Discover this week's must-read nature and climate stories
- This weekly round-up brings you some of the key nature and climate news from the past week.
- Top stories: Rooftop solar study reveals untapped climate cooling potential; US pulls out of climate damage fund; Global sea ice hits record low.
1. Rooftop solar could help cut global temperatures significantly
Using AI and geospatial data, researchers globally mapped a rooftop area larger than the UK. Their analysis, based on nine Earth system models, reveals that rooftop solar panels (RPVs), long seen as a “niche” climate solution, could lower global temperatures by up to 0.13°C before 2050.
The study highlights regional differences in RPV potential, stressing the need for tailored strategies. Areas with more sunlight and dense infrastructure could see the greatest benefits in reducing emissions and cooling, the authors say.
What’s the World Economic Forum doing about the transition to clean energy?
Moving to clean energy is key to combating climate change, yet in the past five years, the energy transition has stagnated.
Energy consumption and production contribute to two-thirds of global emissions, and 81% of the global energy system is still based on fossil fuels, the same percentage as 30 years ago. Plus, improvements in the energy intensity of the global economy (the amount of energy used per unit of economic activity) are slowing. In 2018 energy intensity improved by 1.2%, the slowest rate since 2010.
Effective policies, private-sector action and public-private cooperation are needed to create a more inclusive, sustainable, affordable and secure global energy system.
Benchmarking progress is essential to a successful transition. The World Economic Forum’s Energy Transition Index, which ranks 115 economies on how well they balance energy security and access with environmental sustainability and affordability, shows that the biggest challenge facing energy transition is the lack of readiness among the world’s largest emitters, including US, China, India and Russia. The 10 countries that score the highest in terms of readiness account for only 2.6% of global annual emissions.
Additionally, the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) is working to assemble public and private partners to further the industry transition to set heavy industry and mobility sectors on the pathway towards net-zero emissions. MPP is an initiative created by the World Economic Forum and the Energy Transitions Commission.
Is your organisation interested in working with the World Economic Forum? Find out more here.
2. US exits UN’s climate aid board
The US had previously pledged $17.5 million to the fund, though it remains unclear whether that commitment will be honoured, the news agency said.
3. News in brief: Other top nature and climate stories this week
Global sea ice hit a record low in February, The Guardian reports, driven by rising “planet-heating pollutants”. The combined ice cover around the North and South Poles reached a new daily minimum early in the month and remained below the previous record, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
The record or near-record low sea ice cover at both poles has pushed global sea ice cover to an all-time minimum.
—Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director, CS3
”Hundreds of thousands in Queensland, Australia were left without power after Alfred, a downgraded tropical cyclone, brought heavy rain and damaging winds, triggering flood warnings.
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4. More on the nature and climate crisis from the Forum
Asia’s battle against extreme weather; glacier loss; the link between sunscreen and coral bleaching — here are three more urgent nature and climate stories to learn about this week: