Climate Change News - March 21, 2016 | Newsletter

Last week, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released data showing that February 2016 was the warmest month in recorded history, by the largest margin ever recorded. Image courtesy of NOAA.

House Republicans Form Group to Support Clean Energy

On March 15, Politico reported that a group of 12 House Republicans launched a new group to support clean energy, called the Energy, Innovation and Environmental Working Group. Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) established a similar coalition last year. The House Republican group says it will work for "market-based reforms that will grow America's economy, promote cleaner energy production, and preserve the quality of our air and water." The group has yet to endorse any specific policies, but Politico talked to a source who said climate change, national security, jobs and renewable energy investment were all being discussed. Members include Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Barbara Comstock (R-VA), Joe Heck (R-NV), Chris Gibson (R-NY), Ryan Costello (R-PA), Kevin Yoder (R-KS), Richard Hanna (R-NY), Dave Reichert (R-WA), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Tom Reed (R-NY) and Bob Dold (R-IL).

For more information see:

Politico

Obama Administration Offering $65.8 Million to Support Economic Development in Coal Communities

On March 17, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced $65.8 million in funding to support economic development in traditionally coal-reliant communities that are seeing negative impacts from the decreasing use of coal. Any community that has coal-related manufacturing or logistics supply chains, mining, power plants, or transportation can apply for funding, which will be administered by the Obama Administration Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative. Funds will go towards projects that diversify local jobs and economies, partnerships to attract new investments in these communities, and increasing capacity and technical assistance to foster economic growth.

For more information see:

Reuters

China Releases its Five-Year Plan and Outlines it Emissions Fight

On March 17, China released its 13th Five-Year Plan, which sets key goals for 2016-2020, including a commitment to "implement and enhance" its climate strategy. The new goals include a push to cap energy consumption at 4.3 billion metric tons of "coal-equivalent," fire 1.8 million steel and coal workers, grow the economy by 6.5-7 percent, cut sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions 15 percent, have all cities meet "good" or "excellent" air quality standards 80 percent of the time, and reduce carbon intensity 18 percent from 2015 levels, all by 2020. The lay-offs in steel and coal will prepare China to work toward "deindustrialization and urbanization," Premier Li stated.

For more information see:

ClimateChangeNews, EcoWatch, BBC

Polling Shows U.S. Concern over Global Warming at Eight-Year High

On March 18, new polling released by Gallup indicated that 64 percent of Americans are worried a "great deal" or a "fair amount" about global warming, the highest level of concern in eight years and an increase from last year's level of 55 percent. The survey, taken March 2-6, also indicated that 59 percent of Americans think global warming's effects are already being felt, an increase from 55 percent who thought so last year. Only 10 percent of those surveyed said that global warming's effects will "never happen," a decrease from 16 percent last year. Finally, the polling found that concern with global warming increased across party lines, with 40 percent of Republicans saying they are concerned over global warming, up from 31 percent last year, and 84 percent of Democrats expressing concern, up from 78 percent last year.

For more information see:

Gallup

California Pension Fund to Require Corporations to Place Climate Experts on Government Boards

On March 14, the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the United States with a valuation of $288 billion, voted to require the companies it invests in to place experts in climate change risk management on their governing boards. "Updating our requirements ensures that corporate boards have the expertise and competence to adequately understand and address the challenges and risks imposed by climate change," California Controller Betty Yee said in a statement. CalPERS is the first pension fund to put in place this kind of requirement.

For more information see:

InsuranceNewsNet

Global Emissions Not Tied to Global Economic Growth, IEA Says

On February 16, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that worldwide economic growth in 2015 did not result in increased greenhouse gas emissions. Preliminary estimates from IEA showed carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the energy sector remained flat in 2015, even as the world economy grew by over three percent. "We now have seen two straight years of greenhouse gas emissions decoupling from economic growth," commented IEA executive director Fatih Birol. IEA data indicated that the increasing use of renewable energy generation was critical in avoiding energy sector emissions growth, with renewable energy making up about 90 percent of new electricity generation in 2015. According to IEA, the only other past years when CO2 emissions fell or remained the same were years of worldwide economic weakness.

For more information see:

The Economic Times, International Energy Agency, International Business Times

NASA and NOAA Data Shows February Hottest on Record by Large Margin

On March 12, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released data showing that February 2016 was the warmest month in recorded history. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed this finding on March 17. NASA found that February's global average surface temperature was 2.34 degrees F (1.35 degrees C) warmer than the 1951 to 1980 average, the largest deviation from historic recorded average temperatures NASA has ever found. NOAA, which uses a different calculation, found that February's average global temperature was 2.18 degrees F (1.21 degrees C) above the 20th century average, the largest deviation from historic average temperatures that NOAA has ever found. "We are now hurtling at a frightening pace toward the globally agreed maximum of 2C warming over pre-industrial levels," commented Dr. Jeff Masters and Dr. Bob Henson on WunderBlog.

For more information see:

NOAA, The Guardian, Slate, Mashable, WunderBlog, Weather Channel

Sea Level Rise Threatens Millions in the United States

On March 14, a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change showed that if sea levels rise by three feet (0.9 meters) by 2100, 4.2 million Americans will be affected by flooding. If sea levels rise 5.9 feet (1.8 m) by 2100, 13.1 million people would be affected – three times more than current flooding projections estimate. The study authors found that previous studies of the number of people impacted by sea level rise failed to account for population growth, and therefore significantly underestimated the size of the problem. Study author Jason Evans said, “Counties and cities need to look at their vulnerabilities and be thinking, in 30 years what kind of infrastructure am I going to be maintaining.”

For more information see:

Climate Central, Miami Herald, Study

Two New Studies Show the Cooling Effect of Aerosols Helps Global Warming

On March 14, two studies released in the journal Nature Geoscience showed evidence that climate change could be amplified as countries address aerosol pollutants, which are industrial emissions of fine particles or drops that accumulate in the atmosphere and block solar radiation, producing a cooling effect. According to the studies, aerosols' cooling effect has "masked" about one-third of the global warming from greenhouse gases over the last 50 years. Aerosols have a short lifetime in the atmosphere, and only consistent pollution has kept the cooling effect going. As countries reduce emissions, "regional brightening" happens and solar radiation increases, increasing regional warming. One of the studies found that European reductions of aerosol pollutants caused up to 0.5 degrees C warming in the Arctic from 1980 to 2005.

For more information see: Washington Post, Study 1, Study 2

More Glaciers Are Melting than We Often Talk About

On March 10, a study published in Geophysical Research Letters raised new concerns over fast glacier melting in the northern and southern glaciers of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, an area often overshadowed by Greenland and Antarctica when examining glacier ice loss. The researchers compared ice loss in Greenland, the Canadian Archipelago, and the Gulf of Alaska, finding that Greenland and the Canadian Archipelago both have accelerating rates of long-term ice loss, while the Gulf of Alaska's ice loss rate is steady. While Greenland is losing 244 billion tons of ice annually, this study found that the Canadian Archipelago is losing 60 billion tons annually and the Gulf of Alaska is losing 40 billion – a combined total of 100 billion tons annually, just under Antarctica's annual ice-loss rate of 134 billion tons.

For more information see:

Washington Post, Study