Climate Change Politics: Xi Vision vs. Trump Vision

[Delta Dra 7187]

Has the world started to take climate change fight seriously?

You probably missed the most important announcement on tackling climate change in years.

It was made at the UN General Assembly.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54347878

[Delta Dra 7187]

Wall Street Journal

In the biggest climate commitment made by any nation, China pledged to go carbon neutral by 2060. While it will be challenging for Beijing to achieve its goal, China's plan to become a green superpower will have ripple effects around the world. Illustration: Crystal Tai



Seems an economic impact may be felt in the the countries that are manufacturing and consuming green products--'made in China' again the aim.

[Ka-El]

Any hope of keeping Earth habitable now requires sucking carbon back out of the atmosphere.

Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gas today, the Earth would continue warming for centuries. Arctic ice and permafrost are already on an irreversible path of melting.

That's the finding of new research published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. The model suggests that even if emissions were to drop to zero this year, global temperatures would ultimately rise to be 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit higher in 2500 than they were in 1850 (that's 3 degrees Celsius).

"The tundra will continue to melt over the next 500 years — irrespective of how quickly humanity cuts its greenhouse-gas emissions," Jørgen Randers, the lead author of the new study, told Business Insider.

That's because climate change is a vicious, self-sustaining cycle: As permafrost thaws, it releases more greenhouse gases, like methane and carbon dioxide, which sustains warming over time. To stop that cycle, Randers said, we'll need to suck carbon dioxide back out of the atmosphere.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/weather/topsto ... li=AAggFp5

Maybe if someone would just sweep up that forest.

[Delta Dra 7187]

THE BIDEN PLAN FOR A CLEAN ENERGY REVOLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

http://joebiden.com/climate-plan/#

[Ka-El]

Here's what would happen if all the ice in the Arctic melted

With our planet continuing to warm due to greenhouse gas emissions, we expect to see years in the not-too-distant future where Arctic sea ice completely melts away during the summer. According to a new study, this ice loss is expected to cause significant additional warming that will be felt around the planet.

Arctic sea ice is a critical component of Earth's climate. By the mere presence of its bright surface, this ice has a moderating effect on global warming. Most surfaces absorb incoming sunlight and then radiate that energy away as heat, which is readily absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Thus, as the concentration of greenhouse gases in the air increases, more heat emitted by the Earth is being absorbed, causing global warming and climate change.

Ice, on the other hand, reflects sunlight directly back into space. Greenhouse gases do not absorb sunlight — whether it is directly from the Sun or reflected off a bright surface. Thus, ice actually prevents some of the sunlight that reaches Earth from contributing to the warming of the planet.

"If global ice masses shrink, this changes how much of the sunlight that hits the Earth's surface is reflected back into space. Decreasing ice cover in the Arctic exposes more of the darker ocean water that absorbs more energy," Nico Wunderling, lead author of a recent study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), said in a press release. "This is referred to as albedo feedback. It's like wearing white or black clothes in summer. If you wear dark, you heat up more easily."

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/weather/topsto ... li=AAggNb9

[The Green Barbarian]

THE BIDEN PLAN FOR A CLEAN ENERGY REVOLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

http://joebiden.com/climate-plan/#
]

What does "environmental justice" mean? These are two words that just don't go together.

[Jlabute]

Has the world started to take climate change fight seriously?

You probably missed the most important announcement on tackling climate change in years.

It was made at the UN General Assembly.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54347878

What a load of moronic virtue signalling. First of all, the Paris accord accomplished nothing and was an abject failure. There is no way to measure any benefit of it not to mention there is no evidence of a real crisis, it only exists in bad computer models and in some peoples heads. They believe by 2030 failure to combat climate change will result in a $2 billion dollar per day loss, or $600 trillion loss by 2100. Every country failed to meet their goals. The IPCC never made such a claim of a crisis and no respectable scientist would. The US did better pulling out of the Paris agreement. Paris is Pure stupidity and political power moves at their finest. There are endless idiotic comments about how Trump has doomed the world when it really is the opposite that is true. Now saying China will be net zero by 2060 is an utter joke just like Paris was. China is the worlds worst polluter in a million different ways and a totalitarian state that wants to dominate the world. They can’t even be trusted. The only entity to trust China is the entity that receives the largest sums of money from them, the UN. The post is one of the least important ditties of the day.

https://www.aei.org/articles/point-trump-is-absolutely-correct-to-withdraw-from-the-paris-climate-agreement/

[Jlabute]

THE BIDEN PLAN FOR A CLEAN ENERGY REVOLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

http://joebiden.com/climate-plan/#
]

What does "environmental justice" mean? These are two words that just don't go together.

LOL I know huh, I thought the same thing. In fact, just for fun, I put three random leftist words together in my head... I said to myself “environmental intersectional prostitution” and then I looked it up. It is actually in a category called ecosexuality.

I think 10 or 20 years from now after renewables are found to be dismally inadequate, and investors have already gone full throttle on renewables, then we will start to see the farce fall further apart. Not to mention another few decades of watching nothing happen and temperatures not rising doesn’t help their cause either.

[GordonH]

Okay I don’t trust either leader to start off with.
Trusting a leader of a country that has put the world were we are today impo is insane. ccp leader is as screwed up as stalin was in ussr or khmer rouge of cambodia.

[Delta Dra 7187]

"What Joe Biden’s climate plan means for Canada"

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/new ... for-canada

[fluffy]

I'm a little leary of China's position on this. The way they share and don't share news with the outside world doesn't engender a lot of trust. I've had the thought of some kind of global economic dominance conspiracy in the back of my mind for a while now, no proof, just a feeling based on what they've shown us in the past. If someone wanted to push the US out of the top spot on the world trading stage, taking a few shots at them right now would be a winning strategy. With Covid making a huge mess and getting worse, and the US's loss of face globally with the Trump presidency, conditions are ripe for a "hostile takeover". I also have my doubts as to whether China could actually pull off carbon neutral in the time they've given themselves, it looks to me like there is a lot of image promotion going on here.

[Delta Dra 7187]

"‘Hypocrites and greenwash’: Greta Thunberg blasts leaders over climate crisis"

"She is also unimpressed with pledges by nations including the UK, China and Japan to reach net zero by 2050 or 2060."

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... t_b-gdneco

[Jlabute]

I would agree that China has their PR engine running full steam for more than just Climate Change and net zero doesn't mean they will be emitting less CO2 or retiring coal plants, but really means they are increasing coal use while ramping up methods to offset it. (Image promotion == virtue signaling) China is building hundreds of coal power plants at home and abroad while poor countries use financing from China that puts them in a debt trap. Countries like Zambia who are now defaulting on their Chinese debt as China rapes them for cobalt and copper. Africa is starving for loans and China is willing to take them all to the bank. China has put a hold on Australian coal and is purchasing Mongolian coal which is much dirtier, all due to dirty politics. The UN says the world needs to reduce the use of coal by two-thirds in the next ten years to meet climate goals. China on the other hand is not building gas plants, they are full throttle coal from anywhere it is cheapest. China said they will peak emissions by 2030 and then by 2060 become net zero. This means they will continue peak emissions until 2060 and beyond, but just offset it somehow. Knowing China, their offset plan is to have a million prisoners plant a billion trees. This would be along their line of thinking. China is like ISIS and their god is "ka-ching".

Of course the Paris Accord was ok with all this and Trump didn't want to be a part of it. Nothing like money bleeding from the US to feed renewable projects in China... or something in China.

As modern countries phase out coal and move to better energy sources (gas, nuclear, hydro), China is enabling coal in poor countries and at home.

China building 300 new coal plants around the world and probably around 1200 new coal plants approved for construction or are being built in China.
https://www.thegwpf.com/china-building-300-new-coal-power-plants-around-the-world/

China's debt right now is 300% GDP and 15% of the worlds debt. In the next year or two, US debt will become 100% GDP. China is a lot weaker than they might appear and COVID is not ruining everything although it is creating a debt problem, necessary or not. A "hostile takeover" is far from reality I would think. Taking a "shot or two" at the US will get a deserving shot or three in return. China would not win a war against the US. Trump has many good policies. I fear sending Biden to the world stage is kind of like Longshanks sending his son to negotiate with William Wallace. China wants Biden in power. The Yuan has gained since that prospect has increased, and our dollar has fallen.

I don't believe any praise for China is due especially while the world is pulling away from them.

[Delta Dra 7187]

"The Paris Agreement always needed Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg"

http://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/0 ... -thunberg/

[The Green Barbarian]

"The Paris Agreement always needed Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg"

To fail?