Post-tropical storm Fiona is expected to be the costliest storm to ever hit Atlantic Canada but analysts at DBRS Morning Star, the fourth-largest credit rating agency in the world, say gaps in insurance coverage leave many property owners without coverage after the weekend’s devastation. [node:read-more:link]
The European Union, in an escalating standoff with Russia over natural gas supplies, is being urged by the UN not to potentially undermine climate change mitigation by burning other fossil fuels this winter. “In the face of soaring energy prices which threaten to impact the most vulnerable as winter approaches, some EU member states are turning to investments in fossil fuels infrastructure and supplies,” UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Commissioner Nada al-Nashif of Jordan said September 12. “There is no room for backtracking in the face of the ongoing climate crisis.” [node:read-more:link]
Australia has legislated a commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the initiative an end to a decade of inaction by a half dozen predecessors, but independent MPs want a 50 per cent reduction by the end of this decade while the Green Party called it a “small step” and most want an end to new coal and natural gas projects. [node:read-more:link]
The federal government has rejected a call by Nova Scotia to be exempted from the national carbon levy program. Environment & Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault’s August 29 response is being called a “missed opportunity” by his provincial counterpart. “A carbon tax will increase prices,” Tim Halman says, arguing that the federal levy is not needed because Nova Scotia has legislated the most aggressive emissions reductions in Canada. [node:read-more:link]
Canada’s economy is predicted to take a $139 billion hit over the next three decades as floods, droughts and increasingly severe weather damages or destroys infrastructure. The grim projection is set out in a new climate-based analysis of seven countries by GHD Group, a global engineering and architectural services company headquartered in Australia. [node:read-more:link]
A B.C. judge has accused a conservation group of using frontline protesters as “sacrificial lambs” in blockades designed to draw attention to the group’s broader political agenda. In granting a conditional discharge to a 30-year-old who participated in repeated demonstrations against old-growth logging, Provincial Court Judge Laura Bakan called him “a person whose personal attributes are easily preyed on”, but a spokesperson for the group dismissed the judge’s comment as “speculation” to get the accused off lightly. [node:read-more:link]
The California Air Resources Board, an environmental bellwether within the U.S. and elsewhere, has unveiled regulations designed to prohibit the sale of new gasoline-fuelled cars and light trucks by 2035. [node:read-more:link]
An estimated 4.34 million cubic meters of natural gas is being flared daily by Russia at a new Gazprom liquification plant near its border with Finland even as it threatens to limits shipments to Europe this winter. The burn-off is considered an “environmental disaster” as it emits some 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide a day. [node:read-more:link]
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is in the Canadian North this week for an unprecedented tour of defence installations. Officials say the visit is meant to highlight that the region is a security priority, in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and issues related to climate change. [node:read-more:link]
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced today that Japan will restart more idled nuclear plants as it considers next-generation reactors and sustainable options, a decade after the Fukushima disaster saw the country’s nuclear industry shut down. He also said officials had been instructed to come up with plans by year’s end, including how to gain “the understanding of the public” of such a major policy shift. [node:read-more:link]
Three well-known incidents highlight key aspects from which to learn from failure and then improve resilience. Approaching global uncertainty is not unlike going into battle with an unknown adversary. However, there are “known” unknowns, and while recognizing them makes them no less daunting, it does help to better understand the battle space. [node:read-more:link]
A record-breaking drought in much of Europe and Britain is causing major supply problems for electricity utilities. Hydroelectric generation has fallen by some 20 per cent since 2021 and output from nuclear power stations, which rely heavily on river or lake water for cooling, is down 12 per cent. A major environmental downside is that coal-fired stations’ output has risen by 11 per cent. [node:read-more:link]
The federal government is being urged by a coalition of environmental groups to reject proposals to build liquefied natural gas export terminals in Atlantic Canada on ground the projects would result in “climate-wrecking” emissions. The activists also say there are financial risks association with megaprojects which could take years to complete. [node:read-more:link]
Reacting to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s brief visit to Taiwan earlier this week, China says it is ending discussions with the U.S. on key issues such as climate change as it ramps up military provocations. The White House summoned China's ambassador, Qin Gang, late August 4 to tell him that the military actions were of “concern to Taiwan, to us and to our partners around the world.” [node:read-more:link]
Environment & Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault says the federal government could give the petroleum more time to meet 2030 carbon emissions reduction targets. “I'm not saying today it's necessarily going to be 2032, but the companies have said it could be 10 years,” he said on the weekend. The oil and natural gas industries accounted for 26 per cent of emissions in 2019. [node:read-more:link]
