Due to last only three days when the original event lasted two full weeks, there shouldn’t be any binding agreement, just a few statements and speeches… Likewise, few political leaders will attend.

Since our representatives haven’t understood yet that the only way to solve our current triple crisis is investing in the Green Economy, WE the people have to step up and make ourselves heard.

Related posts:

1. $2.2 trillion : the huge costs of environmental damages
2. The Billion Tree Campaign is a huge success
3. The huge failure of the Copenhagen conference
4. EU’s climate change scheme is a disappointment
5. Investing in Nature provides huge returns

” According to calculations conducted by Hansen and his colleagues, the 0.58 Watts per square meter imbalance implies that carbon dioxide levels need to be reduced to about 350 ppm to restore the energy budget to equilibrium.”

“The most recent measurements show that carbon dioxide levels are currently 392 parts per million and scientists expect that concentration to continue to rise in the future.”

Going back to 350 ppm will be a tricky goal to achieve as :

• Our emissions are increasing by 2 ppm per year on average ;
• Our carbon sinks – forests and oceans – are getting less and less efficiency ;
• Fossil fuel intensive solutions are still more and more used.

I am nonetheless believing it can actually be done. Yes, I am a die-hard optimistic…

Related posts:

1. Study of the latest “Summary for policymakers”
2. Top NASA official warns on climate change
3. EU backs away from 30% emissions target. Again !
4. NASA brings more facts and figures on space junk
5. ACEE study on the huge benefits of efficiency

” China is considering levying a carbon tax within the next three years to tighten its regulations on polluting industries and put the economy on a greener path. (…) The main targets of the tax will be large users of coal, crude oil and natural gas.”

Even if some analysts have called this a hoax, Climate Spectator reminds us the many reasons why a carbon tax is actually the way to go for China, but also for ALL nations…

Related posts:

1. Australia to introduce carbon tax in July 2012
2. China becomes the world leader in wind power
3. Climate change : China faces a grim future
4. China is moving on climate change
5. India and China to cooperate on climate change

I have been convinced for years now that the only solution to our current global triple crisis - massive unemployment, climate change, peak oil - is the Green Economy. The UNEP and many NGOs have reinforced this strong belief.

Cleantech is already a reality as $260 billion were invested last year alone, and it is only the beginning as the UN declared this year will be the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.

But one shouldn’t think it is the only aspect of the Green Economy. Indeed, greening our economies will also have to include our agriculture, our industries, our houses, our transportation… Achieving a truly Green Economy globally will radically change our ways of living, going around, working, eating…

Most importantly, it will require a change of mindsets as our thirst for always more stuff simply isn’t possible on a finite world. Getting out our throw-away society and embracing a circular economy is the only way to go as there are more and more passengers on the Earth spaceship, the only livable place we have.

With less money for the traditional economy, isn’t it time to embrace sustainable alternatives ? Energy efficiency and renewables are growing faster and faster. They are also creating more and more jobs around the world.

If we want to prevent massive climate change, world wars and other equally horrifying prospects, our only way out is sustainability.

This is why I started embracing frugality and sobriety. This is why I have been blogging for more than five years on sustainability and those topics and why I will keep on doing so…

This is why I have been looking for a job in the Green Economy and this why I will partake in it one day…

Related posts:

1. Green economy: 90,000 new green jobs in France
2. Poll: the environment is more important than the economy
3. Which countries are taking the lead in the low carbon economy ?
4. The triple crisis : why we need green jobs
5. Australia to ratify Kyoto, will partake in Bali talks

This won’t be the case as the Independent reports : “The bitterly cold weather sweeping Britain and (…) Europe has been linked by scientists with the ice-free seas of the Arctic, where global warming is exerting its greatest influence.”

This is another example of climate change’s influence on weather extremes, and thus another reason to tackle the problem before it really gets out of our control.

Here are some more extracts of the article :

A dramatic loss of sea ice covering the Barents and Kara Seas above northern Russia could explain why a chill Arctic wind has engulfed much of Europe and killed 221 people over the past week.

(…) A growing number of experts believe complex wind patterns are being changed because melting Arctic sea ice has exposed huge swaths of normally frozen ocean to the atmosphere above.

In particular, the loss of Arctic sea ice could be influencing the development of high-pressure weather systems over northern Russia, which bring very cold winds from the Arctic and Siberia to Western Europe and the British Isles, the scientists believe.

An intense anticyclone over north-west Russia is behind the bitterly cold easterly winds that have swept across Europe and some climate scientists say the lack of Arctic sea ice brought about by global warming is responsible.

“The current weather pattern fits earlier predictions of computer models for how the atmosphere responds to the loss of sea ice due to global warming,” said Professor Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

“The ice-free areas of the ocean act like a heater as the water is warmer than the Arctic air above it. This favours the formation of a high-pressure system near the Barents Sea, which steers cold air into Europe.”

(…) “Whoever thinks that the shrinking of some far-away sea ice won’t bother him could be wrong. There are complex interconnections in the climate system, and in the Barents-Kara Sea we might have discovered a powerful feedback mechanism,” Dr Petoukhov said.

Related posts:

1. Global warming may mean colder winters
2. Are we heading toward global cooling ?
3. Global weirding and warming at my doorstep
4. Temperatures are going up and up…
5. HFCs rising use could accelerate global warming

” Emissions of carbon over the last two centuries have raised the acidity of the oceans to the highest levels in 21,000 years and likely beyond, according to a new study in Nature Climate Change. “

This could have serious implications for marine biodiversity, notably corrals and mollusks. So, what are we waiting for to act ?

Related posts:

1. Highest concentration of CO2 over 800,000 years
2. Another reason to hate food waste
3. World Ocean Day : save our seas
4. Healthy oceans matter in climate
5. Carbon sinks are becoming less efficient

The article goes further : ” (…) In addition, as compared to the 100-year trend, the rate of warming grew several times, annual precipitation figures are growing… as is the frequency and intensity of flooding.”

” (…) Water resources will increase in regions with higher precipitation, while arid zones, on the contrary, will face further precipitation decline.”

Related posts:

1. Global warming may mean colder winters
2. Europe is warming faster than other regions
3. Global weirding and warming at my doorstep
4. Russia at risk from climate change
5. HFCs rising use could accelerate global warming

“China faces extremely grim ecological and environmental conditions under the impact of continued global warming and changes to China’s regional environment,”

Given how the situation is dire already, one can wonder how it could be even worse… This sure explains why the People’s Republic is acting so massively on cleantech.

Indeed when I read Jared Diamond’s book, Collapse, the pollution was already more than alarming in China. The chapter on the nation’s problems was already truly horrifying. Since then, it has even worsened. How could it be in ten years ?

This can be explained by many factors, but here is the main one : albeit China’s effort on cleantech, it is resorting massively to coal.

As Climate Progress notes :

That country’s use of coal has increased 500% since 1980, made up almost three quarters of Asian consumption, and half of global consumption last year.

(…) Under a do-nothing, business-as-usual scenario, the agency predicts China’s continued use of coal will increase carbon emissions so dramatically, the country’s climate pollution levels will double the U.S. in the next 15 years.

China has been deploying renewables at an astonishing pace. But its use of coal has far outpaced any sort of clean technologies being installed.

This explains why China is going so fast and so big on cleantech : it is for them a question of life or death…

Related posts:

1. The USA and China cooperate on climate change
2. China increasing climate change mitigation efforts
3. China is moving on climate change
4. India and China to cooperate on climate change
5. Why we can skip climate change mitigation to act

This is why I keep on using  Twitter. I believe it offers a good complement to this website. So if you are on Twitter and like this selection, don’t hesitate to start following me.

Hopefully I won’t be late for the selection of tweets next month. Nota : the layout is broken. Nonetheless, the tweets are readable. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Related posts:

1. Worth an article – my December 2010 tweets
2. Worth an article – My October 2011 tweets
3. Worth an article – my June 2011 tweets
4. Worth an article – my July 2011 tweets
5. Worth an article – my January 2011 tweets

Out of the 400 ideas that were studied, these 14 were chosen as they have a direct and immediate impact on people’s lives. None of these methods are concerning carbon dioxide, which also have to be tackled in the meantime.

One of the main ways is switching to cleaner burning cookstoves. I have previously tackled this topic here and explained how this could save two million people per year.

For a rundown of the others, please have a look at TreeHugger, the Earth Institute or the official press release from the NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies

(via Le Monde [Fr] : Quelques mesures simples permettraient de limiter le réchauffement climatique)

Related posts:

1. Videoconferencing, a simple solution to climate change
2. Climate change: a huge threat for developing countries
3. Climate change, a huge threat to developing countries
4. Mc Kinsey’s report on climate change mitigation
5. Rain forests suffer from climate change

I have mixed topics so you will find stuff on climate change, cleantech, environmental issues and sustainable development. I have also mixed personal reflections with news and book reviews.

If you think that I have missed something out or have a more personal selection, please don’t hesitate to share in the comments ! I look forward to read your own selection.

January :

• A staggering figure on energy efficiency
• Global clean power: A $2.3 trillion opportunity

February :

• Coal costs the United States $500 billion each year
• Saudi Arabia overstated its oil reserves by 40%

March :

• 5 reasons why climate change threatens health
• A look at deaths per TWh by energy source

April :

• Book review : The Sustainable MBA
• On the Jevons paradox

May :

• GE : Solar cheaper than fossil fuels by 2016
• The developing world needs clean cookstoves

June :

•  A million solar homes… in Bangladesh
• My opinion about the German decision on nuclear

July :

• Quick climate fix : tackling black carbon
• Sony slashed its emissions by 31% since 2000

August :

• Energy sobriety: Japan shows the example
• Peak coal to occur in 2027

September :

• Converting old cars to electric is pure genius
• Global CO2 emissions up by 45% since 1990

October :

• Two great news from Europe on climate change
• Spineless leaders and our common collapse

November :

• Smart thermostat programs itself to save energy
• Global emissions need to peak before 2015-2020
• IEA World Energy Outlook 2011

December :

•  UNEP : Twelve billion trees have been planted
• Mixed feelings about the Durban climate talks

Related posts:

1. 2008 in a nutshell
2. Worth an article – my August 2011 tweets
3. Worth an article – my June 2011 tweets
4. Worth an article – my February 2011 tweets
5. Worth an article – my April 2011 tweets

The situation on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean is similar as The Guardian notes : “The first signs of spring are emerging weeks early in the countryside and in gardens as a result of the mild winter, experts said on Sunday. “

So, a year without winter ? I haven’t seen snow this year and it seems I won’t see any. After a year 2011 that was really records-setting, it seems 2012 will break even more records of heat…

Related posts:

1. A record breaking electricity consumption in France
2. 2011 rewrote the record books on climate
3. Extreme weather events are occurring worldwide
4. UN weather agency : 2010 tied for warmest year
5. Climate change and extreme weather are linked

To The Guardian : ” The year 2011 was another ecologically tumultuous year with greenhouse gases rise to record levels, Arctic sea ice nearly equalling 2007′s record melt, and temperatures the 11th highest ever recorded. “

” It was marked on the ground by unparalleled extremes of heat and cold in the US, droughts and heatwaves in Europe and Africa and record numbers of weather-related natural disasters. “

Related posts:

1. Arctic sea ice sets new record low in 2011
2. The hottest June ever recorded
3. Climate change and extreme weather are linked
4. A must-read reflection on climate by The Onion
5. Global warming may mean colder winters

The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) study notes that the projected emissions of HFCs by 2050 could equal nine billion tons of carbon dioxide — or about one-third of current CO2 emissions.

HFCs were introduced in the 1990s to replace chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were a threat to  the ozone layer. So, this was a good idea with a strong downside.

Reuters note HFCs are 1,600 times more potent than carbon dioxide. So even if they are emitted in small quantitites, this quickly amounts to huge warming potential…

I guess this is the time for new air conditioning systems !

Related posts:

1. Global warming may mean colder winters
2. Global weirding and warming at my doorstep
3. Global emissions soared by SIX percent in 2010
4. IEA: Chances to limit rising temps “bleaker”
5. Global CO2 emissions up by 45% since 1990

Another good news : the Durban agreement was the first ever to bind all countries to act on climate change. Sure, this is merely halfway through business as usual and the needed target.

But this is the further we have ever been on climate negotiation ! Even if it won’t be enough, even if it is far from what should be done at a global level, we are going forward on climate.

As The Mail & Guardian Online noted :

(g)overnments managed to find a last-minute deal that should lead to the first legally binding global agreement on climate change covering developed and developing countries, they did not discuss whether their pledges to cut emissions would prevent dangerous levels of global warming.

Under the Durban agreement, governments will now spend four years negotiating how far and how fast each country should cut carbon emissions.

The Durban agreements are not enough to keep temperatures to rise two degrees celcius above pre-industrial times, which is considered as the safe limit by most governments (scientists however have shown that it might be too much)

I am getting more and more confident. Countries that were completely reluctant are witnessing climate weirding and warming. They are thus brought to action.

It seems that these days, only the United States – as well as some others like Canada – are not moving at all on climate. Sure, China is polluting more and more, but their clean energy and efficiency targets are more and more aggressive.

Patience is key. Energy efficiency is gaining traction, renewables and cleantech in general are already making economic sense today. Even more important : they are both booming and are becoming more important than fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, some countries are moving forward, like Australia or Brazil ; meanwhile, large companies are seeing their interest is in sustainability ; meanwhile, thousands of people are changing views on climate and acting more and more.

Let’s keep on acting and advocating. I am confident we can manage this !

Here are some articles dedicated to what happened and what we can infer from Durban :

• Recharge : Was Durban a climate breakthrough or disaster?
• Friends of the Earth : Disastrous “durban package” accelerates onset of climate catastrophe
• Climate Progress : Stavins: Assessing the Climate Talks — Did Durban Succeed?
• The Energy Collective : Are Durban Outcomes Historic or Hollow
• Grist : What exactly happened at Durban?

Related posts:

1. New climate talks round starting today in Durban
2. No (good) news from the Bonn Climate Talks
3. Mixed feelings about the new US mileage
4. Emerging powers call for extending climate deal
5. A bad omen for the Cancun climate talks

Now a poll in the United States is showing that more and more Americans are believing in climate change, and this despite the huge campaigns of disinformation. This must be due to the weirding climate…

Now let’s give the USA a couple of years more and just like every other country, they will start fighting climate change on a federal level… Will it be soon enough ? ( I doubt it since we should act NOW)

Related posts:

1. Al Gore’s new campaign : Climate Reality
2. My answer to climate change deniers
3. A bad omen for the Cancun climate talks
4. Are climate change and extreme weather linked ?
5. A real must-see and must-share video on climate

” China is the leading participating country, having planted a total of 2.8 billion trees under the campaign. India is currently in second place with 2.1 billion trees, followed by Ethiopia, Mexico and Turkey. “

I am starting to wonder how all these trees will impact climate change ? In any case, their effect can’t be negative. Now, let’s plant even more trees. The campaign is willing to reach 14 billion !

Related posts:

1. India planted over two billion trees since 2007
2. Toward seven billion trees planted by the UNEP ?
3. Over three billion trees planted !
4. Over a BILLION trees planted in a year !
5. 64,096 trees planted in 15 minutes in Philippines

However, I don’t blog as much as I would like to and generally write around 25 posts per month. But many more news are worth reading. This is why I use Twitter to share dozens of news that are worth your time.

I believe it offers a good complement to this website. So if you are on Twitter and like this selection, don’t hesitate to start following me.

Climate change

Climate change: thr is no plan B Time is almost up. a legally binding approach on climate change in Durban is critical http://bit.ly/tZl5qe

Climate Change Could Dramatically Effect African Population http://bit.ly/vt4VuU

RT @cindybax: Durban deaths caused by unseasonable weather, like we’re seeing around world – figueiras tells press at #COP17 #unfccc

Water level in Rhine at record low for November, expected to fall below all-time low of summer 2003 in coming days as drought continues.

Climate change toll is mounting: ocean acidification causing oyster die offs in Pacific NW, 90% losses http://j.mp/tt3WYs

Global emissions will push temperatures above 2°C, warns UNEP http://bit.ly/sjhxVi

Black carbon – whats it about and how addressing it can help save millions of tonnes of Co2 http://bit.ly/uyFiQh

Save close to 2.5 million lives a year; avoid crop losses amounting to 32 million tonnes annually? http://bit.ly/uyFiQh

[Fr] Pour le climat comme pour la dette, la sobriété plutôt que la rigueur http://dlvr.it/xZ2rx

Global warming to swamp one-third of NYC’s streets http://bit.ly/vRWeXK

The city of Groesbeck, TX provides a look at life inside a record-setting drought http://ow.ly/7AiBP

By 2050 hydrofluorocarbons could be responsible for emissions comparable to total current annual transport emissions http://bit.ly/sw31Wo

I am not a huge fan of #NOOP Not On Our Planet. I prefer Not On Planet Earth : N.O.P.E. Much more telling(via @grist )

Over 50% of the climate change challenge can be profitably addressed today http://me.lt/9P8mzx

Energy and cleantech

Algae jet fuel helps power United Airlines flight http://smrt.io/ucleNC

Oozing Biofuel: Algae Could Solve World’s Fuel Crisis – SPIEGEL ONLINE – http://spon.de/adqcP

A Five-Step Program for Ending Our Oil Addiction http://bit.ly/sr3QWm

6 Truths About Solar Energy http://bit.ly/w4ilUW

Feed-in tariffs responsible for most renewable energy http://bit.ly/sGJvNE

Africa’s biggest power utility polluter pledges to fight global warming http://bit.ly/vVerHG

Solar in the Asia Pacific Region Booms: China’s 2011 Installs May Surpass America’s for the First Time http://bit.ly/rZZapB

China outlines its aggressive push to cut emissions, calls on nations to “join hands” to promote low-carbon economy http://nyti.ms/v3UwmF

How to bridge the world’s emission gap by 2020! UNEP report, co-ordinated by @Ecofys, launch in London, tomorrow 11:30: http://bit.ly/BridGap

Renewable Energy Investment To Double Globally By 2020 – But Is Just One-Third Of What’s Needed : TreeHugger http://www.treehugger.com/energy-policy/renewable-energy-investment-double-2020-one-third-whats-needed.html

It’s Time to Prepare for CleanTech’s Rare Earth Problem : TreeHugger http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/its-time-prepare-cleantechs-rare-earth-problem.html

Canada Boosting Hydro Power to 88.5 GW to Replace US Coal http://cleantechnica.com/2011/11/16/canada-boosting-hydro-power-to-88-5-gw-to-replace-us-coal/

$500 Billion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies; Removing Them Would Boost Growth & Revenues, Reduce GHG Emissions: OECD http://cleantechnica.com/2011/11/17/oecd-urges-removing-fossil-fuel-subsidies-to-boost-growth-revenues-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions/

South Korea to Build 2.5 GW Offshore Wind Farm http://cleantechnica.com/2011/11/12/south-korea-to-build-worlds-largest-offshore-wind-farm-domestic-wind-power-industry/

Globally there are >3.5 million direct jobs in renewable energy (REN21), which is more than in oil&gas (±2.5 million, Greenpeace)
#China

Solar Boom Hits 16 Gigawatts solarfeeds.com/china-solar-bo…

Power Barge Could Provide Affordable Wave Power http://bit.ly/sb3eS6

LED Bulb Looks Like Filament Bulb http://bit.ly/sgDYQe

Clever! Geothermal power plants could be a massive source of lithium for batteries http://su.pr/1PmCok via @michael_gr

Tidal power is now a legit source of renewable energy http://fb.me/Sp3T7Q4I

Chief Economist IEA Fatih Birol’s sombre perspective on our energy future: ‘Depressing … disappointing … bad news’ http://bit.ly/vv9V8t

How a Carbon Price Could Reduce Emissions http://blog.cleantechies.com/2011/11/10/how-a-carbon-price-could-reduce-emissions/ via @Cleantechies

IEA’s Jones Says Oil Price Drags on Economy http://bloom.bg/ukWsod #oil

@AlGore: “the tar sands are the dirtiest source of liquid fuel on the planet”

Why is it so hard to stop climate change? In 2010 Fossil fuels got $409 billion, clean energy got $66bn http://gu.com/p/339a9/tw

The International Energy Agency says peak oil came and went — in 2006. http://bit.ly/sQuA8t

RT @grist: Dalai Lama supports nuclear power, disses wind and solar http://bit.ly/uGBPMs

Is geothermal energy the future of clean energy?: http://www.ecofriend.com/entry/big-question-geothermal-energy-future-clean-energy/#.Trhr8Wz37x4.twitter

Bangladesh to build 2 #nuclear #plants by 2018 Read more @Enerdata http://goo.gl/heSPz energy information . #power #plant #nuclear

Sustainable development

How Biking Can Save Cities Billions of Dollars in Health Expenses – Transportation – GOOD http://fb.me/QfRWdwVN

UNEP Billion Tree Campaign Reaches 12 Billion Milestone – http://bit.ly/sJDzT8 #treeplanting #iyf #forests

Reaching a Comfort Level With Geoengineering http://nyti.ms/tgcVqk

“We must view Rio+20 as a unique opportunity to make the fundamental “change of-course” Maurice Strong, former UNEP ED http://bit.ly/tWSfu2

FACT: Toilets have saved more lives than any other invention. Ever. (via @water) #WorldToiletDay

For every dollar spent at a local business, 45 cents is reinvested locally. At corporate chains, it’s just 15 cents. http://bit.ly/1tDvX1

UN: failure to reduce environmental risks will set back human development http://fb.me/1c3I1iFix

Average family of 4 in the US throws away $175 of food per month & around 40% of edible #food gets thrown away. http://goo.gl/EoGQd @NRDC

Misc

Developing WordPress Locally With MAMP http://wp.smashingmagazine.com/2011/09/28/developing-wordpress-locally-with-mamp/ via @smashingmag

38 Magical Forest Photographs http://zite.to/vbERiE

“Optimism is a prediction that everything is going to end okay. Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up. I am very hopeful.” @FredKrupp

Tuesday, the conservative Congress decided that pizza is a vegetable.Can smaller gov repubs please tell me where I can get some pizza seeds?

National Geographic Photo Contest 2011 http://fb.me/zLL5SXJz

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. – Thomas Fuller (1732)

Related posts:

1. Worth an article – my April 2011 tweets
2. Worth an article – my August 2011 tweets
3. Worth an article – my November 2010 tweets
4. Worth an article – my September 2011 tweets
5. Worth an article – my June 2011 tweets

” A new report says that an increase in heat waves is “virtually certain” as a result of global warming and that extreme weather events — including hurricanes, floods, and droughts — will likely become more intense in the next century. “

” The IPCC’s “special report on extreme weather,” (…) urges governments worldwide to draft plans to minimize the likely human and economic costs of these events. “

Related posts:

1. Are climate change and extreme weather linked ?
2. Extreme weather events are occurring worldwide
3. A weirder and weirder climate…
4. Xynthia, another extreme weather event
5. IPCC underplayed the impacts of climate change

According to Dr. Rajendra Pachauri ” Global climate talks need to focus on the growing threat from extreme weather and shift away from political squabbles that hobble progress toward a tougher pact to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. “

Indeed, time is almost up if we want to have a chance to fix the various problems we are facing, and fixing them relatively without too much problems.

Related posts:

1. No (good) news from the Bonn Climate Talks
2. Some progress achieved in UN Accra talks
3. A bad omen for the Cancun climate talks
4. Emerging powers call for extending climate deal
5. India and China to cooperate on climate change

” If emissions peak at 2030, we may be able to hold temperature rise to 3°C. Should emissions continue on a business-as-usual trajectory, sometime between 2040-2060 we will cross the 2°C threshold. “

I had read once that they needed to peak by 2015. I also noted previously that even a mere 2°C might be too much for all of us as carbon sinks are becoming less efficient.

If countries like China will see their emissions peak much later, this means that the wealthy nations of America, Europe and the Asia- Pacific regions have to slash their own emissions ASAP and help the emerging superpowers as well.

As helping them might not prove easy to do and to think about, demanding them to do so might also work. Consuming less stuff is also important as we’re responsible for a third of China’s pollution…

If you think that nuclear is not an option, please note wealth is directly linked to energy consumption. So if emerging countries can’t use nuclear, it will be even more difficult for them to reach high levels of wealth while keeping low their per-capita emissions.

Renewables may be fine, but they are not competing well enough against coal as I noted in April. If China plans to build dozens of nuclear plants, it’s not for no reason. If the IEA believes that chances to limit rising temps are “bleaker” its not for no reason…

As always, efficiency needs to clearly step up worldwide as it is the single best solution we have.

Meanwhile, emissions are climbing, and even climbing faster than ever…

Related posts:

1. Peak oil is near… around 2015 !
2. Will peak car happen before peak oil ?
3. Global CO2 emissions up by 45% since 1990
4. Global emissions soared by SIX percent in 2010
5. Can we cut by 40% our GHG emissions by 2020 ?

It was one of the rainiest summers I had seen. You would think that it would be enough ? Nope, we had so far an unusually dry and warm fall [Fr].  Two weeks ago we had up to 20°C, 10°C above the norms.

So to sum up : drought in spring, rain in summer and warm fall, ie. completely messed up seasons. I wonder what our climate will look like in 2030 and beyond if it goes on like this…

Related posts:

1. Global weirding, or the climate gone crazy
2. Global warming may mean colder winters
3. Global weirding is already a reality in the USA
4. Are we heading toward global cooling ?
5. A dry and hot April over Europe

However, I don’t blog as much as I would like to and generally write around 25 posts per month. But many more news are worth reading. This is why I use Twitter to share dozens of news that are worth your time.

I believe it offers a good complement to this website. So if you are on Twitter and like this selection, don’t hesitate to start following me.

Climate change and environment

RT @NBCNewYork: NYC has already broken an Oct snow record with 1.3 inches in Central Park

MT @olavkjorven: El Salvador: Up to 1500 mm rain in 10 days. President: One of most dramatic disasters in our history http://t.co/yzxqGRXE

Related posts:

1. Worth an article – my February 2011 tweets
2. Worth an article – my January 2011 tweets
3. Worth an article – my October 2009 tweets
4. Worth an article – my March 2011 tweets
5. Worth an article – my August 2011 tweets

Global greenhouse gases emissions rose by SIX percent compared to 2009. This represents no less than 564 million more tons of carbon. Out of this, China is responsible for almost half of it alone. US emissions kept rising too…

Such an increase – when we have to stabilize our emissions and even slash them by a factor three by 2050 – is a really bad omen for our common future…

But as Grist notes, there are some good news :

Developed countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol did actually succeed in reducing their emissions since the agreement was signed in 1997. So if we can get developing countries, and backwards ones like the U.S., up to speed, maybe we still have a chance.

I indeed noted that European Union has managed to keep its emissions from climbing while its economy grew. Now, we just need to do that for the whole Planet… It will be a huge task that will need our undivided attention to all of us.

This is even more the case as Treehugger reports this increase exceed worst case scenario previously presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007.

I know this sounds foolish, but I persist in saying that we need nuclear. We need ALL means to prevent the worse from occurring. Yes to renewables, a huge resounding YES to efficiency and conservation but also yes to nuclear.

And we need to act fast as a study carried out by the Massachussets Institute of Technology that business as usual scenarios would lead to an increase of 10°F of global temperatures by 2095.

I will publish this week another article on the very subject, so stay tuned…

Related posts:

1. Global CO2 emissions up by 45% since 1990
2. Global wind capacity grew 24 percent in 2010
3. IEA : Global CO2 emissions decreased
4. Germany to cut its emissions by 40 percent
5. World CO2 emissions rose by 3.1 percent last year

Manila, Jakarta and Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) would be threatened the most. Others cities, including Mumbai (Bombay), Delhi, Chennai, Karachi, Lagos and Guangdong, would also be in danger.

This reminds me of a series of posts I had published here as early as 2008 on that very subject. This time, the research had been carried out by the OECD and the World Bank.

I then noted that :

(R)ising sea levels between one and three meters by the end of the century are to be considered as realistic. Nasa specialists agree on such figures.

The data is staggering : with such a rise of sea levels, 135 million people would be at risk (…) With five meters, we go up to 500 million people that would need to be relocated.

Back to the Maplecroft research, here is an extract of their press release :

 Population growth in cities combined with socio-economic factors increase climate risks

According to Maplecroft, population growth in these cities combines with poor government effectiveness, corruption, poverty and other socio-economic factors to increase the risks to residents and business.

Infrastructures, which cannot cope at 2011 levels, will therefore struggle to adapt to large population rises in the future, making disaster responses less effective, whilst at the same time these disasters themselves may become more frequent. This has implications for buildings, transportation routes, water and energy supply and the health of the residents.

“Cities such as Manila, Jakarta and Calcutta are vital centres of economic growth in key emerging markets, but heat waves, flooding, water shortages and increasingly severe and frequent storm events may well increase as climate changes takes hold” states Principal Environmental Analyst at Maplecroft Dr Charlie Beldon.

“The impacts of this could have far reaching consequences, not only for local populations, but on business, national economies and on the balance sheets of investors around the world, particularly as the economic importance of these nations is set to dramatically increase.”

When one sees what is taking place in Bangkok – and the whole Thailand as a matter of fact – one clearly understands we need to act as fast and as big as we can to prevent the worst from occurring.

Related posts:

1. The major threat of rising sea levels : the consequences (1/2)
2. The major threat of rising sea levels : the consequences (2/2)
3. The major threat of rising sea levels : the science
4. How India is threatened by climate change
5. Why cities might be a good solution

” Thailand is used to floods in monsoon season, but this year’s are the worst for more than half a century. They have killed at least 366 people since July and affected almost 2.5 million. More than 113,000 are living in shelters. “

The floods have been ongoing ever since. To local authorities, the damages so far have exceeded five billion US dollars. (3.5 billion euros)

Related posts:

1. Australia faces floods of “biblical proportions”
2. Thailand to install 4.300 MW of renewables
3. Hurricane Irene may cost US economy $20 billion
4. After Australia, floods in Brazil…
5. Family planning in Thailand

As Climate Progress notes : ” Far from being “alarmist,” predictions from climate scientists in many cases are proving to be more conservative than observed climate-induced impacts. “

So we thought the situation was horrible ? No problem, it is just turning even worse ! The fact we aren’t even really trying to avoid all this literally boggles my mind…

Related posts:

1. Impacts of climate change in the United States
2. Climate change will have dramatic impacts in the USA
3. More evidence on climate change acceleration
4. IPCC published their 4th Summary for Policymakers
5. Worst IPCC predictions are already taking place

” There are some laws that Congress can change. The laws of nature aren’t among them. While lobbyists continue to call for more and more “second” opinions, Sheldon points out to his colleagues that the scientific community is solidly behind the fact that climate change is a real threat. “

This speech clearly contrasts with the environmental bashing of most Republicans and most Democrats keeping quiet on those very issues. Please watch this video, please share it !

Given the low score of President Obama on environmental issues, I think that Senator Whitehouse should clearly present himself in 2012 or at least work with President Obama. Below is the video of this speech :

Click here to view the embedded video.

This gentleman has become in 23 minutes a personal hero. I hope his words will spread all around America and that as a result the country will start acting…

Related posts:

1. Obama: a global leader on climate change
2. Can the USA get 100 % of their electricity by clean energies ?
3. A video of aurora borealis seen from space
4. A new hope for a planet in peril
5. International Day of Climate Action

But what if solar became even cheaper than coal ? What if if became the cheapest solution ? We would then have a renewable, clean and cheap alternative to produce gigawatts of electricity.

Kees van der Leun – A Dutchman who has been dedicating himself to renewables for the past 25 years – wrote on Grist an excellent post on that very topic.

Here are some quotes of the original article :

For a long time, the holy grail of solar photovoltaics (PV) has been “grid parity,” the point at which it would be as cheap to generate one’s own solar electricity as it is to buy electricity from the grid.

And that is indeed an important market milestone, being achieved now in many places around the world. But recently it has become clear that PV is set to go beyond grid parity and become the cheapest way to generate electricity.

Whenever I say this I encounter incredulity, even vehement opposition, from friends and foes of renewable energy alike. Apparently, knowledge of the rapid developments of the last few years has not been widely disseminated.

But it’s happening, right under our noses! It is essential to understand this so that we can leverage it to rapidly switch to a global energy system fully based on renewable energy.

At a very large scale, the cost of manufacturing anything drops to just above the cost of its base materials. As scale goes up, per-unit costs come down.

This is known as a “learning curve” — the price per unit of capacity comes down by x percent for every doubling of cumulatively installed capacity. For solar PV modules, the learning rate has been exceptionally high, averaging 22 percent for the past two decades.

(…) Cumulative installed PV capacity globally was 40 gigawatts (GW) at the end of last year. Three doublings mean this has to grow by a factor of eight, to 320 GW, to achieve the necessary halving of cost.

From 2005 to 2010, PV capacity installed annually grew by an average of 49 percent per year. Even if this slows down to 25 percent per year in the near future, we will reach 320 GW in 2018 — that’s only seven years from now!

To be sure, that was starting from a present PV kWh cost of $0.12, valid for sunny regions like the Southwest U.S. As can be seen from the solar map above, the regions with at least comparable solar radiation include most of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and large swaths of Asia, including all of India. For all those regions, PV will be the cheapest option by 2018.

(…) This development does not, in itself, make life easy. Developing a world energy system that runs on 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 is a major and complex global effort, involving large investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and infrastructure, as we have shown in “The Energy Report” [PDF]. But it sure helps a lot!

David Roberts wrote further to this article another one, well worth reading too. This tackles the aftermath of that real paradigm shift in an infrastructural, political and ideological point of view.

As I blogged earlier this year, GE believes that solar would become cheaper than fossil fuels by 2016, Kees is thus not so far from sharing their point of view

Related posts:

1. Solar film increases efficiency by 300%
2. A 13 GW project of wind and solar for India
3. Greece plans 10 GW of solar by 2050
4. Avanti ! Italy goes forward on solar
5. Boeing shatters solar power efficiency record

According to an article from the Guardian : ” Europeans believe that dangers of climate change represent a more serious problem than the current financial turmoil, according to a new poll. ”

But wait, there is more. To the latest figures from the European Commission, the Union decreased its emissions by 15.5 percent since 1990. And we keep clinging to 20 percent cuts…

To Business Green :

The EU remains on track to exceed the international carbon emissions targets imposed through the Kyoto Protocol, despite a 2.4 per cent in emissions last year driven by the bloc’s gradual economic recovery.

According to figures released today as part of the European Commission’s annual report on its progress to meeting its Kyoto targets, EU greenhouse gas emissions for 2010 were 15.5 per cent below 1990 levels despite economic growth of 41 per cent over the same period.

Significantly, emissions across the EU fell for six consecutive years through to and including 2009, even when the bloc was enjoying economic growth.

EU climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard hailed the report as evidence the EU has successfully decoupled emissions from economic growth through the wider use of low carbon technologies.

“The EU continued decoupling emissions from GDP during the recession,” she said in a statement. “Between 2008 and 2009, emissions fell by 7.1 per cent in the EU-27, much more than the around four per cent contraction in GDP.”

—

On the first news, there is a (small) catch. To The Guardian :

” The Eurobarometer poll (pdf) suggests that the majority of the public in the European Union consider global warming to be one of the world’s most serious problems, with one-fifth saying it is the single most serious problem.

Overall, respondents said climate change was the second most serious issue facing the world, after poverty. “

—

From these news, we can infer two things :

1. People from the European Union are willing to fight climate change as they clearly understand it is one of the threats, or the main threat to their prolonged prosperity…
   —
2. The various systems put into application by the European Commission in the past decades are not only working, they are working better than previously thought.

—

Logical conclusion :we should increase our climate and clean energy goals and shoot for 30 percent cuts… As we have seen it, this is the best way to avert the triple crisis. What do you think ? Will our spineless leaders heed the call ?

In any case, I wish the example given by the EU will push other nations and group of nations all around the world to act more dramatically on climate.

But, as sure that we need Europe to act, we also need the United States, China and all major nations !

Related posts:

1. Time for Europe to lead on climate change
2. Why we can skip climate change mitigation to act
3. EU’s climate change scheme is a disappointment
4. EU biofuels plans to increase climate change
5. Launch of the Global Climate Change Alliance