Latest news with #MartinStew
ITV News
12 hours ago
- Politics
- ITV News
'I'm sad for humanity': John Kerry reacts to Trump's sweeping climate cuts
ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew spoke to former US Secretary of State John Kerry from on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough, where scientsists are studying climate change deep within the Arctic Circle Former US Secretary of State John Kerry has told ITV News he is "very sad for humanity" following the Trump administration's sweeping climate cuts. Kerry was the US's first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate during Joe Biden's presidency and played a significant role in climate protection efforts. The new administration under Donald Trump has not shared Kerry's focus. "I'm very sad that our country is not leading in the way that we were with President Biden and President Obama," Kerry told ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew. "I'm very sad for humanity that any one nation is standing in the way of what the science tells us we must do in order to protect life, protect food production, protect the capacity of the ocean to provide us the oxygen that it provides us. "You know, it's not a matter of politics or ideology, it's a matter of science. We have an absolute period of time within which to avoid the worst consequences of the crisis." Kerry was speaking to ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew, who is on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough, as it researches climate change deep within the Arctic Circle. More than 9,000 miles separates the two - with Kerry in France for the United Nations Ocean Conference, where he is calling for decisive action to protect the ocean. However, through modern technology, they are able to see one another and speak of shared experiences. After Kerry was shown the polar winter sunrise through a laptop webcam, he recalled his own visit to the most remote continent in the world in 2016. "You just feel the wilderness all around you. But it's a thing of absolutely sheer wonder," he said. "It just reaffirmed every notion you have about responsibility, about the life of the planet, about the size of that wilderness and what it means to us on a human level. "And you just come away with great respect and awe and I think a sense of duty to transfer that to our daily endeavours and our responsibilities to deal with the climate crisis." The Trump administration has taken an axe to Biden-era environmental ambitions, rolled back landmark regulations, withdrawn climate project funding and instead bolstered support for oil and gas production in the name of an 'American energy dominance' agenda. The Environmental Protection Agency alone faces a 54.5% proposed cut to funding, taking its budget to a level last seen when Ronald Reagan was president. Under the latest tax and spending bill by the Trump administration, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", financial incentives for green technologies such as solar, wind, batteries, electric cars and heatpumps would be slashed. Existing nuclear power plants and biofuels will be subsidised, but climate experts say this would leave the country and its people burning more fossil fuels, despite strong popular and scientific support for a rapid shift to renewable energy. As often with Trump, the focus on energy production from oil and gas also comes alongside a slogan: 'Drill, baby, drill'. Kerry told ITV News of an alternative: "Build, baby, build." "Build the charging stations, build the solar fields, build the kinds of data centres that are going to be able to be managing their energy in a more effective way," he said. "What he's doing is, I think, sadly turning his back on the greatest marketplace the world has ever known. There are 8.1 billion people on this planet who want energy, and they're going to get it. "The question is, who's going to provide it, and is it going to be clean? "The United States has a unique opportunity here in a bigger economic transition and opportunity than the Industrial Revolution. "We have an opportunity to create jobs, clean jobs. People can make a profit with their investments just as they do today." Asked if he had a message for scientists in the Antarctic whose work could be halted due to a reduction in US funding, Kerry said to "bear with us." "Your work is absolutely critical to all of us," he said. "I would say you are in a position, you scientists, to help us get greater data, more backup, persuade people, put your science on the line, help us to convert those who have doubts. Then we can start to go forward faster and do what we need to do." The US is a world leader whose influence can push countries to act, or to fall back in line. Trump's presidency and denial of the climate crisis have led to some worrying that other governments will follow suit. Kerry, however, isn't convinced: "I believe most governments are going to stick with us because they know what they have at stake and they also have a strong commitment already to continuing. "One person in the world has pulled out of the Paris Agreement, and only one person in the world has done it twice. "Everybody else is moving forward, committed to try to meet these goals. "The absence of a big powerful nation like the United States, which is the wealthiest country on the planet, the absence of that country and adding to the ability to be able to accelerate this is really harmful.
ITV News
2 days ago
- Science
- ITV News
ITV News in Antarctica: Scientists fear Emperor penguins could be extinct by end of the century
ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew is the only journalist on board the British research ship the RRS Sir David Attenborough, as it takes part in an expedition deep within the Antarctic Circle They are the largest and most iconic penguins in Antarctica - but scientists from the British Antarctic Survey fear that Emperor penguins could be on the brink of extinction by the end of the century. Emperor penguins rely on sea ice to breed. It needs to be stable for around several months. If it breaks up before chicks can swim, they will drown. The extent of sea ice has declined by 1.5 million square kilometres over the past 30 years - that's an area six times the size of the UK. This decline is a result of warming oceans. Because Emperor penguins live in such remote areas, the only way to track their numbers is through satellite imagery of colonies from space. They can be spotted by the tell-tale staining on the ice caused by penguin droppings. A new analysis of up-to-date satellite imagery suggests that the birds' numbers have declined by 22% in the northwest section of Antarctica over the last 15 years. This is an increase from a 9.5% reduction across the entire continent between 2009 and 2018. Dr Peter Fretwell, who works for the British Antarctic Survey, explained that more research is needed to determine whether this decline in the northwest is reflected across the continent. "If it is,' he told me, 'that's worrying because the decline is worse than the worst-case projections we have for Emperor penguins this century." The area covered by these recent findings is 2.8 million square kilometres - 11 times the size of the UK. It is significant because it contains 30% of the world's Emperor penguin population. Dr Phil Trathan, co-author and emeritus fellow at BAS, stated: "The fact that we're seeing this decline faster than computer models predicted means there must be other factors at play besides the loss of breeding habitat. "The only way we'll see a population turnaround is if we stabilise greenhouse gas emissions. "If we don't, we'll probably have relatively few Emperor penguins left by the end of this century." Interestingly, there has also been a decline in areas where sea ice has not diminished. The report highlights other factors, including changing storm, snow, and rainfall patterns; increased competition for food resources; and open ocean conditions that make penguins more vulnerable to predators like orcas and seals.
ITV News
2 days ago
- Science
- ITV News
Why is Boaty McBoatface in Antarctica, and how does its mission affect us?
Throughout his journey to Antarctica, Martin Stew will be joining the What You Need To Know podcast team to document the the latest episode, Lucy Watson talks to Martin in his first week as he joins the team of scientists on their vital research mission on the so-called Boaty McBoatface - or the Sir David Attenborough. Making history as the first British journalist to go this far south in polar winter, Martin describes the incredible, but also alarming, change unfolding around him. He also tells of the scientists' hope that the grim prognosis for our planet can be turned around.
ITV News
28-04-2025
- Science
- ITV News
Oscillations and vibrations: What caused the power outage in Spain and Portugal?
ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew explains the science behind the power outage in Spain and Portugal Portugal's grid operator, RNA, gave a rather complicated explanation for Monday's massive power outage which left much of the Iberian Peninsula without power. It blamed a rare atmospheric phenomenon which caused "oscillations" and "vibrations" in the high power lines, which in turn resulted in "synchronisation failures". REN said: 'Due to extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400 kV), a phenomenon known as 'induced atmospheric vibration'. These oscillations caused synchronisation failures between the electrical systems, leading to successive disturbances across the interconnected European network.' What does that actually mean? In certain weather conditions where the air is warm, damp and windy - the wires can gallop - which is where they visibly swing. That can cause things to physically break or snap. The bigger problem is if the ionised air around the cable starts to interact with the cable itself. That changes the frequency inside the wire. Making it different to the rest of the grid. If those differences become too great, the system shuts itself down for safety reasons. We saw that after a massive electrical storm in Australia in 2016 when there were 80,000 lightning strikes. How likely was that on Monday ? The weather in Spain on Monday was calm and sunny with average spring temperatures. According to an expert I spoke to, it would be 'really really weird' for this weather to have caused - or 'induced atmospheric vibrations'. It's also unusual that this wiped out the whole grid - just a section should have shut - like a trip switch at home. Were circuit breakers not correctly configured? What else could have happened? Other theories include a cyber attack or sabotage - European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera appeared to dismiss that possibility, saying there was 'nothing that allows us to say that there is any kind of sabotage or cyberattack.' What about another popular theory online, overloading from renewable energy? Experts say that's highly unlikely. 'The nature and scale of the outage makes it unlikely that the volume of renewables was the cause, with the Spanish network more often than not subject to very high volumes of such production,' Daniel Muir, senior European power analyst at S&P Global told Politco website.
