[GWSG] Softened coal; next year's business; too hot; better forecasts; light roofs; big wind; offsets' underside

[Tilley, Al]

1. One of the disappointments about the results of COP 26 is that a draft resolution to phase out coal power was weakened in the final statement to an intent of “phasing down” coal use. China and India were behind the move, as recounted in a Politico story.  Katharine Hayhoe at the beginning and John Kerry at the end resolve to “take the fight into next year.” https://climatecrocks.com/2021/11/14/cop-is-it-enough-no-are-we-stopping-no/

2. One resolution to emerge from COP 26 was to meet next year to formalize specific national programs of action on a range of issues. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/13/climate/cop26-glasgow-climate-agreement.html

3. Indonesian researchers find that people living in some tropical areas of the country are experiencing heat at the extreme of human survivability. Millions of people are living in such regions globally. Even small temperature rises will put increasing areas beyond habitation. https://phys.org/news/2021-11-sensors-tropical-stress-conditions-approaching.html

4. An emphasis on networks of connected conditions rather than on global conditions leads to much improved forecasts of high impact climate events. Knowing farther in advance when droughts, storms, and heat waves are likely to hit will help efforts to moderate their damage. https://phys.org/news/2021-11-high-impact-climate-events-earlier.html

5. Australia’s New South Wales government is banning dark roofs on new houses. Light roofs are as much as 10C (18F) cooler in heat waves, and the ambient temperatures can be lowered 2.4C (4.3F). https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/17/dark-roofs-to-be-banned-in-nsw-planning-minister-says

6. A brief tour of Ørsted’s turbine construction site off the English coast, the world’s largest installation, reminds us of what an impressive accomplishment the transition to renewable energy is. https://climatecrocks.com/2021/11/17/installing-giant-offshore-turbines/

7. The side of carbon offsets which indigenous people see is often destructive. Offsets are a way for fossil fuel corporations to carry on their operations at the cost of the lands and lives of others—their usual procedure. The carbon trading arrangements of COP26 is experienced by many native peoples as a death sentence. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/16/indigenous-climate-activists-cop26-endangers-native-communities

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