2022.02.28 Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability

The UN IPCC Sixth Assessment Report 3,675 pages Two summaries also available. (United Nations)

2022.02.25 Doug Ford threw Ontario under the bus when he killed cap and trade

Ontario will remain a rogue state on environment and climate change so long as Doug Ford and the OPC are in power. (National Observer)

2022.02.24 Global methane emissions 70% higher than countries report, IEA says

It's long past time for Canada (and the world) to get serious about methane emissions, because they are 104 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And so far, we can't even measure them in a credible way. (National Observer)

2022.02.23 Wildfires likely to increase by a third by 2050, warns UN

Even previously unaffected countries likely to see uncontrollable blazes, says study, which calls for shift to spending on prevention (The Guardian)
The Report "Spreading Like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires"

2022.02.22 Climate resolution forces RBC to reckon with greenwashing

Oil industry and big Canadian banks - two sides, same coin (and it's all about the coin) (National Observer)

2022.02.22 New study paints oil firms’ climate claims as greenwashing

The oil industry misleading us on climate change claims? I'm shocked, shocked I say. Sadly, not. (National Observer)

2022.02.18 Carbon capture tech is advancing in the wrong direction

It’s increasingly being paired with fossil fuel power plants (The Verge)

2022.02.18 STOP PRESS!! Canada reverses course on Trans Mountain Pipeline Carbon Bomb

Chrystia Freeland closes the door on new funding for Trans Mountain as project costs surge (Financial Post)

2022.02.16 Thawing permafrost can expose northerners to cancer-causing gas, study says

Radon is a risk to people's health when it accumulates in enclosed spaces (CBC)

2022.02.16 NOAA estimates average sea level rise of about 1 foot in less than 30 years.

You can dive (figuratively) into the full report, executive summary, and takeaways at the link below.

2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report (NOAA National Ocean Service)

2022.02.15 Climate plans should set out clear targets for all types of greenhouse gases because of how potent they are, but still not ready to face up to GWP10.

The Case Against Methane Emissions Keeps Getting Stronger (Bloomberg)

2022.02.15 Provincial subsidies amounts now rival federal subsidies to fossil fuel industries.

Canada’s Provinces Provided at Least CAD 2.5 Billion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies Last Year, Undermining Climate Action (IISD)

2022.02.14 From the 'no solution is so pure it can't be screwed up' files

How Corn Ethanol for Biofuel Fed Climate Change (Civil Eats)
The referenced study can be foound at: https://www.pnas.org/content/119/9/e2101084119.
Note this text in the acknowledgements of the study. Not all the parties listed are biofuel fans. "This material is based upon work supported by grants from the National Wildlife Federation; the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center; US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research (award DE-SC0018409); the NSF Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems program (award 1855996); and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (grant DGE-174750). We have presented preliminary results from this work at meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Global Land Programme, the American Geophysical Union, and the America’s Grasslands Conference."

2022.02.14 Yet again, the Ford government (Ontario) plays do as I say, not as I do.

Ontario’s landfills are filling up while the biggest polluters backslide (National Observer)

2022.02.14 A new micro-hydroelectric project at the Klahoose Wilderness Resort on B.C.’s isolated Central Coast will eliminate diesel fuel use at the off-grid, eco-tourist destination, removing 38 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Small coastal First Nation fuels economic growth with clean energy (National Observer)

2022.02.11 CCS appears to be possible, but not economically plausible...and because it does nothing to eliminate carbon pollution as coal and gas are extracted, processed and transported, it fails the desirability test

Time to move on from carbon capture (The Hill)

2022.02.10 Quebec has missed its climate targets for 2020

[dead site: https://nizhtimes.com/quebec-on-track-to-miss-its-climate-targets-for-2030/2796/] Quebec on track to miss its climate targets for 2030 (Nizh Times)
Alternate source for the main story:
Quebec will fail to meet climate goals, HEC report predicts

2023 version of the report available at: https://energie.hec.ca/eeq/

2022.02.10 We're all frustrated, by COVID, by oil industry obstructionism, government inaction ...

The ‘freedom convoy’ shows why we need a long-term climate plan (National Observer)

2022.02.08 As global methane concentrations soar over 1,900 parts per billion, some researchers fear that global warming itself is behind the rapid rise.

Scientists raise alarm over ‘dangerously fast’ growth in atmospheric methane (Nature)

2022.02.08 Amazon would mislead us on their climate change actions scope? What next, forcing workers to stay at work when a tornado is headed their way?

Big companies' climate pledges aren't as green as they look, report finds (CBC)

2022.02.04 The plan is wait until extinction is unavoidable - extinction of us. It's working.

Look up! Why Canada needs to accelerate its climate adaptation agenda (National Observer)

2022.01.28 The way to the oil industry's "heart" is through its wallet.

Historically, misdleading advertising about the environmental benefits of a product have been dismissed as fluff, and not punished. This represents a change. Still, it is left to consumers to do the research on the truth of green branding, and call out the liars.
Alberta oilpatch may face lending crunch as financial regulators worry about the risks of climate change (National Observer)

2022.01.28 Finally, a greenwash campaign called out and punished.

Historically, misdleading advertising about the environmental benefits of a product have been dismissed as fluff, and not punished. This represents a change. Still, it is left to consumers to do the research on the truth of green branding, and call out the liars.
Anything can be eco with a coat of greenwash! (National Observer)

2022.01.27 Yes, methane. Again. And again.

Study: Gas stoves worse for climate than previously thought (AP News)
"Even when they are not running, U.S. gas stoves are putting 2.6 million tons (2.4 million metric tons) of methane — in carbon dioxide equivalent units — into the air each year, a team of California researchers found in a study published in Thursday’s journal Environmental Science & Technology. That’s equivalent to the annual amount of greenhouse gases from 500,000 cars or what the United States puts into the air every three-and-a-half hours. "
Methane and NOx Emissions from Natural Gas Stoves, Cooktops, and Ovens in Residential Homes (2022)

Now, what about natural gas water heaters?
Greenhouse gas emissions from domestic hot water: heat pumps compared to most commonly used systems (2016)
"The model of Shindell et al. indicates it is even more critical to control CH4 emissions than CO2 emissions if we are to slow the rate of global warming over the coming few decades: reducing CO2 emissions has little effect on warming over this time period due to lags in the climate system, whereas reductions in CH4 emissions have an immediate influence."
"Our analysis indicates that if the natural gas from shale is used for heating water in homes, the accumulated radiative forcing from using a natural gas water heater can be as much as six times higher than from using a heat pump water heater within the first year of their installations, and still more than five times higher after 20 years."

2022.01.27 Another story on the carbon capture scam, different source.

Global Witness Exposes The Lie Behind The Carbon Capture Scam (CleanTechnica)

2022.01.26 Another story on the carbon capture scam, different source - and hydrogen - a twofer.

An explosive report on one of the largest carbon capture and storage facilities in Alberta is challenging the wisdom of Canada’s hydrogen strategy (National Observer)

2022.01.25 The nerve, briging reality to the climate crisis "debate"

The climate crisis demands courage not optimism (The Conversation)

2022.01.24 Carbon Capture and Storage (not Sequestration) is not a climate change solution.

It is another way for taxpayer money to be shoveled at the fossil fuel sector while serving as government-sanctioned greenwashing. Somebody else has now figured that out.
Governments are investing billions into carbon capture in the Prairies. Here’s what you need to know (The Narwhal)

2022.01.20 Another day, another massive Canadian taxpayer subsidy to the oil and gas sector.

Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage is NOT carbon sequestration. So this is a bait-and-switch on taxpayers who think this is paying for carbon sequestration (good thing), but instead is paying the oil and gas industry to do Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), which they will do anyway, and allows half or more of the carbon dioxide captured to escaped with produced oil, gas and water, and produce even more GHGs (bad thing, in case anybody is keeping score anymore).
Are Canada’s carbon capture plans a ‘pipe dream’? (National Observer)

2022.01.17 Divesting from fossil fuels - someday.

On Nov. 1, Abby Herd helped lead a group of Simon Fraser University students over the finish line as they won an eight-year campaign to persuade the administration to divest from fossil fuels by 2025.

Now that the problem is about banks' money instead of just lives and personal property, can we finally take catastrophic climate change seriously?
How to get a university to divest (National Observer)

2022.01.14 Bank of Canada warns of costly risks if climate action is delayed

Now that the problem is about banks' money instead of just lives and personal property, can we finally take catastrophic climate change seriously?
Bank of Canada warns of costly risks if climate action is delayed (National Observer)

2022.01.14 IEA reports CO2 emissions in electricity sector ROSE 7% in 2021

Another example of how we're going in the wrong direction.
IEA: Electricity markets – surging demand, strained supply chains, renewables lagging
From the article:
"According to the report, around half of the global growth took place in China, where demand increased by an estimated 10%, and more than half of it was met by coal-fired generation, which grew by 9% again principally in China as well as India. "This increase in coal generation also was the main driver of the increase in CO2 emissions, which amounted to almost 7% in 2021."
We need renewables and conservation to change the direction on GHG emissions levels.

2022.01.08 "Large–scale electric vehicle adoption can greatly reduce emissions

...from vehicle tailpipes. However, analysts have cautioned that it can come with increased indirect emissions from electricity and battery production that are not commonly regulated by transport policies. We combine integrated energy modeling and life cycle assessment to compare optimal policy scenarios that price emissions at the tailpipe only, versus both tailpipe and indirect emissions. Surprisingly, scenarios that also price indirect emissions exhibit higher, rather than reduced, sales of electric vehicles, while yielding lower cumulative tailpipe and indirect emissions."

"While pricing only direct tailpipe emissions already leads to a nearly complete phase?–out of ICEVs (Fig. 2a), the transition is accelerated under full emissions pricing (Fig. 2b). In addition, HFCEVs are avoided entirely under full pricing due to the high emissions penalty of producing hydrogen from natural gas."
Pricing indirect emissions accelerates low—carbon transition of US light vehicle sector (nature communications)

Past blog pages: May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020
May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 [COVID gap] Oct-Dec 2021
Jan-Feb 2022

You can find many earlier postings (going back to year 2000) related to climate change at:
Keith's List Archive and
the Sustainable Biofuel List Mail Archive.

I present a lot of information in this blog and on this website. If you need some help sorting through the noise level and getting a forward-looking, proactive approach to climate change for your business, I can do that work for you via my consulting business. Contact