Global Mobility Report finds world not on track to achieving sustainable mobility

The transport sector is not on track towards achieving sustainable mobility, according to the newly published Global Mobility Report 2017 (GMR). The GMR is the first study to assess the global performance of the transport sector and the progress made toward four main objectives: universal access, efficiency, safety, and green... Read more →


VanDyne SuperTurbo and Allison Transmission collaborating to maximize benefits of downspeeding, supercharging and turbo compounding

VanDyne SuperTurbo Inc. and Allison Transmission Inc. are collaborating to co-develop a vehicle demonstrator. The companies plan to leverage the unique performance benefits of VanDyne’s mechanically driven turbocharger in combination with Allison’s TC10 transmission in a Class 8 tractor. Through the deployment of advanced control techniques, the two technologies will... Read more →


The staff of the California Energy Commission (CEC) has selected 8 awardees for a total of $8,875,457 in proposed funding to install Direct Current (DC) fast charging stations on Interstate 5 (I-5), State Route 99 (SR 99), and along United States Highway 101 (US-101) from San Jose traveling South in... Read more →


PCAST suggests 6 key components for climate change strategy to President Obama; adaptation and mitigation

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released a letter to President Obama describing six key components the advisory group believes should be central to the Administration’s strategy for addressing climate change. The letter, responding to a request by the President last fall for input, calls for... Read more →


World Bank report examines likely impacts and risks associated with a 4 °C global warming within this century

A new report commissioned by the World Bank, and prepared by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Climate Analytics, provides a snapshot of recent scientific literature and new analyses of likely impacts and risks that would be associated with a 4 °C global warming within this century.... Read more →


PwC analysis finds a need for global carbon intensity to drop an average of 5.1% per year through 2050. Click to enlarge. The low annual rate of global reduction of carbon emissions per unit of GDP needed to limit global warming to 2 °C—based on the probability assessments of the... Read more →


DOE Joint Genome Institute approves 41 projects for 2012 Community Sequencing Program; climate, environment and bioenergy feedstocks

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) has approved 41 projects from 152 submitted (culled from the 188 letters of intent originally received) for the 2012 Community Sequencing Program (CSP). The 2012 Community Sequencing Program (CSP) call invited researchers to submit proposals for projects that advance capabilities... Read more →


Illustration of the steps in an iterative risk management approach for addressing climate change. From: America’s Climate Choices. Click to enlarge. Warning that the risk of dangerous climate change impacts is growing with every ton of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, a US National Research Council committee reiterated the... Read more →


Projected median temperature change in °F (of 112 climate projections) over the Western United States, 2070–2099 relative to 1950–1979. Source: DOI. Click to enlarge. The US Department of the Interior released a report that assesses climate change risks and how these risks could impact water operations, hydropower, flood control, and... Read more →


The Arctic region, in this report, is defined as the area north of the Arctic Circle (highlighted on this map in red). Click to enlarge. In response to the measured and projected effects of climate change, US naval forces—i.e., the US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard—should begin now to... Read more →


Garnaut Climate Change Review issues first of 8 update papers in 2011; reaffirms decision-making framework and need for mitigation efforts

As commissioned by the Australian Government in 2010, the Garnaut Climate Change Review, led by Professor Ross Garnaut, has issued the first of a series of papers scheduled for this month and next updating the 2008 Climate Change Review. (Earlier post.) A Final Update Report will be presented to Australia’s... Read more →


Illustration of the representative US cumulative GHG emissions budget targets:170 and 200 Gt CO2-eq (for Kyoto gases). The exact value of the reference budget is uncertain, but regardless, illustrates a clear need for a major departure from business-as-usual. Source: NRC. Click to enlarge. A report issued today by the National... Read more →


Population Growth, Land and Water Limits and Climate Change Forcing a Radical Rethinking of Agriculture; GM Crops, Aquaculture, Drylands and Saline Agriculture

Population growth, limits to arable land and fresh water, and climate change have “profound implications” for the ability of agriculture to meet this century’s demands for food, feed, fiber, and fuel while reducing the environmental impact of their production. Meeting these challenges will depend on the acceptance and use of... Read more →


by Jack Rosebro Global 2ºC maximal warming limit as compared to past and present temperatures, as well as temperatures projected for various IPCC reference emissions scenarios, 2000—2100. Inset box represents instrumental records. Source: WGBU. Click to enlarge. From the opening day of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change... Read more →


Representation of damage from climate change avoided by adaptation, and damage not be adapted to (‘residual damage’) over the longer term. Source: “Assessing the costs...” In Click to enlarge. Scientists led by a former co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are warning warn that the UN negotiations aimed... Read more →


Widespread climate-related impacts are occurring now in the US and are expected to increase. Source: USGCRP. Click to enlarge. Climate change is already having visible impacts in the United States, and the choices we make now will determine the severity of its impacts in the future, according to the final... Read more →


Washington Governor Issues Executive Order Directing State Actions to Reduce Greenhouse Gases; Consideration of California Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Highway Electrification

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire issued an executive order directing a variety of state actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions including continued participation in the Western Climate Initiative to develop a regional greenhouse has emissions reduction program; an increase in transportation and fuel-conservation options including a low-carbon fuel standard; and the... Read more →


Even If Warming Ceased, Sea Level to Rise At Least About 184 mm From Melting Glaciers and Ice Caps

Even if the global climate did not continue to warm, sea level will still rise at least 184 ± 33 mm (7.2 ± 1.3 inches) due to the current mass wastage of the world’s mountain glaciers and ice caps, according to a new study published 11 February in Geophysical Research... Read more →


New Study Shows that Sea Level Rise Resulting From Collapse of West Antarctic Ice Sheet Would be Non-Uniform; Some Regions to See Levels Much Higher Than Previously Predicted

Sea-level change in response to the collapse of the WAIS computed by using (A) a standard eustatic sea-level theory and (B) the new model. (C) shows the difference between predictions generated by using the two sea-level theories [(B) minus (A)]. Source: Mitrovica et al. (2009) Click to enlarge. A new... Read more →


Researchers Evaluate Climate Cooling Potential of Different Geoengineering Schemes

Schematic overview of the climate geoengineering proposals considered. From Vaughan and Lenton (2009). Click to enlarge. Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have carried out the first comprehensive assessment of the relative merits of different geoengineering schemes in terms of the climate cooling potential. Their paper appears in... Read more →


US Climate Change Science Program Releases Four More Final Synthesis and Assessments Reports; Arctic Amplification, Aerosols, Impact of Sea-Level Rise and Ecological Thresholds

The US Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) released four more final synthesis and assessment (S&A) reports in the series that will total 21. These latest S&A products examine past climate variability and change in the Arctic (1.2); the impact of aerosols on climate (2.3); the sensitivity of the Mid-Atlantic coastal... Read more →


“Nature Does Not Provide Bailouts”: Tällberg Provocation Calls for Complete Decarbonization of Industrialized Countries by 2050

by Jack Rosebro The Tällberg Foundation has released a discussion paper[1] that proposes a global greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 90% along with a target of 100% “domestic, at-source” reductions coming from industrialized countries by the year 2050, with the objective of avoiding many of the more unpredictable potential... Read more →


UN Climate Talks Look to Copenhagen As Last Stand, EU Sets Climate Change Goals for 2020

by Jack Rosebro Historical and projected energy-related CO2 emissions, by fuel, assuming no significant availability of renewable energies. Source: IEA World Energy Outlook 2008. Click to enlarge. The 14th Conference of Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), which was attended by almost two hundred environmental ministers... Read more →


Report: Climate Change Puts Forests and People At Risk; Adaptation Required to Avert Crisis

Examples of measures for forest adaptation. Click to enlarge. Unless immediate action is taken, climate change could have a devastating effect on the world’s forests and the nearly 1 billion people who depend on them for their livelihoods, according to a team of scientists from the Center for International Forestry... Read more →


California Governor Issues Executive Order to Begin Planning for Adapting to Sea Level Rise

USGS Coastal Vulnerability Index for sea level rise for California. Click to enlarge. Stating that the longer California delays planning and adapting to coming sea level rise the more expensive and difficult adaptation will be, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an Executive Order (S-13-08) directing a set of state agencies... Read more →


Mayor of London Launches Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

Surface temperature of London at 21:30 on 7 August, 2003 showing the signature of the urban heat island during the killer heatwave. Click to enlarge. Source: NASA Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, launched the London Climate Change Adaptation Strategy—one of the first comprehensive climate change adaptation strategies produced by... Read more →


UK Scientific Adviser: Adaptation to Global 4ºC Temperature Rise May Be Necessary

by Jack Rosebro Comparison of non-mitigation greenhouse gas emissions scenarios with actual reported emissions, 1990-2006. Click to enlarge. Source: Global Carbon Project (2007). In an interview last week with The Guardian, Bob Watson, chief scientific adviser to the UK’s Defra (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), warned that... Read more →


In the Grip of Drought, Australia Considers A Carbon Market

by Jack Rosebro Average increase per decade of Australia’s mean temperature, 1950-2007, in degrees C. Click to enlarge. Source: Australia Bureau of Meteorology Australia’s Department of Climate Change has published a Green Paper[1], or preliminary proposal, of its plan to limit the amount of carbon dioxide that the country’s major... Read more →


Report Projects Electricity, LPG and CNG Will Be First Alt Fuels with Expanded Use in Australia If Oil Supply Declines

Transport sector fuel consumption in the scenario of fast decline in oil supply, slow technology response, and a 60% reduction in GHG from 2000 levels. Click to enlarge. Australia’s transport fuel mix will substantially change in response to the increasing cost of oil and the need to reduce greenhouse gas... Read more →


EPA Draft Report Concludes Climate Change May Significantly Increase Ground-Level Ozone in Areas of the US

Change in ozone concentrations between present and 2050 in simulated September-October mean MDA8 O3 concentrations (in ppb), from one of the papers cited in the EPA synthesis report. (Nolte et al., 2007) Click to enlarge. Climate change has the potential to produce significant increases in near-surface O3 concentrations in many... Read more →


Australia Gets Its Own “Stern Review”: Draft of Garnaut Climate Change Review Is Released

by Jack Rosebro Estimated probability of extreme climate impacts, responses, and threshold excess under each of the four emissions scenarios proffered by the Garnaut Review. Click to enlarge. After ten months of research, forums, lectures, consultations, and review of public comment, the Australian government has released a draft[1] of the... Read more →


Study: Stronger Short-Term Goals Are Needed in Climate Change Policy Because of the Likely Pace of Policy Change

Long-term climate change policy in the US and abroad is likely to change very slowly, according to a study published by an MIT researcher in Decision Analysis, a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). With that conclusion, author Dr. Mort Webster calls for stronger... Read more →


Devil in the Details: Three “Profoundly Disturbing” Carbon Scenarios

by Jack Rosebro Projected social, economic, and environmental changes associated with each scenario. Click to enlarge. The Stockholm Network, a London-based pan-European think tank which also functions as a networking hub for 130 other market-driven think tanks in Europe, has released the report Carbon Scenarios: Blue Sky Thinking for a... Read more →


EPA Requests Comments on National Water Program Strategy to Respond to Climate Change

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water has made available for comment a review draft of the National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change. The draft document represents the National Water Program’s initial effort to identify potential impacts of climate change for clean water and drinking water... Read more →


National Research Council Report: Climate Change Will Have a Significant Impact on US Transportation Infrastructure and Operations

While every mode of transportation in the US will be affected as the climate changes, potentially the greatest impact on transportation systems will be flooding of roads, railways, transit systems, and airport runways in coastal areas because of rising sea levels and surges brought on by more intense storms, according... Read more →