#Nature

Website & Report.

• Global greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.0% in 2022 to reach their highest levels in human history, driven mainly by a rise in coal, oil, and gas use.
• The world is failing to cut emissions and remains far off track from limiting warming to 1.5°C as outlined in the Paris Agreement goals.
• Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted since the Paris Agreement have strengthened ambition somewhat but are still insufficient to narrow the emissions gap by 2030.
• High-income and high-emitting countries like the G20 need to take more ambitious action to cut emissions and support developing nations in their transitions.
• Land-based carbon dioxide removal and novel removal technologies will need to play a stronger role later in the century to achieve net-negative emissions targets.
• Clean energy transitions present opportunities for countries but also challenges, including entrenched fossil fuel interests and the need for international finance.
• Low- and middle-income countries can develop roadmaps for ambitious low-carbon development and specify their finance and technology needs.
• Carbon dioxide removal technologies require strong policy support, priority-setting, and accelerated innovation to play meaningful roles in mitigation.
• Equity principles must guide responsibilities for deploying large-scale carbon dioxide removal between countries.
• The next Conference of the Parties (COP28) is an opportunity to strengthen climate action and support for developing nations.

PDF Summary via Kagi.

Via Kottke.

I’m very fortunate to have a handful of new trees, some grass and public seating bookend the street I live in. One of my favourite times of the day to be out on my balcony is dusk, because when the sun starts setting and the hustle and bustle of the city subsides, a group of Indian myna birds, attracted by that greenery, playfully chirps and flies between the trees. The tweeting draws out neighbours, too, and creates a beautiful moment of connection through nature in an otherwise man-made environment.

Last week, an Australian climate protester, who blocked a lane of traffic on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, was sentenced to up to 15 months in prison under a new anti-protest law. It was one of many recent disruptive climate protests that seem to do little else than annoy and inconvenience everyone.

Our knee-jerk reaction to seeing someone throw soup at art or glue themselves to trains is usually contempt and anger. But I think when teenagers, grannies and scientists participate in activism that puts them at risk of going to jail and becoming the target of public scorn, it’s worth digging a little deeper.