2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #52

Posted on 30 December 2023 by John Hartz

Story of the Week

Moments of hope and resilience from the climate frontlines

From newborns saved by clean local power to the welcome return of an iconic lizard, our global reporters take stock of their most powerful moments in climate change of 2023.

The change is happening so rapidly that even the time between major climate reports can be measured in tenths of a degree of warming. Betweenone landmark report by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2018 and another in 2023, humans warmed the world by about 0.1C.

Taking stock of climate change can be difficult in a year of such rapid transformation as 2023.

How much have we heated the world?

“The current level of warming is 1.25C, and it’s warming at a quarter of a degree per decade,” says Myles Allen, professor of geosystem science at the University of Oxford in the UK, and a coordinating lead author on the IPCC’s 2018 special report on 1.5C warming.

“You don’t need a model to know that, if you are that close, we’re going to reach 1.5C in around a decade or so at that rate of warming,” says Allen.  

These numbers can feel very abstract at times. What’s not abstract is the effects of climate change as it laps at the thresholds of low-lying homes, burns buildings in climate-fuelled wildfires and thaws the permafrost beneath the feet of communities in the far north.

Future Planet’s team of climate reporters write from across five continents to describe what they witnessed as the world warmed in 2023. 

Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on the BBC News website.

Moments of hope and resilience from the climate frontlines by Future Planet Team, BBC News, Dec 30, 2023 

Articles posted on Facebook 

Sunday, Dec 24, 2023

• 2023 was the year governments looked at the climate crisis – and decided to persecute the activists Around the world, the people fighting for the survival of our planet are being shamefully silenced and villified Opinion by Owen Jones, Comment is Free, The Guardian, Dec 23, 2023
• How 2023 changed the way states do climate policy by Adam Aton, ClimateWire, E&E News, Dec 21, 2023
• A brief history of the end of the world: Every mass extinction, including the looming next one, explained by Katie Hunt, Space & Science, CNN, Dec 23, 2023
• Governing the Climate An interview with Navroz Dubash on COP28, the history of international climate diplomacy, and the developmentalist turn in climate politics by Tim Sahay, The PolyCrisis, Phenomenal World, Dec 15, 2023
• After a terrible year of climate news, here are 5 reasons to feel positive by Sophie Tanno, World/Climate, CNN, Dec 23, 2023
• Reducing Methane From Livestock Is Critical for Stabilizing the Climate, but Congress Continues to Block Farms From Reporting Emissions Anyway A long standing pattern of letting livestock producers off the hook continues, even as billions pour into the industry. by Georgina Gustin & Phil McKenna, Science, Inside Climate News, Dec 22, 2023

Monday, Dec 25, 2023

• How Big Oil helped push the idea of a ‘carbon footprint’ by Daniel Ackerman & Meghna Chakrabarti, On Point, WBUR Radio (NY), Dec 19, 2023 [Note: Both audio and transcript are provided.]
• The nation’s capital, built on water, struggles to keep from drowning by Dana Priest & John Muyskens, Climate, Washington Post, Jan 29, 2023
• The link between climate change and a spate of rare disease outbreaks in 2023 The tempe rature-sensitive pathogens that caught U.S. communities off guard are a grim preview of the future. by Zoya Teirstein, Health, Grist, Dec 22, 2023
• Ben Santer: 2023 Schneider Award Winner, Q&A Session by Greg Dalton & Ariana Brocious, Podcast & Transcript, Climate One, Dec 22, 2023
• African Penguins Have Almost Been Wiped Out by Overfishing and Climate Change. Researchers Want to Orchestrate a Comeback. A hatchery in Cape Town breeds birds for release in a newly established sanctuary for penguins 146 miles east, where a few early signs suggest the penguins may have found a new home. by Kiley Price, Science, Inside Climate News, Dec 25, 2023
• The Climate Home News 2023 Quiz Test your international climate news knowledge with our quiz! by Matteo Civillini, News, Climate Home News, Dec 12, 2023
• There’s still time to save 50% of the world’s glaciers As glaciers melt, they leave new ecosystems behind. by Kristen Pope, Species & Ecosystems, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 25, 2023

Tuesday, Dec 26, 2023

• We have to fix unfairness: Ten takeaways from Cop28 Rich countries must cut carbon faster and provide funding to fix the unfairness getting baked into climate talks by Teresa Anderson, Climate Home News, Dec 15, 2023
• 2023 in photos: A year of pain and progress on climate change The year included both heartbreaking weather disasters and undeniable advances in the fight to address climate change. by Bob Henson & Jeff Masters, Eye on the Storm, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 22, 2023
• Energy Department gets pushback for efficiency standards to reduce greenhouse gases The Biden administration is updating efficiency standards for many consumer products to help meet the country’s climate goals. Many are getting pushback. by Jeff Brady, All Things Considered, NPR News, Dec 26, 2023
• Is climate change speeding up? Here’s what the science says. This year’s record temperatures have some scientists concerned that the pace of warming may be accelerating. But not everyone agrees. by Chris Mooney & Shannon Osaka, Climate, Washington Post, Dec 26, 2023
• At a glance – What is methane’s contribution to global warming? by John Mason & Baerbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, Dec 26, 2023
• Ten ‘you must be kidding’ weather and climate facts of 2023 The year was packed with bizarre weather events and unmistakable signs of climate change./em> by Bob Henson & Jeff Masters, Eye on the Storm, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 26, 2026
• The environment and economy can’t afford trillion-dollar carbon capture, Opinion by Robert Howarth, Energy & Environemnt, The Hill, Dec 25, 2023

Wednesday, Dec 27, 2023

• Amazon drought: ‘We’ve never seen anything like this’ by Stephanie Hegarty, World Service, BBC News, Dec 25, 2023
• 2023 Has Been A Big Year for Climate Accountability in the Courts From a groundbreaking trial in Montana to a “truly historic” human rights hearing in Europe, climate change litigation took big steps forward this year. by Dana Drugmand, DeSmog International, Dec 26, 2023
• The Climate Treadmill Speeds Up At COP28, But Critics Say It’s Still Not Going Anywhere The Dubai climate summit showed how fossil fuel companies and their allied politicians captured the UN process. Decades of obstruction have gridlocked efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions from oil, gas and coal. by Bob Berwyn, Politics & Policy, Inside Climate News, Dec 25, 2023
• The six best climate stories of 2023 by Jessica McKenzie, Climate Change, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Dec 26, 2023
• 2023 in Climate News The push and pull of progress and catastrophe made 2023 one of the most discordant—and consequential—years for the world’s climate. by ICN Staff, Inside Climate News, Dec 27, 2023
• 2023: A Year In Climate Change by Simon Clark, YouTube Video, Dec 23, 2023
• Biden Administration Takes Historic Step to Protect Old-Growth Forest Environmental advocates say action is still needed to protect “mature” trees, while industry views the move as hindering timber harvests that provide wildfire protection. by Marianne Lavelle, Poliltics & Policy, Inside Climate News
• Climate change: Seasonal shifts causing ‘chaos’ for UK nature The loss of predictable weather patterns is “causing chaos” for nature, according to the National Trust.by Justin Rowlatt & Harriet Bradshaw, science, BBC News, Dec 26, 2023

Thursday, Dec 28, 2023

• Seven easy climate actions that I learned many people aren’t doing Climate anxiety is very real, but these good news stories from throughout 2023 prove there is hope for our planet. by Staff, Euronews Green, Dec 27, 2023
• States keep proving that climate action works, Opinion by Alli Gold Roberts, Energy & Environment, The Hill, Dec 27, 2023
• How 7 scientists feel after the hottest year on record What it’s like to study a world facing unprecedented changes. by Imair Urfan, Climate, Vox, 2023
• From wind-powered islands to urban forests: Positive environmental stories from 2023 Climate anxiety is very real, but these good news stories from throughout 2023 prove there is hope for our planet. by Staff, Euronews Green, Dec 27, 2023
• The Year Ahead: Climate in 2024 by Katie Underwood, Macleans, Dec 28, 2023
• What Greenland’s melting ice sheet means for you These articles explain what Greenland’s ice sheets mean for human history and the future. by  SueEllen Campbell, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 28, 2023

Friday, Dec 29, 2023

• After COP28, questions remain for communities struggling with climate change by Staff, News, UN Environmental Program (UNEP), Dec 27, 2023
• Snow Shortages Are Plaguing the West’s Mountains Some ski areas remain closed. But an even greater concern amid a changing climate is whether enough snow will fall to meet water needs for the summer. by Mike Baker and Alisha Jucevic, Climate & Environment, New York Tmes, Dec 28, 2023
• Seven easy climate actions that I learned many people aren’t doing Bidets, bar shampoo and bug zapperes: The year’s best tips by Michel J Coren, Climate, Washington Post, Dec 26, 2023
• Pacific Northwest sees increased popularity in ‘assisted migration’ as tree species face decline The US Forest Service advocating for assisted population migration to minimize negative consequences by Assocated Press/Fox News, Dec 28, 2023
• Greta Thunberg slams COP28 deal as ‘toothless, insufficient, another betrayal’ What do Greta, Vanessa Nakate, Mitzi Jonelle Tan and other climate justice activists think of the UAE Consensus? by Lotte Limb, Reuters/Euronews Green, Dec 18, 2023
• Towards sustainability: a look ahead to environmental moments in 2024 by Staff, News, UN Environmental Program (UNEP), Dec 29, 2023

Saturday, Dec 30, 2023

• Can Southeast Asia afford to retire its coal plants? Indonesia and Vietnam will need to balance their sustainability ambitions and financing with the reality that many of the power systems already approved for construction will be coal-fired. by David Hutt, Nature & Environment, Deutsche Welle (DW), Dec 27, 2023
• Ancient Elements of Cool I traveled in the hottest months to the hottest places, looking for ways to stay cool by Philip Kennicott & Sima Diab, Climate Solutions, Washington Post, Dec 28, 2023
• Reasons to be hopeful in 2024: Five major shifts that have taken place since the Paris Agreement From solar power to electric mobility, this study offers five reasons to be hopeful about the climate. by Angela Symons, Euronews Green, Dec 28, 2023
• Ten climate questions for 2024 The US election and negotiations on a new global finance target are the most important things for the climate in 2024 by Joe Lo & Matteo Civillini, News, Climate Home News, Dec 29, 2023
• Is California Overstating the Climate Benefit of Dairy Manure Methane Digesters? CO2 released by burning biogas from cow manure is counted as an emission reduction, rather than a climate pollutant, and multiple state programs are taking credit for the cuts that some see as phantoms. by Phil McKenna, Science, Inside Climate News, Dec 30, 2023
• Towards sustainability: a look ahead to environmental moments in 2024 by Staff, News, UN Environmental Program (UNEP), Dec 29, 2023
• Coal Is the Climate Scourge That Just Won’t Go Away Everyone agrees it’s the worst of the fossil fuels, but no one wants to pay the price to kick the habit. Opinion by Mark Gongloff, Boomberg News, Dec 21, 2023
• Moments of hope and resilience from the climate frontlines by Future Planet Team, BBC News, Dec 30, 2023