Summary
A symbol in today’s edition: Saudi Arabia finally reacted to global action to combat climate change with announcing its own efforts to curb emissions. Also, after the Keystone debacle, Canadian greens are urging new Prime Minister Trudeau to transition Alberta out of oil sands. Finally, rejoice! Renewable energy investment are predicted to surge.
Quote of the day
“The smartest thing the federal government can do is to work with Alberta to phase out, to manage that transition in the oil sands sector.”
Climate Action Network Canada’s executive director Louise Comeau, in the National Observer’s story Transition Alberta off oil sands, climate thinkers urge Trudeau
Lead stories
Ambitious climate change agreement in sight: Fabius
By John Irish and Bate Felix – Reuters
An ambitious agreement on limiting global warming is within reach, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday after a meeting of ministers ahead of the U.N. climate summit in Paris in December.
http://reut.rs/1RMcvsh
Saudis set out response to tighter emission curbs
By Pilita Clark and Simeon Kerr – Financial Times
Saudi Arabia is preparing to reshape its economy to make up for damage triggered by tougher global action to combat climate change.
http://on.ft.com/1O2fCLK
***LB: Also in this story “The kingdom’s plans are revealed in a keenly awaited submission for next month’s UN talks in Paris on a new global climate change accord, the last proposal from a G20 country.”
Transition Alberta off oil sands, climate thinkers urge Trudeau
By Mychaylo Prystupa – National Observer
Alberta and its oil sands needs to be the focus of the Trudeau government’s climate action if it is serious about helping limit dangerous planetary warming to two degrees this century, warned a national group of environmental thinkers.
http://bit.ly/1Y2VOfR
Renewable energy investment predicted to surge
By Phillip Inman – The Guardian
Between the tropics and probably as far as the 33rd parallel, the sun could soon be a major source of energy for households and businesses alike.
http://bit.ly/1MmFYW6
Ten UK universities divest from fossil fuels
By Emma Howard – The Guardian
Ten UK universities with endowments worth £115m are in the process of moving their money out of fossil fuels ahead of crunch UN climate change talks in Paris later this month.
http://bit.ly/1Pnrwmz
(Australia’s) Direct Action destined to fail even with low Paris pledge, Climate Institute says
By Lenore Taylor – The Guardian
The Turnbull government’s “Direct Action” policy cannot meet even the “inadequate” emission reductions it will pledge at the UN climate meeting in Paris and in fact will allow Australia’s greenhouse pollution to rise, according to the Climate Institute.
http://bit.ly/20KU39A
Events
2015 Rising Seas Summit
Association of Climate Change Officers
November 12-13, 2015, Cambridge, MA
http://jlne.ws/1Uxkext
Call For Nominations: Environmental Markets Association
The Environmental Markets Association is calling for nominations for two (2) openings on the Board of Directors for 2015/2016.
If you are interested in running or would like to nominate someone, please call the EMA Headquarters at 202-591-2465
or email lauren@emahq.org
Carbon
Anti-ethanol group expands national ad buy
By Devin Henry – The Hill
A group opposing the federal ethanol mandate has extended its advertising campaign against the rule into several corn-growing states.
http://bit.ly/1M4BB3Y
***LB: Also in this story “The American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF), a D.C.-based free market group, is hitting the airwaves in Indiana on Tuesday with an ad warning about the environmental effects of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).”
GOP governor to sign gas tax hike
By Keith Laing – The Hill
Michigan Gov. Rick Synder (R) is expected to sign legislation on Tuesday that would increase his state’s 14.84 cents-per-gallon gas tax by 7.3 cents to help pay for transportation projects, The Detroit News reports.
http://bit.ly/1MyCRxP
Everything You Need to Know About the Exxon Climate Change Probe
By Christie Smythe – Bloomberg News
For years, energy companies have couched the possible effects of climate change-related regulations in public reports to investors as “uncertain,” “difficult,” or “not possible” to reasonably predict.
http://bloom.bg/1ljmsTM
Peabody Settlement Shows Muscle of Law Now Aimed at Exxon
By David Hasemyer – InsideClimate News
Pulling the same legal levers as those involved in its climate change investigation of ExxonMobil, the New York state attorney general’s office obtained an agreement from coal giant Peabody Energy to end misleading statements and disclose risks associated with global warming.
http://bit.ly/1QgLSOo
Natural gas / coal
Want to Burn Coal and Save the Planet? Japan Touts a Solution
By Chisaki Watanabe – Bloomberg News
For all the talk of a solar boom in Japan, coal still has a future there, and potentially a big one at that.
http://bloom.bg/1SgFNzb
***LB: Also in this story “By promoting new and advanced coal technologies as cleaner burning and more efficient, Japan is contradicting environmentalists such as NRDC and WWF seeking to discourage investors from backing fossil-fuel. For major Japanese suppliers of power generation systems such as Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Ltd., the national push also offers the opportunity to market their products in countries where coal is still widely used.”
Thank Mexico for a U.S. Gas Market That Isn’t Even More Terrible
By Naureen Malik – Bloomberg News
Think the slide in U.S. natural gas prices has been bad? Well, it would be even worse if Mexico wasn’t picking up at least some of the slack.
http://bloom.bg/1MV30c6
Power
New Jersey is next for offshore wind energy
By Daniel J. Graeber – UPI
Two energy companies won the rights to advance wind energy off New Jersey’s coast, where the potential exists to power 1.2 million homes, the government said.
http://bit.ly/1ljl1EY
Zambia’s Proposed Power Prices Seen Devastating Factories, Farms
By Matthew Hill – Bloomberg News
Power-tariff increases proposed by Zesco Ltd., the Zambian state-owned electricity supplier, would lead to a collapse in manufacturing and threaten the livelihood of farmers, lobby groups have told public hearings on the plans.
http://bloom.bg/1NIqyjm
Clean tech
This could be the biggest sign yet that the battery revolution is here
By Chris Mooney – The Washington Post
We may be getting a real time glimpse of a world that energy visionaries have long awaited — one featuring a large scale merger between clean energy technologies, like wind and solar, and large batteries that can store power from these sources and make it available at will.
http://wapo.st/20KTNaD
Water
A Washington Tribe Confronts Climate Change, Sea Level Rise
By Ashley Ahearn – KUOW
As international leaders prepare for the next round of climate talks in Paris, the plight of climate refugees is expected to be front and center.
http://bit.ly/1MV0rqy
California Could Be the Next Saudi Arabia
By Tom Philpott – Mother Jones
In the early 1980s, Saudi Arabia embarked upon a bold project: It began to transform large swaths of desert landscape into wheat farms.
http://bit.ly/1PAQtcO