Here’s all the latest local and international news concerning climate change for the week of Jan. 20 to 26, 2025.
Here’s the latest news concerning climate change and biodiversity loss in British Columbia and around the world, from the steps leaders are taking to address the problems to all the up-to-date science.
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In climate news this week:
• Europe posts record year for clean energy use as Trump moves to fossil fuels
• Delta home to largest LED-lit greenhouse in western North America
• B.C.’s energy independence is urgent, says minister in wake of U.S. tariff threat
• European leaders vow to stick to Paris climate agreement despite U.S. withdrawal
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 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.
• 2024 was hottest on record globally, beating the last record in 2023.
• The global average temperature in 2023 reached 1.48 C higher than the pre-industrial average, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
• 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 humans are the cause.
Latest News
Europe posts record year for clean energy use as Trump pulls U.S. toward fossil fuels
A record 47 per cent of the European Union’s electricity now comes from solar and other renewables, a report Thursday said, in yet another sign of the growing gap between the bloc’s push for clean energy and the new U.S. administration’s pursuit of more fossil fuels.
Nearly three-quarters of the EU’s electricity doesn’t emit planet-warming gases into the air — with 24 per cent of electricity in the bloc coming from nuclear power which also doesn’t release greenhouse gases, a report released by the climate energy think-tank Ember found.
This is far higher than in countries like the United States and China, where nearly two-thirds of their energy is still produced from carbon-polluting fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
“Fossil fuels are losing their grip on EU energy,” said Chris Rosslowe, an energy expert at Ember. In 2024, solar power generated 11 per cent of EU electricity, overtaking coal which fell below 10 per cent for the first time. Clean wind power generated more electricity than gas for the second year in a row.
—The Associated Press
Delta home to largest LED-lit greenhouse in western North America
B.C.’s hydro energy is helping a Delta vegetable producer expand its greenhouse operations, making it western North America’s largest LED-lit greenhouse.
Windset Farms’ Ladner facility worked with B.C. Hydro to upgrade to a higher-powered transmission system and switch to LEDs, allowing it to have the equivalent of 19 average-sized city blocks of lit production spread across two greenhouses.
The upgrade helps ensure a reliable, year-round supply of produce for British Columbians in the face of climate change and international trade concerns, said Energy Minister Adrian Dix.
“The issue of food security in B.C. is a fundamental question,” he said, citing recent challenges including the pandemic, drought, and wildfires. “What you see here is an important part of the response.”
Dix made the statement at a news conference at one of Windset’s LED-lit greenhouses on Friday, designating the company a clean energy champion in recognition of its work to lower its carbon footprint and adopt clean technology.
—Cheryl Chan
B.C.’s energy independence is urgent, says minister in wake of U.S. tariff threat
The looming prospect of American tariffs raises the stakes for boosting the province’s energy independence, B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix said Thursday.
There was urgency before the U.S. election last November, Dix said, but “there’s more now” as President Donald Trump threatens to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods.
The minister was speaking at a news conference in Vancouver, where he announced the signing of a purchase agreement between the Saulteau First Nations and B.C. Hydro, supplying the utility with electricity from a 200-megawatt wind project in northeastern B.C.
The Saulteau First Nations hold a 51 per cent economic interest in the Taylor Wind project, which is expected to produce enough electricity to power about 60,000 homes.
—The Canadian Press
European leaders vow to stick to Paris climate agreement despite U.S. withdrawal
As expected, day two of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, witnessed strong responses to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, with European leaders stating in no uncertain terms that they will hold fort and remain a part of the global climate pact.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday: “Europe will stay the course, and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming.” She insisted that the 27-nation bloc will stick to the landmark Paris climate accord. “The Paris Agreement continues to be the best hope for all humanity,” she said.
The Paris accord is aimed at limiting long-term global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or, failing that, keeping temperatures at least well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
Minutes before von der Leyen spoke, climate activists sprung a surprise and rare action inside the normally ultra-secure venue, unfurling a banner that read: “Tax the super-rich! Fund a just and green future.”
United Nation climate chief Simon Stiell, speaking at a panel looking ahead to this year’s upcoming climate talks in Brazil, said the “door remains open” for the United States. “The world is undergoing an energy transition that is unstoppable. Last year alone, over $2 trillion was invested in the transition (to clean energy). And that compares to one trillion in fossil fuels,” he said.
—The Associated Press
‘I do not support resuscitating dead projects’: B.C. First Nation leader clarifies Northern Gateway comment
The president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs agreed that Canada faces “perilous times” with the prospect of punishing U.S. tariffs, but walked back comments he made Tuesday that suggested he had reversed his opposition to the dormant Northern Gateway pipeline project.
UBCIC president Grand Chief Stewart Phillip in a statement Wednesday said people need to plan for the possibility of the tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
However, “I do not support resuscitating dead projects such as the failed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would have been an absolute disaster for our lands and waters,” Phillip said.
“I sincerely apologize for any confusion,” Phillip added, with respect to his comments Tuesday that if Canada doesn’t “build that kind of infrastructure, Trump will and there will not be any consideration for the environment or the rule of law.”
Phillip said his answer was still no to “large-scale, destructive resource projects,” such as Northern Gateway.
UBCIC vice-president Chief Don Tom said Wednesday the organization will continue to focus on the implementation of “our inherent and constitutionally protected title and rights,” under B.C.’s legislation that defines government’s approach to the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
—Derrick Penner, Alec Lazenby
B.C. school trustees call for action as climate emergencies intensify
B.C.’s school trustees are calling on all school districts to have climate change plans and for the province to provide the resources needed to teach sustainability.
The B.C. School Trustees Association also wants money from the B.C. government for such things as retrofitting schools with air conditioning to deal with heat waves, better filters to handle wildfire smoke, and switching to electric vehicles to reduce emissions.
The number of districts with climate plans has increased to 23 from two just three years ago, according to a sustainability report released this week by the association.
That still means more than half of B.C.’s 60 school districts still don’t have plans to cope with an increase in climate-related disasters such as floods, wildfires and water shortages.
The report comes as Environment and Climate Change Canada warns global temperatures this year will likely rival 2024’s record heat.
The trustees group urges school districts across the province to include climate action as a core part of their operation, in alignment with the provincial goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.
—Tiffany Crawford
Vancouver climate activist accused of violating study permit faces deportation … again
Climate justice activist Zain Haq is days away from deportation despite widespread community support and the intervention of Immigration Minister Marc Miller.
“My deportation is scheduled again, for Jan. 25,” said Haq.
Haq was originally scheduled for deportation last April 22, but was granted a six-month temporary residency permit so he could apply for permanent residence through spousal sponsorship, a process that can take an indeterminate amount of time.
Haq said he followed appropriate steps and applied for an extension to his temporary residency permit in October 2024.
But on Dec. 6, CBSA informed him that his temporary residency permit had run out, and the deportation order would be reinstated. He was ordered to purchase a plane ticket to Pakistan.
Haq said if he is deported, it will be because of a bureaucratic error: His extension application wasn’t processed because the federal Immigration Department lost it.
—Denise Ryan
Tzeporah Berman calls on government to halt the deportation of nonviolent climate activist
B.C. environment advocate Tzeporah Berman has issued an urgent call to Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, to intervene and halt the imminent deportation of climate activist Zain Haq.
She said deporting a nonviolent advocate undermines the principles of democracy and environmental responsibility.
“Canada is supposed to be a place where peaceful dissent and advocacy are protected, not punished,” said Berman in a statement Saturday.
“Zain Haq’s deportation sends the wrong message to Canadians and the world—that those who act courageously for the environment will face silencing rather than support.”
Haq, who has been an outspoken critic of oil and gas development, is scheduled for deportation to Pakistan—a country he left years ago, on Saturday evening.
—Postmedia
Ottawa dragging its feet on protecting endangered caribou: B.C. conservation groups
Southern mountain caribou are disappearing in B.C. and the federal government has been dragging its feet for more than a decade on protecting the endangered herds, conservation groups say in a letter to the environment minister.
The letter sent to Steven Guilbeault on behalf of the Wilderness Committee, Wildsight and Stand.earth on Wednesday said three populations of the caribou are in particularly steep decline as logging and other industrial development cuts through their habitat in the mountains of eastern B.C., near the Alberta boundary.
Eddie Petryshen, a conservation specialist with Wildsight based in B.C.’s East Kootenay, said successive federal governments and environment ministers have “kicked the can further down the road,” and that trend continues today.
“It’s just been this constant, decade-long plan to make a plan, while caribou are disappearing and their habitat is being decimated and logged.”
A representative for Environment and Climate Change Canada didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter and its assertions.
Southern mountain caribou are currently classified as threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, and a statement issued by the federal government in 2020 said they numbered roughly 3,100, a reduction of 53 per cent over about six years.
—The Canadian Press