2023.11.29 "Methane, as you know, is responsible for 50 percent of the global warming that’s taking place, the global heating, and in addition to that it is far more damaging, far more destructive than CO2 because methane is in its early years – within the first 20 years – 80 to 100 times more destructive, and in the later years about 20 times more destructive. So, we also think it’s the easiest, quickest, fastest, cheapest way to begin to get gains against the warming. So there’ll be a major focus on methane."

John Kerry at COP 28, speaking for the U.S. government
Let's repeat this part: "Methane ... is responsible for 50 percent of the global warming that’s taking place". COP28 Briefing with Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry (U.S. Department of State)

2023.11.28 Drink up Canadian taxpayers - the federal government and fossil fuels industry are still pouring the CCS kool-aid.

The IEA - typically a fossil fuels cheerleader - has finally admitted carbon capture as a climate change solution is an illusion. The Canadian oilsands still thinks carbon dioxide is a resource to be re-used to produce more oil and gas (the 'utilization and storage' part of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS)), even though we have known for 40 years that the carbon dioxide needed to be sequestered, not stored. The oil industry's big success is in fooling Canadians into continue paying for this charade.
Oilsands giants continue work on proposed $16.5B carbon capture project, despite lingering questions (CBC)

2023.11.28 If we want sustainable long-haul flight to continue, this is one path forward to that goal.

Virgin Atlantic jet makes maiden transatlantic flight on low-carbon fuel (Al Jazeera)

2023.11.27 The best time to tackle climate change is 40 years ago. The second best time is now.

Why are we still in denial? Mitigation is still the right answer; adaptation is accepting defeat.
Climate Adaptation is Backfiring (Scientific American)

2023.11.24 In case you thought annual COP platitudes were solving the problem, they're not. CO2 numbers still going the wrong way.

CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change (The Guardian)

2023.11.24 From the broken record department: old EV batteries are not going to end up in landfill. They're too valuable.

We should listen to a renowned scientist’s warning on climate change (Opinion) (Globe and Mail)

2023.11.16 Should you put off buying an EV until a better battery is available?

Short answer: No. If you need a vehicle, this is as good a time as any to get an EV (if you can find one). The batteries will continue to improve. That's OK. The battery in the EV you get today will likely outlast the vehicle. If not, with enough market volume, you will likely be able to buy a better battery technology 10 years or more from now when the battery may need to be replaced outside of warranty. The newer batteries will be cheaper and better, and your old battery will have residual value. So, if an EV - from bicycle or scooter to motorcycle, car or truck makes sense for you, don't let battery obsolescence stop you from shifting to zero-emissions. Even though the batteries will continue to improve, because that will be to your advantage later if you keep your vehicle a really long time. And the batteries will continue to improve, per this story. (Not financial advice.)
Xerion: Out Of Stealth Mode With A Major Battery Breakthrough (Forbes)

2023.11.16 From the broken record department: old EV batteries are not going to end up in landfill. They're too valuable.

Where could millions of EV batteries retire? Solar farms. (Grist)

2023.11.15 So, now that you know climate change is going to raise sea levels and cause unimaginable destruction, will you actually do anything to change that future?

Neither will most other people, and certainly not governments (reducing fossil fuel costs) or industry (reneging on previous commitments).
Earth facing dire sea level rise — up to 20m — even if climate goals met (Global News)

2023.11.15 Like the oil filter guy used to say: you can pay me now or pay me later (but later will be a lot more expensive).

The brutal math of climate foot-dragging (National Observier)

2023.11.10 If we can't do the math, are we too stupid - as a species - to survive?

I think that's now the real question on the table as we continue to fail in grasping and responding to climate change.
Are we going to continue to allow the rich getting richer take precedence over the well-being - or survival - of 8 billion humans?

One Huge Contradiction Is Undoing Our Best Climate Efforts (The Atlantic)

2023.11.10 Ignoring the issue of spent fuel and other high-level radioactive waste and its primary use being in weapons like depleted uranium ordnance, nuclear fission simply can't compete with renewables on a cost basis.
It's because physics and thermodyanmics. Nuclear fission is massively inefficient as an energy source.

Failed U.S. Nuclear Project Raises Cost Concerns for Canadian SMR Development (Energy Mix)

2023.11.09 The insanity continues. How can we imagine that reducing the emissions of oil production means that we can just ignore the consequences of using fossil fuels and produce ever more GHG emissions?

Canada says it can fight climate change and be major oil nation. Massive fires may force a reckoning (AP News)

2023.11.02 Led by James Hansen, a new study indicates the climate is more sensitive to GHGs than current models predict. This could be why the planet is now warming faster than previously predicted.

Researchers argue that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not enough to combat climate change (Phys.org)

The actual paper by Hansen et al can be found in Oxford Open - Climate Change.

If that's too much effort, here's the TL;DR from the paper:
"Thus, under the present geopolitical approach to GHG emissions, global warming will exceed 1.5°C in the 2020s and 2°C before 2050. Impacts on people and nature will accelerate as global warming increases hydrologic (weather) extremes. The enormity of consequences demands a return to Holocene-level global temperature. Required actions include: (1) a global increasing price on GHG emissions accompanied by development of abundant, affordable, dispatchable clean energy, (2) East-West cooperation in a way that accommodates developing world needs, and (3) intervention with Earth’s radiation imbalance to phase down today’s massive human-made ‘geo-transformation’ of Earth’s climate. Current political crises present an opportunity for reset, especially if young people can grasp their situation."

2023.11.02 There has been more questionable babbling in the mainstream media about a slowdown in EV sales.

Curiously, there hasn't been a lot of data to back that up. However, there is one country that could soon be experiencing that slowdown in EV sales. Norway has been a leader in adopting electric vehicles, despite being an oil exporting country. So why is the potential for a slowing in the rise of their new EV sales?
Because they are currently at 91% of new vehicle sales are plug-in vehicles. You read that right: 91 out of 100 new vehicle sales in Norway last month were EVs. It's going to be hard to grow that past 100%, don't you think?
By the way, like Canada, Norway is sparsely populated and has real winters. Yet EVs don't just work there, they thrive.
EVs At 91.3% Share In Norway (CleanTechnica)

2023.11.01 So about that idea that EV sales are slowing down ...

EV sales are up 22.3% in the last quarter in California. (Electrek)
Vehicle inventories are not piling up on dealer lots for Tesla. What does seem to be finally present on dealer lots (though still not on the showroom floors around here), are the over-priced EVs that don't provide a compelling case for consumers. Ford Lightnings are still showing sticker prices way above MSRP, and the Bolt models should be on clearance now that GM has already announced they are ending production. For giggles, because I have a Leaf, I checked the 2 Nissan dealers near me to see what they had in inventory. Over 200 vehicles in stock between them. Not a single EV. And the Leaf is not leading edge or a price leader, so they should be piling up if consumers aren't buying EVs now.

2023.11.01 I remember when grid operators in Europe and North America said that the national grids would crash if even 10% of their generation came from renewables.

Perhaps those naysayers were wrong. Here are a couple of recent stories from Portugal, a European country, relatively small, and not generally considered wealthy or innovative.
54% of Portugal’s electricity is now generated by renewable energy (The Portugal News)
Portugal powered solely by renewables last weekend (PV Magazine)

And yet, the grid in Portugal did not crash, even with 100% generation from renewables and exporting clean electricity to Spain.

2023.10.13 Is TMX too expensive to attract the customers it was built for by taxpayers?

Dear TMX Oilsands Pipeline Owner (That’s You) (The Tyee)

2023.10.12 What if you built a pipeline for the world's worst oil to send it to a market that no longer exists?

Trans Mountain pipeline has cost Canada $35B. Can Ottawa make it back? (Global News)

2023.10.10 The presence of tiny plastics in clouds risks the contamination of ‘everything we eat and drink’, researchers say.

‘Plastic air pollution’: Microplastics in clouds could be exacerbating climate change, study says (EuroNews)

2023.10.09 From the article: "Addressing methane emissions is considered low-hanging fruit since most leaks can be fixed at low cost. Any methane not released into the atmosphere also can be sold on the global market." And yet, the industry continues to ignore this revenue opportunity.

EU Could Slash Methane Emissions 30% by Tackling Fuel Imports (Bloomberg)
Methane is over 100 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a GHG over the 10-year period it lasts in the atmosphere. That makes it the best bang for the buck to reduce GHG emissions on a CO2e basis in the short-term.

2023.10.09 More evidence all is not well with the existing voluntary carbon credits system

Voluntary carbon market is not benefitting people or planet, might in fact be leading to more emissions: CSE investigation (Times of India)

2023.10.05 From the article: "Addressing methane emissions is considered low-hanging fruit since most leaks can be fixed at low cost. Any methane not released into the atmosphere also can be sold on the global market." And yet, the industry continues to ignore this revenue opportunity.

EU Could Slash Methane Emissions 30% by Tackling Fuel Imports (Bloomberg)
Methane is over 100 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a GHG over the 10-year period it lasts in the atmosphere. That makes it the best bang for the buck to reduce GHG emissions on a CO2e basis in the short-term.

2023.10.02 Even the IEA - long a fossil fuel supporter - has done the reality check and concluded it's time to make the energy transition shift to clean energy.

"The IEA looked at both capital costs and operational costs and noted that when you combine them, the energy transition will cost $12 trillion less than the IEA’s business as usual scenario. "
Reality Check: The IEA Busts 10 Myths About the Energy Transition

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