Lots of ground to cover this week including carbon offsets, the koala reports from Australia, politics on climate change in the US & UK and the Harvard vs Yale football match protest.
Let& #39;s dig deep
1) Piggy backing off last week& #39;s IEA report, @hausfath points out that it& #39;s very likely we are on target to be at or under RCP 4.5 levels (which means somewhere around 2.6C warming by 2100) due to lower costs of green energy https://twitter.com/hausfath/status/1196497062763716609">https://twitter.com/hausfath/...
2) Here& #39;s a more detailed thread on the above from @jritch https://twitter.com/jritch/status/1196482571443425280">https://twitter.com/jritch/st...
3) If you wanted to better understand what RCP 4.5, RCP 6 and RCP 8.5 mean, here& #39;s a look at the worst-case scenario done by the IPCC explained in-depth by @CarbonBrief https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-the-high-emissions-rcp8-5-global-warming-scenario">https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer...
4) @tveitdal brings to light an interesting infographic from @wef showing the evolution of sea ice since 1984 https://twitter.com/tveitdal/status/1198499573955809282">https://twitter.com/tveitdal/...
5) A deeper dive into extreme phenomena caused by climate change in California by @YaleE360
https://e360.yale.edu/features/climate-whiplash-wild-swings-in-extreme-weather-are-on-the-rise
"abrupt">https://e360.yale.edu/features/... shifts in weather patterns â droughts followed by severe floods, or sudden and unseasonable fluctuations in temperature are intensifying"
https://e360.yale.edu/features/climate-whiplash-wild-swings-in-extreme-weather-are-on-the-rise
"abrupt">https://e360.yale.edu/features/... shifts in weather patterns â droughts followed by severe floods, or sudden and unseasonable fluctuations in temperature are intensifying"
6) An interactive piece by @washingtonpost on how scientists are trying to save coral reefs. As a reminder, most scientists estimate that 99% of the coral reefs will disappear at 2C warming. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/climate-solutions/amp-stories/scientists-save-coral-reefs-climate-change/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/...
7) An article on Koalas made the rounds this week on Twitter, with some associations in Australia declaring them "functionally extinct" after wildfires destroyed 80% of their habitats. #542073097bad">https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2019/11/23/koalas-functionally-extinct-after-australia-bushfires-destroy-80-of-their-habitat/ #542073097bad">https://www.forbes.com/sites/tre...
8) However, the Australian Koala Foundation has claimed that Koalas are functionally extinct back in May (before the recent wildifres).
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2203655-no-koalas-are-not-functionally-extinct-but-they-are-in-trouble/
Although">https://www.newscientist.com/article/2... not as severe, it is still an extremely serious situation caused to a large extent by climate change.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2203655-no-koalas-are-not-functionally-extinct-but-they-are-in-trouble/
Although">https://www.newscientist.com/article/2... not as severe, it is still an extremely serious situation caused to a large extent by climate change.
9) @MikeHudema with a few more interesting videos on the impact that humans have on climate change https://twitter.com/MikeHudema/status/1197855909646651393">https://twitter.com/MikeHudem...
10) Here& #39;s another one on the impact we have on our oceans https://twitter.com/MikeHudema/status/1198259766293868546">https://twitter.com/MikeHudem...
11) Some great news on the business front, where Saudi Aramco cancelled their international roadshow for their IPO. This is a testament to the growing awareness to the need to keep fossil fuels in the ground and prioritise clean energy. https://www.ft.com/content/a83add8a-09ec-11ea-bb52-34c8d9dc6d84?sharetype=blocked">https://www.ft.com/content/a...
12) However, we& #39;re still on track to burn way more fossil fuels than the Paris Agreement recommends. (UN Report)
"The combined oil, gas and coal production is on pace to be 50% higher than would be consistent with a goal to limit global warming to 2C" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fossil-fuel-production-beyond-climate-goals_n_5dd45cdae4b0fc53f20a2cdd">https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fos...
"The combined oil, gas and coal production is on pace to be 50% higher than would be consistent with a goal to limit global warming to 2C" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fossil-fuel-production-beyond-climate-goals_n_5dd45cdae4b0fc53f20a2cdd">https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fos...
13) @easyJet pledges to offset all its carbon emissions and is set to become the first airline to operate net-zero carbon flights across its entire network. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/nov/19/easyjet-offset-carbon-emissions-flights-thomas-cook-collapse">https://www.theguardian.com/business/...
14) However, many climate activists accuse them of greenwashing stating that they are more focused on purchasing offsets rather than try to reduce their actual emissions https://www.ft.com/content/1081c524-0c73-11ea-bb52-34c8d9dc6d84">https://www.ft.com/content/1...
15) @KevinClimate chimed in to this discussion as well, pointing to an article he wrote in 2012 on why climate offsets are misleading - they "weaken present-day drivers for change and reduce innovation towards a lower-carbon future" https://www.nature.com/news/the-inconvenient-truth-of-carbon-offsets-1.10373">https://www.nature.com/news/the-...
16) Fantastic thread by @BenFranta on how important "climate language" is and how we& #39;re experiencing "linguistic manipulation for the purpose of psychological reframing" https://twitter.com/benfranta/status/1196645659207618560">https://twitter.com/benfranta...
17) @HuffPostGreen reports on new a journal from 1966 that suggests the coal industry had fairly good insights as to how much their industry would damage the environment. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coal-industry-climate-change_n_5dd6bbebe4b0e29d7280984f?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004">https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coa...
18) Heliogen announced a breakthrough in temperatures achieved from concentrated sunlight - touting this could be a game changer for industrial processes https://twitter.com/bill_gross/status/1196904427140988929">https://twitter.com/bill_gros...
19) However, @cleantechnica came out with a thorough takedown on why Heliogen& #39;s technology is not as revolutionary as claimed due to very narrow use-cases https://cleantechnica.com/2019/11/22/heliogen-is-bill-gates-latest-venture-that-is-only-good-for-oil-gas-part-1/">https://cleantechnica.com/2019/11/2...
20) For contest, this article from @grist explains why cement & industrial processes are such heavy polluters and showcases some concrete (pun intended) solutions https://grist.org/article/cement-has-a-carbon-problem-here-are-some-concrete-solutions/">https://grist.org/article/c...
21) Companies such as @SeventhGen have comprehensive plans to reduce their carbon footprint. Thanks @jjacobs22 for highlighting this one & having them on your podcast https://www.seventhgeneration.com/blog/seventh-generations-carbon-reduction-journey">https://www.seventhgeneration.com/blog/seve...
22) Interesting take by @leashless on how none of the historical political models are adept at tackling climate change
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1196602650999115783">https://twitter.com/i/web/sta...
23) An in-depth article about the importance of activism & how it helps tackle climate change, with a focus on activists fighting the fossil fuel industries in Ireland http://www.universitytimes.ie/2019/11/meet-the-activists-fighting-fossil-fuels-here-and-everywhere/">https://www.universitytimes.ie/2019/11/m...
24) Not surprisingly, under Bolsonaro, Amazon deforestation has risen sharply due to scaling back efforts to fight illegal logging, mining & farming https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/world/americas/brazil-amazon-deforestation.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/1...
25) Let& #39;s switch to the US where we got some great news from California - where Gov. @GavinNewsom banned new fracking initiatives until an independent board of scientists can review the project https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-19/california-fracking-permits-scientific-review-gavin-newsom">https://www.latimes.com/californi...
26) In a great newsletter episode, @emorwee explores the ties between one of @PeteButtigieg& #39;s climate advisors - David Victor - and the fossil fuel industry https://heated.world/p/is-pete-buttigiegs-climate-adviser">https://heated.world/p/is-pete...
27) Meanwhile, US House leaders created new legislation to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 https://www.ceres.org/news-center/press-releases/us-house-leaders-call-nationwide-goal-achieve-100-clean-energy-2050">https://www.ceres.org/news-cent...
28) While in the UK, with the December elections looming, Labour announced the Green New Deal as part of their political manifesto in a huge victory for climate activists https://jacobinmag.com/2019/11/labour-party-green-new-deal-manifesto-environment-climate-change">https://jacobinmag.com/2019/11/l...
29) Fascinating article on how the gap between scientists& #39; work on climate change and their individual actions to mitigate it is shrinking https://climatenewsnetwork.net/scientists-climate-gap-is-narrowing/">https://climatenewsnetwork.net/scientist...
30) This goes hand in hand with a recent study that shows individual actions to tackle climate change go hand-in-hand with systemic climate action https://twitter.com/michaelemann/status/1196815643376603137">https://twitter.com/michaelem...
31) As a testament to the growing awareness of our damage to the planet, the Oxford Dictionary has declared & #39;climate emergency& #39; the word of 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/21/oxford-dictionaries-declares-climate-emergency-the-word-of-2019">https://www.theguardian.com/environme...
32) Finally, Harvard & Yale students led a protest over the weekend to demand divestment from fossil fuels & paused an ongoing football game https://twitter.com/divestharvard/status/1198316176688009223">https://twitter.com/divesthar...
33) And a great article by @voxdotcom on why the divestment movement is so important (and why it& #39;s just getting started!) https://www.vox.com/2019/5/13/18282438/harvard-yale-football-game-climate-change-fossil-fuel-divestment-finance">https://www.vox.com/2019/5/13...
That& #39;s it for this week! Let me know what you think & what I should include in next editions. Hope this helps!