‘Extreme' fossil fuel investments have surged under Donald Trump, report reveals

Bank holdings in “extreme” fossil fuels skyrocketed globally to $115bn during Donald Trump’s first year as US president, with holdings in tar sands oil more than doubling, a new report has found.

A Shell tailings pond at a tar sands operation
near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.

A sharp flight from fossil fuels investments after the Paris agreement was reversed last year with a return to energy sources dubbed “extreme” because of their contribution to global emissions. This included an 11% hike in funding for carbon-heavy tar sands, as well as Arctic and ultra-deepwater oil and coal.

US and Canadian banks led a race back into the unconventional energy sector following Trump’s promise to withdraw from Paris, with JPMorgan Chase increasing its coal funding by a factor of 21, and quadrupling its tar sands assets.

Chase’s $5.6bn surge in tar sands holdings added to nearly $47bn of gains for the industry last year, according to the report by NGOs including BankTrack, the Sierra Club and Rainforest Action Network (RAN).

Read the story from The Guardian by Arthur Nelson - “‘Extreme' fossil fuel investments have surged under Donald Trump, report reveals.”

We Can’t Keep Eating Like This

George Monbiot - we can't keep eating like this.

Brexit; the crushing of democracy by billionaires; the next financial crash; a rogue US president: none of them keeps me awake at night. This is not because I don’t care – I care very much. It’s only because I have a bigger question on my mind. Where is the food going to come from?

By mid-century there will be two or three billion more people on Earth. Any one of the issues I am about to list could help precipitate mass starvation. And this is before you consider how they might interact.

The trouble begins where everything begins: with soil. The UN’s famous projection that, at current rates of soil loss, the world has 60 years of harvests left, appears to be supported by a new set of figures. Partly as a result of soil degradation, yields are already declining on 20% of the world’s croplands.

Read the piece by Guardian columnist, George Monbiot - “We Can’t Keep Eating Like This.”

G7 leaders blame US for failure to reach climate change agreement in unusually frank statement

In an unusual admission, Group of Seven (G7) leaders have said in their final communique from a summit in Italy that they had failed to bridge differences over climate change with US President Donald Trump - and America was unable to join other countries in committing to the Paris Agreement.

Mr Trump has said he needs more to time to decide
whether to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement. 

“The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics,” the communique read.

“Understanding this process, the heads of state and of government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom and the presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement,” it added. 

Read the Independent story - “G7 leaders blame US for failure to reach climate change agreement in unusually frank statement.”

March for Science events in New York, London, Paris, Berlin see crowds gather worldwide on Earth Day

Crowds have marched in more than 600 cities worldwide for Earth Day events billed as a "celebration of science", amid growing concern about US President Donald Trump's climate change scepticism and cuts to research funding.

Protesters line Central Park West during
a science demonstration on Earth Day in New York.

The marches, timed to coincide with Earth Day, come after moves by Mr Trump to sharply cut federal science and research budgets, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health.

Marchers around the world brandished placards saying "There is no Planet B", "Science not Silence" and "Make Science Great Again”.

The main event took place in Washington, where March for Science festivities included "teach-ins," speeches by researchers and environmentalists, and musical performances on National Mall.

Read the ABC News story - “March for Science events in New York, London, Paris, Berlin see crowds gather worldwide on Earth Day.”

Public health advocate Simon Chapman says Academy of Science is ‘spineless’

Prominent public health advocate Simon Chapman has slammed the Australian Academy of Science, describing it as "spineless" for its refusal to endorse March for Science rallies in Australia.

Professor Simon Chapman says that
 the US could not be isolated from
the rest of the world. 

April 22 – World Earth Day – will see demonstrations in 53 countries, centred on Washington DC, in response to what many perceive as US President Donald Trump's attacks on science.

Since taking office in January, Mr Trump has ordered the removal of climate-change initiatives from the White House website and moved to stop scientific organisations, including NASA, from tracking the impacts of climate change.

In various posts to social media website Twitter, Mr Trump has vowed to dismantle the Paris climate accords and in 2012 he infamously stated that global warming was "created by and for the Chinese to make US manufacturing non-competitive”.

Read Marcus Storm’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Public health advocate Simon Chapman says Academy of Science is ‘spineless’."

US-proofing the Paris Climate Agreement

What can be done if a future US President withdraws from the Paris Climate Agreement?

This is a critical question for an agreement which relies on universal participation for legitimacy.

The US can and likely will ratify the Paris Agreement via a presidential-executive agreement.

However, this could be easily reversed by a future President or an antagonistic Congress.

A non-party US operating outside of the Paris climate architecture is a real threat, especially given Republican opposition to international climate policy.

This article explores both what tools are available for addressing a non-party US in any climate agreement and what the Paris Agreement in particular can do.

Read the research paper by Luke Kemp - “US-proofing the Paris Climate Agreement.”