Global Climate News

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has conducted 66 auctions, generating a total of $8,616,386,174.45 in proceeds. Auction 66, held on 2024-12-04, saw 15,943,608 allowances sold at a clearing price of $20.05, generating $319,669,340.40.

Danish startup EIVEE, providing carbon accounting solutions, attended Nordea’s investor speed dating. They help companies reduce their carbon footprint by calculating scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions. EIVEE had eight meetings with investors and received positive feedback.

The EU's greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 7% in 2023 compared to 2022 and by 18% compared to 2013, totaling 3.4 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalents. Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply saw the most significant reduction (43%). Transportation and storage was the only sector with increased emissions (14%). Household emissions also decreased by 14%. The greenhouse gas emissions intensity decreased by 32% from 2013 to 2023.

The EU's greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 7% in 2023 compared to 2022 and by 18% compared to 2013. Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply saw the most significant reduction (43%). Transportation and storage were the only sectors with increased emissions (14%). Household emissions also decreased by 14%. The greenhouse gas emissions intensity decreased by 32% from 2013 to 2023.

The year 2024 was the warmest year on record, with global temperatures surpassing 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels. This led to a re-evaluation of global climate strategies, although current commitments are still insufficient. Citi and Bank of America left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, and BlackRock left the Net-Zero Asset Managers alliance. The Mediterranean region experienced severe climate extremes, including record-breaking heatwaves and devastating floods.

Aurora Energy Research projects a more than threefold increase in Europe’s intermittent renewable energy capacity by 2050. However, this growth will fall short of climate goals due to negative prices, market saturation, and grid congestion. Key strategies to mitigate risks include BESS co-location, portfolio diversification, and accessing additional revenues through capacity, ancillary, and balancing markets. Policymakers need to ensure strong incentives and flexible frameworks to drive sustained renewable growth.

Wales' Natural Resources Wales (NRW) published an interim State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR 2025), highlighting urgent need for collective action to address nature degradation, climate change, and pollution. The report emphasizes the importance of pro-nature thinking and decision-making across government, business, and society to ensure the sustainability of Wales’ natural resources. The full report, to be published by the end of 2025, will offer a comprehensive evidence base for decision-making.

Germany's renewable energy generation reached 275.2 TWh in 2024, a 4.4% increase from 2023. Solar power contributed 14% (72.2 TWh) of total electricity output, wind power remained the largest source (136.4 TWh), and coal-fired power plants declined sharply. Battery storage capacity also saw substantial growth.

India reported a 7.93% reduction in GHG emissions in 2020 compared to 2019, as highlighted in its 4th Biennial Update Report (BUR-4). The energy sector contributed 75.66% of emissions. India aims for net-zero emissions by 2070 and has launched several initiatives including the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" tree plantation campaign and the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) Program, with ₹12.55 crores allocated in FY 2024-25.

Taiwan's Ministry of Environment (MOENV) unveiled an expanded carbon reduction reporting plan that includes various sectors consuming high levels of energy. Businesses emitting over 10,000 metric tons of CO2e annually or with single branches emitting over 5,000 MtCO2e must report greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2026. Carbon fees will be levied in 2026 on entities emitting more than 25,000 MtCO2e a year, affecting 281 enterprises.

An international team of researchers, including those from NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), conducted a study on Arctic outbreaks. The study found that despite Arctic warming, cold-air outbreaks will continue. The researchers aim to better understand the triggers of these events and improve their predictability to help communities better prepare for adverse winter weather.

Researchers from the University of Washington, NOAA, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Ocean University of China used the Energy Exascale Earth System Model and a moist energy balance model to study the role of cloud feedback in Arctic amplification. They found that extra-polar cloud feedbacks significantly enhance Arctic warming through interactions with atmospheric heat transport and other feedbacks.

Researchers used satellite data to characterize marine heatwaves in the Chesapeake Bay, identifying a north-south gradient in heatwave duration and number of events. They found that marine heatwave maximum intensity is higher in tributary waters than in the main stem of the Bay. The study highlights the effectiveness of satellite data for studying marine heatwaves in estuaries.

Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior (MOI) National Parks Administration held a "2025 Wetland Day" event in Kaohsiung, highlighting the importance of wetlands in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. The event included awards for wetland conservation efforts and promoted public awareness of wetland conservation.

The article discusses various sustainability reporting initiatives, highlighting the harmonization progress between GRI and SASB, and the increasing interlinkage and mandatory nature of climate disclosures. It recommends corporates familiarize themselves with TCFD, CDP, and SBTi requirements. The lack of harmonization in social and other environmental impact reporting is also addressed.

Researchers have developed a new method to estimate Earth’s effective radiative forcing using artificial intelligence and observational data. The method combines observations of surface temperature and radiative imbalance to predict a forcing trend of 0.72 ± 0.20 Wm^{-2} per decade for 2001–2023. This independent assessment can be updated with new observations.

Researchers from various international institutions have presented coupled geochemical and microbiological data from 47 geothermal seeps in Costa Rica and Panama. Their analysis of methane-cycling microorganisms and clumped isotope data showed that biotic and abiotic processes influence methane cycling, impacting climate stability.

The report analyzes temperature anomalies for six continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania) from 1910 to 2024, using the NOAAGlobalTemp data set. Continental polygons are composed of 5° x 5° grid points, weighted by area and averaged to compute continental temperature anomaly time series. Anomalies are computed relative to the 1910-2000 average.

The NOAA has released global temperature and precipitation maps and time series data for December 2024 and the full year. The complete December 2024 Global Climate Report is forthcoming on January 14, 2025.

NOAA, UAH, RSS, and UW have released data on global atmospheric temperature anomalies in the troposphere and stratosphere for December and year-to-date 2024, showing warming trends in the troposphere and cooling trends in the stratosphere. The data is based on radiosonde and satellite measurements, adjusted to remove biases.