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Climate Change

Page Updated:
April 15, 2024

• • Electrify Everything Everywhere All At Once

  Redefining Energy Tech
  
  

  Apr. 15, 2024 -Under the auspices of the India Smart Grid Forum, the think tank founded as an umbrella organization over India’s 28 state utilities to provide thought leadership, share leading practices, and bring international insights to India, I’m delivering bi-weekly webinars framed by the Short List of Climate Actions That Will Work. With the glories of online recordings and AI transcription tools, it’s relatively easy to share both the transcript, and also the slides that I used, so I’m making a habit of it.

  Click now to learn more.

• • The Swiss Climate Bind

  European Court Ruling
  Puts Out a Cautious Alert
  
  

  Apr. 12, 2024 -Switzerland for all its snow-capped mountains and crisp Alpine air has failed to protect its people from the ravages of climate change, as a top European court ruled this week.

  Behind the picture postcard exterior, critics say, is a country that has done too little for the planet and acted as a business hub for some of the most powerful international corporations in fossil fuels and mining.

• • Water Scarcity and Clean Energy

  They Collide in South Texas
  
  

  Apr. 11, 2024 -A New Jersey-based chemical company, Avina Clean Hydrogen Inc., has purchased the last available water supply from the Nueces River of South Texas, raising concerns of regional scarcity as reservoirs dwindle and drought persists.

  Click now to read more.

• • Heavy Rain and Rising Sea Levels in Charleston

  It's Sending Sewage
  Into Some Streets and Ponds
  
  

  Apr. 11, 2024 -Environmental advocates threaten to sue within weeks if Charleston Water does not present a plan to prevent hundreds of wastewater overflows.

  Charleston’s predicament illustrates a dynamic climate risk: South Carolina, along with much of the eastern United States, is experiencing more frequent bouts of more intense rainfall as well as an accelerating sea level rise.

• • Hot Oceans Are Harming Octopus Vision

  The Oceans Are
  Becoming One Big Soup
  
  

  Apr. 11, 2024 -Our planet’s oceans are in a crisis. When we think about global warming, we usually think about the continents and the air, but the oceans are heating up much more than the atmosphere. The ocean is storing an estimated 91% of the excess heat energy trapped in the Earth’s climate system and the consequences are already affecting wildlife.

  We see this already. Numerous creatures are migrating to the deeper, cooler parts of the ocean. But octopuses are particularly vulnerable.

• • Carbon Removal’s $100 Billion Conundrum

  That’s How Much
  the U.S. Should be Spending
  Per Year by 2050
  to Achieve Net Zero.

  (HEATMAP), Apr. 10, 2024, -Money seems to be pouring into the field of carbon removal from every direction. Every other week there’s an announcement about a new project. Multimillion dollar carbon removal procurement deals are on the rise.

  The Department of Energy is rolling out grants as part of its $3.5 billion “direct air capture” hubs program and also funding research and development. Some carbon removal companies can even start claiming a $130 tax credit for every ton of CO2 they suck up and store underground.

• • CO2 and Methane Levels Continue to Rise

  This Causes Heat Trapping
  
  

  Apr. 10, 2024 -The levels of the crucial heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere reached historic highs last year, growing at near-record fast paces, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

  Carbon dioxide, the most important and abundant of the greenhouse gases caused by humans, rose in 2023 by the third highest amount in 65 years of record keeping, NOAA announced Friday.

• • Record Heat For March 2024

  Last 10 Months Broke
  Global Temperature Records
  
  

  Apr. 9, 2024 -The world just experienced its warmest March on record, capping a 10-month streak in which every month set a new temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Tuesday.

  Each of the last 10 months ranked as the world's hottest on record, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin.

• • Swiss Women Win Landmark Climate Case

  As Ruled By Europe's
  Top Human Rights Court
  
  

  Apr. 9, 2024 -Europe's top human rights court ruled on Tuesday that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change, in a decision that will set a precedent for future climate lawsuits.

  The European Court of Human Rights's ruling, in favor of the more than 2,000 Swiss women who brought the case, is expected to resonate in court decisions across Europe and beyond, and to embolden more communities to bring climate cases against governments.

• •  Zambians Feel the Personal Consequences of Climate Change

  And the Dream
  of a Sustainable Future
  
  

  Apr. 7, 2024 -Zambia, like its southern African neighbors, depends on rain for its food, energy and economy. But it hasn’t gotten enough this year, and likely won’t in the future, a victim of a climate crisis it didn’t cause.

  Click now to read more.

• • The Corporate Carbon Cultprits

  More than 80% of Global Carbon Emissions are Produced by Them
  
  

  Apr. 5, 2024 -Just 57 oil, gas, coal, and cement producers are tied to a significant 80% of the world’s fossil CO2 emissions post the 2016 Paris climate agreement. This small but powerful group, comprising both state-run and shareholder-owned giants, stands at the forefront of the ongoing climate crisis, as identified by a report released by the Carbon Majors Database.

  Despite the global commitment to reducing greenhouse gases at the Paris Climate Summit, subsequent analysis highlights a concerning trend: an uptick in fossil fuel production and associated emissions by these major corporations and nation-states.

• • Extremely Active 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season is Forecast

  CSU’s Hurricane Forecasting Team Warns of 23 Named Storms, 16 Hurricanes, Including Five Majors
  
  

  Apr. 4, 2024 -An extremely active Atlantic hurricane season is likely in 2024, the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecasting team says in its latest seasonal forecast, issued April 4. Led by Dr. Phil Klotzbach, with co-authors Dr. Michael Bell, Alexander DesRosiers, and Levi Silvers, the CSU team is made the call. In comparison, the long-term averages for the period 1991-2020 were 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes, 3.2 major hurricanes, and an ACE of 123.

  Click now to learn more.

• • Do Carbon Prizes Work?

  The Power and the Peril of Multi-Million Dollar Grand Challenges
  
  

  Apr. 4, 2024 -On Earth Day next year, expert judges will decide who should get the biggest incentive prize in history—$80 million for removing at least 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They can use air, land, oceans or rocks, with a plan to scale up to gigatons annually.

  The XPRIZE for Carbon Removal is a $100 million effort funded by Elon Musk to help fight climate change and restore the Earth’s carbon balance.

• • Global Forest Loss Remains High, Despite Recent Progress

  Wildfires and Agricultural Expansion Offset Big Gains in Protecting Tropical Forests Last Year
  
  

  Apr. 4, 2024 -Despite major progress in protecting vast tracts of rainforest, the world failed again last year to significantly slow the pace of global forest destruction, according to a report issued on Thursday. Record wildfires in Canada and expanding agriculture elsewhere offset big gains in forest protection in Brazil and Colombia, the report found.

  Click now for more of this story.

• • This Hurricane Season Will Be a Daunting One

  ‘Alarming’ Ocean Temperatures
  Are Suggesting It
  
  

  Apr. 4, 2024 -A key area of the Atlantic Ocean where hurricanes form is already abnormally warm, much warmer than an ideal swimming pool temperature of about 80 degrees and on the cusp of feeling more like warm bathtub water.

  These conditions were described by Benjamin Kirtman, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Miami, as “unprecedented,” “alarming” and an “out-of-bounds anomaly.”

• • What Stashing Pollution Beneath the Sea Could Bring

  Could Save Money and Jobs
  
  

  Apr. 4, 2024 -The Italian energy giant Eni sees future profits from collecting carbon dioxide and pumping it into natural gas fields that have been exhausted.

  Click now to learn more.

• • Global Warming Threatens The Stability Of Marine Ecosystems
  in the Sea Between Europe, Africa and the Middle East

  Enabling Tropical Species
  From the Atlantic to
  Colonize the Mediterranean Sea
  
  

  Apr. 3, 2024 -If global warming continues at its current pace, a new study warns, tropical species could take over parts of Mediterranean marine ecosystems by the end of the century.

  The research analyzed a detailed fossil record showing how tropical mollusks replaced then-existing Mediterranean populations starting about 135,000 years ago, signaling a dramatic climate-driven and systemic reorganization of biodiversity.

• • India’s Silicon Valley Faces a Water Crisis

  Software Cannot Solve the Problem
  
  

  Apr. 2, 2024 -The water tankers seeking to fill their bellies bounced past the dry lakes of India’s booming technology capital. Their bleary-eyed drivers waited in line to suck what they could from wells dug a mile deep into dusty lots between app offices and apartment towers named for bougainvillea — all built before sewage and water lines could reach them.

  Click now for more information.

• • Shell Says Landmark Emissions
  Ruling Won't Help Climate Goals

  It Begins Appeal Against 2021 Climate Ruling in Dutch Court
  
  

  Apr. 2, 2024 -Shell, on Tuesday, told a Dutch court a 2021 order that it should drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions lacks a legal basis and risks obstructing the fight against climate change.

  In a landmark ruling that shocked the energy sector, a lower Dutch court in 2021 ordered Shell to reduce its planet warming carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels.

• • Can We Engineer Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis?

  Mammoth, a Giant Machine in Iceland that Will Pull Planet-Warming Carbon Dioxide Out of the Air
  
  

  Mar. 31, 2024 -On a windswept Icelandic plateau, an international team of engineers and executives is powering up an innovative machine designed to alter the very composition of Earth’s atmosphere.

  If all goes as planned, the enormous vacuum will soon be sucking up vast quantities of air, stripping out carbon dioxide and then locking away those greenhouse gases deep underground in ancient stone — greenhouse gases that would otherwise continue heating up the globe.

• • Sequestering Carbon and Combating Climate Change

  Biochar Is ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’
  
  

  Mar. 29, 2024 Made from heating wood and other biomass at high temperatures with no oxygen, biochar mixed in soils dominated the carbon offset marketplace last year in tons of warming gases absorbed from the atmosphere.

  Click now to learn more.

• • Heat Waves Are Moving Slower and Staying Longer, Study Finds

  Climate Change is Making Heat Waves Linger for Longer Stretches of Time, Exacerbating the Effects of Extreme Temperatures
  
  

  Mar. 29, 2024 When heat waves swept across large parts of the planet last summer, in many places the oppressive temperatures loitered for days or weeks at a time. As climate change warms the planet, heat waves are increasingly moving sluggishly and lasting longer, according to a study published on Friday.

  Heat waves also now last about four days longer on average.

• • Sinking Coastal Lands Will
  Exacerbate the Flooding in 24 US Cities

  Sea Level Rise is the Culprit
  
  

  Mar. 27, 2024 -Flooding could affect one out of every 50 residents in 24 coastal cities in the United States by the year 2050, a study led by Virginia Tech researchers suggests.

  The study, published this month in Nature, shows how the combination of land subsidence—in this case, the sinking of shoreline terrain—and rising sea levels can lead to the flooding of coastal areas sooner than previously anticipated by research that had focused primarily on sea level rise scenarios.

• • Another Climate Change Issue to Deal With

  It's Altering Earth’s Rotation Enough to Mess With Our Clocks
  
  

  Mar. 27, 2024 -Climate change is messing with time itself.

  The melting of polar ice due to global warming is affecting Earth’s rotation and could have an impact on precision timekeeping, according to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

• • Big Oil's Climate Planning Not Good Enough

  From the Voices of an Investment Group
  
  

  Mar. 27, 2024 -The current low-carbon transition plans of 10 of Europe's and North America's biggest listed oil and gas companies are not good enough to assess the risks involved, the world's leading investor climate action group said on Wednesday.

  Climate Action 100+ said the companies including Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab, Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab and Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab were assessed, opens new tab using its sector-specific Net Zero Standard for Oil & Gas framework by the independent Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) Centre.

• • Arctic Sea Ice Is Behaving Strangely

  Arctic Reaches ‘Below-Average’ Winter Peak
  
  

  Mar. 26, 2024 -Antarctic sea ice is “behaving strangely” and might have entered a “new regime”, the director of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) tells Carbon Brief.

  Following an all-time low maximum in September 2023, Antarctic sea ice has been tracking at near-record-low extent for the past six months. Last month, it hit its 2024 minimum extent, tying with 2022 for the second-lowest Antarctic minimum in the 46-year satellite record.

• • Global Summit on Extreme Heat

  Many Environmental
  Groups Are Participating

  (USAID), Mar. 26, 2024, 2023 marked the hottest year on record, coinciding with deadly heat waves on nearly every continent, from Pakistan to Tunisia to Texas. Climate experts predict that extreme heat events will continue to increase in frequency, resulting in more lives lost and an increase in risk of other climate disasters such as drought and wildfires.

  The Global Summit on Extreme Heat will bring together leaders and changemakers from across the world to discuss solutions and strategies to protect communities and workers from extreme heat.

• • U.S. Hydropower Drops to 20-Year Low

  Northwest Snowpack Shrinks

  (KUOW News), Mar. 26, 2024, American rivers produced less hydropower in 2023 than at any time in the past 20 years, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

  Drought and low snowpack in much of the West made it a bad year for the climate-friendly energy source, especially in Washington state, the nation’s leading producer of power from flowing water.

• • These Lakes Are Usually Still Frozen Over

  See How They Look Now
  
  

  Mar. 22, 2024 -Lakes from Minnesota to Maine are usually still frozen over at this time of year, as signs of spring slowly emerge across the country’s northern tier.

  Instead, the ice is breaking up or is already gone on many lakes with more than a century of records. So-called ice-out — when waters become navigable for boats again — is happening earlier than ever witnessed.

• • NASA Analysis Sees Sea Level Rise Spike in 2023

  The State of the Climate In 2023 Gave Ominous New Significance to the Phrase “Off the Charts”

  (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Mar. 21, 2024, • Global average sea level rose by about 0.3 inches (0.76 centimeters) from 2022 to 2023, a relatively large jump due mostly to a warming climate and the development of a strong El Niño. The total rise is equivalent to draining a quarter of Lake Superior into the ocean over the course of a year.

  Click now for the rest of the story.

• • Texas Heat Index Rises Three Times Faster Than Temperatures

  The Real Feel of Summers is Hotter Than Ever Due to Climate Change
  
  

  Mar. 21, 2024 -In the heart of Texas, where the summer sun beats down without mercy, residents are no strangers to extreme heat. However, a recent study sheds light on a concerning trend that may explain a lot of things: the heat index, or how hot it truly feels, is rising at a rate three times faster than actual temperature readings.

  On the hottest days, Texans are enduring “feels like” temperatures up to 11°F (6°C) warmer than historical norms.

• • The Early Heatwave in West Africa

  Climate Change Made it
  10 Times as Likely
  
  

  Mar. 21, 2024 -A remarkably early, record-breaking heat wave hit the southern part of West Africa in mid-February.

  Climate change made this extreme heat 10 times as likely, according to a new analysis by an international team of scientists. It also pushed the heat index about four degrees Celsius higher than it would have been without the extra greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.

• • Brush Fires Bring Smoke to D.C. Area

  Officials Warn
  of Dangerous Conditions
  
  

  Mar. 21, 2024 -A series of fires in Virginia and Maryland brought a smoky haze into the D.C. region Wednesday evening, as a combination of strong winds and low humidity created conditions that the National Weather Service said could fuel more blazes Thursday.

  Click now for the rest of the story.

• • Heat Wave's Effect on Sudan

  Forces Schools to Close
  
  

  Mar. 20, 2024 - South Sudan has long been hit by climate change-exacerbated disasters like recurring droughts and floods. Now, extreme heat is forcing the world’s youngest nation to close its schools.

  The authorities have ordered schools across the country shuttered since Monday because of a wave of excessive heat that is expected to last at least two weeks.

• • High Winds Fuel Wildfires in Mid-Atlantic States

  Thousands of Acres Burned From Maryland to N. Carolina, and More Fire-Friendly Conditions Were Expected Shortly
  
  

  Mar. 20, 2024 - Firefighters continued to battle wildfires across parts of the Mid-Atlantic on Thursday, a day after high winds and low humidity sparked dozens of fires in four states, prompting officials to issue air-quality alerts.

  Click now for the story and a video.

• • Climate Change Indicators Reached Record Levels in 2023:

  The State of the Climate In 2023 Gave Ominous New Significance to the Phrase “Off the Charts”

  (WORLD METEOROLIGICAL ORGANIZATION), Mar. 19, 2024, • State of Global Climate report confirms 2023 as hottest year on record by clear margin
  • Records broken for ocean heat, sea level rise, Antarctic sea ice loss and glacier retreat
  • Extreme weather undermines socio-economic development
  • Renewable energy transition provides hope
  • Cost of climate inaction is higher than cost of climate action

  Click now for the full report.

• • Repairing a D.C. Crumbling Sea Wall

  Some of D.C.'s Famous Cherry Trees Will Be Removed to Get it Done
  
  

  Mar. 18, 2024 -Washington, D.C.'s famous cherry blossoms hit peak bloom on Sunday. For about 150 of the famous flowering trees, this will be their last season — they'll soon be cut down to adjust to sea-level rise.

  Click now read on.

• • Pressure Builds for Charge on
  Global Shipping Sector's CO2 Emissions
  

  Opponents, Including China and Brazil, Say it Would Penalize Trade-Reliant Emerging Economies
  
  

  Mar. 18, 2024 -The European Union, Canada, Japan and climate-vulnerable Pacific Island states are among 47 countries rallying support for a charge on the international shipping sector's greenhouse gas emissions, documents reviewed by Reuters showed.

  The documents, being discussed at an International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting now entering a second week, outline four proposals with a combined 47 backers for imposing a fee on each tonne of greenhouse gas the industry produces.

• • Record heat index of 62.3C Scorches Rio de Janeiro

  Highest Temperatures Reached in Over a Decade

  (ALJAZERRA), Mar. 18, 2024, A heatwave stifling Brazil has set new records with Rio de Janeiro’s heat index hitting 62.3 degrees Celsius (144.1 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest in a decade, weather authorities say.

  The heat index measures what a temperature feels like by taking into account humidity. The actual maximum temperature in the city was 42C on Monday, the Rio Alert weather system said.

• • Ocean Temperatures Hit New Record Again
  

  A New Record Every
  Single Day for the Last Year
  
  

  Mar. 18, 2024 -The world’s oceans have now experienced an entire year of unprecedented heat, with a new temperature record broken every day, new data shows.

  Global ocean surface temperatures started breaking daily records in mid-March last year, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, fueling concerns for marine life and extreme weather across the planet.


• • South Sudan Prepares for Extreme Heat Wave
  

  All Schools Have Been Shut Down
  
  

  Mar. 17, 2024 -South Sudan is closing all schools starting Monday in preparation for an extreme heat wave expected to last two weeks.

  The health and education ministries advised parents to keep all children indoors as temperatures are expected to soar to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).

• • In Paris, the Olympics Clean Up Their Act

  The Games' Organizers Promise to Slash Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Re-Using Historic Buildings, Adding Bike Lanes, Even Putting Solar Panels on the Seine
  
  

  Mar. 16, 2024 -How do you produce a global sporting event, with millions of people swooping down on one city, in the age of global warming?

  The organizers say they’re putting the games on a climate diet.

• • The Price Americans Pay for Climate Disasters
  

  More Than Any Other Country But One
  
  

  Mar. 16, 2024 - The United States suffers the world’s second-highest toll from major weather disasters, according to a new analysis — even when numbers are adjusted for the country’s wealth.

  The report released late last month by Zurich-based reinsurance giant Swiss Re, which analyzed the vulnerability and damages of 36 different countries, suggests that weather disasters may become a heavy drag on the U.S. economy — especially as insurers increasingly pull out of hazardous areas.

• • Thinking About Flight Pollution?

  Not All Flights Pollute the Same Way
  
  

  Mar. 15, 2024 -Flight booking platforms are giving customers a new number to think about when they buy a plane ticket: the expected greenhouse gas emissions of their trip.

  On Google Flights in the past two years, there's a little green number that compares each route’s climate impact. Google began predicting flight emissions in 2021, using data about flight schedules, airplane models and how full a flight is expected to be to come up with an estimate for each passenger’s carbon footprint.

• • Coral Bleaching Extended in Australia
  

  It Can Now Be Found
  in the Far North
  
  

  Mar. 15, 2024 - Australian researchers have found coral bleaching around six islands in the far northern parts of the Great Barrier Reef, after a government agency said last week a major bleaching event was unfolding across the world's most extensive reef ecosystem.

  Scientists at the James Cook University said on Friday they found only a few relatively healthy areas, mostly in deeper waters, after surveying sites at the Turtle Group National Park, about 10 km (6.2 miles) offshore the state of Queensland.

• • Soil Erosion is the Biggest Environmental
  Crisis You Don't Hear Much About
  

  It's Being Eroded 1,000 Times Faster Than It’s Being Created
  
  

  Mar. 14, 2024 - In a study that should concern more than just farmers, researchers have shown that agriculture has increased the rate of soil erosion in the Midwestern US by 10 to 1,000 times. If this continues, some areas may simply be out of soil soon.

  By now, we’re all (hopefully) keenly aware of how big of a problem global warming is. We’re also aware that we’re polluting the atmosphere and the oceans in multiple ways. But we don’t really talk that much about soil erosion — and maybe we should.

• • Realtor.com Adds Climate Change Risk Features

  40% of US Homes Show
  Risks of Heat, Wind, Air Quality
  
  

  Mar. 13, 2024 - Realtor.com announced Wednesday that it will add features that will provide climate risk information on listings.

  The company said that the three features will show the heat, wind and air quality risks associated with a property.

  Listings currently show a property's fire and flood risks.

• • Planting Trees May Not Be as Good
  for the Climate as Previously Believed

  It's Effect on Methane
  Release Needs Consideration
  
  

  Mar. 13, 2024 -The climate benefits of trees storing carbon dioxide is partially offset by dark forests’ absorption of more heat from the sun, and compounds they release that slow the destruction of methane in the atmosphere, the research shows.

  Click now for the rest of the story.

• • Methane Emissions From Energy Sector Rose in 2023

  This is Despite Climate Pledges
  
  

  Mar. 13, 2024 -Methane emissions from the energy sector remained near a record high in 2023 despite commitments from the sector to plug leaking infrastructure in a bid to combat climate change, a report by the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday.

  Click now to learn more.

• The National Climate Change Assessment
• 6 Things We Can Do About Climate Change
• Climate Change Positive Thoughts (free e-Book)
• Get the Climate Lab Book
• Interactive Climate Map 2050 (CC Consequences)
• The People's Dosier on Climate Change

• Global Warming Report from NOAA
• Another Good Global Warming Resource
• More Climate Change Resources
• NY Times Climate Forward: (Climate Change Q&A)
• Carbon Fee & Dividend Video
• Interactive Air Pollution Map 2100