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COP26: How much is spent supporting fossil fuels and green energy?
COP26: Climate activists on what change means for them
Efficient frontiers: Finding the right balance between wind and solar
What exactly is the right mix of wind and solar as grid shift from centralised fossil fuel generators to variable renewables?
The post Efficient frontiers: Finding the right balance between wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.
COP26: China and US agree to boost climate co-operation
More than a bin chicken: ibis on the move
More than a bin chicken: ibis gearing up for a big season in Murrumbidgee wetlands
COP26: cities create over 70% of energy-related emissions. Here's what must change
COP26: Opposition to EU’s border measures eases as ‘penny drops’ -Timmermans
California dispenses 1.5-yr low in compliance offsets, though CCO-0s jump
Washington state carbon market will not be linked from outset -govt official
Coal on the chopping block as US and China agree to cooperate on climate action
The US and China surprise COP26 with a rare joint statement to cooperate on climate action, bridging the ambition gap and accelerating a coal phase out.
The post Coal on the chopping block as US and China agree to cooperate on climate action appeared first on RenewEconomy.
COP26: China-US declaration promises work on near-term GHG curbs, including methane
China and the US announce plan to work together on cutting emissions
In a surprise press conference, the two superpowers promised to cooperate more and hoped for the success of Cop26
China and the US announced a surprise plan to work together on cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the crucial next decade, in a strong boost to the Cop26 summit, as negotiators wrangled over a draft outcome.
The world’s two biggest emitters had been trading insults for the first week of the conference, but on Wednesday evening unveiled a joint declaration that would see the world’s two biggest economies cooperate closely on the emissions cuts scientists say are needed in the next 10 years to stay within 1.5C.
Continue reading...COP26: Ukraine grapples with carbon pricing as pledges risk running hollow
‘Love it’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives verdict on Scottish favourite Irn-Bru
US congresswoman posts video of herself sampling the drink at Cop26 after being given a can by Nicola Sturgeon
Cop26 is not short of controversial subjects, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated she is not afraid to get stuck into the big questions: namely, would she like the Scottish fizzy drink Irn-Bru?
The bright orange drink has become the surprise curiosity of Cop26, and is on sale throughout the SEC convention centre due to a deal between building’s owners and drinks manufacturer AG Barr. Delegates from all over the world have been sharing their thoughts on its unique taste, with mixed reviews.
Continue reading...Protesters told to 'go away' on Cop26 building in projection face-off – video
Organisers at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow projected the words 'Go away' on the summit's venue on Tuesday, in a bid to stop climate protesters projecting their own slogans on to the building. The slogans, condemning greenwashing and demanding an end to fossil fuel use, were projected by the activist group Gastivists Network
Continue reading...Take heart at what’s unfolded at COP26 in Glasgow – the world can still hold global heating to 1.5℃
The Guardian view on the Cop26 draft outcome: raise the bar | Editorial
The credibility of international efforts to combat the climate crisis depend on the summit’s ambitions being honoured
In the staid idiom of international summitry, to “note with serious concern” is a statement of distress. To “express alarm” is verging on panic. Thus the draft text of a Cop26 negotiating outcome signals that the conference is not on track to match its ambitions, and recognises that failure will have calamitous consequences.
On the trajectory of existing commitments, carbon emissions are set to rise 13.7% by 2030. Dramatic movement in the opposite direction is needed if the goal is to limit global heating to 1.5C by the end of this century – the outcome counselled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). That requires a 45% emissions cut by 2030, and net zero by mid-century. Yet a projection by the Climate Action Tracker shows that the world is heading for a rise of 2.4C above preindustrial levels, despite high-profile carbon-cutting pledges made in Glasgow. Heating on that scale would unleash extreme weather, bringing devastation across the globe: rising sea levels, drought and displaced populations.
Continue reading...Glasgow Brief: Draft COP26 deal heaps pressure on Australia as US-China issue rare joint statement
Australia under pressure over coal use, and earns a fifth fossil award, while US and China issue rare agreement on tackling climate change.
The post Glasgow Brief: Draft COP26 deal heaps pressure on Australia as US-China issue rare joint statement appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Earth has seen five mass extinction events. What can we learn from them? | Daniel H Rothman
How such catastrophes occur remains mysterious. But research suggests that Earth may experience a cascade of disruptions when stressed
Five times in the last 500m years, more than three-fourths of marine animal species perished in mass extinctions. Each of these events is associated with a major disruption of Earth’s carbon cycle. How such catastrophes occur remains mysterious. But recent research increasingly points to the possibility that the Earth system – that is, life and the environment – may experience a cascade of disruptions when stressed beyond a tipping point.
As world leaders gather at Cop26 in Glasgow, it makes sense to rally behind concrete goals such as limiting warming to 1.5C. If we don’t meet such a goal, we’ll know it soon. Mass extinctions, on the other hand, may require tens of thousands of years or more to reach their peak. But if they are indeed the result of a disruptive cascade, we must act now to prevent such a runaway process from starting.
Daniel H Rothman is a professor of geophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He co-directs MIT’s Lorenz Center, which is devoted to learning how climate works
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