‘Harder and riskier': Carbon removal needed if Paris goals don't rise

Greenhouse gas emission cuts must be at least 20 per cent deeper than pledged under the Paris climate accord or the world will have to begin the costly direct removal of atmospheric carbon to avoid dangerous climate change, a new study argues.

Emissions impossible? Delays in cutting emissions make it
 more likely that carbon will have to be directly captured
if dangerous climate change is to be avoided.

The Germany-based researchers examined the action needed if nations failed to deliver greater carbon curbs by 2030 but still kept global warming to under 2 degrees, compared with pre-industrial levels.

"Each tonne of CO2 we don't emit, we don't have to remove from the atmosphere afterwards in an expensive and strenuous way," said Jessica Strefler from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the lead author of the paper published on Thursday in Environmental Research Letters.

Read Peter Hannam’s story from The Age - “‘Harder and riskier': Carbon removal needed if Paris goals don't rise.”

New York City aims to be carbon neutral by 2050

The day after Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, New York mayor Bill de Blasio said the president’s home city was going to take a different path.

Subways will be expanded to draw cars from
New York's roads under a new plan for the city to
 slash emissions 

Now the US’ largest city has released a plan that aligns its future to the most ambitious target of the Paris deal – limiting global warming to 1.5C.

On Tuesday, de Blasio released a citywide plan that outlined the first three years worth of measures as the city seeks to cut emissions by 80% below 2005 levels by the middle of the century. The plan – called 1.5C: Aligning New York City with the Paris Climate Agreement – also called for the city to offset all remaining carbon pollution by 2050.

To achieve “carbon neutrality” in just over three decades, the plan says New York will lead the development of a “global protocol”. It said this could include large scale renewables, carbon sequestration and carbon offsets to account for all residual pollution.

Read the ClimateHome story by Karl Mathiesen - “New York City aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.”

Stroke of a gavel sounds landmark climate change agreement in Paris

LE BOURGET, France — With the sudden stroke of a gavel on Saturday night, representatives of 195 countries reached a landmark climate accord that will, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change.

Delegates who have been negotiating intensely in this Paris suburb for two weeks gathered for the final plenary session, where Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius of France asked for opposition to the deal and, hearing none, declared it approved.

With that, the delegates achieved what had been unreachable for two decades: a consensus on the need to move away from carbon-based fuels and a road map for the 195 nations to do so.

Read the New York Times story - “Nations Approve Landmark Climate Accord in Paris.”