The Trump administration is burying dozens of studies detailing the promise of renewable energy, impeding a transition away from fossil fuels (excerpt): Grist

 ‘It just goes into a black hole’ 

Vote for my future climate

The Trump administration is burying dozens of studies detailing the promise of renewable energy, impeding a transition away from fossil fuels

By Peter Fairley on Oct 26, 2020

"But what went unsaid at the grip-and-grin was that one of those high-ranking officials, Dan Simmons of the U.S. Department of Energy doesn’t appear to fully support renewables. In fact, he has presided over his agency’s systematic squelching of dozens of government studies detailing its promise.

One pivotal research project, for example, quantifies hydropower’s unique potential to enhance solar and wind energy, storing up power in the form of water held back behind dams for moments when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. By the time of the Hoover Dam ceremony, Simmons’ office at the Energy Department had been sitting on that particular study for more than a year.

In all, the department has blocked reports for more than 40 clean energy studies. The department has replaced them with mere presentations, buried them in scientific journals that are not accessible to the public, or left them paralyzed within the agency, according to emails and documents obtained by InvestigateWest, as well as interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees at the Department of Energy, or DOE, and its national labs.

Bottling up and slow-walking studies is already harming efforts to fight climate change, according to clean energy experts and others, because Energy Department reports drive investment decisions. Entrepreneurs worry that the agency’s practices under the current White House will ultimately hurt growth prospects for U.S.-developed technology."

Go to complete Grist story

 

 Related: Polling Shows Growing Climate Concern Among Americans. But Outsized Influence of Deniers Remains a Roadblock (excerpt): DeSmog

 

Impact Assessment of the Canada's Vista Coal Mine Expansion Project: CAN

Vista Coal Mine, Alberta, Canada

"Unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe Territories [OTTAWA], 30 July 2020 – Teika Newton of Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat Canada applauds Minister Wilksinson’s decision to designate the Vista Coal Mine Expansion for a federal assessment in light of its potential adverse impacts to areas under federal jurisdiction and to Aboriginal and Treaty rights, a welcome shift from his December 2019 determination.  

Canada’s domestic and international leadership on phasing-out coal power would be severely undermined by continuing to supply overseas markets with the dirtiest fossil fuel. The Vista expansion must be closely scrutinized, and its climate effects carefully taken into consideration throughout the federal assessment process, as is to be expected under the newly released Strategic Assessment of Climate Change (part of the Impact Assessment Act)."

30 July 2020

Go to Climate Action Network

From Climate Action Network Canada

coal mining, Canada, #jailclimatecriminals, greenhouse gases, 100% renewable energy,

Australian coal worker of 40 years embraces renewables: Climate Council video

Tony Wolfe has worked in coal for over forty years. But he knows it's time for a change - it's time to embrace renewables. Australia needs clean jobs to reboot its economy. That's why we created the Clean Jobs Plan. 

 

Learn more about it here: https://climc.nl/3hAZdSW -- 

 

 The Climate Council is Australia's leading independent, community-funded climate change communications organisation. We're a catalyst propelling Australia to take bold, effective steps to address the climate crisis. We're made up of some of the country’s leading climate scientists, health, renewable energy and policy experts, as well as a team of staff, and a huge community of volunteers and supporters who power our work. 

 

Find out more and connect with us here: → Website: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au → Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/climatecouncil → Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclimatec... → Twitter: https://twitter.com/climatecouncil

Solar and wind’s stunning cost advantage sparks call for mass coal closure: RenewEconomy

climate emergency

A new global study has highlighted the growing advantage of wind and solar costs over new and even existing coal generators, so much so that a decision to replace 500GW (gigawatts) of old coal plant with new renewables would deliver annual savings of $23 billion ($A34 billion) and a timely $A1.4 trillion economic boost.

This is one of the headline findings of Renewable Power Generation Costs 2019, put together by the International Renewable Energy Agency, which notes that the cost of solar has fallen by 82 per cent over the past decade and onshore wind by 39 per cent.

This puts the cost of more than half the wind and solar farms installed across the globe in 2019 below the cheapest new coal plants, and below even many existing coal plants. Remember, this is a global average, so includes regions where the quality of the wind or solar resource may not be so good, and is for renewable generators completed in 2019.

Read the RenewEconomy story 

#jailclimatecriminals

Europe’s Recovery Plan Has Green Strings Attached: Bloomberg

By

Ewa Krukowska

and

Laura Millan Lombrana

Covid-19

May 28, 2020

• Green Deal to become motor for growth in EU recovery effort
• Access to EU funds will require alignment with green goals
   

Meeting the climate-neutrality goal is a key pillar of a 750 billion-euro ($824 billion) economic recovery plan unveiled by the European Commission, one of the Brussels-based executive’s top officials said.

Read more at Bloomberg

‘War against nature must stop’: UN chief

The United Nations has slammed the world’s efforts to stop climate change as “utterly inadequate”, as it pleaded for countries to stop humanity’s “war against nature”.

 

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said global warming could pass the “point of no return” and called for the world to find more political will to combat climate change.

“Our war against nature must stop, and we know that it is possible,” Mr Guterres said on Sunday ahead of the two-week global climate summit in Madrid.

Insisting that his message was “one of hope, not of despair”, the UN chief said the world has the scientific knowledge and the technical means to limit global warming.“We simply have to stop digging and drilling and take advantage of the vast possibilities offered by renewable energy and nature-based solutions,” Mr Guterres said.

Read the original article

Stanford Study Says Renewable Power Eliminates Argument for Using Carbon Capture with Fossil Fuels: DESMOG

New research from Stanford University professor Mark Z. Jacobson questions the climate and health benefits of carbon capture technology against simply switching to renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Carbon capture technology is premised on two possible approaches to reducing climate pollution: removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere anywhere in the world, an approach generally known as direct air capture, or removing it directly from the emissions source, such as the smoke stack of a fossil fuel power plant.

How realistic a goal is decarbonizing the economy?: Medium

An analysis of the size of the US green economy shows that despite the subsidies to the oil and coal industry by the world’s most vocal denier of the climate emergency, sales and employment figures for the 24 economic subsectors that make up renewable energies, environmental protection and the provision of low-carbon goods and services, represent more than $1.3 trillion dollars in turnover, and is growing by around 20% annually, and employs some 9.5 million people, giving it a much greater economic impact than the entire fossil fuel industry.
  

Enrique Dans

Oct 28 · 3 min read

Read the Medium article 

Related:

Just 20 Companies Are Responsible for 35% of All Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Medium

Canberra’s green machines: ACT reaches 100% renewable electricity target:RenewEconomy

"The ACT has become the first Australian state or territory – with the exception of hydro-rich Tasmania – to source the equivalent of all its electricity from renewable sources, and in doing so has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by around 40 per cent and given a significant boost to the Canberra economy.

In line with the contracted awarded via a reverse auction to identify the cheapest sources of renewable electricity, ACT is now purchasing the electricity produced by the Hornsdale Stage 3 wind farm in South Australia. The supply from the 109MW wind farm has now tipped the ACT over the 100% renewable electricity milestone."

Read the complete article 

Related: 

Satellite Data Record Shows Climate Change's Impact on Fires : NASA

 

#jailclimatecriminals  #jail climate criminals  #globalheating  #climatechange

Australia coal use is 'existential threat' to Pacific islands, says Fiji PM

The prime minister of Fiji has warned Australia to reduce its coal emissions and do more to combat climate change as regional leaders prepare to gather in Tuvalu ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum this week.

Speaking in Tuvalu at a climate change conference ahead of the forum on Monday, Frank Bainimarama appealed directly to Australia to transition away from coal-powered energy and asked its government “to more fully appreciate” the “existential threat” facing Pacific nations.

Read the complete article in The Guardian 

Related: Forests, logging and climate change: IA

Just 10% of fossil fuel subsidy cash 'could pay for green transition' : The Guardian

"Switching just some of the huge subsidies supporting fossil fuels to renewables would unleash a runaway clean energy revolution, according to a new report, significantly cutting the carbon emissions that are driving the climate crisis.

Coal, oil and gas get more than $370bn (£305bn) a year in support, compared with $100bn for renewables, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) report found. Just 10-30% of the fossil fuel subsidies would pay for a global transition to clean energy, the IISD said."

Link to The Guardian article 


Related:

Coalition's emissions reduction fund labelled 'a joke' after first post-election auction

Related: Can planting trees save our climate?

 

The World's Poor are Hurt Not Helped by Fossil Fuel Subsidies : GMO

Vote for my climate

"Governments argue that fossil fuel subsidies are designed to help the poorest members of society, however, this is not borne out by the research.  The true beneficiaries of these subsidies are wealthier people and wealthier nations not the poor.
According to an IEA report, more than 85 percent of these subsidies go to middle and higher end income earners while only 8 percent of the aid is reaching the poorest 20 percent. These subsidies encourage energy consumption as people with the lowest incomes tend to be lower energy users and rarely drive.
"Fossil-fuel subsidies as presently constituted tend to be regressive, disproportionately benefiting higher income groups that can afford higher levels of fuel consumption," the report said. 'Social welfare programs are a more effective and less distortionary way of helping the poor than energy subsidies.' "

Read the Green Market Oracle story

#fossil fuel subsidies   #climate catastrophe  #poverty   #renewable energy  #100% renewable energy  #electricity #Australia

NSW Greens launch plan for 1 million households to have solar in four years

The NSW Greens have today launched a $1.25 billion comprehensive plan to ensure at least one million extra households in NSW can either install solar panels or be part of community renewable energy schemes within four years.  The Household Solar Plan is part of the Greens Roadmap to 100% Renewable Energy by 2030 and involves:

• Mandatory solar plus batteries for all new dwellings - 350,000 in four years
• $2000 rebate for rooftop solar and batteries for 500,000 households
• Solar panels on all public housing and government buildings - 110,000 public housing tenants receive electricity rebates
• A community solar offset scheme for apartment owners and renters - 200,000 participants in four years
• A Fair Price for Solar - mandatory extra 4.4c/kW for avoided health and social costs

Will we survive the next 100 years? Medium

"We have it in us to organise from ground up and show the leaders of the world that we want bold, tough and legally binding policies. We must demand nothing less than 100% renewable energy by 2030. We must demand car-free cities built for cycling and pedestrians. We must demand low-energy agriculture. We must demand it today — through our actions and from the people we vote for."

Read the Medium article

#climatecatastrophe  #100%renewable  #Parisagreement  #1.5degrees