climate change – Page 15 – Desdemona Despair

Map showing seasonal distribution of cumulative concentrations of target contaminants in the dissolved phase of snow collected in snow pits at the top of each glacier in the snowpack on north-western Spitsbergen. Spring – S; Winter – W; Fall – F. BP3 and BPA not displayed in the HDF S sample. Graphic: D'Amico, et al., 2023 / Science of The Total Environment

December 26, 2023

Traces of sunscreen agents in the snow at the North Pole – “Many of the contaminants we have analysed had never been identified in Arctic snow before”

20 December 2023 (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) – Traces of sunscreen agents were found at the North Pole, on the glaciers of the Svalbard archipelago. They were mainly deposited in winter, when night falls over the Arctic. A study conducted by researchers from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the Institute of Polar Sciences – National […]

Graph showing temperatures and atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide over the past 66 million years. Paleo-CO2 (including 95 percent credible intervals) is superimposed on the GMST trend over the past 66 million years. Age and CO2 labels highlight notable climate extrema and transitions as described in the text. Graphic: CenCO2PIP, Science 2023

December 25, 2023

A new 66 million-year history of carbon dioxide offers little comfort for today – “Regardless of exactly how many degrees the temperature changes, it’s clear we have already brought the planet into a range of conditions never seen by our species”

By Kevin Krajick 7 December 2023 (Columbia Climate School) – A massive new review of ancient atmospheric carbon-dioxide levels and corresponding temperatures lays out a daunting picture of where the Earth’s climate may be headed. The study covers geologic records spanning the past 66 million years, putting present-day concentrations into context with deep time. Among […]

Screenshot of the Human Climate Horizons platform, showing projected sea level rise (cm) in the 2040-2059 time horizon under the intermediate carbon emissions scenario (SSP2-4.5). Australis, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and and the Pacific islands of Oceania are shown. The global average sea level rise is projected to be more than 18 cm. Graphic: UNDP

December 25, 2023

Climate change’s impact on coastal flooding to increase by five times over this century – “The effects of rising sea levels will put at risk decades of human development progress in densely populated coastal zones which are home to one in seven people in the world”

28 November 2023 (UNDP) – According to new data on the Human Climate Horizons platform, a collaboration between the Climate Impact Lab and UNDP, increased coastal flooding this century will put over 70 million people in the path of expanding floodplains. Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, and Small Island Developing […]

Aerial view of the Mount Pleasant Coal Mine in New South Wales, Australia. Photo: Environmental Defenders Office

December 25, 2023

Four new coal mines approved in Australia in 2023

12 May 2023 (The Australia Institute) – So much coal news… and all of it bad! Exactly as we predicted here at Coal Mine Tracker, last week’s ‘rejection’ of the long-stalled China Stone and Range coal mines was laying the groundwork for the approval of new coal mines with more momentum and more powerful proponents. Thursday 11 May […]

Storm track of Hurricane Idalia before it made landfall in Florida. The warm sea surface temperatures of the Gulf of Mexico fueled the storm, allowing it to strengthen to a Category 4 hurricane from a Category 1 just hours before making landfall on 30 August 2023. Graphic: The New York Times

December 25, 2023

2023 hurricane season marked by storms that “really rapidly intensified”

By William B. Davis and Judson Jones 2 December 2023 (The New York Times) – The 2023 hurricane seasons in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific came to an end this week, with both basins experiencing an above average number of storms, fueled by extremely warm ocean temperatures. The two basins had a combined 37 storms, […]

Map showing surface air temperatures in the UK and Europe on 24 December 2023. Some temperatures in the UK were the hottest since 1997, with 15.3°C (59.5°F) recorded near Heathrow Airport. Graphic: BBC

December 25, 2023

Christmas Eve in UK hottest since 1997 after 15.3°C (59.5°F) recorded near Heathrow

By Sam Hancock 24 December 2023 (BBC News) – Sunday has been declared the warmest Christmas Eve in the UK since 1997. Temperatures hit 15.3C in Heathrow, west London, and Cippenham in Slough, the Met Office said. There had been speculation it could be the warmest 24 December ever but that record remains consigned to […]

COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, center, hailed the adoption of the key text, calling it the “UAE consensus”. Photo: Amr Alfiky / Reuters

December 13, 2023

COP28: A deal at last – “This outcome reflects the very lowest possible ambition that we could accept rather than what we know, according to the best available science, is necessary to urgently address the climate crisis”

By Simon Mundy 13 December 2023 (Financial Times) – Hello from Dubai. After two consecutive nights of intense negotiations that ran into the small hours, COP28 has ended in a deal. The “global stocktake” agreed here has broken with the shameful inability of previous UN climate conferences to state openly the need to move away […]

Haitham Al-Ghais, the secretary general of OPEC, warned member countries of “undue and disproportionate pressure against fossil fuels” at the COP28 summit In a letter dated 6 December 2023. Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

December 8, 2023

OPEC leader tells members to block any COP28 climate summit deal to curb fossil fuels – “Reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions”

By Lisa Friedman 8 December 2023 (The New York Times) – The head of the OPEC oil cartel, alarmed that nations gathered at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai are considering an agreement to phase out fossil fuels, has directed the group’s members to scuttle any deal that would affect the continued production and […]

Climate scientist Dr. Graeme Pearman at his home in Bangholme, Victoria. On warning the world about abrupt climate change, he laments, “I often wonder: where did I go wrong? Why didn’t people respond? Is that my responsibility?” Photo: Nadir Kinani / The Guardian

December 4, 2023

“Where did I go wrong?” The scientist who tried to raise the climate alarm

By Graham Readfearn 20 November 2023 (The Guardian) – “I often wonder: where did I go wrong?” Graeme Pearman says. “Why didn’t people respond? Is that my responsibility?” When Guardian Australia meets him at his home on the outskirts of Melbourne, the veteran climate scientist is frustrated. “If you go through the whole process and […]

King Charles III meets with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan President of the United Arab Emirates at a bilateral meeting at Expo City in Dubai, during the COP28 summit on 30 November 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The King is visiting Dubai to attend COP28 UAE, the United Nation's Climate Change Conference. Photo: Andrew Matthews / Getty Images

December 3, 2023

The central problem for COP28: Where will all this money come from? “What used to be available at Libor plus 50 (basis points) or Libor plus 100 is not available at those rates any more”

By David Blackmon 3 December 2023 (Forbes) – As the UN convenes its COP28 Conference in Dubai amid the conclusion of another year during which the global community used record amounts of coal, oil and natural gas, concerns are mounting about the future direction and prospects for success of the energy transition. Much of the […]