Category:

Climate, Environment, Renewable Energy

U.S. Supreme Court backs energy companies over Baltimore in climate case

The Democratic-governed Maryland city’s lawsuit targeted 21 U.S. and foreign energy companies that extract, produce, distribute or sell fossil fuels, arguing that their activities contribute to emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases linked to climate change. An important port city, Baltimore noted that it is vulnerable to sea-level rise and flooding driven by climate change.

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Wildfires, thawing permafrost pose new challenge to curb climate change: Study

As temperatures rise and permafrost thaws, carbon dioxide and methane trapped within the long-frozen soil are released. The deeper the thaw, the more gas is released.

That threatens to create a feedback loop that contributes to even more warming of the atmosphere, scientists warn in a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Cyclone Tauktae causes economic losses of over $ 2 billion, agriculture hit most: RMSI 

Pushpendra Johari, senior vice president, sustainability, RMSI said“Cyclone Tauktaeis an unique event that has impacted all coastal western states and union territories of India . Though the cyclone effect on Kerala, Karnataka and  Maharashtra and Goa was not severe, Gujarat and Diu are badly impacted.”

“Though the cyclone has made a landfall , this is not the end of our distress. Recent climate change studies have highlighted rising  sea surface temperature in the Arbian sea. This will increase the cyclone frequency in these region. We should improve our preparedness even further to deal with more such events in future.”

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Stop developing new oil, gas, coalfields to avert climate crisis, says IEA

Reducing emissions to net zero — the point at which greenhouse gases are removed from the atmosphere as quickly as they’re added — is considered vital to limit the increase in average global temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. That’s seen as the critical threshold if the world is to avoid disastrous climate change.

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U.S. SEC chair planning new workforce data disclosures for public companies

He said staff would propose a new rule on disclosing the workforce or “human capital” metrics. Those disclosures could include data on issues such as workforce diversity, part-time versus full-time workers, and employee turnover, according to advocacy groups that have been pushing for the new rules.

“This is one of my top priorities and will be an early focus during my tenure at the SEC,” Gensler told the gathering.

The SEC is ramping up its ESG agenda to execute on Democrats’ priorities to address issues such as climate change and social injustice.

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Adani and other Australian coal miners flag finance, insurance difficulties

The withdrawal of global insurers risks making even some ancillary business unviable, said contractor BMD Constructions Pty Ltd, which is building a section of a 210 km (130 mile) rail line to service Adani’s Carmichael mine in northern Queensland state, which is due to start operating this year.

The coal miners argued that Australia’s high-energy coal offers a comparatively lower emissions alternative to export markets compared with coal from other regions. They say coal also provides billions of dollars to government coffers and supports regional jobs.

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Global renewable energy grew at fastest pace in two decades in 2020 – IEA

New renewable energy capacity in 2020 rose by 45% to 280 gigawatts (GW) last year, the largest year-on-year increase since 1999, even though there were supply chain disruptions and construction delays due to the impact of COVID-19.

China accounted for 50% of renewable energy capacity growth last year and will account for 45% this year and 58% in 2022, the report said.

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