NASA – September 2021 was tied with 2019 to be the 2nd warmest September recorded.



NASA GISS: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies




The Biden administration plans to identify and lease federal waters along seven coastal areas to offshore wind power developers over the next few years, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: The new plan constitutes an aggressive push by the federal government to reach its goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind-generating capacity in U.S. waters by 2030.

If implemented, the plan would see the development of wind farms along nearly the entire U.S. coastline and would constitute the first long-term strategy to produce electricity from offshore turbines, the New York Times noted.

The big picture: The administration is exploring wind leasing agreements in Oregon, California, the Gulf of Mexico, the Carolinas, the Central Atlantic, the Gulf of Maine, as well as the New York Bight — a small stretch of ocean between Long Island and New Jersey.

The plan is to hold up to seven new offshore lease sales by 2025.

Flashback: The administration has already taken other steps to spur offshore wind power, including approval in May of the long-proposed Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts.

What they're saying: “The Interior Department is laying out an ambitious roadmap as we advance the Administration’s plans to confront climate change, create good-paying jobs, and accelerate the nation’s transition to a cleaner energy future,” Haaland said in the press release.

Between the lines: Identifying potential areas for this ambitious plan doesn't guarantee the projects will come to fruition.

Many obstacles remain, including opposition from the fishing industry and coastal landowners.




Weather and climate disasters in 2021 have killed 538 people in the U.S. and cost over $100 billion, according to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

Why it matters: The first nine months of 2021 saw the largest number of billion-dollar disasters in a calendar year so far, with 2021 on pace for second behind 2020, per the report.

Driving the news: From January through the end of September, the U.S. has experienced 18 weather and climate disasters that each cost more than $1 billion, per the report.

Additionally, 538 people have died from the disasters, which is more than twice the number of deaths from all billion-dollar disasters that occurred in 2020, per the report.

Details: The disasters include four tropical cyclones, two flooding events, one combined drought and heat wave, one wildfire event, and one combined winter storm and cold wave.

Hurricane Ida leads as the year's most expensive disaster to date. Recovery from Ida has cost $60 billion and ranks among the top five most costly hurricanes on record since 1980 — and its cost is only expected to rise.

Thought bubble from Axios' Andrew Freedman: The spate of billion-dollar extreme weather and climate disasters reflects both climate change-related trends, such as an uptick in heavy precipitation events and stronger hurricanes, as well as the fact that there are more things in harms' way than there used to be.


  • Over 20 more countries vow to slash methane emissions


U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry announced Monday that 24 additional countries agreed to a voluntary pledge to cut emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, by one-third by 2030.

Why it matters: The Global Methane Pledge, which the Biden administration announced with the European Union last month, now includes nine of the world's top 20 methane emitting countries, representing around 30% of total emissions and 60% of the global economy.

New pledgers include Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Sweden and Pakistan.

Argentina, Ghana, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Mexico and the United Kingdom agreed to the pact when it was first announced.

Yes, but: These are voluntary pledges for a yearslong plan. The key thing to watch is what tangible steps follow the nonbinding agreements from nations and corporations.

Thought bubble, via Axios' Andrew Freedman: Along with carbon dioxide, which is a long-lasting planet-warming gas, methane is a potent warming agent that acts in the near term, over the time span of one to two decades.

In recent years, methane emissions have been increasing quickly, and reducing them could have a near-immediate effect on the climate, studies show.

The new methane pledge is part of a Biden administration-led effort to pursue an all-encompassing strategy to slash emissions of planet-warming gases, from ozone-depleting substances to carbon dioxide.

The big picture: More than 20 leading philanthropic organizations also announced Monday that they will commit over $223 million to support implementation of the pledge.

The new commitments come just weeks before the UN is set to hold a climate summit in Glasgow on Oct. 31.: https://www.axios.com/methane-emissi...9f9740e7c.html