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May 25, 2015
This image, taken May 20 in New London, Connecticut, shows President Obama walking through an honor cordon at the United States Coast Guard Academy before giving the commencement address. President Obama's commencement centered on the national security risks from climate change. Image courtesy of the White House.
On May 20, President Obama gave the commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy, in which he discussed how fighting climate change helps the economy, shores up public health and is critical to the United States’ national security. “I am here to say that climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security, and, make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country,” President Obama said. Obama called attention to increasing humanitarian crises and the changing circumstances in the Arctic as examples of the instability climate change introduces to global security, saying, “No nation is immune.” In addition to calling the new Coast Guard graduates to action to face the threats of climate change, the President said that as a generation, the graduates needed to creatively work to reverse climate change. “This is a place where we need you,” he said.
For more information see:
The New York Times, National Journal
On May 20, the White House released an 11-page report outlining the national security implications of climate change, and what the White House is doing about them. The document is a compilation of findings from other federal reports, including the National Climate Assessment, the Department of Defense’s 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, and the White House’s 2015 National Security Strategy. The report covers domestic and international security implications; the changing Arctic circumstances; infrastructure risks; and the demands on military resources. The report concludes, “Climate change will change the nature of U.S. military missions . . . the United States is preparing.”
The White House, Report
On May 18, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) gave his 100th weekly floor speech on climate change since April 18, 2012. “I decided to come to the floor every week the Senate is in session . . . to urge my colleagues to wake up and take action,” Sen. Whitehouse said during his latest speech. “One day there will be a reckoning. If we wake up, if we did get this right, if we turn that ponderous balance of destiny in our time, it can be their reckoning. It does not have to be ours,” the senator said. Senators Boxer (D-CA), Franken (D-MN), and Leahy (D-VT) congratulated Sen. Whitehouse after his speech. Sen. Schumer (D-NY) said Sen. Whitehouse “deserves a real moment of recognition.”
The Hill, Morning Consult
On May 20, the House Appropriations Committee approved a Fiscal Year 2016 appropriations bill for commerce, justice and science, with cuts in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) funding for research in the earth sciences, which includes climate change. The bill offers NASA $1.68 billion for earth sciences, a cut from the current funding level of $1.77 billion, and far below President Obama’s budget request of $1.95 billion. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden expressed dissatisfaction with the cuts in a May 19 statement, saying, “The House proposal would seriously reduce our Earth science program and threaten to set back generations worth of progress in better understanding our changing climate, and our ability to prepare and respond to earthquakes, droughts, and storm events.”
National Journal, Space News, Press Release, Legislation
On May 19, California, Oregon, Washington and Vermont signed a pact with seven international states, mutually agreeing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 to 95 percent below 1990 levels, or to reach a per capita emissions rate of less than 2 metric tons, by 2050. In addition to the four U.S. states, signatories came from subnational governments in Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Germany, Wales, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The agreement is non-binding, and each subnational government will create its own plans to meet the set targets. In a statement after the pact was signed Governor Brown’s office said, “This global challenge requires bold action on the part of governments everywhere. It’s time to be decisive. It’s time to act.”
Bloomerg, Reuters
On May 15, the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) released projections for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the power sector from 2000-2040. EIA predicts that although CO2 emissions have declined in recent years, they will begin to increase again this decade and continue to rise through 2040. EIA predicts emissions will mirror economic growth. Notably, EIA’s analysis does not include proposed rules such as the draft Clean Power Plan to limit CO2 emissions from the power sector, although it does include regional cap-and-trade programs in the Northeast and California. EIA also notes that greater domestic availability of natural gas will result in lower power sector CO2 emissions.
EIA
On May 15, the Federal Electric Reliability Commission (FERC) sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requesting the EPA to allow some states a temporary waiver from its proposed regulation on carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector, called the Clean Power Plan. FERC is asking EPA to grant states the waiver in cases where complying with the Clean Power Plan might threaten the electric grid’s reliability, and said it would help EPA determine when such a waiver would be appropriate. EPA has said it is already considering such a waiver, referred to as a “safety valve” measure. EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia has said the EPA is “committed” to working with the Department of Energy (DOE) and FERC to ensure the grid’s reliability.
The Hill
On May 16, during her weekly podcast, German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested the need for a global Emissions Trading System (ETS) to fight climate change. “This instrument would of course be particularly effective if we could introduce it beyond Europe because then we’d have the same general framework around the world,” Merkel stated. The European Union’s ETS, currently the largest in the world, requires qualifying emitters of greenhouse gases to purchase a credit for every metric ton they release. However, recent overabundance of credits has depressed prices, insufficiently incentivizing companies to switch from fossil fuels to clean power. A global market may mitigate this kind of issue. Merkel planned to discuss the potential for a global trading system on May 19 at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, a meeting in Berlin focused on preparing for the United Nations climate talks in Paris this December.
Reuters
On May 19 during an annual meeting in The Hague, Shell shareholders passed a resolution requiring the oil firm to test its business model against international targets to limit global warming to a 2 degree Celsius rise. Ninety-nine percent of the shareholders’ votes supported the resolution, which was also passed by BP last month. The resolution includes stipulations that no corporate bonus can be awarded for an activity which damages the climate, and requirements to invest in renewable energy. Shell’s Board fielded questions during the meeting about Shell’s coming activities in Alaska, and their membership in the American Legislative Council (ALEC), an organization that opposes addressing climate change. Ben van Beurden, Shell’s chief executive, explained that Shell is one of “the biggest investors” in renewable energy, but that to make modern life possible, oil is still needed.
The Guardian
On May 18, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report finding that governments around the world will give fossil fuel companies a $5.3 trillion post-tax subsidy in 2015 by not including the harmful environmental and health effects of fossil fuels in energy prices. The IMF said that in 2013, the subsidy amounted to $4.9 trillion, and estimated it will increase this year to the equivalent of 6.5 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP). “The fiscal implications are mammoth,” said IMF economists Benedict Clements and Vitor Gaspar. “At $5.3 trillion, energy subsidies exceed the estimated public health spending for the entire globe.” The IMF listed China as the largest subsidizer, with a $2.3 trillion subsidy for fossil fuels, closely followed by the United States, with a $699 billion subsidy.
On May 18, a study published in Nature Climate Change warned that the average American will be four to six times more at risk for exposure to extreme heat in the year 2070, compared to risk levels over the last hundred years. These projections have profound implications for public health in the continental United States, the researchers say, citing data that shows extreme heat is deadlier than any other type of weather event. The study states that the increasing exposure to heat is not only due to climate change, but also the changing size and distribution of populations. Increases in exposure rates depend upon region, with the West South Central region seeing the greatest increase in extremely hot days (defined as days above 95 degrees F), followed by the South Atlantic, Mountain and Pacific regions.
The Washington Post, Reuters, USA Today, Study
On May 18, Arizona State University (ASU) researchers published a new study in Nature Climate Change with findings that almost half of western US power plants could see a three to nine percent reduction in electricity production, due to climate change-exacerbated future drought and extreme heat. For the 46 percent of existing power capacity which is vulnerable to drought and heat, average summertime electricity generation will be reduced 1.1 to 3.0 percent, and a ten-year drought would reduce generation 7.2 to 8.8 percent. “A lot of people didn’t realize this is a possibility – that climate change could impact the amount of electricity being produced,” said lead author Matthew Bartos at ASU. The researchers simulated effects on the power sector over the next 50 years by combining hydrological and climate modelling in the 11 Western states.
Climate Central, Study
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1. WRI Report Explores Alternatives to Carbon Pricing
2. C2ES Releases Report of How to Most Cheaply Comply With Clean Power Plan
3. Oxford University to Quit Investing in Fossil Fuels
4. Goldman Sachs Advises Selling Shares in BP and Statoil
5. Investors Open Web Portal Showing Investments in Climate Adaptation
18th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum
Thursday, July 9 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Cannon House Office Building - Caucus Room 345 & Room 334 C Street SE & 1st St, SE
The 18th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum will bring together up to 50 businesses, trade associations, and government agencies to showcase renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. In every state across the country, these technologies are having a significant impact in business development and job creation in the manufacturing, transmission, power, transportation, and building sectors. The House Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucus and the Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucusare honorary co-hosts of the Expo.
The Expo is free, open to the public, and no RSVPs are required.
Have efficiency and renewable energy technologies to showcase? Register to exhibit! Visit sustainableenergy.org for more information.
Authors: Laura Small, Sharmen Hettipola, Caitlin Madera
Editor: Laura Small
Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity