[GWSG] Ag going N; Lloyd's leaves fossils; NY pensions divest; coal value 0; H hype; Kerry interviews

[Tilley, Al]

1. As the earth heats, agricultural potential and populations will shift to the north. Russia is likely to benefit, along with Canada. US resistance to climate planning handicaps us (though we hope that will change). From the article, it does not appear that Russia is much of a model of good planning. China seems more sensitive to the Russian potential than Russia does. Thanks to Mary Emerson-Smith for the story. https://www.propublica.org/article/the-big-thaw-how-russia-could-dominate-a-warming-world?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=feature

2. Lloyd’s, the world’s largest insurance market, is moving out of fossil fuel investments in coal, oil sands, and the Arctic by 2022 and out of the industry entirely by 2030. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/17/lloyds-market-to-quit-fossil-fuel-insurance-by-2030?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20201217&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily

3. The NY State Common Retirement Fund is divesting from fossil fuels. Risk is driving the move.  https://climatenewsnetwork.net/major-us-pension-fund-plans-fossil-free-future/

4. The Japanese owner of a part share of Australia’s newest coal-fired power plant is writing it off as a total loss. They were unable to refinance loans on the plant. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/17/australias-newest-coal-fired-power-plant-deemed-worthless-by-japanese-owner

5. The cynical among us may have groused that the enthusiasm for hydrogen as a fuel has a manufactured air about it. They would have been right.  It benefits from a covert program of fossil industry funded hype. Also news to me in the collection of stories: combusting H leads to as much or more NOx pollution as the combustion of fossil gas.  https://climatecrocks.com/2020/12/17/fossil-pr-fueling-hydrogen-push/
CleanTechnica supplies more info, including a link to The Hydrogen Hype, the basic report on the issue from a coalition of European groups. https://cleantechnica.com/2020/12/18/big-oil-is-fueling-the-hydrogen-rush/

6. John Kerry, incoming climate envoy, talks about the challenges of dealing with international climate issues. The interviews date from a few months ago. On Russia’s prospects of becoming an agricultural superpower: “If Russia thinks that climate is going to benefit it, they haven’t done their calculations about Siberia and permafrost and tundra thawing and what the impact of methane is going to be on damaging the rest of the planet. That’s just not a thought-through concept.”   https://www.propublica.org/article/john-kerry-biden-climate-czar?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter&utm_content=river

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