THE BRIEF [Nov 20-26'23]
THE BRIEF [Nov 20-26'23]
New Emissions Gap report is out, solar and wind waste is minuscule, how electricity production is changing globally and coal killed 460.000 since 2000.
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.
🙀 The new UNEP emission gap report is out
😻 Solar and wind waste is minuscule
😼 How electricity is changing globally
💩 Coal has killed 460.000 since 2000 in the US
This week’s highlights
[#emissiongap] — According to the UNEP Emissions Gap Report, global greenhouse gas emissions have reached a new record high, despite falling clean-energy costs and more ambitious climate policies. The report highlights the urgency of strengthening mitigation measures and narrowing the emissions gap to meet the Paris Agreement's temperature targets. It also emphasizes the need for high-income countries to accelerate emissions reductions and provide support to low- and middle-income countries. The report reveals that the world is already occasionally exceeding the 1.5C target, signaling the need for immediate action. The report also discusses the persistently wide emissions gap and the shrinking carbon budget, highlighting the importance of reducing emissions and avoiding reliance on carbon dioxide removal technologies.
[#cop28climate] — Ahead of Cop28, reports indicate that while annual emissions may have peaked, the world's temperature will continue to rise until reaching net zero. There is a 70% chance that emissions will peak in 2023, mainly due to electric vehicles, solar, and wind power. However, greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere continue to rise, and the earth's temperature is now 1.25C hotter than in the nineteenth century. Rising emissions lead to increasing destruction caused by climate change, impacting food security, disease transmission, and property damage. Investment in fossil fuel production remains high, but demand for fossil fuels is about to peak. Solar and electric vehicles are booming, while heat pumps are gaining popularity as an alternative to gas boilers.
[#cop28policy] — Tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency are crucial for achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C. The International Energy Agency (IEA) emphasizes that tripling global renewable capacity is the largest driver of emissions reductions by 2030. Energy efficiency improvements, combined with electrification, also play a significant role. However, current global emissions reduction efforts are falling short, and governments need to take decisive action, including setting standards, reforming subsidies, redesigning electricity markets, streamlining permitting, and maximizing social benefits. Meeting these targets would require significant effort and investment, but it is achievable with the right policies and support.
[#cop28] — The upcoming COP28 climate conference in Dubai will feature a global stocktake to assess progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. Key narratives to watch for include the presence of Big Oil executives, the promotion of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a climate solution, greenwashing tactics by big agriculture companies, PR spin that promotes denial and delay, and the potential for disinformation campaigns. These narratives will shape discussions and debates during the conference. Also here’s a great interactive article about who wants what at COP28.
That’s it for this week folks!
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See you all next week 👋