Riding the climate see-saw

Hi friend,

Have you ever been on a see-saw with someone who was bigger than you?

You're on one end, legs dangling, eagerly waiting for your turn to touch the ground. Instead, you’re suspended in mid-air, taking in the bird's-eye view, waving at passing planes, and regretting not having that extra piece of pizza last night.

Meanwhile, your bigger friend is grounded like a lead balloon, trying to push themselves up with a mighty kick, only to thud back down, nearly launching you into space. It’s fun. Until it’s not.

Just when you’re getting used to your elevated status, your friend decides they’ve had enough and serves you the classic surprise dismount. Without warning, they hop off the see-saw, sending your ass crashing to the ground in the most unceremonious way.

Reading climate news is much like being on a see-saw.

One moment, we’re riding high on positive reports: a tiny Caribbean island becoming one of the first countries to meet its 30×30 nature protection target; 45 countries coming together to protect the world’s coral reefs; and Australia rejoining the Green Climate Fund after the previous prime minister bailed on it five years ago.

In these moments, filled with hope and optimism, it feels like we might be getting on top of things.

But just when we’re starting to enjoy the view, the bad news gives us a dose of reality: reports of hundreds of dead dolphins lining the Amazon river, which has become too hot to live in; warnings that we could lose nearly half of our amphibian species to extinction; and confirmation that the world is hotter than it’s ever been.

These moments are sobering, grounding us firmly in the reality of the challenges we face.

And then there’s the surprise dismount. The news no one saw coming that sends everything else crashing down, like the UK approving the biggest oil and gas project in years after it watered down key green policies.

These moments catch us off guard, reminding us that the climate crisis is an ever-shifting balance of highs and lows. But every action counts and can tip the scales in either direction. We can choose on which end to add more weight.

As long as we remember that, at any moment, it could all come crashing down. We better pad our butts for this wild ride.

— Tarryn ✌️

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This week's climate and sustainability news worth noting

🎤 Pope Francis has published an updated environmental treatise, in which he called for urgent climate action and named and shamed countries and industries causing the most damage. He warns that the world is collapsing and may be nearing breaking point, taking aim at the “irresponsible Western lifestyle”, climate change deniers, and economic powers that prioritise profit over the planet.

🦎 Redonda, a tiny Caribbean island (if you consider 74,000 acres tiny), has become one of the first countries to meet its "30x30" target, a global goal to protect 30% of nature by 2030. The Redonda Ecosystem Reserve has been officially designated a protected area by the country's government, making it the largest marine protected area in the Eastern Caribbean.

🪸 The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), a network of 45 countries that represent over 75% of the world’s coral reefs, has launched the Coral Reef Breakthrough. The initiative aims to protect at least 125,000 km2 of shallow-water tropical coral reefs.

🐬 The carcasses of at least 125 endangered Amazon river dolphins have been found floating or beached after temperatures in Lake Tefé, Brazil, reached a staggering 39.1C, about 9C hotter than usual.

🐸 Over 40% of all species of amphibians are threatened with extinction, a new study has found. Amphibians play an important role in reducing the number of insects that destroy crops and transmit diseases. When frogs and other amphibian species are in trouble, it’s a warning that the entire ecosystem is in danger.

🇦🇺 Australia has rejoined the Green Climate Fund, a UN fund dedicated to financing projects to help smaller nations respond to climate change, after an almost five-year absence. Australia was a signatory to the fund from 2015, before then-prime minister Scott Morrison said the government would not provide more money.

✅ The European Parliament has formally approved Wopke Hoesktra as the EU’s new head of climate change policy. EU countries must approve his appointment before he can start the role that puts him in charge of shaping EU climate policies. The former Dutch finance and foreign minister and ex-Shell employee says he’ll push for the EU to slash emissions by at least 90% by 2040, and call for a global deal to phase out fossil fuels at the COP28 summit in November.

🇬🇧 The UK has approved one of its biggest new oil and gas projects in years, Equinor's North Sea Rosebank field.

🥵 This year is on track to become the hottest since at least 1940, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service has warned. Climate change, combined with this year's El Nino weather pattern, has fuelled recent record-breaking temperatures.

🧊 Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest peak this year – by a wide margin – for any year since record-keeping began in 1979. The difference this year from the 1981 to 2010 average is an area roughly the size of Alaska.

🌊 New research has found that instead of reducing exposure to flood hazards, many countries are rapidly increasing it. Humans now occupy more than twice as much land in flood-prone areas as they did four decades ago, with the countries most at risk being China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. In some nations, the safest land is already occupied, forcing new development to occur in dangerous areas that were once avoided.

☢️ Japan has released more treated radioactive water from the Fukushima power plant. The release started on Thursday and will run for about 17 days, releasing about 7,800 cubic metres of the water into the Pacific Ocean.

In the headlines:

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England bans single-use plastic cutlery, polystyrene cups, and balloon sticks.

• 🇩🇪 Germany shelves plans to require more stringent building insulation standards.

• 🇮🇹 Italy is demanding that the EU waters down directives on building efficiencies, phasing out of petrol cars, and slashing industrial emissions.

• 🇵🇱 Poland is suing Brussels on everything from emissions targets, to petrol vehicle bans, to forest management.

🌀 Wild weather:

• Floods in Australia.

• Wildfires in Spain.

• Typhoon in Taiwan.

• Floods in India.

• Floods in New York.

• Tropical cyclone in the US.

And in business news

🇬🇧 More than 1,800 industry professionals have signed a letter urging the UK government to take greater action on climate change. They want the government to pledge to invest in renewables, take action to protect and restore nature, and end new fossil fuel developments in the UK. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is already in the dog box after backtracking on key climate policies and approving the UK’s biggest new oil and gas projects in years, so it will be interesting to see how this goes down.

One small thing you can do

Use dryer balls in your clothes dryer.

Clothes dry up to 40% faster, you use less energy, and reduce your personal carbon emissions.

Even better, dry your clothes on the line outside.

Because lots of little actions combined can add up to something remarkable.

I'll leave you on this happy note...

Ah yeah, Nelson.

cutest_donkey_and_minihorse

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