Summary
In today’s edition, a very, very sobering piece, in which experts say that a U.N. climate deal in Paris won’t be able to achieve its goal of keeping increase in global warming at less than 2C. As a result, the question: “What is your climate change business plan?”, is more relevant than ever. Finally, to lighten up, take the quiz in the Water section. You’ll be surprised.
Quote of the day
“Two degrees is a focal point for the climate debate but it doesn’t seem to be a focal point for political action.”
Oliver Geden, of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in the Reuters’ story U.N. climate deal in Paris may be graveyard for 2C goal
Lead stories
Bonn U.N. talks seek to trim unwieldy climate change plan
By Alister Doyle – Reuters
Governments will try on Monday to streamline an 89-page draft text of a U.N. deal to fight climate change due to be agreed in Paris in December, hoping to avoid the acrimony of the last failed attempt.
http://jlne.ws/1dFZd2F
***LB: Also in this story “The 190-nation talks among senior officials in Bonn, from June 1-11, will try to narrow down vastly differing options, ranging from promises to slash greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 to vague pledges to curb rising emissions.”
Australia to be quizzed on climate policy at UN meetings in Germany
Australian Associated Press
Australia will be quizzed on its carbon emission reduction policies during United Nations climate change meetings in Germany this week.
http://jlne.ws/1HFQXHa
***LB: Also in this story “The 10-day meetings in Bonn are part of negotiations in the lead-up to December’s climate change conference in Paris, where all countries are hoping to sign an agreement to cut carbon pollution.”
U.N. climate deal in Paris may be graveyard for 2C goal
By Alister Doyle and Bruce Wallace – Reuters
The U.N.’s Paris climate conference, designed to reach a plan for curbing global warming, may instead become the graveyard for its defining goal: to stop temperatures rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
http://jlne.ws/1AHQJSC
France defends ‘imperfect’ fossil fuel sponsors for Paris climate summit
By Arthur Neslen – The Guardian
Fossil fuel firms and big carbon emitters sponsoring the Paris climate summit in December are “a part of the problem” that delegates will address, but their patronage was unavoidable for financial reasons, senior French climate officials say.
http://jlne.ws/1BBAoKx
National targets cover 75 per cent of global emissions, study finds
By Will Nichols – BusinessGreen
Three quarters of global emissions are now limited by national targets, researchers say, raising the prospect of a credible climate change deal being agreed later this year.
http://jlne.ws/1M2AroI
***LB: Also in this story “The 2015 Global Climate Legislation Study covers 98 countries plus the European Union, which together are responsible for 93 per cent of global emissions.”
What is your climate change business plan?
By Toby Heaps – Financial Times (Opinion)
Shortly before Nelson Mandela passed away, I had a chance to ask FW de Klerk, his predecessor as South African president, what impact the anti-apartheid divestment campaign had had.
http://jlne.ws/1PYBBXY
UN Fosters Use of Pre-2020 Carbon Credits for Climate Plans
By Mathew Carr – Bloomberg News
The United Nations climate secretariat’s head of carbon-market demand encouraged countries to use existing credits created under the Kyoto Protocol to meet emission-reduction targets even after that pact ends in 2020.
http://jlne.ws/1I05Dq5
Six European energy companies seek U.N. help for carbon pricing system
Reuters
Europe’s six largest oil and gas companies, including Royal Dutch Shell and Britain’s BP Plc, have united together in seeking help from the United Nations to stop global warming.
http://jlne.ws/1K3HKNM
Energy groups nod to climate of opinion
By Ed Crooks and Pilita Clark – Financial Times
In their rhetoric, there is a sharp contrast between European and US oil companies’ views on climate policy.
http://jlne.ws/1PYpKJA
***LB: Also in this story “The apparent divergence in oil companies’ public positioning on climate change has been highlighted by a letter to the Financial Times from the largest European groups, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP, calling for a price on carbon dioxide emissions. ExxonMobil and Chevron, the two largest US oil and gas companies, have declined to join the initiative, saying they were well able to express their views on their own.”
Wealth Fund Ban Betrays Norway’s Awkward Fossil Fuel Goals
By Saleha Mohsin and Mikael Holter – Bloomberg News
Western Europe’s biggest oil producer has decided coal is too dirty to invest in.
http://jlne.ws/1JiXID1
Solar Impulse plane starts six-day Pacific Ocean crossing powered only by the sun
AFP
The Solar Impulse 2 plane took off early on Sunday for a six-day, six-night flight over the Pacific Ocean, the most ambitious leg of its quest to circumnavigate the globe powered only by the sun.
http://jlne.ws/1PYAoQz
Events
Climate Strategies Forum
ACCO
Washington Marriott Hotel at Metro Center
Washington, DC
June 24-26, 2015
http://jlne.ws/1J3aeGO
EMA Annual Meeting
October 28-30, 2015
Omni Parker House Hotel
Boston, MA
http://bit.ly/192w3CR
Carbon
Green skies for aviation industry behind schedule
By Alex Pashley – RTCC (Responding to Climate Change)
As passengers numbers soar and new carriers crisscross the skies, the aviation industry aims to achieve “carbon-neutral growth” from 2020.
http://jlne.ws/1QjCsO0
E.P.A. Proposal Will Put Bigger Trucks on a Fuel Diet
By Aaron M.Kessler and Coral Davenport – The New York Times
Inside the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory here, a mammoth contraption, with steel rollers, advanced electronics and exhaust tubes, is nearing completion.
http://jlne.ws/1FkPQva
Scottish insulation firm calls in administrators blaming ‘rollercoaster’ carbon trading market
By Jessica Shankleman – BusinessGreen
An insulation firm in Dundee appears to have become the latest victim of the government’s decision to water down the ECO domestic energy efficiency policy, after it was forced to call in administrators last week.
http://jlne.ws/1HFQ8ya
Natural gas / coal
The 10 Billion Tons of Coal That Could Erase Obama’s Progress on Climate Change
By Brian Merchant – Motherboard
Some 10.2 billion tons of coal, sitting on 106,00 acres of public land, have been authorized for sale by the Obama administration today.
http://jlne.ws/1csOKGn
The coal conundrum
By Tom Henry – The Blade
By using his executive powers to go around a Republican-controlled Congress that won’t pass climate legislation, President Obama is likely to set off a chain reaction in energy markets in June when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalizes his sweeping plan for tighter rules on coal-fired power plants.
http://jlne.ws/1FWEIJy
Power
World’s first tidal-lagoon clean energy scheme prompts environmental row
By Terry Macalister – The Guardian
An ambitious project to build the world’s first tidal lagoon for generating clean electricity off the coast of Swansea has triggered an environmental row on the south coast of Cornwall.
http://jlne.ws/1RE71k0
China Power International Rises to Record on Parent’s Merger
By Aibing Guo – Bloomberg News
China Power International Development Ltd., the listed unit of China Power Investment Corp., jumped to a record Monday after its state-owned parent announced a merger with one of the country’s major nuclear power developers.
http://jlne.ws/1GQCrjH
The power crisis we’re ignoring
By Stephen Heuser – Politico
The United States has a serious problem it’s not dealing with, America’s energy experts want you to know: The power grid that keep our lights on and powers our economy is woefully behind the times, unready for the huge changes already underway in the energy sector.
http://jlne.ws/1JiW0By
Clean tech
Tesla to trial utility-scale energy storage system in Ireland
By Will Nichols – BusinessGreen
Tesla will trial the first of its utility-scale battery systems in Ireland next year after a agreeing a deal with energy storage company Gaelectric.
http://jlne.ws/1FObETg
Tesla’s Push to Sell Cars Directly to Texans Runs Out of Juice
By Lauren Etter – Bloomberg News
Elon Musk has been shut out of the Lone Star state again.
http://jlne.ws/1JiYd03
Water
Our Water-Guzzling Food Factory
Enjoy the wet times because in Texas, drought is often just around the corner
WacoTrib.com (OpEd)
President Obama, Science Guy Bill Nye and science deniers have taken the issue of devastating flooding in Texas and Oklahoma and set off yet another debate about the ramifications of climate change.
http://jlne.ws/1eLhM5I
California’s Snowpack Is Now Zero Percent of Normal
By Eric Holthaus – The Slatest
California’s current megadrought hit a shocking new low this week: On Thursday, the state’s snowpack officially ran out.
http://jlne.ws/1HG1SAF
Aided by the Sea, Israel Overcomes an Old Foe: Drought
By Isabel Kershner – The New York Times
At the peak of the drought, Shabi Zvieli, an Israeli gardener, feared for his livelihood.
http://jlne.ws/1FOlggB
Miscellaneous
Is it possible to be a film-maker in extreme environments without making a big eco impact?
By Lucy Siegle – The Guardian
At its best, the purpose of your dream job is to capture pristine environments for others who won’t get the chance to witness these landscapes in person.
http://jlne.ws/1d8Pcdz