Sanders’s Climate Ambitions Thrill Supporters. Experts Aren’t Impressed

WASHINGTON — Senator Bernie Sanders’s $16 trillion vision for arresting global warming would put the government in charge of the power sector and promise that, by 2030, the country’s electricity and transportation systems would run entirely on wind, solar, hydropower or geothermal energy, with the fossil fuel industry footing much of the bill much as Mexico was to pay for the border wall.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont spoke at
a climate rally in Coralville, Iowa, on Saturday.

Climate scientists and energy economists say the plan is technically impractical, politically unfeasible, and possibly ineffective.

Yet the criticism does not appear to bother many of the young voters who will have an important role in selecting a Democratic presidential candidate, and who overwhelmingly place climate change at the top of their priority lists, according to polls.

“He has some really great ideas that may not be passed, but it’s definitely stuff that needs to be brought up,” said Chandler Condon, a 25-year-old supporter who traveled from Denver to Des Moines last week for a climate rally with Mr. Sanders.

Read the story from The New York Times by Lisa Friedman - “Sanders’s Climate Ambitions Thrill Supporters. Experts Aren’t Impressed.”

Report predicts 21m electric cars by 2030, price parity by 2022

By 2030 there will be 21 million electric vehicles on the road globally, a new report released this week predicts.

It's predicted there will be 21 million electric cars on the road globally by 2030.

After a record year for EV adoption in 2018, the report forecasts that the transition will continue, doubling the number of EVs worldwide from 2 million in 2018 to 4 million in 2020.

By 2025 there will be 12 million electric cars on the road, the report says, increasing to 21 million within the next five years.

Read the story from The Driven by  Bridie Schmidt - “Report predicts 21m electric cars by 2030, price parity by 2022.”

The Climate Change Solution That Could Spark Global War

It could be any country, but let’s say it’s Vietnam.

Geoengineering has the potential to start a global war.

The year is 2069. World governments failed to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 — the deadline set in a 2018 United Nations report — setting off a chain of rapid warming. Megastorms and wildfires regularly kill hundreds and displace tens of thousands, and coastal cities are abandoning low-lying neighborhoods to the rising sea. Freshwater and food are in short supply as drought dries wellsprings and parches the Mekong Delta’s rice basket.

In an effort to provide some relief and rein in the chaos, global superpowers decide to block out the sun.

Read the story from Medium by Alexander C. Kaufman - "The Climate Change Solution That Could Spark Global War."

Australia not on track to hit Paris emissions goals, as UN warns global efforts must increase

Australia is among a number of countries currently not on track to meet their unconditional Paris carbon emissions reduction targets by 2030, a United Nations (UN) report has warned.

Current emissions reduction targets won't hold the world to 2C of warming.

The 2018 Emissions Gap Report released today by UN Environment shows that global emissions have hit a historic high and are showing "no signs of peaking”.

Australia is listed as a G20 country that will not meet its 2030 target — alongside Canada, Argentina, EU28, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United States.

Under the Paris agreement, Australia's aim is to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent on 2005 levels.

Read the ABC News story by Nick Kilvert - “Australia not on track to hit Paris emissions goals, as UN warns global efforts must increase.”

Queensland could be 90% renewable by 2030 – with right policy settings

Coal-dependent Queensland could meet almost 100 per cent of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2030, a new report has found, if all of the state’s almost 15,000MW (15GW) pipeline of large-scale wind and solar projects went ahead.

The report, produced by Green Energy Markets for the Solar Citizens campaign group, says that if all projects under various stages of development in Queensland proceeded, they could generate more than 90 per cent of its forecast annual power consumption in 2030.

It points to a growth trajectory that has taken renewable energy capacity in Queensland from just 7.4 per cent of state electricity consumption in 2015, to 25.6 per cent – or just over one quarter – by 2020.

Read Sophie Vorrath’s story from RenewEconomy - “Queensland could be 90% renewable by 2030 – with right policy settings.”

Coalition’s national energy guarantee predicted to drive up power prices

A national energy guarantee with a more ambitious emissions reduction target of 45% by 2030 would lead to power prices falling over the life of the scheme in contrast to the Turnbull government’s proposal, according to new modelling.

Under the national energy guarantee prices are expected to rise to
$80 per MWh after the Yallourn coal-fired power station closes in 2028.

With the Neg bound for a make-or-break meeting in August, the new number crunching by the respected energy analysts RepuTex, funded by Greenpeace, boosts the case for emissions reduction in the scheme to be made more ambitious.

The modelling, to be released on Friday, compares the impact of the Turnbull government’s proposal – which has an emissions reduction target of 26% and would lead to prices rising – with the 45% target favoured by federal Labor.

Read Katharine Murphy’s story from The Guardian - “Coalition’s national energy guarantee predicted to drive up power prices.”

Majority of Australians support phasing out coal power by 2030, survey finds

A majority of Australians would support phasing out coal power by 2030, including half the people in a sample identifying as Coalition voters, according to a survey by a progressive thinktank.

Anti-coal mining protesters join thousands
 at a march in Sydney on 24 March.

The research funded by the Australia Institute says 60% of a sample of 1,417 Australians surveyed by online market research firm Research Now supported Australia joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance to phase out coal power by 2030.

The Powering Past Coal Alliance – spearheaded by the UK and Canada – was unveiled at the COP23 climate talks in Bonn. The agreement is not legally binding, and the membership does not include Australia or other major coal exporters and users.

Read the story by Katherine Murphy from The Guardian - “Majority of Australians support phasing out coal power by 2030, survey finds.”