Positive News about Climate Change
It’s been a long week. It’s time for some GOOD NEWS!
Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide had a record drop in 2020 – USA Today
WWF’s Wildlife Adaptation Innovation Fund addresses climate vulnerability by supporting pilot projects that find innovative ways of helping species adapt to these changes in climate -WWF
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN 4 MINUTES?
Read these articles and feel better about life!
Only have 4 minutes? Check out our highlights!
- Why 2021 could be turning point for tackling climate change
Full Article on BBC - Good news? Earth’s carbon dioxide emissions had record drop this year during the pandemic
Full Article on USA Today - The good news about climate change
Full Article on WWF - B.C. is 1st province to set reduction targets for carbon emissions from industries, communities
Full Article on CBC
References
BBC– 3 Why 2021 Could be a Turning Point for Tackling Climate Change – by Justin Rowlatt
USA Today – Good News? Earth’s Carbon Dioxide Emissions had a Record Drop this Year During the Pandemic – by Doyle Rive
CBC – BC is First Province to set Reduction Targets for Carbon Emissions from Industries, Communities – by Dirk Meissner
WWF – The Good News about Climate Change
GOAL
Good News Friday will lift our spirits and take us into a great weekend!
WHO?
Anyone who pays attention to current affairs cares about the environment, social services, democracy, fairness, the truth…
SOLUTION
Every Friday, instead of focusing on the negative and on the things we want to change, we focus on what’s already good in the world and spend time learning and sharing this news.
At the UN General Assembly in September, the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, announced that China aimed to go carbon neutral by 2060 – BBC
Highlights
In November 2021, world leaders will be gathering in Glasgow for the successor to the landmark Paris meeting of 2015, which will be a crucial climate conference. Under the terms of the Paris deal, countries promised to come back every five years and raise their carbon-cutting ambitions. That was due to happen in Glasgow in November 2020. Glasgow 2021 will provide a forum at which those carbon cuts can be ratcheted up.
Countries are already signing up to deep carbon cuts: The UK was the first major economy in the world to make a legally binding net zero commitment in June 2019. The European Union followed suit in March 2020. Since then, Japan and South Korea have joined what the UN estimates is now a total of over 110 countries that have set net zero target for mid-century. Together, they represent more than 65% of global emissions and more than 70% of the world economy, the UN says.
Although it took a catastrophic pandemic for it to occur, worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide had a record drop in 2020. That’s the biggest yearly drop on record, the group said.
Transportation accounted for the largest share of the global decrease, researchers said. Emissions from surface transport, such as car journeys, fell by approximately half at the peak of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
British Columbia is the first province in Canada to set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for major sectors of the provincial economy, including the oil and gas industry, says the environment and climate change minister. The emission reduction targets range from 33 per cent to 38 per cent in oil and gas, up to 32 per cent for transportation and from 38 per cent to 43 per cent for industry. The targets are expected to be reached by 2030 and are based on pollution levels from 2007, the minister said.
The solutions we need for a carbon-zero future already exist. Low cost solar, wind, and battery technologies are on profitable, exponential trajectories that if sustained, will be enough to halve emissions from electricity generation by 2030. Wind and solar energy now regularly out-compete fossil fuels in most regions of the world. Electric vehicle growth has the potential to reach a 90% market share by 2030 if sustained, but only if strong policies support this direction.