Archive by date | October 2008

Focus on energy independence in final debate

Focus on energy independence in final debate

The third and final debate in the US Presidential elections took place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York last night. Moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS news, it took as its theme domestic policy. As pointed out over on Gristmill, the debate yielded nothing new from either candidate on climate and energy issues, though it did serve to highlight the differences in the candidates’ positions as well those topics where they differ from their party positions. John McCain set himself aside from the GOP is taking credit for “bringing climate change to the floor of the Senate for the  … Read more

Impacts research – the next frontier

Now that remarkable headway has been made into understanding the physical science of climate change, there’s a feeling among climate experts – including those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – and among funding agencies of the need to shift the focus of climate research from identifying the cause to assessing the impacts, whether hurricanes, oceanic dead zones or forest fires.  Read more

Pocket IPCC

Pocket IPCC

For anyone interested in the state of the earth’s climate, the most recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are essential – if not exactly bedtime – reading (I prefer a bit of Proust myself). Fair enough, the panel’s synthesis report collapsed the three prior encyclopaedic volumes into a summary of what one really needs to know about climate change, its impacts and what we could/ought to do about it, but it’s still not the most accessible synopsis I’ve seen. Now this problem has been solved with a diminutive and accessible translation in the form of Mike Mann  … Read more

Has Arctic summer sea ice tipped?

Has Arctic summer sea ice tipped?

For the long view on the 2008 Arctic sea ice melt, see today’s commentary on Nature Reports Climate Change by two National Snow and Ice Data Center researchers. Mark Serreze and Julienne Stroeve recap the results: The seasonal minimum for 2008, occurring on 14 September, entered the books as the second-lowest of the satellite era, probably the second-lowest of at least a century, and just behind the standing record set in 2007. Barely second-lowest still came as a shock, given the cooler weather this year. Said Stroeve in an NISDC press release, “I find it incredible that we came so  … Read more

EU Parliament backs climate plan

EU Parliament backs climate plan

The European Parliament’s environment committee yesterday voted largely in favour of the ambitious European climate action plan (subscription) proposed in January.  Read more

Super Tuesday for the EU

Super Tuesday for the EU

Tomorrow’s been dubbed Super Tuesday for EU climate policy, with the EU Parliament set to vote on proposals that follow up the climate change legislation proposed at the start of the year. But what was once touted as a cutting-edge vision has turned into a tough sell. By the end of last week, Polish leaders announced they’d added a sixth country, Greece, to the coalition they’ve been building against parts of the plan – creating a large enough minority to block a decision. Their beef is with auctioning of emissions permits under a revamped European carbon-trading system, scheduled to start  … Read more

Nuclear energy: falling out of favour?

Nuclear energy: falling out of favour?

With climate change as environmental problem number one, the nuclear industry has proclaimed itself as part of the solution and is starting to enjoy a reputation as a green power provider after decades of bad press. As a result, political support for nuclear energy is reaching at all time high – the US government is offering the nuclear industry $18.5 billion in loan guarantees and billions more in production tax credits and both US presidential candidates have voiced their support for nuclear power as a means of meeting climate goals. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Britain is bracing itself for a  … Read more

A challenging political climate

A challenging political climate

For some time, the received wisdom has been that a post-Bush administration will herald a new era in which the world can move boldly forward on climate change. But the present political – and financial – climate is calling that wisdom into question, as I’ve written in my latest editorial, and below. Whether Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain wins the White House next month, the elected president will face a daunting list of challenges in making climate change a priority both on the home front and internationally. Yet there are several reasons to believe that reducing greenhouse gases  … Read more