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July 18, 2016
On July 13, Salt Lake City announced new targets to generate 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2032 and cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2040, in a new plan called Climate Positive 2040. Image courtesy of Garrett/flickr.
The week of July 11, 19 Democratic senators gave five and a half hours of speeches condemning the fossil fuel industry’s "web of denial" on climate change and climate science. Led by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the coalition identified over 32 think tanks and special interest groups that have been “either co-opted or created by the fossil fuel industry in order to propagate climate [change] denial while obscuring the true hand of the . . . industry in their efforts.” In addition to the speeches, eight Senators (seven Democrats and one Independent – Sen. Bernie Sanders) introduced a resolution decrying industry-backed efforts to mislead the public on the negative impacts of lead, tobacco and climate change. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and 14 colleagues introduced the same resolution in the House.
For more information see:
Press Release, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Public Citizen
On July 12, the Senate voted to convene a conference committee to resolve significant differences between the House and Senate versions of an energy bill proposed by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The Senate bill was largely bipartisan, passing with an 85-12 vote, but the more partisan House bill includes a number of amendments Democrats strongly object to (and has sparked a White House veto threat). Sen. Cantwell agreed to the conference after securing promises that the objectionable amendments would be dropped. The Senate side of the committee has seven Senators – four Republicans and three Democrats. The House named 24 Republicans and 16 Democrats to the conference committee back in May. The conference committee does not yet have a meeting time.
Utility Dive, The Hill, MorningConsult
On July 12, the House Appropriations Committee voted against two amendments to a Department of the Interior spending bill that would have supported contributions to the United Nations Green Climate Fund. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) provides money from developed to developing countries to aid their climate change adaptation efforts. President Obama has committed to give three billion dollars to the GCF by 2020, and so far Congress has not set aside any funds to help meet his pledge. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), who proposed one of the amendments, said, “The U.S. needs to be a leader in this global effort, and not prohibited from participating.” The Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved a $500 million contribution to the GCF.
The Hill
On July 12, California Governor Jerry Brown released a draft plan through the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to extend the state’s cap-and-trade program through 2050, past its current expiration in 2020. Cap-and-trade systems incentivize emissions reductions by requiring companies to purchase permits based on the amount they pollute. The draft plan would strengthen California's cap-and-trade market ties to programs in Canada, help California comply with coming federal regulations on the power sector, and help the state meet Gov. Brown's ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets up to 2030. ARB's plan is meant to ensure that the cap-and-trade policy is maintained if the California legislature is unable to come to an agreement to extend the policy. ARB will vote on the proposed extension spring 2017.
Los Angeles Times, California Air Resources Board, Scientific American
On July 13, Salt Lake City announced new targets to generate 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2032 and cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2040, in a new plan called Climate Positive 2040. Mayor Jackie Biskupski finalized the targets the day prior, when she signed a joint resolution with the Salt Lake City Council. Biskupski commented, "The goals in our resolution may seem aggressive. To that I say, they are realistic if we want to actually change the air we breathe." Climate Positive 2040 recognizes the scientific consensus that climate change is happening and is driven by fossil fuels, and that it is already impacting Salt Lake City through extreme weather and changes to water systems.
EcoWatch, Press Release
On July 13, Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. As one of her first acts, May shut down the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and reassigned its climate change responsibilities to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Prime Minister May also announced that Andrea Leadsom, previous Energy Minister, would serve as her new Environment Secretary. Leadsom subsequently stated that there would be no changes to the United Kingdom's long-term plans for cutting carbon emissions. Last year, Leadsom said that her first question when she became Energy Minister was "Is climate change real?" She noted that she is now "completely persuaded."
The Independent, The Independent, BBC
On July 12, researchers from George Mason and Yale University published a study that illustrated an overall increase in climate change concern among American adults. The survey of 1,204 American adults found that the number of respondents "alarmed" about climate change rose five percent during 2015, to 17 percent of respondents. An additional 28 percent are "concerned" about climate change. Edward Maibach of George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication commented, "the size of [those] alarmed [by climate change] are on the rise and will remain on the rise." The study also discovered that over 80 percent of the people "alarmed" about climate change identified climate change, clean energy, and environmental protection as their three most important voting issues.
InsideClimate News, The New York Times, Poll
On June 11, the Guardian released additional results from an online survey (not a randomized poll) in which one in five respondents expressed concern over the lack of climate change discourse in the current presidential race. Of respondents who are concerned about climate change, the Guardian found that the number one cited cause of concern was food and water shortages, followed by sea level rise. One of the respondents, Linda Hayden, commented, "The fact that no one is really talking about climate change, to me, is indicative of just how lost we are. Our house is on fire and we are arguing about who is more angry!" The survey received responses from 1,385 Guardian readers from all 50 states.
The Guardian, The Guardian
On July 13, the 2016 “Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the U.S.” was released. It is the eleventh iteration of the report, dating back to 1997, that analyzes Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Energy Information Administration (EIA) power plant data. This year’s report found that the four greatest sources of power plant emissions (carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and mercury) have all decreased since 2000, despite overall growth in power generation and the U.S. economy. Specifically, the report found carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions declined 15 percent from 2005 to 2014, and early data indicates that there was a six percent reduction in 2015 – which would put CO2 levels close to 1990 levels. The analysis, authored by M.J. Bradley & Associated, received support from nonprofits Ceres and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); power companies Calpine Corporation, Entergy Corporation, and Exelon Corporation; and the Bank of America.
Environmental Leader, Report
On July 11, mangrove expert Dr. Norm Duke of James Cook University told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that about 10,000 hectares of mangroves have recently died along 700 kilometers of Queensland and Northern Territory coastline in Australia, in what he refers to as a "world-first in terms of the scale." Dr. Duke said the massive die-off was probably linked to climate change, which has contributed to unusually low precipitation rates and higher temperatures across the region. “What is so unusual now is its extent, and that it occurred across the whole southern gulf in a single month,” said Dr. Duke. The mangrove die-off took place over the same time period as the widespread coral bleaching event in the Great Barrier Reef.
Sky News, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
On July 12, the Don Vial Center on the Green Economy at the University of California, Berkeley, published a study highlighting large job growth in the California renewable energy industry. The study found the renewable energy industry provided 25,500 blue-collar job-years to the Californian economy between 2002 and 2015. Large job growth was most significantly observed Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties, which have high unemployment rates and low income as compared to the rest of the state. Betony Jones, associate chair of the Don Vial Center, said that many of the jobs created were middle-class because most of the state’s large-scale renewable projects are bound by project labor agreements which require union pay rates, pensions and health insurance.
Los Angeles Times
Deadly Heatwave in Paris and London Linked to Climate Change
Scientists May Have Found Key Driver of Ice Loss in Antarctic Peninsula
U.S. Cities Are Getting Dangerously Hot
Writers: Caitlin Majewski, Rebecca Chillrud, and Daniel Lopez
Editor: Laura Small
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