(Anthropocene) Scientifically Accurate Coverage Of Climate Change Is Steadily Improving

Anthropocene - Sarah DeWeerdt

But, there’s one place it still continues to fail: conservative media

Ostrich image: Igor Kopelinski

Coverage in major print media outlets now largely reflects the scientific consensus about the human cause of climate change and is getting more accurate over time, according to new research that surveys articles published over the last 15 years.

The findings update an influential 2004 study of U.S. newspapers from 1990-2002. That study found that journalists’ pursuit of “balance” and “objectivity” often boosted the voices of climate denialists, resulting in biased articles that inaccurately suggested the cause of climate change was a scientific controversy.

People often cite that study as evidence of ongoing problems in journalism, but it wasn’t clear whether its findings still pertain. (One of the authors of that previous study, Max Boykoff, Director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado Boulder, is also a coauthor of the new one.)

“We know that in the past, ‘both-sides’ reporting of climate change has perpetuated the inaccurate perception that there is still significant scientific disagreement on this issue,” says study team member Meaghan Daly, a social scientist at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine.

“The good news is that this study shows that in the print news media, this type of problematic reporting is largely falling by the wayside.”

Daly and her colleagues analyzed 2,662 articles concerning the cause of climate change that were published between 2005 and 2019 in 17 top newspapers from five countries: the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S. This was about 1% of the more than 246,000 articles referencing climate change or global warming published in these outlets during that time period.

They read the articles to determine whether each one conveyed the scientific consensus view that climate change is primarily human-caused.

Of the articles, 2,397 accurately represented the primarily human cause of climate change, 150 offered false balance, and 113 expressed contrarian or denialist viewpoints, the researchers report in the journal Environmental Research Letters. (Two pieces published over the 15-year period inaccurately suggested no role for natural variations in climate shifts.)

In other words, 90% of the articles overall reflected the scientific consensus. “In addition, our data suggest that scientifically accurate coverage of climate change is improving over time,” from 87% to 92% over the 15 years covered by the study, says study team member Lucy McAllister, a postdoctoral researcher at the Technical University of Munich in Germany.

“However, it is important to note that some conservative media outlets remain exceptions,” McAllister adds.

Climate change coverage in conservative newspapers – Canada’s National Post, Australia’s Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, and the U.K.’s Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday – was less accurate than that in other publications.

The National Post had the least accurate coverage, with about 71% of articles reflecting the scientific consensus about the cause of climate change.

These outlets also published fewer articles about the cause of climate change overall.

Meanwhile, the most accurate coverage came from left-leaning outlets, Canada’s Toronto Star (97.37%) and the U.K.’s Guardian and Observer (95.00%). The latter publication also had the largest number of articles analyzed.

The findings suggest that media analysis needs to move beyond the notion of false balance.

“Most major print media may be reporting climate change accurately, but new questions arise, such as how solutions are being discussed. Which ideas are getting more text or frontline coverage, and why?” says McAllister.

“Also, researchers should be examining the types of coverage in the countries facing the most extreme impacts of our changing climate.”

In addition to examining the portrayal of climate change on television and in social media, researchers should be alert for new and subtler forms of denialism.

“As it has become more difficult to deny the existence of climate change — as more and more people directly observe the impacts of climate change in their day-to-day lives — new strategies are emerging to instead delay meaningful action on climate,” Daly says.

“So, it will be important for researchers to examine the stealthier ways in which opponents of climate action are now working to undermine efforts to address the causes and consequences of climate change.”

Links

• Balance as bias, resolute on the retreat? Updates & analyses of newspaper coverage in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Canada over the past 15 years
• (The Nation) The Media’s Climate Blind Spot Is Geographic
• (Gizmodo) Why TV Is So Bad At Covering Climate Change
• Climate Fight 'Is Undermined By Social Media's Toxic Reports'
• (AU) News Corp Has Caused Massive Climate Delay, But Its Grip On Power Is Slipping
• (AU) Australians Fed Up With News Corp’s Climate Scepticism
• Is News Media Doing Enough To Change The Climate Crisis Narrative?
• (AU) Kevin Rudd Says Climate Change Is the Reason He's Taking On Rupert Murdoch

(AU SMH) ‘Really Big Win’: NSW Environmental Watchdog Ordered To Address Climate Change

Sydney Morning Herald - Peter Hannam | Miki Perkins

In a landmark ruling, a NSW court has ordered the state’s environmental watchdog to take action to address climate change.

In a judgment on Thursday, Chief Judge of the Land & Environment Court Brian Preston ordered the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) “to develop environmental quality objectives, guidelines and policies to ensure environment protection from climate change”.

Findings in NSW’s Land and Environment Court that the EPA must set objectives, guidelines and policies for greenhouse gas emissions could set a precedent for other jurisdictions. Credit: Nick Moir

The judgment hinged on the interpretation of the duties imposed on the agency, particularly section 9(1)(a) of the Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991.

The EPA, which regulates a range of sectors from forestry to pollution controls, had accepted climate change was a global problem but argued no local action by the agency alone could address the problem.

The order for the EPA to address climate change was welcomed by the Environmental Defenders Office, which had argued the case on behalf of the Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action following the record 2019-20 bushfires that scorched more than 5 million hectares in NSW alone.

Climate policy

'Kick them into action': Fire group takes EPA to court over climate

“It’s a really big win,” Elaine Johnson, a director of EDO’s legal strategy, said. “It means [the EPA] has to do something to ensure there is protection against climate change.”

While Justice Preston did not specify the action the agency should take, the steps could range from putting a price on carbon to placing caps on pollution or setting safe levels in pollution licences, Ms Johnson said.

The ruling comes just weeks after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest report showing how human activities are warming the planet by burning fossil fuels and other activities.

“The next 10 years are really critical,” Ms Johnson said. “We need rapid and deep emissions cuts.”

An EPA spokeswoman said the agency was reviewing the order and its implications for the agency.

“The EPA is an active government partner on climate change policy, regulation and innovation,” the spokeswoman said.

“It is a part of the whole-of-government approach to climate change embodied by the NSW Climate Change Policy Framework and Net Zero Plan”, including supporting industry to cut emissions.

The EDO’s Ms Johnson said the court’s decision was the first in Australia to find that a government agency has a requirement to address climate change.

“It’s breaking new ground,” she said, adding that other states could face similar legal challenges.

Justice Preston also ordered the EPA to pay the applicant’s costs of the proceedings.

Extreme weather

Black Summer bushfires made worse by climate change, risk to 'rapidly intensify'

Jo Dodds, president of the Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action group, welcomed the decision as “a significant win for everyone who has been affected by bushfires”.

“BSCA members have been working for years to rebuild their homes, their lives and their communities,” Ms Dodds said.

“This ruling means they can do so with confidence that the EPA must now also work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state,” she added.

“Global warming is creating the conditions that can lead to hotter and fiercer fires, and all of us need to work to make sure we’re doing everything we can to prevent a disaster like we saw during 2019 and 2020.”

Chris Gambian, chief executive of the Nature Conservation Council, said the court ruling put the state’s biggest polluters on notice.

“Most people will be astonished to learn the EPA has until now not regulated greenhouse gases, which are arguably our most dangerous environmental pollutants,” Mr Gambian said.

“But that will now have to change after the court found the EPA had a duty to address climate change, which is the most significant challenge our society has ever faced,” he said.

“This is a great day for environmental justice.”

Justice Preston stated that the EPA’s duty must evolve over time and place to address changes to the threats to the environment, including global warming from greenhouse gas emissions.

“[T]he pollutants of yesteryear, with their concomitant threats to the environment and risks to human health, may no longer be the pollutants of today, which pose different threats to the environment and different risks to human health,” he wrote in his judgment.

Nick Witherow, the principal lawyer at Environmental Justice Australia, said the decision could open up the possibility of similar challenges in other jurisdictions.

Climate policy

‘Grow a spine’: Berejikilan’s climate action is falling short

But he noted the NSW EPA is governed by its own particular law (the PEOA Act), which is different to those in Victoria and South Australia.

New environment laws were introduced in Victoria from the start of last month that give the EPA greater power to regulate pollutants, including greenhouse gases.

“These laws are new and haven’t been tested, and this [decision in NSW] raises the question of what is possible,” Mr Witherow said.

In March, the Victorian EPA released a long-awaited review of the state’s heavily polluting coal-fired power station licences, which was undertaken to ensure they were compatible with the latest science and “take into account community views and expectations”.

The EPA said it would not force coal power stations to lower their greenhouse gas emissions, following this review and renewal of their licences.

For the first time, it did introduce limits on mercury pollution, and tightened limits on other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and small particulates, or PM2.5. But no restrictions will be set on greenhouse gases, which would be capped at “approximately current levels”.

Comment was sought from NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean.

Cate Faehrmann, NSW Greens environment spokeswoman said the court was “huge”.

“Climate change is the Number One risk to countless threatened species and their habitat,” Ms Faehrmann said.

“It’s therefore very welcome news that the EPA can no longer ignore this major environmental threat and will need to regulate, and aim to prevent, some of its impact.”

Links

• Caselaw: Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Incorporated v Environment Protection Authority
• Bushfire Survivors Take Action Over NSW Climate Policy
• Court Rules Bushfire Survivors Can Present Climate Evidence in Case Against NSW EPA
• (AU EDO) Landmark Bushfire Survivors’ Climate Case Is Heard
• (AU ABC) Human Rights Issue Or 'Green Lawfare'? Citizens Take To The Courts To Fight Climate Change
• (Legal) Climate Change Cases Doubled Past Six Years
• (AU ABC Law Report) Climate Change Litigation
• Lethal Heating: Legal Posts

(AU The Age) Three Pandemic Measures That Will Also Curb Climate Change: Flannery

The Age - Stuart Layt

One of Australia’s leading climate change experts is urging governments to learn the lessons of the current pandemic and apply them to climate change, before it is too late.

Professor Tim Flannery said the response to the pandemic in Australia gave the perfect blueprint for dealing with climate change.

Tim Flannery says the measures used to fight to pandemic are the exact same which should be used to curb climate change. Credit: Janie Barrett

“The pandemic has taught us a lot. It’s taught us the virtue of early action,” Professor Flannery said.

“If you leave a problem too long you run out of control, so early action is the most valuable action.”

In particular, the former chief commissioner of the Climate Commission and former Australian of the Year said there were three prongs to the approach which could be easily scaled up.

First was to “stem the spread”. For the pandemic, that took the form of lockdowns and other measures to curb the virus, while for climate change, this would be immediate measures to curb carbon emissions.

While many people accepted lockdown measures in 2020, frustration has risen in recent months, despite their proven effectiveness.

Professor Flannery said governments could learn a key lesson about making sure people bought in to the initial measures.

From a climate-change perspective, that meant ensuring communities that would be genuinely worse off during a transition towards renewables were taken care of.

“We saw that during the pandemic with JobKeeper and JobSeeker, people were frustrated with the lockdown, but they were grateful for the financial support,” he said.

 “We know with the climate crisis there are communities all over the country which will need to be brought along into the new clean energy world with a real sense of social justice, that they’re not being left behind.”

The second prong was to ensure emergency departments were bolstered, which was needed for both pandemic response and the extra capacity requirements predicted by experts due to climate-related health issues.

Third was to develop a vaccine in a pandemic, while to combat climate change Professor Flannery said the vaccine stage would take the form of restorative measures such as replanting old-growth forests.

“I think we’ve lacked focus on the holistic approach that’s required in the climate challenge,” he said.

“A lot of people think it’s just stopping the problem from getting worse by cutting emissions. Well, that’s part of it, but there’s a whole series of other things that the pandemic has taught us that we need to keep an eye on.”

Experts have pointed out that the effects of climate change would increase the number of disease outbreaks and raise the risk of new pandemics arising owing to animal populations being driven into closer proximity with humans.

That meant by learning lessons from the pandemic, governments could help to reduce the effects of climate change as well as help prevent future pandemics as a side-benefit.

Professor Flannery said he had seen a shifting in the momentum from government and industry on the issue of climate change, but the response needed to be sped up at all levels.

“I don’t deal with hope or despair, I just know what needs to be done, and I’m encouraging people to get on with it as quickly as we can,” he said.

“The sooner we do it, the better off we’ll be. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need to act early.”

Professor Flannery will outline his thoughts on the connection between COVID and climate change in a keynote address as part of Queensland University of Technology’s Sustainability Week.

He had been due to give the lecture in person but the current outbreak in NSW meant he could not leave Sydney, and the address would be streamed online.

The event is free, and people can register to watch the address at the QUT website.

Links

• AU) Tim Flannery: We Need To Talk To Our Kids About The Climate Crisis. But Courage Fails Me When I Look At My Son
• The Pandemic Taught Us How Not To Deal With Climate Change
• (AU The Conversation) Ordinary People, Extraordinary Change: Addressing The Climate Emergency Through ‘Quiet Activism’
• (AU SMH) Carbon Dreaming: How To Fix The Climate Crisis
• (AU Canberra Times) Public Sector Informant: Reducing Greenhouse Emissions Will Take A Group Effort - Including From Australia
• (AU) Australian Youth Feel Unprepared, Uneducated And Underappreciated On Climate Change: Report
• Overwhelming majority believe Australia is already experiencing climate change

(AU ABC) Study Finds Green Roofs Make Solar Panels More Efficient

ABC News - Ursula Malone

Researchers compared the energy output on two neighbouring roofs. (ABC News: Ursula Malone)

Key Points Study finds solar panels work better when they're not too hot Over eight months, the roof with greenery generated an additional $2,595 worth of renewable energy Sustainability expert says green roofs can help in the fight against climate change

Two identical office buildings side by side in Sydney's Barangaroo provided a perfect opportunity for solar energy researchers to test a long-held hunch.

Would surrounding rooftop solar panels with green plants make them more efficient?

The answer, as it turned out, was yes.

The study was led by Peter Irga from the University of Technology Sydney and funded by the City of Sydney Council.

"For the first time we had the opportunity to compare these two buildings against each other," Dr Irga said.

Solar panels on the green roof at Daramu House produced 3.6 per cent more electricity than those on a neighbouring rooftop. (ABC NEWS: Ursula Malone)

On hot days, surface temperatures were up to 20 degrees lower on the green roof compared with the standard solar roof. (Supplied: University of Technology, Sydney.)

On top of one of the buildings was a conventional photovoltaic solar system. On the other, researchers surrounded the solar panels with plants and foliage. They then compared how much energy the two solar systems produced over an eight-month period.

What they found was that the "green roof" improved performance by as much as 20 per cent at peak times and by 3.6 per cent over the length of the experiment.

Dr Irga said that solar panels actually worked better when they were not too hot.

On the green roof plants helped keep the solar panels at optimum temperatures. (ABC NEWS: Ursula Malone)

"We are blessed in Australia to have so much sunlight but temperatures above 25 degrees make photovoltaic panels less efficient," he said.
Jock Gammon is the co-founder of Junglefy, the company that installed the green roof.

"We had heard of anecdotal evidence there was improved performance but we have seen up to 3.6 per cent increase in solar panel output," he said.

"Now that doesn't sound like a lot but with solar panels at the moment to even get a one or two per cent increase is a big deal."

Jock Gammon, co-founder of Junglefy, said green roofs can help future-proof cities. (ABC News: Ursula Malone)

Over eight months the green roof generated an additional 9.5 MWh or $2,595 worth of renewable energy.

The extra energy could be sold back to the grid resulting in a cost saving for the building.

Lucy Sharman, sustainability manager for Lendlease, which owns the building said the study proved "something that's been a bit of theory for a while".

"As the results started to come through about how much more efficient the solar panels were, how much cooler this roof was that was really exciting."

On hot days, the surface temperature on the green roof was up to 20C lower compared with the roof with no plants.

Mr Gammon said green roofs had a role to play in future-proofing cities against the damaging effects of climate change.

Lucy Sharman, Sustainability manager at Lendlease, on the green roof at Barangaroo. (ABC NEWS: Ursula Malone)

"If we're able to keep our hard surfaces non-absorbent, they're not releasing that heat back into the air at night and we're not then having to use a lot more electricity to reduce those temperatures."

As well as cooling the building, the green roof absorbed almost nine tonnes of greenhouse gases.

During storms, the plants soaked up heavy rain, reducing the amount of storm water run-off and decreasing the risk of flash flooding.

"We're looking at 600 litres per second sequestered into the green roof as opposed to going into the system," Dr Irga said.

For those involved in the study, one of the most exciting outcomes was the increase in biodiversity in the heart of the city.

In just a few months, the rooftop has attracted a wide range of insects, birds and native bees.

"Very quickly the wildlife up here was amazing," Ms Sharman said.

Motion sensor cameras captured images of birds visiting the rooftop. (Supplied: University of Technology Sydney.)

Researchers captured images of birds on the green roof. (Supplied: University of Technology Sydney)

"That's the thing that's been most positive. Even a small amount of green space can make actually quite a significant difference." Researchers said they even found evidence that predatory birds were using the rooftop.

"To attract any animals that high up in the middle of the CBD is quite astounding," Dr Irga said.

In the cities of the future, green roofs could also provide valuable outdoor space for humans.

"Particularly in the middle of lockdown, we are really craving green and open spaces and there are lots of little nooks and crannies in cities that are not being used," Ms Sharman said.

Links

• (AU The Guardian) Solar Power In Australia Outstrips Coal-Fired Electricity For First Time
• (New Yorker) Renewable Energy Is Suddenly Startlingly Cheap
• (Carbon Tracker) The Sky’s The Limit: Solar And Wind Energy Potential Is 100 Times As Much As Global Energy Demand
• Solar Technology: The Us And China Look To Australian Innovators For Solutions
• (AU) Victoria Pledges $797m For Australia's Biggest Household Energy Efficiency Drive
• How Energy Efficiency Will Reshape Power Markets

(AU The Conversation) Ordinary People, Extraordinary Change: Addressing The Climate Emergency Through ‘Quiet Activism’

The Conversation - Wendy Steele | Diana MacCallum | Donna Houston | JasonByrne | Jean Hillier

Shutterstock

Authors Wendy Steele is Associate Professor, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Diana MacCallum is Adjunct research academic, Curtin University Donna Houston is Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University Jason Byrne is Professor of Human Geography and Planning, University of Tasmania Jean Hillier is Professor Emerita, RMIT University

Across the world, people worried about the impacts of climate change are seeking creative and meaningful ways to transform their urban environments.

One such approach is known as “quiet activism”.

“Quiet activism” refers to the extraordinary measures taken by ordinary people as part of their everyday lives, to address the climate emergency at the local level.

In the absence of national leadership, local communities are forging new responses to the climate crisis in places where they live, work and play.

As we outline in a book released this month, these responses work best when they are collaborative, ongoing and tailored to local circumstances.

Here are three examples that show how it can be done.

Climate for Change: a Tupperware party but make it climate

Climate for Change is a democratic project in citizen-led climate education and participation.

This group has engaged thousands of Australians about the need for climate action — not through public lectures or rallies, but via kitchen table-style local gatherings with family and friends.

As they put it:

We’ve taken the party-plan model made famous by Tupperware and adapted it to allow meaningful discussions about climate change to happen at scale.

Their website quotes “Jarrod”, who hosted one such party, saying:

I’ve been truly surprised by the lasting impact of my conversation amongst friends who were previously silent on the issue – we are still talking about it nine months on.

Climate for Change has published a “climate conversation guide” to help people tackle tricky talks with friends and family about climate change.

It has also produced a resource on how to engage your local MP on climate change.

Have you heard about Climate for Change? Their mission is to create the social climate in Australia for effective action on climate change, helping ordinary people to have conversations with those they know and trust.https://t.co/dVWy3mDVOv pic.twitter.com/izLdLR5MaI

— Milkwood (@milkwoodfarm) April 15, 2021

EnviroHouse: hands-on community education

EnviroHouse is a not-for-profit organisation based in Western Australia committed to local-scale climate action through hands-on community education and engagement projects, such as:

• facilitating workshops on energy efficiency
• visiting schools on request to provide sustainability services
• collecting seeds to grow thousands of she-oaks, paperbarks and rushes along the eroded Maylands foreshore in Perth
• teaching workshops on composting, worm farming and bokashi techniques to community members
• giving talks on sustainable living
• running a home and workplace energy and water auditing program

This Saturday 31 July - the @cityofbayswater Community Planting Day is taking place at Eric Singleton Wetlands. Come along. 🌱🌱🌱https://t.co/VlojAdWdIP

— EnviroHouse (@HouseEnviro) July 26, 2021

Climarte: arts for a safe climate Climarte is a group that

collaborates with a wide range of artists, art professionals, and scientists to produce compelling programs for change. Through festivals, events and interventions, we invite those who live, work and play in the arts to join us.

This group aims to create a space which brings together artists and the public to work, think and talk through the implications of climate change.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by CLIMARTE (@climarteaus)

Why quiet?

Quiet activism raises questions around what it means to be an activist, or to “do activism”.

While loud, attention-grabbing and disruptive protests are important, local-scale activities are also challenging the “business as usual” model. These quiet approaches highlight how ordinary citizens can take action every day to generate transformative change.

There is a tendency within climate activism to dismiss “quiet” activities as merely a precursor to bigger, more effective (that is, “louder”) political action.

Everyday local-scale activities are sometimes seen as disempowering or conservative; they’re sometimes cast as privileging individual roles and responsibility over collective action.

However, a growing range of voices draws attention to the transformative potential of small, purposeful everyday action.

UK-based researcher Laura Pottinger emphasises that these everyday practices are acts of care and kindness to community — both human and non-human.

Her interest is a “dirt under the fingernails” kind of activism, which gains strength from a quiet commitment to practical action.

Researcher Laura Pottinger argues that a kind of ‘dirt under the fingernails’ activism gains strength from a quiet commitment to practical action. Shutterstock

Climate action, here and how

The climate crisis has arrived and urgent action is required.

By creatively participating in local climate action, we can collectively reimagine our experience of, and responses to, the climate emergency.

In doing so, we lay the foundation for new possibilities.

Quiet activism is not a panacea. Like any other form of activism, it can be ineffective or, worse, damaging. Without an ethical framework, it risks enabling only short-lived action, or leading to only small pockets of localised activity.

But when done ethically and sustainably — with long-term impact in mind — quiet activism can make a profound difference to lives and communities.

Links

• Quiet Activism: Climate Action at the Local Scale
• Climate for Change
• Climate for Change: Take Action
• Climate for Change: The Climate Conversation Guide
• Climate for Change: How To Engage Our MPs On Climate
• Environment House
• CLIMARTE: Emergency Action
• Disaster season is here — do you have a Resilience Action Plan? Here's how the small town of Tarnagulla built theirs
• From veggie gardening to op-shopping, migrants are the quiet environmentalists

(Foreign Policy) The Middle East Is Becoming Literally Uninhabitable

Foreign Policy - Anchal Vohra

One of the regions hardest hit by climate change is also one least equipped to deal with it.

A wildfire which engulfing a Mediterranean resort region on Turkey's southern coast near the town of Manavgat, on July 30, 2021. AFP via Getty Images

Author Anchal Vohra is a columnist for Foreign Policy and a freelance TV correspondent and commentator on the Middle East based in Beirut.

This summer, several picturesque countries in the Middle East became tinderboxes. As extreme temperatures and severe droughts ravaged the region, forests burned, and cities became islands of unbearable heat.

In June, Kuwait recorded a temperature of 53.2 degrees Celsius (127.76 degrees Fahrenheit), while Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia all recorded over 50 degrees (122 degrees).

A month later, temperatures in Iraq spiked to 51.5 degrees (124.7 degrees), and Iran recorded a close 51 degrees (123.8 degrees).

Worst of all, this is just the start of a trend. The Middle East is warming at twice the global average and by 2050 will be 4 degrees Celsius warmer as compared with the 1.5 degree mark that scientists have prescribed to save humanity.

The World Bank says extreme climatic conditions will become routine and the region could face four months of scorching sun every year. According to Germany’s Max Planck Institute, many cities in the Middle East may literally become uninhabitable before the end of the century. And the region, ravaged by war and mired in sectarianism, may be singularly ill-prepared to face the challenges that threaten its collective existence.

Since the region is split between haves and have-nots, it is the poorer cousins of the oil-rich countries that have been the first to face social disorder over the lack of basic amenities, such as water and electricity, that people desperately need to survive the extreme heat.

These countries are ruled by ineffective governments, autocrats, or clerics and have dilapidated energy infrastructure and deep-rooted structural deficiencies that block the promotion of and technological innovation in renewable energy.

Experts say political and economic reforms that strengthen institutions and promote businesses to think freely are essential to reduce carbon emissions and ensure a shift to clean energy in the Middle East.

Greenhouse gas emissions have more than tripled in the region over the last three decades and caused concern among experts that a steep rise in temperatures on the one hand and lack of basic services on the other are making the region a more desperate and dangerous place.

Jos Lelieveld, an expert on the climate of the Middle East and Mediterranean at the Max Planck Institute, said the Middle East has overtaken the European Union in greenhouse gas emissions even though it is “particularly strongly affected” by climate change.

“In several cities in the Middle East, temperatures have been soaring well in excess of 50 degrees Celsius,” Lelieveld said. “If nothing changes, cities may experience temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius in the future, which will be dangerous for those who do not have access to air conditioning.”

Air conditioners have become a luxury even for the relatively wealthy in countries such as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.

These countries are encumbered by war, Western sanctions, or a self-serving ruling elite and have witnessed large protests against a lack of basic services as temperatures rise and droughts parch the fields. The scenes of social unrest have offered a glimpse into the future of the region that most acutely feels the impact of a changing climate.

In Iraq, record-breaking heat last month pushed people onto the streets. They blocked roads, burned tires, and in anger surrounded power plants that had to be secured by armed forces.

Ironically, oil-rich Basra in southern Iraq faces among the longest power outages and has been the epicenter of demonstrations in which at least three Iraqis have been killed. According to experts, political instability is the leading cause behind Iraq’s electricity crisis.

In Lebanon, a similar scenario unfolded this month. The Lebanese are already grappling with myriad crises and are frustrated at the inaction of the political elite. As fuel supply dwindled, scenes of chaos emerged from across the country. Some people looted fuel tankers, others ransacked power plants, and yet more carried firearms to fuel stations to get ahead of hundreds in line.

Power outages lasting three hours had been routine in Lebanon since the civil war ended in 1990. But as the economy collapsed in 2019, blackouts became longer and generators louder, roaring through the country.

On Aug. 12, the central bank lifted subsidies on fuel, and generators ran dry. Lights went off, and even those in affluent neighborhoods—used to air conditioners—had to cope with the sweltering heat.

The local press reported nearly daily skirmishes between people at gas stations that necessitated the presence of the Lebanese army to watch over the distribution and keep peace. In one incident, a confiscated fuel tanker exploded and killed nearly 30 people as the Lebanese army was distributing gasoline. Doctors said the bodies were charred beyond recognition.

The political class in Lebanon has clung to power and refused to usher in reforms to revamp the highly subsidized but loss-making electricity sector.

Experts say Lebanon has massive potential to not only make the enterprise profitable but also deploy those profits to diversify the energy mix and capitalize on ample wind and sun energy. A coherent policy would not only bring respite in piping hot months but also reduce carbon emissions and hence overall global warming.

In 2017, Iran recorded the hottest official temperature in the region of 54 degrees Celsius (129.2 degrees Fahrenheit) and crossed 50 degrees (122 degrees) last month. But recurrent droughts have made the country’s hydroelectricity plants redundant and in turn caused a dip in production at a time when demand for electricity is rising.

In July, different cities in Iran erupted in protests, with some demonstrators chanting “Death to the dictator” and “Death to Khamenei,” in reference to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader and the most powerful man in the country.

In Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran, people blocked roads and burned tires to protest water scarcity. At least three protesters were killed allegedly in firing by the state security forces, while human rights activists claim the number to be higher.

Human Rights Watch said “videos shared on social media show security officials using firearms and teargas and shooting toward protesters” and called for the deaths to be investigated. Droughts between 2006 and 2011 in Syria deepened a socioeconomic divide between rural and urban areas and are believed to have been one of the reasons that led to the Syrian civil war. In Yemen, a protracted war seems to have worsened the water crisis.

Yemen’s freshwater underground sources are fast drying, leaving the country parched. Its annual per capita share of water is just 120 cubic meters, compared with the global per capital share of 7,500 cubic meters. Before the war, Yemen’s water ministry had imposed conditions on the drilling of wells, but during the conflict, it was impossible to monitor. Over the last decade, Yemen has fast depleted its already meager freshwater resources.

Johan Schaar, an associate senior fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, argues that regional cooperation could mitigate the water crisis and reduce the region’s carbon footprint.

“Most important in terms of regional cooperation is to agree on the use and management of shared water resources that will become more scarce and more variable due to extreme weather events, both rivers and groundwater,” said Schaar, who has an expertise in climate change.

“There are few bilateral transboundary agreements on water and no basinwide agreements for rivers shared by several countries. The water ministers’ council under the Arab League drafted a regional convention on shared water resources a few years ago, but it was never ratified.”

Instead of cooperating on the use of common resources, the region is caught up in conflicts. “None of them have invested more than marginally in reducing [greenhouse gas] emissions,” Schaar said.

“In addition, conflict, instability, and sanctions have consequences for their need and ability to adapt. Conflict leads to displacement and impoverishment of populations, making them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Instability shrinks resources and policy space for the long-term planning and investments required for adaptation.”

The connection between climate change and the revolutions and wars of the Arab Spring is hotly debated. But there are clear and unarguable linkages between poor governance, environmental mismanagement, urbanization, and urban unrest in communities poorly served with water, air conditioning, and other amenities.

The thought of what will happen in these cities as climate change worsens living conditions, if the standards of governance remain the same, is a frightening one.

“Climate change and the consequent increase in weather extremes add to the challenges imposed by regional conflicts, leading to additional incentives for people to migrate, for example,” Lelieveld said.

Links

• Climate Change in the Middle East & North Africa
• How the Middle East is suffering on the front lines of climate change
• Hot Air in the Orient (pdf)
• Fossil CO2 and GHG emissions of all world countries
• Renewable Energy in Lebanon: Can the Country Embrace its Resources Sustainably
• Youth killed in Iran water crisis protests
• Yemen: so critically short of water in war that children are dying fetching it

(AU SMH) 5000 Free Fast Electric Car Chargers To Be Built Around Australia

Sydney Morning Herald - Nick O'Malley

Australian electric car charging network JOLT plans to install 5000 free fast chargers across capital cities after Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, bought a stake in the company and pledged an initial $100 million towards building the network.

Drivers using JOLT chargers would receive 7 kWh – equivalent to about 45 kilometres of driving – for free, and be charged for power drawn after that. JOLT would also make money from advertising sold on its charging stations.
 

A JOLT fast charging station in operation in Adelaide.

All the power it sells will be renewable and the installation of the charging points is expected to begin in Sydney in September. JOLT operates charging stations in Adelaide.

Charlie Reid, a managing director of BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power team, said for the world to reach net zero emissions by 2050, the last internal combustion car engine would need to be sold by 2035. He said this would happen globally and in Australia, whatever government policies were in place, as Australia imported its vehicles.

“With the world heading towards fully electric or hydrogen fleets, Australia will follow suit and will follow quickly,” he said.

Investing

'Everyone was watching': BlackRock is showing its hand on coal

“What we find in the Australian market is that people do want to purchase electric vehicles, but they don’t have the infrastructure in place in order to support their purchase. And that’s part of the rationale for our investment in JOLT.”

Mr Reid said the global electric car fleet would have to increase from about 12 million to more than 200 million by 2030.

“That creates a $7 trillion investment opportunity and a $1 trillion investment opportunity in infrastructure to support those vehicles,” he said.

JOLT chief executive Doug McNamee said the investment showed that, after a slow start, Australia’s electric car market had turned a corner.

He said the total cost of ownership of electric cars was lower than for comparable internal combustion cars, and they would soon also be cheaper to buy.

A JOLT fast charger; more are set to be installed in Australia.

Tesla had demonstrated electric cars could be attractive to consumers on merit, and now that major car manufacturers were dedicating all of their research and development to the technology, they would continue to improve.

According to a new report by the Electric Vehicle Council, which represents the industry in Australia, in the first half of 2021, 8688 electric cars were sold in Australia, which was more than was sold in all of 2020.

The council’s chief executive Behyad Jafari said this was about 1.5 per cent of new cars sold, compared with a market share of about 10 to 15 per cent in similar markets overseas. He described the figure as low but growing rapidly.

The growth now appeared to be locked in, particularly due to new policies announced by the NSW government to encourage the use of the technology, he said.

BlackRock is the world’s largest investment manager and, in a series of high-profile statements, its boss, Larry Fink, has made it clear climate change is a key to concern to its clients.

The investment in JOLT is BlackRock’s first in electric car infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region and its largest investment in the sector in the world.

Links

• 5000 free fast electric car chargers to be built around Australia
• IPCC report may have underplayed risk of freak El Nino and La Nina events
• Scientists turn to risky plan B as the world fails on climate change
• Monster solar farm backed by Atlassian founder about to get ‘significantly bigger’
• Blowing smoke: Toyota’s emissions advantage splits sector
• ‘Negative value’: BHP struggles to offload NSW’s biggest coal pit