World is on track to miss climate targets

UN warns that the world will miss climate targets unless fossil fuels are phased out, according to an article in The Guardian by Environmental Editor, Fiona Harvey. This is a remarkable declaration by the UN, which has not previously called for the phase of fossil fuels so explicitly. Unfortunately, the UN's draft with this important language now appears to have been removed.

There is so much money being made by fossil fuel exporting countries, that in nearly all prior rounds of climate talks and negotiations, discussion of the need to phase out fossil fuels resulted in unresolved controversy. Yet, because we have failed to curtail carbon emissions, and In fact, they are still rising, the UN declared this "a critical moment" with a "rapidly narrowing window" for governments to reduce their emisisons. The language came out in the UN's report which was published in draft form on September 8th.

Governments are failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and to stave off climate disaster. Meeting the goals will require "phasing out all unabated fossil fuels," according to the draft report entited "Sythesis Report of the Technical Dialogue of the First Global Stocktake." The UN published this draft, despite recognizing that that some oil-producing countries may find that statement hard to take. Meanwhile, the draft now appears to have been embargoed and removed from the UN's website, which is very much the way things have been going all along. We know what we need to do but those profiting from fossil fuels continue to have the power to block progress in phasing down use of those fossil fuels.

Read The Guardian's 'A critical moment’: UN warns world will miss climate targets unless fossil fuels phased out, by Fiona Harvey, Environmental Editor, published September 8, 2023.

Published by Nucleation Capital in Carbon emissions, Climate change, Climate mayhem, Climate policy, Government support, LINKS, Private companies, Solving climate

August 14, 2023

Montana Judge rules in favor of having a livable future

Montana Judge Kathy Seely invalidated as unconstitutional the so-called “limitation” to the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), which was amended by the legislature this year, in House Bill 971 as well as Senate Bill 557, which prohited the state from considering greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts when deciding whether to approve permits for energy and mining projects.

In doing so, she upheld the claim of 16 youth plaintiffs who sued the state demanding that the state of Montana protect their rights to a clean and healthy environment and the state's natural resources from unreasonable depletion. In Held V. Montana, the plaintiffs demanded that the state Constitution be respected, in asserting that Montanans have a right to a clean and healthful environment and that each Montanan "shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations."

“By prohibiting consideration of climate change, (green house gas) emissions, and how additional GHG emissions will contribute to climate change or be consistent with the Montana Constitution, the MEPA Limitation violates Plaintiffs’ right to a clean and healthful environment and is facially unconstitutional,” Seeley wrote in her order.

According to Blair Miller, who published Judge sides with youth in Montana climate change trial, finds two laws unconstitutional, in the Nevada Current on August 14, 2023, the Held vs. Montana case was the first case challenging state and national climate and energy policies to make it to trial in the U.S., and is now the first in which the plaintiffs, 16 Montana youth now ages 5 to 22, were victorious.

This ruling was welcomed by the climate community and is expected to be a harbinger of things to come. Of course, not every state constitution provides a right to a healthy environment but the eggregiously pro-fossil fuel legislation that was passed by the Republican supermajority-held legislature was brashly unconstitutional in Montana. So, at the moment, there is at least one state that believes that children deserve a healthful future that cannot be simply denied because an industry wants to make more money.

For a blast of good climate news, see the Nevada Current's: Judge sides with youth in Montana climate change trial, finds two laws unconstitutional, by Blair Miller published August 14, 2023.

Published by Nucleation Capital in Carbon emissions, Climate change, Climate mayhem, Climate policy, Government support, History Timeline, History-making, LINKS, Solving climate, US competitiveness, US technological leadership

December 10, 2021

10 EU countries call on Brussels to label nuclear energy as green source

With the eyes of the world watching, French President Emmanuel Macron led an effort, joined by nine other European nations, to call on the European Commission to recognise nuclear power as a low-carbon energy source that should be part of the bloc's decades long transition to climate neutrality.

Making the case for nuclear energy as a "key, affordable, stable and independent energy sources" the writers argue that nuclear energy could protect EU consumers from being "exposed to the volatility of prices."

Nuclear energy accounts for over a quarter of the electricity produced in the European Union, and over 74% for France, which initiated the letter that was signed by Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania.

Over 90% of the EU's natural gas come from foreign importers, with Russia as the main producer. This great dependency has been credited as one of the main factors behind the rise in energy prices as well as supply insecurity.

"Supply tensions will be more and more frequent and we have no choice but to diversify our supply. We should pay attention not to increase our dependency on energy imports from outside Europe."

The signatories urge the Commission to include nuclear energy inside the EU green taxonomy, a technical guidebook that helps governments and investors to identify which projects respect the Paris Agreement and which ones are in breach of its climate goals.

Read more in Euro News' Led by France, 10 EU countries call on Brussels to label nuclear energy as green source, published December 10, 2021.

Published by Nucleation Capital in Brilliant thinkers, Capital reallocation, Carbon emissions, Carbon markets, Climate change, Climate policy, Environmental support for nuclear, Future of Energy, International support for nuclear, LINKS, Politicians supporting nuclear, Reduced ecosystem impacts