Climate Letter #954

Why climate change should be taken seriously, and action not further delayed (New York Magazine.)  This article kind of covers the landscape of all the things that are set to go wrong, sometimes with a bit of bias toward worst-case scenarios.  The scientific sources chosen by the author are of good quality, these all being standard subjects that have been covered quite often individually in these letters.  Getting them all at once, in such an affirmative way, may come as a bit of shock.

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France’s small CO2 tax will be boosted sharply, rising to 100 euros per ton by 2030.  Other sweeping reforms have also been enacted by the newly elected government, headed by a president who has clearly expressed himself and wants his country to set a good example.

–President Macron will convene and host a summit on December 12 in an attempt to move the Paris accord head more quickly, with an emphasis on gathering financial support.  Ideally the G20 could have done this, but was just not properly organized for that kind of effort.  This should help fill in a gap that has been poorly attended to before now.

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Heavy duty trucks create about one-fifth of global oil demand.  “For far too long there has been a lack of policy focus on truck fuel efficiency. Given they are now the dominant driver of global oil demand, the issue can no longer be ignored if we are to meet our energy and environmental objectives”  The possibility of electrification is not as easy as it has been for automobiles.

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The drought in Iberia, now five or six years old, has worsened.  The area known as Spain’s granary is seeing wheat and barley harvests cut by 50%.  Aquifers used for irrigation are less plentiful as they become drier and suffer salinization effects.

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