NZ rated 'insufficient' on climate action, again (excerpt): Stuff

New Zealand abandoned policies that would have made a difference, 

like electrifying the Government fleet, notes the report.

"New Zealand won’t be carbon neutral by 2050 without much stronger policies, says an independent analysis by Climate Action Tracker.

The non-profit highlighted a lack of active policies for cutting methane, spurring electric vehicles and boosting renewable energy.

Despite capping emissions, reforming the Emissions Trading

methane

Scheme, and passing the Zero Carbon Act, the Government is well off track for meeting a climate goal of curbing heating below 2 degrees Celsius, let alone 1.5C (the goal of the Zero Carbon Act), the analysis says.

Our target under the Paris Agreement is rated “insufficient” – the same as last year. Climate Action Tracker says if all countries followed our example, the world would reach 3C hotter than pre-industrial levels.

New Zealand joins Australia, the European Union, Mexico and others in the insufficient group. India and the Philippines are among the small group rated compliant with a 2C goal or better.

On the positive side, a combination of new Government policies and lockdown brought New Zealand’s expected emissions in 2030 down 8-17 per cent from where they were headed last year, and the 2020 projections down 14-23 per cent."

Eloise Gibson10:41, Aug 05 2020

Related: Gillard on climate action: “It was done. And … we can do it again in the future”: RenewEconomy

New Zealand, carbon, Paris Agreement, #jailclimatecriminals, #climateaction, #bigbusiness, 

 

Climate Action Tracker: Paris Agreement Compatible Sectoral Benchmarks, August 2020

Decarbonisation is needed

 "Executive summary 

While national emission trends are a useful tool for measuring government progress towards meeting the Paris Agreement 1.5 ̊C temperature limit at a global level, each government will have to address its own sectors, each with their own, different baseline. 

What should government sectoral benchmarks be? Will they meet the global carbon budget?  

The Climate Action Tracker has defined and analysed a global-level series of Paris Agreement-compatible benchmarks, across four major sectors: Power, Transport, Industry, and Buildings.  

Within each sector, we define benchmarks for several separate but complementary indicators.  

We have also drilled down to present the benchmarks in these sectors for seven individual countries: Brazil, China, EU, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and the US, taking into account the current technical and infrastructure circumstances in each country. 

We have developed the benchmarks for both 2030 and 2050, with additional temporal resolution depending on the approach and indicator. The data from this work has been added to the Climate Action Tracker interactive data portal https://climateactiontracker.org/data-portal.  

We have identified the following key lessons: 


Decarbonisation by 2050: the Paris Agreement requires the world to decarbonise by2050: on average, all sectors need to decarbonise in this time frame, albeit at slightly different rates. 

In this report, we have identified the potential for such rapid
 decarbonisation across all sectors.


Differences shrink: in terms of timing, benchmarks differ between countries and sectors,because they all start from a different base. But ultimately, governments must pursue all options in all sectors, and sometimes this will require support between countries."

....................

"Progress by 2030 is important: decarbonisation by 2050 alone is not sufficient; to keep carbon budgets within reach, progress must ramp up well before 2030.

Decarbonisation

Power sector is relatively advanced: the power sector is already making quite some progress in decarbonising, and it should continue to be a government priority, especially in avoiding new infrastructure incompatible with the Paris Agreement, such as coal-fired power plants.



Industry, transport, buildings need to advance significantly: these sectors are not yet moving as quickly as is necessary, and efforts to meet 2030 benchmarks must significantly ramp up.

All new buildings from now on in all countries need to be of a high standard and equipped with heating and cooling technologies that either are or can be zero emissions.

Related:

The Harsh Economics of Climate Change: Economics Explained

 

 

Trump EPA Plan to Gut Emission Rules for Oil and Gas Industry Denounced as 'Beyond Comprehension': Common Dreams

Your taxes funding fossil fuels

"If Trump is reelected and this rule sticks, it is probably the single most consequential near-term climate decision of his presidency."

by

Julia Conley, staff writer

In a move one green group said shows the Trump EPA's approach is "manifestly inconsistent with the agency's legal obligations" and with science, the agency is under fire for preparations to roll back methane rules for U.S. oil and gas producers.

Before Friday, the New York Times reported, the EPA is expected to unveil two new rules regarding methane, a greenhouse gas with 80 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide in the first two decades after emission.

One would eliminate federal regulation of methane emissions from oil and gas wells across the country and would prevent future regulation at sites built before 2015, and another would weaken remaining requirements for companies, including one directing them to locate and fix leaks in wells. 

With the new rules in place, meteorologist and climate reporter Eric Holthaus said, voting Trump out of office in November will be imperative to protect communities across the country from methane emissions, which the EPA itself has said are linked to premature death, stroke, chronic bronchitis, and low birth weight as well as the warming of the planet. 

Read the complete Common Dreams article

Related:  Fossil Fuel Workers Deserve Better: Video



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And in Mandarin:

为这个星球投票选出特朗普。
您的税款为化石燃料提供资金

“如果特朗普再次当选并且坚持这一规则，这可能是他担任总统期间最重要的近期气候决定。”
通过
朱莉娅·康利（Julia Conley），特约作家
 

一个绿色组织在一项举动中表示，特朗普EPA的做法“明显违背了该机构的法律义务”，

并且与科学相抵，该机构正着手准备撤消美国石油和天然气生产商的甲烷法规。

 

据《纽约时报》报道，周五之前，预计美国环保署将发布两项有关甲烷的新规定。

甲烷是一种温室气体，其排放后的头二十年内的二氧化碳的集热能力是其的80倍。

 

一种将取消联邦对全国油气井的甲烷排放的监管，并阻止未来在2015年之前建造的场所进行监管，

另一种将削弱对公司的剩余要求，包括指示公司定位和修复井中的泄漏。

 

有了新规定，气象学家和气候记者埃里克·霍尔特豪斯（Eric Holthaus）表示，

必须在11月投票给特朗普，以保护全国各地的居民免受甲烷排放的威胁，

而美国环保署本身已将其与过早死亡，中风，慢性病联系在一起。支气管炎，低出生体重以及地球的变暖。

 

阅读完整的《共同梦想》文章

Wèi zhège xīngqiú tóupiào xuǎn chū tè lǎng pǔ.
Nín de shuì kuǎn wèi huàshí ránliào tígōng zījīn

“rúguǒ tè lǎng pǔ zàicì dāngxuǎn bìngqiě jiānchí zhè yī guīzé, 

zhè kěnéng shì tā dānrèn zǒngtǒng qíjiān zuì zhòngyào de jìnqí qìhòu juédìng.”
Tōngguò
zhūlìyà·kānglì (Julia Conley), tèyuē zuòjiā
 

yīgè lǜsè zǔzhī zài yī xiàng jǔdòng zhōng biǎoshì, 

tè lǎng pǔ EPA de zuòfǎ “míngxiǎn wéibèile gāi jīgòu de fǎlǜ yìwù”, 

bìngqiě yǔ kēxué xiāngdǐ, gāi jīgòu zhèng zháo shǒu zhǔnbèi chèxiāo měiguó 

shíyóu hé tiānránqì shēngchǎn shāng de jiǎwán fǎguī.

 

Jù “niǔyuē shíbào” bàodào, zhōu wǔ zhīqián, 

yùjì měiguó huánbǎo shǔ jiāng fābù liǎng xiàng yǒuguān jiǎwán de xīn guīdìng. 

Jiǎwán shì yī zhǒng wēnshì qìtǐ, qí páifàng hòu de tóu èrshí niánnèi de èryǎnghuàtàn 

de jí rè nénglì shì qí de 80 bèi.

 

Yī zhǒng jiāng qǔxiāo liánbāng duì quánguó yóuqì jǐng de jiǎwán páifàng de jiānguǎn, 

bìng zǔzhǐ wèilái zài 2015 nián zhīqián jiànzào de chǎngsuǒ jìnxíng jiānguǎn, 

lìng yī zhǒng jiāng xuēruò duì gōngsī de shèngyú yāoqiú, 

bāokuò zhǐshì gōngsī dìngwèi hé xiūfù jǐngzhōng de xièlòu.

 

Yǒule xīn guīdìng, qìxiàng xué jiā hé qìhòu jìzhě āi lǐ 

kè·huò ěr tè háo sī (Eric Holthaus) biǎoshì, bìxū zài 11 yuè tóupiào gěi tè lǎng pǔ, 

yǐ bǎohù quánguó gèdì de jūmín miǎn shòu jiǎwán páifàng de wēixié, 

ér měiguó huánbǎo shǔ běnshēn yǐ jiāng qí yǔguò zǎo sǐwáng, zhòngfēng, 

mànxìngbìng liánxì zài yīqǐ. Zhīqìguǎn yán, dī chūshēng tǐzhòng yǐjí dìqiú 

de biàn nuǎn.

 

Yuèdú wánzhěng de “gòngtóng mèngxiǎng” wénzhāng

The Harsh Economics of Climate Change: Economics Explained

Global warming is something that threatens to impact us all: both environmentally (with the loss of natural marvels such as the great barrier reef) and economically. But humans aren't actually contributing as significantly as you may think to global warming. In fact, the vast majority of the world's population lives a relatively low-carbon emission lifestyle compared to "the developed world". 

Yet, ironically, the world's poorest citizens are the ones most likely to be impacted by the potential byproducts of a warmer planet. In this video, let's explore the economic impacts of climate change – both in terms of its potential consequences and the feasibility of available solutions. 

Related: Fossil Fuel Workers Deserve Better: Video

Three Seconds - 1st Prize Short Film Winner #Film4Climate

Three Seconds is a short motivational piece to get younger and older generations alike to stand up for trees and a clean future. This spoken word piece by artist Prince Ea was designed to put into perspective our existence on earth’s timeline and to excite viewers for the fight against the status quo that too often disregards Mother Nature. 

Short Film About Three Seconds: An epic presentation of where humanity stands today and how we must all work together to make it to the fourth second. Climate Change is real. 

Related:

Australia's Climate Council- Worth Checking Out the Website

Fossil Fuel Workers Deserve Better: Video

Fossil Fuel Workers Deserve Better: Video from Climate Reality

Click here to view

"Fossil fuels are not only dangerous for our planet but to those working in the industry itself. It’s beyond time for a #RenewableRevolution. (via The Years Project)"


video, fossil fuel subsidies, workers, jobs, global corruption, corporategreed, #jailclimatecriminals, 

Gillard on climate action: “It was done. And … we can do it again in the future”: RenewEconomy

Vote for my future climate

Former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard has expressed optimism that Australia will eventually embrace strong climate policy while defending her government’s carbon price policy as one of the most effective measures introduced in Australia to cut emissions.

Speaking during a web forum organised by the Australia Institute, Gillard said that the evidence was clear that the carbon price introduced by her government successfully worked to cut Australia’s emissions without being a burden on the Australian economy.

Talk of Australia’s climate policy failures often focuses on Kevin Rudd’s CPRS, rejected by the Coalition after Tony Abbott emerged as their leader. Somehow, the Greens are blamed for this failure but it is often forgotten that the Greens worked with Labor to deliver the carbon price, along with ARENA and the CEFC.

Marking ten years since Gillard became prime minister, the former Labor leader was asked to reflect on the performance of the carbon price, which ultimately proved to be politically damaging, despite being effective policy.

“Australia’s emissions were going up; our carbon price came into effect, they went down. Then, it was repealed by the Abbott government and there they go, back up. So we would be in a different and better place on climate had that scheme endured,” Gillard said.

Read more in the original Renew Economy article 

Related:

Does Australia's government take climate change seriously: Sky News UK