A regional commitment for combat climate change

"Golding" from The Melbourne Age:

A World Without Clouds. Think About That a Minute': New Study Details Possibility of Devastating Climate Feedback Loop

As people across the globe mobilize to demand bold action to combat the climate crisis and scientific findings about looming "environmental breakdown" pile up, a startling new study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience warns that human-caused global warming could cause stratocumulus clouds to totally disappear in as little as a century, triggering up to 8°C (14°F) of additional warming.

A new study warns that if the Earth's atmospheric
carbon hits a certain level, stratocumulus clouds could
completely vanish, causing the planet's temperatures
to skyrocket even higher. 

Stratocumulus clouds cover about two-thirds of the Earth and help keep it cool by reflecting solar radiation back to space. Recent research has suggested that planetary warming correlates with greater cloud loss, stoking fears about a feedback loop that could spell disaster.

For this study, researchers at the California Institute of Technology used a supercomputer simulation to explore what could lead these low-lying, lumpy clouds to vanish completely. As science journalist Natalie Wolchover laid out in a lengthy piece for Quanta Magazine titled "A World Without Clouds".

Read the story from Common Dreams by Jessica Corbett - “A World Without Clouds. Think About That a Minute': New Study Details Possibility of Devastating Climate Feedback Loop.”

Warning we must step up fight against climate change... meet Kirsten Dunlop, head of Climate-KIC

Tackling 'vested interests' and undertaking a complete societal transformation is needed to combat the ravages of climate change and put the world on track for a low-carbon future.

The head of Climate-KIC, Kirsten Dunlop.

The head of Climate-KIC (Knowledge and Innovation Community), Kirsten Dunlop, says the scale of the challenge requires a global effort never seen before in human history, which will require deep transformation, regulation and convincing capital markets to invest in new technologies.

"In terms of self-transformation, we've rarely done that as a species and we've never had to do it at a planetary level. To get on track, we're going to have to do the really difficult stuff which is going to run foul of every vested interest we have out there," she says.

Climate-KIC is the EU's largest public-private partnership, tasked with addressing climate change through innovation by achieving deep decarbonisation across cities, while tackling land use, agriculture and industrial manufacturing, and securing finance.

Read Paul Mella’s story from the Independent - “Warning we must step up fight against climate change... meet Kirsten Dunlop, head of Climate-KIC.”

Deal reached to cut shipping carbon emissions in half by 2050

A landmark agreement to officially combat carbon emissions in the shipping sector has finally been reached in London.

Landmark agreement to officially combat
carbon emissions in the shipping sector.

The International Maritime Organisation, a special agency of the UN representing 173 member states, has been meeting all this week to discuss emissions targets for the sector.

The plan to reduce emissions by 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008 levels is seen as a compromise and below more ambitious targets being presented. Climate Action reported last week on calls from Norway to hammer out a significant deal at the conference. Some European Union countries were also lobbying for a 70 to 100 percent reduction in emissions. However, there will be opportunities to strengthen the targets when the deal is revised in 2023 and beyond.

Read the ClimateAction story - “Deal reached to cut shipping carbon emissions in half by 2050.”

Hurricane Harvey opens dialogue on climate change in San Francisco.

Harvey has dumped nearly 25 trillion gallons of water on Texas and Louisiana.

Piled on top of the entire city of San Francisco, that water would be more than 2,000 feet tall -- nearly twice the size of Sales Force Tower.

Harvey has dumped nearly 25 trillion 

gallons of water on Texas and Louisiana.

Many hope Harvey will motivate action to combat climate change.

Watch the video in the player above to hear what Congresswoman Jackie Speier had to say on the topic.

Read the ABC7 News story - “Hurricane Harvey opens dialogue on climate change in San Francisco."

The Trump administration's solution to climate change: ban the term

In a bold new strategy unveiled on Monday in the Guardian, the United States Department of Agriculture – guardians of the planet’s richest farmlands – has decided to combat the threat of global warming by forbidding the use of the words.

 ‘Also blacklisted is the scary locution reduce greenhouse gases.’ 

Under guidance from the agency’s director of soil health Bianca Moebius-Clune, a list of phrases to be avoided includes “climate change” and “climate change adaptation” to be replaced by “weather extremes” and “resilience to weather extremes.”

Also blacklisted is the scary locution “reduce greenhouse gases” and here the agency’s linguists have done an even better job of camouflage: the new and approved term is “increase nutrient use efficiency”.

Read Bill McKibben’s comment on The Guardian - “The Trump administration's solution to climate change: ban the term.”

Some, it seems, give and some, it appears, take away

A

ustralia’s politicians it seems have dedicated themselves to spending less on overseas aid, while Japan appears to have taken a quite different approach.

Japan's Shinzo Abe - his country has
 responded with nearly $600 million
 to help Pacific island
nations combat climate change.

The ABC reports: “Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged $578 million in aid to Pacific island nations to help them combat climate change and natural disasters.

“Mr Abe made the pledge as leaders of 14 Pacific island nations gathered for a two-day meeting, which began on Friday in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, to discuss their development needs.

"As a pledge of the Japanese government, we will provide no less than 55 billion yen ($578 million) to you in the upcoming three years ... in order to foster resilient capabilities that will not be defeated by climate change or disasters," he told the meeting.”

Further the ABC reports that, “The seventh round of Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) came as host Japan attempts to boost its profile in the Pacific, at a time of growing Chinese economic and political influence in the region.

“The meeting, held every three years, was also attended by senior officials from Australia, New Zealand and the United States,” is says in a story.

Read the ABC story - “Japan to give $578 million to Pacific islands to fight climate change and natural disasters”.