Stop Adani raised at COP24 in youth climate action side event

17 year old Toby Thorpe, from Hobart, a member of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), raised the need to stop the Adani coal mine in a press conference at the United Nations Climate Conference COP14 on Thursday, as the climate conference was drawing to a conclusion.

He was one of four youth activists at this press conference speaking on the need to increase climate ambition and targets, to include climate justice in the writing and final negotiations of the Paris rulebook.

He sent a message to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to stop Adani, to stop the politicisation of acting on climate change.

"So right now I am calling on my Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, to stop politicising this issue and accept this threat to our future, and our descendants future."

California adopts 40 per cent emissions reduction target below 1990 levels by 2030

Awesome news from California: Governor Brown announced a major greenhouse gas reduction target of 40 per cent reduction on 1990 levels by 2030. This matches Europe's commitment.

California is the largest economy in North America and the 7th largest economy globally. It is a significant announcemewnt and goes much deeper than President Obama's national target of a 26-28% emissions reduction on 2005 levels by 2025.

"With this order, California sets a very high bar for itself and other states and nations, but it's one that must be reached - for this generation and generations to come," said Governor Brown.

The long term target is reducing emissions 80 percent under 1990 levels by 2050.

The order also includes instructions for maintaining and updating the state's climate adaptation strategy, Safeguarding California, and ensure that its provisions are fully implemented. Climate change impacts and predictions will also feature in State Agency planning and investment decisions and full life-cycle cost accounting, and Infrastructure planning.

In January 2015 at his inauguration Governor Jerry Brown announced that Climate Change action would be prominent for his next 4 years of his administration. With California already on track to meet it's target of a third of electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Brown announced that this should increase to 50 per cent of electricity generation by 2030, plus a 50 per cent reduction in petroleum use in cars and trucks, and to double the efficiency of existing buildings, and use cleaner heating fuels.

But it is not all smooth sailing as his administration has come in for criticism over support for fracking, and the continued allocation of water during the 4 year long drought for fracking.

"Gov. Jerry Brown deserves credit for this important step toward fighting global warming, but the governor continues to undermine his own plans by backing fracking,” said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute media release. “Fracking pollution threatens to blow a huge hole in California’s target for reducing planet-warming emissions. No plan to prevent climate disruption can succeed if it doesn’t include a rapid transition away from fracking and other dangerous oil and gas production."

California targets 50 per cent renewables by 2030 while fracking continues

California Governor Jerry Brown announced at his inauguration that Climate Change action would be prominent for his next 4 years of his administration. But all is not well in California with large public opposition to shale oil fracking championed by Governor Brown, and the state still being in the worst drought in 1,200 years exacerbated by high temperatures due to climate change. Fracking Opposition groups have adopted the slogan "Governor Brown: Climate Leaders Don't Frack"

Already California is on track to meet it's target of a third of electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Brown announced that this should increase to 50 per cent of electricity generation by 2030, plus a 50 per cent reduction in petroleum use in cars and trucks, and to double the efficiency of existing buildings, and use cleaner heating fuels.

"And we must manage farm and rangelands, forests and wetlands so they can store carbon." said Governor Brown.

He emphasised the enormous need for collaboration between scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs businesses and officials, "I envision a wide range of initiatives: more distributed power, expanded rooftop solar, micro-grids, an energy imbalance market, battery storage, the full integration of information technology and electrical distribution and millions of electric and low-carbon vehicles. How we achieve these goals and at what pace will take great thought and imagination mixed with pragmatic caution. It will require enormous innovation, research and investment."

But under Jerry Brown fracking by Big Oil will continue in California. In fact, new reguulations for fracking in California have already been written, six months before the mandated scientific studies have been completed, according to environmental journalist Dan Bacher in this San Fransisco Bay Area Indymedia story. “California has essentially reversed the regulatory process when it comes to fracking,” said Jackie Pomeroy, spokesperson for CAFrackFacts. “State regulators have finalized California's fracking rules a full six months before any of the mandated scientific studies have been completed."

Fracking is just a glimpse into the dark side of Brown's poor environmental record revealed by Dan Bacher. See his June 2013 article in CounterPunch: Jerry Brown: Worse Than Schwarzenegger on Environment?, and his September 2014 article: Big Oil’s Favorite Governor: Jerry Brown.

Wildfires set new destructive records in Colorado and New Mexico due to climate change

High temperatures, high winds and low humidity are contributing to extreme fire weather across the US southwest. In Colorado the Black Forest fire burning north east of Colorado Springs has become the most destructive fire on record for the state destroying at least 379 homes and killing two people. Over the border the Whitewater Baldy Complex fire in the Gila National Forest has become the largest wildfire in New Mexico's recorded history. For several years scientists have indicated that Climate change is a primary cause driving the increase in the length of the fire season, the frequency and intensity of wildfires.

Reports from Colorado confirm that the Black Forest fire has so far burned 15,700 acres; 38,000 people and 13,000 homes evacuated; with the fire only 5% contained. 379 homes have been destroyed and a further 9 damaged. The damage exceeds the record destruction last year from the Waldo Canyon Fire which destroyed nearly 350 homes and also killed two people. Another Colorado wildfire near Royal Gorge has burnt 3,100 acres, destrying 20 structures and is just 20% contained.

Over the border in New Mexico the Whitewater Baldy Complex fire continues to burn in the Gila National Forest. It is the largest wildfire in New Mexico's recorded history. Started by a lightning strike on May 15th 2013, the fire has burned almost 280,000 acres and is assessed as only 37% contained one month later in mid June. High temperatures, low humidity and moderate winds continue to feed the fire. Fire fighters are focussed on containing the southern boundary of the fire. Costs of fighting this blaze have now exceeded $22 million.

Climate change is driving the increased destruction of wildfires with US Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell warning of more extreme wild fires in testimony to the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week.

In 2012 wildfires burned a record 9.2 million acres in the U.S., with this year also likely to set exceptional fire records.

Climate change driving California native Freshwater fish species to extinction

Eighty two percent of native freshwater fish species in California, including salmon, are likely to become extinct on present trends within the next century due to climate change, reports a study lead by Professor Peter Moyle from University of California Davis.

The study - Climate Change Vulnerability of Native and Alien Freshwater Fishes of California: A Systematic Assessment Approach - found that, of 121 native fish species, 82 percent are likely to be driven to extinction or very low numbers as climate change speeds the decline of already depleted populations. In contrast, the study reported that 19 percent of the 50 non-native fish species in the state face a similar risk of extinction. Many non-native fish are likely to thrive in changed aquatic conditions, mostly at the expense of native species.

"If present trends continue, much of the unique California fish fauna will disappear and be replaced by alien fishes, such as carp, largemouth bass, fathead minnows and green sunfish," said Peter Moyle, a professor of fish biology at UC Davis who has been documenting the biology and status of California fish for the past 40 years.

"Disappearing fish will include not only obscure species of minnows, suckers and pupfishes, but also coho salmon, most runs of steelhead trout and Chinook salmon, and Sacramento perch," Moyle said.

California coast to be hit hard by sea level rise with climate change

A US National Research Council report released June 22 concluded that average global sea level is likely to rise two to three times higher within this century than previously estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007, with the US west coast being particularly affected at greater than the global average for sea level rise.

The study confirms that sea level rise is accelerating and is in accord with other recent studies estimating global sea level rise at a metre or more by the end of the century, with the melting of land ice now the largest component of global sea-level rise (about 65%). Scientists say that Global Warming means 20 Metre sea level rise is in the pipeline.

Related: Sea Level Rise and Australia | The risks of Sea Level Change - Dr Peter Ward | Scientists Estimate Sea level Rise for next 500 years

Increased Arctic Sea Ice melt points to drier North American West Coast

The issue bigger than terrorism: climate change is on the agenda and will affect every person and country. Greenhouse Gas Emissions are a primary cause of global warming which is a major driving force for climate change. And conservative politicians like George Bush (USA) and John Howard (Australia) have their heads in the sand in Iraq.

A new study by a senior British climatologist, Jonathan Gregory, published in Nature and reported on in New Scientist (Greenland ice cap 'doomed to meltdown'), predicts that the Greenland ice sheet is all but doomed to melt away to nothing causing global sea levels to rise by seven metres, flooding most of the world's coastal regions.

Gregory warns that, if his calculations are correct, "the Greenland ice sheet is likely to be eliminated unless much more substantial reductions in [carbon dioxide] emissions are made than those envisaged" so far by scientists or politicians.