2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #45

Posted on 10 November 2024 by BaerbelW, Doug Bostrom, John Hartz

A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 3, 2024 thru Sat, November 9, 2024.

Summary of this week’s topics

We asked Google’s Gemini again for help categorizing the articles we shared during the week, but it couldn’t do it this time around. So, we tried with OpenAI’s ChatGPT instead, which is why the format is different compared to last week’s. Now that we have two different versions of generated summaries, we’d like to know which format you prefer, so please let us know in the comments!

International Climate Conferences and Agreements

• COP16 Outcomes and Challenges

  • Nature, Carbon Brief, The Guardian: Coverage of COP16, including biodiversity agreements and developing nations’ frustrations over unmet funding promises.

• Paris Climate Agreement and US Role

  • The Guardian, Nature: Analysis of António Guterres’s warning about the possible impacts of a US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, prompted by reports of Trump’s plans to exit.

Climate Change and Political Influence

• US Presidential Election and Climate Policy

  • Inside Climate News, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, The Conversation, Washington Post: Various perspectives on how climate policy was largely absent from US campaign discussions, the potential rollback of climate initiatives under Trump, and the implications for oil and gas companies.

• State-Level Climate Initiatives

  • Inside Climate News: Positive outcomes for climate initiatives across multiple US states, even amid a challenging national political climate.

Climate-Related Environmental Impacts

• Methane Emissions and Policies

  • Bloomberg Green, Washington Post, The Guardian: Reports on rising methane emissions despite pledges, causes of the spike, and the pushback against methane regulations from oil and gas producers.

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Targets

  • Carbon Brief, The Guardian: Analysis of EU emissions reductions, projections of 2024 as the first year above 1.5°C warming, and Canada’s shift on CO2 policy by Alberta Conservatives.

• Droughts, Floods, and Severe Weather

  • The Guardian, Washington Post, CNN, Yale Climate Connections: Coverage on Spain’s floods, US drought impacts on agriculture, and predictions for future drought dynamics due to increased evaporation.

• Wildfires, Hurricanes, and Heat Waves

  • Inside Climate News, Yale Climate Connections, Washington Post: The growing intensity of natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes due to climate change, with specific impacts in Canada, Greece, North Carolina, and the Amazon.

Climate Policy, Industry, and Regulation

• Corporate and Government Climate Actions

  • DeSmog, Washington Post, The Tyee: Examination of Trump-backed policies favoring the fossil fuel industry, debates on methane regulation, and discussions around Canada’s water export pressure.

• Far-Right Influence on Environmental Policy

  • The Guardian: Reports on how far-right groups are capitalizing on discontent among European farmers over climate policies.

Mental Health and Climate Anxiety

• Climate Anxiety and Mental Health

  • Inside Climate News: Exploration of the psychological impacts of climate change, especially post-election, and the effects of heat on those using psychotropic medications.

Public Misconceptions and Climate Science

• Disinformation and Weather Manipulation Myths

  • Science Feedback: Refuting claims that HAARP or other human interventions cause weather changes, emphasizing the natural causes of extreme weather patterns.

Stories we promoted this week, by publication date:

Before November 3

• COP16: Key outcomes agreed at the UN biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia, Nature, Carbon Brief, Multiple Authors.
• https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/01/a-trump-presidency-could-cripple-the-paris-climate-agreement-warns-un-chief-antonio-guterres, Nature, The Guardian, Peter Greenfield. “António Guterres says treaty will endure but urges US to remain amid reports that Trump plans to withdraw from the climate negotiating framework entirely”
• Alberta Conservatives Pass Climate Denial Resolution 12 to Celebrate CO2 Pollution, DeSmog, Danielle Paradis and Taylor Noakes. UCP pledges to abandon the province’s net zero targets, and remove the designation of CO2 as a pollutant.
• EU emissions fall by 8% in steep reduction reminiscent of Covid shutdown, Environment, The Guardian, Ajit Niranjan.. “Decline over 2023, helped by switch to renewable power, means greenhouse gas pollution is now 37% below 1990 levels”
• Why this is a climate election—even if that hasn’t been apparent on the trail, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Andy Revkin.
• Why were the floods in Spain so bad? A visual guide, World, The Guardian, Ashifa Kassam & Faisal Ali.