Peak Coal in 2030, or 2020

According to ‘The End of Cheap Coal’ in last weeks edition of Nature, outdated reserve estimates and economic forces will lead to a peak in coal production within two decades. Ambitious geopolitics are still left out of that equation, which means we could be right on track of meeting the new IEA 450 Scenario that states we need to peak coal just 10 years sooner.

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2010: hottest year, Caribbean coral bleaching record

There is some big climate news under way. Negotiators in Cancún however can consider themselves fortunate that it will be at least another month before NASA scientists can announce their findings: 2010 will be the hottest year on record.

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Getting practical on geoengineering: the cheapest way to lift 1 Mt of aerosols

Aurora Flight Sciences recommends Aurora Flight Sciences. At least that’s what David Keith, Climate Professor at the University of Calgary and a leading expert on geoengineering leads to suspect in their joint cost analysis, published three weeks ago.

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The World Energy Outlook 2010: the 450 Scenario and other estimates

On Tuesday the International Energy Agency presented its World Energy Outlook 2010. Apart from many other facts and estimates concerning energy trends the report shows two interesting scenarios: the New Policies Scenario (where current G20 agreements are implemented) and the 450 Scenario – where the world would actually try to reach the UN climate goal of halting climate change at no more than 2 degrees – or stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations at 450 ppm CO2 equivalents.

These are the requirements for the 450 Scenario:
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European Commission sets new energy strategy

The transition to a more sustainable and secure energy system is one of the biggest challenges the world faces in the coming years. But change does not come overnight. Many countries all over the globe strive to reach their energy and climate goals that often lie numerous years in the future. As does the European Union. Wednesday the European Commission presented its strategy for the coming ten years. The five priorities set in Energy 2020 should enable the EU in meeting its goals for 2020: a twenty per cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, a twenty per cent increase in renewable energy usage and a twenty per cent boost in energy efficiency.

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After Copenhagen: Cancún, Kyoto… or Montreal?

Chlorofluorocarbons are up to 11,000 times as potent as greenhouse gases as CO2. The Montreal Protocol locked away some 4 years of regular CO2 emissions. And if we try really hard – and look for every old fridge on the scrap yard – we may buy ourselves another 4 years time, before we actually need to cut the real deal. So, in 2014, once again, everything will depend on the US mid-term elections.

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Communicating climate science is defined activism

Renowned climatologist and Head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies James Hansen recently wrote a short essay, explaining the path from developing scientific understanding, to improving civil implementation of that knowledge – or how he became ‘an activist’:

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