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Inaction on climate is ‘dangerous’, warns U.N.’s Guterres
By Associated Press | News | June 14th 2022
U.N. Secretary−General António Guterres warned Tuesday of a “dangerous disconnect” between what scientists and citizens are demanding to curb climate change, and what governments are actually doing about it.
Guterres said global greenhouse gas emissions need to drop by 45% this decade, but are currently forecast to increase by 14%.
“We are witnessing a historic and dangerous disconnect: science and citizens are demanding ambitious and transformative climate action,” he said at a climate conference in Austria. “Meanwhile many governments are dragging their feet. This inaction has grave consequences.”
Why CAM is Perturbed but Undeterred, and You Should Be Too
And so we have another Conservative majority in Ontario, including a Conservative MPP, Graydon Smith, in Parry Sound-Muskoka. Given their actions of the last four years and their stated plans for the next four, it’s reasonable to interpret this as a major setback for climate action in Ontario, and even to entertain dark and immobilizing feelings of hopelessness.
We’re here to say, Not so fast, friend. There are real reasons to congratulate ourselves as a community, and to double down in our commitment to work together to take climate action.
This is a marathon, folks. Dropping out is not an option. Power to the planet!
Warning: This is not the good news department
Atmospheric CO2 Hits Another All-Time High
The NOAA data release shows CO2 levels hitting 420.23 ppm in April,
Dr. Peter Kalmus didn’t make it to his job at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab on Wednesday. The astrophysicist turned Earth scientist locked himself to the doors of a J.P. Morgan bank branch in Los Angeles instead.
- Mitigation of Climate Change
- Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
Trust this expert when she says we can’t adapt our way out of the climate crisis
June 7th 2022 – National Observer – Fiona Harvey
originally published by The Guardian
The world cannot adapt its way out of the climate crisis, and counting on adaptation to limit damage is no substitute for urgently cutting greenhouse gases, a leading climate scientist has warned.
Canadian, Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy in the U.S. and professor at Texas Tech University, said the world was heading for dangers unseen in the 10,000 years of human civilization, and efforts to make the world more resilient were needed but by themselves could not soften the impact enough.
“People do not understand the magnitude of what is going on,” she said. “This will be greater than anything we have ever seen in the past. This will be unprecedented. Every living thing will be affected.”
This is the good news department
The buried pipes that will help U of T turn carbon positive. – April 19, 2022 – Toronto – A geothermal exchange system that in conjunction with major building retrofits and other measures will help the St. George campus become carbon positive by 2050, meaning it will collect more carbon than it emits.
Sophie Howe has a uniquely forward-looking job. – April 5, 2022 –Since 2016, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has been tasked with ensuring her country’s public institutions are taking into consideration how their actions affect Welsh citizens who haven’t been born yet.
Government Pays to Repair Your Stuff. – Mar 22, 2022 – Austria – Taking the “right to repair” one step further, a Viennese repair bonus is going national — and keeping thousands of items out of the junkyard.
Halton Region votes against developing 5,000 acres of farmland. – Feb 17, 2022 – Ontario – The decision flies in the face of the Ford government, which has pushed to open up more land for development.
Geothermal heating co-op – Jan 20, 2022 – Montreal – ..shares warmth among neighbours. They installed a geothermal energy system in the shared laneway behind their homes.
The City has banned natural gas in new buildings, – Dec 24, 2021 – New York City –a move that could help the country’s largest city slash carbon emissions and toxic air pollution.
Canada Infrastructure Bank to fund 4,000 electric school buses – Nov 24, 2021 – Quebec – “It’s a loan that’s based on the expected savings that the buses are going to generate over their life”
Hamilton Votes to End Sprawl – Nov 26, 2021 -Hamilton -Stop Sprawl HamOnt, Environment Hamilton, and Environmental Defence Supporters, worked tirelessly to take their city’s future back from the hands of sprawl developers and rich landowners.
Australia changes government as climate action takes centre stage
June 6, 2022 – Kevin Rennie – Global Voices
Labor government takes office after nine years of conservative rule.
It took 10 days to finalise the results for the House of Representatives following the Australian Federal elections on May 21, 2022. However, one thing was clear on election night: the people’s desire for stronger climate action. Voters not only changed the government, they also sent a message to the nation’s political parties that the climate crisis must be acted on urgently.
Ontario Regulator Refuses New Pipeline, Tells Enbridge to Plan for Lower Gas Demand
May 29, 2022 – The Energy Mix
The Ontario Energy Board sent minor shock waves through the province’s energy regulatory and municipal energy communities earlier this month with its refusal to approve the final phases of a $123.7-million pipeline replacement project in Ottawa proposed by Enbridge Gas.
… laying bare an operating model in which the companies’ revenue is based primarily on the kilometres of pipe they can install, rather than the volume of gas their customers actually need.
Canada Post unveils plan to convert half its 14,000 last-mile vehicle fleet to zero-emission by 2030, the rest by 2040
The Crown corporation’s CEO was on hand in Ottawa today to unveil Canada Post’s fleet electrification plan, part of a $1-billion effort to reach net zero emissions across the entire organization by 2050