We the People Pledge to Fight Climate Change

President Trump’s declaration on June 1, 2017, that he was withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change, which I helped to design, was framed as a call to nationalism, saying he was “elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”

Illustration by Jon Han.

But 75 percent of Pittsburghers voted for Hillary Clinton, who was in favor of the agreement, and since then the mayors of Pittsburgh and Paris have together endorsed the Paris agreement, in the joint goal of building a cleaner, safer world.

As local governments see how climate change is linked to citizens’ well-being, they are taking concrete actions such as setting milestones for air quality, banning diesel cars or combustion engines, and implementing renewable energy systems.

Read the story from The New York Times by Laurence Tubuana - “We the People Pledge to Fight Climate Change.”

Progress and problems as UN climate change talks end with a deal

The UN climate change talks ended late on Saturday night in Poland with a deal agreed on how to put the 2015 Paris agreement into action, but with other contentious problems left to be resolved next year.

The Brazilian delegation was at the centre of
negotiations at the UN climate change talks.

Countries thrashed out the complex details of how to account for and record their greenhouse gas emissions, which will form the basis of a “rulebook” on putting the Paris goals into action. But difficult questions such as how to scale up existing commitments on cutting emissions, in line with stark scientific advice, and how to provide finance for poor countries to do the same, were put off for future years.

In the final hours, agreement was held up by a debate over the market in carbon credits, awarded to countries for their emissions-cutting efforts and for their carbon sinks, such as forests, which absorb carbon dioxide.

Read the story from The Guardian by Fiona Harvey in Katowice - “Progress and problems as UN climate change talks end with a deal.”

In a canter? Climate experts say Australia will not meet emissions targets

Leading climate researchers have overwhelmingly rejected the federal government’s claim it is on track to cut greenhouse gas emissions as promised under the 2015 Paris agreement.

Australia’s chief scientist, Alan Finkel, says transitioning
 to a low-emissions economy will require action
across the whole economy.

Guardian Australia asked economists and scientists, including people who have advised the Coalition and Labor, whether Australia was likely to meet the 2030 target of a 26-28% emissions cut below 2005 levels under existing policy settings, as cabinet ministers have claimed.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has repeatedly said the target would be met “in a canter”.

Nine of the 12 who responded either dismissed Morrison’s statement outright or strongly suggested new policies would be needed. Only one expressed confidence the target would be met if the government did nothing – and he also criticised the Coalition’s stance.

Read the story from The Guardian by Adam Morton - “In a canter? Climate experts say Australia will not meet emissions targets.”

Why 2017 was a good year for climate

On the face of it, there was plenty of bad news for the climate in 2017. Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the 2015 Paris agreement and promised to reverse the decline of the coal industry. The Turnbull government rejected proposals for an efficient transition to a low-carbon energy sector, instead announcing a half-baked National Energy Guarantee designed as a lifeline for coal-fired power. Globally, CO2 emissions appeared to rise by around 2 percent, after remaining stable for three years in a row.

Last nail? Protesters outside the Melbourne offices of the Downer
 Group in June this year. The company was contracted to build the
 Carmichael coal project in the Galilee basin of Queensland, but the
 deal was rescinded in December.

But a closer look reveals a lot more good news than bad, with two major developments standing out. The first is an emerging global consensus, encompassing national governments, financial institutions and civil society, that the era of coal-fired electricity generation must end, and soon.

Typifying this trend is the new Powering Past Coal Alliance, made up of national and provincial governments pledged to phase out coal-fired electricity generation by 2030. Launched with twenty members in November 2017, the Alliance expanded rapidly to include major businesses, and now has nearly sixty members. Its government members include Britain, Canada, New Zealand and a number of other developed countries, middle-income countries such as Mexico and Costa Rica, and developing countries such as Angola and Ethiopia. Not surprisingly, Pacific Island nations, endangered by sea-level rise, are well represented.

Read the story by John Quiggan on Inside Story - “Why 2017 was a good year for climate.”

A new approach to emissions trading in a post-Paris climate.

Despite the US withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, other countries, including New Zealand, remain committed to cutting their greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate teams: if countries pooled resources,
they could support a low-emission transformation.

In our report, we explore how New Zealand, a trailblazer for emissions trading, might drive a low-emission transformation, both at home and overseas.

Emitting greenhouse gases is a lot like overflowing a bathtub. Even a slow trickle will eventually flood the room.

The Paris Agreement gives all countries a common destination: net zero emissions during the second half of the century. It is also an acknowledgement that the world has only a short time to turn the tide on emissions and limit global temperature rise to below two degrees. The sooner we turn down the tap, the more time we have for developing solutions.

Read the piece on The Conversation by an  Adjunct Professor with the School of Government at the Victoria University of Wellington, Suzi Kerr - “A new approach to emissions trading in a post-Paris climate.”