This update was published the day before the AFL Grand Final and consequently received little attention. It is likely our appalling track record documented in this report will receive considerably more attention in the future - particularly from the EU!
A warmer world makes hurricanes wetter and more intense | AP News
And to look at Florence specifically, “it’s very likely that climate change has warmed the ocean such that the hurricane’s intense rainfall is more destructive than without global warming,” said Weather Underground Meteorology Director Jeff Masters, a former hurricane hunter.
Tracking Progress To Net Zero Emissions | ClimateWorks
Behind the 8 Ball
The latest Tracking Progress report from ClimateWorks (September 2018) shows Australia is not yet on track to meet its emissions reduction targets as stipulated under the Paris Agreement - but there are still many opportunities to get there.
At this rate, Earth risks sea level rise of 20 to 30 feet, historical analysis shows | Washington Post
Temperatures not much warmer than the planet is experiencing now were sufficient to melt a major part of the East Antarctic ice sheet in Earth’s past, scientists reported Wednesday, including during one era about 125,000 years ago when sea levels were as much as 20 to 30 feet higher than they are now.
“It doesn’t need to be a very big warming, as long as it stays 2 degrees warmer for a sufficient time, this is the end game,” said David Wilson, a geologist at Imperial College London
ASIC reports on climate risk disclosure by Australia’s listed companies - Media Release
ASIC commissioner John Price said:
‘Climate change is a foreseeable risk facing many listed companies in the Australian market in a range of different industries. Directors and officers of listed companies need to understand and continually reassess existing and emerging risks (including climate risk) that may affect the company’s business – for better or for worse.
The Media Release can be found here and the full report can be downloaded here.
What lies Beneath: The Understatement Of Existential Climate Risk | Breakthrough, David Spratt and Ian Dunlop
“Climate change is now reaching the end-game, where very soon humanity must choose between taking unprecedented action, or accepting that it has been left too late and bear the consequences.”
Those are the challenging words from Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, for twenty years the head of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and a senior advisor to Pope Francis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the European Union. In the foreword to a new report, Schellnhuber says the issue now "is the very survival of our civilisation, where conventional means of analysis may become useless”.
The report, What Lies Beneath: The understatement of existential climate risk, is released today by the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration.
California governor signs law for clean energy by 2045 | BBC News
As New York and London mayors, we call on all cities to divest from fossil fuels | The Guardian
Paris climate deal doesn't stop us building new coal plants, Canavan says | The Guardian
“We have to build power stations. There’s nothing in the [Paris] agreement that would stop us building power stations, including coal-fired power stations,” Canavan said.
Australia’s new PM risks climate trade-off with EU | Climate Diplomacy
When asked how Australia’s new approach to climate policy might affect the ongoing talks, a Commission spokesperson told EURACTIV that “it would be difficult to imagine concluding a broad trade agreement without an ambitious chapter on trade and sustainable development”.
The inconvenient truths about South Australia’s renewable success | Renew Economy
"But here’s the thing: South Australia’s renewable share has likely proved the opposite to what’s being claimed. Since the events of the summer of 2016/17, there have been no major outages. In fact, it’s quite possibly been the most reliable grid in the country."
California's response to record wildfires: shift to 100% clean energy | The Guardian
Water flows into Sydney catchment at 'shocking' record lows | The Guardian
Renewables haven’t screwed up the grid. Regulators and lawyers have | Renew Economy
“Is this intermittent?” Summers asks. “No. They (wind and solar) are doing the job of baseload while the actual baseload band (the synchronous generation) is misbehaving.” Summers noted that the legal framework had made this type of behaviour acceptable.
It's the end of the earth as we know it. Read all about it! | The Guardian
“In a nutshell, the findings suggest that emissions drive climate changes that trigger abrupt changes to Earth systems when they cross certain thresholds. Ten of these feedback loops are identified in the report, including the release of methane trapped in Siberian permafrost and the impact of melting ice in Greenland on the Antarctic.”
IAIS calls on insurers to intensify climate risk scrutiny | Property Casualty
“Climate change is now recognized as a critical emerged risk facing the insurance sector."
By 2030, Renewable Energy Costs Could Be "Effectively Zero" | Inverse
The Battery Boom Could End Up Burning Some Investors | Bloomberg
Investors call for ambition shortfall to be addressed in the NEG | IGCC
Insurance firms could face fines over climate reporting failure | ClientEarth
“We think the law is quite clear on this and by omitting financially material climate risks from their annual reports, these companies are not giving the full picture. Without this information, how can investors make a fully-formed investment decision?”