Climate action is going in the right direction, but what now? What is a realistic aim?
| The world’s 1.5°C climate goal is slipping out of reach – so now what? Scientists say it is still theoretically possible to limit global warming to 1.5°C, but realistically that now seems practically impossible. Should we admit our failure and double down on holding warming below 2°C? As scientists frequently point out, 1.5°C isn’t a cliff edge. It isn’t a precisely calculated moment at which we know we will hit tipping points that turn the Amazon into a savannah or commit Antarctica’s ice sheets to a rapid collapse. While most scientists maintain that 1.5°C is still technically possible, the majority of those New Scientist spoke to think the goal will be missed. The idea of conceding that prospects for hitting 1.5°C are dead might seem irredeemably gloomy. But it is worth remembering the path we were on before the world adopted the goal in 2015. Five years earlier, climate pledges globally had us on track for up to 5°C of warming by 2100, an apocalyptic level that would be almost impossible to adapt to, given that we are already struggling to do so after heating Earth by just over a degree. Humanity shifted the goalposts at Paris, prioritising 1.5°C over 2°C. We have made significant progress to even have a chance of landing somewhere between the two. History may yet judge failure on 1.5°C as a success, given how much the rallying cry has dragged societies in the right direction. New Scientist 7th June 2022 https://www.newscientist.com/article/2323175-the-worlds-1-5c-climate-goal-is-slipping-out-of-reach-so-now-what/ |
30 years on from Rio Earth Summit not that much has been achieved.
| Climate change: 30 years on from Rio Earth Summit, did it actually achieve anything? – Dr Richard Dixon. Thirty years ago tomorrow, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development opened in Rio de Janeiro. Nearly 200 countries met for 11 days and four international agreements were signed. But has it made any difference? More familiarly known as the Earth Summit, the event was held 20 years on from the 1972 Human Environment Conference and followed the 1987 Brundtland report which cemented the concept of sustainable development. There was a great deal of optimism that humankind might finally be about to get really serious about the damage we were doing to the planet. Sadly the best we seem to be able to say about the Earth Summit and the subsequent 30 years is that things aren’t quite as bad as they would have been if we hadn’t bothered. Scotsman 2nd June 2022https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/climate-change-30-years-on-from-rio-earth-summit-did-it-actually-achieve-anything-dr-richard-dixon-3716466 |
Why nuclear power can’t solve climate crisis – in fact makes it worse.
Mark Jacobson, energy scientist and professor from Stanford University,
gives a brilliant synopsis of the reasons why nuclear power can’t help
solve the climate crisis and even makes the problem worse.
Mark Jacobson 24th May 2022
Global heating is affecting France’s nuclear reactors, as water temperatures rise in the rivers
Warming French rivers could take more nuclear supply offline, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/warming-french-rivers-could-take-more-nuclear-supply-offline-2022-05-25/ 26 may 22, PARIS, May 25 (Reuters) – An unseasonably warm May has led to high water temperatures in several rivers throughout France, putting some nuclear plants’ output at risk during a period of historically high unavailability, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Wednesday.
Reporting by Forrest Crellin Editing by David Goodman River water is often used for cooling reactors before being returned to the the river at a higher temperature.
Regulations are in place that limit reactor production during times of high heat to prevent the process from damaging local wildlife.
The exposed nuclear plants are the 1.8 gigawatt (GW) Bugey plant, the 2.6 GW Saint-Alban plant and the 3.6 GW Tricastin plant on the Rhone river in the south east, as well as the 3.6 GW Blayais plant on the Gironde river in the south west.
Because river temperature is closely correlated to air temperature, the recent heatwave in France would need to abate to reduce the risk of environmental outages.
Most rivers with power plants have an upper limit between 26 and 30 degrees Celsius for cooling, so critical supply losses would only take place if daily average temperatures are above the river’s maximum for at least a couple of weeks, the Refinitiv analysts said.
However, even with a spell of cooler weather, the situation is unlikely to simply disappear as we head into a warmer season, they added.
“The latest forecasts indicates that temperatures at Bugey and Tricastin will be below warning levels later this week, while Blayais will stay above warning levels and risk needing to down-regulate, if at nominal power,” said Refinitiv analyst Stefan Soderberg.
The current warning levels at the Blayais plant indicate that it is still lower than the maximum allowed temperature but above the level where supply reduction is needed to comply with regulations, he added.
The Blayais plant is operating at limited capacity, data from nuclear provider EDF (EDF.PA) showed.
French nuclear supply stood at a much reduced 50% of available capacity on Wednesday, with a slew of reactors having gone offline in recent months owing to issues with corrosion found in the welding of reactor safety circuits.
Japan’s new ‘green economy’ bond may fund nuclear projects
- BY TAKASHI UMEKAWA AND SHOKO ODA, BLOOMBERG May 25, 2022
Japan plans to use its new type of sovereign debt to fund a wide range of projects designed to reduce emissions, possibly including nuclear power.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week proposed a “green economy transformation bond” to raise as much as ¥20 trillion ($157 billion) to help meet climate goals. The government decided not to issue green bonds because the more standard instruments also constrain the use of proceeds, according to people familiar with the matter.,………… https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/05/25/business/green-economy-bond-nuclear/
Climate Summit failed to support African communities on the front lines of the climate crisis.
Kenyan climate activist Elizabeth Wathuti told world leaders attending the
Cop26 climate summit that her message would only land if they had the grace
to “fully listen”. Six months on, the 26-year-old environmentalist
looks back at the Glasgow summit with growing frustration. She feels that
it failed to deliver concrete support for those living on the front lines
of the climate crisis. Promises for future action, made in abundance at the
summit, offer cold comfort to those on the African continent living with
climate-fuelled hunger, flooding and extreme heat, she tells The
Independent, pointing to climate-related food insecurity in her own
country, Kenya.
Independent 22nd May 2022
A fossil fuel front group – The Global Warming Policy Foundation
The Global Warming Policy Foundation, a climate sceptic thinktank, has
been reported to the Charity Commission by the Green MP Caroline Lucas and
Extinction Rebellion. The move comes after the Guardian revealed that the
group received funding from fossil fuel interests. The thinktank has
charitable status, but climate campaigners say the questions about its
funding mean it should be stripped of this. In a letter to the Charity
Commission, the signatories including the writers Irvine Welsh and Zadie
Smith say the GWPF is “not a charity, but a fossil fuel lobby group”.
The GWPF, set up in 2009 by the former Tory chancellor Lord Lawson, has
enjoyed a recent revival in its influence in parliament. It has MP Steve
Baker as a trustee and has its research promoted by the Net Zero Scrutiny
Group of Conservative MPs.
Guardian 23rd May 2022
The U.N. “Sustainable Development Goals”- just ”greenwashing” – claim experts
100 scientists and academics urge UN to drop sustainable development
targets after ‘failure’. Exclusive: The letter was released as the
United Nations begins a summit on disaster risks in Bali, Indonesia on
Monday. The experts are calling for the United Nations to abandon the
“Sustainable Development Goals” — a group of 17 targets adopted in
2015 to tackle global social and environmental issues from hunger to
climate change to economic growth.
Among the notable experts who have put
their names to the letter are Peter Kalmus, a climate scientist at Nasa who
was arrested last month in a climate protest; Yves Cochet, France’s
former Minister of Environment and Regional Planning; and Britt Wray,
author of the recent climate anxiety book, Generation Dread.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are based on an ideology that values
material and technological progress and prioritizes corporate interests –
where “humanity will balance social, economic and environmental issues to
progress materially,” Jem Bendell, a sustainability researcher at the
University of Cumbria, told The Independent via email, citing a recent
non-peer reviewed paper that he authored on the subject. Dr Bendell called
the SDGs a “systemic greenwash” that undermines “challenges to
structural power.”
Independent 23rd May 2022
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/un-sustainable-development-failure-b2084034.html
Global heating brings megadrought and water shortages to over half of the USA
The “megadrought” gripping the southwestern US has driven water levels
at the two largest reservoirs to record lows, forcing unprecedented
government intervention to protect water and power supplies across seven
states.
Millions of Americans already contending with critical water
shortages now face the prospect of black outs as energy demand grows during
heatwaves just as hydroelectric power supply is strained. A US power
regulator this week warned that a big swath of the US was at risk of
blackouts, partly as a result of drought conditions curtailing
hydroelectric supplies.
US government climate scientists have said more
than half the country is enduring drought conditions, while a separate
study estimated that the drought affecting southwestern states was the
worst to hit the region for 1,200 years after being exacerbated by human
activity.
FT 21st May 2022
https://www.ft.com/content/9f00dfff-3a44-483f-9d5a-f58db7806046
Chernobyl nuclear fears as forest near Exclusion Zone in FLAMES – emergency triggered
CHERNOBYL nuclear fears have surged after a forest near the Exclusion Zone erupted in flames as emergency services battled to extinguish the huge blaze.
By PAUL WITHERS, May 18, 2022 The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that litter in the forest near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone had caught fire. More than a dozen firefighters and four units of equipment were involved in battling to put out the massive fire. At 2.10am local time, the fire had been localised to an area of 45 hectares.
Video footage shared on Twitter shows the forest next to the Exclusion Zone engulfed in flames that are several metres high.
Rescue workers wearing protective face masks are also seen leading a local resident to safety.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine shared footage of the fire on its Telegram channel.
The service also wrote alongside this: “May 17 near the village. “In the forest of Vyshhorod district, forest litter caught fire.
“During the fire, our firefighters rescued a local resident.
“At 02:10 on May 18, the fire was localized on an area of 45 hectares.
“As of 09:00 there is decay of dry grass and stumps.
“Sixteen rescuers and four units were involved in the firefighting techniques.
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is an officially designated 1,000 square mile area in Ukraine around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster.
It covers an area where radioactive contamination is highest and public access and habitation are restricted.
The Exclusion Zone aims to restrict access to hazardous areas, reduce the spread of radiological contamination, and conduct radiological and ecological monitoring activities.
It remains one of the most radioactively contaminated areas in the world, attracting widespread interest over the high levels of radiation exposure in the environment.
The Exclusion Zone had been established by the Soviet Armed Forces soon after the nuclear power plant disaster in 1986. This initially existed as an area with a radius of 30 miles from the structure, designated for evacuation and placed under military control.
Over the years, its borders have been widened to cover a much larger area of Ukraine.
Germany will vote against EU plans to label nuclear power as a green investment,
Germany says it will vote against EU plans to label nuclear power as a green investment, https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/05/17/germany-will-vote-against-eu-plans-to-include-nuclear-energy-as-a-green-investment By Kate Abnett with Reuters – UK Online Report Business News 17/05/2022
Germany will oppose European Union plans to include nuclear energy as a sustainable investment in its “taxonomy” policy for labelling green investments, the government said on Monday.
With the bloc aiming to achieve net-zero by 2050, massive investments into sustainable energy sources are needed. The European Commission is looking to class nuclear energy as ‘green’ making it easier for states and the private sector to invest.
Brussels is now seeking approval from EU countries and European Parliament for its plan to label gas and nuclear as climate-friendly investments. It has split opinions among states who disagree with the fuels’ green credentials.
Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, is among those planning to reject it when countries come to vote on the plan in the coming weeks.
“The Federal Government has expressed its opposition to the taxonomy rules on nuclear power. This ‘no’ is an important political signal that makes clear: Nuclear energy is not sustainable and should therefore not be part of the
taxonomy,” Germany’senvironment ministry and its economy and climate ministry said in a statement.
Nuclear energy is not sustainable and should therefore not be part of the taxonomy.
“Accordingly, the Federal Government would vote for the Council to object to the EU Commission’s delegated legal act,” the ministries said.
A ‘gold standard’ for green investing
To reject the rules, 20 of the EU’s 27 countries must oppose it – a high threshold seen as unlikely to be reached. Germany’s stance could also steer opinion in the European Parliament, however, where a majority of the assembly’s 705 lawmakers could block the gas and nuclear rules in a July vote.
The EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy was designed to provide a “gold standard” for green investing, by limiting which investments can be labelled climate-friendly to only those that truly protect the planet.
Austria is leading a call for legal action because of “serious concerns” about nuclear energy being too expensive and slow to actually fight climate change. Officials from the country have pointed out that, whilenuclear energy generation is CO2-free, the problem of nuclear waste has still not been solved.
The small but wealthy nation of Luxembourg is also considering legal action if the decision to label nuclear energy as ‘green’ goes ahead.
\The plan to label gas as climate-friendly has faced criticism from countries including Spain, although some countries had lobbied hard for the taxonomy to incentivise gas investments to help them phase out coal.
Gas emits less CO2 than coal when burned, but is also associated with leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
1.2 billion people threatened by escalating heat due to climate change
Rolling out cooling technologies to the 1.2 billion people most at risk
from extreme heat incidents should be a global priority, according to the
global Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) campaign.
In a new report, titled Chilling Prospects, SEforALL reveals the escalating threat
communities are facing from extreme heatwaves and warns that the world is
entering a decisive decade when sustainable cooling solutions must be
deployed at pace if increasingly common heatwaves are not to have
catastrophic and deadly consequences.
The report assesses 76 countries with
cooling access challenges and found that, globally, 1.2 billion people do
not have adequate access to cooling, threatening their ability to survive
extreme heat, store nutritious food, or secure access to safe vaccines.
Business Green 17th May 2022
Climate change makes record-breaking heatwaves in northwest India and Pakistan 100 times more likely
Climate change makes record-breaking heatwaves in northwest India and
Pakistan 100 times more likely, a Met Office study finds. The region should
now expect a heatwave that exceeds the record temperatures seen in 2010
once every three years.
Without climate change, such extreme temperatures
would occur only once every 312 years, the Met Office says. The report
comes as forecasters say temperatures in north-west India could reach new
highs in the coming days. The extreme pre-monsoon heatwave the region has
suffered in recent weeks eased a little after peak temperatures reached 51C
in Pakistan on Saturday.
But the heat looks likely to build again towards
the end of this week and into the weekend, the Met Office’s Global Guidance
Unit warns. It says maximum temperatures are likely to reach 50C in some
spots, with continued very high overnight temperatures.
BBC 18th May 2022
COP26: No countries have delivered on promise to improve climate plans.
COP26: No countries have delivered on promise to improve climate plans. In
Glasgow, 196 countries promised to “revisit and strengthen” their plans for
curbing emissions, but there is little sign of this happening before the
next talks in November.
Sebastian Mernild’s presentation pulled no
punches. As more than 40 countries met in Copenhagen last week to discuss
progress since 2021’s COP26 climate summit, the University of Southern
Denmark glaciologist greeted ministers with jagged red lines showing rising
global temperatures. He reminded them that emissions are still growing.
And he told them their goal of holding temperature rises to 1.5°C needs
nothing less than “rapid, deep and sustained” emissions cuts. “They
all know what we are facing scientifically regarding 1.5°C,” says
Mernild. Whether they are acting on that knowledge is another question.
Half a year on from a deal at COP26 in Glasgow, it is far from clear if
countries are delivering on the commitments they made. COP26 president Alok
Sharma said today that failure by world leaders to deliver on their pledges
would be a “monstrous act of self-harm”. Speaking in Glasgow, he said
he could understand why action to cut emissions had been pushed out of the
spotlight by the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, but reminded
his audience that “climate change is a chronic danger” the world
couldn’t ignore.
New Scientist 16th May 2022
Germany to reject EU green investment label for nuclear power
https://www.reuters.com/business/germany-reject-eu-green-investment-label-nuclear-power-2022-05-16/ , By Kate Abnett. BRUSSELS, May 16 (Reuters) – Germany will oppose European Union plans to include nuclear energy as a sustainable investment in its “taxonomy” policy for labelling green investments, the government said on Monday.
Brussels is seeking approval from EU countries and European Parliament for its plan to label gas and nuclear as climate-friendly investments, which has split opinion among states who disagree on the fuels’ green credentials.
Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, is among those planning to reject it when countries come to vote on the plan in the coming weeks.
“The Federal Government has expressed its opposition to the taxonomy rules on nuclear power. This ‘no’ is an important political signal that makes clear: Nuclear energy is not sustainable and should therefore not be part of the taxonomy,” Germany’s environment ministry and its economy and climate ministry said in a statement.
“Accordingly, the Federal Government would vote for the Council to object to the EU Commission’s delegated legal act,” the ministries said.
To reject the rules, 20 of the EU’s 27 countries must oppose it – a high threshold seen as unlikely to be reached. Germany’s stance could also steer opinion in the European Parliament, however, where a majority of the assembly’s 705 lawmakers could block the gas and nuclear rules in a July vote.
The EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy was designed to provide a “gold standard” for green investing, by limiting which investments can be labelled climate-friendly to only those that truly protect the planet.
Nuclear energy generation is CO2-free, but produces radioactive waste. Separately, Austria and Luxembourg have threatened legal action over the plan to label nuclear investments as green.
The plan to label gas as climate-friendly has faced criticism from countries including Spain, although some countries had lobbied hard for the taxonomy to incentivise gas investments to help them phase out coal. Gas emits less CO2 than coal when burned, but is also associated with leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
1 This Month
26 April – Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown airs on National Geographic on Sunday 26th April from 4pm
29 April – Nuclear Expert Webinar #1 – Radiation Impacts on Families with Mary Olson and Cindy Folkers
- 12:15 PM MT – 1:45 PM MT
- Location: Virtual – REGISTER TODAY
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
Pine Ridge Uranium is the real threat, not Tehran- Tell Burgum: Stop the Extraction.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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