Climate Change News - May 11, 2015

This graph shows historical observations of average global carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere since 1980, measured as parts per million. The small up and down movements of the line showing carbon dioxide levels are caused by seasonal growth and decay cycles of plants. On May 6, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed March had an average carbon dioxide level of 400 ppm, the highest in a million years. Image courtesy of climate.gov.

NOAA Reports Highest Level of Carbon Dioxide in a Million Years

On May 6, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the global average carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration was above 400 parts per million (ppm) during March, for the first time in a million years. Specific locations have surpassed 400 ppm concentrations before, such as Mauna Loa in 2013 and the Arctic in 2012, but this is the first time global averages have surpassed 400 ppm. Pieter Tans, lead scientist of NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, stated, “This marks the fact that humans burning fossil fuels have caused global carbon dioxide concentrations to rise more than 120 parts per million since pre-industrial times. . . half of that rise has occurred since 1980.”

For more information see:

Bloomberg News, Climate Central, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

 

NOAA Finds Arctic Ice Has Hit Lowest Point Since Satellite Records Began

On May 5, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists reported that the Arctic ice cap had the smallest extent of winter ice since the late 1970s, when satellite monitoring of the polar region began. In addition, the “peak thickness” of the Arctic ice came in February, weeks ahead of its usual peak in mid-March. “We had less ice this winter in the Arctic than any other winter during the satellite era,” Jeff Key, a specialist with NOAA, confirmed during a media briefing. The scientists said this development is consistent with predictions that the Arctic will have ice-free summers by 2040. Key added that the ice trends in the Arctic have implications for weather in North America, Europe and Asia. “[This] is certainly going to change weather patterns . . . It’s going to be a different world out there I think in 20, 30, 30 years,” Key added.

For more information see:

The Guardian, CBC News, Business Standard

 

Ten Towns Feeling Climate Change Impacts Ask Coal Industry for Reparations

On May 5, ten mountain towns in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico sent a letter to Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Sally Jewell, 11 members of Congress and several high level officials in the White House, calling on them to raise coal lease payments on federal lands. Fifty percent of the revenue from federal coal lease payments is diverted to states for disbursement to local communities. Coal companies pay far below the market price for coal mining leases on federal lands, leading to smaller payouts to communities. These towns want the federal lease payments raised so they can receive more funds, which they intend to use for climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives. “Coal companies are taking advantage of gaping loopholes that allow them to pay less, thus depriving many Western states and taxpayers across the country their fair share of the revenues raised from coal leased on federal land,” the letter says.

For more information see:

The Denver Post, Grist, The Salt Lake Tribune

 

World’s Largest Electronic Carbon Trading Exchange Launches New Platform in RGGI

On May 6, Carbon Trade Exchange (CTX), a multi-national company which has the largest electronic trading exchange for global carbon credits, announced the start of a new centralized exchange program to buy and sell allowances from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade program in the Northeast. The new CTX RGGI Exchange is the first exchange which provides intra-day spot trading of RGGI credits, enabling same-day delivery of carbon credits. The CTX exchange will be electronically linked to Wells Fargo for managing the transfer of participant funds. Nathan Rockliff, president of CTXUSA, said, “We are incredibly excited to see how cap-and-trade programs are making an impact on North American carbon emissions, an issue that is increasingly important around the world.” CTX will likely launch an exchange in California’s cap-and-trade program next.

For more information see:

Renewablesbiz, CTX Global

 

China’s Top Meteorologist Says Climate Change Threatens Major Infrastructure

On May 4, Zheng Guoguang, head of China’s Meteorological Administration, warned in the Chinese paper Study Times that some of China’s most vital infrastructure is vulnerable to climate change, and that the country is warming faster than the global average. Guoguang explained the “big connection” between climate change and floods, typhoons, heat waves, and droughts, which threaten critical infrastructure such as the Three Gorges Dam and a high altitude railway to Tibet. He stated in the newspaper, “Global warming affects the safety and stability of these big projects, as well as their operations and economic effectiveness, technological standards and engineering methods.” Guoguang added that confronting climate change can put China on a more sustainable economic growth trajectory, saying, “Climate change is a lever which can push our country’s economic transformation.”

For more information see:

Reuters, International Business Times, Southern China’s Morning post

Study Finds Clean Power Plan Would Save 3,500 Lives, Annually

On May 4, a study conducted by Syracuse and Harvard University and released in the journal Nature Climate Change found the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) would avoid an estimated average of 3,500 premature deaths and more than 1,000 heart attacks and hospitalizations related to air pollution, annually. The study used maps of the over 2,400 US fossil fuel power plants to create models of the impact of carbon policies. They found that out of three scenarios tested, the model with the greatest health benefit was in line with the EPA’s CPP. EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia stated, “This new study . . . supports EPA’s findings that reducing carbon pollution will result in significant health benefits.” The EPA has estimated for every dollar spent on the CPP, the United States could see a seven dollar return in health benefits from lower health costs related to heart and lung disease.

For more information see:

The New York Times, The Hill, Washington Post, Study

 

A Third of Catholics Would Switch to Green Lifestyle if Pope Makes Climate Change Statement

A recent YouGov poll commissioned by Catholic aid agency Cafod found that out of 1,049 Catholics in England and Wales, a third of respondents would live a greener lifestyle if Pope Francis made an official statement on climate change. The poll also found that 72 percent of respondents are concerned that the world’s poorest people are affected by climate change, with 76 percent feeling a moral obligation to help those people. Additionally, 80 percent of those polled shared that as Catholics they felt a responsibility to care for the Earth as God’s creation.

For more information see:

The Independent, Catholic Herald

 

Headlines

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1. China and EU Working Together on Climate Change

2. EU Negotiators Agree to Overhaul Carbon Permit System

3. Young Arctic Ice Could Worsen Climate Change

4. Nordic Fund Worth $1.3 Trillion Is Divesting from US Coal and Oil

5. Feeding Coral Supplements to Withstand Hostile Ocean Environment

6. 3,405 Meter Long Ice Core Shows 200 Year Difference In Climate Change Effects Between Poles

7. UK Marriott Hotels Embrace Demand-Response to Cut Carbon Footprints

 

 

Events

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Economic Competitiveness: Transit’s High-Value in the Knowledge Economy

Wednesday, May 13
11:45 am - 1:30 pm

B-318 Rayburn House Office Building
Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street, SW

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) invite you to an Infrastructure Week briefing about how transit investments affect the nation’s competitiveness. The world’s economies are increasingly based on knowledge and information. High-tech, knowledge-based innovation districts are increasingly shaping the U.S. economy. What are the characteristics of a knowledge-based economy, and the people who work in it? What role does transit play in the location choices of high-value technology firms, and why? Does transit help these firms attract the workforce they want?

Lunch at 11:45 am, event starts 12:15 PM

A live webcast will be streamed at 12:15 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)

Please RSVP to expedite check-in

 

Authors: Samuel Beirne and Caitlin Madera

Editor: Laura Small