XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   BP halves dividend as Covid-19 turmoil pushes oil major to loss   
   Anjli Raval, Financial Times   
   In breaking news this morning, the Financial Times reports that the   
   oil major BP has slashed its dividend for the first time since the   
   Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. The company cut the shareholder   
   payout by 50% for the second quarter to 5.25 US cents a share, "a   
   drastic turnround" since the start of the year when BP's confidence   
   about cash generation led it to raise the dividend to 10.50 cents, the   
   FT says. It adds: "The collapse in energy demand triggered by   
   govt measures to curb the spread of coronavirus has roiled the   
   entire energy sector and crippled earnings." BP has also announced a   
   new strategy to deliver its "net-zero" ambition, Bloomberg reports,   
   targeting a 10-fold increase in low-carbon investment by 2030 and a   
   30%-35% decline in emissions from its operations by that year. It also   
   pledged to boost its renewable power generation to 50GW, while   
   shrinking oil and gas output by 40% by 2030 compared with 2019,   
   Reuters reports. Reuters says: "The portfolio it plans to build would   
   include renewables, bioenergy and early positions in hydrogen and   
   carbon capture and storage technology, with the bulk of the budget to   
   be spent by 2025." According to CNBC, Bernard Looney, CEO of BP, said   
   in a statement this morning: "These headline results have been driven   
   by another very challenging quarter, but also by the deliberate steps   
   we have taken as we continue to reimagine energy and reinvent BP."   
   Yesterday evening, the Daily Telegraph reported that BP's dividend   
   "hung in the balance". The article reads: "Analysts suggest that the   
   market widely expects the company to follow in the footsteps of rival   
   Shell, which slashed its dividend by 2 thirds last quarter, in what   
   would be a major blow to BP's army of retail investors." Associated   
   Press and Sky News also have the story.   
   Elsewhere, the Times reports that Shell has bought a company that   
   helps Australian farmers to use their land differently to reduce their   
   greenhouse gas emissions. And both Reuters and Power Technology report   
   that Poland's deputy prime minister Jasek Sasin has said that the   
   country plans to cease its dependency on coal "in 2050 or even   
   2060". He is quoted as saying: "We are all surprised with the pace of   
   climate policy changes#Today we need to reevaluate some comments due   
   to what is happening around us." Reuters adds: "The ruling Law and   
   Justice party took power in 2015 partly on promises to sustain coal,   
   but it has closed a number of mines since then and has encouraged   
   investment in solar energy."   
      
   --   
   Upcoming events:   
   06 Aug 2020	July US Release NOAA SOTC   
   07 Oct 2020	2020Q3 Billion Dollar Disasters NOAA   
      
   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   
      
   [Antarctic blast!]   
   Snowboarders venture up kunanyi/Mount Wellington as falls fail to reach   
   Hobart suburbs   
   ABC News, 04 Aug 2020 01:13Z   
   It wasn't quite "Snowbart" but Hobart's kunanyi/Mount Wellington still   
   enjoyed a dusting of snow, with some even venturing up for some   
   early-morning snowboarding.   
      
   `Extreme' glacier loss events linked to human-caused climate change   
   for first time   
   Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief   
   A new study finds that human-caused climate change made the extreme   
   "mass loss" seen in glaciers in the Southern Alps, New Zealand, in   
   2018 at least 10 times more likely. Another mass loss event in 2011   
   was made at least 6 times more likely by climate change. It is the   
   first time that scientists have attributed singular glacier loss   
   events to climate change. However, Carbon Brief spoke to a scientist   
   who saw some flaws in the study's framework.   
      
   Let's hire laid-off oil and gas workers to fight climate change   
   Michael R Bloomberg, Bloomberg   
   For his publication, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg argues   
   that laid off oil and gas workers should be employed to clean up   
   abandoned fossil fuel extraction sites across the US. He says: "It's   
   an idea that appeals to environmental groups, fossil fuel dependent   
   states, and even some fossil-fuel industry leaders. Former vice   
   president Joe Biden has included the idea as part of his green energy   
   campaign platform. I've spoken with him about it, and I know how   
   strongly he supports it. It's a perfect example of how growing the   
   economy and fighting climate change go hand in hand."   
      
   Life and death in our hot future will be shaped by today's income inequality   
   Eric Roston, Paul Murray and Rachael Dottle, Bloomberg   
   In an interactive feature, Bloomberg journalists Eric Roston, Paul   
   Murray and Rachael Dottle explore the new results of a new Climate   
   Impact Lab report mapping the relationship between temperature, income   
   and mortality. The feature reads: "The researchers from the Climate   
   Impact Lab determined that the toll from future heat will be far worse   
   than expected, with the global annual mortality rate at the end of   
   this century rising by 73 deaths per 100,000 people solely from excess   
   heat. That's a death rate comparable to the 79 per 100,000 that New   
   York State has seen from Covid-19 since Jan." In a second article,   
   Bloomberg summarises the main takeaways from the report. The Guardian   
   also reports on the new data.   
      
   With big rallies cancelled, young climate activists are adapting   
   election tactics   
   Lauren Aratani, The Guardian   
      
   More climate science deniers appointed to House of Lords   
   Richard Collett-White, DeSmog UK   
      
   Global warming likely triggered South Korea's heavy rainfall: experts   
   The Korea Herald   
      
   Australia: Unisuper dumps coal assets as sector turns its back on fossil fuels   
   Charlotte Grieve, The Sydney Morning Herald   
      
   South Africa's Eskom seeks $221m damages over coal deal   
   Mfuneko Toyana, Reuters   
      
   Record heat sets off a cascade of suffering in Baghdad   
   Paul Wallace and Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg   
      
   German oil refinery to build 30MW hydrogen electrolysis plant   
   Vera Eckert, Reuters   
      
   Two-thirds of glacier ice in the Himalayas will be lost by 2100 if climate   
   targets aren't met   
   Ann Rowan, The Conversation   
      
   'There's still a choice': New Zealand's melting glaciers show the human   
   fingerprints of climate change   
   Graham Readfearn, The Guardian   
      
   How Trump inadvertently strengthened the Paris Agreement   
   Jeff McMahon, Forbes   
      
   ASX jumps, Nasdaq hits new record as Microsoft pushes ahead with TikTok deal   
   ABC News, 03 Aug 2020 21:36Z   
   The Australian share market rises sharply after a technology-led rally   
   on Wall Street, while Donald Trump says he will ban TikTok in   
   mid-Sept if Microsoft does not buy the social media app.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)