Les températures extrêmes en Afrique australe pourraient persister même si les émissions nettes sont réduites à zéro: Les émissions de gaz à effet de serre, dues aux activités humaines, ont provoqué un réchauffement climatique rapide. Depuis 70 ans, cela a intensifié les épisodes de chaleur extrême partout dans le monde. Les canicules, par exemple, peuvent …
?A ‘Google maps for the sea’, sails ?and alternative fuels: ?the technologies steering shipping towards ?lower emissions – podcast: petrugusa94/Shutterstock ?Ships transport around 80% of the world’s cargo. From your food, to your car to your phone, chances are it got to you by sea. The vast majority of the world’s container ships burn fossil …
Reducing air pollution could increase methane emissions from wetlands – here’s what needs to be done: Sampling in a Pantanal lake, Brazil. Vincent Gauci, CC BY-NC-ND What if well-meaning policies that reduce one atmospheric pollutant could also increase natural emissions of powerful greenhouse gases? Our findings, just published in the journal Science Advances, advance an …
South Africa’s climate battle: mining district exposes gaps in emissions control: In South Africa, the new 2024 Climate Change Act requires local governments to plan responses to global warming. These local authorities should find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions where possible, such as from their bus services, and reduce their use of electricity that …
Why billionaires should take the lead and declare their own emissions cutting targets: Samedan airport near Davos is dedicated to private jets. Thierry Weber / shutterstock The annual glitzy gathering of world leaders and billionaire CEOs in Davos, Switzerland, allows us to marvel once again at the environment-wrecking effects of private jets and lavish lifestyles. …
Meat and dairy industry’s attempt to change how we measure methane emissions would let polluters off the hook: Methane has contributed [around 25%](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-023-02041-1) of the global temperature rise since industrialisation ksrecomm/flickr, CC BY Lobbyists from major polluting industries were out in force at the recent UN climate summit, COP28. Groups representing the livestock industry, which …
Making fossil fuel companies accountable for their products’ emissions would support the clean energy transition: Konrad Kozaczuk/Shutterstock I recently found myself among a group of alarmed scientists, writing a fervent plea to the European Commission to be more ambitious when it comes to corporate greenhouse gas reporting requirements. Our open letter calling for comprehensive disclosure …
We calculated the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions from people breathing out – here’s what we found: Jaromir Chalabala / shutterstock The UK population collectively breathes out about 1,100 tonnes of the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide every year. That’s one key finding from our new research. Those breath emissions are a mere 0.05% and …
COP28: countries have pledged to cut emissions from cooling – here’s how to make it happen: Saikat Paul/Shutterstock Cast your eyes over the statistics in a new report I helped author on staying cool in a warming climate and the urgency becomes clear: 1 billion people, mostly in Africa and Asia, are at high risk …
Emissions inequality is getting worse – here’s how to end the reign of the ultra-polluters: Scharfsinn/Shutterstock Climate change is overwhelmingly a problem of wealthy people. The wealthiest 1% of humanity produce over 1,000 times the emissions of the poorest 1%. In fact, these 77 million people are responsible for more climate-changing emissions than the poorest …
Low emissions and economic survival – countries in the global south aren’t getting a fair deal: In 2015, more than 140 countries signed up to the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. For countries in the global south this is a huge task. On the one hand they have committed to low emissions. On …
Sails and satellite navigation could cut shipping industry’s emissions by up to a third: A cargo vessel with Flettner rotors – a modern equivalent to sails. Norsepower, Author provided In the vast expanse of the world’s oceans, a transformation is underway. The international shipping sector, made up of thousands of massive cargo ships laden with …
Boom in space tourism threatens to boost the amounts of space junk and climate emissions: NASA, CC BY Commercial companies are increasingly becoming involved in transporting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), as well as other activities in orbit. Some, such as Houston-based Axiom Space, eventually want to build their own space stations in …
Carbon budget for 1.5°C will run out in six years at current emissions levels – new research: Mykhailo Pavlenko/Shutterstock If humanity wants to have a 50-50 chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, we can only emit 250 another gigatonnes (billion metric tonnes) of CO?. This effectively gives the world just six years to get …
Electrifying offshore platforms targets a tiny fraction of the oil industry’s emissions: David Nixon/Shutterstock We are all familiar with the greenhouse gas emissions that come from burning fossil fuels in car engines, central heating systems and power stations. Little discussed is the climate footprint of producing oil and gas in the first place. Extracting, refining …
Climate change: Kenya’s power sector is a shining example, the big hurdles are household and transport emissions: Kenya’s ambition is to reduce carbon emissions by one-third by 2030, relative to the business-as-usual scenario of 143 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. It also seeks to reduce carbon emissions to as close to zero as possible …
Here’s what’s driving the record autumn heat (it’s not just carbon emissions): Climate scientists have detected a striking jump in global temperatures during 2023. September was 1.75°C above Earth’s pre-industrial average temperature and a whole half-degree celsius warmer than the previous hottest September. These observations have been variously described as “shocking”, “mind-blowing” and “gobsmacking” by …
Why the impacts of climate change may make us less likely to reduce emissions: The wildfires raging across Canada’s south-eastern province of Quebec are unprecedented. A warm, dry spring allowed the tinder to accumulate and lightning storms in early June lit the match, dramatically escalating 2023’s fire season. As the smoke spread south it spawned …