Trying to Wash Out the 'Greenwash'

Governments and industries are excellent abount making pledges but very poor in terms of actually reducing their 'greenhouse gas' emissions. In an attempt to make 'greenwashing' more difficult, the UN has created a 'high-level expert group'. This expert group will advise on rules 'to improve the integrity and transparency in net zero commitments by industry, regions and cities' (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/08/un-experts-demand-crackdown-on-greenwashing-of-net-zero-pledges-cop27). The hope is that the judgements of the 'high-level expert group' will encourage serious commitments prioritising rapid cuts in absolute emissions. Cuts before 2030 are more helpful than those near 2050. The frequently 'dodgy' use of carbon offsets (where e.g. airlines get someone to plant a few trees to 'compensate for' their 'greenhouse gas' emissions), should clearly be discouraged. The expert group can, however, only 'name and shame'. Although they might function like Association Football ('Soccer') referees, the equivalents of their yellow and red cards, can (and will be, I fear?) ignored in most cases.

Moving House Fiji Style

Fiji, in the Pacific, is 14th on the list of countries being most at risk from weather-associated events. The country is frequently devastated by cyclones. Fiji has 300 islands but a population only only circa 1 million people. Fiji's government is taking climate changes seriously and has devised a document, 'Standard Operating Procedures for Planned Relocations' (www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/08/how-to-move-a-country-fiji-radical-plan-escape-rising-seas-climate-crisis). The 'Standard Operating Procedures for Planned Relocations' is a plan to move the country, village by village, to locations away areas that are becoming progressively more dangerous. This is not as easy as it sounds, as infrastructure, as well as, houses have to be provided in the new sites. It's also not a cheap option. Moving the village of Vunidogoloa has been described as a 'partial success'. People are safer from extreme weather events but this village only had circa 30 houses. Fiji has the advantages of having a lot of land and a relatively small human population. Moving human settlements would be much more difficult in other locations. In deed, the limitations of such schemes are not so different from those faced by montane animal species. As it gets warmer, they can move up the mountain slopes. Eventually, however, they reach a point at which further migration becomes impossible. Having said that, the Fijians are at least being proactive in their planning. That's far more than can be said for many countries (including the UK).

Soundtrack For Interesting Times?

The Australian band AC/DC seem to be getting some very diverse 'plays'. The new BBC mini-series 'SAS: Rogue Heroes' prominently featured their 'Highway to Hell' track. Now, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has paraphrased it, claiming 'We are on a highway to climate hell' (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/live/2022/nov/07/cop27-egypt-climate-summit-boris-johnson-net-zero-live). Let's hope that 'Hell's Bells' doesn't prove as popular.

Welsh Slow Down

From September 2023, the Welsh Assembly will make 20 mph (32 kph) the default speed limit on the country's residential roads (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/07/residential-speed-limit-20mph-wales). Death and serious injury (especially to pedestrians and cyclists) are much less at 20 mph than they are at the current 30 mph. It's been estimated that this change will reduce Road Traffic Accident deaths on Welsh residential roads by about 10 each year. This may sound a small number but lowering the default speed limit could save, in its first year of operation, circa £100m in total costs (including losses of earnings and medical treatment of injuries). Many people think that a majority drivers will fail to respect the new 20 mph limit and it prove difficult to enforce. Making 20mph the default limit, however, leaves local authorities with the power to decide (hopefully, after consultation with residents), which of 'their' roads can remain at 30 mph. In spite of predictable objections from motorists, this change is well worth piloting. It may well be eventually adopted more widely in the UK (like the ban on plastic bags)?

The Thing About Tipping Points?

The UN's World Meteorological Organization has pointed out, that inspite of the worldwide Covid19 lockdowns, the last 8 years have been the hottest on record. By this, they mean, of course, the hottest since humans recorded weather temperatures (its been hotter in geological time). The UN now generally accepts that the Paris Accord (limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-Industrial levels), is 'barely within reach'. It's also been suggested that the planet is 'on course' to reach climatic 'tipping points' (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/06/climate-crisis-past-eight-years-were-the-eight-hottest-ever-says-un). Tipping points are changes that, once exceeded, cannot be reversed. The problem with tipping points is that they are not clearly signposted. Tipping points do not have signs saying 'approaching the tipping point, now'. The only way we can be certain we have exceeded a tipping point, is when we try (and fail) to reverse it. We really don't want to get close to dabbling in such things.

Seeing the Changes 1729

Some very white fungi in Loughor. Field rose (Rosa arvensis) was still in bloom on the Bynea-Penclacwydd border.

Codswallop!

Charles Clover of the Blue Marine Foundation opines we need to conserve cod stocks around the UK. He also makes, however, several highly contentious statements about where the 'attack' on our 'national dish' of 'cod 'n chips' is coming from (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/04/brexit-overfishing-uk-waters). Certainly Clover's most contentious claim is that 'our' cod populations "...belong to King Charles on behalf of the people.." Is Clover after a knighthood? The idea that a wild species 'belongs to' anyone individual, is bizzare (this could have been intentional, simply to get us to read the article?). Clover claims that declining cod stocks in UK waters are the result of '40 years of mismanagement' (presumably by the EU). He opines that 'Brexit creates an opportunity to do our seas and our fishers a favour by managing fish stocks for recovery.' Most of the 'attacks' on cod stocks he describes appear, however, to involve the actions of UK fishers and government bodies. Scottish fishers are said to destroy juvenile cod stocks as 'bycatch', whilst trawling for more lucrative langoustines. The UK government was pressured by fishers to increase the size of cod catches in the North Sea, to a level incompatible with fish stock recovery. Meaningful conservation of cod stocks seems more likely to be achieved by multinational agreements. Cod don't carry passports and governments appear to find it easier to stand up to fishers, when acting as a collective.