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Global carbon dioxide levels break 400ppm
milestone
Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere averaged
out at a record 400 parts per million for the whole month of March,
US scientists announced yesterday. The 400 ppm milestone is largely
a symbolic one, says Climate Central. But reaching levels
unprecedented in millions of years is a stark signal to global
governments ahead of the Paris climate talks in December, says The
Guardian. APquotes NOAA scientist Pieter Tans
calling the 400 ppm milestone "disturbing and daunting," while
Greenpeace's chief scientist Doug Parr tells RTCC that despite progress on
low-carbon technology, passing 400ppm should serve as a reminder
that "there remains a huge amount to do." The fact that emissions
from energy sources stabilised in 2014 could be a good sign that we
are starting to reverse the relentless upward trend in emissions,
suggests Grist.
The Guardian
Climate and energy news
EU agrees 'landmark' carbon market
deal
Environmental campaigners are hailing a decision to withdraw
hundreds of millions of carbon allowances from Europe's emissions
trading scheme as a landmark moment. The new market reserve scheme,
which will start to remove surplus allowances from 2019, is
expected to inject new life into the carbon market, says Damien
Morris from campaign group Sandbag. A Green Party spokesperson
branded the agreement little more than "a band aid" covering the
need for much more fundamental reform. BusinessGreen and Reuters have more on the story.
The
Guardian
Alberta's oil patch now in uncharted waters with
NDP premier
The left wing New Democrats have won an extraordinary
majority government in Alberta, ending 44 years of of Progressive
Conservative rule. Guaranteed to shake up the province's dominant
energy sector, new Premier Rachel Notley has pledged to strengthen
environmental rules and bolster Alberta's reputation on climate
change. Notley has also promised to put an end to government
promotion of the Keystone XL pipeline, reports The Hill . A campaign spokesperson
said voters were angry with a government that proposed tax
increases on the middle class to deal with falling oil prices,
reports The Financial Times. Reuters has more on the story.
The Globe and
The Mail
General Election 2015: Greens 'still talking about
the environment', says Caroline
Lucas
On the eve of the general election, the Green Party's
Caroline Lucas rebutted accusations that the party had failed to
mention environmental issues enough in its election campaigning.
Calling the charge "unfair", Lucas said that when it comes to
talking about the environment "you're damned if you do and you're
damned if you don't."
The Independent
Climate and energy comment
Policy: Climate advisers must maintain
integrity
As global negotiations fail on emissions reductions,
scientific advisers need to resist pressure to fit the facts to the
failure, says Oliver Geden, head of the EU Research Division at the
German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin.
Climate scientists and economists who counsel policy-makers are
being pressured to extend their models and options for delivering
mitigation later, an outcome that is politically possible but not
environmentally desirable, he says.
Oliver Geden,
Nature
Writers, Scientists, and Climate Experts Discuss
How to Save the World from Climate
Change
Overpopulation is the one environmental problem that
underlies all others, and solving it will counter climate change
faster than anything else we know, says writer Alan Weisman.
Providing access to contraception worldwide would cost just $8.1
billion annually - what the US spent monthly on its wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, he says.
Alan Weisman, Vice
Fossil-fuel divestment campaign hits
resistance
The fossil-fuel divestment movement has divided academia.
Supporters acknowledge that it is mostly a symbolic gesture but
some academics fear that the movement could draw attention away
from more effective ways to encourage low-carbon energy, writes
Jeff Tollefson. "We need to focus on actions that are going to make
a real difference," says Rob Stavins, an economist at Harvard.
Jeff Tollefson,
Nature
Pause needed in global warming optimism, new
research shows
Arguments that climate change isn't worth worrying about are
based on misunderstanding the so-called 'pause', says Nuccitelli.
Global average surface temperature speeds up and slows down now and
then - and has done throughout Earth's history. When you add them
all together, there's no statistical evidence that the long term
trend has changed in the past 40-50 years.
Dana Nuccitelli, The Guardian
Why the oil price will keep rising - in five
charts
In a sign that Opec has won the price war it launched in
November, oil prices reached new highs for 2015 this week. The
Telegraph has five charts which explain why it will keep on going
up, including growing demand in China and turmoil across the Middle
East. Andrew Critchlow,
The Telegraph
New climate science
Climate change tipping points: origins,
precursors, and debates
A new article reviews the origins, precursors, and main
proponents of climate change tipping points, and the debates that
the tipping point concept has led to. Confusion over their
definition and existence results not simply from a narrow
conception of tipping points, but from inattention to the way
metaphor was used to reshape climate policy, say the authors.
WIRES climate
change
Other stories
The world's poor need clean energy - not fossil
fuels
BusinessGreen
The debate over Arctic drilling - what's at
stake
Associated Press
Why the best place for solar panels may not be on
your roof
The Washington Post
Cuba says it has found giant oil field, US doesn't
care
The Telegraph
Giant solar farm in Japan seen from the
air
BBC News
Climate change must be tackled by the markets, say
City grandees
BusinessGreen
EU, China set to announce climate pact late
summer
RTCC
Can a £2,500 'solar box' power your house at
night?
The Telegraph
