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July 27, 2015
This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) chart shows the steady progress of global warming through the beginning of 2015. Image courtesy of NOAA.
On July 20, the White House recognized 12 faith leaders “for their efforts in protecting our environment and communities from the effects of climate change.” Evangelical, Franciscan, Lutheran, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Church of God and Baptist faiths were represented, displaying broad support across faiths for climate action. Awardee Kim Morrow, director of Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light, wrote on the White House website, “Our faith communities have remarkable resources to greet the climate crisis with constructive action that will make a real difference.” On June 23, White House requested nominations of members of the clergy, laypersons, and leaders of faith-based organizations who have been exceptional climate leaders.
For more information see:
Albuquerque Journal, White House Blog, Champions of Change
On July 22, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power reported out unanimously a comprehensive bill on energy, the same day the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced an energy bill. These bills both contain provisions to amend section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to allow the energy sector to violate environmental laws and regulations during an emergency or war. The House bill, which goes into more detail than the Senate version, specifies that this rule would apply to all federal, state and local laws and regulations, and apply to generation, delivery, transmission and interchange of energy for 90 days, after which the emergency order would need to be re-issued. If these provisions become law, it would allow the energy sector to ignore Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations such as the Clean Power Plan and the Mercury and Air Toxics rule, under certain circumstances.
House Bill (section 1102, page 9), Senate Bill (section 4303, page 310)
On July 20, Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) sent a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) calling for strong regulations on methane leakage from oil and gas sites. Leakage from drilling sites has created a methane hotspot the size of Delaware over the San Juan Basin in New Mexico, an estimated loss of $100 million in producer and taxpayer revenue. In their letter, the Democrats recognize that oil and gas producers are making an effort to reduce leakage, but argue the severity of the economic, public health and climate impacts of methane leakage mandates strong federal action. Sen. Udall commented, “Common-sense standards to decrease waste are a win for taxpayers and help ensure our New Mexicans will have clean air and water generations into the future.”
The Hill, Press Release
On July 21, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published data that June 2015 is the hottest June on record, echoing similar announcements from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). Average global temperatures over land and sea were 1.58 degrees F (0.88 degrees C) over 20th century average temperatures for June. June marks the fourth month with highest recorded temperatures in 2015. Overall, 2015 is on track to be the hottest year on record. NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden commented, “You can look at [this data] as another beat on the drum: ‘Please, pay attention to what’s happening.’”
International Business Times, The Christian Science Monitor, National Oceanic and and Atmospheric Administration
In July, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) announced $12 million in research grants to four carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects to examine the potential of sequestering carbon in the seafloor of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. CCS projects capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel production and compress the carbon before injecting it into rock formations. NETL is particularly interested in seafloor storage, as sites would be relatively distant from large coastal population centers, and prevent CO2 leakage from polluting drinking water. NETL hopes to facilitate a commercial undersea CCS project sometime between 2025 and 2035.
Climate Central, NETL
On July 24, the Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) released a somewhat shortened version of the United Nations (UN) draft agreement on climate change, down from 85 pages to about 80. At last month’s UN meeting on climate, held in Bonn, the conference made the unprecedented move of authorizing the ADP Co-Chairs to streamline and shorten the draft document. However, the Co-Chairs were not given authority to cut options, hindering their ability to significantly shorten the document. Co-Chairs Ahmed Djoghlaf of Algeria and Daniel Reifsnyder of the United States sorted the draft text into three parts: 1) provisions which are “appropriate for inclusion in an agreement;” 2) provisions which are “appropriate for inclusion in a decision,” post-2020 actions, or interim arrangements; and 3) all other provisions, including those “whose placement requires further clarity.”
Draft Text, ADP Co-Chairs
On July 17, Japan formally submitted its plan for emissions reductions to the United Nations (UN), pledging to slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its economy 26 percent from 2013 levels by 2030. Some criticized the pledge as unambitious, given the country recorded its second-highest emissions level during 2013, the year it is using as a baseline. The Climate Group estimate the pledge was the equivalent of reducing GHG emissions 18 percent from 1990 levels by 2030. Climate Action Tracker—which assesses a country’s climate pledges against a two degree C warming limit—rates Japan’s contribution as “inadequate.” Countries have been submitting emissions reductions plans (called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, or INDCs, in UN parlance) in advance of UN climate negotiations in Paris this December. INDC submissions now cover more than 60 percent of global emissions.
Bloomberg, The Climate Group, INDC, CAIT, Climate Action Tracker Japan
On July 21, the Marshall Islands submitted its plan for emissions reduction, called an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), to the United Nations, in advance of international climate negotiations in Paris this December. Marshall Islands set a target to reduce its emissions 32 percent below 2010 levels by 2025, and to further reduce emissions 45 percent below 2010 levels by 2030. The Islands are the first developing country to use an economy-wide goal, which is commonly used by developed countries. Kiran Sura, from the Climate Development Knowledge Network, commented, “The [Marshall Islands] has thrown down the gauntlet . . . it’s now time for other countries, especially the largest emitters, to . . . match the ambitions of this small island state.”
The Huffington Post, International Institute for Sustainable Development, UN Press Release
On July 24, Kenya submitted its plan for emissions reductions to the United Nations, the third submission of an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) this week. Kenya announced a target of 30 percent reductions from “business-as-usual” levels by 2030, and stated that it is making climate change adaptation a “significant priority,” as droughts and floods cost the country an estimated three percent of its gross domestic product. Kenya also stated it aims to increase the use of solar, geothermal and wind energy, reduce its reliance on wood fuels, and increase tree cover across the country by 10 percent. The INDC also notes that Kenya’s emissions are “relatively low,” and that its ability to reduce emissions will be dependent on international support.
Business Green, Responding to Climate Change, INDC
On July 21 and 22, about 60 mayors and other local governmental leaders from around the world convened at the Vatican to discuss ways of combating global climate change, and alleviating its impact on the world’s poor. This meeting comes less than a month after Pope Francis released his historic encyclical, “Laudato si,” or, “Praise Be to You,” which called on humanity to stand up and aggressively fight climate change. At the meeting, Pope Francis said, “We can’t say that the person is here, and the care for the environment is there . . . We can’t separate man from all else. There is a mutual impact.” At the meeting’s conclusion, the mayors pledged not only to reduce emissions in their own communities, but also to urge world leaders to enact a bold climate agreement at the United Nations climate change conference in Paris this December.
Mashable, New York Times, Daily News
On July 23, Synapse Energy Economics released report findings that if states use renewable energy production and energy efficiency to comply with the Clean Power Plan, they can realize large savings on electricity bills for consumers and businesses. The Clean Power Plan, a draft regulation on carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, offers a flexible compliance approach so states can decide how they want to reduce emissions. Synapse found that if states invest in energy efficiency programs, customers could realize monthly bill savings ranging from $0.50 in Kansas to $94 in North Dakota. Likewise, investing in renewable energy will lower states’ energy costs, and states that invest early will realize the most savings.
The Hill, Report
On July 20, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reported that 19.3 million people were forced to flee their homes as a result of natural disasters in 2014 alone, with 17.5 million of the displacements stemming from weather-related events like floods and storms. Nearly 90 percent of those affected were in Asia. Though the 2014 figure is lower than past years, NRC finds a strong, long-term upward trend in human displacement. “Climate change is expected to play a strong role in the future by increasing the frequency and intensity of such hazards,” said Alfredo Zamudio, director of the NRC's Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
Reuters, International Business Times, Report
On July 21, the scientific journal Nature Communications published a study indicating decreased consumption caused by the 2008 economic recession had a much greater impact on carbon dioxide emissions reductions between 2007 and 2013 than the rise of natural gas. Specifically, the University of California-Irvine study found that decreased consumption of goods and services accounted for 75 percent of the ten percent drop in domestic carbon dioxide emissions observed between 2007 and 2009, with only 18 percent caused by switching energy production from coal to natural gas. Ken Caldeira, a professor at the Carnegie Institute for Science’s Department of Global Ecology, commented, “This paper belies the myth that . . . we are somehow going to solve the climate problem by expanding a fossil fuel industry that depends on using the atmosphere as a waste dump for carbon dioxide pollution.”
Climate Central, Study
On July 23, the scientific journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics published a study which found the international climate goal of limiting global warming to below two degrees C is “highly dangerous,” and could lead to sea level rise of 16 feet by 2100. Former Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Institute James Hansen and 16 other atmospheric scientists and glaciologists predict a nonlinear rate of ice melt in ice sheets which have ocean contact, such as Greenland and Antarctica. Contrasting predictions made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the study says ice sheet mass loss could double in 10, 20 or 40 years, leading to meters of sea level rise and changing ocean circulation patterns. Recent ice sheet melt rates indicate a doubling time closer to the 10 year range, the study says. “We conclude that continued high emissions will make multi-meter sea level rise practically unavoidable and likely to occur this century.”
Climate Central, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Study
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1. New York City Strengthens Climate Goals
2. World Bank Holds First Methane Auction
3. Call for Volunteers to Help With Harvard Climate Science Research
Authors: Ori Gutin, Sharmen Hettipola, and Billy Lee
Editor: Laura Small
Advancing science-based climate solutions
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