Green Lights April 10: Top stories
Don't miss a single story from the best of Callaway Climate Insights.
. . . . Welcome back to Green Lights. Here’s our roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. David Callaway says the annual spring meetings of global bankers in Washington, D.C. next week will be a far cry from the growth and climate themes of just a few years ago. Also this week: Why recycled plastic is suddenly a bargain, and why forecasters are warning of a “super” El Niño. Have a great weekend and please subscribe to support our climate finance reporting.
. . . . The Cherry Blossoms in Washington D.C. are the same this month but the focus of the annual spring meetings of global bankers next week are a far cry from the growth and climate themes of just a few years ago. Now it’s all war, energy shortages and downgraded economic outlooks, writes David Callaway. Like most global summits these days, leaders are left simply to gather together and speculate what will happen next, their long-term vision completely eclipsed by the Trump rollercoaster. But IMF officials have set the tone: lowered growth estimates, concern about a banking crisis, and a new era of energy shortages.
. . . . Time was when the idea of China hosting a global body on the future of the oceans would have raised a few eyebrows, especially among the countries it has pestered on the South China Sea. But such is the state of China’s climate and renewable energy status these days with the U.S. effectively on the sidelines of the global climate debate that the country boldly bid last week to become the first Asian-Pacific host of a UN governing body — this one on international ocean governance.
. . . . A rare benefit of soaring oil prices? Recycled plastic is suddenly a bargain. In a guest column, Douglas Woodring, founder and managing director of Ocean Recovery Alliance, outlines the shifting economics. Growing consumer and investor scrutiny means that recycled plastic’s choice as an ethical option need not come at a premium. It now may become a critical, strategic choice, and one that offers resilience, cost competitiveness, and environmental benefit at the same time.
. . . . One of the silver linings cited by climate advocates after Donald Trump was re-elected was that no matter how much damage he did to federal environmental efforts, the states would still carry the climate baton, writes David Callaway. A year-and-a-half later, even the most climate-friendly states, such as New York and California, are scaling back their ambitions in the face of soaring energy costs, budget restraints, and rising anti-climate populism in an election year. The pushing back of energy reduction targets and shifting of funds from climate projects to other priorities sets states back years in their efforts and is difficult to reverse. Unlike the popular Trump TACO trade, which was in full effect again this week after the president declared a ceasefire in Iran, policy changes in state and local communities don’t reverse themselves on a dime.
. . . . Forecasters and climate models are signaling a powerful “super” El Niño could develop later this year. USA Today reports a super El Niño — also referred to as a “Jurassic El Niño” by Colorado State University hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach — refers to unusually strong warming of sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. That warming can disrupt global weather patterns, shifting storm tracks, rainfall and temperatures for months at a time. Multiple long-range models are trending warmer, with some pushing into territory rarely seen in modern records.
More greenery . . . .
Climate change shrinks sea ice: Emperor penguins now endangered (CBC News)
Hot, hot, hot: March smashes heat records for continental U.S. (NBC News)
It’s raining harder: Why flooding risks in Chicago are rising (WBEZ Chicago)
North American birds: Taking flight from climate change (Climate Central)