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An essential guide to this week's key trends related to climate change.
balanced nature
Amazon recovery: Brazil and France have launched a €1 billion “green” investment plan for the Amazon at a meeting in Belem, where the United Nations climate change summit COP30 will be held in 2025, Le Monde newspaper reported. The four-year plan aims to create a carbon market to prevent deforestation in the Brazilian and Guyanese Amazons, according to Le Monde newspaper. This includes support for indigenous communities, Deutsche Welle. report.
“Giant deadlock”: Meanwhile, the EU's main nature recovery law is “on the verge of collapse”, according to the Guardian. The law was due to be passed by EU member states this week, but the vote was shelved after Hungary withdrew its support at the last minute, the Associated Press reported. Carbon Brief provides a detailed explanation of the EU's recovery law.
Natural rights: Inside Climate News reported that Aruba could become the second country in the world to enshrine natural rights in its constitution, after Ecuador. The country's nature minister has submitted a draft constitutional amendment, which will be considered by the country's advisory committee in April, the newspaper reported.
China under pressure
China-US conflict: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen “warned China against exporting cheap clean energy to the world, saying it would distort global markets and harm workers,” the Financial Times reported. According to the FT, Yellen, speaking from a solar power manufacturer in Georgia ahead of a two-day visit to China, said that “overcapacity” would be a “key issue” in talks with the Chinese government.
“Discriminatory” subsidies: This comes after China filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over “discriminatory” subsidies for electric vehicles from the United States, the South China Morning Post reported. The complaint relates to a provision of the US Inflation Control Act that requires EVs to undergo final assembly in the US to qualify for subsidies, the newspaper said. The Associated Press suggested that even if the WTO rules in China's favor, the case “will likely go nowhere.”
Xi Jinping's plan: in cover The long-read Financial Times takes a deep dive into China's slowing economic growth and whether President Xi Jinping's plan to grow China's clean manufacturing sector will be successful. As domestic demand slumps, this strategy relies increasingly on exporting these goods abroad, and, as one professor told the newspaper, “the rest of the world is unlikely to export them.” [accommodate] that”.
- “Historic Milestone”: According to The Hindu Business Line, India will produce more than 1 billion tonnes of coal and lignite in the current fiscal year, which ends in a few days, with the country's coal minister calling this a “historic milestone in India's pursuit of energy security.” I called it.
- 'Major changes': Bashir Diomai Fay is expected to be sworn in as Senegal's new president after a campaign in which he vowed to improve the management of Senegal's natural resources and prevent “economic enslavement,” French newspaper 24 reported. Ta. JeuneAfrique noted that as part of that, it has promised to renegotiate oil and gas contracts.
- Mac and cheese: The U.S. Energy Agency announced $6 billion in funding for 33 industrial projects, including new heat pumps for macaroni and cheese factories, the New York Times reported.
- “Dire situation”: UNICEF estimates that 45 million children in southern and eastern Africa face acute food insecurity, which is exacerbated by climate change, according to AllAfrica.
- I have a problem with alcohol: BBC News reported on attempts to save Britain's pint crop from the threat of climate change, where hop yields fell by 20% last year. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail highlighted research suggesting wine production in southern Europe could decline by 90% due to climate change.
- New boss: Singapore has a new climate action ambassador who will represent the country in international climate change discussions, EcoBusiness reported.
A new Euronews poll of 25,916 people in 18 countries reveals how many European voters think tackling climate change is a priority.
- A study published in Nature Communications Earth and Environmental found that the effects of climate change alone could increase global inflation by 0.3 to 1.2 percentage points per year by 2035, and that the impact of inflation on food prices could be even higher. It turns out that it can get bigger.
- Poorer, more densely populated areas in India's New Delhi could face a “combined impact” of extreme heat and dengue fever than wealthier, less densely populated areas, according to a new study in PLOS Climate. It is said to have a high level of sexuality.
- New research published in NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science says Australia's soils could move from being net sinks of carbon dioxide to becoming net emitters as the climate warms.
(For more, see Carbon Brief's in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.)
The majority of the world's new oil and gas development after 2022 will come from companies that have set net-zero emissions targets, such as Total Energy and ExxonMobil, according to Carbon Brief analysis in a new report from Global Energy Monitor. Carbon Brief estimates that Total Energy and ExxonMobil could each generate about 1 billion tons of CO2 through their expansion plans, equivalent to Japan's annual total.
How lifestyle changes can help the EU reach net zero
This week's Carbon Brief explores the under-reported path to net zero in the EU and highlights the potential further benefits possible through lifestyle changes.
Last month, the EU set a new interim target to cut emissions by at least 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels.
Embedded in the impact assessment published alongside the announcement was a unique scenario called 'LIFE', which offers an alternative route to achieving the EU's new goals, primarily through lifestyle changes.
What is life?
LIFE (short for “lifestyle”) scenarios are modeled because they take into account different levels of ambition, but different ways of achieving emissions reduction targets for the most ambitious scenario (known as S3). It is unique among the scenarios presented. .
(LIFE is similar to the “1.5LIFE” scenario that the EU considered when developing its vision for a climate-neutral economy in 2018.)
Both LIFE and S3 meet the EU goal of reducing emissions by at least 90% by 2040. Whereas S3 achieves this by presupposing a high level of adoption of new technologies such as carbon capture and electronic fuels, LIFE is “predicated on a more sustainable” lifestyle. and the transition to a more circular and shared economy. ”
Comparing S3 and LIFE provides a comparison of the two paths to net zero. One path relies on technology and the other depends on lifestyle changes.
What does LIFE mean for EU lifestyle?
The LIFE scenario targets modest reductions in the most emitting and inefficient modes of transport and food, while promoting circularity.
Compared to S3 in 2040, driving will be 5% less, flying will be 10% less, and meat production will be 25% less (due to changes in diet rather than increased exports). People are expected to travel more by train, use video conferencing and eat more plant-based foods.
People are expected to become more careful consumers of products, heating their homes more efficiently through smart meters and reusing or repairing products where possible.
The evaluation notes that these changes are consistent with “expected individual changes in daily life and willingness to act in changing consumption patterns.”
What are the benefits of LIFE?
Multiple advantages have been proposed for the LIFE pathway in terms of cost, ease of transition, health, and biodiversity compared to S3.
Total LIFE investment needs will fall by 8% on average, representing an average annual savings of €129 billion from 2031 to 2050, or a total of €2.58 trillion.
Due to lower overall electricity demand, the total renewable energy capacity required in 2040 will be reduced by approximately 240 GW (11%), approximately half of 2020 capacity.
Modelers claim that the health benefits of better air quality will improve even further, with significant health benefits from lower levels of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity from healthier diets. It has the above advantages.
Under the path, around 11m hectares of agricultural land is instead used as forest, natural vegetation and re-wetted soil, leading to reduced fertilizer use and improved biodiversity. As a result, emissions from the land sector, including agriculture, will increase by 104 million tonnes by 2040.
This will reduce the need for industrial carbon capture and carbon removal by 19% and 64%, respectively, and reduce the risk of scaling up these initial technologies, the modelers said.
No flowers ahead: The South China Morning Post looked at the threats facing Japan's cherry blossoms from climate change.
Electric bicycle exhaust gas?: youtuber Simon Clark investigated the environmental impact of e-bikes compared to other forms of transport.
End of nature: Euractiv's podcast explained why the EU's recovery law faces opposition from multiple EU member states.
- green alliance, Head of Climate Policy | Salary: £46,962 – £55,348.Location: London
- whattime.org, researcher, data fusion (climate traces) | Salary: $160,000 – $195,000. Location: Remote (US-based)
- science-based goals initiative; Transportation Analyst | Salary: Unknown.Location: remote
- green climate fund, Certified Entity Officer | Salary: $96,200.Location: Incheon, South Korea
- Friends of the Earth International, Program Communication Coordinator | Salary: 4,314 to 4,778 euros per month. Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands (or remote location)
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DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne.Submit your tips and feedback [email protected]
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