[GWSG] DOE plans low prices; managing retreat; climate fairness; US climate summit; emissions underestimated

[Tilley, Al]

1. Headline: Solar is Cheapest Electricity in History, U.S. DOE Aims to Cut Costs 60% by 2030. One target is to cut the price of utility-scale solar power to $.02/kWh.  https://cleantechnica.com/2021/03/26/solar-is-cheapest-electricity-in-history-us-doe-aims-to-cut-costs-60-by-2030/

2. A few feet of sea level rise would compromise much of our infrastructure in Jacksonville, FL, and put many neighborhoods increasingly or permanently underwater. Yet we are debating running the city into debt to finance new projects in our flood zones. We will be retreating. The only questions is whether it will be well managed or piecemeal, with most of the attention and funding going to the wealthy. Jacksonville is not alone among coastal areas. “Meanwhile. . . the state of Louisiana recently rolled out a series of maps that identified not only future flood risk, but also areas that are a high priority for managed retreat moving forward. It doesn’t make managed retreat mandatory; rather, the maps are meant to serve as a starting point for a much broader conversation about what coastal Louisiana might look like in the future—which will ideally help residents identify what in their communities they would most like to preserve.”  https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2020/08/buy-high-sell-low/

3. Equity is not equality. Fairness, as is implied in the article, is the result of accommodations which, while perhaps not achieving equity, roughly address perceived inequalities. Our climate action, nationally and internationally, must be seen to be fair if it is to be effective. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/03/commentary-the-choice-is-clear-fair-climate-policy-or-no-climate-policy/?ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_WEEKLY_032221)

4. President Biden has invited 40 world leaders to a virtual conference on the climate crisis. The US plans to announce its 2030 emissions target by that date, which is Earth Day.  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/26/joe-biden-climate-change-virtual-summit

5. The EPA reports estimates of US methane emissions to the UN. Satellite measurements show 90% higher emissions from oil production than estimated, and 50% higher for gas production.  https://phys.org/news/2021-03-oil-natural-gas-production-emit.html

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