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Here’s your weekly roundup of local and international climate change news for the week of March 25 to March 31, 2024.
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Here’s all the latest news concerning the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and the steps leaders are taking to address these issues.
In climate news this week:
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• Environmental group alleges ‘greenwashing’ by FortisBC in advertising• Alberta scientists band together to shift climate change focus to health impacts• Canada’s coal exports up again in 2023 as government’s promised ban elusive
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Human activities like burning fossil fuels are the main driver of climate change, according to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This causes heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere, increasing the planet’s surface temperature. The panel, which is made up of scientists from around the world, has warned for decades that wildfires and severe weather, such as B.C.’s deadly heat dome and catastrophic flooding in 2021, would become more frequent and more intense because of the climate emergency. It has issued a “code red” for humanity and warns the window to limit warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial times is closing.
But it’s not too late to avoid the worst-case scenarios.According to NASA climate scientists,if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the rise in global temperatures would begin to flatten within a few years. Temperatures would then plateau but remain well-elevated for many centuries. However, according to the
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Climate change quick facts:
The Earth is now about 1.2 C warmer than it was in the 1800s.2023 was hottest on record globally, beating the last record in 2016.Human activities have raised atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by nearly 49 per cent above pre-industrial levels starting in 1850.The world is not on track to meet the Paris Agreement target to keep global temperature from exceeding 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, the upper limit to avoid the worst fallout from climate change.On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, the temperature could increase by as much as 4.4 C by the end of the century.In April, 2022 greenhouse gas concentrations reached record new highs and show no sign of slowing.Emissions must drop 7.6 per cent per year from 2020 to 2030 to keep temperatures from exceeding 1.5 C and 2.7 per cent per year to stay below 2 C.97 per cent of climate scientists agree that the climate is warming and that human beings are the cause.
(Source: United Nations IPCC, World Meteorological Organization, UNEP, Nasa, climatedata.ca)
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Environmental group alleges ‘greenwashing’ by FortisBC in advertising
A B.C. environmental group is taking FortisBC to court, accusing it of greenwashing in advertising.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in B.C. Supreme Court, alleges FortisBC Energy Inc. has promoted the use of natural gas as more cost-effective and as good or better for the environment than alternatives like electric heat pumps. It alleges neither of these claims is true.
The use of fossil fuels to power buildings is a major contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, while electric heat pumps provide heating and cooling without burning fossil fuels, according to the case filed on behalf of Stand Environmental Society and two individuals — Lori Goldman and Eddie Dearden.
They allege the company continues to add thousands of new customers a year by falsely advertising gas as a climate-friendly source of home heating.
It says a cost-analysis posted on the FortisBC website last year comparing the cost of natural gas and electric pumps includes rebates for gas but fails to include the rebates in the cost of the pumps.
None of the claims has been proven in court.
FortisBC said in an emailed statement Tuesday that it was aware of the claim but would not comment on the allegations.
The company said it takes “climate change very seriously and is taking action” to help B.C. meet its climate goals.
Read the full story here.
—Tiffany Crawford
Alberta scientists band together to shift climate change focus to health impacts
Bodies and minds are just as affected by climate change as sea ice and forests, says University of Alberta scientist Sherilee Harper.
“Climate change impacts everything we care about,” she said. “It’s not just an environmental issue.”
That’s why Harper, along with 30 or so colleagues from disciplines as wide-ranging as economics and epidemiology, have banded together into what she calls Canada’s first university hub to shift the view of climate change from an environmental problem to a threat to human health.
“The hub is about helping people see that every climate change decision is a health decision,” said Harper, a professor in the School of Public Health and a vice-chair on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading scientific body on the issue.
“Every climate change research project has health implications.”
Take bike lanes, for example.
City planners look at them as a way to decrease tailpipe emissions from cars. But riding a bike also improves health.
Read the full story here
—The Canadian Press
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Canada’s coal exports up again in 2023 as government’s promised ban elusive
Canadian exports of thermal coal increased another seven per cent last year, reaching the highest level in almost a decade.
The boom in exports of the kind of coal burned to make electricity comes as Canada leads a charge to end the use of coal as a source of power worldwide.
The Liberals also promised three years ago that all thermal coal exports will stop from Canada by 2030, but exports have risen almost 20 per cent since that promise was made.
Statistics published this month by the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert show 19.5 million tonnes of thermal coal were exported through their terminals last year.
That’s up from a little more than 18 million tonnes in 2022 and is almost twice the amount Canada exported in 2015 when the Liberals took power.
Fraser Thomson, a staff lawyer at Ecojustice, says he thinks some companies know their days of shipping thermal coal are numbered and are trying to get out as much as they can before they get cut off.
Coal is considered the dirtiest fuel for making electricity when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. It produces almost twice the amount of carbon dioxide when burned as natural gas to make the same amount of energy.
Read the full story here.
—The Canadian Press
Study says since 1979 climate change has made heat waves last longer, spike hotter, hurt more people
Climate change is making giant heat waves crawl slower across the globe and they are baking more people for a longer time with higher temperatures over larger areas, a new study finds.
Since 1979, global heat waves are moving 20 per cent more slowly _ meaning more people stay hot longer — and they are happening 67 per cent more often, according to a study in Friday’s Science Advances. The study found the highest temperatures in the heat waves are warmer than 40 years ago and the area under a heat dome is larger.
Studies have shown heat waves worsening before, but this one is more comprehensive and concentrates heavily on not just temperature and area, but how long the high heat lasts and how it travels across continents, said study co-authors and climate scientists Wei Zhang of Utah State University and Gabriel Lau of Princeton University.
From 1979 to 1983, global heat waves would last eight days on average, but by 2016 to 2020 that was up to 12 days, the study said.
Eurasia was especially hit harder with longer lasting heat waves, the study said. Heat waves slowed down most in Africa, while North America and Australia saw the biggest increases in overall magnitude, which measures temperature and area, according to the study.
Read the full story here.
—The Associated Press
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Coquihalla Canyon Park, Othello Tunnels near Hope to partly reopen in July
Coquihalla Canyon Park and the Othello Tunnels — major tourist attractions near Hope that were damaged during the catastrophic 2021 flooding — will partly reopen in July, the B.C.
The government made an announcement on Wednesday regarding the commencement of construction work to repair infrastructure damaged by severe weather. The restoration work will be done in two phases, with the first phase focusing on restoring facilities and access from the park entrance and parking lot to the end of tunnel two. The trail will be resurfaced and elevated to prevent future flooding damage. The rest of the park is expected to open in 2025.
In November 2021, heavy rain and severe flooding damaged over 30 sites in the park, including all five of the historic Othello Tunnels built in 1914 by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Scientists have warned that as the planet warms up, regions worldwide will experience more frequent and intense atmospheric rivers, like the one in November 2021 that caused catastrophic flooding.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks and buses to combat climate change. The new rules, effective for model years 2027 through 2032, are estimated to avoid up to 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades. The EPA emphasized the benefits of these standards for public health and the environment.
A study predicts significant shifts in urban wildlife populations due to climate change. The mix of urban birds, bugs, and other critters familiar to humans is expected to change as the climate warms. The simulation conducted by researchers combines climate models and species data from North American cities to estimate future impacts on wildlife.
Canada’s wildfires were identified as a major source of pollution in the United States last year, affecting air quality in both countries. The 2023 World Air Quality report highlighted the impact of Canadian wildfires on air pollution levels, with Canadian cities dominating the list of most polluted cities in North America. The report underscores the need for cross-border collaboration to address air quality issues.
Social media posts and advertisements related to climate change and environmental issues are also highlighted in the content. Links to guides and additional resources on climate change are provided for further reading and information.
Flood: Read all our coverage on the Fraser Valley and beyond
Frequently asked questions about climate change: NASA
What is climate change? A really simple guide from the BBC
Climate change made B.C. heat wave 150 times more likely, study concludes
B.C.’s heat wave: Intense weather event is linked to climate crisis, say scientists
Expert: climate change expected to bring longer wildfire seasons and more area burned
COVID-19 may have halted massive protests, but youth are taking their fight for the future to the courts
Climate displacement a growing concern in B.C. as extreme weather forces residents out of their homes
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