• canada announces caps for emissions in oil and gas sector
• protesters at cop28 in dubai call for “meat on the agenda, not menus”
• cop28 president walks back claim of ‘no science’ behind need to phase out fossil fuels
research shows that the warmer, drier conditions are leading to increased drought, which exacerbates the wildfire situation. whether the cause is human or lightning, many of the planet’s tinder-dry forests are igniting earlier in the season because of global heating.
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(source: united nations ipcc, world meteorological organization, unep, nasa, climatedata.ca)
the oil and gas industry will have to cut emissions by more than one-third within seven years or buy offset credits under a new federal policy.
a cap on emissions from the fossil fuel sector had been promised by the liberals since the 2021 election, but the announcement thursday spelled out exactly how much the government will ask the industry to cut.
by 2030, conventional oil companies, oilsands producers and natural gas companies will collectively have to lower their emissions by 35 to 38 per cent compared to 2019 levels. it will not apply to oil refineries whose emissions are covered by the clean fuel standard regulations.
however, they can buy offset credits or contribute to a decarbonization fund that would lower that requirement to actually cutting just 20 to 23 per cent.
in 2022, the government estimated oil and gas would need to cut 42 per cent over 2019 levels if canada were to meet its climate targets in 2030.
environment minister steven guilbeault said the chosen figure was developed after extensive consultation with industry and other stakeholders to make sure it is achievable and not vulnerable to a constitutional challenge from provinces over jurisdiction.
—the canadian press
at the cop28 climate conference this week in dubai, the canadian government announced new proposed regulations to curb methane emissions at oil and gas production sites in an effort to reduce global warming.
the proposed regulations aim to cut methane leaks and releases from the oil and gas industry by at least 75 per cent over 2012 levels by 2030. they would require oil and gas companies to stop flaring, the intentional burning of waste methane, or venting, the intentional release of methane, from their sites with some exemptions for safety reasons.
postmedia analyzed world bank data on gas flaring in b.c. and canada going back a decade and found that despite significant reductions, close to one billion cubic metres of natural gas was burned off through flaring in 2022, creating as much greenhouse gas emissions as running four-and-a-half natural gas-fired power plants for a year, according to an epa tool to estimate co2 emissions.
amanda bryant, an analyst with the pembina institute’s oil and gas program, called flaring a “major problem” across the oil and producing regions of canada.
many oil and gas producing u.s. states already prohibit the waste of oil and gas during production, and restrict the practice of routine flaring. b.c. introduced regulations to eliminate routine flaring in 2016 and aims to eliminate all methane emissions from oil and gas production by 2035.
—nathan griffiths
after days of shaving off the edges of key warming issues, climate negotiators tuesday zeroed in on the tough job of dealing with the main cause of what’s overheating the planet: fossil fuels.
as scientists, activists and united nations officials repeatedly detailed how the world needs to phase-out the use of coal, oil and natural gas, the united arab emirates-hosted conference opened “energy transition day” with a session headlined by top officials of two oil companies.
negotiators produced a new draft of what’s expected to be the core document of the un talks, something called the global stocktake, but it had so many possibilities in its 24-pages that it didn’t give too much of a hint of what will be agreed upon when the session ends next week. whatever is adopted has to be agreed on by consensus so it has to be near unanimous.
“it’s pretty comprehensive,” cop28 ceo adnan amin told the associated press tuesday. “i think it provides a very good basis for moving forward. and what we’re particularly pleased about it is that it’s this early in the process.”
that will give time for a lot of give-and-take, amin said, particularly over the area of the future of fossil fuels, “where there’s going to be a very intensive engagement process.”
climate scientist bill hare, ceo of climate analytics, said the central issue of the meeting “is to reach a conclusion about the phasing out of fossil fuels. and unless we do that, i doubt whether we’re going to see an improvement in temperature.”
—the associated press
teams of veteran negotiators fanned out friday at the united nations climate conference with orders to get the strongest, most ambitious agreements possible, especially on the central issue of the fading future of fossil fuels in a dangerously warming planet.
the leadership of climate talks, called cop28, sent out four pairs of veteran and high-level ministers to push countries together on four key but stubborn issues as the summit went into its second week after a day of rest thursday.
new proposed language on how to curb warming released friday afternoon strengthened the options for a phase-out of fossil fuels that negotiators could choose from. four of the five options call for some version of a rapid phase-out.
“it’s go-time for governments at cop28 this week,” u.n. climate chief simon stiell said at a press event. “if we want to save lives now and keep (the international goal of 1.5 degrees celsius, 2.7 degrees fahrenheit, of warming since pre-industrial times) within reach, the highest ambition cop outcomes must stay front and center in these negotiations.”
—the associated press
the head of the cop28 climate summit is walking back comments he made last month to the effect that there is “no science” behind the notion that a phase-out of fossil fuels is required to keep earth’s temperature from rising to more than 1.5 c above preindustrial levels.
“we very much believe and respect the science,” cop28 president sultan ahmed al jaber said on monday. “we fully understand the urgency behind this matter. i have always been very clear on the fact that we are making sure that everything we do is centred around the science.”
his earlier comments, which he claimed were taken “out of context,” came during a tense exchange with mary robinson, former president of ireland and now chair of the elders group, an international group devoted to peace, human rights and global sustainability.
robinson and jaber were taking part in an online discussion on nov. 21 that was organized by the international group she changes climate. robinson was questioning jaber, who is also chief executive of the united arab emirates’ state oil company, about that firm’s plans to expand its operations.
—the national post
climate activists gathered at the entrance of the cop 28 blue zone to call for the negotiation of a global plant-based treaty as a companion to the paris agreement to reduce emissions.
in a statement, organizers of the plant based treaty said officials should “put meat on the agenda not on the menu.”
the plant based treaty is inspired by treaties that have addressed the threats of ozone layer depletion and nuclear weapons and has been endorsed by 22 cities, including edinburgh and los angeles.
as united nations climate talks enter their second week, negotiators who are largely focused on how to curb climate change have another thing on their plates: how to adapt to the warming that’s already here.
discussions for what’s known as the global goal on adaptation — a commitment made in the 2015 paris agreement to ramp up the world’s capacity to cope with climate-fuelled extreme weather — are being overshadowed by negotiations on how the world is going to slash the use of fossil fuels, causing frustration among some climate campaigners in the most vulnerable countries.
officials and activists from climate-vulnerable nations are pushing for more money to help them deal with scorching temperatures, punishing droughts and deluges and strengthening storms made worse by global warming. major fossil fuel-emitting countries need to pay vulnerable, developing countries being battered by these events, experts and officials say, to help them avoid catastrophic humanitarian and economic losses.
“the problem is the fact that adaptation is actually the second long long-term goal of the paris agreement,” said south africa-based amy giliam thorp of climate think-tank power shift africa. the first goal is a commitment to curb warming to 1.5 c since pre-industrial times.
—the associated press
the salty science crew, which is all-women, are taking part in the world’s toughest row, where teams row without stopping either in the pacific or atlantic oceans. in this case, they will be taking on the atlantic and will row from the canary islands to antigua.
anyone who wants to follow their journey can do so by visiting their website saltyscience.org or their instagram account @saltysciencerowing.
on thursday, postmedia news spoke to one of the rowers — lauren shea, a 27-year-old master’s student at ubc’s institute for the oceans and fisheries — from spain about her upcoming journey.
you can read that interview here.
—tiffany crawford
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fossil fuels are causing #globalwarming 100 times faster than past natural changes. we are taking earth’s climate far beyond natural limits, with carbon dioxide & temperature levels not seen for 3 million years.
— mike hudema (@mikehudema) december 7, 2023
no time to waste. #actonclimate#climate #cop28 #endfossilfuels pic.twitter.com/fuy4tsqloc
today, we announced the next step in our plan for cleaner air and a secure future with good-paying jobs and without the costly and destructive extreme weather events from climate change!https://t.co/trq0a5mewc pic.twitter.com/swjbyxuwvx
— steven guilbeault (@s_guilbeault) december 7, 2023
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