Thread: Any doubts about Climate Change?

Yes, but: China, which accounts for about half of global coal demand, did not sign-on.

Chinky bastards still at it.

Man announces he will quit drinking by 2050


A Sydney man has set an ambitious target to phase out his alcohol consumption within the next 29 years, as part of an impressive plan to improve his health.
The program will see Greg Taylor, 73, continue to drink as normal for the foreseeable future, before reducing consumption in 2049 when he turns 101. He has assured friends it will not affect his drinking plans in the short or medium term.

Taylor said it was important not to rush the switch to non-alcoholic beverages. “It’s not realistic to transition to zero alcohol overnight. This requires a steady, phased approach where nothing changes for at least two decades,” he said, adding that he may need to make additional investments in beer consumption in the short term, to make sure no night out is worse off.

Taylor will also be able to bring forward drinking credits earned from the days he hasn’t drunk over the past forty years, meaning the actual end date for consumption may actually be 2060.
To assist with the transition, Taylor has bought a second beer fridge which he describes as the ‘capture and storage’ method.






Man announces he will quit drinking by 2050 | The Shovel

Originally Posted by S Landreth

^An opinion piece from,…… Zoe Strimpel (born 8 July 1982) is a British journalist, academic historian, author, and commentator on gender and relationships. She is a columnist for The Sunday Telegraph where she writes a weekly column, commenting on gender, feminism, dating, relationships and identity politics.

Wow ! What a takedown !

Originally Posted by S Landreth

• Obama faults Russia and China for "dangerous lack of urgency" on climate change

F

Coming to a Country Near You: A Russian Nuclear Power Plant - The New York Times

Russia has sold more nuclear technology abroad since Mr. Putin came to power in 1999 than the United States, France, China, South Korea and Japan combined, according to a recent study — is in part commercial, generating lucrative contracts in Europe, Asia and even Africa to sustain Rosatom’s more than 250,000 engineers, researchers, salespeople and other employees.

What to do with India and China then...............................

Copernicus – October 2021 was the 3^rd warmest October recorded. Land area only,… October 2021 was the warmest October recorded.

Globally, October 2021 was:

• 0.42°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average for October.
• estimated to be the third warmest October and only marginally cooler (<0.04ºC) than October 2015 and 2019.

Homepage | Copernicus

____________

In other news………

U.S. unveils roadmap for net-zero aviation emissions by 2050

The Transportation Department is unveiling a multi-agency roadmap to slash greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. aviation sector with a target of reaching net-zero by 2050.

Why it matters: Aviation accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions, but has other warming impacts too. It accounts for 11% of U.S. transportation-related emissions, according to the White House.

• Those emissions are projected to rise a lot in coming decades alongside the growth of air travel, absent aggressive adoption of climate-friendly tech.
• In a hypothetical case of technology frozen in place, the strategy estimates that U.S. aviation emissions in 2050 would be around twice their 2019 levels.

Driving the news: The department just released its first "Aviation Climate Action Plan" that aims to further R&D and deployment of technologies that attack the problem in a suite of ways.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is discussing the plan at appearances at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

• A very big part of the plan seeks to help spur development and uptake of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) for long-haul flights, as well as battery and hydrogen propulsion on shorter routes. SAFs do the heaviest lifting in the department's pathway to net-zero by midcentury.
• Another goal is to help speed efficiency gains, with a target to "demonstrate a suite of aircraft technologies by 2030 to achieve a 30% improvement" relative to today's best tech.
• While burning jet fuel comprises the vast majority of the sector's emissions, airports generate CO2 through ground operations, which is also a focus of the plan.

Of note: The net-zero target covers emissions from flights within the U.S. and its territories, as well as U.S.-based airlines' international flights.

The intrigue: Beyond CO2, the plan aims to get a better handle on other warming impacts of flying like "aviation induced cloudiness," or AIC, which includes contrails.

• "Recent estimates indicate that the AIC warming effect could be comparable or even higher than those due to aviation CO2 although large uncertainties still remain," it states.

What we're watching: The Transportation Department is already using existing tools, such as providing over $300 million in funding this year to help electrify airport equipment.

• The administration's multi-agency "sustainable aviation fuel grand challenge" program launched last month.
• A separate effort is the joint NASA-Federal Aviation Administration "Sustainable Flight National Partnership" launched earlier this year to demonstrate new technologies in areas like electric propulsion, high efficiency designs and more.
• The newly enacted bipartisan infrastructure bill has at least $100 million for projects to cut airport emissions, the department said.

The bottom line: More help from Congress is also likely needed to help put U.S. aviation on anything resembling the pathway envisioned in the report.

• The Democrats' big spending and tax package includes new tax credits for SAFs, but the future of that package remains unclear.

Soon us in the northern hemisphere won't need to go abroad, frankly its all good from where i am.

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Soon us in the northern hemisphere won't need to go abroad, frankly its all good from where i am.

Yeah but...

The death toll of Europe’s heat wave – POLITICO

Study: 1 billion people face extreme heat if warming hits 2°C

A billion people will endure extreme heat stress if global temperatures were to increase by 2°C (3.6°F), research announced Tuesday by the United Kingdom's Met Office at the Cop26 climate summit warns.

Why it matters: Current targets being discussed at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, would see global average temperatures overshoot the Paris Agreement's most ambitious target of 1.5ºC of warming, compared to preindustrial levels, per Axios' Andrew Freedman.

For the record: The U.S. and other countries have already faced historic heat waves in recent years — notably the deadly hot weather that gripped the Pacific Northwest this past summer, which researchers found would have been "virtually impossible without human-caused climate change."

• In the summer of 2020, more than a quarter of the American population suffered from the effects of extreme heat, according to a study published earlier this year.

Threat level: Heat stress, a potentially fatal combination of dangerous heat and humidity, already affects 68 million people worldwide, per the Met Office research.

• The modeling from the national weather service and the EU-funded project HELIX, led by the University of Exeter, suggests this could increase nearly 15-fold if the world's temperature rise reached 2°C.
• "A 4.0°C rise could see nearly half of the world's population living in areas potentially affected," the report warned.

Of note: Andy Hartley, the Met Office's climate impacts lead, noted in a statement that the heat stress metric is currently met in several locations, "such as parts of India."

• But "our analysis shows that with a rise of 4°C extreme heat risk could affect people in large swathes of most of the world's continent," he said.

The big picture: The findings mapping heat stress maps are part of a wider project forecasting the impacts of the consequences of climate change with temperature rises of 2°C and 4°C — the others being river flooding; risk of wildfire; drought; and food insecurity.

The bottom line, via Professor Richard Betts, of the University of Exeter and Met Office, who led the HELIX project: "This new combined analysis shows the urgency of limiting global warming to well below 2°C.

• "The higher the level of warming, the more severe and widespread the risks to people’s lives, but it is still possible to avoid these higher risks if we act now," Betts said.
• Andy Wiltshire, head of earthy system and mitigation science at the Met Office, added: "Rapid emission reductions are required if we are to avoid worst consequences of unmitigated climate change."

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-u...at-stress-risk

__________

Another note.

Dr. Richard Betts does not write a weekly column, commenting on gender, feminism, dating and relationships

https://twitter.com/richardabetts

____________

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Soon us in the northern hemisphere won't need to go abroad, frankly its all good from where i am.

Dust off your Welcome Mat

https://theconversation.com/climate-...lebanon-127681

https://www.brookings.edu/research/t...-and-refugees/

Countries with alternative sources of base load power will have the easiest transition. Countries with coal fired base load power will have the largest cost increases.

A comparison of enrgy costs around the world. Those who dont like reading can go straight to the energy calculator. Be aware that it is produced by the IEA and presents a case economically for nuclear power..

Projected Costs of Generating Electricity 2020 – Analysis - IEA

China pledges more aggressive climate action in joint statement with U.S.

GLASGOW, Scotland — China vowed more aggressive steps on emissions Wednesday in a joint declaration with the U.S. — a surprise move that signals an easing of tensions evident at the COP26 climate summit here.

Why it matters: China is the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, and the development could also help improve the chances for an ambitious final summit outcome.

Driving the news: The two nations' Joint Glasgow Declaration calls for "accelerated actions in the critical decade of the 2020s," as well as cooperation on measurement and reductions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane.

• The statement also represents a rhetorical pivot from China, even though it does not explicitly change China's existing pledge under the Paris Agreement to have its emissions peak before 2030 — a stance that has disappointed advocates who want more aggressive action.

What they're saying: "Climate change is becoming increasingly urgent and severe," Xie Zhenhua, China's top climate negotiator, said via a translator at a briefing in Glasgow, warning of an "existential crisis."

• "In areas of climate change, there is more agreement between China and the U.S. than divergence, making it an area with huge potential for our cooperation," Xie said.

The big picture: China accounts for nearly a third of global energy-related CO2 emissions in particular.

• Its emissions path is key to whether the temperature-limiting goals of the Paris Agreement can remain within reach.
• Going into Glasgow and right through Wednesday early evening local time, a key roadblock to an ambitious Glasgow outcome was the hostility between the U.S. and China.
• This contrasted with the negotiations that led to the Paris Agreement in 2015, when the U.S. and China also reached a joint agreement.

Yes, but: While the agreement does not change any of China or the U.S.' official emissions targets or timetables, the joint agreement is aimed at speeding up each other's emissions cuts during the 2020s, which is critical for ensuring that the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C temperature target remains viable.

• Climate envoy John Kerry told reporters he discussed with Chinese officials the possibility of getting China to commit to an earlier emissions peak.
• "We had lots of discussions about peaking, we peaked out on peaking," Kerry said.
• As part of the agreement, China committed to developing an action plan on methane that would aim "to achieve a significant effect on methane emissions control and reductions in the 2020s," the statement says.

Between the lines: "The big significance of this is geopolitical," said Nick Mabey, chief executive of the climate think tank E3G, in a statement. He said the two countries have signaled they will end the war of words that marred the past days.

• "They will now build climate cooperation bilaterally and in multilateral fora. This high profile commitment puts pressure on both countries to move their positions to make COP26 a success."
• The negotiations took place in more than 30 in-person and virtual meetings since Kerry was appointed to the position in January, including multiple meetings in Glasgow.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

China pledges more aggressive climate action in joint statement with U.S.

No new pledges announced by china, aggressive or otherwise.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

even though it does not explicitly change China's existing pledge under the Paris Agreement to have its emissions peak before 2030

No new pledges announced by china, aggressive or otherwise.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

China accounts for nearly a third of global energy-related CO2 emissions in particular.

OZ currently has that hat, up to this year.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

While the agreement does not change any of China or the U.S.' official emissions targets

No new pledges announced by china, or NaGastan, aggressive or otherwise.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

two countries have signaled they will end the war of words

One hopes the NaGastan politicians will back Biden's signal, currently they override Biden, on all his pledges, aggressive or otherwise.

Poor old Hoohoo, it all just flies over his head doesn't it.

^
Thanks for your informative post.

Not supported by Australia - fooking disgrace

Cop26: Australia accused of ‘hiding’ while opposing deal needed to limit catastrophic climate breakdown

Australia does not support deal needed to keep alive chance of limiting global heating to 1.5C

Australia has been accused of “hiding behind others” at the Cop26 Glasgow climate summit while opposing an agreement necessary to keep alive a chance of limiting global heating to 1.5C, the threshold above which scientists warn climate breakdown would rapidly become catastrophic.

Australia is one of several nations that does not support an agreement at the Cop26 talks requesting all countries to return to the negotiating table next year with stronger commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The issue remains a key sticking point between the more than 190 countries at the talks, which extended past their Friday night deadline and will continue into Saturday, local time, as negotiators fight over the details of a potential deal.

Scott Morrison’s net zero modelling reveals a slow, lazy and shockingly irresponsible approach to ‘climate action’

The Australian government delegation has maintained a largely low-key public presence at the talks since the emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, returned home with a week to go at the summit.

But several sources told Guardian Australia the Morrison government was opposed to parts of an updated draft negotiating text released on Friday by the British hosts of the summit that would be crucial to maintain a chance of limiting global average heating since the industrial revolution to 1.5C.

Bill Hare, the chief executive of Climate Analytics, who has been attending climate summits for 30 years, said Australia was “hiding behind others” including Brazil, Russia and Saudi Arabia, which were all trying to weaken the negotiating text.

“The overall view of Australia is it’s the worst I have seen it in my career,” he said. “It’s not exposing its position publicly but it’s clear that it doesn’t want a process next year for all countries to come back and close the emissions gap for 2030.”

The draft document requests countries revisit and strengthen their 2030 targets so by the end of next year they align with the temperature goal expressed in the landmark 2015 Paris agreement – to hold global heating to well below 2C above pre-industrial times, and to “pursue efforts” to limit it to 1.5C.

It includes the caveat that those strengthened commitments should “take into account different national circumstances” – seen by observers as a potential get-out clause that underlines the non-binding nature of commitments at UN climate talks.

more here

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/13/cop26-australia-accused-of-hiding-while-opposing-deal-needed-to-limit-catastrophic-climate-breakdown

Dr. Zeke Hausfather - As COP26 comes to a close, it's clear it will not put us on a path to 1.5C by itself. It does not ensure we remain below 2C, given gap between long-term ambition and near-term 2030 commitments.

But it does move the needle forward, and tee up another round of stronger commitments.: https://twitter.com/hausfath/status/1459601516826931206

^....

Thanks for your informative post.