20/09/2021

(The Conversation) 4 Strategies For A Global Breakthrough On Energy And Climate Change

The Conversation -  | 

Reducing fossil use and increasing renewable energy worldwide are crucial to both sustainable development and fighting climate change. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Authors
  •  is Professor of Public Policy and Director, Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines
  •  is Payne Institute Fellow, Colorado School of Mines   
Two important global events are coming up that are widely hoped to help address what the United Nations calls the “dual challenge” – fighting climate change and ensuring that poorer countries can develop sustainably. Energy is a central theme in both.

For the first time in 40 years, the U.N. General Assembly is convening a global summit of world leaders focused solely on energy. If all goes as planned on Sept. 24, 2021, they will consider a road map that includes tripling investment in renewable power and making affordable modern and clean energy available to everyone everywhere within the decade.

The second event is the U.N. climate conference in November, where negotiators representing nations around the world will be asked to ramp up their countries’ efforts to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

This year’s climate summit will be the first to assess progress toward meeting the 2015 Paris climate agreement. There are a few new efforts – President Joe Biden announced on Sept. 17 plans for a U.S. and European Union pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% within the decade and urged other countries to join – but there are also some remaining sticking points in how nations will meet their promised targets. Resolving these will be important for the credibility of the agreement and the willingness of developing countries to commit to further progress.

As climate policy experts with decades of experience in international energy policy, we have identified four strategic priorities that would help provide the foundations for success in cleaning up both energy and climate change.

What has been achieved so far?

Despite the ambitious goals in many countries, the world’s greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise. The year 2020 was a brief exception – emissions fell significantly due to the global pandemic – but that trend has already reversed as economies recover.

The statements released by world leaders after the recent G7 and G20 meetings underlined recognition of the problem. Still, very few countries and companies have detailed plans and budgets in place to meet their own high-level goals.


Meeting the Paris climate agreement goal of keeping global warming under 1.5 C (2.7 F) will require reducing fossil fuels and increasing renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere with techniques such as carbon capture and storage or use (CCS and CCU). International Renewable Energy Agency
4 strategic priorities

Getting energy and climate policies worldwide headed in the same direction is a daunting task. Here are four strategies that could help countries navigate this space:

1) Deploy carbon pricing and markets more widely.

Only a few countries, states and regions currently have carbon prices that are high enough to push polluters to cut their carbon dioxide emissions. The climate negotiations in Scotland will focus on getting the rules right for global markets.

Making these markets function well and transparently is essential for effectively meeting the many net zero climate goals that have been announced by countries from Japan and South Korea to the U.S., China and the European Union. These include rules on the use of carbon offsets – they allow individuals or companies to invest in projects that help balance out their own emissions – which are currently highly contentious and largely not functional or transparent.

2) Focus attention on the “hard-to-decarbonize” sectors.

Shipping, road freight and industries like cement and steel are all difficult places for cutting emissions, in part because they don’t yet have tested, affordable replacements for fossil fuels. While there are some innovative ideas, competitiveness concerns – such as companies moving production outside regulated areas to avoid regulations – have been a key barrier to progress.

Europe is trying to overcome this barrier by establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism, with emission levies on imports similar to those for European producers. The Biden administration is also exploring such rules.

3) Get China and other emerging economies on board.

It is clear that coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, needs to be phased out fast, and doing so is critical to both the U.N.‘s energy and climate agendas. Given that more than half of global coal is consumed in China, its actions stand out, although other emerging economies such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam are also critical.

This will not be easy. Notably half of the Chinese coal plants are less than a decade old, a fraction of a coal plant’s typical lifespan.

4) Focus on innovation.

Support for innovation has brought us cutting-edge renewable power and electric vehicles much faster than anticipated. More is possible. For example, offshore wind, geothermal, carbon capture and green hydrogen are new developments that can make a big difference in years to come.

Who leads in developing these new technologies, and which companies, will reap important economic benefits. They will also support millions of new jobs and economic growth.

Luckily, investors are actively supporting these technologies. More investors are starting to believe in energy transitions and are putting their money into developing the associated technologies. Still, increased government support for research and development funding can catalyze these efforts.

An opportunity also exists to broaden innovation efforts beyond technology, to a systemic approach that includes dimensions such as market design, social acceptance, equity, regulatory frameworks and business models. Energy systems are deeply interconnected to social issues, so changing them will not be successful if the solutions focus only on technology.

Not one solution

It is likely that U.N. energy and climate deliberations over the coming months will continue to move in fits and starts. The real work needs to take place at a more practical implementation level, such as in states, provinces and municipalities. If there is one thing we have learned, it is that mitigating climate change will be a long slog, not a one-off political announcement or celebrity endorsement. It requires much more than simply repeating platitudes.

Politicians need to show that the many energy transitions emerging are good for economies and communities, and can create long-lasting jobs and tax revenues. While it’s uncontested that the benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation far exceed the cost, it is not always easy to marry this with short-term political cycles.

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(Kenya The Guardian) Drought Puts 2.1 Million Kenyans At Risk Of Starvation

The Guardian - 

National disaster declared as crops fail after poor rains and locusts, while ethnic conflicts add to crisis

A man crosses arid land in western Turkana, one of 23 counties in Kenya facing an urgent need for food due to poor rains. Photograph: David Bathgate/Corbis/Getty Images

An estimated 2.1 million Kenyans face starvation due to a drought in half the country, which is affecting harvests.

The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said people living in 23 counties across the arid north, northeastern and coastal parts of the country will be in “urgent need” of food aid over the next six months, after poor rains between March and May this year.

The crisis has been compounded by Covid-19 and previous poor rains, it said, predicting the situation will get worse by the end of the year, as October to December rains are expected to be below normal levels.

The affected regions are usually the most food-insecure in Kenya due to high levels of poverty.

Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta declared the drought a national disaster promising “comprehensive drought mitigation measures”.

In July, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Kenya said the country needed 9.4bn Kenyan shillings (£62m) to mitigate the effects of the drought between July and November.

Asha Mohammed, secretary general of the Kenya Red Cross, said most of the affected counties had already had to deal with desert locust invasions, flash floods and tribal conflicts driven by diminishing resources.

“You have two seasons of depressed rains, desert locusts ravaging farmlands in the same counties and people fighting over the few resources available. That is the making of a disaster,” said Mohammed.

A child tries to chase away a swarm of desert locusts near the town of Rumuruti, Laikipia, Kenya, January 2021. Photograph: Baz Ratner/Reuters
She said it was not only farmers who had been affected by the drought, but also people in urban areas who had been forced to pay higher prices for the little available food.

“There is some food reaching the urban areas within these counties but there is little purchasing power because many have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic,” she said.

The coronavirus pandemic has added to food insecurity by reducing available workforce in a country whose subsistence farming relies heavily on communal labour.

The NDMA said social distancing measures had “restricted the communal performance of agricultural activities and availability of casual labour opportunities, reducing the amount of land cultivated and projected crop production”. The disruption of supplies of staple food items and livestock has led to increased price volatility, it added.

Production of maize, Kenya’s staple food, is projected to decline by 50% in the affected regions due to low acreage under cultivation, while some areas will see total crop failure. Poor harvests have also affected those farming crops with short maturity cycles, such as vegetables.

Thomas Waita, from Kathatu village, in eastern Kenya, does not expect to harvest many tomatoes from his half-acre farm this year. Poor rains and dwindling water levels from a shallow well have seen the size of tomatoes shrink and a good portion of the crop damaged by blossom end rot, brought on by insufficient calcium intake.

For the father of two, a poor harvest means little money in the pocket and poor nutrition for his young family. “The tomatoes are ripening but didn’t get enough water. With drip irrigation, I can only afford to water them twice a week rather than daily. They will not fetch good prices at the market,” said Waita.

‘Everything is changing’: the struggle for food as Malawi’s Lake Chilwa shrinks.  Read more
Waita counts himself among the fortunate ones because he at least had some water for his crops. Lack of water has seen maize planted in neighbouring farms wilt and die after hardly reaching knee height.

Many farmers, he said, use irrigation methods that require a regular flow of water and, with rivers drying up, it is a matter of time before his fellow villagers become part of drought statistics.

“We are told it’s because of climate change. In the past, we used to have many trees here but most have been cut down for firewood and charcoal. [Scientists] tell us such fuels are contributing to global warming and changing rainfall patterns,” said Waita.

Mohammed said it is time the country thinks of medium and long-term interventions to mitigate the climate crisis and break the cycle of food insecurity.

“It’s clear this is going to get worse,” she said. “We have all the data to help these communities become more resilient and bounce back.”

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(USA NPR) Young People Are Anxious About Climate Change And Say Governments Are Failing Them

NPR - 

For a forthcoming study, researchers with the U.K.'s University of Bath and other schools spoke to 10,000 people in 10 countries, all of whom were between the ages of 16 and 25, to gauge how they feel about climate change. FG Trade/Getty Images

How are young people coping with climate change?

The answer, according to one study, is not well, and for good reason.

For a forthcoming study, researchers with the U.K.'s University of Bath and other schools spoke to 10,000 people in 10 countries, all of whom were between the ages of 16 and 25, to gauge how they feel about climate change.

The prevailing response could be summed up in two words: incredibly worried. And the respondents say governments aren't doing enough to combat climate change.

Climate

The survey arrives more than six weeks before the world's nations are set to gather in Glasgow, Scotland, at an annual meeting convened by the United Nations to address climate change.

Scientists say that nations aren't passing the right kinds of bold policies to avert the worst effects of climate change.

The survey suggests that young people around the world grasp how widespread and dangerous political inaction is on climate change.

The study concluded that there's a correlation between negative emotions, such as worry, and beliefs that government responses to climate change have been inadequate.

So the way governments have been addressing — or failing to address — climate change is directly affecting the mental health of young people.

Of those surveyed, nearly 60% reported that they felt either "very" or "extremely" worried about climate change, and more than half said climate change made them feel "afraid, sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and/or guilty."

Life Kit

Positive feelings such as optimism were reported least among the respondents, researchers said. In fact, 77% said that they considered the future to be frightening, and 56% agreed with the viewpoint that humanity is doomed, according to the study.

For many young people, those feelings of fear and worry affect their ability to function, too, results showed. More than 45% of the respondents said the way they feel about climate change adversely affects their day-to-day lives.

And for those living in poorer countries in the Southern Hemisphere, who are more likely to be affected by natural disasters worsened by climate change, the outlook is even worse:

Overall, they're more worried, and their ability to function is even more impeded, researchers found.

Young people also said they were generally dissatisfied with how their governments have been handling the realities of climate change.

Goats and Soda

Across all the countries represented — the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, France, Finland, India, Nigeria, Portugal and the Philippines — 65% of young people felt their government was failing them on climate change and 60% felt that the government had been dismissing citizens' distress over it.

Nearly half of those who said they talk with other people about climate change said that their concerns were ignored, according to researchers.

Combating climate change individually isn't enough on its own, the researchers said.

Those in power have a responsibility to act to protect not only the Earth but also the mental health of those who stand to inherit the planet, they said.

As one 16-year-old included in the study wrote, "I think it's different for young people. For us, the destruction of the planet is personal."

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19/09/2021

(The Planetary Press) Over 2,000 Scientists and Academics Call for World Leaders to Negotiate a Treaty to Phase Out Fossil Fuels

The Planetary Press - Kimberly White
Scientists and academics across the globe have joined together in a call to phase out coal, oil, and gas.

More than 2,000 scientists, researchers, and academics delivered a letter demanding national governments to develop, adopt, and implement a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty in an effort to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of current and future generations.

“Every fraction of a degree of warming is doing us harm. This means that every day we delay cessation of fossil fuel burning, we come closer to catastrophe,” said Lesley Hughes, Distinguished Professor of Biology, Macquarie University and Councillor for the Climate Council.

The signatories are calling on governments to quickly begin negotiations for the development and adoption of a binding global plan that ends the new expansion of fossil fuel production, phases out existing production of fossil fuels fairly and equitably, and invests in a plan to ensure full access to renewable energy globally.

The burning of fossil fuels is a dominant driver of the climate emergency, accounting for roughly 80 percent of carbon dioxide emissions since the industrial revolution.

In 2019, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) found that global greenhouse gas emissions needed to fall by 7.6 percent annually over the next decade to limit warming to 1.5°C. The world needs to urgently shift away from fossil fuels to meet this target.

Citing UNEP’s 2020 Production Gap Report, the group noted that to achieve the 1.5°C target, fossil fuel production has to fall by at least six percent each year from 2020 to 2030. Despite this, countries are projecting a two percent annual increase in fossil fuel production.

“Given the significant historical contribution of fossil fuels to climate change, and the industry’s continuing expansion plans, we are calling for a solution commensurate with the scale of the problem,” the letter states.

“Phasing down coal, oil and gas in line with 1.5ºC requires global cooperation, in a way that is fair, equitable and reflects countries’ levels of dependence on fossil fuels, and capacities to transition.”

Richer countries will need to reduce the production of fossil fuels at a faster pace than poorer countries which may require greater support to transition, says the letter.

While it is imperative that all nations take collective action to reduce and phase out fossil fuels, G20 nations will need to step up their ambition. G20 nations represent 78 percent of global emissions and contribute a significant amount of financial support for fossil fuels.

A recent report found that, collectively, G20 countries provided more than $3.3 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies from 2015 to 2019.

In addition to the climate impacts, fossil fuels also have a devastating impact on human health. Globally, air pollution generated by the burning of fossil fuels was found to be responsible for nearly one in five deaths in 2018.

A 2020 report estimated that air pollution from fossil fuels costs the world nearly $3 trillion annually.

“The world’s leading scientists could not be clearer – coal, oil, and gas are the primary cause of the climate crisis and are responsible for nearly one in every five deaths worldwide,” said Rebecca Byrnes, Deputy Director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.

“Any ‘net zero’ policy that allows for the continued expansion of these weapons of mass destruction is insufficient. Just as governments came together to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals, or end the proliferation of nuclear weapons, they must now urgently negotiate a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

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(BBC) Climate Change: UN Warning Over Nations' Climate Plans

BBC - David Shukman

Image source, Getty Images

Despite all the promises to take action, the world is still on course to heat up to dangerous levels.

That's the latest blunt assessment of the United Nations.

Its experts have studied the climate plans of more than 100 countries and concluded that we're heading in the wrong direction.

Scientists recently confirmed that to avoid the worst impacts of hotter conditions, global carbon emissions needed to be cut by 45% by 2030.

But this new analysis shows that those emissions are set to rise by 16% during this period.

That could eventually lead to a temperature rise of 2.7C (4.9F) above pre-industrial times - far above the limits set by the international community.

"The 16% increase is a huge cause for concern," according to Patricia Espinosa, the UN's chief climate negotiator.

"It is in sharp contrast with the calls by science for rapid, sustained and large-scale emission reductions to prevent the most severe climate consequences and suffering, especially of the most vulnerable, throughout the world."


It's a stark warning about the scale of the challenge faced at the COP26 climate conference, scheduled to take place in Glasgow in just over six weeks' time.

The central aim of the giant event is to keep alive hopes of limiting the rise in global temperatures by persuading nations to cut their emissions.

Under the rules of the Paris Agreement on climate change, countries are meant to update their carbon reduction plans every five years.

But the UN says that of 191 countries taking part in the agreement, only 113 have so far come up with improved pledges.

Alok Sharma, the British minister who will chair the COP26 conference, said nations that had ambitious climate plans were "already bending the curve of emissions downwards".

"But without action from all countries, especially the biggest economies, these efforts risk being in vain."

A study by Climate Action Tracker found that of the G20 group of leading industrial nations, only a handful including the UK and the US have strengthened their targets to cut emissions.

In another analysis, the World Resources Institute and Climate Analytics highlight how China, India, Saudi Arabia and Turkey - together responsible for 33% of greenhouse gases - have yet to submit updated plans.

It says that Australia and Indonesia have the same carbon reduction targets they did back in 2015 - while the Paris Agreement is meant to involve a "ratchet mechanism" of progressively deeper cuts.

And the study finds that Brazil, Mexico and Russia all expect their emissions to grow rather than to shrink.

For the poorest countries - most vulnerable to rising sea levels and new extremes of heat and drought - seeing a rapid fall in the gases heating the planet is a priority.

Sonam P Wangdi, chair of the Least Developed Countries group, said: "G20 countries must take the lead in quickly cutting emissions to mitigate climate change.

"These are the countries with the greatest capacity and responsibility, and it's well past time they step up and treat this crisis like a crisis."

There are hopes that China may revise its climate plans ahead of the Glasgow conference.

As the world's largest emitter, it has previously said it aims to peak its emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

An announcement soon of more ambitious targets would give the talks a significant boost but there are no clues about when - or even whether - that might happen.

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(AU The Guardian) Australia Burying ‘Head In The Sand’ On Security Risks Of Climate Change, Former Defence Official Says

The Guardian - 

Warning comes as Climate Council report finds Australia will not have ‘lasting national security’ without addressing climate crisis

Australia has fallen well behind the US, UK, Japan and New Zealand in analysis of climate and security risks, the Climate Council report said. Photograph: Glenn Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
Australia has its “head in the sand” regarding the national security implications of climate change and should follow the US in spelling out the risks, a former senior Australian defence official says.

Australia’s “strategic weakness” on climate policy is also making it harder for the country to be seen as a preferred partner with Pacific Island countries, according to Cheryl Durrant, the defence department’s former head of preparedness.

The comments coincide with the release of a new report by the Climate Council that argues Australia has “fallen well behind the US, UK, Japan, New Zealand and other peers in analysis of climate and security risks”.
The US president, Joe Biden, has ordered a review of the security implications of climate change. His defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said climate change is “making the world more unsafe and we need to act”.

Austin – who will meet with his Australian counterpart, Peter Dutton, in Washington for the Ausmin talks on Thursday – said in April that no nation could find lasting security without addressing the climate crisis.

Echoing that language, the Climate Council report says climate change “increases the risk of conflict and Australia will not find lasting national security without adequately addressing it”.

“Failure to rise to the challenge of climate and security is already leading to a loss of geopolitical influence for Australia, particularly in the Pacific,” says the report, titled Rising to the Challenge: Addressing Climate and Security in our Region.

The report says water has long been a contested resource in Asia and climate change is worsening the situation.

“Any conflict over water in our region could have profound consequences for Australia,” the report states. “Pacific Island countries as well as Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, India and Indonesia face significant threats from sea level rise, which is likely to increase displacement and forced migration.”

The government’s defence strategic update, published last year, included only a passing reference to climate change when mentioning threats to human security.

“These threats will be compounded by population growth, urbanisation and extreme weather events in which climate change plays a part,” the document said.

Durrant, the lead author of the Climate Council report and long-serving former Australian defence official, said the Australian defence force was well-equipped to provide disaster support but it was important for the government to address “the root cause of this problem”.

“I get a sense that we’ve got our head in the sand – not necessarily the ADF, which I think would be quite keen to press on,” Durrant told Guardian Australia.

“I was hearing from, say, our Pacific maritime advisers, who are actually on the ground in the Pacific Island nations 24/7, 365 days a year – they are getting feedback on what Pacific Islanders think is really important.

“On the one hand we have our strategic narrative about the need to sort of shape and influence the region, and yet on the other hand we’re ignoring the strategic weakness of our climate policy, making it harder for us to be convincing as a preferred ally and partner.”
The Climate Council report urges the Australian government to launch a national climate and security threat assessment – an idea first recommended by a Senate inquiry in 2018.

It argues climate change “remains on the margins of Australia’s defence, foreign affairs and trade strategies”.

Durrant said the threat of great-power conflict had not gone away, but the proposed new review was “about stepping up and appreciating that climate change is a national security threat”.

“That’s quite clearly articulated pretty much by all our major allies now … and we’re the ones that are still not connecting the dots between rising disasters and the flow-on effects that those can have in destabilising the region and causing forced migration or conflict.”

Sherri Goodman, a former US deputy undersecretary of defense specialising in environmental security, welcomed the report, saying Australia “further risks being left behind the clean energy transition”.

Goodman told Guardian Australia climate change acted “as a threat multiplier, exacerbating risks for Australia and its allies, from extreme heat and wildfire at home, to devastating typhoons and extreme weather events across the Pacific”.

“A comprehensive climate security risk assessment, such as that ordered by president Biden earlier this year, is a key pillar in assessing climate risks to security missions, operations, and key operating facilities, including those jointly used by American forces in Darwin,” Goodman said.

The Australian defence department says it “prepares for a wide range of contingencies including those that may arise due to climate change”.

Last month, in response to Senate questions on notice, the department said it “routinely considers climate risks” in its planning. Defence white papers in 2009, 2013 and 2016 had “acknowledged climate change as a national security issue”.

On Monday, the Liberal senator Andrew Bragg – the new chair of the Senate standing committee on environment and communications – urged the government to commit to net zero emissions at the Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow.

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18/09/2021

(Bloomberg Green) World Watching Australia’s Climate Response, RBA’s Lowe Says

Bloomberg Green -

Philip Lowe Photographer: James Brickwood/AFR/Bloomberg

Australia’s climate change policies are being watched by global investors and policy makers, its central bank chief said, adding it’s important the nation tell a “positive story” in order to avoid a painful economic fallout.

Investors are increasingly applying a climate filter to decisions, and they’re doing that when looking at “financial assets or real assets in the future” in Australia, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe said in response to a question after a speech Tuesday.

Australia, a major fossil fuel exporter and metals miner, has drawn fire from environmentalists for failing to adopt more climate-friendly policies, including a target for net-zero carbon emissions, amid resistance from resource industries.

“It’s important we have a positive story to sell there because if we don’t, and that filter is applied and people don’t like what they see, the cost of capital for Australia will go up, it will be more difficult for firms to raise funds and when they do, they’ll pay more,” he said.

“Australia has some particular advantages here and we need to be in a position where global investors can see those advantages,” Lowe said.

Mining Leader

Australia dominates in the mining of
battery metals like lithium and nickel
Source: Accenture
The RBA noted three months ago that sustainability classifications are being established to provide firms and investors with a climate framework.

These taxonomies could prove “very influential” in financial markets and also impact the cost and availability of financing for Australia’s transition to a lower-carbon economy, it said at the time.

“I get a lot of questions both from other central banks and by investors about climate change, Australia’s preparedness for climate change, how our capital markets are evolving, how government policy is evolving,” Lowe said Tuesday.

Australia, the world’s driest-inhabited continent, was ravaged by wildfires almost two years ago. The months-long blazes, which scientists said were exacerbated by climate change, burnt an area around the size of the U.K., killed 33 people and caused more than A$10 billion ($7.3 billion) of damage.

“There’s a great deal of interest globally in our approach to climate change,” Lowe said. 

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