Climate Change News - October 20, 2014

This image shows the global average temperature in September 2014, which was the hottest September ever recorded. Image courtesy of NASA/GISS.

The Pentagon Releases Plan for Climate Change
On October 13, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel released a plan for how the U.S. military will address the effects of climate change during an address to the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas in Arequipa, Peru. The Pentagon report, "2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap," presents new challenges for the military stemming from rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, increasing sea levels and intensifying weather events. Hagel said, “I recognize that our militaries play different roles and have different responsibilities in each of our nations. I also recognize that climate change will have different impacts in different parts of the hemisphere. But there are many opportunities [for militaries in different countries] to work together.” The report authors say rising temperatures and increasingly severe weather could lead to food, water and electricity shortages that could generate instability in many countries, spread disease, and open the door for extremists in already unstable countries. “Climate change is a ‘threat multiplier’ because it has the potential to exacerbate many of the challenges we already confront today—from infectious disease to armed insurgencies—and to produce new challenges in the future,” said Hagel. In recent years, the Pentagon has made efforts to reduce the military's carbon footprint by using renewable fuels and conducting maintenance to manage water use and natural resource use.
For more information see:
Associated Press, LA Times, U.S. Department of Defense, Report
 

Diplomat Todd Stern Outlines U.S. Vision for International Climate Deal
On October 14, Todd Stern discussed the United States’ vision going into the 2015 United Nations climate change talks in Paris. Stern, who has been the chief U.S. climate negotiator since 2009, said, “We are moving towards a tipping point in political will and public support for a global climate deal.” Stern expressed his interest in a proposal set forth by New Zealand that would legally require countries to develop, submit and then report on a climate change plan, but has no legal ramifications if a country’s commitments are not met. Stern said, “Technological developments and political momentum will allow the U.S. to put forward significantly more ambitious targets in five years time than it can now.” Shaun Donovan, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, commented, “The more we [the United States] do, the more our ability to push other countries to make bold commitments as well, particularly China.” The current U.S. pledge is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
For more information see:
National Journal, Reuters
 

Minnesota Beginning to Address Climate Change Vulnerabilities
On October 13, the Minnesota Department of Health released a report outlining the state’s vulnerabilities to climate change, especially extreme heat events, air pollution and flooding. The report used geographic information systems (GIS) to display vulnerable populations and scales of climate hazards in different counties across the state. Pete Boulay, an assistant state climatologist for the Department of Natural Resources, told Minnesota Public Radio, “Since 1895, annual precipitation has increased three inches in Minnesota. Temperatures are also rising, especially overnight lows. Overnight minimum temperatures have warmed more than two and a have degrees in the summer and five and half degrees in winter.” These temperature changes extend the season for mosquitoes, ticks and pollen, as well as expand their habitat, with negative impacts on human health. Flooding and flash floods also pose risk to certain communities, commented Kristen Raab, Director of the Minnesota Climate and Health Program. Raab noted that many counties with trailer parks and limited access to public transportation are at a higher risk. “I don’t think it’s really a question of whether you believe in climate change or not. . . these are things happening in Minnesota and here’s the data. And we’d like you to start thinking about the data,” Raab commented.
For more information see:
Minnesota Public Radio, Minnesota DOH Report, SCT Times
 

Schwarzenegger Leads R20 Conference on Climate Change in Paris
On October 10 and 11, the World Summit of Regions for Climate was held in Paris to gather international officials and business leaders and advocate for climate efforts in the business sector, leading up to next year’s United Nations climate conference in Paris. The summit, organized by R20-Regions of Climate Action, was spear-headed by former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It ended with signatures by prominent leaders committing to address climate change through concrete actions, and calling on nations to reach an agreement to cut greenhouse gases at next year’s United Nations summit. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius praised Schwarzenegger for his work on climate change, saying that it is “rare that a Terminator can be at the same time an innovator.” After meeting French President Francois Holland, Schwarzenegger said, “Climate change is not science fiction . . . it’s the challenge of our times,” and added that to “do nothing will cost us” and “we cannot wait on the state or an international agreement to act.”
For more information see:
AFP, Radio France Internationale, Voice of America
 

World Bank Head Says Climate Change and Ebola Call for Similar Strategies
On October 10, World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim gave a speech at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group annual meeting in Washington D.C. During the speech, Kim said the Ebola and climate change crises share common consequences and require similar strategies to tackle, adding that both have so far received and insufficient global response. “Inaction is literally killing people–one because of the rapid spread of a deadly virus, the other from the poisoning of the atmosphere and the oceans,” remarked Kim, who has a background as an infectious disease physician. In order to catalyze climate action, he called for a five-part plan: carbon pricing, clean city design, agricultural reform, renewable energy investment, and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies. Senior fellow Saleemul Huq of the International Institute for Environment and Development said, “It speaks to the issue of it being an interconnected globe now. The rich can’t isolate themselves from the poor. They can check at the borders and the airports, but they can’t stop it coming in.”
For more information see:
Responding to Climate Change, EcoWatch
 

Investors Representing $300 Billion Call for Methane Regulations
On October 9, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a letter from a coalition of investors representing more than $300 billion in assets, calling for the development of new regulations on methane emissions. Methane warms the atmosphere 28 times more than carbon dioxide over a 100 year period, and accounted for nine percent of human-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2012, according to the EPA. The letter calls for strong national standards in order to build confidence in natural gas, saying that current, voluntary emissions-reduction measures are insufficient. “As the industry is highly dispersed, a national framework, in collaboration with states, is the right approach to ensure simplicity, consistency and certainty,” wrote the investors. The letter added that cost-effective, proven methods to reduce emissions already exist, and simply need to be implemented. New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, who represents $160 billion in New York City Pension Funds, said policy regulating methane emissions can benefit investors, the economy, and the environment. “With natural gas production increasing dramatically throughout the U.S., we must take action now to ensure that this bridge to a truly renewable future is harnessed in a manner that limits the effect on our atmosphere and maximizes value for shareholders,” stated Stringer.
For more information see:
Trillium News, Bloomberg, Letter
 

UCS Proposes Adding More Renewable Energy to EPA Draft Rule
On October 14, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published a policy report suggesting that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has underestimated the potential of renewable energy as a compliance option for its recently released draft regulations on carbon emissions from existing power plants, called the Clean Power Plan (CPP). The UCS report says states have double the renewable energy potential the EPA calculated in the CPP, and if states used this potential fully, they could cost-effectively cut carbon emissions 10 percent more than the current EPA goal of 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. According to the UCS report, seven states are already using more renewable energy than EPA 2030 target levels. Seventeen more states have laws that will require greater use of renewable energy than the EPA’s proposed targets. The report concluded that the CPP could be strengthened by expanding renewable energy’s role in achieving emissions reduction targets; strengthening state emissions reduction and renewable energy targets; and implementing measures to prevent double counting in renewable generation. If these recommendations were adopted as part of the CPP, the report estimates  that renewable energy would provide 23 percent of the nation’s power in 2030 – double EPA’s current estimate for its proposed regulations.  
For more information see:
UCS Report, Press Release, Politico
 

Report Says Physicians Need Better Understanding of Climate Impacts on Health
On October 8, the Journal of American Medical Association published a study analyzing 56 recent studies of health risks linked to climate change, including heat-related and respiratory disorders. The study found that under a “business as usual” emissions scenario, by 2050 many U.S. cities may experience an increase in extreme heat days, which could exacerbate various health issues.  For example, Milwaukee and New York may see a three-fold increase in the average number of days hotter than 90 degrees F (32 degrees C).  Other health risks climate change is projected to worsen include: respiratory ailments, such as asthma; infectious diseases, both insect-borne and water-borne; food uncertainty, due to lower crop yields and more plant diseases; and mental health issues, due in part to stress from increased incidence of natural disasters. The study noted, “It is important for clinicians to understand this relationship in order to discuss associated health risks with their patients and to inform public policy.”
For more information see:
The Irish Medical Times, The Guardian, Study, EESI Climate Change News March 2013, SF Gate
 

September Was Hottest On Record
On October 12, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released data showing that last month was the warmest September globally since records began in 1880. This past September had a recorded average global temperature of 58.586 degrees Fahrenheit, 1.386 degrees above the global average temperature from 1951 to 1980. This September beat the previous record holder, September 2005, which had a global average temperature of 58.514 degrees Fahrenheit. September marked the sixth in a string of warmest months on record according to NASA data, which includes April, May, June, and August (July 2014 was only the fourth-warmest on record, although it holds the record for highest sea surface temperature). If the warming stretch continues, 2014 is on track to be the hottest year ever measured.
For more information see:
The Hill, Discover Magazine, Slate, NASA Data
 

Current Sea Level Rise Unmatched in 6,000 Years
According to a recent Australian study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), global sea level has risen more in the last 150 years than in the previous 6,000. The study says sea levels have risen 20 centimeters since the beginning of the 20th century, due to two factors: the expansion of ocean water as it warms, and an influx of water from melting ice sheets and glaciers.  Kurt Lambeck, lead author of the study and a professor at Australian National University, said the sea level rise “is clearly the impact of rising temperatures.” To achieve these findings, Lambeck and his research team recreated 35,000 years of sea level data by studying over 1,000 sediment samples along the shores of Australia and Asia, as well as samples from various islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. According to Lambeck, “We know from the last interglacial period that when temperatures were several degrees warmer than today there was a lot more water in the oceans, with levels around 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16.4 feet)  higher than today.”  He compared the phenomena to squeezing toothpaste out of a tube, as the effects are not easily reversible. “Sea levels will continue to rise for some centuries to come if we keep carbon emissions at present day levels. What level that will get to, we are less sure about. But it’s clear we can’t just reverse the process overnight.”  
For more information see:
The Guardian, ABC, Washington Post, Study
 

Natural Gas Will Not Slow Climate Change, Study Finds
On October 15, Nature published a study which found that increased global use of natural gas as an energy source does not discernibly reduce climate change. The study states that cheap and abundant natural gas displaces energy generation from zero-emissions renewable energy, and increases global use of energy. The study was conducted by five different teams located around the world, who each used their own integrated assessment model to simulate the interactions between the energy and economic sectors and climate. They all concluded natural gas is not an effective means of climate change mitigation – and there was a possibility that natural gas may make climate change worse, as it releases methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. Nico Bauer, study co-author and member of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, commented, “The high hopes that natural gas will help reduce global warming because of the technical superiority to coal turn out to be misguided. The main factor here is that an abundance of natural gas leads to a price drop and expansion of total primary energy supply.”
For more information see:
Huffington Post, US News and World Report, Study
 

Headlines
=====================
1. Companies “Woefully Unprepared” for Climate Change, Standard & Poor Says

2. Climate Change Will Shorten Lifespan of Concrete

3. Beer and Wine Makers Leading Charge on Climate Change Adaptation

4. Some Businesses Are Making Moves on Climate Change
 

Authors: Brendan Ingargiola, Angelo Bardales, Carlos Villacis, and Emily Jackson

Editor: Laura Small