THE BRIEF [Apr 1-7'24]
THE BRIEF [Apr 1-7'24]
Imminent insect demise, geothermal gaining momentum, big oil tried for homicide and fossils pivoting out of renewables.
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Weekly Climate 🎉
References: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] and [6].
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‼️News you can’t miss
Here’s one important scary/bad (🙀), good (😻), interesting (😼) and fossil (💩) news item.
🙀 New report: Immenint insect demise
😻 Geothermal gaining momentum in the US
😼 Should big oil be tried for homicide?
💩 So much for fossil fuel decarbonisation efforts
This week’s highlights
[#acceleration] — This article from Carbon Brief examines the recent "acceleration" in global warming and discusses how it aligns with scientific expectations. The analysis finds increasing evidence of an acceleration in the rate of warming over the past 15 years, which is consistent with projections from climate models and the IPCC's sixth assessment report. The article also highlights the potential factors contributing to this acceleration and emphasizes the importance of distinguishing short-term climate variability from long-term changes. Overall, the findings suggest that the current acceleration in global warming was expected and is largely attributed to human activity.
[#trainvsplane] — This article explores the question of whether traveling by train is always cleaner than flying. The author recounts their experience of taking a train across America and discovering that it emitted more planet-warming emissions compared to flying. The article discusses the reasons behind this, including the use of diesel fuel by Amtrak trains and the age of the trains. It also highlights that planes become more advantageous for longer journeys. The article concludes by noting that aviation is a challenging industry to decarbonize, while electrification is already available for trains.
[#deforestation] — Tropical forests are disappearing at a high rate, putting the global goal to end deforestation by 2030 off track. While forest destruction slowed in Brazil and Colombia, it increased in Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Laos. Human-caused deforestation driven by agriculture and urban expansion continues to rise, despite the need for a 10% reduction every year to meet the pledge signed by 145 countries. Brazil and Colombia have made progress in curbing forest loss, but it has been offset by losses in other countries. Financial incentives and political will are crucial in reversing deforestation, but more needs to be done to make it more valuable to keep forests standing than to cut them down.
[#bigoilpivot] — According to BloombergNEF, the oil and gas sector is shifting away from renewable power and electrification in its decarbonization efforts. Investment in these areas has fallen for two consecutive years, while low-carbon molecule technologies like carbon capture and storage and renewable fuels are gaining popularity due to supportive policies and higher returns. European oil majors like BP and Shell are adjusting their strategies due to lower returns from renewable energy projects, while TotalEnergies remains committed to expanding its renewable power portfolio.
That’s it for this week folks!
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