Climate 411

The science is clear – climate change is causing more damaging hurricanes in Florida

Flooding in Tampa from Hurricane Idalia. Photo: Andrew Heneen, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

(This post was co-authored by EDF Senior Climate Scientist Ilissa Ocko)

Hurricanes are complicated, and their characteristics depend on a number of factors, which makes it difficult to tease out certain trends and predict the future. But what is scientifically clear is that human-caused climate change is a key reason that hurricanes are more destructive – especially in Florida.

Hurricanes are becoming stronger and faster. They are less predictable and thus more dangerous because there is less time to prepare and evacuate. Flooding from hurricanes is worsening due to higher sea level, more rainfall, and slower storm speeds. 

Florida has always been more vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms than any other U.S. state because its exposed, southern location is surrounded by warm waters. There are almost twice as many hurricanes that hit Florida as Texas, the second most impacted state. But shifting atmosphere and ocean conditions from climate change – caused by heat-trapping gases emitted from human activities – are making hurricane season even worse for Floridians. Here’s how:

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Also posted in Basic Science of Global Warming, Extreme Weather, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, News, Oceans / Comments are closed

Latin America’s Climate Challenge, and Opportunity

This blog is co-authored by Sergio Sánchez, Senior Policy Director of Global Clean Air; Edgar Godoy, Associate Vice President of Jurisdictional Partnerships; Santiago Garcia, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Relationships Manager; and Erica Cunningham, AVP of Latin American Fisheries and Oceans.

Scene from the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2023 opening ceremony. UNclimatechange via Flickr.

This week leaders and climate stakeholders from throughout Latin America are meeting in Panama to discuss climate action, and the strategies and finance needed to climate-proof the continent. It’s not an easy task in a region facing multiple challenges, from political instability to insecurity to stunted economic growth in many countries.

Climate change is already making life even more challenging for many vulnerable people in Latin American and Caribbean. Communities throughout the region are grappling with sea-level rise and extreme weather events that occur more frequently. The largely man-made destruction of natural resources, like the Amazon rainforest, will intensify the impacts of climate change, and the impact of climate change is creating further pressure in the ecosystems and their degradation. Yet enforcement of conservation efforts alone is not enough for a problem that is economic in nature.

Mitigation and adaptation strategies will look different from country to country in this highly diverse and mega biodiverse continent. However, they all share some common threads: the need for climate finance, capacity building, and technology transfer, among others.

The opportunity for climate action

A successful climate strategy for Latin America will also solve other problems. Efforts to conserve the region’s rich natural ecosystems must happen alongside efforts to safeguard vulnerable communities against climate impacts. At Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week, the region’s leaders and climate stakeholders will have the opportunity to collaborate and advance discussions on climate policies that address multiple issues for both mitigation and adaptation. Climate financing, both from rich countries and the private sector, will need to be scaled up for solutions to work.

EDF’s delegation at Climate Week will engage and collaborate with the region’s climate leaders from government, civil society, Indigenous and local communities and other stakeholders, on critical topics including clean air, forest conservation, food security, and resilient oceans and coastal communities.

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Also posted in Carbon Markets, Extreme Weather, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Indigenous People, International, REDD+, United Nations / Comments are closed

Global Stocktake report highlights opportunities for ambitious climate action

This blog was co-authored by Juan Pablo Hoffmaister, AVP for Global Climate Cooperation, and Alice Alpert, Senior Climate Scientist at Environmental Defense Fund.

Bird's eye view of nature

Earlier this month, the UN released a report synthesizing the technical assessment process of the first Global Stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement. The report found that the world is making some progress on fighting climate change and a path remains to reach the Paris goal of limiting global warming to 2°C. However, it warned that much remains to be done and such action must accelerate. 

A critical takeaway from the report is that clear, actionable opportunities to reach the Paris Agreement goals exist. Some of the best, most impactful solutions include actions on adaptation, mitigation and finance that all countries have within reach.  

The report contains four key messages to inform and drive such action: Read More »

Also posted in United Nations / Comments are closed

New York is poised to elevate its climate leadership with ambitious cap-and-invest program

This blog was co-authored by Alex DeGolia, Director, U.S. Climate.

As Governor Hochul and her administration advance a major cap-and-invest program, a new EDF analysis on state emissions reveals how New York’s progress stacks up against its climate goals.

New York has done more to move from pledges to policy than most states, but our analysis finds that the state is still projected to face an “emissions gap” in 2030 — the gap between where emissions are headed under existing policy and where New York needs to be to reach its targets. While New York is not alone in facing an emissions gap, the state stands out for the concerted actions New York policymakers are taking to close this gap.

After finalizing New York’s climate plan late last year, Governor Hochul, state agency officials — led by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) — and New York legislators are diving in and actively working to implement the plan’s recommendations. Notable among these is the development of a cap-and-invest programa policy that can serve as a critical emissions backstop, offering maximum certainty that New York will reach its climate targets. Just as importantly, the Administration has expressed its commitment to put equity, job creation, and affordability at the center of the program — and it must deliver on this commitment as the program advances.

This is exactly the type of action that other states serious about reaching their climate goals should be taking.

Here’s what to know about the analysis and New York’s climate policy leadership.

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Also posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, Policy / Read 1 Response

Bonn climate talks: The Global Stocktake, oceans, food and nature are issues to watch

EDF’s delegation to the climate talks taking place in Bonn, Germany from June 5 to June 15 give us some insights into the issues they’re following. 

Flags on clear sky. Getty.

Next week, climate negotiators will convene in Bonn, Germany for a two-week negotiation session that will serve as an important marker on the road to the COP28 climate talks in Dubai this November. The outcome of the talks, known as SB58, will set the stage for the negotiations at COP28, giving us an indication of what needs to happen in the months leading up to those pivotal talks.

Every year the climate negotiations become more urgent as we draw closer to the timelines for meeting the Paris Agreement goals. The task is even more challenging when considering the other crises the world faces, like economic disruption, energy insecurity and food scarcity. We need effective solutions that can solve for these multiple challenges simultaneously. The talks in Bonn are an important opportunity to gauge progress and push forward key action points that address these various challenges, in the lead up to COP28, and beyond.

EDF’s delegation to the Bonn climate talks are closely monitoring various important issues inside and around the negotiations. These include the Global Stocktake process, food, fisheries and ocean issues, and efforts to expand high-integrity carbon market cooperation.

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Also posted in Agriculture, Carbon Markets, Forest protection, International, News, Oceans, Paris Agreement, United Nations / Comments are closed

The climate benefits of informed forestry practices

Pine plantation forest in Australia. iStock

This post was authored by Cyril Melikov, Senior Research Analyst of Natural Climate Solutions at EDF. 

Forests planted for commercial purposes can help slow down climate change. How? With improved forestry management that uses forestry practices that increase the amount of carbon stored in commercial forests.
The idea is that foresters and land managers can put forestry practices in place that will raise the carbon levels in the plantation forests they manage, thus helping slow climate change.

For example, foresters could harvest trees at an older age than the age at which they would normally be harvested (known as extending the rotation length). Or they could plant several trees species in the same tree plantation (known as mixed planting) as opposed to planting only one tree species. Or they could add nutrients to the soil using inorganic or organic nutrient sources (known as fertilization).

All these practices could add carbon to plantation forests. Their study has gained traction over the past decade as improved forest management could represent a cost-effective and rapidly deployable natural climate solution, or NCS. It’s a promising avenue for climate change mitigation.

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Also posted in Innovation, International / Comments are closed