, finding that as sea ice declines, the population of bears forced to swim far distances increased from a quarter in 2004 to two-thirds in 2012. The scientists defined a long distance as more than 50 kilometers, finding that 69 percent of the bears had such swims in the time period studied, with bears swimming for a median of 3.4 days and up to 9.3 days. These swims are difficult for young bears, perhaps explaining declines in bear populations in the Beaufort Sea.
Metro News, Science Daily, Study
On April 20, researchers from Australia's National Coral Bleaching Task Force released the results from a recent survey which found that 93 percent of the coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef are bleached. Bleaching means that the colorful symbiotic algae living in the coral have left due to unfavorable water conditions such as high water temperatures and acidity, leaving the coral white. The 911 reefs in the Great Barrier are bleaching to different degrees; severe bleaching can kill coral, while corals that experience mild bleaching can recover. In the northern half of the reef 81 percent of the coral is severely bleached, and close to 50 percent is already dying. Scientists attribute recent coral bleaching trends around the world to an unusually-strong El Nino event, and worsening global climate change.
The Washington Post, USA Today, The Guardian
On April 19, the All-Party Parliamentary Group, made up of cross-party British Members of Parliament, released a new report showing evidence that human society might reach the production peak for several important nature resources, including fossil fuels, this century. The report revisited the famous 1972 MIT report Limits to Growth, which hypothesized that resource constraints could lead to an economic collapse, and found that society's current trajectory is as the original study predicted. "Faced with these challenges, there is also clearly a premium on creating political space for change and developing positive narratives of progress. A part of the aim of the APPG is to create that space, "said Tim Jackson, co-author of the report. The authors warned policy makers to be prepared and encouraged policy adjustment for incoming limits of the resources.
CUSP, Medium, Report
Legislature Says Jerry Brown Can't Set Climate Targets
Bill Nye Bets Climate Denier $20,000 2016 Will Be the Hottest Year on Record
Virginia General Assembly Blocks Funds for Compliance with Clean Power Plan
Sea Level Rise Will be Worse Than We Think and Come Sooner, NOAA Says
San Francisco First City to Require Solar Panels on New Buildings
BP Threatened EU to Drop Climate Policies
Authors: Taotao Luo, Anthony Rocco, and Ethan Anabel
Editor: Laura Small
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