Daily Briefing Regrowth of forests stems global warming

**Get the daily briefing in your inbox at 9AM - click here to subscribe**

Regrowth of forests stems global warming
The Earth's vegetation expanded over the past decade, despite the shrinking of the rainforests, as vast woodlands grew back in Russia and China, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change. Global warming would be more rapid if it were not for the growing mass of world vegetation, say the authors. The MailOnline reports that nearly 4 billion tonnes of carbon have been added to plants above ground in the decade since 2003. The authors have also written an article for the Conversation. The Times

Climate and energy news

US offer for climate treaty: Up to 28 percent emissions cut
AP reports that, "in a highly anticipated announcement", the US will today offer a "roughly 28%" emissions cut as its so-called "INDC" (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution) for the Paris climate summit taking place later this year, according to people briefed on the White House's plans. AP sources added that the US will also assert that its contribution is "both ambitious and fair". Today marks the informal deadline for nations to submit their INDCs to the UN, but, to date, few have done so. Meanwhile, RTCC reports that Australia "risks climate credibility" with what analysts are describing as "coal-friendly" proposals for its INDC. The Guardian reports the first analysis of the emissions pledges already made by nations ahead of Paris. The Health and Environment Alliance report concludes, if emissions were slashed by around 55%, major economies would boost their prosperity, employment levels and health prospects. Associated Press via Fox News

Britain's leading private university 'becoming a mouthpiece for fossil-fuel industry'
In an exclusive, the paper reports that the University of Buckingham has appointed an anti-windfarm campaigner to set up a new "energy institute". The university, which already has links to the climate-sceptic lobby group, the Global Warming Policy Foundation, has "raised further concerns about its academic neutrality by hiring John Constable to head the new unit". The Independent

Rich nations' fossil fuel export funding dwarfs green spend: documents
The world's wealthiest nations provided around five times as much in export subsidies for fossil-fuel technology as for renewable energy over a decade, according to OECD data seen by Reuters. Reuters says the OECD figures are "central" to a debate on targeting funding ahead of the UN climate talks in Paris at the end of the year. Reuters

Cheap Oil Unlikely to Slow Growth of Renewables, Citigroup Says
Cheap oil will do "little to derail" the long-term growth of renewable power, according to a new report by Citigroup. Oil generates about 5% of global electricity and doesn't generally compete directly with wind and solar power, say Citigroup researchers. Only 11 countries get more than 20% of their electricity from oil, mainly in the Middle East and the Caribbean. Bloomberg New Energy Finance

One million green jobs projected by 2030 in China, EU and U.S.: experts
Nearly one million new "green jobs" are expected to be created in China, the US and the EU by 2030 if the regions stick to their current pledges to curb global warming, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Reuters

Ocean warming suggests 50 pct chance of El Nino - Australia
Recent warming of the Pacific Ocean may signal that an El Nino weather event is forming, says the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. "There is about a 50 percent chance of El Nino developing in the coming months, which is twice the normal likelihood," the bureau added. Reuters

Fossil fuels must stay in ground - but be realistic, Chris Smith says
Significant quantities of known coal and tar sands reserves will need to be kept in the ground to avoid the worst climate change impacts, the former chief of the UK Environment Agency has said. But Lord Smith, who now chairs a shale gas task force, said that lower carbon fuels such as gas would need to be extracted and burned while the world economy moves away from fossil fuels. The Guardian

Failed policy leaves millions with poorly insulated lofts
More than seven million homes have poorly insulated lofts and the rate at which they are being improved has fallen by almost 90 per cent in two years, according to a report by the consumer watchdog Which?. The report attributes the decline partly to the failure of the government's Green Deal scheme. The Times

Falling cost of solar offers solace after halving of oil price
The FT examines the prospect for solar energy in the Arab world, a region that "has been synonymous with oil". In the coming year, solar projects generating 1,800MW, worth $2.7bn, are due to be unveiled in the region, according to a study by the Middle East Solar Industry Association. This compares with less than 300MW in 2014. Investors and energy experts, reports the paper, say that the sun "could become an important contributor of power". Financial Times

Climate and energy comment

The fossil fuel path is immoral and financially imprudent
The chair of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund explains how she is "proud of the legacy of John D Rockefeller, who built the greatest fossil fuel enterprise in history". But the science of climate change has convinced her of the need for the fund to divest from fossil fuel investments. "We are convinced that if John D Rockefeller were alive today, he'd be as visionary about green energy as once he was about black crude." In an accompanying Guardian article, Gerrit Heyns, co-founder of Osmosis Investment Management, says that fossil fuel divestment campaign is inherently flawed. Valerie Rockefeller Wayne, The Guardian

Accountability must be at the heart of the Paris climate pact
With the INDCs now being submitted by nations ahead of the Paris summit, the three academics argue that "assessment and review is arguably the last bastion of the top-down architecture in an increasingly bottom-up climate regime". Without it, the "pledge-and-review system envisaged for the 2015 agreement becomes only a collection of pledges, with very limited accountability and no strong incentives for countries to increase their ambition over time". Harro van Asselt Håkon Sælen and Pieter, Pauw RTCC

New climate science

Tree mortality predicted from drought-induced vascular damage
Increasing drought stress in the southwestern United States could lead to widespread diebacks of aspen forests by the middle of the century, according to a new study. Researchers investigated the 2000-2003 drought in the American southwest that triggered a widespread die-off of forests. Their findings show how drought causes damage to the vascular system that transports water throughout the tree. Model simulations show that this damage will be widespread by the 2050s, the researchers say. Nature Geoscience

Causal feedbacks in climate change
A new study uses ice core data to show a long-known positive feedback in the Earth's climate system. Analysis of the 400,000 year record shows global temperatures amplify a rise in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, and that this cause-and-effect works both ways. This means that as global temperatures rise from manmade climate change, the positive feedback in the Earth's system results in additional warming, the researchers say. Nature Climate Change

Recent reversal in loss of global terrestrial biomass
Analysis of 20 years of satellite data reveals the amount of carbon stored by vegetation globally has increased by almost 4 billion tonnes since 2003. This is despite ongoing large-scale deforestation in the tropics, the researchers say. The study finds three main reasons for the increase: greater rainfall causing vegetation growth on savannahs in Australia, Africa and South America, regrowth of forests on abandoned farmland in Russia and former Soviet republics, and tree planting projects in China. Nature Climate Change

Extreme rainfall activity in the Australian tropics reflects changes in the El Niño/Southern Oscillation over the last two millennia
A newly-constructed 2,200 year record of flooding in Australia shows how tropical cyclones are linked to cycles of El Niño. Scientists created the record from cave stalagmites, formed as water and mud drips onto cave floors and crystallises over thousands of years. The findings show that extreme rainfall and flooding were more frequent during La Niña events, and less frequent during El Niños. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences