B.C. Climate News Nov. 21 to Nov. 27: Liberals release a climate adaptation strategy | Amount of green space falls in B.C. cities

Here’s your weekly update with what you need to know about the global and ecological crises and the steps leaders in B.C. and around the world are taking for the week of Nov. 21 to Nov. 27, 2022.

This week in climate news:

• Liberals release a climate adaptation strategy
• Green space falls in B.C. cities
• Climate activists disrupt air traffic in Germany

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned for a decade that wildfires, drought, severe weather, such as B.C.’s deadly heat dome last June, and flooding would become more frequent and more intense because of the climate crisis.

Last August, it issued a “code red” for humanity and earlier this year the panel, made up of hundreds of scientists from around the world, said the window to stop global warming from exceeding 1.5 C was closing. In April, it released a report with solutions for how to drive down greenhouse gas emissions, mainly by transitioning away from fossil fuels.

There is a scientific consensus on climate change (NASA reports that 97 per cent of climate scientists agree that the climate is warming and that human activity is the cause.)  Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that greenhouse gas emissions are the primary cause of global warming.

Check back here every Saturday for a roundup of the latest climate and environmental stories. You can also get up to date B.C.-focussed news delivered to your inbox by 7 a.m. by subscribing to our newsletter here.

A glance at B.C.’s carbon numbers:

Climate change quick facts:

• The Earth is now about 1.1 C warmer than it was in the 1800s.
• Globally, 2021 was the fifth warmest year on record.
• Human activities have raised atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ by nearly 49 per cent above pre-industrial levels starting in 1850.
• The world is not on track to meet the Paris Agreement target to keep global temperature from exceeding 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, the upper limit to avoid the worst fallout from climate change.
• 2015-2019 were the five warmest years on record while 2010-2019 was the warmest decade on record.
• On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, the temperature could increase by as much as 4.4 C by the end of the century.
• In April, 2022 greenhouse gas concentrations reached record new highs and show no sign of slowing.
• Emissions must drop 7.6 per cent per year from 2020 to 2030 to keep temperatures from exceeding 1.5 C and 2.7 per cent per year to stay below 2 C.
• 97% of climate scientists agree that the climate is warming and that human beings are the cause.

(Source: United Nations IPCC, World Meteorological Organization,UNEP, Nasa, climatedata.ca)

LATEST CLIMATE NEWS

The amount of urban green space has fallen in virtually all B.C. cities since 2000, according to new figures from Statistics Canada.

Penticton, Chilliwack and Kelowna experienced the largest decline in B.C., although Vancouver and Abbotsford weren’t far behind.

The pattern was the same across the country, according to the report, which said urban green space declined in every province.

“All large population centres saw a decline in greenness,” the study authors wrote, primarily due to development and climate change.

Metro Vancouver ranked second for greenness among Canada’s largest cities with an average of 68 per cent of Metro’s built-up areas measuring green because of features that included parks, trees along streets, and trees and other green areas on private property.

Read the full story here.

—Nathan Griffiths

A national climate adaptation strategy released Thursday includes $1.6 billion in new spending to help communities faced with risks ranging from deadly heat waves and wildfires to floods and storms.

Bill Blair, the federal minister of emergency preparedness, announced the plan in Prince Edward Island, where post-tropical storm Fiona caused widespread damage to the power system, farms and the fishing industry when it swept through the region on Sept. 24.

During a tour of Red Head Harbour just before the news conference, Blair heard from a harbour master about how the resulting storm surge demolished the wharf, and fishers described their uncertainty about when they could return to work.

“What we’re seeing in the last few years … is an increase in frequency and severity of climate-related events, and it demands action from us, not just actions from one order of government but from all of us, from every Canadian,” Blair told the news conference.

Read the full story here.

—The Canadian Press

Climate activists’ attacks on some of the world’s most precious paintings have added to insurers’ worries about the threat to art from climate change itself, concerns seen as leading to higher art insurance premiums.

In recent weeks, activists have drawn attention to the climate cause by throwing tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” in the National Gallery in London and a black liquid at Gustav Klimt’s “Death and Life” in the Leopold Museum in Vienna to protest against the use of fossil fuels.

The paintings were behind glass or a screen and a spokesperson for the National Gallery said only “minor damage” was done to the Sunflowers’ frame.

The Leopold Museum has said the Klimt was not damaged, but did not respond to a request for further comment.

Many in the art and insurance world, however, say it may be only be a matter of time before art works are vandalized, especially if protests spread beyond climate activism.

Read the full story here.

—Reuters

Authorities in Germany on Friday were reviewing security measures at Berlin’s airport a day after six climate activists invaded the grounds and briefly disrupted flights.

German news agency dpa quoted a spokesman for Berlin Brandenburg Airport saying that Thursday’s incident was being reviewed to determine what further action may be required.

Police said four protesters glued themselves to the ground near the runway, while two others cycled across the premises. The group Uprising of the Last Generation, which has staged numerous road blockades and other stunts to highlight the need for action against climate change, claimed responsibility.

The group said it wanted to highlight the problem of fossil fuel subsidies, such as for jet fuel, which allow a minority of the world’s population to fly while the majority suffer the consequences of climate change stoked by greenhouse gas emissions.

It said the activists notified police of their plans before entering the airport grounds.

Read the full story here.

—The Associated Press

An international wildlife conference moved to enact some of the most significant protection for shark species targeted in the fin trade and scores of turtles, lizards and frogs whose numbers are being decimated by the pet trade.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known by its initials as CITES, ended Friday in Panama. Along with protections for over 500 species, delegates at the United Nations wildlife conference rejected a proposal to reopen the ivory trade. An ivory ban was enacted in 1989.

“Good news from CITES is good news for wildlife as this treaty is one of the pillars of international conservation, imperative at ensuring countries unite at combatting the global interrelated crises of biodiversity collapse, climate change, and pandemics,” said Susan Lieberman, the vice president of international policy at Wildlife Conservation Society.

“Many of the proposals adopted here reflect there is ongoing over-exploitation and unsustainable trade, and escalating illegal trade, and some are due to complex interactions of other threats reducing species populations in the wild, including climate change, disease, infrastructure development, and habitat loss,” she added.

Read the full story here.

—The Associated Press

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GUIDES AND LINKS

B.C. Flood: Read all our coverage on the Fraser Valley and beyond

Frequently asked questions about climate change: NASA

Climate change made B.C. heat wave 150 times more likely, study concludes

B.C.’s heat wave: Intense weather event is linked to climate crisis, say scientists

Expert: climate change expected to bring longer wildfire seasons and more area burned

Vancouver outlines its Climate Emergency Action Plan

COVID-19 may have halted massive protests, but youth are taking their fight for the future to the courts

Climate displacement a growing concern in B.C. as extreme weather forces residents out of their homes

Do you have a story idea about local efforts being made to address the climate and ecological emergencies? Please email tips to ticrawford@postmedia.com

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