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October 5, 2015
On September 22, Arabella Advisors released a report studying the divestment movement, which has grown 50-fold over the last year. As of September 2015, institutes and individuals have committed to divest $2.6 trillion in assets. Image courtesy of Arabella Advisors.
On September 30, the California Air Resources Board released a draft plan to reduce the concentration of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) in the atmosphere. SLCPs (black carbon, fluorinated gases, and methane) may leave the atmosphere rapidly, but their potency as greenhouse gases can be hundreds or thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2). The plan notes that SLCPs “are estimated to be responsible for about 40 percent of current net climate forcing.” Stanford environmental professor Mark Jacobson commented, “Because they’re short-lived, if you control their emissions, you can slow global warming faster.”
For more information see:
Capital Public Radio, California Air Resources Board
On September 28, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions of privately-owned buildings 80 percent by 2050. De Blasio’s plan involves the creation of a free “retrofit accelerator” for private landlords, which will help them install energy efficiency, clean energy and water conservation retrofits. The accelerator will retrofit around 1,000 buildings by 2025, with a goal of nearly one million metric tons in emissions cuts. In conjunction with this, de Blasio announced he was expanding New York's carbon challenge. Participants in the challenge commit to cut 30 percent of their building's emissions over the next decade.
The Mayor also announced on September 29 that he is recommending that the city’s pension funds divest nearly $33 million from coal. De Blasio stated, “It’s time that our investments catch up -- and divestment from coal is where we must start.” While de Blasio does not control New York's pension funds, his recommendation was seen as welcome by Comptroller Scott Stringer, who oversees the pension boards.
NYC.gov (1, 2), Bloomberg, Politico New York
On October 1, India, the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), submitted its emissions reduction plan to the United Nations (UN) in advance of climate negotiations to take place in Paris this December. India pledged to increase renewable energy and low carbon power generation to 40 percent of its energy mix, and cut its emissions intensity (carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product) by up to 35 percent, both by 2030. India is the final major economy to submit a plan to the UN. Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the plan was "strong," and positions India as a global leader in clean energy.
The Guardian, NRDC Press Release, INDC
On September 28, Todd Stern, the State Department's special envoy for climate change, stated during comments at Climate Week in New York that coming to a global agreement on climate is a "monumental undertaking." Stern explained, "All of this depends upon a belief that world leaders have finally come together and aligned themselves in a global regime that will push us onward and upward to confront climate change together." He added that the world's countries have not yet arrived at the "inflection point" where emissions begin to decrease, but that a global deal on climate at Paris talks this December is a "crucial and necessary step toward that point."
The Hill
On September 30th, Yeb Sano, former international climate negotiator for the Philippines, embarked on a 930 mile walk from Rome to Paris aimed at calling attention to the necessity of strong action on climate change during the United Nations (UN) negotiations in Paris this December. Famous for his emotional pleas for climate action in past UN climate talks, Sano is urging others to make their own pilgrimages. Sano began his journey, called the “People’s Pilgrimage,” last May in the Philippines, and has visited Australia, Vanuatu, and India, finally coming to Rome in September. Sano said, “Being a person of faith, I still believe in miracles and that is what we hold onto. Maybe a miracle in Paris is still possible.”
The Guardian, EcoWatch
On September 28, Climate Interactive projected that national pledges to date, which cover over 80 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, would still allow 3.5 degrees C of global warming by 2100, reducing "business-as-usual" warming by only one degree C. "National actions are mounting, but it is clear that these alone are not enough to address this global threat," commented Jennifer Morgan of World Resources Institute. Climate Interactive used the Climate Rapid Overview and Decision Support (C-ROADS) climate policy simulation model, calibrated to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report results, and concluded that to keep warming to two degrees C, all countries need to peak GHG emissions around 2030, and then reduce them 3.5-4 percent per year.
Bloomberg Business, Climate Interactive
On September 28, ClearPath, a nonprofit promoting climate change discussion among Republicans, released results from a poll conducted mid-August. The survey found 85 percent of the 500 Republicans surveyed think the climate is changing, and 56 percent think human activity is a contributing factor, a striking contrast to the overall climate denial from many GOP presidential candidates. “At the moment some of the louder voices in the party are dominating this debate. But as we move out of the entertainment phase of the campaign and look at more of the policy platforms, there’s a way for Republicans to talk about this that depoliticizes climate,” expressed Kristen Anderson, one of the three pollsters who conducted the survey.
The New York Times, ClearPath
On September 29, Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned insurers during a dinner at Lloyd’s of London (the world’s oldest insurance market) about the future threats of climate change on financial stability. "The challenges currently posed by climate change pale in significance compared with what might come," said Mr. Carney, noting that almost 20 percent of FTSE 100 companies are in the natural resources and extractions sector and should therefore pay close attention to increasing weather-related disasters that would greatly impact their industries. Mr. Carney added that most of the cost associated with climate change will fall on future generations, and that this may be a reason why there is not more action being taken to fix the problem.
BBC, Bloomberg View
On October 1, the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of ten major food companies, including Mars, General Mills, Unilever, and Kellogg, released a joint letter to world leaders committing to taking action on climate change and urging public leaders to do the same. The letter, organized by the nonprofit Ceres, highlighted the upcoming Paris negotiations as a crucial opportunity to address the reality of this issue. "We are ready to meet the climate challenges that face our businesses," the executives stated, "Please join us in meeting the climate challenges that face the world."
In related news on September 28, six major U.S. banks released a joint statement asking international governments to reach a global climate agreement at United Nations climate negotiations in Paris this December. Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo all signed onto the statement, which was organized by nonprofit Ceres.
Ceres, Washington Post, Press Release
On September 29, the XPRISE Foundation announced a competition for $20 million which challenges teams to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from either coal-fired power plants or natural gas power plants into a new product with the highest net value. The competition, co-sponsored by NRG and COSIA, will run for four and a half years. "Through innovation in carbon capture technology, we hope to challenge the world's brightest minds to find a solution that helps solve emissions problems, and simultaneously creates viable products that we use every day," stated Sicily Dickenson, chief marketing officer at NRG.
Philanthropy News Digest, Press Release
On September 28, a study on the carbon storage and sequestration capabilities of federally-held public lands was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study, administered by the U.S. Geological Survey, looked at how the warming climate will impact the density of vegetation on public lands in the 48 mainland states. It estimated that between 2005 and 2050, there will be a 19.4 percent increase in the amount of carbon that public lands sequester. However, Dr. William R. L. Anderegg, a biologist at the University of Utah, said he was "highly skeptical that this is a robust estimate," citing the study’s usage of older climate and vegetation models.
Climate Central, PNAS
On September 30, the World Energy Council (WEC) released a report, "The road the resilience – managing and financing extreme weather risks," which found that extreme weather events occurred four times as often in 2014 as in 1980. The report states that the energy sector needs to prepare for increased risks associated with extreme weather, using innovative financing mechanisms such as adaptation bonds, catastrophe bonds, and weather derivatives. "We are on a path where today's unlikely events will become tomorrow's reality," said WEC's secretary-general Christoph Frei. "Current estimates . . . do not fully account for the additional financing required to accommodate these new emerging risks."
The Guardian, Insurance Journal, Press Release, Report
On September 28, a study was published in Nature Climate Change, "Co-benefits of Addressing Climate Change Can Motivate Action Around the World," which found that people are more likely to take action on climate change when they were aware of the co-benefits. Specifically, when climate action led to advances in science, economic gains, or increased caring and moral behavior in a community, people were more motivated to move on climate. The study also found that people who are unconvinced climate change is happening were still motivated to take climate action when informed of co-benefits. The study states, "Communicating co-benefits could motivate action on climate change where traditional approaches have stalled."
The Guardian, Study
Arctic Permafrost Melt May Cause Trillions of Dollars of Damage
Senate Republican Asks President Obama for Details of International Climate Negotiations
House Votes to Stop EPA from Considering the Social Cost of Carbon
King Tide Hits Florida During Climate Change Conference
ExxonMobil May Face Legal Challenges Over Its Damage to the Climate
NOAA Declares Unusual Mortality Event for Threatened Fur Seal
Authors: Gabriela Zayas, Michael Martina, and James Richmond
Editor: Laura Small
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