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April 4, 2016
On March March 30, a study was published in Nature detailing how the melting of the West Antarctica ice sheet, which is larger than Mexico, could by itself raise sea levels up to three feet by the end of the century. Combined with glacial melt from other areas and the thermal expansion of ocean water, the study estimates the world could experience sea level rise of five to six feet by 2100. This map shows how sea level rise of six feet would impact Washington, DC (light blue shows flooding, green shows low-lying areas). The consequences are far worse in locations like Miami and New Orleans. Explore for yourself at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) sea level rise visualizer, available here. Image courtesy of NOAA.
On March 31, 36 Democratic senators, 157 Democratic representatives and 15 former legislators filed a legal brief in the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia to support the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulation on carbon emissions from existing power plants, called the Clean Power Plan. The amicus brief contends that the Clean Power Plan is “a valid exercise of authority, and one that helps effectuate the policy that Congress set for the nation in the [Clean Air Act]. To hold otherwise would critically undermine not only the nation’s fight against air pollution, but also the statutory scheme that Congress put in place when it enacted the [Clean Air Act].” Among the former legislators was former Republican Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), who retired in 2007. In February, a group of 34 senators and 171 representatives filed a brief opposing the Clean Power Plan.
For more information see:
Politico, Morning Consult, Amicus Brief
On March 28, Department of Justice attorneys provided the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia with a legal defense of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, a regulation on carbon emissions from existing power plants. The government is defending the regulation against a coalition of states, businesses and trade associations which filed two opening briefs in early February alleging both that the rule is illegal and that the EPA did not follow proper procedure in creating the rule. The 175-page reply brief asserts that EPA is operating with "well-established authority," and that its legal opponents "seek to thwart any federal limitation" on carbon emissions from power plants. The court will hear oral arguments on June 2, and likely release its decision in late summer or early fall.
In related news, on March 29, a coalition of 18 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals supporting EPA authority to cut carbon emissions at existing power plants through the Clean Power Plan. A coalition of environmental organizations, including Earth Justice, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club, also filed a brief supporting EPA the same day.
Politico, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Hill, Environmental Leader
On March 31, the United States and China released a joint statement affirming their commitment to sign last December’s United Nations (UN) deal on climate change at the coming April 22 (coincidentally, Earth Day) signing event in New York. Both nations encouraged other countries to sign onto the deal as well. To come into effect, the Paris agreement needs a minimum of 55 signatures which cover 55 percent of global emissions. Together, the United States and China account for over 40 percent of global emissions, making their early commitment critical for the deal's success. White House senior adviser Brian Deese commented, "Our hope is that as that process proceeds, you will see growing momentum toward having this agreement enter into force early and swiftly."
The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, White House
On March 25, the Department of Energy (DOE) approved the Plains and Eastern Clean Line, a proposed 705-mile transmission line to move 4,000 megawatts of wind power generated in Oklahoma and Texas to the southeastern United States. This is the first time DOE has used a 2005 statute to approve an interstate project over state objections. The developer, Clean Line Energy LLC, plans to start construction in 2017 on what company president Michael Skelly calls the "largest clean energy infrastructure project in the nation." DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz commented, "Moving remote and plentiful power to areas where electricity is in high demand is essential for building the grid of the future." Clean Line Energy LLC plans to have the new line in service by 2020.
Bloomberg, The Hill
On March 29, a new coalition of 25 states, cities and countries led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was announced at a one-day climate change conference. The coalition will work together on climate-related initiatives, such as defending the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) air regulations, including those on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. “With gridlock and dysfunction gripping Washington, it is up to the states to lead on the generation-defining issue of climate change,” said Schneiderman.
For more information:
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman
On March 29, Attorneys General from Massachusetts and the Virgin Islands announced that they would be joining New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in investigating whether ExxonMobil has been lying to the public and its shareholders for decades about climate change. The investigation, which Sneiderman began in November, was prompted by 2015 reports from Inside Climate News and the Los Angeles Times that ExxonMobil’s climate change-doubting statements were out of line with its own in-house climate research. ExxonMobil's actions are being compared to tobacco companies' denial of science linking smoking to cancer, which was found to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Executive Director of 350.org May Boeve commented, “With more states jumping on board, these investigations are sure to generate some waves.” California began a separate investigation into ExxonMobil earlier this year.
New York Times, Bloomberg
On March 30, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill 97-39 that would set a new, more ambitious state target to reduce greenhouse gases 40 percent by 2030, an increase from the existing target of 25 percent reductions from 2006 levels by 2020. Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Mike Tidwell commented, “This bold, and strikingly bipartisan, commitment to stronger climate action will help protect Maryland’s economy, health, and increasingly flooded shoreline.” The measure now awaits Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s signature.
Washington Post, Capital Gazette
On March 28, a new Gallup Poll was released showing that 69 percent of Americans agreed with recent scientific reports that 2015 set heat records. The same poll of 1,019 adults found that 49 percent thought human-caused climate change was the cause, with 46 percent saying the record heat was from natural changes. Gallup reports that similar numbers of Republicans and Democrats were aware of reports that 2015 set heat records, but that there are "striking partisan differences in terms of belief in the reports' accuracy," with 84 percent of Democrats persuaded by the scientists and just 52 percent of Republicans. The poll also found that young adults (18-34) were more likely to find the science credible than older adults (55 and up).
International Business Times, Gallup Poll
On April 1, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFC), created in December 2015 by the Financial Stability Board, released its "phase 1" report outlining the scope and objectives for the Task Force's coming guidance on how companies should report climate-related financial risk. "The TCFD's plans represent a robust and comprehensive approach to providing investors the information they needs," commented Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres and director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR). The Financial Stability Board's member organizations include 204 long-term investors who manage more than $30 trillion in assets.
Press Release, Ceres Press Release, Phase 1 Report
On March 28, the Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) released an order requiring power transmission companies to connect all of the current renewable energy generation that complies with their technical standards to the country's electricity grid. Reuters reports that a sizable quantity of China's wind and solar power generation has been kept off the electricity grid, because the transmission industry is three to five years behind power installations. With this new order, NEA hopes to force the country's transmission companies to catch up. One of China's two largest transmission companies, the State Grid Corp of China, stated that it plans on using ulta-high voltage (UHV) long-distance lines to transfer renewable generation to population centers.
In related news, on March 28, the Chinese province of Hebei announced plans to reduce air pollution, increase clean energy and diminish heavy industry in the region to prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Zhao Kezhi, the Communist Party leader of Hebei, one of China's most polluted provinces, said the province would reduce coal consumption by 40 million metric tons by 2017, as well as cut annual crude steel capacity to below 200 million metric tons and reduce particulate matter levels 50 percent from 2013 levels by 2020.
Reuters, Reuters
On March 29, a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found that China's emissions and coal consumption may not have fallen as much as the International Energy Agency (IEA) or the Chinese government have recently estimated. China reports that its coal consumption dropped 2.9 percent in 2014, which IEA estimates amounts to a 1.5 percent reduction in emissions. However, the study states China's data is "frequently revised" and has "large anomalies," making this estimate uncertain. The study authors say that the preliminary reports were "inappropriate for estimating CO2 emissions," suggesting that China’s coal consumption remained flat in 2014, with an associated 0.8 percent increase in fossil fuel energy emissions. The study added that China's emissions likely decreased in 2015. “Our estimates show that the growth in Chinese emissions has slowed a lot in the past two to three years, and is now much lower than at any point since the early 2000s,” commented CICERO’s Jan Ivar Korsbakken, the study's lead author.
Nature, Study
On March 28, scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography released a report in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences that found that the low-growing mangrove forests of Baja California store as much or more carbon as tall mangroves found around the world. The study states that "despite their small height and stunted appearance," the 300,000 acres of Baja California's mangroves sequester the same amount of carbon as 60 million American cars emit annually. The study found that Baja California's mangroves adapted to sea level rise in the region by migrating and growing on top of each other, helping prevent erosion on coastlines and storing layers of carbon-rich peat underground.
Climate Central, Study
On March 30, a study was published in Nature detailing how the melting of the West Antarctica ice sheet, which is larger than Mexico, could by itself raise sea levels up to three feet by the end of the century. Combined with glacial melt from other areas and the thermal expansion of ocean water, the study estimates the world could experience sea level rise of five to six feet by 2100. Beyond 2100, the West Antarctic ice sheet could contribute to a rate of sea level rise of about one foot per decade. "We are not saying this is definitely going to happen," said study co-author David Pollard from Penn State University, "but I think we are pointing out that there's a danger, and it should receive a lot more attention." Previous sea level rise estimates had assumed there would be minimal ice melt from Greenland and Antarctica.
The Washington Post, Nature, New York Times
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