Arguments
2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #17
Posted on 26 April 2020 by John Hartz
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Video of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week...
Story of the Week...
Why climate activists aren't celebrating historic emissions cuts
They are zeroing in on the battle over once-in-a-generation government spending that will shape climate efforts for decades.
Global carbon emissions are projected to fall this year as cities like London have enacted shelter-in-place orders. | Aaron Chown/PA via AP
Carbon emissions are set to fall by historic amounts this year, but environmental advocates aren’t celebrating.
Instead, they are zeroing in on a new battle: putting green conditions on the trillions in stimulus funds governments around the world are pumping into their economies to help them recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
They will have to overcome a series of obstacles to achieve that goal, more than 30 officials, activists and analysts said in interviews with POLITICO.
A new Ipsos-Mori poll across 14 countries in the G-20 shows a majority in every country surveyed agrees economic recovery should “prioritize climate change.” Lawmakers, however, must balance that sentiment with requests for bailouts and regulatory relief from sectors that are both hard hit and high polluting, including aviation, automakers and fossil fuels.
It’s still early days in this trench warfare, but thus far government leaders’ lofty green rhetoric hasn't been matched with actions.
Neither the loan packages and debt pauses negotiated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, nor the $8 trillion in domestic stimulus packages in rich countries feature significant green conditions or investments.
Why climate activists aren't celebrating historic emissions cuts by Ryan Heath, Kalina Oroschakoff, Zack Colman & Maura Forrest, Environment, Politico, Apr 23, 2020
Toon of the Week...
Hat tip to the Stop Climate Denial Denial Facebook page.
Video of the Week...
Kate Marvel: How Climate Change Works
The term "feedback" in climate-change science refers to what can speed up or slow down that change. And the answers lie in clouds, rain, trees and ice. To explain how it all work, The Agenda welcomes Kate Marvel, associate research scientist at Columbia University and at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Kate Marvel: How Climate Change Works, The Agenda with Steve Paikin, You Tube Video, Mar 28, 2019
Coming Soon on SkS...
- Coronavirus conspiracy theories are dangerous – here’s how to stop them spreading (Stephan Lewandowsky & John Cook)
- Planet of the humans: A reheated mess of lazy, old myths (Ketan Joshi)
- SkS New Research for Week #17 (Doug Bostrom)
- Kim Cobb’s Transition from Climate Science Research to Solutions (Dana Nuccitelli)
- How does the way we define methane emissions impact the perception of its effects on global warming? (Justine Wickman)
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup (John Hartz)
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest (John Hartz)
Climate Feedback Claim Review...
The Antarctic ozone layer is recovering, but The Independent claim fails to grasp significance of study it relies on
CLAIM: "The ozone layer is healing"
VERDICT: 
SOURCE: The ozone layer is healing, new study finds by Louise Boyle, Environment, The Independent (UK), Mar 27, 2020
KEY TAKE AWAY: The Antarctic ozone layer is healing and has the potential to recover to 1960 levels by the end of the century. Atmospheric circulation trends in the Southern Hemisphere, which are driven by ozone depletion, have also paused or reversed. These changes are attributed, in large part, to reductions in ozone-depleting substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons.
The Antarctic ozone layer is recovering, but The Independent claim fails to grasp significance of study it relies on, Edited by Nikki Forrester, Climate Reviews, Apr 7, 2020
SkS Week in Review...
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17 by John Hartz (SkS Original)
- State of the climate: First quarter of 2020 is second warmest on record by Zeke Hausfather (Yale Climate Connections Repost)
- Our extraordinary 50th Earth Day by Bud Ward (Yale Climate Connections)
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16, 2020 by Doug Bostrom (SkS Original)
- Skeptical Science Housekeeping - April 2020 by BaerbelW (SkS Original)
- Extra Warming? Coronavirus & Climate Change by Climate Adam (YouTube Video)
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #16 by John Hartz (SkS Original)
Poster of the Week...
Sign the petition calling on Marsh to help insure our future, not Adani’s climate-wrecking coal project!
https://www.stopadani.com/marsh_petition
I have been patient but now it is clear that all those who are not pointing out how what is happening right now is the best possible thing for AGW and in fact say it is the worst are simply those who believe that capitlism and the free market, i.e. the profit motive, is all that i needed to solve the problem.
I would ask SS to please stop featuring this view point. The carbon reduction happening right now is 10 times greater than anything anyone has ever been able to accomplish and it can be increased upon easily with no pain. The one and only problem is poor people and even middle income people have been cut off from basic needs which can easily be provided and for a fraction of the trillions that have been given to the wealthy over the last few years.
[DB] Your objections are noted, but lacking in specifics or citations they amount to sloganeering, and are unfortunately unhelpful.
Jef @1
"I have been patient but now it is clear that all those who are not pointing out how what is happening right now is the best possible thing for AGW and in fact say it is the worst are simply those who believe that capitlism and the free market, i.e. the profit motive, is all that i needed to solve the problem. "
Who is saying this exactly? At least front up and be specific. I have never said this. Moderator, he is sloganeering.
"The carbon reduction happening right now is 10 times greater than anything anyone has ever been able to accomplish and it can be increased upon easily with no pain. "
This is sloganeering and it is nonsensical. Right now with covid 19 there has been a small drop in CO2 emissions, but the world is in considerable economic pain. People are losing there jobs in the millions, poverty is returning, goods are in short supply, we are probably heading for a great depression. How can more of the same have no pain?
(That said I think these lockdown measures are needed as a temporary thing to flatten the curve)
"The one and only problem is poor people and even middle income people have been cut off from basic needs which can easily be provided and for a fraction of the trillions that have been given to the wealthy over the last few years"
This is not the one and only problem. And Jef appears to be suggesing some form of wealth redistribution. Hard to say because hes not specific. Imo wealth and income redistribution can obviously help to an extent in developed countries and is wise policy. But poor countries will need some economic growth to improve their living standards. There are not enough wealthy people for meaningful redistribution policies.
But you also cant strip people of all the wealth they have earned and expect people to work in positions of responsibility and be paid peanuts. They wont do it or they get lazy. Communism failed. Like Einstein said "dont keep repeating the same experiment and expect different results."