The Guardian
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2021-03-05
Boris Johnson failing on UK plan to reach net zero, say MPs
Public accounts committee report says despite green rhetoric, government policy is falling short
MPs warn Government is failing to tell public to eat less meat and switch to green cars
A report from the PAC said there was no co-ordinated plan, with clear milestones, to achieve net-zero by 2050
Govt has no plan for reaching net zero by 2050, MPs warn
The Public Accounts Committee says "at present, there is no coordinated plan", despite the government making the target in 2019.
Trending Now
Equivalent of Covid emissions drop needed every two years - study
The climate crisis can't be solved by carbon accounting tricks | Simon Lewis
Paul Gosar Spoke At A White Nationalist Conference. The GOP Doesn't Care.
Vox
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2021-03-05
China aims to be carbon neutral by 2060. Its new 5-year plan won’t cut it.
The plan could allow for emissions to keep growing through 2025.
China's five year plan could push emissions higher unless action is taken
Target is in line with previous trends and could lead to greenhouse gas emissions continuing to rise
China sets moderate new energy goals for climate change
BEIJING (AP) — China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, announced generally moderate new energy and climate targets on Friday that give little sign that it will step up its pace in...
CNN
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2021-03-05
Opinion: We can't plant or log our way out of climate change
We can't save the climate by ramping up logging and simply planting new trees to replace existing forests, writes Dogwood Alliance Executive Director Danna Smith
The World’s Largest Intact Forest Is In Danger. Here’s How To Save It.
The boreal forest is threatened by climate change and human activity. Without urgent action, it could reach a terrifying tipping point.
Protect forests, support forest communities, Guterres urges, marking World Wildlife Day
The United Nations Secretary-General on Wednesday called on people and governments everywhere to step up efforts to protect forests and support forest communities, under increasing threat from unsustainable use of forest resources and wildlife trafficking.
Earther
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2021-03-05
World Wastes 1 Billion Tons of Food a Year, and It’s Frying the Planet
If you’ve ever overstuffed your fridge and let some leftovers go bad in the back of it, you’re not alone. People toss more than 1 billion tons of food in the trash every year, according to a new United Nations report. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
‘Massive’ impact of food waste on climate with nearly a billion tons binned each year, finds UN report
Around a fifth of all food produced worldwide was thrown away in 2019, study suggests
17% of global food production goes to waste, U.N. report estimates
A United Nations report estimates 17% of food produced each year is wasted. That's 931 million metric tons of food, doubled from a decade ago.
The Economist
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2021-03-04
Seagrasses and mangroves can suck carbon from the air
They do an even better job than forests on land
'Catastrophic': UK has lost 90% of seagrass meadows, study finds
Scientists say restoring the lush habitats would boost wildlife, protect coasts and store carbon
Blue carbon: how three Australian marine sites lock away 2bn tonnes of CO2
Greenhouse gas stored in country’s marine world heritage sites about same as four years of emissions
Bloomberg
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2021-03-05
It’s Too Late for Big Oil’s Pivot to a Carbon Tax
The American Petroleum Institute is considering endorsing a carbon price. That’s a big shift, but a carbon price alone is not good climate policy.
Top oil and gas lobbying group close to backing a carbon tax
The American Petroleum Institute, the top lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, is moving toward endorsing a carbon tax. But analysts debate whether API sees it as a way to undercut other policies or as a step forward on climate change.
Big Oil Hints Support for Carbon Tax—But Money Tells a Different Story
The American Petroleum Institute, which is the nation’s largest lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, is planning to endorse levying a price on carbon pollution. But it's political giving includes millions to ensure climate legislation never passes.
The Guardian
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2021-03-05
New infrastructure bank won't help UK reach net zero, says Labour
Party says bank announced in budget needs ‘watertight’ environmental mandate
Budget lacks urgency needed to tackle the climate crisis
The final Budget before the UK hosts a key round of global climate talks was a ‘missed opportunity’ to put forward world-leading green measures, experts tell Daisy Dunne
Environmental groups not convinced by Sunak's 'green growth' budget
Chancellor gave few details about net zero plans and did not mention his flagship policy
Sky News
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2021-03-02
Volvo joins race to go all-electric by 2030 and will shift all sales online
The company's chief executive tells Sky News that Volvo will contribute to charging infrastructure to ensure 2030 readiness.
Volvo plans to phase out gas engines in all its cars by 2030
"There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine," Volvo's chief technology officer said.
Volvo says it will be 'fully electric' by 2030 and move car sales online
Volvo Cars becomes the latest firm to detail plans for a future centered around electric mobility.
Reuters
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2021-03-04
Barrett authors first U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a loss for environmentalists
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday authored her first ruling since joining the U.S. Supreme Court in October as the court handed a defeat to an environmental group seeking access to government documents.
EU court orders Britain to fix air pollution, in first post-Brexit ruling
The European Union's top court ruled on Thursday that Britain had breached the bloc's air pollution limits for years and ordered it to comply with the rules, raising the possibility that the country may be fined even though it has quit the EU.
MS patient sues Austria over health impact of climate change
BERLIN — A man in Austria with a temperature-dependent form of multiple sclerosis is taking his government to court in an effort to force it to do more against climate change, his lawyers said Tues…
Earther
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2021-03-05
‘Travesty’ in World Building Codes Erodes Cities’ Climate Fights
Backroom deals, undemocratic processes, shutting out local voices in favor of industry interests. There’s soap-opera level drama happening in an unlikely space: the world of building codes. But the outcome could have devastating effects on the climate.
After Championing Greener Building Codes, Local Governments Lose Right To Vote
The nonprofit consortium that oversees much of the nation's building codes just gave the construction and gas industries more control over the process.
The battle over climate change is boiling over on the home front
States and municipalities around the country want to curtail the use of natural gas to fight climate change. Conservative and industry groups want to block them.
Earther
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2021-03-04
New Satellite Images Show Earth's Latest Gigantic Iceberg
Behold A-74, an enormous iceberg that broke away from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica late last month. British Antarctic Survey scientists reported the birth of the iceberg on Feb. 26. Here’s what we know about the new ‘berg and where it could go.
Massive iceberg ‒ larger than NYC ‒ breaks off in Antarctica
A massive iceberg, larger than New York City, has broken off from an ice shelf in Antarctica, according to researchers on Friday. The 490-square mile iceberg broke away from the Brunt Ice Shelf ab…
Iceberg More Than 20 Times the Size of Manhattan Breaks Off Antarctic Ice Shelf
An iceberg more than 20 times the size of Manhattan split off from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica this week because our planet is totally having a normal one.
Independent
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2021-03-02
UK accused of ‘rank hypocrisy’ over Cumbria mine as it hosts coal phase-out summit
‘Ending coal use, whether for power generation or for industry, is crucial for facing down the climate emergency,’ said one campaigner
Secretary-General urges countries to end ‘deadly addiction’ to coal
The world still has a “fighting chance” to limit global warming by ending dependence on coal, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told representatives from governments, local authorities and the private sector, meeting online on Tuesday.
Cancel all planned coal projects globally to end ‘deadly addiction’, says UN chief
Call comes at event hosted by UK government, which is under pressure over planned coalmine in Cumbria
The Washington Post
•
2021-03-04
Butterflies are vanishing out West. Scientists say climate change is to blame.
As the climate in the American West grows hotter and drier, butterfly populations are disappearing, new research shows. Butterfiles, along with bees that are also in declines, are important pollinators, and scientists worry that their decline will harm crops and other plants.
Climate Change Is Killing Butterflies in the American West
Butterflies play essential role in pollinating wild plants and crops. Which makes a new study published in Science on Thursday such bad news. It shows the climate crisis is posing an existential threat to their survival, particularly in the American West.
Monarch Butterfly Population In Mexico Drops By More Than A Quarter
Monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico's forests for the winter are down by 26% since last year.
Earther
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2021-03-04
The Water Crisis in Mississippi America Can’t Afford to Ignore
Though the spotlight is on Texas, it’s clear that the infrastructure across the South is in crisis after last month's cold snap. Jackson, Mississippi is emblematic of statewide suffering after decades of government disinvestment and aging infrastructure.
Man Who Oversaw Texas Blackouts Shown the Door
A Texas power grid oversight official who held the spectacularly wishful belief that he could keep his job after the state's power grid nearly failed and led to dozens of deaths has been fired and utility bills Texans will be paying for decades.
Biden faces steep challenges to reach renewable energy goals
PORTLAND, Maine — President Joe Biden wants to change the way the US uses energy by expanding renewables, but he will need to navigate a host of challenges — including the coronavirus pandemic and …
CBS
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2021-03-05
Humans, not nature, are the cause of changes in Atlantic hurricane cycles, new study finds
Scientists thought the decades-long cycle of active and slower hurricane seasons was a natural pattern – but new research suggests otherwise.
The slowing down of ocean currents could have a devastating effect on our climate
Remember the movie, "The Day After Tomorrow," in which a catastrophic series of global disasters strike after climate change causes the world's ocean currents to stop?
Study finds Atlantic Ocean circulation weakening because of melting ice
Researchers say circulation is in its "weakest state in over a millennium."
NYPost
•
2021-03-01
Russia launches satellite to monitor climate in Arctic
MOSCOW – Russia launched its space satellite Arktika-M on Sunday on a mission to monitor the climate and environment in the Arctic amid a push by the Kremlin to expand the country’s activitie…
Russia launches satellite to monitor climate in Arctic
Russia launched its space satellite Arktika-M on Sunday on a mission to monitor the climate and environment in the Arctic amid a push by the Kremlin to expand the country's activities in the region.
Russian tanker cuts a previously impossible path through the warming Arctic
The Northern Sea Route is a shortcut across the Arctic that can save shipping companies a lot of cash, but was never passable in the winter, until now.
CBS
•
2021-02-27
UN chief calls new report a "red alert" for Earth as governments lack ambition to tackle climate change
Global emissions must be reduced by roughly 45% by 2030 to limit devastating impacts of climate change, but nations are on track to reduce emissions by less than 1%, report says.
New climate pledges 'far short' of meeting Paris Agreement goals, UN warns
The planet is on "red alert" because governments are failing to meet their climate change goals, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Friday.
UN report warns governments 'nowhere close' to climate targets
The Paris agreement target for CO2 reduction is 45% of 2010 levels by 2030. The report found just a 0.5% fall estimated.
Los Angeles Times
•
2021-02-26
Carbon-cutting pledges by countries aren't nearly enough to halt warming, U.N. warns
A new United Nations report finds that countries are not promising to do enough carbon-cutting to keep global warming from hitting dangerous levels.
United Nations: Countries’ pledges to cut emissions are far too meager to halt climate change
U.N. says global pledges to cut greenhouse gases aren't even close to what's needed to stem global warming
UN: Carbon-cutting pledges by countries nowhere near enough
The newest pledges by countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions are falling far short of what's needed to limit global warming to what the Paris climate accord seeks, a new United Nations report...
The Washington Post
•
2021-03-04
‘I...really struggled through this one’: A Republican senator chose history over oil and gas
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) cast a surprise vote in favor of Rep. Deb Haaland as interior secretary, becoming the only Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to support her.
Biden’s Interior Pick Squeaks Through Panel Amid Oil Ban Fears
The Senate energy committee voted along near party lines to advance President Joe Biden’s Interior secretary nominee, over the objections of Republicans who said Deb Haaland’s past opposition to fossil fuels made her unfit to serve as the chief U.S. manager of hundreds of millions of acres of federal land.
Reversing Trump, Interior Department Moves Swiftly on Climate Change
As Deb Haaland, President Biden's choice for Interior secretary, heads toward a showdown vote, the department she would head is moving ahead on environmental policies.
Vox
•
2021-03-03
The Keystone XL pipeline is officially dead. Here’s what Biden and Trudeau should do next.
If the US and Canada want to be climate leaders, here’s how they can collaborate.
Justin Trudeau Makes Subtle ‘Leadership’ Dig At Trump During Biden Call
"It’s nice when the Americans are not pulling out all the references to climate change and instead adding them in," added the Canadian prime minister.
No talk of Keystone XL pipeline after Biden and Trudeau meet virtually
President Biden on Tuesday said that he and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to work together to counter China’s influence and to combat racism and global warming. Biden and Trud…
Trending This Week
The World Finally Started Cutting Climate Pollution. Now It Needs To Multiply That By 10.
Illegal deforestation is ravaging the planet and driving emissions up. A new bill in Congress seeks to change that.
EXPLAINER: What to look for at China's annual Congress
NYPost
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2021-02-24
UK’s leader warns climate change threatens world security
UNITED NATIONS — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned world leaders Tuesday that climate change is a threat to security of all nations and sharply criticized people across the globe who say …
Biden’s Climate Envoy, at U.N., Likens Global Inaction to a ‘Suicide Pact’
John Kerry’s remarks stood in sharp contrast to the American stance under the previous administration, which tried to block even general mentions of global warming at the world body.
UK's leader warns climate change threatens world security
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned world leaders Tuesday that climate change is a threat to security of all nations and sharply criticized people across the globe...