Advanced Search
June 13, 2016
On June 7, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi met with President Obama and made new commitments on climate change, and the following day PM Modi announced their agreements on climate to Congress. Image courtesy of the White House.
On June 7, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi met with President Obama and made new commitments on climate change. Modi pledged to ratify the Paris Climate Agreement this year, and Obama reaffirmed the intent of the United States to join the Agreement as soon as possible. Modi and Obama also agreed to work together on controlling hydrofluorocarbons (a group of chemicals used as refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases), low-emissions development strategies, and tackling airline emissions through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
After meeting with Obama, Modi went to Congress on June 8 to discuss the partnership between India and the United States on climate change. Modi told Congress that "the protection of environment and caring for the planet is central to [Indians'] shared vision of a just world."
For more information see:
Joint Statement, USA Today, The Hill, Politico, IGSD Press Release
On June 6-7, the eighth China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue took place in Beijing, China, and the United States and China renewed their commitment to cooperate on climate change and implement the Paris Climate Agreement. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong to reaffirm their intention to bring the Paris Agreement into force as quickly as possible, phasedown hydrofluorocarbons (a class of chemicals used as refrigerants that are highly potent greenhouse gases), and support the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to put in place a global market-based mechanism to address airline emissions. Next year's China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue will take place in Boston, which Sec. Kerry stated was "in the eye of the climate change storm."
Secretary's Remarks, Fact Sheet, Boston Globe
On June 10, the House of Representatives, by a 237-163 vote, passed a nonbinding "Sense of the House" resolution (H.R.Con. 89) that a "carbon tax would be detrimental to American families and businesses, and is not in the best interest of the United States." Every Republican, and six Democrats, voted in favor of the resolution. The measure, sponsored by Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), is supported by Americans for Prosperity and the American Energy Alliance, which both receive funding from the Koch brothers. Koch Industries' top lobbyist, Philip Ellender, supported the resolution in a letter on June 9. Republican energy lobbyist Mike McKenna commented, "When you're trying to make a particular policy toxic, you make people vote on it."
The Hill, Politico, The Hill
On June 9, 19 Democratic members of Congress from California wrote to California Attorney General Kamala Harris in support of her investigation into allegations that ExxonMobil deliberately misled the public about the science of climate change. In the letter, the Democrats decried a letter House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) wrote to 17 attorneys general and eight foundations and nonprofits on June 1, requesting documents on their investigations into Exxon. The Democrats said Chairman Smith's letter was "nothing more than part of his continued agenda to assault climate science."
The Hill, Letter
On June 6, the United Nations released proposals asking business leaders, governments and cities to develop voluntary plans for deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Moroccan Delegate Minister Hakima El Haite and French Ambassador Laurence Tubiana spearheaded the request. In the proposals, the UN writes that "going through the process of developing a mid-century strategy will help . . . achieve the long-term goals embedded in the Paris Agreement." The United States, China and France have already committed to submit emissions reductions strategies for 2050, but other countries have been slow to join them.
ClimateChangeNews, Proposals
On June 7, researchers with Resources for the Future, Harvard University, and Syracuse University released a new project for the Science Policy Exchange in the journal PLOS ONE that found the United States would gain a net benefit of about $33 billion annually from carbon rules on power plants. The study found that the United States would gain $29 billion annually in health co-benefits and $21 billion annually in climate benefits from power plant carbon restrictions, while paying about $17 billion annually. "We found that the health benefits would outweigh the estimated costs of the carbon standard in our study for 13 out of 14 power sector regions within five years of implementation," said study lead author Jonathan Buonocore at Harvard University.
Phys.org, Study
On June 6, a new report by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economic and Policy at London School of Economics and Political Science, written by Dimitri Zenghelis and Lord Nicholas Stern, found that businesses which do not account for climate risks are vulnerable to economic decline or bankruptcy. The report says, "it is becoming increasingly risky for companies to pin all business strategies on the assumption that extensive decarbonisation will not happen." Stern and Zenghelis submitted the report to the Michael Bloomberg-chaired Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.
CleanTechnica, Press Release
On June 7, the National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIDC) released an analysis showing that Arctic sea ice in May 2016 was at a record low amount of coverage, at 4.63 million square miles. That is 224,000 square miles less than the previous record lowest extent for May in 2004, and 537,000 square miles less than the 1981-2010 long-term average for May – equivalent to the size of three Californias. Mark Serreze, director of NSIDC, said, "We've never seen anything like this before. It's way below the previous record, very far below it." The center noted that May 2016's sea ice extent were two to four weeks more melted than 2012, the year when the lowest Arctic sea ice extent ever was measured, putting 2016 on track to break 2012's record. January, February, and April 2016 all broke records for low Arctic sea ice extent as well.
Washington Post, NSIDC
On June 9, a new study published in the journal Science stated that moderate global warming may pressure large populations of humans, animals and plants in the tropics to relocate in order to find the temperature range they are accustomed to. Study lead author Solomon Hsiang at the University of California, Berkeley, commented that "people are not really talking about the tropics," but a little bit of warming can make a large difference there. "Once it's 95 degrees, one more degree can actually be very damaging to crops, very damaging to human health," Hsiang said.
The Washington Post, Study
DC Divest Claims Victory as Washington, DC Divests Its Coal, Oil, Gas Holdings
Levels of Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere Hit New Record High
Bay Area Considers Sea Level Rise Tax
Congressman Fights Back Against Science Committee Request of State AGs on ExxonMobil
Diving into the Great Barrier Reef Bleaching Catastrophe
Solar Made Up Majority of New Energy Capacity Additions in Beginning of 2016
Author: Laura Small
Editor: Carol Werner
Advancing science-based climate solutions
Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity