These are records that no one ever wanted to see broken and that you can't get used to. The latest, announced on Friday 6 September by the European Copernicus Observatory, revealed that we have just experienced the hottest summer ever recorded. The three Northern Hemisphere summer months, from June to August 2024, saw the highest average global temperature since records began. Humanity has just experienced the hottest months of June and August and also the hottest day on record. This series of findings increases the likelihood that 2024, which will surpass the 2023 record, will be the warmest year on record. (Le Monde, more at lemonde.fr)

A new report on the future of agriculture, presented last week by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urges the EU to support a plant-based food plan, calls for increased funding for nature- and climate-friendly agriculture and calls for changes to farm subsidies.

The report is the result of seven months of negotiations by a forum of 30 organisations, including green NGOs, consumer groups, farmers' unions and industry players, to agree on the future of Europe's agri-food sector. The forum, called "Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture", was launched by von der Leyen in January amid farmers' protests and climate change warnings. (More on vegconomist.com)

Climate change is more than just a buzzword; is transforming landscapes around the world, and North America is no exception. As weather extremes become more frequent, the impact on ecosystems and human infrastructure can no longer be ignored.

Extreme weather -- severe droughts in the American Southwest and Mexico, along with more intense wet years in the Northeast -- are the modern norm, according to new research from The Ohio State University. The analysis also suggests that these seasonal patterns will become even more severe in the future. (Rodielon Putol, more at earth.com)

The potential collapse of the Atlantic Southern Overturning Circulation (AMOC) poses a fundamental problem, given its important role as a critical turning point in the Earth's climate system. (more…)

In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer of 2024 became the warmest on record, so this year is likely to be considered the hottest on record, reports the European climate service Copernicus. (more…)

As climate change continues to intensify, the world is seeing an increase in the number and intensity of climate and weather-related disasters. UN member states must develop urgent mitigation and adaptation measures based on reliable climate change projections. As climate change continues to intensify, the world is seeing an increase in the number and intensity of climate and weather-related disasters. UN member states must develop urgent mitigation and adaptation measures based on reliable climate change projections. (United Nations University, more at phys.org)

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with EU funding, regularly publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting changes observed in global air and sea surface temperatures, sea ice cover and hydrological variables. The bulletin also contains the most important events related to the boreal summer (June-July-August). Most of the reported findings are based on the ERA5 reanalysis dataset, which uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world. (More on climate.copernicus.eu)

Chemical substances that lead to deterioration of air quality are usually emitted together with greenhouse gases. Thus, changes in one inevitably cause changes in the other. 

Air quality, in turn, affects the health of the ecosystem, as air pollutants settle from the atmosphere to the earth's surface. Deposition of nitrogen, sulfur and ozone reduces services provided by natural ecosystems such as clean water, biodiversity and carbon storage.

"Climate change and air quality cannot be solved separately. They go hand in hand and must be dealt with together. It would be mutually beneficial for the health of our planet, its people and our economies if we recognized the interrelationship and acted on it,” said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett.

“This Air Quality and Climate Bulletin covers the year 2023. The first eight months of 2024 have seen these trends continue, with intense heat and persistent droughts increasing the risk of fires and air pollution. Climate change means that we face this scenario more and more often. Interdisciplinary science and research are key to finding solutions," said Ko Barrett. (More on wmo.int)

There is hardly a more important sector for our continent than agriculture. As we all know, it is vital to our health. It is strategic for our economy and our self-sufficiency. But we know that our farmers face many and increasing challenges, from very tough global competition to the devastating effects of climate change. As we know, Europe is the fastest warming continent. We know and experience all the extreme manifestations of the weather, which are becoming more and more frequent, whether it is heat and drought or floods, hail, heavy rains. But we also observe an increasing amount of depleted and polluted soils. And these soils are less fertile and less resistant to floods, and their capacity to retain water, but also carbon, is reduced. We know that in some parts of Europe the availability of water is already a serious problem. (More on ec.europa.eu)

Fires leave behind powerful climate heaters, particles that increase the absorption of sunlight and heat the atmosphere. These aerosols falling on the snow like a woolen poncho darken and reduce the reflectivity of the surface of snowy places. However, how different types of smoke particles contribute to these effects has not been understood until now. In a study recently published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science researchers from Washington University in St. Louis model how dark brown carbon (d-BrC)—light-absorbing, water-insoluble organic carbon—from fires plays a much larger role than snow. -heating agent as previously noted. It is 1.6 times more effective than what scientists previously thought was the main culprit, black carbon. (Leah Shaffer, Washington University in St. Louis, more on phys.org)

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment of the Slovak Republic Tomáš Taraba announced after Wednesday's government meeting that Slovakia has not decided to implement the directive of the European Commission, which proposes increasing the prices of gasoline and diesel, at the current stage.

"Regarding today's approved new draft law on emissions on the government, it is true that Slovakia will not implement the EC directive on price increases for gasoline, diesel and the like. Slovakia thinks that the European Commission should review this directive also in view of what is happening, for example, in the car market. I think that Prime Minister Robert Fico himself will inform today that he also had a phone call with one of the largest car companies in Europe. She allegedly asked him that we, as Slovakia, bring a sober view to the politics of Brussels," Taraba said.

At the same time, Minister Taraba added that Slovakia plans to closely cooperate and consult with other member states of the European Union when introducing the new emission system. The goal of this cooperation is to ensure that the approach to the issue of increasing fuel prices is balanced and takes into account not only economic, but also environmental aspects. The minister emphasized the importance of dialogue and harmonization of steps at the European level in order to ensure a fair and effective response to climate change. (Co2AI)

Tropical forests play a key role in the global carbon cycle and account for more than half of global carbon sequestration on land. However, climate change poses a significant threat to the carbon balance in these ecosystems.

A new study has revealed that warming and drying soils in tropical forests could increase the vulnerability of soil carbon. The reason is primarily the increased degradation of older carbon stocks. (Chrissy Sexton, more at phys.org)

None government in the world has not adopted a people-wide approach to climate change. The consequence can be seen in the discrepancy between the claims that we are meeting the goal of achieving zero net human-produced carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 and the fact that the heat waves alternated with destructive storms are getting worse every year.

No crowd is talking about climate change. Our politicians ignore this topic, as it is not a vote catcher, so you will not find it mentioned in any pre-election ceramah . Is there ever a debate on this issue in the Dewan Rakyat? Our religious leaders and zealous preachers also pay little or no attention to climate change, as you rarely, if ever, hear a sermon on it. All this nonchalance despite the impending disaster.

On July 21 and 22, the Earth experienced the two hottest days since global temperature records began in 1940. The number of days with temperatures above 35 °C is increasing in the 20 most populated cities. (More on thesun.my)

Arctic melting is intensifying, bringing environmental risks and reshaping the geopolitical landscape. In September 1846, the British expedition ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror ran aground in the Canadian Arctic while sailing in the Northwest Passage, the shipping corridor between Europe and Asia. Finally frozen on all sides, the crew hoped to break free from the ice the following summer, but they did not budge a bit. Every crew member eventually perished. (Felipe Arango García, more at dialogue.earth)

Tropical forests account for more than 50 % of the world's carbon sink, but climate change threatens to alter the carbon balance of these ecosystems.

New research by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and colleagues at Colorado State University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute finds that warming and drying soils in tropical forests may increase soil carbon vulnerability by increasing the degradation of older carbon. The research appears in Nature .

"These findings suggest that both warming and drying, by accelerating carbon loss from older soils or reducing fresh carbon incorporation, will intensify soil carbon losses and negatively affect carbon storage in tropical forests under climate change," said LLNL scientist Karis McFarlane. , the main author of the paper. (Anne M. Stark, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, more at phys.org)

Over the past decade, the business community has evolved significantly in its approach to climate action. Traditionally seen as part of the problem, many companies have transformed themselves into key players in the global effort to combat climate change. This shift has been driven by the growing awareness that sustainability is not only a moral imperative, but also a strategic imperative for long-term business success. (Mária Mendiluceová, more at wemeanbusinesscoalition.org)

Air pollution is the most important environmental cause of premature mortality, as well as the development of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In addition, it contributes to the loss of biodiversity, which has serious impacts on entire ecosystems. The European Union has been dealing with the issue of air pollution since the 1970s and is constantly developing various measures and instruments aimed at improving air quality and protecting the environment.

Directive on National Obligations (NEC) EU 2016/2284 defines specific national targets to reduce emissions of five main pollutants: sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), ammonia (NH3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for the period 2020-2029 , setting more ambitious targets for the period from 2030 onwards. In addition, it includes both mandatory and voluntary reporting of emissions of other pollutants, while the reduction of these emissions is not required in this case.

In accordance with Article 13 par. 1 of the NEC directive, the European Commission is obliged to review this directive no later than December 31, 2025, in order to evaluate its effectiveness and possibly propose the necessary modifications.

Based on the NEC Directive, EU Member States must carry out the following obligations:

1. Create and regularly update national air pollution control programs that include policies and measures to reduce emissions.

2. Prepare pollutant emission inventories by individual sectors.

3. Create emission forecasts with estimates of future development.

4. Process emission inventories with information on spatial distribution and significant sources (e.g. power plants).

5. Monitor the effects of air pollution on ecosystems.

According to the second report on the implementation of the NEC Directive, published by the Commission in July 2024, the overall compliance of Member States with their national emission reduction commitments was relatively good in all areas except for ammonia emissions.

The NEC directive is one of the three pillars of the EU's clean air policy and complements the ambient air quality directives (2008/50/EC and 2004/107/EC) and emission standards for key sources of pollution. This framework also implements the UNECE Gothenburg Protocol, which aims to reduce transboundary air pollution and is supported by all EU Member States.

The Zero Pollution Action Plan, adopted by 2021, sets related targets to be met by 2030. These targets include reducing the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55 % compared to 2005, as well as reducing the number of EU ecosystems where pollution air threatens biodiversity, by 25 %. In this way, the EU strives to integrate environmental and health aspects into its policies and ensure a better quality of life for all residents.

Overall, it is an ambitious initiative with the aim of transforming the EU's air protection policy, thereby contributing to the protection of the population's health and the preservation of nature for future generations. (Co2AI)

EU regulation on deforestation 2023/1115 (the "Regulation") aims to address global deforestation by requiring certain commodities and products to be "deforestation-free" and legally produced before they can be sold in the EU or exported. To ensure compliance, economic operators will have to carry out strict due diligence on products traded on the EU market.

The Regulation in its current form will be applied from December 30, 2024 and six months later for SMEs. However, key stakeholders are pushing for this date to be pushed back to give operators and traders more time to comply with key provisions of the regulation. (Jay Sattin, David Foy, more at lexology.com)

There is no easy solution; in order to make progress, a series of changes and improvements must be made on a personal and societal level. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (more…)

Environmental activists, including organizations such as the Climate Action Network and the Global Legal Action Network, are taking legal action against the European Commission. They argue that the European Union's (EU) current plans to cut emissions by 2030 are insufficient to meet the targets set by the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Activists believe that the EU's goals fall short of this key commitment.

Background of the case

This legal step is significant because it is the first time that EU courts will assess whether the EU's climate goals are reasonable. In the past, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that countries must formulate emission targets based on scientific knowledge in order not to exceed the 1.5°C limit. This case will test whether the EU's targets are adequate and supported by scientific evidence that protects the environment.

What legal steps have been taken?

On August 23, 2024, these two non-profit organizations asked the European Commission to review the Annual Emission Allocations (AEA), which set emission reduction targets for individual EU member states. When the Commission rejected their request on 14 December 2023, the NGOs decided to take the case to the Court of Justice of the EU on 27 February 2024. Recognizing the urgency of the climate crisis, the court has given the case a high priority, with a hearing scheduled for 2025.

Emission targets and regulations

The Annual Emission Allocation (AEA) is part of the EU's Common Effort Regulation, which requires each EU country to reduce emissions by a certain amount by 2030. This approach touches on areas such as transport, buildings and agriculture. However, activists warn that these targets have not been sufficiently researched based on scientific studies and fear that they are not enough to meet climate goals.

Consequences of insufficient goals

According to activists, the EU's current emission targets could lead to a 3°C rise in global temperatures by 2100 if other countries maintain similarly weak policies. This level of warming could have devastating consequences for the entire planet. To prevent this, activists are calling for a 65 % reduction in emissions by 2030, which they see as essential for the EU to remain at the forefront of the fight against climate change.

If the activists were to win the dispute, the EU could be forced to set more ambitious targets for reducing emissions. This would not only align EU policies with its own environmental laws, but also strengthen its commitments under global climate agreements.

About the European Union

The European Union (EU) was founded in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community and has since grown into a union of 27 member countries with more than 447 million inhabitants. The euro is the official currency in 19 of these countries, while the Schengen area allows travel between 26 countries without the need for a passport. The EU has signed major treaties such as the Maastricht and Lisbon treaties and is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, while also supporting cultural exchanges through programs such as Erasmus+. (Co2AI)