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October 19, 2015
This image shows coral before and after bleaching, in the waters of American Samoa. The left image was taken in December 2014, and the right in February 2015. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared a global coral bleaching event in October 2015. Climate change-caused ocean warming and warming from this year's El Nino event contributed to the coral bleaching, which is caused by heat stress. Image courtesy of NOAA.
On October 15, the White House released a Fact Sheet detailing new government and private sector initiatives to cut emissions of a potent group of greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), some of which warm the climate 10,000 times more than a comparable amount of carbon dioxide. As part of the initiative, 16 companies announced new efforts to cut the use of HFCs as refrigerants, and replace them with alternatives that have a low climate impact. The Environment Protection Agency announced it would release a new rulemaking in the beginning of 2016 to add low Global Warming Potential (GWP) HFC alternatives to SNAP, the Significant New Alternatives Policy program. The Department of Energy (DOE) also released a study examining the performance of HFC alternatives in air conditioning units, and a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the disposal of HFCs in an environmental manner. The Department of Defense (DoD) also announced a series of commitments to cut HFCs, study alternatives, and strengthen collaboration on lowering emissions.
For more information see:
White House Fact Sheet, Reuters, DOE Report
On October 14, California Democratic Congressmen Ted Lieu and Mark DeSaulnier, members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wrote to the Department of Justice asking them to investigate ExxonMobil for behavior "similar to cigarette companies that repeatedly denied harm from tobacco and spread uncertainty and misleading information to the public." In 1999, DOJ found that tobacco companies had violated the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by lying to the public about the connection between cigarettes and cancer. The Congressmen think ExxonMobil may have also violated the RICO act by lying about links between climate change and greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. The letter follows investigative journalism by Inside Climate News and the Los Angeles Times which uncovered evidence that ExxonMobil has been downplaying the scientific certainty of climate change.
New Republic, Letter
On October 12, Alaska Governor Bill Walker (I) called for an expansion of oil drilling operations in the Arctic to help the state pay for damages caused by climate change. As the only state in the union without an income or sales tax, Alaska receives approximately 90 percent of its day-to-day funding from levies on the production of oil and gas. Consequently, with oil prices remaining low and Royal Dutch Shell recently terminating its Arctic drilling mission, Walker is pointing towards more oil drilling, even in the protected Arctic National Wilderness Refuge (ARNW), as a source of funding for the state’s climate adaptation efforts. Walker stated, "This isn't something we can put off for 10-20 years . . . We have to begin this process now -- it's an absolute urgency for Alaska."
BBC News, The Hill, BBC
On October 8, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his intentions to link the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) with carbon markets in California, and potentially Quebec and Ontario as well. "Connecting these markets would be more cost-effective and stable, thereby supporting clean energy and driving international carbon emission reductions," Cuomo's office said in a statement. On the same day, Governor Cuomo announced three other major actions to combat climate change in his state. He signed the Under 2 Memorandum of Understanding, a California-led agreement for local governments worldwide to keep global average temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F) by 2100. Cuomo also pledged to bring solar power to 150,000 homes and businesses and to install renewable energy at all 64 campuses of State University of New York by 2020.
Utility DIVE, New York State
On October 12, Hoesung Lee, the new head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), spoke at a news conference in South Korea, calling for a price on carbon dioxide emissions as a practical tool for curbing climate change and encouraging more investment in renewable energy technology. Although he did not specify whether countries should adopt a carbon tax, cap-and-trade or other policy mechanism, Lee said, “The pricing methods vary and it must be chosen based on each country’s conditions. But one thing is sure that they need to pay as much as they release greenhouse gases. There’s an unavoidable need to price the carbon emissions.” Lee also said the IPCC should shift from only identifying problems to also examining opportunities and solutions.
The Hill, The Guardian
On October 14, over one dozen carbon-emitting industries, including major coal-mining companies, power utilities, and industrial-equipment makers, released a statement urging government action on climate change, especially at the upcoming Paris climate negotiations in December this year. Among the 14 signing companies were BHP Billiton Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc, and Alcoa Incorporated. “We recognize the rising environmental, social, economic, and security risks posed by climate change, and that delaying action will result in greater risks and costs," the statement declared. “An effective response to climate change requires strong government leadership, and presents both enormous challenges and significant economic opportunities for the private sector."
Bloomberg, C2ES
On October 11, CEOs from electricity companies of the 11-member Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (GSEP) signed a letter petitioning governments to include long-term policies encouraging a shift to low-carbon energy in international climate negotiations to take place in Paris this December. In the letter GSEP, which last year generated a third of the world’s electricity for 1.2 billion people, did not state which policies they would prefer. "Electricity will be at the center of the response to climate change," commented Martine Prevost, executive director of GSEP. GSEP also released a report on new low-carbon energy technologies, such as floating offshore wind turbines and carbon capture on coal-fired power plants.
Reuters
On October 14, the one-year anniversary of the People's Climate March, a diverse array of groups which care about climate change organized over 150 events across the United States to call for ambitious global action on climate at the Paris climate negotiations in December this year. "Climate change is too big for any one organization or sector to address alone," commented Eddie Bautista, the executive director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. The People's Climate Movement, who helped organize the day of action, said they aimed to "create momentum at the grassroots level," especially in places "not typically associated with grassroots action on climate change like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Texas and Florida."
EcoWatch, WFPL, People'sClimate.org
On October 14, Fitch Ratings released "The Carbon Effect 2.0," a report on the impact the Clean Power Plan (CPP) may have on the 47 states that have electric cooperatives. The report found that southern states, specifically Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia, will face the largest challenges in complying with CPP guidelines. Fitch Ratings used its Carbon Cost Recovery Index to measure the size and cost of emissions reductions, electric rates and electricity affordability, ultimately concluding that for some states, the CPP could trigger a rise in electricity rates. "For individual public power and cooperative utilities, the ability and willingness to pass along compliance costs to consumers via higher rates or new charges is still key for credit quality," said Dennis Pidherny, Managing Director of Fitch's Public Power group, especially because the cost of compliance remains uncertain.
Electric Co-op Today, BusinessWire
On October 14, a study was published in the journal Nature which stated that if the global temperature increase is more than 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius, Antarctica's ice shelves will collapse, creating an unstoppable flow from the Antarctic ice sheet which will contribute 15.8 inches to sea level rise by 2100. By 2300, the ice shelf will add 0.6-3 meters (1.9-9.8 feet) to sea levels. The study authors state that only by limiting greenhouse gas emissions to the most constrained emissions pathway examined in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) can significant ice loss be avoided. That pathway, RCP 2.6, requires substantial cuts to greenhouse gas emissions (40-70 percent cuts globally) by 2050, and near-zero emissions by 2100. The study authors add that the world can only avoid the collapse of Antarctic ice shelves by cutting emissions in the next few decades.
Mashable, Royal Society of New Zealand, Study, IPCC
Exxon Mobil’s Decades-Long Strategy to Conceal Climate Change
Missouri’s Democratic Attorney General Joins Suit Against Clean Power Plan
Utilities Not Poised to Fight Clean Power Plan
Farming & Water Quality: Conservation Policies Working to Reduce Nutrient Loss Monday, November 2 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm Senate Visitor's Center Room 203-02 East Capitol St. NE & First St. SE From the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone to the Des Moines Waterworks lawsuit against drainage districts, water quality challenges are growing and the Farm Bill's conservation programs are helping farmers in their efforts to reduce nutrient loss. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing examining these water quality challenges and how stakeholders are partnering to implement effective, voluntary, farm-level conservation practices that will provide multiple benefits both to rural and urban areas. The discussion will highlight Farm Bill conservation policies in action, which are helping advance best management practices that improve drinking water quality and farmers' bottom lines by enhancing in-field nutrient management. Farmers know that conserving nutrients makes both economic and environmental sense, but substantial work remains to achieve the widespread adoption necessary to address water quality and stave off regulation. Please RSVP to expedite check-in.
Authors: Michael Martina and Gabriela Zayas
Editor: Laura Small
Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity