[GWSG] Weaponizing renewables; levers and spouts; oil's take; IPCC AR6. part 2; Summary read; an author reflects; 3 vice chairs

[Tilley, Al]

1. Russia depends on oil and gas for 60% of its exports. By developing renewables, we can deprive Russia of their market and their power over other nations. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/25/this-is-how-we-defeat-putin-and-other-petrostate-autocrats
In the last news list I said that no one who had experienced war would celebrate one. However, counter-examples are easy to find. Better: No one who has experienced war should celebrate one. In the current conflict with Russia, as in many others, renewables offer a way out.

2. Is the current war over fossil fuels? No. Does it have fossil fuel levers and spouts? Yes. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/24/qa-could-putin-use-russian-gas-supplies-to-hurt-europe

3. The oil industry is using the war as an occasion to push for more support to flow to them. But, in fact, “we’re overly dependent on fossil fuels” already. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/26/climate/ukraine-oil-lobby-biden-drilling.html?smid=em-share

4. The IPCC’s report on the impacts of the climate breakdown delineates the damage already underway and warns of much worse to come if we do not act quickly. No place on earth is free from the damage and mass die-offs are already in progress. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, said: “I have seen many scientific reports in my time, but nothing like this. Today’s IPCC report is an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.” John Kerry: “The question at this point is not whether we can altogether avoid the crisis – it is whether we can avoid the worst consequences.” 30% of the earth reserved from human use may not be enough to restore natural systems; we probably should set aside half the earth. Part three of the report, due in April, will describe ways we might cut emissions, and a final part, scheduled for October, will summarize the findings in preparation for Cop27 in Egypt.     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/28/ipcc-issues-bleakest-warning-yet-impacts-climate-breakdown

5. Today’s IPCC report is linked under Working Group; Report: AR6 Climate Change 2022: Adaptation and Vulnerability, February 2022. I have read the 35 pages of the Summary for Policymakers and recommend it. Climate trends are set against non-climate factors such as habitat loss (from non-climate causes), urbanization, consumption patterns, and growing inequity. The report looks forward to ways to develop a resilient society in secure habitats. Page SPM-16 indicates through graphs the degree to which we stand upon the threshold of calamity, and in the bottom display projects the effects of proactive adaptation. Consideration of current adaptation measures begins on SPM-20. “Many initiatives prioritize immediate and nearterm climate risk reduction which reduces the opportunity for transformational adaptation (high confidence).” I missed a discussion of the adaptive benefits of a change to a plant-based diet. The discussion of maladaptations such a sea walls on SPM-28 is particularly valuable in suggesting what we should be alert to avoid. The ensuing discussion of enabling conditions suggests where we could most effectively put our efforts.    https://www.ipcc.ch/

6. Thomas Bernauer, who contributed to the IPCC report as a lead author, highlights those features he finds particularly important. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-climate.html

7. Three vice-chairs of the IPCC describe factors hampering adaptation. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-ipcc-grim-efforts-falling.html

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