State of the Planet: Scotland Coal Free – $2.3 Trillion Renewables Record – Climate Emoji – 100% Electric For India

Posts 01 Apr 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 1 April 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.

Leonardo DiCaprio is in London today, and will be honoured with a “low carbon flyover.”

The Daily Planet has the details of this Climate-KIC event, featuring seagulls and the Oscar-winning Hollywood actor.

After 115 years, Scotland is entirely coal free.

Climate Progress reports how Longannet, the last coal-fired power plant in Scotland (and once the largest in Europe) ceased operations last week before the eyes of workers and journalists.

You can now track the UK’s remaining coal-fired power stations online.

They are set to be closed by 2025, and Carbon Brief is now using an interactive graphic to monitor the status of the remaining sites.

With the closing of coal mines in parts of the US, marijuana is seen as a new job creator.

The New York Times reports how cannabis sales have been soaring to nearly $1 billion across Colorado – where it is legal – and how big states such as California are poised to embrace legalisation.

Papua New Guinea is the first country to submit its climate plan to the UN, following the Paris Agreement.

The UN has created a new page on its website to showcase countries’ formal climate action plans under the Paris climate change agreement, which is where you can now find the south-western Pacific nation’s plan.

When will the world really be two degrees hotter?

Five Thirty Eight takes a look at when the world could officially pass the two degree mark.

GE sponsors Bill Nye the Science Guy to explain climate change with emoji.

Last week, the Daily Planet reported how an Oxford Scientist explains climate change with gin and tonic. This week, we report how US scientist, TV host and comedian Bill Nye uses emoji to explain climate change in a GE sponsored YouTube video.

A world record $286 billion was invested in renewables last year.

This makes for a total of $2.3 trillion over 12 years, according to a new UN-backed report. Last year coal and gas-fired electricity drew less than half the record investment made in solar, wind and other renewables.

Carbon Brief uses charts to show how renewables investment broke records in 2015.

Their piece is a great way to understand the record level global renewables investment in 2015, in seven charts.

China has ordered power companies to make to make sure all renewables generators are connected to the grid.

Reuters reports China made the move to end a bottleneck that left a large amount of clean energy unused.

Suncor, the Canadian oil sands giant, is now looking at building… solar and wind farms.

The National Observer reports how the company is evolving as an energy company, and has the money to go where ‘traditional’ renewable energy companies can’t go.

A renowned climate science institute has published its own version of Alice in Wonderland.

The Daily Planet reports how instead of the organisation’s regular climate change research, this book chronicles a fictional journey through the virtual world of computer models, from tropical rainforests to the ice of Antarctica, in a very free adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s children’s classic Alice in Wonderland.

The European Union has promised to help India with its clean energy aspirations.

Climate Home reports both blocks – dubbed the world’s two largest democracies – agreed at a summit in Brussels on a new range of measures to allow India greater access to finance and green technologies.

India, meanwhile, floated an ambitious goal: 100 per cent electric cars.

The country plans to have all 1.2 billion of its people driving electric cars by 2030. Grist reports that on top of this, they think they can do it without spending any money.

The Arctic Council is the latest international organisation to announce its support for the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The Daily Planet reports how the UN’s Halldór Thorgeirsson was at their meeting in Alaska and made sure to remind officials that their leaders’ signatures are still needed: “I trust that all Arctic Council members and observer Governments will be among the signatories on the opening day,” referring to the 22 April ceremony in New York.

Meanwhile, the first luxury cruise route opens up in the Arctic.

The Guardian reports how coast guard officials are training for a catastrophe in the Arctic as a cruise liner (“The next Titanic?”) is set to travel from Alaska to New York. Scientists expect the Arctic will be almost entirely ice free in the summer within 25 years at the current pace of global warming.

People native to the Arctic region have started creating their own climate action plans.

The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation in northern Canada is developing its first ever climate change adaptation strategy for Inuit communities that are struggling to deal with unpredictable and warmer weather in the Arctic, CBC News reports.

Trump even gets climate denial wrong.

Think Progress analyses how Donal Trump’s recent interview with the Washington Post has highlighted how uninformed the presidential hopeful really is.

Why not explain clean-tech entrepreneurship with cats?

Daily Planet reporter Molly Redmond thought the same thing, don’t miss the result!

Looking for something to fix?

Some of these stories may just inspire your next business venture:

  • The Arctic is “in crisis” as sea ice coverage falls to the lowest winter level on record. Experts have said that air temperatures over the Arctic Ocean were 2 to 6 degrees Celsius above average during December, January and February, the Mirror reports.
  • According to a new study, $1 trillion is being wasted on unnecessary coal projects. This amount could end world energy poverty.
  • Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been hit by the “worst” bleaching ever. Coral bleaching is caused by rising water temperatures, 95% of reefs from Cairns to Papua New Guinea are now severely bleached the BBC reports. http://bbc.in/1WZHQu2
  • A new study from NASA and Harvard University has found that climate change is shifting the harvest times of grapes to dramatically earlier. Continue reading to find out why this information may prove critical to wine producers.
  • In Europe, the North and Baltic Sea coasts will see the largest increases in storm surges. The EU’s Joint Research Centre has the details.

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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