XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   Germany approves coal phaseout by 2038   
   Deutsche Welle via Carbon Brief   
   Several outlets cover the news that the Bundestag and Bundesrat -   
   Germany's lower and upper houses of parliament - passed legislation on   
   Friday that, according to Deutsche Welle, would "phase out coal use in   
   the country in less than two decades as part of a road map to reduce   
   carbon emissions". The German publication continues: "The legislative   
   package has two main features. The first establishes a legal avenue   
   for the gradual reduction in emissions by 2038 at the latest, while   
   the second targets regional economies that would be impacted by the   
   phaseout." It quotes Germany's economy minister Peter Altmaier saying:   
   "The fossil age in Germany comes to an irrevocable end with this   
   decision." Reuters says the "bill entails over #50bn ($56bn) for   
   mining and power plant operators, affected regions and employees to   
   cushion the impact of the transformation from coal to   
   renewables". Reuters has also published a "factbox", which explains   
   that the law "implements last year's climate protection package that   
   the coalition government passed to set Europe's biggest economy on a   
   course to meet climate targets". Time notes that environmental groups   
   say [the law] isn't ambitious enough and free marketeers criticise   
   [it] as a waste of taxpayers' money". Another article in Deutsche   
   Welle says: "Right now, coal-based energy generation in Germany still   
   accounts for roughly a quarter of the total energy produced. What's   
   relevant in this context is that hard coal mining has already been   
   stopped in the country#You hardly hear anything about Russia having   
   been Germany's main supplier of hard coal for years on end#As long as   
   these coal imports exist, Germany will only be relocating some of its   
   environmental footprint abroad."   
   Meanwhile, Reuters reports that on Friday the European Commission   
   invited projects to bid for #1bn in grants from the EU Innovation   
   Fund, which is fed by EU carbon market revenues: "Clean technology   
   projects are readying bids for a billion-euro support package from the   
   European Union under a flagship scheme for funding breakthrough   
   low-carbon technologies. The EU Innovation Fund will support projects   
   such as floating wind farms, carbon capture mechanisms and energy   
   storage, all of which could help clean up sectors such as cement and   
   steelmaking." Separately, EurActiv reports that "the European   
   Commission has mandated its in-house research body, the Joint Research   
   Centre, to assess whether nuclear power should be considered as a   
   `green' technology under the EU's sustainable finance   
   taxonomy". Another EurActiv article reports that the "European   
   Commission will seek to position Europe as a global leader on hydrogen   
   with a new industry-led alliance set to be unveiled on Wednesday". And   
   the Financial Times reports that Iberdrola, Spain's second largest   
   listed company, is planning to spend #10bn in 2020 on clean energy:   
   "The Iberdrola boss argued that the clean energy sector stood to be   
   among the beneficiaries of a #750bn EU coronavirus recovery fund   
   proposed by the European Commission, which the bloc's leaders will   
   debate at a summit next week."   
      
      
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   A man may fail many times but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame   
   someone else.   
   -- J. Paul Getty, 29 Aug 2017   
      
   Heatwaves have been increasing in frequency and duration since the   
   1950s in nearly every part of the world, study shows   
   Ian Randall, Daily Mail   
   A new study in Nature Communications has found that heatwaves have   
   been increasing in frequency and duration since the 1950s in nearly   
   every part of the world, reports MailOnline. It adds: "Australian   
   experts made a global assessment of the weather events and developed a   
   new metric - cumulative heat - to show how much heat is packed into   
   heatwaves. They found that during its worst heatwave season in 2009,   
   Australia experienced an additional 80C of cumulative heat across the   
   country. The most extreme seasons in the Mediterranean and Russia,   
   however, clocked up more than 200C of extra cumulative heat." The   
   Guardian says: "The study found the escalation in heatwaves varied   
   around the planet, with the Amazon, north-eastern Brazil, west Asia   
   (including parts of the subcontinent and central Asia) and the   
   Mediterranean all experiencing more rapid change than, for example,   
   southern Australia and north Asia. The only inhabited region where   
   there was not a trend was in the central United States."   
   The Guardian also reports on another study, again published in Nature   
   Communications, which has found that dry tropical forests may be more   
   at risk than wet rainforests: "Forests with an already drier climate   
   show greater loss of biodiversity, and a reduced ability to support a   
   wide variety of wildlife and plant species, when subjected to warmer   
   temperatures." Meanwhile, the Independent picks up on a feature by   
   Unearthed under the headline: "Thawing Arctic permafrost could release   
   deadly waves of ancient diseases, scientists suggest."   
      
   Losses and damages connected to glacier retreat in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru   
   Climatic Change   
   Future climate change could cause loss and damage to people living in   
   the Peruvian Andes through increased risk of glacial hazards,   
   agricultural crop loss due to water loss and non-economic values local   
   people attribute to glacier loss, a study finds. The study explores   
   the impact of climate change through the policy lens of "loss and   
   damage", which is now recognised as the third pillar of international   
   climate policy, after mitigation and adaptation. The authors say: "We   
   find that different levels of warming have important negative but   
   differentiated effects on natural and human systems."   
      
   Responses of a coral reef shark acutely exposed to ocean acidification   
   conditions   
   Coral Reefs   
   Newborn tropical blacktip reef sharks experience elevated stress when   
   exposed to ocean acidification, a study says. "Ocean acidification" is   
   a term describing how seawater becomes more acidic on the pH scale as   
   it absorbs more CO2. The authors say: "Acute exposure to   
   end-of-century CO2 levels resulted in elevated haematocrit   
   (i.e. stress or compensation of oxygen uptake rates) and blood lactate   
   concentrations (i.e. prolonged recovery) in the newborns." Not all   
   stress signs were raised for the sharks, however, the study notes.   
      
   Big nations aid fossil fuels more than clean energies amid pandemic,   
   researchers find   
   Alister Doyle and Megan Darby, Climate Home News   
      
   British Gas pumps up low carbon thinking   
   Emily Gosden, The Times   
      
   Senator warns of political pressure on U.S. probe into hackers of   
   green groups   
   Christopher Bing and Raphael Satter, Reuters   
      
   Extinction Rebellion to blockade parliament for `economy that chooses   
   life'   
   Sean Russell, The Independent   
      
      
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