[GWSG] Mulkey's review; congress shorts climate; funding plans; US to propose SRE; Make Sunsets or not; biodiversity success in 2022

[Tilley, Al]

1. U of FL’s Stephen Mulkey has provided a 32-minute year’s-end summary of the state of the climate and current issues of primary interest. He intends to follow up with monthly overviews for his students. If you are interested you may sign up for his blog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDc750G_ML8



2. The US has accepted $11.4 billion a year as our fair share of support to poorer nations to cope with the effects of the climate crisis. Congress appropriated only $1bn. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/23/us-fails-to-give-money-promised-for-developing-countries-to-ease-climate-impacts



3. President Biden committed to provide $11.4bn a year by 2024 in a speech to the General Assembly in September 2021 prior to COP26. The goal was for the wealthy nations to provide $100bn a year. In 2019 the EU provided $24.5bn. COP26 failed to come to agreement on a proper amount of support. It resolved to come to a new agreement by 2025, beginning with a floor of $100bn. Stephen Mulkey outlines our nation’s contribution in emissions to causing the climate crisis in item 1.  https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-seeks-double-climate-change-aid-developing-nations-biden-2021-09-21/

On what was agreed at COP26: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-glasgow-climate-pact/cop26-outcomes-finance-for-climate-adaptation



4. The US is proposing to explore the uses of solar radiation engineering to control the amount of sunlight heating the atmosphere. The potential for unforeseen mischief is grave. A group of over 380 scientists have issued a call for a global non-use agreement for solar radiation engineering. At least one private firm, Make Sunsets, is already running tests.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/25/can-controversial-geoengineering-fix-climate-crisis



5. More on Make Sunsets, which claims to have raised $750,000. Apparently the levers are hard to find which could control this private experiment with the public good. https://climatecrocks.com/2022/12/26/greenfinger-startup-seeks-to-monetize-free-lance-geo-engineering/



6. The Guardian looks back with pleasure at the gains we made toward reversing biodiversity loss in 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/26/2022-the-year-rewilding-went-mainstream-and-a-biodiversity-deal-gave-the-world-hope

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