A (non-comprehensive and quite random) list of climate change, climate policy and environmental justice stories from the past week.
Experts Warn of ‘Denialism Comeback’ Ahead of November’s Global Climate Talks. Even amid a disaster-filled summer marked by record heat, climate misinformation continues to spread online at alarming rates. Some experts fear it could slow progress at COP28. (read the full story here)
Private Equity Giant KKR Is Funding Environmental Racism, New Report Finds. The climate impacts of the private equity industry create significant harm to BIPOC communities in Texas, Louisiana and British Columbia, Canada, it found. (read the full story here)
New Rules Help to Answer Whether Clean Energy Jobs Will Also Be Good Jobs. The Biden administration’s proposal for Inflation Reduction Act wage, benefit and apprenticeship requirements aim to create “real middle-class careers.” (read the full story here)
New Pennsylvania Legislation Aims to Classify ‘Produced Water’ From Fracking as Hazardous Waste. The bills would also require gas drillers to test the toxicity of the wastewater, mine tailings and runoff from landfills. Waste from fracking in the state contains radioactive radium isotopes. (read the full story here)
The chasm between the climate action being taken and the emissions cuts required is set out bluntly in the new “global stocktake” report from the UN, produced in collaboration with nations. (read the full story here)
‘A critical moment’: UN warns world will miss climate targets unless fossil fuels phased out. Governments failing to cut emissions fast enough to meet Paris agreement goals and avoid disaster, major report says. (read the full story here)
The public isn’t being told the full truth about the climate threat. If I waved a magic wand and gave the world unlimited clean and cheap energy tomorrow, I expect many climate scientists would be horrified. (read the full story here)
Heading into Labor Day Weekend, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a deal with legislative leaders that could prompt construction of California’s first offshore wind farms — an expensive but valuable resource that researchers have found can play a key role in reaching 100% clean energy. The deal could also lead to development of new geothermal power plants in the Imperial Valley, and a “pumped storage” hydropower project in San Diego County — more useful tools for ditching fossil fuels. (read the full story here)
The first climate strikes had an influence on Swiss residents, study finds. A study by EPFL researchers found that Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future climate strikes have influenced the environmental behavior of Swiss residents. (read the full story here)
Artificial Intelligence: A step change in climate modeling predictions for climate adaptation. As of today, climate models face the challenge of providing the high-resolution predictions—with quantified uncertainties—needed by a growing number of adaptation planners, from local decision-makers to the private sector, who require detailed assessments of the climate risks they may face locally. (read the full story here)