Climate Change News - July 13, 2015 | Newsletter

On July 9, the journal Science published research showing that even if the globe heats by less than two degrees Celsius, sea levels may still rise 20 feet above current levels. The image above shows what 25 feet of sea level rise would look like in Venice Beach, California. Image published with permission from Nickolay Lamm.

OMB Tells Federal Agencies to Consider Climate Change in Budget Requests

On July 1, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a blog post requesting that federal agencies consider the impacts of climate change in their 2017 federal budget requests. The post, by Ali Zaidi, the associate director for natural resources, energy and science at OMB, highlights the financial benefits of investing in climate resiliency. Zaidi writes, “Making our Federal facility investments climate-smart reduces our fiscal exposure to the impacts of climate change. It’s the right thing to do . . . to return the highest value to the American taxpayer.” The post also highlights examples where the federal government’s assets are already being impacted by climate change.

For more information see:

The Hill, White House Blog

White House Updates “Social Cost of Carbon”

On July 2, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a blog post with changes to its calculation of the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC), the long-term dollar value of one ton of carbon dioxide’s (CO2) damage to society. The OMB blog stated that the new 2015 SCC updated value is $36/ton of CO2, and announced the publication of a formal response to the 150 substantive comments and 39,000 form letters submitted in 2013 during the last public comment period on the SCC. In addition, OMB has requested the assistance of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine to assist with future updates to ensure the value is as accurate and effective as possible. The public will continue to receive opportunities to comment on the SCC.

For more information see:

FierceGovernment, White House Blog

Senators Introduce Competing Amendments on K-12 Climate Education

On July 9, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MI) introduced an amendment to “The Every Child Achieves Act of 2015” which would require federal agencies to give K-12 teaching materials to states and local educational agencies that describe the “natural causes and cycles of climate change.” Specifically, Sen. Wicker’s amendment tells the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide materials which describe “the uncertainties inherent in climate modeling and the myriad factors that influence the climate of the Earth.” Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) has offered two competing amendments, the first of which would set up a federal grant program to promote climate science curricula, and the second of which is a nonbinding resolution that the United States has a responsibility to educate children about climate change.

For more information see:

National Journal, The Every Child Achieves Act of 2015

Senate Committee Passes Bipartisan Amendment to Fund Green Climate Fund

On July 9, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 16-14 to pass an amendment offered by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) on the State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill. The approved amendment allows the State Department to put aside funds for investment in the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Two Republicans voted for the amendment, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Sen. Kirk is also a co-sponsor. The South Korea-based GCF is an international fund set up by the United Nations (UN) which seeks to invest money from developed countries in climate mitigation and adaptation efforts in the developing world. President Obama promised $3 billion to the GCF in 2014. Follow-through on this promise will be important for an ambitious deal on climate during UN negotiations in Paris this December.

For more information see:

Press Release, The White House

States and Regions in North and South America Sign Climate Change Action Statement

On July 7-9, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change hosted the Climate Summit of the Americas in Toronto. The summit brought together indigenous leaders, environmental groups and representatives from states, provinces, cities and regions in the Western Hemisphere to discuss the urgency of climate action. A pledge signed by 22 state and regional governments (including Ontario, Quebec, Sao Paolo, and Vermont) called for their governments to support carbon pricing, undertake climate action in key sectors, meet existing greenhouse gas reduction targets, and undergo public reporting. The first ever Pan-American climate action statement also called for more to be done ahead of the United Nations climate negotiations in Paris this December.

For more information see:

Press Release, Summit website, Vice News

Institute Pushes State PUCs to Reject Clean Power Plan

On July 8, the Institute for Energy Research (IER) sent a letter to all 50 state public utility commissioners (PUCs) urging them to reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP). The letter highlights a new IER report, which used data from the Federal Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to conclude that new forms of electricity generation are all at least twice as expensive as traditional coal power. As the CPP will incentivize the transition away from coal generation, IER says the CPP would “shackle American families with higher costs for decades to come.” Thomas Pyle, President of IER, urges the PUCs to “stand up to the agency’s costly agenda.” In 2012, Politico reported that IER is funded by libertarian oil-billionaires the Koch brothers, and that Thomas Pyle is a former Koch Industries lobbyist.

For more information see:

Institute for Energy Research, Letter, Politico

Report Calls for $1 Trillion in Annual Spending on Climate

On July 6, the Global Commission on the Economy and the Climate published a report with recommendations on how to transition to a global low carbon economy. Among its recommendations, the report called for a global annual investment of $1 trillion in clean energy. The report says if its ten recommendations are followed, by 2030 they will save cities $1.58 trillion on annual energy costs and achieve 96 percent of the emissions reductions necessary to avoid two degrees Celsius in global warming. The recommendations include strategies such as improving urban infrastructure, public transit, energy efficiency, and waste management. Felipe Calderon, former President of Mexico and current Chair of the Commission, said, “This report shows that success is possible: we can achieve economic growth and close the dangerous emissions gap.”

For more information see:

Time, Commodities Now, Report

EDF Studies Says Methane Emissions 50 Percent Higher than EPA Estimates

On July 7, the peer-reviewed scientific journal Environmental Science and Technology published a series of 11 papers on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The research found that methane emissions in the Texas Barnett Shale are 50 percent higher than estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To reach this conclusion, 12 different research teams took measurements on an area including 40 processing plants, 275 compressor stations and 30,000 oil and gas wells. These studies, called the “Barnett Coordinated Campaign,” are the latest in EDF’s $18 million research series exploring the impacts of oil and gas emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20 year period.

For more information see:

Insideclimate News, Study

Oceans to Change Irreversibly Without Carbon Emissions Reductions

On July 3, the journal Science published a new study comparing the future of the world’s oceans under two global emissions scenarios, one with “business-as-usual” (BAU) emissions and one with deep emissions cuts to keep warming below two degrees Celsius. Based on experiments, field observations and computer simulations, the study found the BAU scenario would impact the world’s oceans enormously and be “effectively irreversible.” The study noted that the oceans will still be greatly impacted even if emissions are cut enough to prevent two degrees C warming. The study says, “Despite the ocean’s critical role in regulating climate—and providing food security and livelihoods for millions of people—international climate negotiations have only minimally considered impacts on the ocean.”

For more information see:

The Guardian, The Market Business, Study