Renewable energy and proper climate policy are key to dropping emissions, carbon consultancy chief says
Emissions from transport are at record levels.
Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
Australia’s emissions over the past year were the highest on record,
when relatively unreliable emissions from land use are excluded,
according to estimates by the carbon consultancy NDEVR Environmental. Greenhouse gas emissions
continued to rise in recent quarters, with the most recent the second
highest for any quarter since 2011, despite electricity emissions being
driven down by wind generation.
The government’s official public release of data on emissions is now
six months behind and NDEVR Environmental’s estimations attempt to
mirror that methodology. Released in partnership with Guardian
Australia, the results have proven very accurate when compared with data
eventually released by the federal government.
The ever-increasing emissions are taking Australia further from both
its carbon-reduction commitments made in Paris and the much bigger
reductions demanded by the science-based targets, recommended by the
government’s Climate Change Authority.
NDEVR found emissions in the most recent quarter soared to levels only seen once in the past six years.
That came despite massive jumps in wind-generated electricity in
Victoria and New South Wales, which more than doubled, pushing down
emissions from the National Electricity Market.
But emissions from transport were at record levels, with jumps in the use of diesel and aviation fuel.
Emissions in all other sectors either remained stable or increased slightly.
Matt Drum, founder of NDEVR, said their results show carbon emissions
are not going to drop until proper climate policy is in place.
He said the drop in emissions from electricity was driven by market
forces, not policy. “If you don’t foster renewable energy, it’s only
going to get worse,” Drum said.
In both 2015 and 2016, the government quietly released data
showing rising emissions on the days before Christmas, with this year’s
data still not released just two weeks out from Christmas.
And, for the past two years,
documents released under freedom of information laws have shown the
government has had the data for months before releasing it.
“They might drop it just before Christmas again but it’s not much of a
Christmas present for Australia’s emission profile and it goes to show
that Australia’s climate policy needs a lot of work,” Drum said.
Last week, the Climate Council called on the government to end what it called “climate censorship”.
“At a time when Australia’s federal climate and energy policy remains
in limbo, it has never been more important for transparent pollution
information,” the Climate Council chief executive, Amanda McKenzie,
said. “Continuing to keep the information hidden just raises questions
about what there is to hide.
“For several years, there’s been a consistent delay from the
Department of the Environment and Energy’s national greenhouse gas
inventory on releasing vital emissions data. This raises serious
questions over the federal government’s transparency on Australia’s
pollution levels.”
Golden eagles in North America may
have the timing of their migration shifted out of step with a seasonal
boom in food they need to raise their young, according to scientists.
A
project to track the impact of climate change on migrating animals has
revealed that adult golden eagles are unable to shift the timing of
their migration.
Lead researcher Scott LaPoint from Columbia University presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
He
explained that day length, or photoperiod, appeared to give the great
birds the cue to go "as far and as fast as possible".
When
analysing tracking data, composed of 20 years' worth of tagging birds
with satellite tags and following their seasonal migrations, Dr LaPoint
noticed an unusual pattern. Younger raptors would shift the timing of
their journey, seemingly adapting to weather conditions and climate.
"But the adults get this photoperiod trigger and it's 'Time to go!'," he told BBC News.
"I would have expected an older, wiser bird to better time their migration," he added.
"But,
with this [daylight] trigger, they don't have the luxury of deciding.
They need to get [to their nesting site] as soon as possible to initiate
a clutch.
"They want to get their chicks as independent as possible by October, November."
Birds
younger than five years are sub-adult. They do not reproduce, so they
are able to wait for good thermals to take them on a less
energy-intensive journey north.
Northern-breeding golden eagles can travel thousands of miles to their wintering grounds.
And they have adapted to have their departure coincide with the first lasting snowfall or freeze and decreasing prey abundance.
If
they're coming up at the same time every year, and if there's a change
in that ecosystem due to climate change - whether that's a shifting of
when spring arrives, or more extreme weather events - that time of
arrival could be less optimal, said Dr LaPoint.
"We're potentially disrupting this synchrony. And if the birds aren't able to adapt, I'm not sure what to expect."
Kittiwakes and gannets are among seabirds that have joined endangered
species on IUCN red list as food stocks dwindle, says study
‘Disastrous chick survival rates’: a black-legged kittiwake rests on a rock ledge in Scotland, UK.
Photograph: Alamy
Overfishing and climate change are pushing some of the world’s most
iconic seabirds to the brink of extinction, according to a new report.
The study reveals that kittiwakes and gannets are among a number of
seabirds that have now joined the red list of under-threat birds drawn
up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Dr Ian Burfield, global science coordinator at Birdlife International
which carried out the study for IUCN, said the threat to these birds
pointed to a wider environmental challenge.
“Birds are well studied and great indicators of the health of the
wider environment. A species at higher risk of extinction is a worrying
alarm call that action needs to be taken now.”
The study found that overfishing and changes in the Pacific and north
Atlantic caused by climate change have affected the availability of
sand eels which black-legged kittiwakes feed on during the breeding
season.
This has caused “disastrous chick survival rates”, it says, with
nesting kittiwake numbers plummeting by 87% since 2000 on the Orkney and
Shetland Islands, and by 96% on the Hebridean island of St Kilda.
‘Alarming decline’: Atlantic puffins on Eastern Egg Rock, a small
island off the coast of Maine, US. Photograph: Robert F Bukaty/AP
Globally, the species is thought to have declined by about 40% since
the 1970s, justifying its move from the “least concern” category to
“vulnerable” on the Red List.
“The alarming decline of the black-legged kittiwake and other North
Atlantic and Arctic seabirds, such as the Atlantic puffin, provides a
painful lesson in what happens when nations take an ‘out of sight, out
of mind’ approach to conservation,” said Marguerite Tarzia, European
marine conservation officer for BirdLife International.
The study also found that the number of Cape gannets – which breed
around Namibia and South Africa – has dropped 50% since the 1950s as
food stocks dwindle from overfishing and climate change.
The study also found that the yellow-breasted bunting, once
super-abundant, has declined by 80% since 2002, putting it in the
highest category, “critically endangered”. It blames illegal trapping in
China.
The snowy owl population in the North American Arctic is much smaller than previously thought. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
In the North American Arctic, the report found the snowy owl
population is much smaller than previously thought and in rapid decline.
It said climate change, which has caused snow to melt and reduce rodent
cover, was one the key factors.
However, the study did find some positive trends. The Dalmatian
pelican has seen its numbers increase in Europe thanks to the
introduction of artificial nesting rafts and disturbance prevention. In
New Zealand two species of kiwi are more numerous to the control of
predators and a programme of egg rearing.
Burfield said: “Thankfully success in kiwi and pelican conservation
shows that, when well resourced and supported, conservation efforts
really do pay off.”
