Carbon emission reduction: News and technology

[Brian Peacock]

While 89% of the world's population want to see stronger climate action from govts, NZ appears more concerned about ensuring ongoing investment opportunities for the fossil sector...

New Zealand government votes to bring back fossil fuel exploration in major reversal

New Zealand’s government has voted to resume oil and gas exploration despite an outcry from the opposition and environmental groups who argue the reversal will lay waste to the country’s climate credentials.

In 2018, the Jacinda Ardern-led Labour government banned the granting of new offshore oil and gas exploration permits as part of its plan to transition toward a carbon-neutral future.

Environmental groups hailed the ban as a milestone in the fight against climate change, and commended New Zealand for standing up to “one of the most powerful industries in the world”.

But on Thursday afternoon, the ruling right-wing coalition voted to reverse the ban after the third and final reading of the crown minerals amendment bill – a move it believes will alleviate energy shortages and high energy prices. The bill passed by 68 votes to 54.

“The ban sent a chilling message to the investment community, halting the very exploration that underpins our energy security and leading directly to the supply constraints and price volatility that we see today,” climate and energy minister Simon Watts told parliament...

There are no investment communities on a dead planet.

[pErvinalia]

Adapt or die

[macdoc]

The planet won't be dead just unhappy fewer humans.

[Brian Peacock]

Overdosed on your literal pills again I see.

[Brian Peacock]

It's getting hot in here...

Monkeys falling from trees and baking barnacles: how heat is driving animals to extinction

Mexico, knew the heatwave was bad when they heard the thuds. One by one, the town’s howler monkeys, overcome with dehydration and exhaustion, were falling from the trees like apples, their limp bodies smacking the ground as temperatures sizzled past 43C (110F) in spring last year.

Those that survived were given ice and intravenous drips by rescuers. At least 83 of the primates were found dead in the state of Tabasco, though local veterinarians estimated hundreds throughout the region probably perished.

Episodes such as this are unfolding across the world as the climate crisis delivers harsher and more frequent heatwaves. Flying foxes have tumbled from trees in Australia; billions of barnacles have baked in tide pools in Canada; male beetles have been virtually sterilised by soaring temperatures.

Beyond these local die-offs, ecologists are only just beginning to grasp the full threat that extreme heat poses to the world’s wildlife populations, and how quickly it can drive species towards extinction...

[aufbahrung]

Leaving the trees was the making of us human beings. Will have to up their game with the howling to survive though. Can't make a survival plan by screaming at one another for domination. I give them fifty fifty - road to heaven is via hell and raiding human bins.

[pErvinalia]

Adapt or die.

[Brian Peacock]

Scientists call for action to address air pollution from space launches

Scientists are calling for a new global regime to address air pollution caused by the space industry.

Prof Eloise Marais’s team at University College London (UCL) began tracking space activities in 2020. Their latest figures reveal 259 rocket launches in 2024, and 223 launches in 2023. These burned more than 153,000 tonnes of fuel.

Marais said: “More pollutants are being released into the atmosphere from rockets and satellites than ever before. We’re in uncharted territory, as humans have never added this much pollution to the upper layers of the atmosphere. If left unregulated, it may have serious impacts on Earth’s atmosphere.”

The team found that launches of mega-constellation communication satellites, including Starlink, OneWeb and Thousand Sails, have led to a threefold increase in emissions of climate-altering soot and carbon dioxide.

Although the amount of CO2 and soot from spacecraft is far less than other industries, researchers have warned that particles stay in the upper atmosphere much longer than Earth-bound sources. This results in up to 500 times greater climate warming impact than the same amount of soot from aviation or ground-level sources.

Marais said: “The amount of propellant used to launch mega-constellations has surpassed the amount of propellant used to launch all other missions combined. The mix of pollutants produced is likely going to change in the future with the advent of Amazon Kuiper mega-constellations. These plan to use the European Space Agency’s rocket that is propelled by solid rocket fuel and produces ozone-damaging chlorine compounds.”

Dr Connor Barker from UCL said: “Many more mega-constellations are planned for launch in the next few decades, which will have significant impacts for our climate, and undo progress made by the Montreal protocol to repair the ozone layer.”...

[Brian Peacock]

Solar panels in space ‘could provide 80% of Europe’s renewable energy by 2050’

Solar panels in space could cut Europe’s terrestrial renewable energy needs by 80% by 2050, a study has found.

Using a detailed computer model of the continent’s future power grid, the researchers found that a system of space-based panels designed by Nasa could reduce the cost of the whole European power system by as much as 15%. It could also cut battery use by more than two-thirds.

The study, led by researchers at King’s College London, is the first to assess the possible impact of space solar energy on Europe. The space-based solar power (SBSP) panels that yielded the positive results uses a heliostat design. The design, which the system imitates, uses mirror-like reflectors to collect sunlight in orbit. The sunlight is then transmitted to stations on Earth and converted to electricity before it is delivered to an energy grid.

The computer model of the continent’s power grid spans 33 countries, and simulates electricity demand, generation and storage to identify the lowest-cost option to meet Europe’s electricity needs.

When the headline says 'solar panels in space' I think they mean mirrors.