The climate crisis is getting worse and not newsworthy

The weekly round-up on the climate crisis and data on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

The idea of ​​doing a weekly round-up on the climate crisis was born in the wake of the climate newsletter Guardian which every week publishes data on carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, an indicator that tells us the state of the climate crisis and the health of our planet.This week, the atmospheric concentration of CO2, the greenhouse gas primarily responsible for global warming, exceeded 424 parts per million (ppm) for the first time.In recent days it had already exceeded 423.More than half of the CO2 produced by human activities, from the Industrial Revolution to today, was released in the atmosphere since 1990.Unfortunately, this data is not newsworthy and is not reflected in the climate policies of governments, whose actions to cut emissions are regularly deferred over time in the name of energy security (and to guarantee the difficult compromises required by the ecological transition).And in the meantime, we continue to criminalize (and delegitimize) the civil disobedience actions of climate activists.

As Antonio Scalari writes, in a post on Facebook, “It is very difficult for our brains to understand the magnitude of a change in atmospheric chemistry of this magnitude.

About 56 million years ago, ten million years after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs, rapid global warming occurred, an event called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).The cause was a massive release of greenhouse gases, including CO2.The temperature on the planet increased by 5 or 6 degrees over the course of a few thousand years.A very rapid event, in geological terms.Today we are sending carbon into the atmosphere at a rate about 10 times greater than what it should have been at the beginning of the PETM.I don't know if this comparison helps to understand what we are doing today.

The graph you see above is called Keeling curve, named after the scientist, Charles David Keeling, who in 1958 started the program to measure the atmospheric concentration of CO2 at the Mauna Loa Observatory on the Hawaiian Islands.Keeling became interested in measuring CO2 in the 1950s, when he was a postdoctoral student at the California Institute of Technology.His work aroused the interest of Harry Wexler, of the United States Weather Bureau, and Roger Revelle, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, another scientist protagonist in the history of the discovery of global warming.To these two organizations Keeling proposed the idea of ​​a global program to measure atmospheric CO2 concentrations in remote locations on the planet.Thanks to the funds raised during the International Geophysical Year, the program was able to start in 1958.

Already in 1960 Keeling discovered that there are clear seasonal variations in CO2 levels:its concentration reaches a peak in May and a minimum in September, before autumn.This phenomenon, visible in the "zig-zag" trend of the curve, is due to the photosynthetic activity of plants.When plants start growing and photosynthesising again in spring, they take CO2 from the atmosphere to use it as a carbon source for growth and reproduction.This causes CO2 levels to decrease, which continues throughout the summer season.The fluctuation follows the seasonal cycle of the Northern Hemisphere because most of the planet's emerged land and plant mass are found here.Equatorial forests do not contribute to the oscillation as much as those at higher latitudes because seasonal changes here cause much larger differences in photosynthesis (another important player in global photosynthesis is ocean plankton).

The study of atmospheric CO2 has allowed us to make another discovery, which concerns the relative concentration of two carbon isotopes, 12C and 13C.We know that the first, lighter, is what the plants they "prefer" to use for photosynthesis, especially plants that carry out C3 photosynthesis (and 90% of plants are C3).

Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of plant organisms that lived tens and hundreds of millions of years ago.Therefore their carbon it is poorer than 13C.By burning fossil fuels we put this carbon into the atmosphere.For this reason, the 13C/12C should decrease over time.This is in fact what is observed.A decrease in this ratio, from the Industrial Revolution to the present, has been documented with direct measurements and in ice cores.

Keeling's research between the 60s and 70s helped demonstrate, with increasingly strong evidence, that fossil fuels were changing the chemistry of the atmosphere.In 2005 Charles F.Kennel, professor emeritus of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, said that “Keeling's measurements of the global accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere set the stage for today's profound concerns about climate change.They are the single most important environmental dataset collected in the 20th century."

The Keeling curve has become an indicator of the state of the climate crisis and, therefore, also of the health of our political, economic, media and social system.Of its ability, so far insufficient, to react to ensure that this curve - like that of infections during the pandemic - flattens as soon as possible".

Why Germany has decided to exit nuclear power

Last week the last three nuclear reactors still active in Germany were closed:the Emsland reactor, in Lower Saxony, the Isar 2 plant in Bavaria, and the Neckarwestheim reactor, in Baden-Württemberg, in south-eastern Germany.The decommissioning - which marks the end of the use of nuclear energy in Germany which until 20 years ago managed to guarantee the country a third of its electricity - comes in the midst of the energy crisis exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has generated a great debate on its necessity, especially because the government had to resort to coal.

In 2002, the government of Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard Schröder decided that all nuclear power plants in the country would be closed by 2022.Deadline extended to 2036 by Christian Democrat Chancellor Angela Merkel, before the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan changed the cards on the table again, restoring Schröder's divestment plan.

Since the decision to phase out nuclear power in the 2000s, the share of coal in electricity generation in Germany has fallen from 43% in 2011 (when seven nuclear power plants were decommissioned) to 23.4% in 2020.No new coal-fired power plants have been planned/built since 2007.Then in 2020 the government approved the phasing out of coal power by 2038.However, in 2022, coal was the leading source of electricity production in Germany with over 30%, ahead of wind (22%), gas (13%) and solar (10%). reports The Post. 

Nuclear advocates have called for a complete reevaluation or at least a delay of the exit at a time when the loss of gas supplies from Russia has led to widespread concerns about energy security and rapidly rising energy prices have put a strain on test the balance sheets of families and companies.

The government he commissioned a so-called "stress test" in the summer of 2022 to check whether it made sense to operate the remaining reactors a few months longer to ensure grid stability during the winter of 2022/23.The result was that a limited extension of the operating time would be necessary to ensure the stability of the network.Chancellor Olaf Scholz finally decided to extend the operation of the three power plants until 15 April 2023, however excluding further extensions.Plant operators also stated that it would not be technically possible to operate the power plants any longer, even though this was politically desirable.

What will change with the new EU law on deforestation?

The European Union is in the process of approving one new law which will prevent the sale of products such as palm oil, coffee and chocolate if they come from deforested land.The deforestation-free products regulation is part of the EU's Green Deal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.It replaces an existing law that aims to prevent the sale of illegally cut wood products.The EU is a major importer of products linked to deforestation.

Under the proposed law, which has been in the works for several years, companies will have to demonstrate that they have not exploited deforested land starting from 31 December 2020.States will be classified as low, medium or high risk of producing goods related to deforestation.Manufacturers operating in high-risk countries will be subject to greater scrutiny than those operating in lower-risk states.

The products affected are palm oil, beef, coffee, cocoa, soy, wood and rubber.And also some derivative products such as leather, chocolate, furniture, coal and printed paper.

Between 2008 and 2017, two-thirds of the most consumed products linked to deforestation in the EU were palm oil (in blue) and soya (in red), according to Commission analysis.

Some products such as corn, biofuels and livestock were not included in the list, despite having been initially included, while rubber, which was originally excluded, was included.

Including corn and rubber in the legislation “would require a very large effort and a significant financial and administrative burden with limited return in curbing deforestation,” the Commission's impact assessment report said.Trade in these products in the EU is high:approximately 2.8 billion euros per year for corn and 17.6 billion euros for rubber.

For Andrea Carta, Greenpeace lawyer, the proposed law represents an “innovative legislative act” and a “real turning point” for trade:“Imagine if you could use the same model for minerals, metals, plastics, textiles, [or] to exclude forced labor, child labor, human rights violations.”

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), reducing deforestation and forest degradation reduces greenhouse gas emissions.The IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land estimates that 23% of global human-caused greenhouse gas emissions between 2007 and 2016 came from agriculture, forestry and other land uses.According to the impact assessment, without the law, the consumption and production of goods that the EU targets would result in the deforestation of 248,000 hectares by 2030, an area equal to the combined forest cover of Switzerland and the Netherlands.This equates to 110 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year by 2030.

The law is estimated to lead to a 29% decrease in deforestation by the end of this decade, resulting in at least 71,000 hectares of forest less affected by deforestation and forest degradation by 2030.This would mean a reduction of at least 31.9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year with an annual saving of at least 3.2 billion euros.

The law has been welcomed by European Union countries, which say it will help reduce the EU's contribution to deforestation around the world.But many have criticized the regulation for the effects it could have on non-EU countries and small farmers.

The eleven people who died in India due to an extreme heat wave show what happens if cities and states are not prepared for the impacts of the climate crisis

An extreme heat wave he provoked the deaths of 11 people and the hospitalization of 50 others during a government event on the outskirts of Mumbai in India.The maximum temperature recorded exceeded 35°C.

Rarely in recent years have so many people died from the heat in a single event.An alarm bell, writes Somini Sengupta on New York Times, for a nation extremely vulnerable to the risks of global warming.Last year India was hit by a long heat wave and this year the hot season started abnormally early.In fact, the hottest February in the country's history was recorded.

Temperatures rose unexpectedly, continues Sengupta.Prior to the event, no heat warning had been issued for the area, and by mid-afternoon the Meteorological Department had issued a press release warning of an increase in maximum temperatures, but which covered the entire state of Maharashtra for the next five days.In short, nothing predicted what would happen shortly thereafter.

According to local weather reports, high humidity levels, which hovered between 60 and 70 percent at midday, were a major factor.This is precisely one of the lessons to be learned, explains Sengupta.In some coastal areas, humidity is considered a heat warning factor.But it is not included uniformly in heat alerts for all areas.

What happened highlights how unprepared many local and state governments are to address the dangers of extreme heat.

A report by an independent Indian think tank, the Center for Policy Research, revealed these risks just a few weeks ago.The report credited government agencies for creating an early warning system for heat waves and working in creative ways to spread messages, including radio jingles, billboards, WhatsApp messages and short films on YouTube.

But the report found that few Indian cities and states have heat action plans designed to protect lives and livelihoods.Many of them had ambitious goals, such as creating cooling centers and improving access to water.But most lacked funds.Many of them did not even have a way to identify the most vulnerable citizens.Most “have an oversimplified view of risk.”

Perhaps most concerning is that state and local heat action plans are not always available to the public, Sengupta concludes.The state of Maharashtra did not yet have a plan ready despite February being one of the hottest months ever, it is not clear whether it was already in force at the time of Sunday's tragedy and whether this would have allowed deaths and hospitalizations to be avoided.

Preview image:Density of CO2 in the atmosphere.The image is the result of a simulation carried out in November 2015 by NASA's 'Earth science program' to study the impact that a reduction in the ability of the land and oceans to absorb part of the carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels would have on atmospheric concentration level of this gas.Credit: NASA/GSFC.License:Public Domain.