Latest news with #climateAction
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
As Trump boosts fossil fuels, Cleveland's mayor is making climate action personal. It's working
In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Bibb was living in a tight, one-bedroom apartment in Cleveland, Ohio. He couldn't open his windows because his home was an old office building converted to residential units—not exactly conducive to physical and mental well-being in the middle of a global crisis. So he sought refuge elsewhere: a large green space, down near the lakefront, where he could stroll. 'Unfortunately,' Bibb said, 'that's not the case for many of our residents in the city of Cleveland.' A native of Cleveland, Bibb was elected the 58th mayor of the city in 2021. Immediately after taking office, he took inspiration from the '15-minute city' concept of urban design, an idea that envisions people reaching their daily necessities—work, grocery stores, pharmacies—within 15 minutes by walking, biking, or taking public transit. That reduces dependence on cars, and also slashes carbon emissions and air pollution. In Cleveland, Bibb's goal is to put all residents within a 10-minute walk of a green space by the year 2045, by converting abandoned lots to parks and other efforts. Cleveland is far from alone in its quest to adapt to a warming climate. As American cities have grown in size and population and gotten hotter, they—not the federal government—have become crucibles for climate action: Cities are electrifying their public transportation, forcing builders to make structures more energy efficient, and encouraging rooftop solar. Together with ambitious state governments, hundreds of cities large and small are pursuing climate action plans—documents that lay out how they will reduce emissions and adapt to extreme weather—with or without support from the feds. Cleveland's plan, for instance, calls for all its commercial and residential buildings to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. For local leaders, climate action has grown all the more urgent since the Trump administration has been boosting fossil fuels and threatening to sue states to roll back environmental regulations. Last month, Republicans in the House passed a budget bill that would end nearly all the clean energy tax credits from the Biden administration's signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. 'Because Donald Trump is in the White House again, it's going to be up to mayors and governors to really enact and sustain the momentum around addressing climate change at the local level,' said Bibb, who formerly chaired Climate Mayors, a bipartisan group of nearly 350 mayors. City leaders can move much faster than federal agencies, and are more in-tune with what their people actually want, experts said. 'They're on the ground and they're hearing from their residents every day, so they have a really good sense of what the priorities are,' said Kate Johnson, regional director for North America at C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 mayors fighting climate change. 'You see climate action really grounded in the types of things that are going to help people.' Shifting from a reliance on fossil fuels to clean energy isn't just about reducing a city's carbon emissions, but about creating jobs and saving money—a tangible argument that mayors can make to their people. Bibb said a pilot program in Cleveland that helped low- to moderate-income households get access to free solar panels ended up reducing their utility bills by 60%. The biggest concern for Americans right now isn't climate change, Bibb added. 'It's the cost of living, and so we have to marry these two things together,' he said. 'I think mayors are in a very unique position to do that.' To further reduce costs and emissions, cities like Seattle and Washington, D.C. are scrambling to better insulate structures, especially affordable housing, by installing double-paned windows and better insulation. In Boston last year, the city government started an Equitable Emissions Investment Fund, which awards money for projects that make buildings more efficient or add solar panels to their roofs. 'We are in a climate where energy efficiency remains the number one thing that we can do,' said Oliver Sellers-Garcia, commissioner of the environment and Green New Deal director in the Boston government. 'And there are so many other comfort and health benefits from being in an efficient, all-electric environment.' To that end, cities are deploying loads of heat pumps, hyper-efficient appliances that warm and cool a space. New York City, for instance, is spending $70 million to install 30,000 of the appliances in its public housing. The ultimate goal is to have as many heat pumps as possible running in energy-efficient homes—along with replacing gas stoves with induction ranges—and drawing electricity from renewables. Metropolises like Los Angeles and Pittsburgh are creating new green spaces, which reduce urban temperatures and soak up rainwater to prevent flooding. A park is a prime example of 'multisolving': one intervention that fixes a bunch of problems at once. Another is deploying electric vehicle chargers in underserved neighborhoods, as Cleveland is doing, and making their use free for residents. This encourages the adoption of those vehicles, which reduces carbon emissions and air pollution. That, in turn, improves public health in those neighborhoods, which tend to have a higher burden of pollution than richer areas. Elizabeth Sawin, director of the Multisolving Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, said that these efforts will be more important than ever as the Trump administration cuts funding for health programs. 'If health care for poor children is going to be depleted—with, say, Medicaid under threat—cities can't totally fix that,' Sawin said. 'But if they can get cleaner air in cities, they can at least have fewer kids who are struggling from asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses.' All this work—building parks, installing solar panels, weatherizing buildings—creates jobs, both within a city and in surrounding rural areas. Construction workers commute in, while urban farms tap rural growers for their expertise. And as a city gets more of its power from renewables, it can benefit counties far away: The largest solar facility east of the Mississippi River just came online in downstate Illinois, providing so much electricity to Chicago that the city's 400 municipal buildings now run entirely on renewable power. 'The economic benefits and the jobs aren't just necessarily accruing to the cities—which might be seen as big blue cities,' Johnson said. 'They're buying their electric school buses from factories in West Virginia, and they're building solar and wind projects in rural areas.' So cities aren't just preparing themselves for a warmer future, but helping accelerate a transition to renewables and spreading economic benefits across the American landscape. 'We as elected officials have to do a better job of articulating how this important part of public policy is connected to the everyday lived experience,' Bibb said. 'Unfortunately, my party has done a bad job of that. But I think as mayors, we are well positioned to make that case at the local level.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sea level rise will cause ‘catastrophic inland migration', scientists warn
Sea level rise will become unmanageable at just 1.5C of global heating and lead to 'catastrophic inland migration', the scientists behind a new study have warned. This scenario may unfold even if the average level of heating over the last decade of 1.2C continues into the future. The loss of ice from the giant Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets has quadrupled since the 1990s due to the climate crisis and is now the principal driver of sea level rise. The international target to keep global temperature rise below 1.5C is already almost out of reach. But the new analysis found that even if fossil fuel emissions were rapidly slashed to meet it, sea levels would be rising by 1cm a year by the end of the century, faster than the speed at which nations could build coastal defences. The world is on track for 2.5C-2.9C of global heating, which would almost certainly be beyond tipping points for the collapse of the Greenland and west Antarctic ice sheets. The melting of those ice sheets would lead to a 'really dire' 12 metres of sea level rise. Today, about 230 million people live within 1 metre above current sea level, and 1 billion live within 10 metres above sea level. Even just 20cm of sea level rise by 2050 would lead to global flood damages of at least $1tn a year for the world's 136 largest coastal cities and huge impacts on people's lives and livelihoods. However, the scientists emphasised that every fraction of a degree of global heating avoided by climate action still matters, because it slows sea level rise and gives more time to prepare, reducing human suffering. Related: The century of climate migration: why we need to plan for the great upheaval Sea level rise is the biggest long-term impact of the climate crisis, and research in recent years has shown it is occurring far faster than previously estimated. The 1.5C limit was seen as a way to avoid the worst consequences of global heating, but the new research shows this is not the case for sea level rise. The researchers said the 'safe limit' temperature for ice sheets was hard to estimate but was likely to be 1C or lower. Sea level rise of at least 1-2 metres was now inevitable, the scientists said. In the UK, just 1 metre of sea level rise would see large parts of the Fens and Humberside below sea level. 'What we mean by safe limit is one which allows some level of adaptation, rather than catastrophic inland migration and forced migration, and the safe limit is roughly 1cm a year of sea level rise,' said Prof Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol in the UK. 'If you get to that, then it becomes extremely challenging for any kind of adaptation, and you're going to see massive land migration on scales that we've never witnessed in modern civilisation.' Developing countries such as Bangladesh would fare far worse than rich ones with experience of holding back the waves, such as the Netherlands, he said. Durham University's Prof Chris Stokes, lead author of the study, said: 'We're starting to see some of the worst-case scenarios play out almost in front of us. At current warming of 1.2C, sea level rise is accelerating at rates that, if they continue, would become almost unmanageable before the end of this century, [which is] within the lifetime of our young people.' The average global temperature rise hit 1.5C for the first time in 2024. But the international target is measured as the average over 20 years, so is not considered to have been broken yet. Related: Greenland losing 30m tonnes of ice an hour, study reveals The new study, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, combined data from studies of warm periods up to 3m years ago; observations of ice melting and sea level rise in recent decades; and climate models. It concluded: 'Continued mass loss from ice sheets poses an existential threat to the world's coastal populations.' Prof Andrea Dutton of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was part of the study team, said: 'Evidence recovered from past warm periods suggests that several metres of sea level rise – or more – can be expected when global mean temperature reaches 1.5C or higher.' At the end of the last ice age, about 15,000 years ago, the sea level was rising at 10 times the rate today, driven by self-reinforcing feedbacks that may have been triggered by only a small increase in temperature. The last time CO2 levels in the atmosphere were as high as today, about 3m years ago, sea level rise was 10-20 metres higher. Even if humanity can bring the planet back to its preindustrial temperature by removing CO2 from the atmosphere, it will still take hundreds to thousands of years for the ice sheets to recover, the researchers said. That means land lost to sea level rise will remain lost for a long time, perhaps until the Earth enters the next ice age. Belize moved its capital inland in 1970 after a devastating hurricane, but its largest city is still on the coast and will be inundated with only 1 metre of sea level rise, Carlos Fuller, Belize's longtime climate negotiator, said: 'Findings such as these only sharpen the need to remain within the 1.5C Paris agreement limit, or as close as possible, so we can return to lower temperatures and protect our coastal cities.'
The Verge
5 days ago
- Health
- The Verge
Young people sue Donald Trump over climate change
A group of young people — as young as 7 and as old as 25 — are suing the Trump administration to stop its assault on renewable energy and climate action. Executive orders President Donald Trump signed to promote fossil fuels amount to an 'unconstitutional' overreach of power, they allege in a complaint filed Thursday at a US District Court in Montana. The 22 plaintiffs also claim that by increasing pollution and denying climate science, the president's actions violate their Fifth Amendment rights to life and liberty. It's the latest high-profile case brought against governments by youth concerned about how fossil fuel pollution and climate change poses risks to their health and ability to thrive as they grow up. Two brothers, aged 11 and 7, 'were born into climate change-induced smoke seasons that did not exist for older generations' Two brothers, aged 11 and 7 and named 'J.K.' and 'N.K.' in the suit, 'were born into climate change-induced smoke seasons that did not exist for older generations and which compromise their health,' the complaint says. They grew up mostly in Montana but now live in Southern California, and the suit says wildfire smoke has encroached on their lives from state to state. J.K. was born with an abnormal mass of lung tissue and 'experienced nosebleeds, sore throats, headaches, tiredness, coughing, trouble breathing, and eye irritation from wildfire smoke,' according to the suit. N.K. has 'frequent' upper respiratory infections that have led to emergency room visits. They've both missed school days and camp because of feeling sick from smoke and soot in the air from wildfires, it says. Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels trap heat, and rising temperatures have contributed to longer fire seasons in the western US. With hotter, drier conditions, the area burned by forest fires in the western US doubled between 1984 and 2015. 'Every additional ton of [greenhouse gas] pollution and increment of heat Defendants cause will cause J.K. and N.K. more days of poor air quality, more smoke, and thus, more harm to their lives, health, and safety,' the complaint adds. In recent years, scientists have been trying to better understand the long-term health impact of wildfire smoke, which previously hadn't been studied as thoroughly as pollution from other sources thought to be more consistent problems, like factories and highways. Now, chronic exposure to wildfire smoke is a growing concern. Wildfire smoke is considered a neurotoxin estimated to be more harmful than other common air pollutants, but its effects on the body can vary depending on what kinds of materials burn and how chemicals released by the fire interact with other substances in the atmosphere. After campaigning on a promise to ' drill, baby, drill ' and accepting more than $75 million in contributions from oil and gas interests, Trump signed executive orders on his first day in office declaring a purported 'national energy emergency,' directing federal agencies to 'unleash' domestic fossil fuel production and promote the use of gas-powered vehicles over EVs. He signed another executive order to 'reinvigorat[e]' the coal industry in April. Coal releases more planet-heating pollution when burned than other fossil fuels and has struggled to compete with cheaper sources of electricity. The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief to block implementation of those executive orders and to declare them unconstitutional. They also claim that Trump lacks the authority to erode environmental protections passed by Congress under the Clean Air Act. The administration's efforts to impede scientific research and remove climate information from federal websites amounts to 'censorship' and denies plaintiffs access to resources they might otherwise be able to use to minimize risks they face from climate change, the suit alleges. In response to the lawsuit, White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers said in an email to The Verge, 'The American people are more concerned with the future generations' economic and national security, which is why they elected President Trump in a landslide victory to restore America's energy dominance. Future generations should not have to foot the bill of the lefts' radical climate agenda.' The plaintiffs, who hail from Montana, Oregon, Hawai'i, California, and Florida, are represented by the nonprofit law firm Our Children's Trust, which has also represented young people in similar climate cases. A federal appellate court dismissed another case that youth filed against the Obama administration in 2015 over fossil fuel pollution causing climate change, and the US Supreme Court ended that legal battle this year when it declined to hear an appeal. But there have also been some wins. A group of youth reached a settlement last year with the state of Hawai'i and its Department of Transportation that commits them to a plan to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by 2045. J.K. and N.K. were also plaintiffs in a climate suit filed against the state of Montana. Last year, Montana's Supreme Court upheld a district judge ruling affirming their right to a clean and healthy environment and rejecting policies that had barred officials from considering the consequences of climate change when permitting new energy projects.
Zawya
6 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Germany's BAMAG to set up $17mln wastewater treatment plant in Egypt
Arab Finance: Germany-based company BAMAG is developing a wastewater treatment plant in Egypt, with investments exceeding €15 million, the company's representative Mansour Iskander announced. During his meeting with Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El-Khatib, Iskander noted that the facility will be implemented in partnership with the Egyptian Maintenance Company (San Misr) and backed by European sustainability funds. Iskander noted that BAMAG leverages EU financing, especially from the European Investment Bank (EIB), allocated to support climate action and pollution reduction projects in Egypt. This came during El-Khatib's meeting with representatives of an international industrial alliance to explore investment opportunities in industrial wastewater treatment technologies and review prospects for expansion into African markets via Egypt. The meeting also discussed opportunities for technology transfer and local industry development in line with Egypt's objectives to support water security and drive sustainable growth. © 2020-2023 Arab Finance For Information Technology. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Sea level rise will cause ‘catastrophic inland migration', scientists warn
Sea level rise will become unmanageable at just 1.5C of global heating and lead to 'catastrophic inland migration', the scientists behind a new study have warned. This scenario may unfold even if the average level of heating over the last decade of 1.2C continues into the future. The loss of ice from the giant Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets has quadrupled since the 1990s due to the climate crisis and is now the principal driver of sea level rise. The international target to keep global temperature rise below 1.5C is already almost out of reach. But the new analysis found that even if fossil fuel emissions were rapidly slashed to meet it, sea levels would be rising by 1cm a year by the end of the century, faster than the speed at which nations could build coastal defences. The world is on track for 2.5C-2.9C of global heating, which would almost certainly be beyond tipping points for the collapse of the Greenland and west Antarctic ice sheets. The melting of those ice sheets would lead to a 'really dire' 12 metres of sea level rise. Today, about 230 million people live 1 metre above current sea level, and 1 billion live 10 metres above sea level. Even just 20cm of sea level rise by 2050 would lead to global flood damages of at least $1tn a year for the world's 136 largest coastal cities and huge impacts on people's lives and livelihoods. However, the scientists emphasised that every fraction of a degree of global heating avoided by climate action still matters, because it slows sea level rise and gives more time to prepare, reducing human suffering. Sea level rise is the biggest long-term impact of the climate crisis, and research in recent years has shown it is occurring far faster than previously estimated. The 1.5C limit was seen as way to avoid the worst consequences of global heating, but the new research shows this is not the case for sea level rise. The researchers said the 'safe limit' temperature for ice sheets was hard to estimate but was likely to be 1C or lower. Sea level rise of at least 1-2 metres was now inevitable, the scientists said. In the UK, just 1 metre of sea level rise would see large parts of the Fens and Humberside below sea level. 'What we mean by safe limit is one which allows some level of adaptation, rather than catastrophic inland migration and forced migration, and the safe limit is roughly 1cm a year of sea level rise,' said Prof Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol in the UK. 'If you get to that, then it becomes extremely challenging for any kind of adaptation, and you're going to see massive land migration on scales that we've never witnessed in modern civilisation.' Developing countries such as Bangladesh would fare far worse than rich ones with experience of holding back the waves, such as the Netherlands, he said. Durham University's Prof Chris Stokes, lead author of the study, said: 'We're starting to see some of the worst-case scenarios play out almost in front of us. At current warming of 1.2C, sea level rise is accelerating at rates that, if they continue, would become almost unmanageable before the end of this century, [which is] within the lifetime of our young people.' The average global temperature hit 1.5C for the first time in 2024. But the international target is measured as the average over 20 years, so is not considered to have been broken yet. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion The new study, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, combined data from studies of warm periods up to 3m years ago; observations of ice melting and sea level rise in recent decades; and climate models. It concluded: 'Continued mass loss from ice sheets poses an existential threat to the world's coastal populations.' Prof Andrea Dutton of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was part of the study team, said: 'Evidence recovered from past warm periods suggests that several metres of sea level rise – or more – can be expected when global mean temperature reaches 1.5C or higher.' At the end of the last ice age, about 15,000 years ago, sea level was rising at 10 times the rate today, driven by self-reinforcing feedbacks that may have been triggered by only a small increase in temperature. The last time CO2 levels in the atmosphere were as high as today, about 3m years ago, sea level rise was 10-20 metres higher. Even if humanity can bring the planet back to its preindustrial temperature by removing CO2 from the atmosphere, it will still take hundreds to thousands of years for the ice sheets to recover, the researchers said. That means land lost to sea level rise will remain lost for a long time, perhaps until the Earth enters the next ice age. Belize moved its capital inland in 1970 after a devastating hurricane, but its largest city is still on the coast and will be inundated with only 1 metre of sea level rise, Carlos Fuller, Belize's longtime climate negotiator, said: 'Findings such as these only sharpen the need to remain within the 1.5C Paris agreement limit, or as close as possible, so we can return to lower temperatures and protect our coastal cities.'
