Climate Change News - August 19, 2013

Mario Molina Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom for Work on Saving the Ozone Layer

On August 8, President Obama named Dr. Mario Molina one of the 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year, alongside Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. The White House press release stated that "Mario Molina is a visionary chemist and environmental scientist . . . [who] earned the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering how chlorofluorocarbons deplete the ozone layer.” Dr. Molina, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, is also a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The Medal of Freedom will be presented at the White House later this year.

For additional information see: White House Announcement , U-T San Diego

Latin American Countries Seek to Balance Economic Growth With Climate Action

Latin American governments are attempting to balance economic growth with action on climate change. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that the costs of climate change in Latin America could reach $100 billion annually by 2050, under a 2-degree Celsius warming scenario. By acting on climate change now, Brazil, Mexico and the Dominican Republic are continuing to grow their economies while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Brazil is on the path to meet its 2020 reduction targets with GHG emissions falling 39 percent between 2005 and 2010. In the same period, Brazil’s economy continued to grow 3.5 percent annually. Similarly, Mexico has passed laws to reduce GHG emissions 50 percent by 2050; they have also stipulated that 35 percent of energy should be renewable by 2024. The law has spurred investments and job creation: renewable energy investments grew to $1.9 billion from $352 million in a one-year period. The Dominican Republic also recently pledged to reduce emissions by 25 percent relative to 2010 levels. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, the region will need to double power capacity by 2030, but it states that “Latin America can meet its future energy needs through renewable sources including solar and wind, which are sufficient to cover its projected 2050 electricity needs 22 times over.”

For additional information see: Thomson Reuters Foundation , IADB Report

White House Council of Economic Advisers and Energy Department Release Report on Necessity of Resilient Electric Grid

A report released this week by the White House Council of Economic Advisers and the Department of Energy examines the ability of the nation’s grid to weather outages stemming from natural disasters. This week marks the 10th anniversary of one of the worst power outages in the United States, during which over 10 million people lost power primarily due to problems with an aging grid. In the analysis of weather-related power outages between 2003 and 2012, the authors report that there have been 679 power outages due to weather events, and they have cost $18 billion to $33 billion annually. The report states that grid resilience is “increasingly important as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of severe weather." The report's recommendations build on President Obama’s “Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid,” which addresses grid modernization and resilience to severe weather.

For additional information see: Department of Energy

California Experiences Evidence of Climate Change

On August 7, The California Environmental Protection Agency released a report detailing the current effects of climate change in the state of California. Written by 51 scientists from the University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey, and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the report details climate-related events already happening in California, including rising sea levels and temperatures, more intense and frequent forest fires, and more intense heat waves. The report, an update to a similar one released in 2009, is a call to action for both state and local governments to enact policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. While California has enacted stricter emission laws than almost any other state, it still ranks as the 13th largest source of greenhouse gas in the world, emitting more greenhouse gasses than France, Brazil, Australia and Saudi Arabia. In 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger enacted laws that required California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent relative to 1990 levels. However, emissions are still up 3 percent relative to 1990. George Alexeeff, head of the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, commented that we should continue to “reduce the impacts of climate change and to prepare for those effects that we cannot avoid.”

For additional information see: Washington Post , The San Francisco Chronicle , San Jose Mercury News , Marin Independent Journal

Namibia Has Worst Drought in 30 Years

The current drought in Namibia is having drastic effects on Namibians, crops, and livestock, with 400,000 people at risk of going hungry. When the government declared a state of emergency after widespread crop failures in May 2013, President Hifikepunye Pohamba said, "It has now been established that climate change is here to stay and humanity must find ways and means of mitigating its effect." As the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia’s pre-existing level of food insecurity has only been worsened by the drought. One in three Namibians is at risk of malnutrition, and the lack of water for people and livestock could lengthen the crisis.

For additional information see: Washington Post , The Guardian

Climate Change Influences Investor Decisions

According to a recent report by the Global Investor Survey on Climate Change, investment portfolio owners are increasingly viewing climate change impacts and related government policies as a decision factor across their portfolios. In a report released on August 5, the survey found that 81 percent of investment owners and 68 percent of investment managers see climate change as a risk affecting their portfolios. Additionally, 70 percent of investment portfolio owners and 60 percent of investment fund managers have invested in low-carbon markets, including renewable energy. Chris Davis, director of investor programs at Ceres, says that, “much work remains to be done, especially in the U.S., to fully integrate climate risk into investment decision-making, and to advance public policies that will accelerate more low carbon investment.”

For additional information see: Bloomberg

NOAA Report Highlights Climate Change Impacts to Nation’s Shorelines

A report released by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) on August 7 reveals the effects of climate-related stressors to 28 National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR). Estuaries provide habitat to fish and shellfish and protect coastal communities from both storm surges and sea level change. The need to protect estuaries is underscored by the density of the shoreline, with 40 percent of Americans living in counties along the shoreline. Additionally, 50 percent of the gross domestic product is produced in these counties, representing 51 million jobs. Key stressors to estuarine systems were identified as pollutants, storm impacts, invasive species, habitat fragmentation, sedimentation and shoreline erosion, which are primarily caused by increased development, land use, population growth, wastewater treatment and sea level rise. Multiple factors led authors to conclude that southern coastal populations of the East and West Coasts, the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska are the most at-risk from the impacts of climate change. Dr. Dwight Trueblood, a report co-author, remarked that the results gained from the study will aide “coastal managers and local community leaders [to] make informed decisions about the best ways for coastal communities to adapt to climate change.”

For additional information see: NOAA

New Study Reassesses Impact of Soot and Methane Cuts on Climate Change

In a study released on August 12, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) found that "cutting back only on soot and methane emissions will help the climate, but not as much as previously thought." The authors argue that earlier studies had mistakenly assumed dramatic methane and soot cuts would be possible. Using more conservative assumptions, the researchers found that when reducing black carbon and methane alone, temperatures would decrease by 0.16 degrees Celsius worldwide by 2050. Previous studies, including one by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization, had suggested that strong reductions in soot and methane emissions would decrease warming by at least 0.5 degrees Celsius. Though their assumptions differ, the researchers all agree that a comprehensive climate policy, which would target methane and soot in addition to carbon, would be best. According to PNNL lead author Steve Smith, "If we want to stabilize the climate system, we need to focus on greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. Concentrating on soot and methane alone is not likely to offer much of a shortcut."

For additional information see: Reuters , Science Daily , Science Magazine , Report , UNEP/WMO Study