[GWSG] Achieving 2C; H from biomass; attitude maps; we're off the chart; gas on fuel standards; over half wind

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A report commissioned by the German government in preparation for the G-20 meeting forecasts that achieving the 2C target of the Paris Agreement would boost the global economy by $19 trillion (cumulative from now to 2050, and reaching $10 trillion annually by 2050) and create about six million jobs.  The transition would require the fossil fuel companies to leave $10 trillion of coal, oil, and gas underground, and require $145 trillion investment in clean energy.  Almost all of that investment is needed not in energy generation but in end-use sectors such as an electrified transportation system and more energy-efficient buildings (Executive Summary, page 14).  "Reducing the impact on human health and mitigating climate change would save between two- and six times more than the costs of decarbonisation."  (Executive Summary, page 10) We would also find ourselves with a future.  Timely action could preserve the option of limiting warming to 1.5C.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/paris-climate-accord-could-make-the-world-19-trillion-richer  Yahoo provides some clarification, and a link to the 204-page report, Perspectives for the Energy Transition, prepared by International Renewable Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency.  The two agencies wrote two different reports, both providing pathways to limiting warming to 2C with a 66% chance of success.  Neither pathway imagines overshooting the goal and then using carbon capture and sequestration to return to the 2C level.  The Executive Summary is well worth reading.  I found it a great mood booster, in fact.    https://www.bloombergquint.com/technology/2017/03/20/india-tycoon-shuns-investment-banks-in-23-billion-vodafone-deal  The REA report emphasizes renewable energy in their plan, while the IEA is more reliant on nuclear energy and carbon capture.  http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/03/21/g20-report-shows-competing-visions-clean-energy-future/



2.   Scientists at the U of Cambridge have developed a process to produce hydrogen from biomass using solar power.  The new process is under commercial development.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/03/scientists-harness-solar-power-to-produce-hydrogen-from-biomass.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RenewableEnergyNewsRssFeed+%28Renewable+Energy+News+RSS+Feed%29



3.  The NY Times supplies six handy maps on regional variation in US attitudes toward climate change.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/21/climate/how-americans-think-about-climate-change-in-six-maps.html?_r=1



4.  The climate trends of 2016 continue to push us into "uncharted territory," according to a report from the World Meteorological Organization.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/21/record-breaking-climate-change-world-uncharted-territory



5.  Trump's assertion that fuel economy regulations are job killers is vapid.   http://e360.yale.edu/features/trump-fuel-economy-cafe-standards-decicco?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29



6.  For a few hours on the night of February 13, the Southwest Power Pool supplied over half of its power from wind.  The sprawling power pool, which includes over 16,000 megawatts of wind power in several states, can handle yet higher percentages of the intermittent source through reliable power management techniques.  "Wind and solar resources are transforming low-income rural areas."    http://energypost.eu/utility-experience-blows-away-concerns-about-wind-power/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+energypost+%28Energy+Post+Daily%29  ?

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