2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #45

Summary of this week's topics

We asked Google's Gemini again for help categorizing the articles we shared during the week, but it couldn't do it this time around. So, we tried with OpenAI's ChatGPT instead, which is why the format is different compared to last week's. Now that we have two different versions of generated summaries, we'd like to know which format you prefer, so please let us know in the comments!

International Climate Conferences and Agreements

• COP16 Outcomes and Challenges
  • Nature, Carbon Brief, The Guardian: Coverage of COP16, including biodiversity agreements and developing nations’ frustrations over unmet funding promises.
• Paris Climate Agreement and US Role
  • The Guardian, Nature: Analysis of António Guterres’s warning about the possible impacts of a US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, prompted by reports of Trump’s plans to exit.

Climate Change and Political Influence

• US Presidential Election and Climate Policy
  • Inside Climate News, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, The Conversation, Washington Post: Various perspectives on how climate policy was largely absent from US campaign discussions, the potential rollback of climate initiatives under Trump, and the implications for oil and gas companies.
• State-Level Climate Initiatives
  • Inside Climate News: Positive outcomes for climate initiatives across multiple US states, even amid a challenging national political climate.

Climate-Related Environmental Impacts

• Methane Emissions and Policies
  • Bloomberg Green, Washington Post, The Guardian: Reports on rising methane emissions despite pledges, causes of the spike, and the pushback against methane regulations from oil and gas producers.
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Targets
  • Carbon Brief, The Guardian: Analysis of EU emissions reductions, projections of 2024 as the first year above 1.5°C warming, and Canada’s shift on CO2 policy by Alberta Conservatives.
• Droughts, Floods, and Severe Weather
  • The Guardian, Washington Post, CNN, Yale Climate Connections: Coverage on Spain’s floods, US drought impacts on agriculture, and predictions for future drought dynamics due to increased evaporation.
• Wildfires, Hurricanes, and Heat Waves
  • Inside Climate News, Yale Climate Connections, Washington Post: The growing intensity of natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes due to climate change, with specific impacts in Canada, Greece, North Carolina, and the Amazon.

Climate Policy, Industry, and Regulation

• Corporate and Government Climate Actions
  • DeSmog, Washington Post, The Tyee: Examination of Trump-backed policies favoring the fossil fuel industry, debates on methane regulation, and discussions around Canada’s water export pressure.
• Far-Right Influence on Environmental Policy
  • The Guardian: Reports on how far-right groups are capitalizing on discontent among European farmers over climate policies.

Mental Health and Climate Anxiety

• Climate Anxiety and Mental Health
  • Inside Climate News: Exploration of the psychological impacts of climate change, especially post-election, and the effects of heat on those using psychotropic medications.

Public Misconceptions and Climate Science

• Disinformation and Weather Manipulation Myths
  • Science Feedback: Refuting claims that HAARP or other human interventions cause weather changes, emphasizing the natural causes of extreme weather patterns.

Stories we promoted this week, by publication date:

Before November 3

• COP16: Key outcomes agreed at the UN biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia, Nature, Carbon Brief, Multiple Authors.
• https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/01/a-trump-presidency-could-cripple-the-paris-climate-agreement-warns-un-chief-antonio-guterres, Nature, The Guardian, Peter Greenfield. "António Guterres says treaty will endure but urges US to remain amid reports that Trump plans to withdraw from the climate negotiating framework entirely"
• Alberta Conservatives Pass Climate Denial Resolution 12 to Celebrate CO2 Pollution, DeSmog, Danielle Paradis and Taylor Noakes. UCP pledges to abandon the province’s net zero targets, and remove the designation of CO2 as a pollutant.
• EU emissions fall by 8% in steep reduction reminiscent of Covid shutdown, Environment, The Guardian, Ajit Niranjan.. "Decline over 2023, helped by switch to renewable power, means greenhouse gas pollution is now 37% below 1990 levels"
• Why this is a climate election—even if that hasn’t been apparent on the trail, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Andy Revkin.
• Why were the floods in Spain so bad? A visual guide, World, The Guardian, Ashifa Kassam & Faisal Ali.

November 3

• 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #44, Skeptical Science, Bärbel Winkler, Doug Bostrom & John Hartz. A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Mon, October 28, 2024 thru Sun, November 3, 2024.
• Cop16 ends in disarray and indecision despite biodiversity breakthroughs, Environment, The Guardian, Patrick Greenfield & Phoebe Weston,. "Conservation summit agrees global levy on drugs from nature’s genetics and stronger indigenous representation, but developing nations furious at unmet funding promises"
• The World Promised to Tame Methane. Emissions Are Still Rising, Bloomberg Green, Aaron Clark & Zachary R Mider. "About 160 countries and 140 companies pledged to combat the potent greenhouse gas, yet releases from the fossil fuels sector remain near record highs."
• US immigration policy has a huge blind spot: climate change, Science, The Verge, Justine Calma & Gaby Del Valle. "Joe Biden raised hopes that the US would finally plan for climate-displaced migrants. Today, it’s still a glaring hole in climate and immigration policy."

November 4

• Tropical Storm Rafael is coming soon. It poses an uncertain threat to the US Gulf Coast, Weather, CNN, Mary Gilbert.
• Climate crisis leaves European farmers vulnerable to far right, say campaigners, The Guardian, Matthew Taylor and Helena Horton. Populist groups capitalising on costly environmental policies that affect farmers by offering them support
• Psychotropic Medications and High Heat Don’t Mix, Justice & Health, Inside Climate News, Nina Dietz. "Common drugs for anxiety, depression and other mental health issues can wreak havoc on the brain’s ability to regulate heat. One researcher said they disrupt 'the thermostat of the body'.”
• Scientists may have figured out why a potent greenhouse gas is rising. The answer is scary., Climate, Washington Post, Shannon Osaka. "Methane emissions spiked starting in 2020. Scientists say they have found the culprit."
• Trump donor fined for pollution leads a fight to end methane emission penalties, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/04/oil-industry-methane-emission-penalties-trump-election, Oliver Milman. "Detailed plans from 30 oil and gas producers come amid historic levels of potent planet-heating emissions"
• Pressure on Canada to Export Water Will Be Immense, Analysis, The Tyee, Michael Harris. "Sharp global policy experts are already crafting the legal case for doing so."

November 5

• Sabin 33 #1 - Are electromagnetic fields from solar farms harmful to human health?, Skeptical Science, Sabin Center Team.
• Climate change made 2023 wildfire conditions in Canada three times as likely, study finds, Yale Climate Connections, YCC Team. It also upped the risk in Greece and the Amazon.
• Nearly all of US states are facing droughts, an unprecedented number, The Guardian, Marina Dunbar. More than 150 million people and 318m acres of crops are affected by droughts after summer of record heat
• Climate Change Has Dangerously Supercharged Fires, Hurricanes, Floods and Heat Waves. Why Didn’t It Come Up More in the Presidential Campaign?, Politics, Inside Climate News, Kiley Bense, Georgina Gustin, Liza Gross, Marianne Lavell & Phil McKenna. "Trump calls climate change a 'scam' and a 'hoax.' Harris understands it’s an emergency. But it’s not among her top issues on the campaign trail."

November 6

• What Trump’s victory could mean for oil companies and climate change policy, Climate, Washingto Post, Evan Halper, Maxine Joselow & Chico Harlan. "Trump’s plans have the potential to send fossil fuel companies’ profits soaring while threatening the world’s climate goals."
• 2024 will be the first year on record to smash a warming limit scientists warned about, Climate, CNN, Brandon Miller & Ella Nilsen,.
• How do you save a rainforest? Leave it alone., Climate, Grist, Matt Simon . "Research shows that, instead of replanting rainforests, allowing them to bounce back naturally would store loads of carbon"
• The frozen carbon of the northern permafrost is on the move – we estimated by how much, Environment & Energy, The Conversation AU, Pep Canadell & Gustaf Hugelius.
• Why future droughts will not be about rain, Climate, Washington Post, Joshua Partlow. "New research shows how evaporation plays an increasingly important role in droughts in the West as temperatures rise."
• Von der Leyen’s Cop29 absence sends ‘fatal signal’, say watchers, Environment, The Guardian, Jennifer Rankin . "MEPs express concern for EU climate leadership as commission head confirms she will miss Baku summit"

November 7

• What Trump can do to reverse US climate policy - and what he probably can`t change, The Conversation, Gautam Jain.
• State of the climate: 2024 will be first year above 1.5C of global warming, Carbon Brief, Zeke Hausfather. This year is now virtually certain to beat 2023 as the hottest year on record, Carbon Brief analysis shows.
• Climate Initiatives Fare Well Across the Country Despite National Political Climate, Climate, Inside Climate News, Lee Hedgepeth, Kristoffer Tigue, Lisa Sorg, Liza Gross, Martha Pskowski & Wyatt Myskow. "From California to Louisiana, ballot measures on climate and the environment gained voters’ approval. In state legislatures, results were mixed."

November 8

• Reckoning With Climate Anxiety in the Wake of the US Election, Inside Climate News, Kiley Price. Mental health professionals share how people can process climate anxiety following Trump's win.
• No, HAARP can’t create floods, climate change can make heavy rainfall more extreme, Science Feedback, Rahul Rao. HAARP is not responsible for any flooding events. The atmospheric research facility does not and cannot manipulate weather. Moreover, there is evidence that floods have become more severe in recent years, but instead of being caused by weather manipulation, the trend is linked to a warming climate increasing the severity of heavy rainstorms.

November 9

• Climate Deniers Waiting in the Wings as Trump Reclaims Presidency, DeSmog, Joe Fassler and Sharon Kelly. Meet those aiming to capitalize on Trump’s re-election by slashing climate action, from Koch network fixtures to Project 2025 and beyond.
• Where the trees once stood  "See how Helene wiped out North Carolina’s forests." by imon Ducroquet, Scott Dance, Niko Kommenda & John Muyskens, Photos & video by Ted Richardson,, Climate, Washington Post, Nov 9, 2024