#climate agreement

[reasonsforhope]

The US passed the world's biggest climate bill EVER (so far!) in 2022 and most people have no idea!!!

This video digs into all of the different awesome things the Inflation Reduction Act does - and why it puts the US back on track to potentially meet our Paris Agreement commitments.

Yall, the Inflation Reduction Act changed the whole game when it comes to climate change in the US. In fact, it's in large part why climate experts (and Hank Green, in this video) say that as of 2022,

We have more reason to have hope that we can save ourselves than we have EVER had, since we started to realize the true extent of climate change

Note: If you're wondering why the biggest climate bill in US history was passed under the name "Inflation Reduction Act," the answer seems to mostly be that it's easier to actually get shit done on climate if the name of the bill doesn't tell everyone that's what you're doing. (Also like. It was designed to reduce inflation too. Just, yknow. Not only.)

Transcript here! (There is a full transcript, it just might not look like it because it's not super clear that the text scrolls at first. Ask me how I know lol.)

-via Vlogbrothers, August 12, 2022

[mindblowingscience]

The U.N. weather agency on Wednesday predicted that there's an 80% chance that average global temperatures will surpass the 1.5 Celsius-degree (2.7 degree-Fahrenheit) target laid out in the landmark Paris climate accord within the next five years. The World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday that the global mean near-surface temperature for each year from 2024 to 2028 is expected to range between 1.1 and 1.9 degrees Celsius hotter than at the start of the industrial era. It also estimated that there's nearly a one-in-two chance—47%—that the average global temperatures over that entire five-year span could top 1.5 C, an increase from just under a one-in-three chance projected for the 2023-2027 span.

Continue Reading.

[geminisee]

The last twelve months were the hottest twelve months ever on record.

x

“In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteor. We are not only in danger. We are the danger.”

- António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

[thehopefuljournalist]

According to a new survey, lawmakers are playing an increasingly important role in holding corporations and governments accountable for failures to tackle the climate crisis.

The research was done by Columbia Law School, and was commissioned by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). It revealed that the number of climate-related court cases has more than doubled since 2017 and is steadily rising around the world.

Their report confirms a trend highlighted in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023, which claimed that individuals and environmental organizations were, more and more, turning to the law, as it became clear that the pace of transition to net-zero emissions was too slow.

“Climate litigation is increasing and concerns about emissions under-reporting and greenwashing have triggered calls for new regulatory oversight for the transition to net zero,” the Forum report said.

The UNEP report catalogues a number of high-profile court cases which have succeeded in enforcing climate action. In 2017, when climate case numbers were last counted, 884 legal actions had been brought. Today the total stands at 2,180.

The majority of climate cases to this date (1,522) have been brought in the US, followed by Australia, the UK, and the EU. The report notes that the number of legal actions in developing countries is growing, now at 17% of the total.

Climate litigation is also giving a voice to vulnerable groups who are being hard hit by climate change. The report says that, globally, 34 cases have been brought by children and young people, including two by girls aged seven and nine in Pakistan and India.

Here are five of the climate breakthroughs achieved by legal action so far.

1. Torres Strait Islanders Vs Australia

In September 2022, indigenous people living on islands in the Torres Strait between northern Queensland and Papua New Guinea won a landmark ruling that their human rights were being violated by the failure of the Australian government to take effective climate action.

The UN Human Rights Committee ruling established the principle that a country could be in breach of international human rights law over climate inaction. They ruled that Australia's poor climate record was a violation of the islanders’ right to family life and culture.

2. The Paris Agreement is a human rights treaty

In July 2022, Brazil's supreme court ruled that the Paris climate agreement is legally a human rights treaty which, it said, meant that it automatically overruled any domestic laws which conflicted with the country’s climate obligations.

The ruling ordered the government to reopen its national climate mitigation fund, which had been established under the Paris Agreement.

3. Climate inaction is a breach of human rights

Upholding an earlier court ruling that greenhouse emissions must be cut by 25% by 2020, the Netherlands Supreme Court ruled that failure to curb emissions was a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The December 2019 ruling stated that, although it was up to politicians to decide how to make the emission cuts, failure to do so would be a breach of Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention which affirm the right to life and respect for private and family life.

4. Companies are bound by the Paris accord

Corporations, and not just governments, must abide by the emissions reductions agreed in the Paris climate treaty. This principle was established by a 2021 ruling in the Netherlands brought by environmentalists against energy group Royal Dutch Shell.

The court ordered Shell to cut its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 bringing them in line with Paris climate targets. The judge was reported as saying there was "worldwide agreement" that a 45% reduction was needed, adding: "This applies to the entire world, so also to Shell”.

5. Courts overturn state climate plans

Up until now, three European governments have been defeated in the courts over their climate plans.

In March 2021, Germany’s highest court struck down a climate law requiring 55% emissions by 2030 cuts, ruling it did not do enough to protect citizens’ rights to life and health. The same year, the French government was ordered to take “immediate and concrete action” to comply with its climate commitments. And in 2022, the UK’s climate strategy was ruled unlawful for failing to spell out how emissions cuts would be made.

[learnwithmearticles]

Harris and Climate Change

Storms in recent decades have escalated in frequency and severity, causing billions of dollars in damage and leaving people homeless and vulnerable. We can expect this trend to continue if we do not globally mitigate climate change.

This is an examination of Kamala Harris’ environmental policies.

Continuation, Doubling Down

We can expect many policies introduced during Biden’s presidency to continue during Harris’. For example, Biden re-committed the U.S.A. to the Paris Agreement, a treaty that binds nations together in efforts to keep the global temperature increase under 2°C. This entails vast decreases in greenhouse gas emissions, and thus turning to more energy efficient products as well as clean energy alternatives.

In 2022, Biden’s administration passed the Inflation Reduction Act. This climate bill, among the biggest in history, provided billions of dollars to pull us away from the fossil fuel-dependant economy.

In addition to perpetuating these policies, Kamala Harris will be able to push further towards clean energy. 

During her campaign, Harris has brought up the environmental justice unit she created to hold polluters accountable, implying that she would continue to enforce ramifications for pollution-heavy companies.

In 2023, Harris announced the work she had been doing with EPA administrator Michael Regan. In this speech, she acknowledged the need to invest in communities to help those who don’t have the means themselves to move towards clean energy. She also acknowledged that we need to make up for lost time in these initiatives, sticking to the intent to meet the nation’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Intersectionality

Harris has specifically acknowledged the fact that climate change disproportionately affects certain communities, such as lower-income and communities of color. She stated her intention to make sure pollution effects are addressed with attention to equity and equality. Her work with the EPA administrator was an example of putting these ideas into action, by funding communities who need help.

Before and throughout Biden’s presidency, Kamala Harris has spoken about and followed through with efforts to address current environmental crises. She has pushed to hold companies accountable for their pollution and advocated for policies that reduce the U.S.A.’s emissions and increase renewable energy.

Despite these previous statements, climate change has not been a popular focus of Harris’ 2024 campaign. The Washington Post believes that this is an effort to alienate as few voters as possible while focusing on other major issues. Specifically, Pennsylvania as a swing state depends strongly on a natural gas economy, and domestic oil production has decreased gas prices. Discussing any certain intentions of affecting those areas might discourage undecided voters.

We can see in these tactics and in Harris’ pull back from a full-on fracking ban that she does listen to the public. She pays attention to these concerns and is able to adapt in order to do what seems best for the nation. While many, including myself, do not completely agree with all of her policies, she is a candidate who will make a difference in the environmental sector.

Additional Resources

1. The Paris Agreement

2. Inflation Reduction Act

3. Harris not discussing Climate Change

4. 2023 Speech

5. Intersectionality

[shamballalin]

Project 2025 ~ IMPORTANT FACTS TO KNOW

Everyone needs to read and understand this post if you intend to vote in the upcoming Presidential election. Do not allow others to hide this information from you. On page 246 of the conservative mandate, it says that to support funding for PBS or other public funded news sources is “squandering” money on “leftist opinions” and should be stopped because, “as Jefferson put it, ‘To compel a man to…

[submalevolentgrace]

sorry to put his heartless face on your dash but sometimes the new just lines up like this y'know

[kp777]

By Damian Carrington

The Guardian

June 15, 2023

Rich countries are signing a “death sentence” for millions of poor people around the world by failing to phase out fossil fuels, the climate activist Greta Thunberg has told governments. She warned on Tuesday that with annual greenhouse gas emissions at an all-time high, only a “rapid and equitable” phaseout of fossil fuels would keep global temperatures within the scientifically advised limit of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. “The coming months and years – right now – will be crucial to what the future looks like. It is what we decide now that will define the rest of humanity’s future,” she told a press conference at UN talks in Bonn, where governments are meeting to discuss the climate crisis. “If we do not [phase out fossil fuels], it will be a death sentence for countless people. It is already a death sentence for countless people,” she said. Thunberg last Friday announced the end of her school strikes, which she has been undertaking on Fridays since 2018 in protest at political inaction on the climate crisis. The campaigner has left school but intends to carry on speaking out on climate issues, while also giving the spotlight to youth voices from the developing world. She said a lack of political will to halt fossil fuel exploration and use was threatening to raise global temperatures by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, which could lead the climate to pass “tipping points”, a cascade of impacts that could create runaway global heating. “We are still rushing towards the cliff. We could trigger feedback loops that are beyond human control, that would throw countless billions under the bus,” she said. The question of phasing out fossil fuels is expected to be a flashpoint at the Cop28 UN climate talks later this year. The summit will take place in Dubai, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, a major oil and gas producer. Many countries would like to see Cop28 produce a formal resolution to phase out fossil fuels, or at least to discuss such a phaseout as an official agenda item at the summit. But some countries, chiefly fossil fuel producers including Saudi Arabia, are staunchly opposed, and the UAE presidency has been cautious, saying there is not yet agreement on the agenda. Chairing the talks will be Sultan Al Jaber, a minister in the UAE government who is also chief of the country’s national oil company, Adnoc, which is planning a massive expansion of fossil fuel production capacity. Eric Njuguna, a climate justice organiser from Kenya, speaking with Thunberg, said Al Jaber’s dual role was a conflict of interest, and called on him to resign. “It is a stab in the back for poor countries to have a fossil fuel CEO on top of efforts to constrain the climate crisis,” he said. Al Jaber has told the Guardian he will bring a “business mindset” to the talks, and pointed to his role as co-founder of the Masdar renewable energy company in UAE. He visited the Bonn talks last Thursday, and told a public meeting: “The phase down of fossil fuels is inevitable.” But he stopped well short of promising to put a phaseout of fossil fuels on the Cop28 agenda. The talks in Bonn, which started last Monday and will end on Thursday, are to lay the groundwork for Cop28, the conference of the parties under the UN framework convention on climate change, which begins on 30 November. Progress at Bonn has been slow. Last week’s discussions were characterized by disputes over rich countries that are failing to provide financial assistance to developing countries, to help them cut their greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of the climate crisis. Alden Meyer, a senior associate at the thinktank E3G, said: “Much more work remains to be done to land an agreement at Cop28 for a just and equitable reduction of fossil fuel production and use in a time frame that’s consistent with the Paris [agreement] 1.5C goal.”

[ponku-po]

first days past +2.0C yipeeee!!!

[dailyhistoryposts]

On This Day In History

December 12th, 2015: The Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is adopted.

[ottovonruthie]

US Presidential Debate

With regard to climate change, anyone who understands and follows climate change politics knows that the Paris Agreement is considered a failure. Speaking as a French, many countries came together and signed a piece of paper, but they have not lived up to their promises.

[mindblowingscience]

Seven to 9 billion tons of CO₂ per year must be sustainably removed from the atmosphere by mid-century if the world is to comply with the 1.5°C Paris Agreement limit. This is highlighted in the second "State of Carbon Dioxide Removal" (CDR) report, a scientific assessment delivered by more than 50 international experts. It was led by Oxford University's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, with the Berlin-based climate research institute MCC (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change) among the lead institutions. "Although reducing emissions is the primary way to achieve net-zero, CDR has a critical role to play," says Jan Minx, head of the MCC working group Applied Sustainability Science.

Continue Reading.

[kyotocop]

We're making fast progress, change is here.

[cherry-bomb1985]

Violence having absolutely no mention of Heaven's affairs nor Gabriel's influence anywhere is such a good narrative point. The presence of terrible warmachines and the outer labyrinth pretty much implies that little had to be done to enforce the punishment of sinners here once the Final War began, and thematically playing into how the cycle of violence perpetuates itself.

that being said I'm hoping for another ARG or something before the rest of Act 3 drops because there's not a whole lot of game left to fit in these timeline puzzle pieces.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The past eight years were the eight warmest years on record, and 2022 was the fifth-warmest on record globally, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Why It Matters: The ranking, released Tuesday morning, shows the planet continues its long-term warming trend in response to growing amounts of greenhouse gases.

• Each of the past 8 years had global average temperatures more than 1°C above the preindustrial level, as the world nears the 1.5°C guardrail established by the Paris Climate Agreement.

• Studies show that the odds of potentially catastrophic climate impacts increase significantly if warming exceeds 1.5°C compared to preindustrial levels.

Of Note: The third year in a row of La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean helped depress global average surface temperatures slightly, keeping 2022 from hitting the top three warmest years.

• There are signs, however, that La Niña may soon wane, and potentially give way to an El Niño event during 2023.

• If this were to happen, it would raise the chances for a new all-time record warm year.

The Big Picture: Global average temperatures in 2022 were 0.3°C (0.54°F) above the 1991-2020 baseline, and the year was the second-warmest on record for Europe, behind 2020.

• Europe had its hottest summer on record, accentuated by all-time record high temperatures set in several countries, including the United Kingdom.

• The UK Met Office has found 2022 was its warmest year on record dating all the way to 1659. It was also its first year with an average temperature above 10°C (50°F). France also had its hottest year.

• Areas that saw their warmest year on record include large parts of western Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and China, northwestern Africa and the Horn of Africa, among others, Copernicus found.

• Worldwide, extreme heat struck Pakistan and northern India during the spring before devastating flooding rains hit the region in late summer. Central and eastern China saw record hot and dry conditions for an extended period over the summer.

Between The Lines: Studies tied these and other extreme weather and climate events to human-driven climate change.

• Research published in September found that climate change may have increased five-day rainfall amounts in the hardest-hit areas of Pakistan by up to 50%.

• Another climate attribution study found that the U.K. heat wave, which peaked in mid-July, was at least 10 times more likely to occur in today's warmer climate compared to the preindustrial era.

Of Note: There were a fair share of precipitation extremes in 2022 as well, with the floods in Pakistan, extreme drought in the Horn of Africa that is pushing that region into a famine, and a series of record floods in Australia.

What's Next: Annual numbers are expected later this week from NOAA and NASA.

[shreygoyal]

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