Climate Change News - May 4, 2015 | Newsletter

Planting a spring garden? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a map showing the "new normal" planting zones after climate change. Image courtesy of NOAA.

United States Takes Over Arctic Council Chairmanship, with Climate Change Focus

On April 24, Secretary of State John F. Kerry took over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council on behalf of the United States. Secretary Kerry will be chairman of the council for a two-year term, after which it will pass to another of the eight Arctic Circle countries that belong to the Council. At a gathering on Canada’s Baffin Island, Secretary Kerry’s comments focused on climate change, saying the United States was going to work to reduce emissions of black carbon and methane to help the Arctic. Kerry warns, “Temperatures are increasing at more than twice the rate of the global average [in the Arctic], which means the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems and the ability of future generations to adapt and live and prosper in the Arctic is tragically, but actually, in jeopardy.”

For more information see:

The Globe and Mail, The LA Times, Alaska Dispatch News

Court Upholds EPA’s First Regulations on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Trucks

On April 24, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously ruled that California companies cannot sue to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from carrying out its efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions rules for heavy trucks. The EPA rule was challenged by a California trucking association and a construction company, who complained about increased prices. According to the court, the companies cannot challenge the regulation, because there is insufficient evidence that the EPA rule, and not a nearly identical Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) fuel efficiency rule, is responsible for increases in prices. “Even were we to vacate the EPA standards, the NHTSA standards would still increase the price of vehicles,” the court wrote.

For more information see:

The Hill, The United States Court of Appeals

State Department Calls Climate Change “Strategic Priority” In Quadrennial Review

On April 29, the State Department released its Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). The document outlined four foreign policy priorities through 2020, including climate change, terrorism, economic growth and promoting democracies. The QDDR says the US should target diplomacy at countries with a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and directly engage with business leaders, women’s groups, faith leaders, and local governments to further emissions reductions goals. Additionally, the QDDR called for climate change to become a “core competency” for all State and US Agency for International Development (USAID) officials, and said all embassies should appoint a point person for climate change.

For more information see:

Vox, RTCC, State, QDDR

California Governor Issues Executive Order on Greenhouse Gases

On April 29, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order requiring the state to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030. This new target is an interim goal on the way to an 80 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2050, and an improvement on the previous goal to reach 1990 levels by 2020, both set in place during former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s time in office. California is already well on its way to meet the 2020 goal, and this new interim target will increase its pace of renewable energy implementation. Gov. Brown’s goal puts the state in line with standards in the European Union. Brown said, “California is now setting the pace, and we’re very serious about it.”

For more information see:

The New York Times, The LA Times, Bloomberg News, Executive Order

Pope Francis Holds Summit on Climate Change

On April 28, Pope Francis Benedict XVI held a climate summit at the Vatican, keynoted by United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. At the event, Cardinal Peter Turkson, who covers peace and justice issues for the Pope, said a “full conversion” of hearts and minds is necessary to conquer global warming. Turkson has been working to draft an encyclical, or papal statement, which will outline the Catholic Church’s position on climate change. The encyclical is due to be released in June. The Pope is scheduled to speak before the UN General Assembly and the US Congress, events Ban Ki-Moon says will have a profound impact on upcoming climate change negotiations in Paris this year. In related news, Heartland Institute, a American libertarian think tank, announced it is sending representatives to Rome to try to convince the Pope to reverse his position on climate change.

For more information see:

The National Journal, The Guardian, The New York Times, Related News Grist

Japan Announces Greenhouse Gas Reductions of 26% by 2030

On April 30, Japan released its final draft greenhouse gas reduction target, pledging to cut emissions 26 percent below 2013 levels by 2030, comparable to a 25.4 percent reduction from 2005 levels. Their new target is less ambitious than the US target of 26-28 percent below 2005 levels and the European Union’s target of 35 percent below 2005 levels, sparking some criticism from environmental groups. The Japanese government will finalize the target after a public comment period. The target will be used to craft Japan’s submission to the United Nations climate negotiations, to be discussed in Paris in December. United Kingdom former deputy prime minister John Prescott wrote a letter to Kyodo News citing his “grave concern” over the target, saying it “could send the wrong signal to other nations on Japan’s commitment to multilateralism.”

For more information see:

Bloomberg, Fox News, RTCC

Island States Submit Proposal to Phase Down Potent Greenhouse Gas

On April 1, eight Pacific Island countries submitted a formal proposal for the phase down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases used primarily as coolants in air conditioners and refrigerators, through an amendment to the Montreal Protocol ozone treaty. The Federated States of Micronesia, which spearheaded this proposal six years ago, gained co-sponsorships this year from Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Palau, the Philippines, Samoa and Solomon Islands. India, Canada, Mexico, the United States and the European Union also submitted amendment proposals this year. “The island states recognize that the HFC amendment is the world’s best near-term plan to slow climate change, making it a top priority for many countries already suffering climate impacts,” said Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development.

Formal Amendment Proposal, IGSD Press Release, Washington Post

Report Says 75 Percent of Heat Waves Caused By Climate Change

On April 27, the journal Nature Climate Change published an article, “Anthropogenic Contribution to Global Occurrence of Heavy-Precipitation and High-Temperature Extremes,” which found that 75 percent of very hot days and 18 percent of heavy rain or snow events are linked to anthropogenic climate change. The study posits that should average global temperatures rise by two degrees Celsius, extreme precipitation weather events which are attributable to anthropogenic climate change will increase 40 percent. The study analyzed weather data from 25 climate models spanning from 1901 through 2005, in addition to climate projections for 2006 to 2100.

For more information see:

Bloomberg News, Time, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Study

Report Says Half of World’s Pension Funds Unprotected from Climate Change Implications

On April 27, the Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP) released their annual ranking of how 500 of the largest global asset owners, whose cumulative assets amount to nearly $40 trillion, are doing on climate performance. AODP found that only a small number are making alterations in investments to reflect risks caused by climate change, although 50 percent of the assets surveyed are at risk from climate change. Only nine asset owners received an AAA rating, meaning that the owner had a strategy to protect themselves from long-term risks associated with climate change. Julian Poulter, AODP’s CEO, said, “They’re betting around 20-1 that either the fossil fuel company influence will last forever or that their fund managers will bail them out of a crisis – but that didn’t work too well during the last systemic crisis did it?”

For more information see:

The Guardian, Blue & Green Tomorrow, The Wall Street Journal, Asset Owners Disclosure Project