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The abundance of climate-heating gases in the atmosphere reached record highs in 2022, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has reported.

The organization further warned that “there is no end in sight to the rising trend”, which is primarily driven by the burning of fossil fuels.

The concentration of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, is now 50% higher than before the start of the Industrial Revolution.

The WMO further explained that the Earth had not experienced similar levels of CO2 for 3-5 million years when the global temperature was 2-3C warmer, and the sea level was 10-20 metres higher than today.

The concentrations of the two other key greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, also grew, and the greenhouse gas (GHG) levels will continue to increase until emissions are cut all the way down to net zero, meaning global heating and the impacts of extreme weather will also continue to grow. Read More

News Credit: The Guardian

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The EU has struck a deal to force the fossil fuel industry to rein in dangerous methane pollution.

Under the proposed law, the first of its kind, coal, oil and gas companies would be required to report their methane emissions and take steps to avoid them. The measures include finding and fixing leaks and limiting wasteful practices such as venting and flaring gas by 2027.

Methane has more than 80 times the global heating power of carbon dioxide over 20 years but does not last as long in the atmosphere. Cutting methane emissions is a cheap and easy way to stop extreme weather from growing more violent in the short term. Read More

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The state oil company of the United Arab Emirates has the largest net-zero-busting expansion plans of any company in the world, according to new data.

At COP 28, nations will attempt to agree to cut fossil fuel use and triple renewable energy. The summit comes at the end of a year in which global temperatures have soared, intense impacts of extreme weather have wrecked lives, and there have been repeated warnings that the world already has plans to exploit far more fossil fuel reserves than can safely be burned. Read more

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The US is warming faster than the global average, and its people are suffering “far-reaching and worsening” consequences from the climate crisis, with worse to come, according to an authoritative report issued by the US government.

An array of “increasingly harmful impacts” is hitting every corner of the vast country, from extreme heat and sea level rise in Florida to depleted fish stocks and increased food insecurity in Alaska, according to the new National Climate Assessment. Read More

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The climate crisis will have a catastrophic effect on the health and survival of billions of people unless the world acts to reduce global heating, according to a leading report. The report further warns that heat-related deaths are soaring, dangerous bacteria are spreading along coasts, and economies are being hit as people struggle to work and food production shrinks.

The Lancet Countdown team’s eighth annual report on health and climate change shows that little account has been taken of past warnings. The report firmly states that the world is “moving in the wrong direction” and strongly criticises continuing investment in fossil fuels.

The report comes as COP 28 prepares its first Health Day, focused on the links between the climate crisis and human health.

If temperatures rise by 2 degrees C, heat-related deaths will increase by 370%, and the number of work hours lost will be up by 50% by mid-century, according to new projections from the Climate Vulnerable Forum of countries most at risk. By 2041-60, about 525 million people could be experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity, risking malnutrition. Read More

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Cruise ships visiting Britain frequently fail to plug into “zero emission” onshore power and instead run their engines, polluting the local environment with fumes.

The industry is under scrutiny over air pollution and contribution to greenhouse gases, with some European cities banning vessels from central ports. Cruise firms say ships can reduce emissions by switching off engines and plugging into low-carbon electricity when moored. But an investigation by openDemocracy has found that cruise ships regularly fail to use shore power at Southampton, Britain’s largest cruise port.

They instead rely on marine gas oil, which contributes to local air pollution, or liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has lower air pollutants but leads to some methane being emitted into the atmosphere. Both fuels contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

While cruising is one of the fastest-growing tourism sectors, with 31.5m passengers forecast for 2023, there are concerns about its environmental impact. A study published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin in December 2021 found a large cruise ship can have a carbon footprint greater than 12,000 cars. An analysis published in June by T&E found that despite introducing a new cap of sulphur in marine fuels in 2020, 218 cruise ships operating in Europe in 2022 emitted more sulphur oxides than a billion cars. Read More

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Indonesia has watered down plans to shut coal-fired power plants early after expressing disappointment at wealthy nations’ offers to help them do so. The reason cited for the same is that the funding made available by international partners was inadequate, according to the director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) and part of a working group advising the Indonesian government. Read More

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The US government is proposing a ban on TCE, a highly toxic chemical commonly used in stain removers, adhesives and degreasers, which was contaminating drinking water on a wide scale across the United States.

The move comes after years of mounting scientific evidence showing TCE is “extremely toxic” at low levels of exposure, as explained by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

TCE, or trichloroethylene, is a volatile organic compound that humans frequently face in various settings. However, those who use products with the chemical in an occupational setting are most at risk. It’s also commonly used in carpet cleaning treatments, hoof polishes, brake cleaners, pepper spray and lubricants. Read More

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A photo of a centuries-old tree on the back of a truck being driven through the centre of Hobart has prompted fresh calls for changing laws to protect Tasmania’s native forests from logging.

The image of the logging truck on Macquarie Street, the city’s main south-north thoroughfare, was posted online by the Bob Brown Foundation, an environment group. It is the latest in a series of destruction of large trees being hauled on the state’s roads in recent months.

Protesters have blocked logging in an area near Kermandie, south of Hobart, that scientists say has large trees that could be used for nesting by the critically endangered species that breeds in Tasmania. Read More

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Picture Credit: Bob Brown Foundation

The researchers said many climate records were broken by enormous margins in 2023, including global air temperature, ocean temperature and Antarctic sea ice extent. The highest monthly surface temperature ever recorded was in July and was probably the hottest the planet has been in 100,000 years.

“Earth’s “vital signs” are worse than at any time in human history”, declared an international team of scientists, cautioning that life on the planet is in peril.

The report found that 20 of the 35 planetary vital signs they use to track climate crises are at record extremes. As well as greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature and sea level rise, the indicators include human and livestock population numbers. Read more

News Credit: The Guardian

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