Posted on 9 December 2018 by John Hartz

Story of the Week...

French senate ‘failed to heed’ UN science warning before protests

Demonstrators stand next to metal barriers around the tomb of The Unknown Soldier at The Arc of Triomphe during a protest of yellow vests (Photo: Lucas BARIOULET/AFP) 

Just a few months before protests exploded across France, the country’s senate was warned the shift to a clean economy risked social disruption, according the scientist who presented the evidence.

Valérie Masson-Delmotte, a French climate scientist and co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told Climate Home News’ podcast CopCast that members of the senate committee of sustainable development had been “surprised” by findings in a major report in October, which said green policies must be coupled with public consultation or face social resistance.

“They expressed how difficult it is for them as members of the senate to think on how to implement transitions. They also said they were powerless. They didn’t know how to change things, basically,” said Masson-Delmotte. 

French senate ‘failed to heed’ UN science warning before protests by Karl Mathiesen, Climate Home, Dec 8, 2018

Editorial of the Week...

Trump's pursuit of 'American energy dominance' threatens the entire planet

President Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on April 28, 2017, before signing an Executive Order directing the Interior Department to begin review of restrictive drilling policies for the outer-continental shelf. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

President Trump upended decades of U.S. policy that started with Richard Nixon when he declared that the goal of the United States was no longer “energy independence” but rather “American energy dominance.” This wasn’t Trumpian hyperbole. Few policies have been pursued by the administration with more cohesiveness, zeal, and success — or with more potential to yield great and lasting harm.

Trump has unleashed a massive, untethered expansion of oil, natural gas and coal production, designed to make this country the world’s foremost dirty energy powerhouse. The policy not only worsens catastrophic climate change, it pushes the U.S. into a small and increasingly isolated club of autocratic regimes intent on maintaining a global commitment to fossil fuels.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke laid out Trump’s energy policy in Secretarial Order 3351: “Achieving American energy dominance begins with recognizing that we have vast untapped domestic energy reserves. For too long America has been held back by burdensome regulations on our energy industry. The Department is committed to an America-first energy strategy.”

Michael Nedd, then the acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, put it more succinctly: “We want to make the BLM a better business partner for the oil and gas industry.”

Trump's pursuit of 'American energy dominance' threatens the entire planet, Opinion by Antonia Juhasz, Los Angeles Times, Dec 9, 2018

El Niño/La Niña Update...

2019 may be the hottest year yet—here's why

Spurred by a likely El Niño as well as climate change, the planet is expected to heat up even more, scientists warn.

An El Niño event is very likely under way, amping up extreme weather already made worse by climate change and increasing the odds that 2019 will be the hottest year in recorded human history, scientists warn.

There is an 80 percent chance a full-fledged El Niño has already begun and will last until at least the end of February 2019, according to the Climate Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The impacts of El Niño have been more severe in recent years because of global warming, and these impacts will be worse as temperatures continue to rise, according to a recent study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

2019 may be the hottest year yet—here's why by Stephen Leahy, Environment, National Geographic, Dec 6, 2018 

Toon of the Week...

SkS in the News...

[To be added.] 

Video of the Week...

Mike Mann on COP24 and Accepting the Science, Climate Denial Crock of the Week with Peter Sinclair, Dec 9, 2018

Coming Soon on SkS...

• Explainer: Why some US Democrats want a ‘Green New Deal’ to tackle climate change (Zeke Hausfather)
• Australia - Moving to Renewable Energy (Riduna)
• New findings on ocean warming: 5 questions answered (Scott Denning)
• The Security & Sustainability Guide (John Hartz)
• New research this week (Ari)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #50 (John Hartz)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #50 (John Hartz) 

SkS Week in Review... 

• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #49 by John Hartz
• New research, November 26 - December 2, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki
• Trump's disbelief won't stop dangerous climate change by Dana Nuccitelli (Environment, Guardian)
• Is Methane Worse than CO2?? | Climate Chemistry, Video by Climate Adam
• SkS Analogy 16 - Arctic ice, sailboat keels, and wild weather by Evan & jg
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #48 by John Hartz
• COP24: UN climate change conference, what’s at stake and what you need to know by John Hartz (Un News)

Poster of the Week...