Summary
In today’s edition, the number of companies putting a price on their carbon pollution has risen sharply in the past 12 months as governments prepare to agree on tougher action to combat climate change this year. However, there are still “villains” among companies: The head of German automaker Volkswagen Group apologizes after allegations surfaced that his company deliberately tried to evade United States air pollution laws, while Exxon reacts to reporting about how the company was at the forefront of climate change research in the 1970s and ’80s – before pivoting to funding climate change denial groups from 1989 to 2007.
Quote of the day
“Carbon pricing is effective in reducing emissions that cause climate change, is straightforward to administer, can raise valuable revenues for broader fiscal reforms, and can help address local pollution as well as global climate change.”
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, which helped compile the report, in the BusinessGreen’s story Carbon pricing becoming mainstream, studies show
Lead stories
Companies accelerate use of carbon pricing
By Pilita Clark – Financial Times
The number of companies putting a price on their carbon pollution has risen sharply in the past 12 months as governments prepare to agree on tougher action to combat climate change this year.
http://jlne.ws/1Ytyd9t
***LB: Also in this story “The carmaker General Motors, mining company Glencore, and Cathay Pacific, the airline, are among 437 companies reporting the use of carbon pricing measures to CDP, an environmental data group, triple the number from last year.”
Carbon pricing becoming mainstream, studies show
By Jessica Shankleman – BusinessGreen
Countries, cities and hundreds of the world’s biggest companies are stepping up their commitments to tackling climate change by introducing carbon pricing schemes, new research shows today.
http://jlne.ws/1QSqxIN
Volkswagen head apologizes after EPA accusations
By Timothy Cama – The Hill
The head of German automaker Volkswagen Group apologized Sunday after allegations surfaced that his company deliberately tried to evade United States air pollution laws.
http://jlne.ws/1KvuBt5
Exxon Responds To InsideClimate News
NPR (Audio)
InsideClimate News has an investigative series examining ExxonMobil’s rich history of scientific study on fossil fuels and global warming.
http://jlne.ws/1WcT275
***LB: Also in this story “Exxon’s Richard Keil reacts to reporting about how the company was at the forefront of climate change research in the 1970s and ’80s – before pivoting to funding climate change denial groups from 1989 to 2007.”
The (Fake) Meat Revolution
By Nicholas Kristof – The New York Times
If only meat weren’t so delicious! Sure, meat may pave the way to a heart attack.
http://jlne.ws/1WcT9zx
India in disarray over strategy on global warming
By Athar Parvaiz – climate news network
India, the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases(GHGs) after China and the US, is also one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
http://jlne.ws/1QSt3i3
(Australia’s) Turnbull government signals new approach to climate policy
By Lenore Taylor – The Guardian
The Turnbull government is signalling a new approach to climate policy despite its pledge to stick with the “Direct Action” climate plan, abandoning Tony Abbott’s attempt to abolish two key renewable energy agencies and considering tougher “safeguards” to ensure the policy actually reduces emissions.
http://jlne.ws/1irNWou
Events
EMA Annual Meeting
October 28-30, 2015
Omni Parker House Hotel
Boston, MA
http://bit.ly/192w3CR
2015 Rising Seas Summit
Association of Climate Change Officers
November 12-13, 2015, Cambridge, MA
http://jlne.ws/1Uxkext
Carbon
US stumps up fresh wave of carbon capture and storage funding
BusinessGreen
The US Department of Energy (DoE) has announced its latest round of carbon capture research funding, selecting five projects that will study the feasibility of producing fresh water from brine at carbon storage sites.
http://jlne.ws/1PiCVAL
Natural gas / coal
Both camps find relief in EPA fracking report
By John Messeder – thetimestribune.com
When the Environmental Protection Agency published its recent draft report saying fracking is not a “widespread” hazard to drinking water, industry supporters latched onto the statement like a Florida alligator grabbing dinner.
http://jlne.ws/1YtC0DH
Power
Britain Says It Will Aid Planned Nuclear Plant
By Stanley Reed – The New York Times
The British government said on Monday that it would provide 2 billion pounds, or about $3.1 billion, in state aid for a nuclear power station planned for Hinkley Point in southwest England.
http://jlne.ws/1OoRWn9
UK paves path for west’s first China-designed nuclear reactor
By George Parker and Christopher Adams – Financial Times
The UK has opened the way for the first Chinese-designed nuclear power plant in the west, saying Beijing could use Britain to launch a global rollout of its technology.
http://jlne.ws/1L0e3Qj
85% of British power can be via renewables by 2030, says Greenpeace
By Terry Macalister – The Guardian
Britain can produce 85% of its power via renewable energy by 2030 provided it undergoes significant changes in energy production and use, according to a new study by Greenpeace.
http://jlne.ws/1NNP4jI
Clean tech
Tesla Asked Women What They Wanted and Came Up With Model X SUV
By Dana Hull – Bloomberg News
When Dallas-area Realtor Katherine Schwartz went shopping for a new SUV, she test-drove several models, including a Chevy Tahoe, Land Rover LR3 and Mercedes GL550.
http://jlne.ws/1KvuWvN
Water
The Forgotten Project That Could Have Saved America From Drought
By Michelle Nijhuis – BuzzFeed
The North American Water and Power Alliance was an audacious proposal to divert water to parched western states that would have cost hundreds of billions of dollars and pissed off Canada. But what if it had worked?
http://jlne.ws/1Fa9H6V
How a rich water district beat the federal government in a secret deal
By Michael Hiltzik – Los Angeles Times
Clout can be defined in many ways. In California’s parched Central Valley farmlands, it’s the ability to secure water.
http://jlne.ws/1V5gqGr
Drought exposes cracks in Australia’s acclaimed water market
By Colin Packham – Reuters
A pioneering Australian scheme to improve the management of water in the world’s driest inhabited continent is facing its first real test as an intensifying El Nino threatens crops and builds tensions between farmers and environmentalists.
http://jlne.ws/1FabF7q
Miscellaneous
Climate change becomes a matter of mental health
By Mary Pols – Portland Press Herald
In early August, as a freakish hailstorm ripped through her Deering neighborhood, Jeanne Paterak pulled out her smartphone and shot some video of the hail – which meteorologists later said were pingpong-ball sized – as it pounded her yard and piled up on her patio.
http://jlne.ws/1Fa9ocs
David Letterman’s New Job: Fight Back Against Global-Warming Deniers
By Tim McDonnell – Mother Jones
Stephen Colbert is great, sure, but we were all sad to see David Letterman leave late-night TV this spring.
http://jlne.ws/1FoWwig