Nearly 200 countries have agreed to a deal that calls for transitioning “away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science”. This sounds okay and at least fossil fuels was mentioned for only the second time in any of the COPs but as is always the case with COPs all countries have to agree on the statement and when some of the countries are large fossil fuel producers the statement is always vague and non binding. It does not include a commitment to phase out or phase down fossil fuels, as many countries, civil society groups and scientists have urged.
For some scientists the key omission concerns “abatement”. That is, the use of carbon capture and storage technology to remove CO₂ emissions before they leave furnaces and engines for the atmosphere. “Will capturing 30% or 60% of CO₂ emissions from burning a quantity of coal, oil or gas be sufficient? Or will fossil fuel use only be considered ‘abated’ if 90% or more of these emissions are captured and stored permanently?
To finish on a slightly more positive news on the first day of the summit, delegates agreed to formally establish a loss and damage fund but Don’t applaud the COP28 climate summit’s loss and damage fund deal just yet – here’s what’s missing. Also Brazil launched a fund in the first week of COP28 that would pay countries with large remaining forests to conserve and expand them but Billions have been raised to restore forests, with little success. Here’s the missing ingredient. Also countries have pledged to cut emissions from cooling – here’s how to make it happen.
If you want a detailed account of COP28 I recommend the ‘Carbon Brief’ account of the key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks but if you want a summary see Five major outcomes from the latest UN climate summit.
Good News
- Spanish island dumps diesel for wind, water and sunshine. El Hierro, a tiny island in the Canaries, is halfway to the UN goal of ditching fossil fuels. But finding just the right renewable energy mix is proving tough.
- How a hybrid heating system could lower your bills and shrink your carbon footprint. A hybrid heating system combines two or more technologies to heat a building. Typically, this involves pairing a conventional gas boiler with a renewable alternative like an electric heat pump. But there are other possibilities. For instance, roof-mounted solar panels can generate electricity to help run an immersion heater, or solar-thermal panels can complement your heat pump or boiler by making hot water.
- UK’s first air capture plant is turned on to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and turn it into jet fuel It will run on solar power to recover 50 tonnes of CO2 from the air per year.
- UN sets out roadmap to combat global hunger amid climate crisis. Targets include cutting methane emissions from livestock by 25%, halving food waste and managing fisheries sustainably by 2030.
- COP28: countries have pledged to cut emissions from cooling – here’s how to make it happen
- COP28: Why China’s clean energy boom matters for global climate action
- More UK universities cutting ties with fossil fuel industry
- UK government backs plan to ban gas and ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers
- Jaguar Land Rover begins road testing electric Range Rover prototypes
Not so Good News
- The disagreement between two climate scientists that will decide our future. Is reaching net zero emissions by 2050 enough to halt warming? One leading scientist says no.
- From the Paris agreement to COP28, how oil and gas giants try to influence the global climate agenda. Many oil and gas companies support a tax on carbon, even though they are significant emitters.
- Climate activists say space for protest has shrunk at Cop28.
- Mosquito-borne disease risk looms for UK – study. The UK Health Security Agency’s report is based on a worst-case scenario, which would see high emissions and temperatures rising by 4C by 2100.
- What happens if the 1.5C target for global heating is missed?
- How to assess the carbon footprint of a war
- River deltas are threatened by more than climate change – leaving hundreds of millions of people at risk
- Human trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation: the ‘loss and damage’ from climate change a fund will not compensate
- Antarctic study proves glacier has undergone irreversible retreat – highlighting potential for widespread ice loss
- Cop28 failed to halt fossil fuels’ deadly expansion plans – so what now?
- Indigenous people and climate justice groups say Cop28 was ‘business as usual’
- Dozens of US lobbyists represent both climate-focused charities and fossil fuels
Bad News
- Off track: is the UK breaking its 2030 climate promise? Friends of the Earth’s new data analysis shows that the UK government is off-track to reach its 2030 emissions target. Read the report and find out how the UK’s progress has fared under Rishi Sunak’s premiership.
- Frozen methane under the seabed is thawing as oceans warm – and things are worse than we thought
- Climate change: if warming approaches 2°C, a trickle of extinctions will become a flood
- Earth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn
Other Media News
This week’s ‘Just Have a Think’ 14 minute episode is entitled If BIG OIL fails, do we all go down with it?? It discusses the International Energy Agency new paper analysing how oil and gas will dwindle in the next three decades to a small fraction of their current size, basically making non-combustible products.
This week’s BBC Sounds ‘Inside Science’ entitled Biggest COP in History evaluates some of the big themes of the summit i.e. the way we look after our oceans, measures needed to ensure food security and an agreement to transition away from fossil fuel dependence.