Here’s all the latest local and international news concerning climate change for the week of Dec. 9-15, 2024.
Here’s the latest news concerning climate change and biodiversity loss, from the steps leaders are taking to address the problems to all the latest science.
In climate news this week:
• Burnaby oil refinery produces Canada’s first test run of low-carbon jet fuel
• Feds send $148 million to B.C. in disaster recovery funds for floods, wildfires
• B.C. Hydro approves nine wind-power projects but pressure to build capacity remains
Human activities like burning fossil fuels and farming livestock are the main drivers 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.
According to NASA climate scientists, human activities have raised the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide content by 50 per cent in less than 200 years, and “there is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate.”
Climate change quick facts:
• The Earth is now about 1.3 C warmer than it was in the 1800s.
• 2023 was hottest on record globally, beating the last record in 2016. However scientists say 2024 will likely beat the 2023 record.
• 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 including sea level rise, and more intense drought, heat waves and wildfires.
• On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, the temperature could increase by as much 3.6 C this century, according to the IPCC.
• 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.
Latest News
Burnaby oil refinery produces Canada’s first test run of low-carbon jet fuel
Fuel producer and distributor Parkland Corp. has completed a test run of refining what it claims is Canada’s first batch of low-carbon jet fuel using non-petroleum oils at its Burnaby facility, the company said Tuesday.
Parkland used the Burnaby refinery’s existing equipment to produce a batch of 101,000 litres of low-carbon jet fuel using “non-food-grade canola oil” and animal tallow. The experimental fuel was purchased by Air Canada, company senior vice-president Ferio Pugliese said in a news release.
The volume is equivalent to the fuel capacity of almost four new Boeing 737 planes, or just over half the fuel capacity of one of the extended-range intercontinental Boeing 777s in Air Canada’s fleet.
“Parkland is thrilled to demonstrate its leadership and proven expertise at the Burnaby refinery by becoming the first company to produce low-carbon aviation fuel in Canada,” Pugliese said in the news release.
For several years, the almost 90-year-old Burnaby refinery has experimented with co-processing, refining biofuels alongside crude oil to create fuels with what Parkland claims is one-eighth the carbon intensity of fossil fuels alone.
—Derrick Penner
Feds send $148 million to B.C. in disaster recovery funds for floods, wildfires
The federal government is paying out more than $148 million in disaster recovery funding to B.C. in response to recent flooding and record-breaking wildfire seasons.
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada says in a statement that the funding will be paid through its Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program for supporting costs linked with the 2022 and 2023 wildfire season as well as flooding last year.
The federal government says B.C. saw more than 4,000 wildfires in the two years, with 223 evacuations orders and 431 alerts affecting about 192,000 residents overall. It says about $132 million will be sent for the 2023 wildfire season and $12 million for 2022, as well as about $4 million for the flooding in the B.C. Interior that happened in April and May 2023.
The 2023 B.C. wildfire season is the most destructive in the province’s history, with more than 28,400 square kilometres of land burned along with many structures, including entire neighbourhoods in the Okanagan.
—The Canadian Press
B.C. Hydro approves 9 wind-power projects but pressure to build capacity remains
B.C. Hydro has approved nine new wind-power projects that are projected to increase its electrical capacity by eight per cent before reaching 2030 targets for increased generation.
Some experts say B.C. is struggling to meet its energy demands. The province imported 25 per cent of its electricity needs in the 12 months ending March 31. Others say that was a momentary blip due to drought and the electricity imports allowed replenishment of the reservoirs needed for hydro power.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix said Monday the provincial utility will hold power calls every two years to meet its need for 15 per cent more electricity over the next five years.
“It is really important the projects are built quickly,” said Dix. “We need them urgently, as I said, to provide clean renewable power for emissions, advanced First Nations reconciliation, to create jobs and opportunities for people, support innovation and attract energy investment.”
The province received 21 applications from First Nations-backed projects through the power call. Although there were proposals for solar development, all nine successful bids are for wind-power.
—Alec Lazenby
Summer wildfire that hit Jasper tops Environment Canada 2024 weather list
A wildfire that left a third of a popular Rocky Mountain tourist town in ashes and forced tens of thousands to flee is Environment and Climate Change Canada’s most impactful weather story of 2024.
The weather agency released its annual top 10 list of the country’s most impactful weather stories, ranked by severity, human and economic impact, the extent of area affected and the event’s longevity.
Stories of devastating wildfires, record-breaking rainfall and a costly hailstorm were recognized this year.
Meteorologist Jennifer Smith said Canada is increasingly becoming a place where weather extremes are the new normal.
“This year’s most impactful weather stories — from destructive wildfires in both the east and the west, to abundant summer rainfall in Ontario and Quebec, to scorching Arctic heat — offer vivid examples of these profound and uneven changes,” she told reporters Tuesday.
“They remind us that climate change is no longer a distant issue but a present reality.”
Smith said a warming atmosphere increases the intensity of events, like heat waves making perfect conditions for wildfires while also intensifying heavy rain in other areas, because warmer air can hold more moisture.
—The Canadian Press
Saudi Arabia’s plans to host the men’s World Cup 2034 will be harmful for the climate, experts say
As the newly named host of the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer, Saudi Arabia says it will construct or renovate 15 stadiums, create a futuristic city and expand airports in a massive buildout to accommodate millions of athletes, coaches and spectators.
That will emit tons of planet-warming greenhouse gases as concrete and steel are manufactured and transported, diesel-powered excavators and trucks move material and new buildings are powered and cooled. When all the emissions associated with the world’s buildings are grouped together, they are the largest contributor to climate change.
Constructing so many new venues is “environmentally wasteful in the extreme” because so much carbon will be emitted and scarce resources used, said Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College in Massachusetts who has written several books about the economics of mega sporting events. Zimbalist said the World Cup should be held in countries with a developed soccer culture and industry.
—The Associated Press
Parkland expansion in Moody Centre an increasing priority for Port Moody
Port Moody is grappling with how to expand park space as population grows in the city.
The city’s parkland strategy calls for having 2.5 hectares — about 2½ city blocks — of parkland for every 1,000 people. That target was set in the city’s 2015 parks master plan.
With the city’s population is expected to balloon to 71,800 people in the next 25 years, that ratio will fall to 1.2 hectares for every 1,000 people unless land is purchased for additional parks.
Mayor Meghan Lahti said the expansion of the city’s best-known park, Rocky Point Park, is a priority, but council needs to explore expanding its smaller neighbourhood parks as well.
“Our efforts cannot be solely limited to that park,” Lahti said recently. “Moody Centre is an area where we need to be making strategic decisions regarding the provision of more parkland.”
Moody Centre — where the majority of Port Moody’s densification is occurring — would be hit particularly hard, with the ratio of city owned parkland per 1,000 people dropping by 80 per cent.
—Patrick Penner
Fifteen fisheries charges laid a decade after Mount Polley dam breached in B.C.
Doug Watt won’t forget the sound of a tailings pond collapsing at the Mount Polley Mine more than 10 years ago, sending millions of cubic metres of waste into waterways in the B.C. Interior.
“I went outside, and you could hear the roar. It was like standing close to Niagara Falls,” the 74-year-old said in an interview Tuesday.
Fifteen federal Fisheries Act charges have been laid against Imperial Metals Corp. and two other firms after the dam collapse at the gold and copper mine in what would become one of the largest environmental disasters in provincial history.
Watt said he and other residents in Likely, B.C., the closest community to the dam, are pleased charges have been laid and now “only time will tell whether they actually get found guilty or not.”
“We’re always wondering all the time, are they going to walk away with no accountability for what happened?” he said.
The earthen dam gave way at 1 a.m. on Aug. 4, 2014, sending about 25 million cubic meters of mining waste, including tailings and other materials, into nearby waterways.
A statement from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service issued Tuesday said it worked with the Department of Fisheries and Environment and Climate Change Canada to investigate possible contraventions of the act.
—The Canadian Press
Have a very sustainable Christmas: 5 tips from the experts
A group of University of B.C. academics has compiled a list of ways to ensure this Christmas has as little effect on the environment as possible.
Here are key takeaways:
1. Avoid the fake trees
“Natural Christmas trees are more sustainable than artificial ones, which produce three times the emissions,” says Jiaying Zhao, associate professor in the department of psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. She also suggests renting potted Christmas trees.
2. Go easy on the gifts
Give fewer gifts, focusing on those that are meaningful and low-impact, says Kai Chan, professor at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability.
3. Travel less
Travel is a huge factor impacting sustainability during Christmas. Zhao thinks people should consider how to travel less during the festive season and to make the most of necessary travel.
4. Watch how you eat
“Opting for foods like chicken or plant-based options over beef and lamb can make a big difference,” says Zhao.
5. Did you know lights impact insects?
Daphne Chevalier, a master’s student in the faculty of land and food systems, is researching the impact of artificial lights on insects.
“When decorating for the holidays, extend your festive spirit to the animals that also call your neighbourhood home,” she says. “Opt for warm-coloured LED lights that don’t blink or change colour and try to place them in unintrusive spots, like under your eaves, rather than in important habitats like trees and bushes. Using a timer to turn lights off after everyone has gone to bed will also help protect animals while reducing energy costs.”
—David Carrigg