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☆ Scotland Made Big Climate Pledges. Now They’re ‘Out of Reach.’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Climate promises are hard to keep. Scotland is the latest, perhaps most surprising example. Scotland, an early industrial power and coal-burning behemoth, was also an early adopter of an ambitious and legally binding government target to slow down climate change. It had promised to pare back its emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gases by 75 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. That is a sharp contrast to the bullishness of the Scottish government in 2021, when diplomats from around the world gathered in Glasgow for international United Nations climate talks.

Persons: pare, Màiri McAllan, Nicola Sturgeon Organizations: Scottish, United Nations Locations: Scotland, Britain, Glasgow

☆ Drought Pushes Millions Into ‘Acute Hunger’ in Southern Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Somini Sengupta | Manuela Andreoni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An estimated 20 million people in southern Africa are facing what the United Nations calls “acute hunger” as one of the worst droughts in more than four decades shrivels crops, decimates livestock and, after years of rising food prices brought on by pandemic and war, spikes the price of corn, the region’s staple crop. Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have all declared national emergencies. Its effects are all the more punishing because in the past few years the region had been hit by cyclones, unusually heavy rains and a widening outbreak of cholera. ‘Urgent help’ is neededThe rains this year began late and were lower than average. In February, when crops need it most, parts of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Angola, Mozambique and Botswana received a fifth of the typical rainfall.

Organizations: United Nations Locations: Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, Botswana

☆ ‘Climate-Controlled’ Sausage? Courts Crack Down on ‘Greenwashing’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A “climate-controlled” sausage. New trousers labeled “recycled.” A “sustainable” airline ticket. More and more, big brands are using taglines like these to cater to their green-minded customers. And more and more, they are under fire from courts and regulators for making climate promises they can’t keep. Researchers at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment last year identified “an explosion of ‘climate-washing’ cases,” using existing national laws and regulations.

Organizations: Grantham Research, Danish Crown, Markets Authority Locations: Grantham, Denmark, Britain

☆ In Paris, the Olympics Clean Up Their Act
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Somini Sengupta | Catherine Porter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

How do you produce a global sporting event, with millions of people swooping down on one city, in the age of global warming? That is the test for the Paris Olympics this summer. These Olympics, they say, will generate no more than half the greenhouse gas emissions of recent Olympics. An event that attracts 10,500 athletes and an estimated 15 million spectators is, by definition, going to have an environmental toll. It’s planning guest menus that are less polluting to grow and cook than typical French fare: more plants, less steak au poivre.

Organizations: Paris Locations: Paris

☆ Weirdly Warm Winter Has Climate Fingerprints All Over It, Study Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Somini Sengupta | Delger Erdenesanaa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Winter was weirdly warm for half the world’s population, driven in many places by the burning of fossil fuels, according to an analysis of temperature data from hundreds of locations worldwide. That aligns with the findings published late Wednesday by the European Union’s climate monitoring organization, Copernicus: The world as a whole experienced the hottest February on record, making it the ninth consecutive month of record temperatures. Even more startling, global ocean temperatures in February were at an all-time high for any time of year, according to Copernicus. Taken together, the two sets of figures offer a portrait of an unequivocally warming world that, combined with a natural El Niño weather pattern this year, has made winter unrecognizable in some places. The first analysis, conducted by Climate Central, an independent research group based in New Jersey, found that in several cities in North America, Europe and Asia, not only was winter unusually warm, but climate change played a distinctly recognizable role.

Persons: Copernicus Organizations: Climate Central Locations: New Jersey, North America, Europe, Asia

☆ Global Warming Is Particularly Bad for Women-Led Families, Study Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Extreme heat is making some of the world’s poorest women poorer. The report adds to a body of work that shows how global warming, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, can magnify and worsen existing social disparities. That is to say, extreme heat widens the disparity between households headed by women and others. Female-headed households lose 34 percent more income, compared to others, when the long-term average temperature rises by 1 degree Celsius. The average global temperature has already risen by roughly 1.2 degrees Celsius since the start of the industrial age.

Persons: ”, Nicholas Sitko Organizations: United Nations Food, Agriculture Organization, United Nations Development, Food and Agriculture Organization

☆ Indonesia’s Vote: Three Takeaways for Climate Change
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Coal, nickel, palm oil, rainforests. The new government’s approach on the management of its natural resources could have a significant effect on the world’s ability to keep global warming to relatively safe levels. Environmentalists are also watching what the vote might mean for their ability to operate freely in a country with a history of repression. Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel and something that the world must quickly stop burning in order to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. But Indonesia also has huge reserves of nickel, which is critical to battery-making and the transition to cleaner energy.

Persons: Prabowo Locations: Indonesia

☆ A ‘Revolutionary’ Way to Feed the World That’s Very Old
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Cary Fowler once helped build an Arctic vault to save the world’s great variety of crop seeds from extinction. Now, as the State Department’s global envoy for food security, he is trying to plant a new seed in U.S. foreign policy. The effort is still in its infancy, with a relatively tiny budget of $100 million. But at a time when climate shocks and rising costs are aggravating food insecurity and raising the risks of political instability, the stakes are high. Mr. Fowler’s boss, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the idea could be “genuinely revolutionary.”

Persons: Cary Fowler, Fowler, Fowler’s, Antony Blinken, ” Organizations: State, Economic Locations: Africa, Davos

When there’s a global crisis, wealthy countries tend to find money. That was the case in the United States when big banks were bailed out to soften a global financial crisis. But the climate crisis? This weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris visited the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and promised $3 billion for the Green Climate Fund, which benefits poorer nations. One of the big tests facing this summit, known as COP28, is whether it will fare any better than earlier climate talks at shoring up anything close to the money that’s needed.

Persons: Kamala Harris, John Kerry, Biden’s Organizations: United Arab, Green Climate Fund, Biden, Walmart, Pepsi, McDonalds Locations: United States, Ukraine, United Nations, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

☆ In a Report Card on Global Warming, Nations Get a Very Poor Grade
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Somini Sengupta | More About Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Despite the clear human and environmental toll of global warming, countries are taking only “baby steps” to rein in greenhouse gas emissions, a senior United Nations official said, summarizing a new U.N. report card on the promises made by governments so far. The U.N. findings, published Tuesday, are the latest of several assessments that paint a dire picture in which the countries aren’t doing nearly enough to keep global warming within relatively safe levels. “Today’s report shows that governments combined are taking baby steps to avert the climate crisis,” said Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the U.N. climate change agency. That’s roughly the level of warming that is projected if every country meets its climate goals. Saudi Arabia is of course one of the world’s biggest oil producers, and it is the burning of oil and other fossil fuels that’s warming the planet by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Persons: “, ”, Simon Stiell Organizations: United Nations Locations: Saudi Arabia

The General Assembly has undergone tremendous changes as its influence has waned. What does the General Assembly do? Unlike the U.N. Security Council, which can impose sanctions or authorize the use of force, the General Assembly is purely deliberative. The General Assembly also appoints the U.N. secretary general, currently António Guterres, for five-year terms and the Security Council’s 10 nonpermanent members. Last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine delivered a searing rebuke of the Russian invasion of his country in a recorded address to the General Assembly.

Persons: ”, Peter J, Hoffman, that’s, Dr, “, it’s, Israel, António, Volodymyr Zelensky, Guterres, ’, ” Dr, Indira Gandhi of Organizations: United Nations, Assembly, Security Council, Social Council, BRICS, New School, . Security, United Nations ’, Pacific, General, Sustainable, General Assembly, Security, New Zealand —, Indira Gandhi of India Locations: Manhattan, New York City, United, New York, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Caribbean, Western Europe, Ukraine, “, South Sudan, Europe, Americas, Australia, North America, Israel, Japan, South Korea, New, ”, Oceania, America

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Mr. Biden said as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine watched from the audience. I respectfully suggest the answer is no.”“We have to stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow,” Mr. Biden continued. “Ask Prigozhin if one bets on Putin’s promises.”Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Zelensky received strong applause from some of the delegations in the hall, but many others did not clap. On Tuesday evening, Mr. Biden and Jill Biden were to host a reception for other world leaders at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “This is clearly a genocide,” Mr. Zelensky said.

Persons: Biden, Mr, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir V, Moscow, ”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, “, Biden’s, Kevin McCarthy, we’ve, Lloyd J, Austin III, Ukraine’s, Xi Jinping, Jill Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Netanyahu, “ Slava Ukraini Organizations: appeasing Moscow, United Nations General Assembly, Republicans, United Nations, International Criminal Court, . Security, Mr, White, Pentagon, Capitol, Defense, General, appeasing, United, Soviet Union —, Turkmenistan —, Metropolitan Museum of Art, United Nations ’ Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Washington, New York, Russia’s, Germany, China, Beijing, Libya, “, United Nations, Soviet Union, Soviet Union — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, China’s, Brazil, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Moldova, Georgia, Syria, Belarus, Baltic

☆ U.N. Chief’s Test: Shaming Without Naming the World’s Climate Delinquents
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Somini Sengupta | More About Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The world’s top diplomat, António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, has lately been unusually blunt in his broadsides against fossil fuel producers. Not China, the world’s coal behemoth. Not Britain or the United States, who both have ambitious climate laws but continue to issue new oil and gas permits. Not the United Arab Emirates, a petrostate where a state-owned oil company executive is hosting the upcoming United Nations climate negotiations — a move that activists have decried as undermining the very legitimacy of the talks. “The rules of multilateral diplomacy and multilateral summitry are not fit for the speedy and effective response that we need,” said Richard Gowan, who decodes the rituals of the United Nations for the International Crisis Group.

Persons: António Guterres, Guterres, ”, Richard Gowan Organizations: United Nations, United Arab, International Crisis Locations: China, Britain, United States, United Arab Emirates, Nations, Portugal

Tens of thousands of people, young and old, filled the streets of Midtown Manhattan under blazing sunshine on Sunday to demand that world leaders quickly pivot away from fossil fuels dangerously heating the Earth. Their ire was sharply directed at President Biden, who is expected to arrive in New York Sunday night for several fund-raisers this week and to speak before the United Nations General Assembly session that begins Tuesday. “Biden, you should be scared of us,” Emma Buretta, 17, a New York City high school student and an organizer with the Fridays for Future movement, shouted at a rally ahead of the march. “If you want our vote, if you don’t want the blood of our generations to be on your hands, end fossil fuels.”The Biden administration has shepherded through the United States’ most ambitious climate law and is working to transition the country to wind, solar and other renewable energy. But it has also continued to approve permits for new oil and gas drilling.

Persons: Biden, “ Biden, ” Emma Buretta, ” Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, New York City, United Locations: Midtown Manhattan, New York, New, United States

☆ The ‘Forever’ Glaciers of America’s West Aren’t Forever Anymore
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Somini Sengupta | More About Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Mount Rainier is losing its glaciers. That is all the more striking as it is the most glacier-covered mountain in the contiguous United States. The changes reflect a stark global reality: Mountain glaciers are vanishing as the burning of fossil fuels heats up Earth’s atmosphere. According to the World Glacier Monitoring Service, total glacier area has shrunk steadily in the last half-century; some of the steepest declines have been in the Western United States and Canada. Mount Rainier National Park, a popular tourist destination that gets roughly 2 million visitors every year, is feeling the effects acutely.

Organizations: Rainier, Monitoring, Western, Mount Rainier Locations: United States, Western United States, Canada

☆ Join the Times Climate Event With Bill Gates, Marie Kondo and Others
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Climate change is an issue that stretches across borders, touching every facet of our lives. On Sept. 21, The New York Times will bring together newsmakers, including innovators, activists, scientists and policymakers, for an all-day event examining the actions needed to confront climate change. Signing up for the livestream will also give you an opportunity to connect with other online attendees on the messaging platform Slack. Each day will feature a different topic and guests, along with prompts from Times editorial staff. Details about the Slack channel and event schedule will be shared after registering.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Al Gore, United States Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Ebony Twilley Martin, Greenpeace USA Eleni Myrivili, Marie Kondo, Michael R, Bloomberg L.P, Bloomberg Philanthropies Robin Wall Kimmerer, David Gelles, Somini Sengupta, Kim Severson Organizations: New York Times, Times, World Bank, United, Breakthrough Energy, Greenpeace USA, Resilience, KonMari, Bloomberg Locations: United States

☆ Climate Risks Loom Over Panama Canal, a Vital Global Trade Link
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Somini Sengupta | More About Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shallow waters, meet Christmas shopping. There could be multiple droughts affecting several trade routes at the same time, disturbing the transport (and subsequent prices) of many types of goods like liquefied natural gas and coffee beans. That is a looming risk in a world that has become accustomed to everything everywhere at all seasons. Last year, for instance, as Europe faced its worst dry spell in 500 years, ships carried a fraction of the cargo they normally do along the Rhine in Germany, one of the continent’s most important thoroughfares. The Rhine’s water levels are better this year, but the river faces a longer-term climate risk: The mountain snow and ice that feeds the Rhine is declining.

Locations: United States, Panama, Midwest, Mississippi, Europe, Germany

☆ Extreme August Arrives With a Warning: Expect More
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Somini Sengupta | More About Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In India, torrential rains triggered deadly landslides, Morocco and Japan hit new heat records, and southern Europe braced for another scorching heat wave. Those extremes have also brought high-stakes tests for public officials: Where public alerts and education worked, death and destruction were minimized. Maui has so far recorded more than 100 deaths from the blaze that started Aug. 8, and that number is projected to rise. Not all of the extreme weather events can be immediately attributed to climate change. Scientists have repeatedly warned of more heat, wildfires, droughts and intense rainfall with every degree of future warming.

Persons: El Locations: United States, Texas, Maui, India, Morocco, Japan, Europe

☆ Texas Sent Migrants Into California’s Storm Emergency, Aid Groups Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Somini Sengupta | More About Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Texas has shipped out the latest busload of migrants who had crossed the border from Mexico, this time sending them into Los Angeles as it was struggling to keep residents safe from Tropical Storm Hilary. The busload of 37 migrants left the border city of Brownsville at 5 p.m. on Sunday, just as Southern California and much of the surrounding area was in a state of emergency, according to a coalition of advocacy groups that received them. The largest group of people on the bus were from Venezuela, with the rest from Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Ecuador. Also in the group were 15 children, including a 3-week-old baby. Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, an aid groups that supports asylum seekers, called the Texas officials’ decision to send them into a storm zone “reckless.”

Persons: Hilary, Lindsay Toczylowski Organizations: Texas, Immigrant Defenders Law Center Locations: Mexico, Los Angeles, Brownsville, Southern California, Venezuela, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Ecuador, Texas

☆ Thanks, From Your Newsletter Anchor
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Somini Sengupta | More About Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Today, I wrap up my turn at helming this newsletter. It’s why I chose to anchor this newsletter for you. I wanted to show you, in short, bite-size pieces, not just the perils of global warming, but who is doing what to address it. I wanted to walk us through sometimes impenetrable debates and explain, simply, how it matters for everyday people in our everyday lives. I wrote from a place of neither hope nor despair, exactly, but from the perspective of an OK-now-what-do-we-do pragmatist.

Persons: Douglas Alteen, Manuela Andreoni, Claire O’Neill, Adam Pasick, Sharm el Sheikh, “ Locations: Sharm el

☆ A New Kind of Disaster Aid: Pay People Cash, Before Disaster Strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the United States, cash assistance to mothers for the first year of their children’s lives strengthened their babies’ brain development. Dozens of American cities have pilot projects to give poor residents no-strings-attached cash. Now comes the additional pressure of extreme weather, both slow and fast, aggravated by the burning of coal, oil and gas. Proponents of cash relief say it’s a more efficient way to use aid money because cash incurs fewer logistical expenses and funnels money directly into the local economy. “Cash transfers help families survive climate disasters,” said Miriam Laker-Oketta, research director for GiveDirectly, an aid group that does just that.

Persons: Cash, ”, Miriam Laker, “, Wanjira Mathai, Hurricane Julia Organizations: ”, World Resources Institute, International Federation of Red Locations: United States, Guatemala, Honduras

☆ Dangerous Heat and Heavy Wildfire Smoke March Across North America
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A treacherous one-two punch of heat and fire, aggravated by the burning of oil and gas, scorched a large swath of North America on Thursday, killing at least 15 people in the United States in recent days, sickening countless others, closing schools and testing basic services that remain unprepared for the new perils of summer. In the United States, a heat dome stretched from Texas to Florida all the way up to the tip of Missouri, ratcheting up the heat index — a combination of temperature and humidity — to above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in some places. Temperatures were projected to climb 15 to 20 degrees above normal in much of the region through the weekend. And in coming days, a new heat dome was expected to form over California. Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley, a region where thousands of farm workers labor outdoors for hours, are under excessive heat warnings, the Weather Service said.

Persons: it’s, ratcheting Organizations: California ., San, Weather Service Locations: North America, United States, Texas, Florida, Missouri, California, California . Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley

☆ Here’s a Look at the Water Crises That Might Be Coming to You Soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bangladesh is a land of water. Now, its most profound threat is water, in its many terrible incarnations: drought, deluge, cyclones, saltwater. The people of Bangladesh are rushing to harvest rice as soon as they get word of heavy rains upstream. They’re building floating beds of water hyacinths to grow vegetables beyond the reach of floodwaters. And where they’re running out of even drinking water, they’re learning to drink every drop of rain.

Locations: Bangladesh, Bengal

☆ Why a Huge Coal Power Plant in Bangladesh Keeps Running Out of Coal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Somini Sengupta | Julfikar Ali Manik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

One of the world’s newest, most contested coal-burning power plants began operation in December. The troubles facing the Maitree power plant are a glimpse into the risks that other new coal plants around the world could face in coming years, for a variety of reasons. Maitree shut down temporarily because of a shortage of foreign currency to import coal from Indonesia. That happened because the value of the Bangladeshi taka shrank, while commodity prices, including coal, rose sharply. Other coal plants elsewhere are at risk of sitting idle in coming years because coal could soon lose its appeal as the cheapest source of electricity.

Persons: Maitree, taka Locations: Indonesia

☆ How Africa Can Help the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Next week in Paris, a critical diplomatic meeting begins on how to enable low-income, climate-vulnerable countries to grow their economies while reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. It reminds me of my recent conversation with Wanjira Mathai, managing director for Africa and global partnerships at the World Resources Institute, and Rebekah Shirley, the Africa deputy director. “Can Africa leapfrog?” I asked them. We spoke for two hours over lunch on the terrace of a restaurant in Nairobi as marabou storks squawked and flew across the sky. Our conversation made me think in fresh ways, which is what I hope Climate Forward occasionally does for you.

Persons: Wanjira Mathai, Rebekah Shirley, “, ” Organizations: World Resources Institute Locations: Paris, Africa, Nairobi

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