Planet Week: World energy report charts a sustainable future
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
IKEA said it will buy back used furniture. General Electric set a target to have carbon-neutral operations by 2030. And United States President Donald Trump, trying to rebrand himself as an environmentalist, signed an executive order to back tree planting.
In case you missed it, here’s what else happened around the Planet:
Monday, October 12
Climate disasters have doubled in last 20 years
A new U.N. report found a sharp increase in the number of natural disasters over the last 20 years, with nearly twice as many recorded in the last two decades than the previous 20-year period.
Researchers attributed the increase to rising global temperatures, warning that if we don’t get a grip on the climate crisis, our situation will only get worse. The cost of continued inaction is clear: Over two decades, these disasters cost the world nearly $3 trillion and an estimated 1.2 million lives.
Among other recommendations, the report highlights the need for better warning systems ahead of extreme weather, especially in the poorest nations. Al Jazeera has the story.
Longest Arctic expedition concludes
After more than a year studying the Arctic, German Research Vessel Polarstern returned home with piles of data on the environment and climate change. And though it may take up to two years to analyze all the data, the future of the Arctic looks shaky.
“We witnessed how the Arctic ocean is dying,” mission leader Markus Rex told Agence France-Presse. “We saw this process right outside our windows, or when we walked on the brittle ice.”
Should warming trends continue, Rex warned, we may soon see an ice-free Arctic in the summer. Read more in Deutsche Welle.
Atlantic is hottest in 2900 years
The Atlantic Ocean hasn’t been this hot in 2,900 years, according to research published Monday. To determine that mark, researchers looked at thermometer data, as well as with ice and sediment cores drilled out of sea beds, to reconstruct the past.
These warming trends can have disastrous impacts on the Planet, said climate scientist Raymond Bradley, who co-led the research, in a news release: “[I]f the Atlantic warming continues, atmospheric conditions favoring more severe melting of Canadian Arctic ice caps and the Greenland ice sheet can be expected in the coming decades.”
Tuesday, October 13
Climate change has killed half of the Great Barrier Reef
Warmer oceans have knocked out half of all coral populations in the Great Barrier Reef over the past 25 years, and they may never recover, according to a study published Tuesday.
And that research may have even underestimated the total loss, after a major bleaching event earlier this year “very severely” affected the southern reef. Researchers warn that if we don’t act immediately on climate change, it won’t take another three decades for us to lose the rest.
“It’s hard to have a crystal ball and say a date,” Bob Richmond, a research professor and director of the Kewalo Marine Laboratory at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who was not involved in the report, told The Washington Post. “Scientists are always trying to be careful, but if we don’t act meaningfully in the next five years, we will not have vital and vibrant coral reefs as a legacy for future generations.”
World energy report charts a sustainable future
On Tuesday, the International Energy Agency released its 2020 World Energy Outlook, a 446-page report that examines the impacts of COVID-19 on the energy sector and how we can transition to a clean energy economy. The outlook projects multiple pathways for governments to take, as summarized in this Guardian article.
Overall, oil’s outlook looks bleak, with future production and cash flows falling fast. Another energy source, however, may have a brighter future: Demand for solar energy is growing rapidly, and in some parts of the world, the energy source is now the cheapest in history. Without a shift in governmental policies, however, the world’s oil demand, as well as emissions, can return to pre-crisis levels.
“Only faster structural changes to the way we produce and consume energy can break the emissions trend for good,” said Fatih Birol, IEA executive director, in a press release. “Governments have the capacity and the responsibility to take decisive actions to accelerate clean energy transitions and put the world on a path to reaching our climate goals, including net-zero emissions.”
Wednesday, October 14
Methane leaks have increased in 2020
The oil and gas industry isn’t taking a break during the pandemic: In cost-cutting changes, energy companies have caused the number of hotspots leaking methane to increase by nearly a third in the first eight months of 2020, according to data analytics firm Kayrros.
But wait, didn’t a bunch of oil giants renew their green pledges this year? Yes. Still, actions speak louder than words, and all these leaks are driving climate change, as methane is almost 90 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2 during its first 20 years in the atmosphere. Read more at Earther.
Thursday, October 15
Amy Coney Barrett is a climate denier
As millions still mourn the loss (and environmental legacy) of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republican Senators are rushing a vote on her replacement, Amy Coney Barrett. This week, Barrett went through two days of questioning by Senators, touching on everything from abortion to healthcare. But her response to climate change may have spurred the most controversy, writes The New York Times.
When asked about the climate crisis, Barrett demurred, claiming climate change is controversial and under public debate (watch the video on CNN). This despite the scientific community’s overwhelming consensus that climate change is happening and caused by humans. Besides tipping the Supreme Court to conservatives, Barrett’s nomination adds another justice that could dismantle environmental legislation in a time when we need it most.
Bonus
Wildlife photos of the year
If you need a break from reading, check out the winners of this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Out of over 49,000 entries, Sergey Gorshkov’s image of an Amur tiger hugging a tree won the grand title.
You can see winners from year’s past on the Natural History Museum, London website.
Have a great week,
Brandon and Sam