13/06/2021

(CA CBC) Some Climate Change Fixes Could Drive Extinctions, UN Warns

CBC - Associated Press

A crab roams on a beach polluted with polythene pellets that washed ashore from off a port at Kapungoda, on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, in May 2021. To save the planet, the world needs to tackle twin crises of climate change and species loss together, two different teams of United Nations scientists said in a joint report released Thursday. (Eranga Jayawardena/The Associated Press)

To save the planet, the world needs to tackle the crises of climate change and species loss together, taking measures that fix both and not just one, United Nations scientists said.

A joint report Thursday by separate UN scientific bodies that look at climate change and biodiversity loss found there are ways to simultaneously attack the two global problems, but some fixes to warming could accelerate extinctions of plants and animals.

Biofuels, carbon capture and storage could pose risk to species

For example, measures such as expansion of bioenergy crops like corn, or efforts to pull carbon dioxide from the air and bury it, could use so much land — twice the size of India — that the impact would be "fairly catastrophic on biodiversity," said co-author and biologist Almut Arneth at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

Policy responses to climate change and biodiversity loss have long been siloed, with different government agencies responsible for each, said co-author Pamela McElwee, a human ecologist at Rutgers University.

The problems worsen each other, are intertwined and in the end hurt people, scientists said.

A coal-powered plant steams behind a corn field in Datteln, Germany, on July 3, 2020. Measures such as expansion of bioenergy crops like corn, or efforts to pull carbon dioxide from the air and bury it, could use so much land — that the impact would be 'fairly catastrophic on biodiversity,' said Almut Arneth, a co-author of the report. (Martin Meissner/The Associated Press)

"Climate change and biodiversity loss are threatening human well-being as well as society," said report co-chair Hans-Otto Portner, a German biologist who helps oversee the impacts group of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Earth's naturally changing climate shaped what life developed, including humans, but once people in the industrialized world started pumping fossil fuels into the air, that triggered cascading problems, Portner said.

"It's a high time to fix what we got wrong," he said. "The climate system is off-track and the biodiversity is suffering."

Protecting tropical forests, peatlands is win-win, report says

There are many measures that can address both problems at once, the report said.

"Protecting and restoring high-carbon ecosystems," such as tropical forests and peatlands, should be high priority, said co-author Pete Smith, a plant and soil scientist at the University of Aberdeen.

While some climate solutions can increase species loss, scientists said efforts to curb extinctions don't really harm the climate. Yunne Shin, director of research at French National Research Institute, said the bulk of measures taken to protect biodiversity will also help curb climate change.

While she applauded growing interest in nature-based solutions, she said, conservation measures "must be accompanied by clear cuts in emissions."

"This report is an important milestone," said Simon Lewis, chairman of global change science at University College London, who was not part of the report.

"Finally the world's bodies that synthesize scientific information on two of the most profound 21st century crises are working together," he said.

"Halting biodiversity loss is even harder than phasing out fossil fuel use."

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(AU ABC) Coral Reefs Across The World 'In Danger' As Scientists Note Slowing Calcification

ABC News - Myles Houlbrook-Walk

Lord Howe Island and the Great Barrier Reef are among the reefs across the planet where calcification is slowing. Supplied: Dr Kay Davis, Southern Cross University

A new report has issued a dire warning for the future of coral reefs in Australia and the rest of the world.

Research led by Kay Davis at the National Marine Science Centre in Coffs Harbour analysed 116 scientific studies looking at coral reef growth known as "calcification" over 50 years and found it could cease into the future.

Calcification allows corals to build the hard outer shells they need to survive.

Dr Davis said the reduction in calcification made it harder for reefs when they endured bleaching events.

"As coral growth decreases, it reduces the resilience for future stress events," she said.


Case studies looking at calcification included the Great Barrier Reef, Lord Howe Island and Western Australia as well as international sites. Lord Howe Island was included in the study. Supplied: Ian Hutton
Dr Davis found calcification rates had dropped at world-heritage site Lord Howe Island, which is the southernmost coral reef in the world.

"Calcification rates were between 30 to 55 per cent lower than healthy conditions," she said.

"Coral reefs globally could stop calcifying around 2054, which is really concerning because we need to preserve these coral reefs for the biodiversity they house."

Associate Professor of Physics Scott Heron at the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies was not involved with the research but said the findings were concerning.

Scientists say action needs to be taken in the next decade to secure the future of reefs around the world. Supplied: Victor Huertas
"The calcium carbonate skeleton of the reef is the foundational structure — if we take away the structure we take away the habitat," Dr Heron said.

The paper titled 'Global coral reef ecosystems exhibit declining calcification and increasing primary productivity' has been published in the scientific journal Communications Earth & Environment. 

Climate change key threat

Dr Davis noted calcification was influenced by a number of factors including sunlight, plastics or physical pollution, and the temperature of the water among others.

She was clear in what posed the biggest threat to reef health.
"The future of all coral reefs is on the line with global climate change," Dr Davis said.
Dr Heron echoed Dr Davis's sentiment.

"It really is critical this decade we take serious steps and significant action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and minimise the impact on coral reefs," he said.

A spokesperson for Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley told the ABC the government's strategy for improving the long-term outlook for coral reefs was to contribute to the global effort to reduce emissions reductions and take direct action to reduce pressures like poor water quality.

"Australia is also leading the way in reef adaptation science through the $150 million Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program — a world-leading project, which is being delivered by a consortium that includes Southern Cross University, to find innovative ways for coral reefs to adapt to the impacts of climate change," the spokesperson said.

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(USA Bloomberg) Investors With $41 Trillion Ask G-7 To Stop Subsidizing Fossil Fuels

Bloomberg Green - 

They also want nations to phase out thermal coal-based electricity generation

Photographer: David Gray/Bloomberg

A coalition of investors overseeing a combined $US41 trillion of assets have called on world leaders to set more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions targets and end support for fossil fuels.

DWS Group, Legal and General Investment Management and Pacific Investment Management Co. were among 457 investors that wrote a joint letter to heads of state ahead of the Group of Seven leaders summit that will start on Friday in Cornwall, England.

The money managers requested all governments commit to net zero emissions by mid-century, increase their 2030 emissions reductions targets in line with limiting global warming to 1.5° Celcius, remove fossil fuel subsidies and phase out thermal coal-based electricity generation.

Climate change will be a key topic of conversation at the G-7 event, which is being held five months ahead of the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow where signatories of the 2015 Paris climate accord are expected to review their promises to cut emissions and set more ambitious goals.

The coalition argues that countries that move swiftly to decarbonize and prepare for a future less dependent on fossil fuels are also likely to attract more capital.

“Those who set ambitious targets in line with achieving net-zero emissions, and implement consistent national climate policies in the short-to-medium term, will become increasingly attractive investment destinations,” the investors wrote.

“Full implementation of the Paris Agreement will create significant investment opportunities in clean technologies, green infrastructure and other assets, products and services needed in this new economy.” 

The investor coalition, which also includes Amundi SA and Fidelity International, also called for Covid-19 economic recovery plans to support the transition to net-zero emissions and for climate-related financial reporting to become mandatory.

“The world’s leading investors are making it crystal clear they expect governments to show they are committed to tackling the climate crisis,” said Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change.

“Those that fall short will increasingly be left behind as the race to a cleaner future gathers pace.”

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