HFCs Phased Out by Montreal Protocol: The 12 Biggest Climate Stories This Week

Posts 18 Oct 2016

Things are moving quickly as our planet makes the transition to a new, clean economy. You want to stay in the loop – but you’re busy, that’s why we keep an eye on the headlines for you!

Welcome to the 18 October 2016 edition of the Daily Planet’s weekly State Of The Planet. Don’t hesitate to send your tips and comments to @peter_koekoek or peter.koekoek@climate-kic.org.

1. Watch 6 climate scientists explain why they’re not %&$#?@! with you.

Although Hillary Clinton says she wants to beat climate change by turning the United States into the world’s clean energy superpower, her opponent Donald Trump and many of his Republican colleagues claim climate change is… a hoax. But six American scientists have recorded a video clip to dispel this myth once and for all – and they’re using some strong language to get their point across, the Daily Planet reports.

2. Sweden has proposed measures to increase carbon prices in Europe.

A European bill to reform the EU’s emissions trading system to make big polluters pay for emissions is currently being debated by EU lawmakers and member states, and Sweden’s climate minister Isabella Lovin has proposed measures to strengthen carbon prices from 2020 according to Reuters.

https://twitter.com/mark_johnston/status/788043733212225536

3. The Montreal Protocol has been amended to ban the ‘supercharged greenhouse gas’ HFC.

Negotiators from almost 200 countries reached a historic, legally binding deal this weekend to counter climate change by gradually cutting the use of a powerful planet-warming chemical used in air-conditioners and refrigerators, the New York Times reports. Some economies, including the United States and the European Union, will freeze the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as early as 2018 to reduce them to 15 per cent of 2012 levels by 2036. Less developed countries will take a more gradual approach.

The deal is an amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the landmark 1987 pact designed to close the hole in the ozone layer by banning ozone-depleting coolants called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. Chemical companies responded by developing HFCs, which don’t harm the ozone layer but do trap heat in the atmosphere, the New York Times reports.

Although HFCs are just a small percentage of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the New York Times highlights how they function as a sort of supercharged greenhouse gas, with 1,000 times the heat-trapping potency of carbon dioxide.

4. The EU is working on plans for an electric car charging point in every new home in Europe.

Every new or refurbished house in Europe may need to be equipped with an electric vehicle recharging point, the Guardian reports, pointing to new EU legislation that could come into effect by 2019. In a tweet, Unilever CEO Paul Polman said the news shows that momentum is building towards a low carbon future. “Huge opportunity for Europe’s power network,” he wrote.

Carmakers also hailed the news. “This kind of market stimulus is not just positive, it is mandatory if we want to see a massive rollout of electric vehicles in the near future,” said Guillaume Berthier, head of electric car sales for automaker Renault, according to Yale Environment 360.

5. Investors worth $24 trillion are urging traditional car makers to shift gears.

The global response to climate change and the emergence of innovative new car start-ups means the automotive sector will need to transform rapidly or risk being left behind, investors warn in a new report. “Established automotive companies are highly exposed to competition from new entrants responding to growing consumer demand for cleaner vehicles and smart transport services,” said Emma Herd, who represents investors in Australia, New Zealand and across Asia, according to the Daily Planet.

6. Sustainable infrastructure is a huge $90 trillion investment opportunity.

Over the next 15 years, governments and finance institutions will need to shift investment towards sustainable infrastructure to meet climate change targets and kick-start economic growth, a major new report has concluded according to the Daily Planet.

7. Makes science great again! There’s a video game where you can hurl climate change ‘truth’ at Donald Trump.

A Finnish company has taken the US presidential candidate and business executive to task, the Washington Post reports. “In a game that now exists both online and in the form of an augmented-reality mobile app, a cartoon image of Trump issues his actual tweets on climate change — including his stated belief that global warming is a Chinese ruse — and other questionable interpretations of science. Then the user can hurl cartoon globes, charts and textbooks at Trump to break apart his lie,” according to the Washington Post.

8. A California-based energy company has announced plans for the biggest solar farm ever built.

California is building the world’s largest solar project, and it could generate electricity 24 hours a day to power 1 million homes. SolarReserve CEO Kevin Smith told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the $5 billion endeavour would generate between 1,500 and 2,000 megawatts of power, enough to power about 1 million homes, according to EcoWatch. That amount of power is as much as a nuclear power plant, or the 2,000-megawatt Hoover Dam and far bigger than any other existing solar facility on Earth, EcoWatch reported.

9. Leonardo DiCaprio says climate change is a big issue for young people.

Environmentalist and movie star Leonardo DiCaprio has told the BBC that he thinks climate change is the biggest issue facing young people today. He was speaking at the London premiere of his documentary about environmental issues, Before The Flood, BBC Newsbeat reports.

10. Here are 7 ways to sustainably celebrate World Food Day.

It was World Food Day on 16 October, and the Daily Planet published seven actions that will help make your eating habits more sustainable and climate-friendly – make them a regular part of your daily life!

11. Hillary Clinton campaigns about climate change, with Al Gore at her side.

“I can’t wait to have Al Gore advising me when I am president of the United States,” Clinton said according to E&E Publishing. In Florida, the state facing sea level rise, both US politicians campaigned side by side and warned that Donald Trump’s climate denial will be disastrous, Inside Climate News reports.

“Climate change is real, it’s urgent and America can take the lead in the world in addressing it,” Clinton said. “We can develop new clean energy solutions. We can transform our economy. We can rally the world to cut carbon pollution. And we can fulfil our moral obligation to protect this planet for our children and our grandchildren,” she said according to Inside Climate News.

“Hillary Clinton is the right choice in this election if we care about solving the climate crisis,” Al Gore tweeted on the day of the rally in Florida.

12. The US should copy Canada’s plans for putting a price on carbon, a CNN writer says.

CNN opinion columnist John Sutter writes that “the world should applaud Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision this week to implement carbon pricing across that country. It’s a move the United States should copy, too.”

“It’s not as cute or heartwarming as when Trudeau welcomed those refugees, perhaps. But it should be seen as just as noteworthy,” he writes.

Looking for something to fix?

One of these stories may just inspire your next project:

  • Climate change can also trigger earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes. An earthquake fault that is ready to go is like a coiled spring – all that is needed is the pressure of a handshake, according to the Guardian.
  • Climate change will push millions into hunger. The UN estimates that at least an additional 42 million people will be vulnerable to hunger in 2050, Reuters reports.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to receive next week’s State Of The Planet in your inbox. Don’t hesitate to send your tips and comments to @peter_koekoek or peter.koekoek@climate-kic.org!

 
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