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<span style="font-size:12.0pt">1. Insurers are limiting coverage of a growing number of fossil fuel projects, and raising rates on those they will insure.
</span><a href="https://climatecrocks.com/2021/02/01/insurance-industry-pulling-plug-on-fossil-fuels/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">https://climatecrocks.com/2021/02/01/insurance-industry-pulling-plug-on-fossil-fuels/</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt">2. The Biden administration is attempting to multiply efforts to control emissions. NPR provides an overview of the legislative situation.
</span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/02/963014373/how-fast-will-biden-need-to-move-on-climate-really-really-fast"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">https://www.npr.org/2021/02/02/963014373/how-fast-will-biden-need-to-move-on-climate-really-really-fast</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt">3. The MIT Technology Review is offering a Green Future Index which estimates the general progress and commitment of 76 nations toward a carbon free future and ranks them. “It measures the degree to which their economies are pivoting
to clean energy, industry, agriculture, and society through investment in renewables, innovation and green finance.” The display is an interactive map. US is number 40; our neighbors are Canada, 4<sup>th</sup>, and Mexico, 36<sup>th</sup>. Surely we shall
improve. A linked report provides details. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/01/25/1016648/green-future-index/?utm_source=engagement_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=site_visitor.unpaid.engagement&utm_content=02.03.subs&mc_cid=8cfb665ad4&mc_eid=fc22084f2f"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/01/25/1016648/green-future-index/?utm_source=engagement_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=site_visitor.unpaid.engagement&utm_content=02.03.subs&mc_cid=8cfb665ad4&mc_eid=fc22084f2f</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt">4. A French court has held France guilty of failing to address the climate crisis and for not keeping its promises to reduce emissions. The suit was brought by four environmental groups, including Greenpeace France, and backed
with a petition signed by 2.3 million citizens. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/03/court-convicts-french-state-for-failure-to-address-climate-crisis">
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/03/court-convicts-french-state-for-failure-to-address-climate-crisis</a><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt">5. A UN report concludes that a plant-based diet is crucial to preserving endangered species and dealing with the climate crisis. In the US a switch from beef to beans would free up 42% of cropland for better uses.
<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/03/plant-based-diets-crucial-to-saving-global-wildlife-says-report#:~:text=The%20global%20food%20system%20is,damage%2C%20according%20to%20a%20report">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/03/plant-based-diets-crucial-to-saving-global-wildlife-says-report#:~:text=The%20global%20food%20system%20is,damage%2C%20according%20to%20a%20report</a>.<o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt">6. Germany set an ambitious goal of reducing emissions 40% by the end of 2020, and beat it with a 42% drop in emissions on a 1990 base. The economy minister credited the EU emissions trading program. The corona virus slowdown
helped, but was not crucial to success, he said. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span><a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-02-germany-goal-greenhouse-emissions.html">https://phys.org/news/2021-02-germany-goal-greenhouse-emissions.html</a><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt">7. A study by the US National Academies of Sciences found that the costs of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 would be more than repaid by the public health savings alone.
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/net-zero-emissions-2050-2650275117.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1">
https://www.ecowatch.com/net-zero-emissions-2050-2650275117.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1</a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
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