<h2>Take and Give</h2>
<p>On Wednesday, <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> published a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/economists-statement-on-carbon-dividends-11547682910?mod=searchresults&amp;page=1&amp;pos=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> penned by a group of 45 economic experts from both sides of the political aisle.</p>
<p>In it, they detail an idea for how the U.S. should address global climate change: tax carbon emitters and give the money to American citizens.</p>
<p>&#8220;There are few panaceas in life,&#8221; signatory Greg Mankiw is <a href="https://www.clcouncil.org/founding-members/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quoted as saying</a> on the group&#8217;s website, &#8220;but the closest thing I know to a panacea in the climate change debate is putting a price on carbon and rebating the revenue to citizens.&#8221;</p>
<h2>Unpopular Opinion</h2>
<p>A carbon tax is a fee placed on any good or service that <a href="https://futurism.com/carbon-tax-sky-high-avoid-climate-disaster-experts-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">produces carbon dioxide emissions</a>. The idea is that the added cost associated with burning fossil fuels would serve as an incentive for emitters to transition away from them.</p>
<p>According to the group&#8217;s letter, &#8220;A carbon tax offers the most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and speed that is necessary.&#8221; However, the idea has yet to earn much support from <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/397848-house-votes-to-disavow-carbon-tax" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislators</a> or <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/a-carbon-tax-is-pretty-much-inevitable-even-if-voters-said-no/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voters</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Among economists, this is not controversial,&#8221; Mankiw <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/17/this-is-not-controversial-bipartisan-group-economists-calls-carbon-tax/?utm_term=.c6d9d0ed705c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told <em>The Washington Post</em></a>. &#8220;The politics is complicated, the international relations is complicated, but the economics is really simple.&#8221;</p>
<h2>New Incentive</h2>
<p>Giving the revenue from a carbon tax directly to citizens in equal lump-sum rebates could change those dynamics. The government wouldn&#8217;t give the impression that it&#8217;s trying to get more revenue for itself, and voters might be more inclined to support carbon tax legislation if they knew they&#8217;d benefit financially from its passage.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s estimated that if we were to start with something like a $40 a ton carbon tax that would amount to $2,000 per family, so it is a very substantial rebate,” signatory Janet L. Yellen told <em>WaPo</em>.</p>
<p>The rebate could even encourage families to cut down on their own carbon usage — after all, if they pay less in taxes than they receive through the rebate, they&#8217;ll actually be making money.</p>
<p>On paper, it looks like this plan could be a win for Americans and the environment. But only time will tell whether it gains traction in Washington.</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/17/this-is-not-controversial-bipartisan-group-economists-calls-carbon-tax/?utm_term=.c6d9d0ed705c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘This Is Not Controversial’: Bipartisan Group of Economists Calls for Carbon Tax</a> [<em>The Washington Post</em>]</p>
<p><em><strong>More on carbon taxes: <a href="https://futurism.com/carbon-tax-sky-high-avoid-climate-disaster-experts-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carbon Tax Should Be Sky-High to Avoid Climate Disaster, Experts Say</a></strong></em></p>


The rebate could be around $2,000 per family per year.

Top Economists: U.S. should tax carbon and give citizens the money

Win-Win

A group of 45 economic experts believes the U.S. should create a carbon tax and give the revenue to Americans via a yearly rebate.

Top Economists: U.S. Should Tax Carbon and Give Citizens the Money

"Among economists, this is not controversial."

<h2>Electric Fleet</h2>
<p>California became the first state to <a href="https://futurism.com/california-first-state-require-solar-panels-new-homes">require all new homes</a> to offset their electricity needs with solar energy earlier this month. And it&#8217;s planning to tackle emissions from public transit vehicles next.</p>
<p>By the year 2029, all new mass transit buses in the whole state will have to be fully electric, according to a new rule <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-transitioning-all-electric-public-bus-fleet-2040">adopted unanimously</a> by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) yesterday — a powerful arm of the Californian government dedicated to maintaining healthy air quality <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/about/history">since 1967</a>. All mass transit bus fleets will have to be electric by 2040.</p>
<p>&#8220;[A zero-emission public bus fleet] dramatically reduces tailpipe pollution from buses in low-income communities and provides multiple benefits especially for transit-dependent riders,” says CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols in an official <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-transitioning-all-electric-public-bus-fleet-2040">statement</a>.</p>
<h2>Say No to the Pump</h2>
<p>But there&#8217;s another advantage that could help motivate the roughly 200 mass transit agencies to adopt exclusively electric buses in the future: significant savings from switching from expensive gasoline to electricity. &#8220;Putting more zero-emission buses on our roads will also reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases, and provides cost savings for transit agencies in the long run,&#8221; Nichols goes on to say.</p>
<p>The move could massively reduce carbon emissions in the state, despite the fact that many of the largest transit agencies are already <a href="https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/07/electric-double-decker-buses-are-coming-to-la/565016/">in the process</a> of switching to electric buses — although, the transition has only begun. Only <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/climate/california-electric-buses.html">about 150 buses</a> are electric out of 12,000 in the state, according to the<em> New York Times.</em></p>
<h2>A Steep Hill to Climb</h2>
<p>So far, the transition has been a little rough. The <em>LA Times </em><a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-electric-buses-20180520-story.html">reports</a> that many electric buses in California&#8217;s largest city are plagued by &#8220;stalls, stops, and breakdowns.&#8221; San Francisco city officials <a href="https://www.sfmta.com/press-releases/san-francisco-commits-all-electric-bus-fleet-2035">are worried</a> that electric buses might not have enough oomph to get a full load of passengers up its famously steep hills.</p>
<p>Despite these roadblocks, switching to exclusively electric buses has a ton of benefits — from cleaner air, much quieter streets, and savings in fuel costs.</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/climate/california-electric-buses.html">California Requires New City Buses to Be Electric by 2029</a> [New York Times]</p>
<p><em><strong>More on electric buses: <a href="https://futurism.com/2019-electric-school-buses">By 2019, There Will be Electric School Buses</a></strong></em></p>


So far, only about 150 out of 12,000 buses are electric.

All new public buses in California have to be electric by 2029

Electric Fleet

California became the first state to mandate that all new mass transit buses have to be electric by 2029. All buses will have to electric in 2040.

All New Public Buses in California Have to Be Electric by 2029

And it's a big step in the right direction.

<h2>Across the Pond</h2>
<p>It&#8217;s not every day that the founder of an airline greets one of its planes upon touchdown.</p>
<p>But Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson had a reason to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/03/first-commercial-flight-partly-fuelled-by-recycled-waste-lands-in-uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the tarmac</a> after his airline&#8217;s Flight VS16 landed in London Thursday morning, fresh from a transatlantic journey from Orlando, Florida: It was the world&#8217;s first commercial flight partially powered by recycled waste.</p>
<h2>Second Life</h2>
<p>The fuel is the creation of California&#8217;s LanzaTech, which captures and converts carbon emissions from steel mills, oil refineries, and other manufacturing sites into fuels and chemicals using a proprietary process powered by microbes.</p>
<p>“This fuel takes waste, carbon-rich gases from industrial factories and gives them a second life so that new fossil fuels don’t have to be taken out of the ground,” said Branson in <a href="http://www.lanzatech.com/virgin-atlantic-lanzatech-celebrate-revolutionary-sustainable-fuel-project-takes-flight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a press release</a>.</p>
<h2>Fill &#8216;er Up</h2>
<p>LanzaTech&#8217;s fuel comprised just five percent of the jet fuel powering the Virgin Atlantic plane, but that figure could increase to 50 percent — in April, an organization that sets aviation industry fuel standards <a href="http://www.lanzatech.com/jet-fuel-derived-ethanol-now-eligible-commercial-flights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved LanzaTech&#8217;s</a> sustainable jet fuel for use as a 50/50 blend with traditional fossil fuels. Now that they know it works, airlines can now try using it in larger quantities.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.lanzatech.com/virgin-atlantic-lanzatech-celebrate-revolutionary-sustainable-fuel-project-takes-flight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LanzaTech believes</a> it could meet 20 percent of the commercial aviation industry&#8217;s fuel demand using just the carbon it could capture from the world&#8217;s eligible steel mills. And considering air travel accounts for <a href="https://futurism.com/save-environment-stop-traveling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2 to 3 percent</a> of global CO2 emissions, this fuel could make a not-insignificant dent in the amount of carbon we pump into the atmosphere.</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/03/first-commercial-flight-partly-fuelled-by-recycled-waste-lands-in-uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">First Commercial Flight Partly Fuelled by Recycled Waste Lands in UK</a> [<em>The Guardian</em>]</p>
<p><em><strong>More on airplane emissions: <a href="https://futurism.com/save-environment-stop-traveling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Want to Save the Environment? Experts Say You Should Stop Traveling.</a></strong></em></p>


The sustainable fuel was just 5 percent of what powered this flight, but it could be up to 50 percent on future flights.

A plane powered by recycled waste just flew across the Atlantic

Wheels Down

A Virgin Atlantic flight powered in part by sustainable jet fuel completed a trek from Orlando to London on Thursday morning.

A Plane Powered by Recycled Waste Just Flew Across the Atlantic

Carbon emissions could power our planes instead of polluting our skies.

<p>California is already a beacon of renewable energy in the United States: the state has a law that at least 50% of all electricity shall come from carbon emission-free by the year 2030. On May 9, 2018, the state upped the ante, with the California Energy Commission unanimously approving a plan that mandates all new homes and apartment buildings must have some form of solar power. That, in a word, is historic.</p>
<p>Sure, similar mandates have been <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/0420/San-Francisco-to-become-first-city-to-require-solar-panels-on-new-buildings">passed by U.S. cities</a>, but this one&#8217;s the first of its kind for a state. According to a <a href="http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/2018_releases/2018-05-09_building_standards_adopted_nr.html">press release from the California Energy Commission</a>, these new requirements will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the same degree as taking 115,000 cars off the road.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a development that certainly seems like good news given current <a href="https://futurism.com/co2-emissions-sea-levels-centuries/">concerns about climate change</a>. But there are still questions, and if the idea of a requirement for how people get their electricity initially gave you pause as well, we&#8217;ve got some answers.</p>
<h3><strong>What, actually, is this law? </strong></h3>
<p>The &#8220;law&#8221; is actually a set of standards, which mandate much more than just solar panels on every newly-raised roof. The<a href="http://energy.ca.gov/title24/2019standards/rulemaking/"> 2019 Energy Efficiency Standards</a> will also require new buildings have better insulation and better ventilation, and require energy-efficient upgrades to lighting for non-residential buildings. The standards also encourage &#8220;demand-responsive technologies,&#8221; such as battery storage systems and heat pump-based water heaters, which, respectively, will allow residents to store electricity when they generate too much and use less energy on heating.</p>
<p>And yes: Every. New. Home (and every new apartment building of three stories or fewer).</p>
<p>They&#8217;ll be required to have some form of solar power. Builders can either add panels to individual homes, or create shared power systems for a group of homes. These homes will still be hooked up to the traditional power grid, for times when the sun isn&#8217;t shining. And don&#8217;t sweat it, cave-dwellers — the mandate also includes an exception for homes that simply can&#8217;t use solar, such as those that are completely in shade.</p>
<h3><strong>So, when’s this all happening?</strong></h3>
<p>New homes don&#8217;t have to frantically start installing solar panels tomorrow. The new standards first have to be approved by the Building Standards Commission, which the <em>BBC </em>reports should make a decision by the end of the year. If that happens, the standards will take effect on January 1, 2020.</p>
<h3><strong>What are people saying about it?</strong></h3>
<p>The mandate&#8217;s been a divisive one, with critics claiming that all it really does is make housing more expensive and harder to find for lower-income Californians, who are already struggling in a<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2018-04-03/is-there-hope-for-californias-housing-crisis"> costly and over-saturated market</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is great for wealthier homeowners, but for everybody else it&#8217;s one more reason to not go to California or to leave ASAP,&#8221; Jimmy Pethokoukis, American Enterprise Institute economic policy analyst, told <em>CNBC. </em>&#8220;What [California governments] should focus on is affordability and lowering the cost of living for Californians.&#8221;</p>
<p>Fair, but some would argue that the solar mandate does just that. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/business/energy-environment/california-solar-power.html">According to the<em> New York Times</em></a>, even the construction industry is pleased about the mandate — despite the increased costs it introduces — because they now see solar as a selling point for environmentally-conscious buyers.</p>
<p>Proponents also emphasize that while the mandate will raise the cost of building a home, it&#8217;ll also save homeowners money on energy bills; the California Energy Commission estimates that the standards will add $9,500 to the price tag of constructing a new home, but save $19,000 in energy bills and maintenance over the course of 30 years. (Or, about $633 per year; that means it would take a homeowner about 15 years to recover the extra cost of going solar.)</p>
<h3><strong>What’s the upshot? </strong></h3>
<p>California&#8217;s economy is the fastest-growing in the nation, performing better than the U.S. economy altogether. Economic growth is normally <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/3/16/8224915/economic-growth-carbon-emissions">followed by rising carbon emissions</a>, as a bustling economy encourages people to toss frugality out the window: they drive more, travel more, and use more electricity, among other fun carbon-emitting activities. But in recent years, California&#8217;s growing economy <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2016/12/08/decoupling-economic-growth-from-emissions-growth/">has been &#8220;decoupled&#8221; from its emissions</a>: between 2000 and 2014, the state&#8217;s CO2 emissions dropped by 6.3 percent even while its economy increased 28.2 percent.</p>
<p>If California&#8217;s climate-friendly energy policies, and its massive housing market, can continue to support a healthy economy, they pretty much shoot down the claim that climate regulations stifle economic growth. That&#8217;s a claim that current President Donald Trump has made many a time. (For example: “I am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job killing regulations,&#8221; Trump said in March 2017, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-energy-idUSKBN16Z1L6">while signing an order</a> to revoke the previous administration&#8217;s Clean Power Plan.)</p>
<p>California could prove to the nation, and the world, that investing in solar infrastructure is worth the investment. And if it goes according to plan, that is, yes, a pretty sunny outlook.</p>


If California proves that this works without hurting the economy, other states might be encouraged to follow suit.

California's new solar mandate could change electricity in America

Earth & Energy

A new set of energy standards, recently passed by California state, require solar panels on any new buildings. But this solar mandate has been divisive.

California's New Solar Mandate Could Change Electricity in America

The new, groundbreaking law is a game-changer for green energy.

How California’s Incredible New Solar Panel Law Is Historic for Green Energy

<h2>Unexpected Decrease</h2>
<p>A little over three decades now, world communities banded together for a historic deal to keep a hole from the ozone layer from growing. This international treaty, known as the Montreal Protocol, banned the harmful chemicals that were thinning the Earth&#8217;s natural ozone barrier that protects us from the sun&#8217;s ultraviolet radiation.</p>
<p>Now, a study recently published in the European Geosciences Union journal <i><a href="https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/18/1379/2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics</a></i> suggests that <a href="https://futurism.com/hole-ozone-layer-smallest-since-1988/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ozone layer recovery</a> in lower latitudes isn&#8217;t going as expected. Specifically, the ozone layer in middle to lower latitude areas — where most people live — show unexpected decreases for reasons still unclear.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lBu3vltczRw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>&#8220;[It] is lower today than what was 20 years ago,&#8221; says study lead William Bell, an atmospheric physicist from<a href="https://www.ethz.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> ETH Zurich</a> and <a href="https://www.pmodwrc.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PMOD/WRC Davos</a> in Switzerland, speaking to Futurism. &#8220;That&#8217;s important because it&#8217;s a departure from what our [atmospheric] modeling studies suggest should be going on in the lower stratosphere.&#8221;</p>
<h2>Keeping a Watchful Eye</h2>
<p>The results could be the sign of a problem with how atmospheric circulation models have been designed so far. But the ozone layer could also be getting thinner because damaging substances such as chlorine and bromine slipped through the cracks, and were not regulated under the Montreal Protocol.</p>
<p>&#8220;These [substances] are increasing but are not included in the models,&#8221; Bell said. &#8220;It’s not that the models are wrong. It’s that the scenarios we’ve set up aren’t correct. We would have to update these.&#8221; The so called &#8220;very short live substances&#8221;, of which chlorine and bromine are examples, have previously been ignored because they&#8217;re not supposed to be able to survive long enough to reach the ozone layer. &#8220;This is something we need to investigate as well, and modeling should be done on this,&#8221; Bell added.</p>
<p>One thing is clear, however. The still unexplained decrease in low altitude ozone shouldn&#8217;t be taken as a <a href="https://futurism.com/politics-helps-ozone-layer-recover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failure of the Montreal Protocol</a>, which, by 2030, will be responsible for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22924540" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a million fewer cases</a> of skin cancer per year. The protocol is also helping fight climate change: from 1989 to 2013, the measures it prescribed helped avoid <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21618680-our-guide-actions-have-done-most-slow-global-warming-deepest-cuts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">135 billion tonnes of climate warming emissions</a>. That&#8217;s equivalent to about 5.6 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions yearly.</p>
<p>Moving forward, further actions against climate change — like the <a href="https://futurism.com/paris-climate-agreement-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paris Climate Agreement</a> — should require nations to be a bit more alert. At least, &#8220;continued monitoring of the system is required,&#8221; Bell explained, to make sure that targets are on track and that unexpected environmental factors are checked.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is important,&#8221; Bell stressed. &#8220;We really have to continue monitoring both the ozone layer and the climate system in general to update our models,&#8221; because new threats could be emerging, he said.</p>


We might need to update our atmospheric models.

The ozone layer is not recovering and we don't know why

A study found that despite humanity's concerted efforts over the past 30 years, the ozone layer keeps thinning over the planet's most populous areas.

The Ozone Layer is Not Recovering and We Don't Know Why

One thing we do know is that we need to keep watch over both the environment and agreements like the Paris deal. 

The Ozone Layer is Not Recovering and We Don’t Know Why

<h2>Repurposing Waste</h2>
<p><a href="https://newatlas.com/lockheed-martin-bioenergy-plant-owego-new-york/45578/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Waste-to-energy (WET) plants</a> are mushrooming all over the globe as an alternative to dumping garbage in landfills. These plants burn waste in a controlled environment, using the resulting heat to power a turbine that produces electricity. Most recently, the Government of Dubai has announced that it intends to build the <a href="https://newatlas.com/waste-energy-plant-dubai/53201/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world&#8217;s largest WET plant to date</a>.</p>
<p>While they do emit a significant amount of CO2 in the process, these plants are far less polluting than landfills where waste decomposes slowly releasing methane, a greenhouse gas much more powerful than carbon dioxide.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2ka96xjqz6A?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>The plant in Dubai will be built on a 2-hectare plot of land and will compete in size with the <a href="https://futurism.com/videos/meet-the-worlds-largest-waste-to-energy-plant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese Shenzhen East WET Plant</a>, another giant in the field.</p>
<p>It is expected to process up to two million tons of solid waste every year —<a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/environment/60-of-waste-in-dubai-will-supply-power-to-120-000-homes-1.2165061" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> this is about 60 percent of the waste</a> produced in the city. According to <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/environment/60-of-waste-in-dubai-will-supply-power-to-120-000-homes-1.2165061" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Gulf News</em></a>, Dubai&#8217;s residents will enjoy additional 185 MW every day, which could power 120,000 homes.</p>
<h2>Landfills and Pollution</h2>
<p>This plant is a collaborative effort between the Dubai Municipality, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Swiss company Hitachi Zosen Inova, and Belgian construction company Besix Group. It will cost the equivalent of $680 million, and should be fully operational by 2020.</p>
<p>In theory, the idea of converting garbage into energy seems like the perfect way to reduce the number of landfills while creating useful electricity. But while new systems are superior to older incineration methods, they still produce carbon.</p>
<p>Some developers are already exploring the possibility to equip WTE plants with carbon capture and storage technologies, which would neutralize all their heat-trapping emissions, but this is unlikely to become reality in the near future. Significantly reducing landfill size is an achievement in itself. Not only are dumpsites polluting the air, but they also contaminate the soil with dangerous chemicals. However, WTE technologies still have a long way to go before they <a href="https://futurism.com/companies-have-begun-using-our-waste-to-power-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">can be considered</a> a truly green technology.</p>


It will produce enough electricity to power 120,000 homes.

Dubai has the world's most ambitious plan to turn waste into energy

The plant will be up and running in 2020. It's going to burn around 60 percent of the city's waste and produce enough electricity to power 120,000 homes.

Dubai Has the World's Most Ambitious Plan to Turn Waste into Energy

It will process 60 percent of the waste produced in the city every year.

Dubai Has the World’s Most Ambitious Plan to Turn Waste into Energy

<h2>Trouble Keeping Up</h2>
<p>It was only last week that we reported on the European Union&#8217;s decision <a href="https://futurism.com/europe-dramatically-accelerates-plans-create-coal-free-continent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to raise its renewable energy targets</a> from 27 percent to 35 percent. The adjusted targets will impact several member states, including Germany, which elected to backtrack on plans to reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2020. However, the country reportedly still intends to meet the goal of cutting 55 percent of emissions by 2030.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-climate-climatechange/germany-faces-huge-bill-to-meet-eu-climate-goals-bdi-study-idUSKBN1F62ST">As reported by </a><i><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-climate-climatechange/germany-faces-huge-bill-to-meet-eu-climate-goals-bdi-study-idUSKBN1F62ST" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a></i>, the draft study — which was commissioned by the BDI German industry group and assembled by Boston Consulting and Prognos — states that Germany will have to spend more than 1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion) to meet the low end of the EU&#8217;s target of reducing emissions by 80 to 95 percent by 2050.</p>
<p>While nothing to scoff at, as Sören Amelang at <i><a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/german-industry-says-protecting-climate-can-benefit-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clean Energy Wire</a></i> wrote, several energy-intensive industry representatives are wary of the study&#8217;s information, as it essentially assumes these plans will go off without a hitch.</p>
<p>“The results assume that politicians only make right decisions from today,” said Kurt Bock, president of chemical industry association VCI and CEO of chemical giant BASF.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uK-L6vsAMcU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Despite the study&#8217;s optimism, it does question Germany&#8217;s ability to reach the higher end goals, which would push the already high price to around 2.3 trillion euros ($2.8 trillion) even with <a href="https://futurism.com/new-report-predicts-renewable-energy-cheaper-fossil-fuels-2020/?src=featured" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the expected price drop of renewable energy</a>.</p>
<p>According to <i>Clean Energy Wire</i>, BDI President Kempf explained that reaching an 80 percent emissions reduction would already be a momentous task. 95 percent, then, would be all the more difficult to achieve.</p>
<p>“The political aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 compared to 1990 is ambitious,&#8221; said Kempf. &#8220;The aim of reducing them by 95 percent is overambitious.”</p>
<h2>Positive Outlook</h2>
<p>It may sound like Germany has done very little to curb gas emissions, but in 2017 the country <a href="https://futurism.com/germany-just-smashed-an-energy-record-generating-85-electricity-from-renewables/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set renewable energy records</a> and built <a href="https://futurism.com/germany-home-worlds-largest-wind-turbine/?src=featured" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the world&#8217;s largest wind turbine</a>. By 2021, it will <a href="https://futurism.com/hydrogen-powered-trains-are-coming-to-germany-in-2021/?src=featured" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have multiple hydrogen-powered trains</a> in operation.</p>
<p>Not all the reactions to the study were negative: Germanwatch Policy Director Christoph Bals credited it as a realization that Germany&#8217;s energy industry is without &#8220;ambitious climate policy as a driver for innovation and modernization.” Bock also pointed out that the need for additional climate protection and goals presented a &#8220;huge business opportunity.&#8221;</p>
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<p>Sabine Nallinger, head of Foundation 2° (a company that represents German CEOs who support measures to combat climate change) said BDI&#8217;s report reveals the 95 percent gas emissions goal would still be feasible without harming the economy — provided that other countries continue to stand by the Paris Climate Agreement.</p>
<p>“From the BDI study, we must not draw the conclusion that Germany only pursues the 80 percent target,&#8221; said Nallinger. &#8220;This would be a disservice to the German economy: German companies would not be tomorrow’s technology leaders.&#8221;</p>
<p>It&#8217;ll certainly be an uphill battle for Germany, but with <a href="https://futurism.com/global-temperatures-reached-new-highs-2017/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global temperatures continuing to increase</a>, its become more apparent that every country needs to do their part to offset the effects of global warming. We&#8217;re already due for <a href="https://futurism.com/2040-hundreds-millions-affected-river-floods-across-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extreme river floods by 2040</a> thanks to the emissions we&#8217;ve already generated. Now&#8217;s our chance to prevent further disasters.</p>


That investment would only help them meet the low-end targets, while the high-end goals would demand even more.

Catching up with the new EU emissions targets will cost Germany a trillion euros

The country will need to make a major investment if they want to meet even the low-end of the European Union's new emissions targets.

Catching Up With the New E.U. Emissions Targets Will Cost Germany a Trillion Euros

"The aim of reducing them by 95 percent is overambitious."

<h2>Not Truly Renewable</h2>
<p>On January 17, lawmakers in the European Parliament voted in favor of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-00879-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strengthening the European Union&#8217;s renewable energy goals</a>. The resolution, which is not yet legally binding, sets a new target for member nations, asking that each meet 35 percent of its energy needs using renewable sources by 2030. The 2009-enacted target of <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2020_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sourcing 20 percent of energy from renewables by 2020</a> is still in effect.</p>
<p>While that seems like a step in the right direction, <a href="https://twitter.com/DrSimEvans/status/953604116202258432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not everyone is in a celebratory mood</a>. The Parliament&#8217;s decision failed to include an amendment that proposed a cut on the use of biomass sourcing and biofuel use, which a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) supposedly support.</p>
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/renewable-energy-sources-of-the-future-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/06/energysourceshome.jpg" alt="Renewable Energy Sources Of The Future [Infographic]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/renewable-energy-sources-of-the-future-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure>
<p>According to a study <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aaa512/pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published in the journal <i>Environmental Research Letters</i></a> the day after the resolution passed, bioenergy sources such as wood may actually be more harmful than coal in the short-term.</p>
<p>&#8220;[A]lthough bioenergy from wood can lower long-run CO2 concentrations compared to fossil fuels, its first impact is an increase in CO2, worsening global warming over the critical period through 2100 even if the wood offsets coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel,&#8221; wrote the researchers, who are experts from the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)</a>, <a href="https://www.climateinteractive.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate Interactive</a>, <a href="https://www.uml.edu/Research/Climate-Change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell Climate Change Initiative</a>, and <a href="https://www.uml.edu/sciences/eeas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the UMass Lowell Department of Environmental, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences.</a></p>
<p>The authors argued that the EU&#8217;s insistence &#8220;that biofuels are carbon neutral&#8221; mistakenly presupposed that forest regrowth can adequately make up for emissions from bioenergy production and combustion. &#8220;The neutrality assumption is not valid because it ignores the transient, but decades to centuries long, increase in CO2 caused by biofuels,&#8221; the study concluded.</p>
<h2>Emissions Are Emissions</h2>
<p>With the EU ranking third among the world&#8217;s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, behind only China and the United States, this mistaken notion about biomass could prove fatal to the continent&#8217;s efforts to reduce CO2 levels to meet <a href="https://futurism.com/stick-our-climate-goals-paris-agreement-deliver-drier-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Paris Climate Agreement&#8217;s targets</a>. The short-term increase in CO2 from biofuels could jeopardize the EU&#8217;s current goal of <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/eu-climate-targets-under-fire-1.14601" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cutting emissions by at least 40 percent in 2030</a> compared to 1990 levels.</p>
<p>“A molecule of CO2 emitted today has the same impact on the climate whether it comes from coal or biomass,&#8221; study author John Sterman, the Jay W. Forrester professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, <a href="https://renewablesnow.com/news/burning-wood-for-power-may-be-worse-than-coal-study-598870/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told </a><i><a href="https://renewablesnow.com/news/burning-wood-for-power-may-be-worse-than-coal-study-598870/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Renewables Now</a></i>. &#8220;Declaring that biofuels are carbon neutral, as the EU, UK, and others have done, erroneously assumes forest regrowth happens quickly and fully offsets the emissions from biofuel production and combustion.”</p>
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<p>Land-use specialist Felix Creutzig from the <a href="https://www.mcc-berlin.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change</a> in Berlin also noticed this flaw in the new plan.<i> </i></p>
<p>“Enabling the combustion of roundwood [full trees] for energy production creates a climate-harming carbon debt for decades to come,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-00879-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he told </a><i><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-00879-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nature</a></i>. &#8220;That is a conceptual error that runs counter the climate-mitigation goals of Europe’s renewable-energy plans.”</p>
<p>The EU&#8217;s decision, however, is not yet enforceable. The EU Parliament still needs to negotiate the plan with national governments and the EU Council, which just set a <a href="http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2017/12/18/promoting-renewable-energy-use-council-adopts-its-position/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">27 percent renewable energy target for 2030</a> in December. These negotiations could address the dangers of biofuels while leaving the 30 percent renewable energy target intact.</p>


The EU needs to rethink biofuels if it wants to meet its energy goals.

Swapping coal for wood is bad for the climate, and the EU is falling for it

The EU's new renewable energy target doesn't take into account the negative short-term impact of burning biomass, such as wood, for electricity production.

Swapping Coal for Wood Is Bad for the Climate, and the EU Is Falling for It

Biofuel sourcing will do more damage in the short-term, a new study confirms. 

<h2>A Clear Need</h2>
<p>Coastal communities all over the world are already facing the double whammy of sea level rise and extreme weather events that in some cases are threatening the very existence of entire island states. Now a new study adds weight to the argument that for the sake of these communities we need to ramp up efforts and achieve what many think almost impossible, keeping global warming below 1.5° C (2.7° F).</p>
<p>A team from Tufts University, Rutgers University, and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany found that if countries managed to stabilize global temperatures within this threshold by 2150, the impact of sea level rise would be significantly reduced. The global average sea level would be about 17.7 centimeters (7 inches) less than under a 2° C scenario (3.6° F), which is conventionally considered more achievable. The paper is published in the journal <i><a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa9def" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Environmental Research Letters</a></i> and will be included in the landmark special report by the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> on the 1.5° C goal, which will collate the available literature on the topic.</p>
<h2>The Paris Agreement controversy</h2>
<p>With ratification from over 170 countries, the historic Paris Climate Agreement has been in force since November 2016.<a href="http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Its goals are quite clear</a>: to keep global temperature rise to &#8220;well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5.&#8221;</p>
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/our-warming-world-the-future-of-climate-change-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/09/climate-change-timeline_home_v1-900x600.jpg" alt="Our Warming World: The Future of Climate Change [INFOGRAPHIC]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/our-warming-world-the-future-of-climate-change-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure>
<p>“Some people might argue there will be no sizable difference between the two targets, so we should aim for the higher one, because it’s easier,” lead author Klaus Bittermann, a postdoctoral student in the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Tufts, said in <a href="https://cop23.unfccc.int/news/paris-15c-goal-crucial-to-protecting-communities-from-rising-seas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a United Nations report</a>.</p>
<p>“Those differences turn out to be significant,&#8221; Bittermann added. &#8220;For example, salt marshes and mangroves can be drowned if the local rate of relative sea-level rise exceeds their ecological ability” for adaptation.</p>
<h2>Reaching the Goal</h2>
<p>Limiting global average temperatures to well below 2° C — or, even better, to 1.5° C — requires a tremendous amount of effort on the part of the nations that signed the Paris deal. These include various programs that cut down on fossil fuel consumption in favor of <a href="https://futurism.com/renewable-energy-isnt-just-cutting-costs-its-saving-lives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">renewable energy sources</a>, as well as plans that favor more <a href="https://futurism.com/by-2040-you-wont-be-able-to-buy-a-non-electric-vehicle-in-these-nations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">environmentally efficient means of transportation</a>.</p>
<p>Already, a number of countries have put sweeping programs to this effect. Yet, some worry that reaching the Paris agreement&#8217;s goals would be impossible, with<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3352" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> one study arguing that the probability is only 5 percent</a>. In a comment piece <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo2559" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published in <em>Nature Geoscience</em></a>, Kevin Anderson, chair of energy and climate change at the University of Manchester in the U.K., says that the 2° C goal is only achievable through mass deployment of negative emission technologies such as carbon capture and storage. These technologies are still in their infancy and nowhere near ready to be rolled out at scale.</p>
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<p>Still, <a href="https://futurism.com/paris-climate-agreement-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">others remain hopeful</a>, especially since global emissions have stabilized in the past three years and because carbon emissions have now &#8220;decoupled&#8221; from economic growth in some countries. That means that lowering carbon emissions no longer affects a country&#8217;s prosperity. It&#8217;s doable, but <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/paris-climate-agreement-target-achievable/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it won&#8217;t be easy</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the survival of coastal communities depends on not only reaching but overshooting the Paris deal&#8217;s goals.</p>
<p>&#8220;To those who want to know what the difference from a global sea level point of view is if you lower the temperature by just another 0.5° C, I think that our paper provides a very clear answer, and I think it is a difference that is worth fighting for,&#8221; Bittermann said.</p>


While limiting global warming to 2° C is conventionally considered achievable, a new study argues it won't be enough to save coastal communities from drowning.

For coastal communities, the 1.5C climate goal is a matter of life or death

Sea level rise could be reduced by keeping global warming within 1.5° C. Failing to do so would be the end of many coastal communities, a study finds.

For Coastal Communities, the 1.5C Climate Goal Is a Matter of Life or Death

There's much to be done in so little time. 

<p>Plant scientist Joanne Chory has $3 million more than she did last week.</p>
<p>On Sunday December 3rd, Chory was awarded one of the prestigious <a href="https://breakthroughprize.org/Laureates/2/L3823">2018 Breakthrough Prizes</a> in life sciences, an award given out annually to scientists by Silicon Valley tycoons including Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. The team characterizes the awards as the “Oscars of science,” and started giving them in 2012 to applaud scientific advances in life sciences, fundamental physics, and math.</p>
<p>Chory won the prize for the research she&#8217;s done for the past 30 years to find new ways to grow heartier plants.</p>
<p>But she is now shifting gears to engineer a leafy green that could both feed the planet and suck carbon dioxide out of the air to curb climate change. Chory hopes that one day, this drought and flood-resistant crop can be grown as food while sequestering 20 times more carbon than today&#8217;s perennial grasses. It may taste like a chickpea, she said.</p>
<p>Chory estimates it will take roughly ten years and $50 million dollars to make the protein-rich plant a reality. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-earth-two-degrees-warming-2100-new-studies-2017-7">But the clock is ticking:</a> most estimates suggest by the end of this century, the Earth is on track to be at least 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than pre-industrial levels.</p>
<figure style="width: 601px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5a26c55ff914c329008b7f52-1500/screen%20shot%202017-12-04%20at%2015514%20pm.png" alt="Climate change fighting plants could be yet another solution to our big problem." width="601" height="311" data-mce-source="The Salk Institute/Joanne Chory" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">One of the slides Chory used to present her idea for a carbon-capturing plant on Monday. Image Credit: The Salk Institute/Joanne Chory</figcaption></figure>
<p>&#8220;Our world is at a crossroads,&#8221; Chory told a crowd in Palo Alto on Monday, a day after she won the prize. &#8220;We need to do something, do something soon, to help the planet not get so hot.&#8221;</p>
<p>Her team&#8217;s carbon-capturing plant idea is based on a polymer called ‘Suberin.’</p>
<p>“It basically is cork,” she said.</p>
<p>Suberin, Chory said, can store and retain carbon for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years in soil without biodegrading. A perennial plant with Suberin could therefore both purify the air and add more oxygen to the atmosphere. And, she said, the roots could be flood- and drought-resistant.</p>
<p>“A lot of coastal grasses make a lot of Suberin,” she said. “I think they’re keeping the water out of the plant.”</p>
<p>Chory has already figured out new ways to grow mutant plant shoots without light. She&#8217;s made certain plants grow taller in the shade by exposing their seeds to DNA-altering chemicals, and discovered a new class of plant hormones called ‘brassinosteroids’. Her work has also helped create more stress- and pathogen-resistant strains of crops for harsh conditions.</p>
<p>In order for Chory&#8217;s new plant creation to make a dent in global warming, she estimates it&#8217;d need to take up 5% of the world’s cropland. With that kind of space — a swath about the size of Egypt — she estimates the crop could capture 50% of current levels of global CO2 emissions from humans.</p>
<p>While the idea may still just be a hope, Chory thinks it&#8217;s probably a better strategy than trying to get people to reduce carbon emissions in other ways.</p>
<p>“I live in Southern California where no one’s reducing their carbon footprint by 50% — including myself,” she said.</p>
<p>Chory said she&#8217;s no green thumb — <a href="http://www.hhmi.org/insidelook/joanne-chory">she jokes that</a> she knows the insides of plants better than the outsides. But she&#8217;s hopeful that with enough breeding trial and error, she&#8217;ll be able to engineer a way to help the environment without changing her California lifestyle.</p>


A scientist working on plants that fight climate change just won a $3 million prize

Joanne Chory has been researching plants for 30 years. She is researching a hearty edible plant that will also fight climate change.

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