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☆ People Have a Right to Climate Data - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Justin S. Mankin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As a climate scientist documenting the multi-trillion-dollar price tag of the climate disasters shocking economies and destroying lives, I sometimes field requests from strategic consultants, financial investment analysts and reinsurers looking for climate data, analysis and computer code. These requests make sense: People and companies want to adapt to the climate risks they face from global warming. Venture capitalists are injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into climate intelligence as they build out a rapidly growing business of climate analytics — the data, risk models, tailored analyses and insights people and institutions need to understand and respond to climate risks. I point companies to our freely available data and code at the Dartmouth Climate Modeling and Impacts Group, which I run, but turn down additional requests for customized assessments. I regard climate information as a public good and fear contributing to a world in which information about the unfolding risks of droughts, floods, wildfires, extreme heat and rising seas are hidden behind paywalls.

Persons: El Organizations: BlackRock, Venture, Dartmouth, Modeling

Signing on to the pledge were major national oil companies such as Saudi Aramco, Brazil's Petrobras and Sonangol, from Angola, and multi-nationals like Shell, TotalEnergies and BP. The pledge is a “smokescreen to hide the reality that we need to phase out oil, gas and coal,” said a letter signed by more than 300 civil society groups. Still, Mena said that self-reporting didn't go far enough to push oil and gas companies to make changes. Earlier this year, European Union negotiators reached a deal to reduce methane emissions from the energy industry across the 27-member bloc. In his speech, al-Jaber said oil and gas companies needed to do more to research solutions to Scope 3 emissions.

Persons: Sultan al, Jaber, ”, Jean Su, Fred Krupp, Bill Hare, Hare, Marcelo Mena, Mena, John Podesta, Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Associated Press, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Saudi Aramco, Brazil's Petrobras, Sonangol, Shell, Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental, Environmental Defense Fund, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, European Union, Gas, United Arab, Aramco, AP Locations: DUBAI, United Arab, United Nations, Abu Dhabi, Saudi, Angola, COP28, al, fracking, philanthropies, Chile, U.S, United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia

☆ Despite Biden climate change pledges and conservative complaints about a war on energy, the US is on pace for record oil and gas production in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US oil and gas production is having a record year. US oil production reached an all-time high of 13.2 million barrels a day last month and has remained that high since. US natural gas production is also set a record-high this year, and show no indications of slowing. The numbers poke a hole in arguments made by Republicans who claim Biden administration policies have thwarted US energy production. Still, Hare said: "It's clear that the Biden administration is not running a war against fossil fuels, or if it is, it's a very unsuccessful war."

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Reed Olmstead, Bill Hare, Hare Organizations: Service, Republicans, Politico, Trump, P, Commodity, Analytics, Associated Press Locations: Biden's

☆ ‘Backtracking:’ A year of climate failures ahead of a crucial summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

And yet, even as the climate crisis inserts itself viscerally into people’s lives, experts say the year has seen alarming backsliding on climate action. Green policies have been watered down, huge new oil and gas projects have been greenlit and coal has had something of a resurgence. As countries gather in Dubai for the UN’s COP28 climate summit, there are “high expectations,” said Harjeet Singh, the head of global political strategy at nonprofit Climate Action Network International. It sent worrying signals about climate backtracking, said Elisa Giannelli, a senior policy advisor at climate think tank E3G. Around 50% of its total capital spending needs to go toward clean energy projects by 2030, according to the report.

Persons: ”, Harjeet Singh, Kaveh Guilanpour, Singh, Biden, “, Erik Grafe, Joe Biden, Countess, Norway —, Elisa Giannelli, “ It’s, Rishi Sunak, Joeri Rogelj, Flora Champenois, It’s, Bernd Lauter, ” Rogelj, Darren Woods, Bernard Looney, Fatih Birol, Guilanpour, Claire Fyson, ” Fyson, “ we’re, ” CNN’s Ella Nilsen, Ivana Kottasová, Gan Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Action, “, Climate, Energy Solutions, US Department of Interior, Imperial College London, Global Energy Monitor, GEM, Getty, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Exxon, IEA, Climate Analytics Locations: Canada, Libyan, Dubai, Alaska, Washington ,, Australia, Norway, Europe, Germany, China, Asia, Ukraine, Eschweiler, COP28

The world is heading for considerably less warming than projected a decade ago, but that good news is overwhelmed by much more pain from current climate change than scientists anticipated, experts said. Even though emissions of heat-trapping gases are still rising every year, they’re rising more slowly than projected from 2000 to 2015. “It requires the tearing out the poisoned root of the climate crisis: fossil fuels,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Guterres, numerous climate scientists and environmental activists all say what’s needed is a phase-out — or at the very least a phase-down — of coal, oil and gas. “This is throwing the global energy transition and humanity’s future into question.”___Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment.

Persons: That’s, It’s, ”, Niklas Hohne, Bill Hare, Rob Jackson, Ani Dasgupta, ” Dasgupta, Hare, Anne Olhoff, “, ” Jackson, Melanie Robinson, that’s, Johan Rockstrom, Antonio Guterres, Sultan al, Jaber, Greta Thunberg, Adnan Amir, ’ ’, Majid Al Suwaidi, we’ve, Institute’s Hohne, Al Jaber, ” Hohne, Dasgupta, can’t, Inger Andersen, ” ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: United Nations, United Nations Environment, NewClimate, Stanford University, Project, Resources, UNEP, World Resources Institute, Potsdam Institute, Climate Research, Center for Biological Diversity, Biden Administration, Twitter, AP Locations: Dubai, Paris, Europe, Pakistan, Libya, Arab Emirates, ”, al, greenwashing, Russia, Ukraine

Carbon emissions from the burning of coal, oil and gas rose 1.2% last year, the report said. Through the end of September, the daily global average temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above mid-19th century levels on 86 days this year, the report said. On Friday, the globe hit 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees) above pre-industrial levels for the first time in recorded history, according to Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess. That sounds like a lot, but the world in 2022 spewed 57.4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases and to limit warming to the 1.5 degree mark emissions in 2030 have to be down to 33 billion metric tons. Because the world has already warmed nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the mid-19th century, the report’s projections would mean another 1.3 to 1.7 degrees Celsius (2.3 to 3.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warming by the end of this century.

Persons: Samantha Burgess, ”, Anne Olhoff, Olhoff, hasn’t, Antonio Guterres, ” Olhoff, Niklas Hohne, Bill Hare, Guterres, “ It’s, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: United, United Nations, New Climate Institute, Twitter, AP Locations: United Nations, Paris, United States, Europe, Germany

☆ The world is planning to blow the fossil fuels production limit that would keep a lid on global heating, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Global fossil fuel production in 2030 is set to be more than double the levels that are deemed consistent with meeting climate goals set under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the United Nations and researchers said on Wednesday. The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) report, assessing the gap in fossil fuel production cuts and what’s needed to meet climate goals, comes ahead of the global COP 28 climate meeting, which starts on November 30 in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates. “We need countries to commit to a phase out of all fossil fuels to keep the 1.5C goal alive,” she said. It said 17 of the countries have pledged to reach net zero emissions but most continue to promote, subsidise, support and plan the expansion of fossil fuel production. The 20 countries analysed account for 82% of global fossil fuel production and 73% of consumption, the report said and include Australia, China, Norway, Qatar, Britain, the UAE and the United States.

Persons: Achakulwisut, ” Organizations: CNN, Global, United Nations, United Nations Environment Programme’s, United, United Arab Emirates, Stockholm Environment Institute, SEI, UNEP, International Institute for Sustainable Development Locations: Paris, United Arab, Stockholm, Australia, China, Norway, Qatar, Britain, UAE, United States

☆ US oil production just hit an all-time high. 'Millions of people will die,' if this trend continues, a Stanford climate scientist said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Seth Borenstein | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US oil production reached an all-time high last week at 13.2 million barrels per day. If this trend continues, "millions of people will die," Stanford climate scientist Rob Jackson said. And it conflicts with oft-repeated Republican talking points of a Biden "war on American energy." Weekly domestic oil production has doubled from the first week in October 2012 to now. US oil production reached an all time high recently.

Persons: Biden, Rob Jackson, Bill Hare, Hare, John Sterman, Jackson, Samantha Gross, Gross, Stanford's Jackson, Joe Biden, Susan Walsh Biden's, Jared Bernstein, Bernstein, They've, Joshua Boak Organizations: Service, United, Biden, U.S . Department of Energy's Energy, Administration, United Nations, United Arab Emirates, Exxon, Mobil, Cote d'Ivorie, Climate Interactive, Stanford University, Carbon, White, Brookings Institution, Energy, EIA, AP, American Energy, Republican, House Energy, Commerce, White House Council, Economic Advisers, Wildlife Locations: Stanford, United States, Norway, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Shell, Guyana, Cote, Saudi Arabia, Alaska, Washington ,

United States domestic oil production hit an all-time high last week, contrasting with efforts to slice heat-trapping carbon emissions by the Biden administration and world leaders. Weekly domestic oil production has doubled from the first week in October 2012 to now. White House officials have long considered increased oil production inside the United States as a bridge to help soften the transition to renewable energy sources. She said U.S. oil is less carbon-intensive than other oil, an argument the UAE’s oil company also makes. “Demand drives production — we need to change the whole system to reduce oil demand.”“Replacing oil in power production is a lot easier than replacing oil in transportation,” Gross said in an email.

Persons: Biden, Bill Hare, Hare, ”, John Sterman, Rob Jackson, “, ” Jackson, Samantha Gross, ” Gross, ” Stanford’s Jackson, ” Jared Bernstein, ” Bernstein, “ They’ve, They’ve, Joshua Boak, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: Biden, U.S . Department of Energy’s Energy, Administration, United Nations, United Arab Emirates, Exxon, Mobil, Cote d’Ivorie, Interactive, ” Stanford University, Carbon, White, Brookings Institution, Energy, EIA, Republican, House Energy, Commerce, American Energy, White House Council, Economic Advisers, Wildlife, Associated Press, Washington , D.C, Twitter, AP Locations: U.S, Norway, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Shell, Guyana, Cote, United States, Saudi Arabia, Alaska, Washington ,

Yet Amin said that while an agreement ridding the world of fossil fuels doesn't look likely, a “phase-down of fossil fuels is inevitable." In 10 years when critics and others look back at the talks, Amin wants to hear amazement. They say a phase-out of fossil fuels is the only way to curb warming to a manageable level. He pointed to the desire by some African countries to use fossil fuels to develop. Amin said upcoming climate talks aim to be the most inclusive ever, but that also includes the at-times vilified fossil fuel industry.

Persons: Adnan Amin, Amin, Sultan al, Jaber, Greta Thunberg, ” Amin, Antonio Guterres, it’s, Mohamed Adow, Adow, Niklas Hohne, Bill Hare, ” Hare, Nigel Purvis, “, Seth Borenstein Organizations: of Parties, United, Associated Press, petrostate United, petrostate United Arab Emirates, New Climate Institute, Analytics, U.S . State Department, AP Locations: Dubai, United Nations, petrostate United Arab, Kenya, UAE, Africa, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia

The heat is about to be turned up on fossil fuels, the United States and President Joe Biden. It features a special U.N. summit and a week of protests and talk-heavy events involving leaders from business, health, politics and the arts. Guterres has repeatedly aimed his criticism at fossil fuels, calling them “incompatible with human survival.” He and scientific reports out of the United Nations have emphasized that the only way to curb warming and meet international goals is to “phase out” fossil fuels. “We know the use of fossil fuels is the main cause of the climate crisis, coal, oil and gas,” Hart said Friday. “We need to accelerate the global transition away from fossil fuels.

Persons: Joe Biden, — William —, ”, Jean Su, Antonio Guterres, won’t, Biden, Guterres, ” Su, Bill Hare, he’s, Hare, Mohamed Adow, “ We’ve, Selwin Hart, ” Hart, Thomas Pyle, Brandon Wu, Su, Seth Borenstein Organizations: United Nations, General Assembly, Center for Biological Diversity, Ambition, United Arab, International Energy Agency, American Energy Alliance, Environmental, United, Biden, ActionAid USA, Twitter, AP Locations: United States, China, United Kingdom, Russia, France, New York, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Paris, Canada, Australia, Norway, America

With the world far off track on its 2015 pledge to curb global warming, a new United Nations report central to upcoming climate negotiations details how quickly and deeply energy and financial systems must change to get back on a safer path. “The window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable for future for all is rapidly closing,” Friday's report warned. To get there, the report said, “the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels is required,” using a phrase international climate negotiators have shied away from before. “Halting and reversing deforestation” and adopting better crop-growing practices are critical to fighting climate change, the report said. Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees is another window of opportunity that is rapidly closing, the report said.

Persons: ”, Sultan Al Jaber, David Waskow, “, Antonio Guterres, there's, Bill Hare, —, Al Jaber, Tom Evans, ” Evans, Seth Borenstein Organizations: United, World Resources Institute, United Nations, World Meteorological Organization, Twitter, AP Locations: United Nations, India, Paris, Dubai

For investors looking to weed out climate laggards from portfolios, these are vital questions but existing guidelines on emissions reporting and new rules due to come in for the United States and Europe are unlikely to provide hard answers. The United States is on track to announce similar rules this year and the corporate standard, first launched in 2001 and revised in 2004, is also embedded in other international emissions reporting standards. Nonetheless, many investors scrutinise carbon emissions data to gauge how polluting a company is, how it compares with rivals and how this might affect its bottom line and share price. Another area of investor concern is how companies account for their own energy use, or Scope 2 emissions. The GHGP allows companies to buy green energy to offset their emissions, using contractual instruments such as renewable energy certificates, and reflect this in their reporting.

Persons: Fabrizio Bensch, Vanessa Bingle, David Lubin, Subaru, SCA's Lubin, Laura Kane, Kane, Jimmy Jia, Jia, abrdn, Pedro Faria, Faria, Pankaj Bhatia, Douglas Gillison, Sumanta Sen, Dan Flynn, David Clarke Organizations: REUTERS, Toyota, Shell, Greenhouse, World Business, Sustainable Development, World Resources Institute, Reuters, Alpha Financial Markets Consulting, Analytics, Subaru, North, Voya Investment Management, Voya, EU, Sustainability, IFRS, Oxford Smith School of Enterprise, Reuters Graphics, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, United States, Europe, Japan, North America, U.S, Britain, British, EU

☆ Barclays says hot seas will lead to a severe hurricane season and names one stock to benefit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As oceans warm, Barclays now anticipates a worse-than-expected hurricane season — and sees one stock that could be a good investment by the shift in outlook. Despite early expectations for a mild hurricane season given the El Niño weather pattern , Barclays analyst Craig Rye said the season should now be more severe than previously anticipated in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Beyond the human and economic costs of severe hurricane seasons, however, Rye said property and casualty insurance data provider Verisk Analytics could benefit from a more severe season as a result of higher claims. VRSK YTD mountain Verisk's 2023 It's already been a strong year for Verisk stock, with shares up more than 34% since 2023 began and reaching new all-time highs twice in July. Elsewhere, Rye noted reinsurers tend to outperform in hurricane season with little impact from the actual strength of that season.

Persons: Craig Rye, Rye, Verisk's, Tracy Benguigui, It's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Barclays, Atlantic, Colorado State University, CSU, Cyclone Energy, Munich Re Locations: Florida, Manatee Bay , Florida, Florida , Texas, Louisiana, Rye, California, Munich, Lancashire

The extreme heat is prompting violent typhoons in Asia and flash floods in the United States. But to the pragmatist, extreme heat is the new normal. The good news: Investors are spending big on climate projects. Global warming helps make periods of extreme heat more frequent, longer and more intense, and it will continue getting worse unless humans essentially stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, scientists say. “There’s been huge, huge progress” in developing green technologies and bringing down their costs, said Bella Tonkonogy, the U.S. director of Climate Policy Initiative whose funders include the Bloomberg Foundation and the German government.

Persons: it’s, El Niño, Carl, Friedrich Schleussner, ” “, ”, DealBook, “ There’s, Bella Tonkonogy Organizations: Analytics, Global, Venture, Initiative, Biden, Bloomberg Foundation Locations: Asia, United States, Berlin, U.S

☆ COP28 summit host UAE's climate plans ranked 'insufficient'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, July 20 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates, host of this year's COP28 UN climate summit, has set out "insufficient" plans to tackle its own contribution to climate change, an independent research group said on Thursday. The UAE strengthened its climate pledge earlier this month to be more ambitious, and its summit leadership has called on other countries to do the same ahead of the talks in November. But the country's new pledge would still see its CO2 emissions increase through to 2030, at odds with the sharp decrease needed to curb climate change, according to the Climate Action Tracker research consortium. Countries agreed under the Paris Agreement to take action to curb climate change to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the limit scientists say would avoid its most disastrous impacts. But this will not prevent the UAE from busting its overall climate goals, if fossil fuel use does not decrease, CAT said.

Persons: Sultan al, Jaber, Sarah Heck, Kate Abnett, Yousef Saba, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: United, CAT, Analytics, Investments, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Paris

☆ World's dash for natural gas endangers climate goals -report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Germany's future LNG terminal is under construction amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Lubmin, Germany, September 19, 2022. Among the projects are new gas drilling in Canada and liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity in Germany and Vietnam. By October, Russian gas had plummetted to 7.5% of Europe's gas imports, down from 40% in recent years. The dash to replace those supplies has bolstered plans to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, even as the European Union has proposed higher renewable energy targets to attempt to mostly replace Russian fuel with clean energy. The International Energy Agency has said no new oil and gas fields should be opened if the world is hit the 1.5C goal.

☆ India and climate change: Can Modi deliver what the world needs?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

By 2030, Modi wants half of India’s energy to come from renewables. The state is fast becoming a hotbed of solar energy, yet is also home to at least seven coal-fired power plants. “Even during Covid it hasn’t stopped.”At COP26, Modi outlined a series of targets for India’s efforts to combat climate change. It’s also a question of funding – investing in renewable energy and other climate change mitigation efforts is expensive. And your other burning questions answered 03:37 - Source: CNNIf India doesn’t receive the financial support it needs, maintaining its pace on developing renewable energy will be difficult.

☆ Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | Photographs Devin Oktar Yalkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

Beyond Catastrophe A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View By David Wallace-WellsYou can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.) A little lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. There were climate-change skeptics in some very conspicuous positions of global power. New emissions peaks are expected both this year and next, which means that more damage is being done to the future climate of the planet right now than at any previous point in history.

☆ Australia's Scarborough project: Race and power collide in a fight over sacred rock art in remote Australia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Hannah Ritchie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

More than a million drawings are etched onto rocks on Murujuga peninsula on the Western Australia coast. Resources extracted from the region have powered Australia’s economy and helped create some of the world’s largest mining and energy multinationals. Today, the fight for Murujuga’s rock art reflects long-standing and unresolved issues of race and power. Woodside Petroleum's Pluto development on Murujuga, Western Australia, June 2008. Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Peter Jeffries.

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