For years, the crystalline blue water and soft sand of South Korea's Sacheonjin beach has been favoured by surfers and vacationers seeking a quieter experience than more crowded options on the east coast. But Choi Jong-min, who runs a guest house Sacheonjin, was shocked when high waves washed away major portions of the beach this year, including during a typhoon in August. "The waters have never been this close and the waves never so high for the past 12 years," Choi said at his guest house, looking out the window. "This place was famous for calm waves, but look, they're widely breaking now." Understructures are exposed at Jumunjin beach damaged by erosion, in Gangneung, South Korea, February 12, 2020. Jin Jae-joong/Kangwon National University Environmental Technology Research In...
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Atmospheric rivers of the kind that drenched California and flooded British Columbia in recent weeks will become larger -- and possibly more destructive -- because of climate change, scientists said. Columns in the atmosphere hundreds of miles long carry water vapor over oceans from the tropics to more temperate regions in amounts more than double the flow of the Amazon River, according to the American Meteorological Society. Flooding covers the Trans Canada Highway 1 after devastating rain storms near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada November 6, 2021. Picture taken November 16, 2021. B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure/Handout via REUTERS These "rivers in the sky" are relatively common, with about 11 present on Earth at any time, according to NASA. But warm...
Read MoreU.N. climate talks ended Saturday with a deal that for the first time targeted fossil fuels as the key driver of global warming, even as coal-reliant countries lobbed last-minute objections. While the agreement won applause for keeping alive the hope of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, many of the nearly 200 national delegations wished they’d come away with more. “If it’s a good negotiation, all the parties are uncomfortable,” U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said in the final meeting to approve the Glasgow Climate Pact. “And this has been, I think, a good negotiation.” COP26 President Alok Sharma gestures as he receives applause during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 13, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman The two-week conferen...
Read MoreInternational aviation climate ambition reflects airlines’ net-zero goal
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the commitments towards strengthening climate action made at COP26, and called on the global efforts to decarbonize aviation to be supported with practical, effective government policies. Management of international aviation’s climate commitments sits outside of the COP process and is the responsibility of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Nevertheless, airlines at the 77th IATA AGM in Boston, October, agreed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, in line with the stretch Paris agreement target to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees. “Airlines are on the pathway to net-zero carbon emissions, in line with the Paris agreement. We all want the freedom to fly sustainably. Reaching net-zero emission...
Read MoreDriving, flying, shipping contribute nearly quarter of emissionsSome car makers commit to phasing out fossil-fuel vehiclesSome major economies and producers absent Automakers, airlines and governments unveiled a raft of pledges at the U.N. climate summit on Wednesday to slash greenhouse gas emissions from global transport, albeit with some conspicuous absences. Driving, flying and shipping contribute nearly a quarter of the world’s manmade greenhouse gas emissions, making transport a valuable target in the effort to fight climate change. FILE PHOTO: Exhaust fumes are seen coming from a vehicle stopped at traffic lights in Jakarta. REUTERS/Beawiharta U.S. car makers Ford and General Motors and Germany's Daimler read more were among a group that committed to phasing out fossil-f...
Read MoreWTTC launches ground-breaking Net Zero Roadmap for Travel & Tourism
Major new initiative will set the path for businesses in their quest to net zero As world leaders gather in Glasgow for COP26 to discuss concrete actions to solve the climate crises, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched an ambitious and groundbreaking Net Zero Roadmap, to guide the global Travel & Tourism sector in its battle against the climate crisis. WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, developed the roadmap in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Accenture. The roadmap provides concrete guidelines and recommendations to help guide Travel & Tourism businesses on their journey towards net zero. By providing milestones for meaningf...
Read MoreChina's weather agency issued the winter's first snowstorm orange alert, the second-highest level, on Sunday while nationwide cold wave alarms fuelled concerns over traffic disruptions and flu outbreaks amid rising COVID-19 cases. The National Meteorological Centre forecast blizzards in northeastern China, with some regions getting 45 millimetres (1.8 inches) of snow over 24 hours and heavy snow across the northern part of the country. Tourists are seen at an entrance of the Forbidden City amid snowfall, in Beijing, China November 7, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang The capital Beijing welcomed its first snow of the season 23 days earlier than normal years, while temperatures on Sunday night are expected to fall to their lowest for the period in the past decade. A cold snap is also ...
Read MoreCoral reef ecosystems are severely threatened by climate change. The urgent need to address the issue is driving a new era of innovation in reef science, shown by a global multidisciplinary exploration of different approaches to enhance coral resilience. An international team including KAUST professors Manuel Aranda and Raquel Peixoto, with adjunct professor Chris Voolstra, have proposed an adaptive framework to increase the resilience of corals in the face of climate change. The team proposes integrating current approaches that center around restoring reef cover with emerging approaches, such as selective sexual propagation, coral probiotics and environmental hardening, to enhance coral’s stress resilience and allow reefs to regrow under changed environmental conditions. The...
Read MoreBelize provided a likely 'blue' model for conserving some of the world's most vulnerable marine ecosystems on Friday, swapping a promise to protect the northern Hemisphere's biggest barrier reef for much-needed debt relief. While urgent efforts to limit global warming are expected to see at least half a trillion dollars of 'green' bonds this year, 'blue' bonds are still in their infancy, despite estimates that oceans contribute around $3 trillion per year to global GDP. Financial incentives have been one of the main pillars of efforts at the United Nations COP26 climate change summit to tackle rising temperatures, with demands from poorer countries for increased help from richer states. An undated photo shows the effect of "bleaching" on coral off Caye Caulker, Belize. REUTERS/Su...
Read MoreAustralia’s Great Barrier Reef will survive if warming kept to 1.5 degrees
A study released on Friday by an Australian university looking at multiple catastrophes hitting the Great Barrier Reef has found for the first time that only 2% of its area has escaped bleaching since 1998, then the world's hottest year on record. If global warming is kept to 1.5 degrees, the maximum rise in average global temperature that was the focus of the COP26 United Nations climate conference, the mix of corals on the Barrier Reef will change but it could still thrive, said the study's lead author Professor Terry Hughes, of the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. "If we can hold global warming to 1.5 degrees global average warming then I think we'll still have a vibrant Great Barrier Reef," he said. Bleaching is a stress response ...
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