We've known for a while that China was serious about electrification of its transport industry. This isn't just about an enlightened approach to global climate; it's pure self-interest: the country suffers vast economic losses from pollution.
Absolutely, they're particularly vulnerable to Climate Change and thus have every reason to care about it.
Personally, I'll happily take enlightened self-interest over the insane rejection of reality any day of the week
China aims to launch national carbon trading scheme in next five years
-Environment ministry says it will start with the power sector and expand to other industries
-It is expected to be the world’s biggest, but there are concerns over transparency and accuracy of emissions data
It seems like step 1 is beginning, here's to hoping that it goes well.
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Oct 28th 2020 at 1:22:46 AM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangCarbon sequestration is something we'll definitely need to invest in moving forward. As for the other stuff, like seeding sulfuric acid in the atmosphere and fertilising oceanic algae, eh. I can't imagine carrying out many of those without running into a diplomatic flustercluck at the minimum, not to mention the possible side effects.
One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.I am quite firmly opposed to geoengineering schemes for the reasons described here
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This is a hypothetical "holy shit, we're fucked, do something quick" scenario that buys time for a more effective and long-term solution.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"That, the Godzilla Threshold and the "we're doomed anyway" option all in one.
The outgoing Trump administration removed the lead scientist of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, Michael Kuperberg, on Friday evening.
The official, Michael Kuperberg, a climate scientist who had been executive director of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) since July 2015, was told Friday evening to return to his previous position as a scientist at the Energy Department. He had been expected to stay on through the production of the fifth edition of the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment.
The climate assessment examines the present-day harms that climate change is having on the United States and makes projections about future damage down to the local level from greenhouse-gas emissions from burning fossil fuels.
The USGCRP is a program Congress created to help coordinate the climate science programs of 13 federal agencies. The program works to "advance understanding of the changing Earth system" and facilitates the production of the National Climate Assessment and other reports. Its reports also help inform the work of international organizations such as the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Kuperberg directed that office through the release of the fourth edition of the report, which detailed the potentially dire economic and health consequences for Americans should the country take little to no action to cut emissions and prepare for climate change’s effects, such as sea-level rise, droughts and hotter, longer-lasting heat waves.
Trump administration taps mainstream climate scientist to run key climate review
The report, produced by federal and outside scientists, angered the White House, since President Trump has consistently downplayed the seriousness of the climate threat and the scientific consensus that human activities are playing the dominant role in warming the planet.
Kuperberg’s removal was confirmed by a current federal official and a former White House official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the matter. It was also confirmed by Don Wuebbles, a climate scientist at the University of Illinois who was director of the Fourth National Climate Assessment and is a friend of Kuperberg’s.
"Mike called me on Saturday and said he was just notified that he was let go, that his detail was over and that he should go back to the Department of Energy," Wuebbles said.
The former White House official described Kuperberg as "shocked" by his removal. "He was extremely dedicated," the official said. “He did a very good job of figuring out how to walk that political line. He had no idea it was coming.”
Kuperberg did not reply to requests for comment.
His dismissal comes just as climate scientist Betsy Weatherhead takes over as the federal coordinator of the next assessment, which is just getting underway. Weatherhead will work with the USGCRP but be formally located within the U.S. Geological Survey. While the bulk of the work on the report will take place under Joe Biden’s administration, government officials are starting to select which scientists will participate in writing it now, with the first deadline for author nominations coming up on Saturday.
Removing Kuperberg could allow the White House to insert someone whose climate science views more closely align with Trump’s.
The USGCRP has traditionally stayed insulated from political influences, instead serving as a coordinating office and funding agency for carrying out the major report and providing other climate science information useful to the public and policymakers.
Kuperberg’s removal "seems quite consistent with decisions at NOAA and elsewhere," said Kathy Jacobs, who is director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of Arizona and ran the Third National Climate Assessment. "[It’s] a last-minute attempt to remove people who may not be perceived as supporting the president’s agenda."
The removal comes in the wake of the hiring of two recent high-level political officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), David Legates and Ryan Maue, who are on the record challenging the seriousness of climate change. Staff members at that top climate science agency have expressed concerns that those appointees could try to influence the next assessment as well, although neither has been tasked with a formal role in producing it.
It also occurs against the backdrop of the removal of several government officials at the White House’s request, including a senior official at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the director of the National Nuclear Security Administration and Monday’s firing of Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper.
Wuebbles and Jacobs said they did not understand why the administration would dismiss Kuperberg now.
"I can only speculate they want to see if they can manipulate the Fifth National Climate Assessment before the next administration comes in," Wuebbles said. "Why they want to do that, I don’t understand."
Jacobs said any damage done by removing Kuperberg could be reversed by the Biden administration.
"I would be more concerned if Trump had won the election," she said. "If USGCRP is rudderless for a few months, I don’t consider that a devastating situation. The question is: What are they going to do in the interim?"
Brenda Ekwurzel, director of climate science for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said Kuperberg’s removal at this time is "troubling."
"I think people underestimate how important USGCRP is," she said, emphasizing that it plays a role in coordinating reports for the international community, as well. "It does not send a good signal internationally," she said, especially considering the United States is set to rejoin the Paris climate accords under Biden.
So on top of all the other problems climate change procures re: tropical cyclones tropical cyclones will weaken more slowly after landfall than usual
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The ESCIMO model is saying we are already past the tipping point.
Edited by tclittle on Nov 12th 2020 at 1:03:01 PM
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."Some climate scientists are dubious about this model
which may not be sophisticated enough to properly represent all the involved feedbacks & more sophisticated models do not show such a tipping point yet.

That and air pollution isn't the sort of problem that you can simply sweep under the carpet. Even in 1984 a choking cloud of smog would be impossible to censor.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman