[GWSG] Tesla sales; saving insects; Krugman interview; self-preservation; wetland CH4; feedbacks in projections; G'land turbomelt; 25% in Aus.

[Tilley, Al]

1. While Italy was locked down in March, auto sales dropped 85%--but battery electric vehicle sales increased. The Tesla 3 led the pack. Tesla’s are sold online. https://cleantechnica.com/2020/04/12/italian-ev-sales-stay-afloat-in-catastrophic-march-for-car-industry/

I take this as a sign that people would like to come out of their current retreat headed for a carbon-free life.



2. A group of scientists have suggested five ways the public can preserve insects, including keeping pesticides away from your lawn (which should be infrequently mown), leaving stumps and dead leaves alone, and reducing carbon emissions. Insects are fundamental to a healthy ecosystem but are increasingly threatened worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2020-04-scientists-humanity-insect-extinctions.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-nwletter



2. Peter Sinclair had a conversation with Paul Krugman about “probably the greatest economic contraction in the history of the world.” The article links to Sinclair’s original six minute video and supplies three further short videos of Krugman’s comments. We now have the necessity of climate action while we cope with the effects of SARS-2. Our slate is being cleansed. https://climatecrocks.com/2020/04/13/paul-krugman-the-greatest-economic-contraction-in-history/



3. A study by mostly Chinese economists and scientists details how achievement of 1.5C of heating or well below the 2C target would allow self-preservation and increasing prosperity, while perseverance in our current course would end disastrously. Nature Communications has made the article, “Self-preservation strategy for approaching global warming targets in the post-Paris Agreement era”, freely available. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-15453-z

I take the article as an indication of the strategic intentions of the Chinese government, and as an announcement that they are assuming leadership of climate action. As such it is enormously heartening. The study will need some revision for the effects of the pandemic. It uses Nordhaus’s conservative estimates of the costs of climate change. US rightwing attention is still likely to focus on the higher upfront costs and slower breakeven schedule for our country. Self-preservation should be a persuasive motivator, though.



4. CBS reports on the self-preservation study. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-action-economic-benefit-study-finds/

The Guardian story on the Chinese study: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/14/worldwide-climate-commitments-economy-emissions



5. Methane emissions from wetlands could increase 50-80% by 2100 in a business-as-usual scenario. https://phys.org/news/2020-04-global-methane-emissions-wetlands-percent.html



6. Projections of approaching levels of heat, including the IPCC estimates, do not include the potential of the carbon cycle feedbacks. Permafrost thaw is a prominent example.  https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-carbon-cycle-feedbacks-could-make-global-warming-worse?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter



7. Due to an unexpected high pressure zone which formed over Greenland in the summer of 2019, melting was greater than had been expected. We do not know if the summer high is likely to return. If it does, we will need to double our estimate of Greenland’s contribution to sea level rise. https://phys.org/news/2020-04-unusually-drove-loss-greenland-ice.html



8. In the past year Australia’s main grid carried 25% renewable power. https://reneweconomy.com.au/australian-renewables-nudge-milestone-25-share-in-last-12-months-26301/

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