carbon reduction – Page 7 – Desdemona Despair

Smoke rises after Russian shelling near Kyiv, Ukraine, on 17 March 2022. Photo: Gleb Garanich / REUTERS

March 21, 2022

Russia’s war on Ukraine threatens climate goals, warns UN chief – “This is madness. Addiction to fossil fuels is mutually assured destruction.”

By Fiona Harvey 21 March 2022 (The Guardian) – The war in Ukraine risks putting global targets on the climate out of reach, the UN secretary general has warned, if countries respond to Russia’s aggression by increasing their use of fossil fuels. António Guterres said the aim of limiting global temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, […]

Carbon emissions projected to 2050 in three scenarios: Accelerated, Net Zero, and New Momentum. BP’s Energy Outlook 2022 uses three main scenarios (Accelerated, Net Zero, and New Momentum) to explore the range of possible pathways for the global energy system to 2050 and help shape a resilient strategy for BP. Graphic: BP

March 17, 2022

BP Energy Outlook 2022 edition – The carbon budget is finite, and it is running out

By Spencer Dale 14 March 2022 (BP) – At the time of writing, the world’s attention is focussed on the terrible events taking place in Ukraine. Our thoughts and hopes are with all those affected. The scenarios included in Energy Outlook 2022 were largely prepared before the outbreak of the military action and do not include any […]

Estimated economic impacts of unmitigated climate change on seven geographical regions in the United States. Over the next 50 years, climate change-induced economic losses in the U.S. could total approximately $14.5 trillion in present-value terms. Graphic: Deloitte

February 7, 2022

Climate change-induced losses in the U.S. could total $14.5 trillion by 2070 – “In a climate-damaged world of 2070, the U.S. could lose nearly 4 percent of GDP in that year alone”

By Rachel Koning Beals 26 January 2022 (MarketWatch) – Definitive and deliberate climate action from Wall Street to Washington and beyond could deliver a $3 trillion gain to the U.S. economy over the next 50 years to 2070. But it’s the toll of inaction that would cost the nation nearly five times that amount, a […]

Trends in atmospheric CO2 vs. global temperature change, 1958-2020, with climate conference dates indicated. #climateINACTIONstripes Graphic: @MuellerTadzio / @wiebkemarie / @MariusHasenheit / @sustentioEU

January 12, 2022

Graph of the Day: Atmospheric CO2 vs. global temperature change and climate conference dates, 1958-2020

10 January 2022 (Sustentio) – Climate conferences? All well and good, but what we need is action! Peter Gericke, Marius Hasenheit from Sustentio, together with Tadzio Müller and Wiebke Witt, have visualized international climate diplomacy, the increase in CO2 concentration, and heating of our planet. And thus landed a huge success on Twitter: More than 1000 retweets and shares by Greta […]

Global greenhouse gas emissions, 1990-2020. The reduction in emissions in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and global recession was 10 times greater than the impact on emissions from the 2008 global financial crisis. Graphic: Rhodium Group

January 9, 2022

Global greenhouse gas reduction in 2020 from pandemic and global recession “was 10 times greater than the impact on emissions from the 2008 global financial crisis”

By Alfredo Rivera, Shweta Movalia, Hannah Pitt, and Kate Larsen 23 December 2021 (Rhodium Group) – Understanding annual trends in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a critical input for decision-makers in their efforts to reach net-zero emissions, whether is at the national, state, city, or corporate levels. Tracking emissions of the 190+ Parties to the […]

Newcastle Coal Futures, 5 December 2008 - 23 December 2021. In December 2021, Newcastle Coal Futures rose to $169 per metric ton, the highest price since the $222 peak on 29 October 2021, pressured by a surge in China’s thermal coal futures as supply is expected to tighten. In 2021, the Chinese government has intensified a crackdown on illegal mining in the country's top coal producing region Shanxi after a round of inspections at the region's miners and found at least 14 coal mines producing beyond their authorized capacity. Meanwhile, the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner, released a plan to raise annual thermal coal prices for 2022 to CNY 700 per ton from 2017's CNY 535 per ton, well above an informal ceiling of CNY 600. Earlier in 2021, China introduced power curbs especially for energy-intensive businesses and restrictions on coal imports, aiming to reach its climate targets but such curbs led to a serious power crunch. Graphic: Trading Economics

December 23, 2021

“Prepare for lack of electricity” in 2022 says Foxconn founder

By Elles Houweling 20 December 2021 (Verdict) – The founder and director of Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics, Terry Gou, has said that “there will be a shortage of electricity in the next year.” Gou added that “people should not complain about the future lack of electricity.” Instead, they should “prepare”. Hon Hai Precision […]

Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, 1959-2021. Global CO2 emissions bounced back after COVID-19 restrictions and reached pre-pandemic levels in 2021. Graph: Global Carbon Project

December 12, 2021

Global carbon emissions rebound to pre-pandemic levels after unprecedented drop in 2020 – “The fast recovery in CO2 emissions, following last year’s sharp drop, should come as no surprise”

By Pep Canadell, Corinne Le Quéré, Glen Peters, Pierre Friedlingstein, Robbie Andrew, and Rob Jackson 3 November 2021 (The Conversation) – Global carbon dioxide emissions have bounced back after COVID-19 restrictions and are likely to reach close to pre-pandemic levels this year, our analysis released today has found. The troubling finding comes as the COP26 climate talks […]

Primary energy intensity improvement, 2011-2021 and projected to 2020-2030. The 2021 estimate is based on World Energy Outlook 2021. The Net Zero Emissions Scenario is the IEA Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, 2020-2030 intensity improvements, ten-year average. Graphic: IEA

November 19, 2021

Energy efficiency gains are too slow for a sustainable climate path

By Ben Geman 17 November 2021 (Axios) – A new International Energy Agency report shows rising investment in energy efficiency and gains in the efficiency of the global economy, but both lag levels needed for a sustainable climate path. Why it matters: Boosting efficiency is vital to meeting climate goals. By the numbers: Global energy intensity — that is, […]

Map showing the area of the Gulf of Mexico covered by the U.S. oil and gas lease sale on 17 November 2021. Source: US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Graphic: The Guardian

November 18, 2021

“Huge climate bomb”: U.S. auctions off oil and gas drilling leases in Gulf of Mexico after climate talks – “Coming in the aftermath of the climate summit, this is just mind boggling”

By Oliver Milman 17 November 2021 (The Guardian) – Just four days after landmark climate talks in Scotland in which Joe Biden vowed the US will “lead by example” in tackling dangerous global heating, the president’s own administration is providing a jarring contradiction – the largest ever sale of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf […]

Projected coal demand in the Stated Policies Scenario in the World Energy Outlooks 2021, 2020, and 2016. The International Energy Agency’s flagship outlook in October 2021 projected that under nations’ existing policies, global demand doesn’t begin falling again for several years. Then it declines but in 2050 is still at 70 percent of today’s levels. The IEA’s roadmap for reaching net-zero global emissions by 2050 requires a 55 percent decline by 2030. Graphic: IEA

November 17, 2021

After COP26: The long road to phasing down coal – “It is hard to shut down coal facilities because few countries have sufficient spare capacity in their electricity systems to be able to do so”

By Ben Geman 16 November 2021 (Axios) – Let’s leave to history to see whether the COP26 deal to “phase down” coal instead of “phase out” makes any real-world difference, but what’s clear is that any meaningful “phasing” at all is hard. Why it matters: Coal is the most carbon-intensive fuel. Any pathway to meeting the Paris Agreement […]