2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #50

Posted on 15 December 2024 by BaerbelW, Doug Bostrom, John Hartz

A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024.

Listing by Category

Like last week’s summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on publication date. Please feel free to let us know in the comments – if you haven’t already – which one you prefer. Checking if we assigned the (most) relevant category is also appreciated. Thanks for your help with this!

Climate change impacts

• New York Isn`t Ready to Fight More Wildfires  New York could see more frequent and destructive blazes, but the state doesn’t have enough forest rangers and firefighters to respond to the growing threat. by Nathan Porceng, Inside Climate News, Dec 08, 2024
• Climate crisis deepens with 2024 `certain` to be hottest year on record  Average global temperature in November was 1.62C above preindustrial levels, bringing average for the year to 1.60C by Damian Carrington, The Guardian, Dec 09, 2024
• This county has an ambitious climate agenda. That`s not easy in Florida.  Alachua County is preparing for a more dangerous future, even if the state government won’t say “climate.” by Sachi Kitajima Mulkey, Grist, Dec 09, 2024
• Autumn 2024 was the warmest in U.S. history, NOAA says  “It may also end up being the nation’s warmest year on record..” by Bob Henson, Eye on the Storm, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 9, 2024
• The town that fears losing its high street to climate change – podcast  Flooding in Tenbury Wells used to be a once in a generation event, now its happening increasingly frequently. by Presented by Hannah Moore with Jessica Murrayand Helena Horton; produced by Eli Block, Rachel Keenan and Rudi Zygadlo; executive producer Homa Khaleeli, The Guardian, Dec 11, 2024
• Extreme weather disrupts education worldwide  Between January 2022 and June 2024, over 400 million students were affected.  by YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 11, 2024
• November 2024: Earth`s 2nd-warmest November on record  The year 2024 is virtually certain to be Earth’s second consecutive warmest year on record.  by Jeff Masters, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 12, 2024
• The Night Shift  “With extreme heat making it perilous to work during the day, farmers and fisherfolk worldwide are adopting overnight hours. That comes with new dangers.” by Ayurella Horn-Muller, Grist, Dec 11, 2024

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

• This startup is using AI to ‘supercharge’ crop breeding. It could help protect farmers from the climate crisis   by Jack Bantock & Gisella Deputato, Climate, CNN, Dec 2, 2024
• Sabin 33 #6 – Are solar projects harming biodiversity?   by Bärbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, Dec 10, 2024
• Scientists advise EU to halt solar geoengineering  There’s ‘insufficient scientific evidence’ backing efforts to artificially cool down the planet, according to the European Commission’s scientific advisers.  by Justine Calma, The Verge – Science Posts, Dec 09, 2024

Climate law and justice

• `A human face on an abstract problem`: ICJ forced to listen to climate victims  Lede: Marginalised communities have been elevated during hearings in The Hague on impact of climate crisis by Isabella Kaminski, The Guardian, Dec 11, 2024
• ICJ climate justice proceedings must recognise links between climate and nature  Climate change is destroying nature and must be stopped – but we should also ensure climate action helps not hinders nature  by Grethel Aguilar, Climate Home News, Dec 13, 2024
• The International Court of Justice Takes On Climate Change  Thanks to the maneuverings of the tiny nation of Vanuatu, the entire industrialized world is effectively on trial in The Hague. by Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, Dec 14, 2024

Climate Policy and Politics

• Voters upheld Washington’s major climate law. Advocates hope it’ll be a blueprint for other states  Proposed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, the Climate Commitment Act was passed by the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature and signed into law in 2021. An attempt to repeal it was voted down in November. by Bellamy Pailthorp, NPR – KNKX Public Radio, Dec 9, 2024
• From the US to Uganda, how climate activism has been criminalised in 2024  In this week’s Down To Earth newsletter: The global crackdown against climate activists and groups is clearly part of the fossil fuel industry’s strategy to crush dissent and keep burning the planet by Nina Lakhani, The Guardian, Dec 13, 2024
• Climate Science Legal Defense Fund gears up for a busy four years  The nonprofit, which provides free legal and educational support to researchers facing harassment and intimidation for their work, is preparing for a protracted struggle to defend climate scientists during the coming Trump presidency.  by Jeff Masters, Yale Climate Connections, Dec 13, 2024
• Big Oil Is Urging Trump Not to Pull Out of the Paris Accord  In short: reputation and profits. by Jenni Doering, Living on Earth, Inside Climate News, Dec 14, 2024

Climate Science and Research

• Arctic Tundra Shifts to Source of Climate Pollution, According to New Report Card  NOAA scientists and affiliated researchers have documented profound change in the frozen north as U.S. government science itself faces an uncertain future. by Marianne Lavelle, Inside Climate News, Dec 11, 2024
• La Niña may develop, but it is likely to be weak and short-lived by Media Staff, Press Release, WMO, Dec 11, 2024
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #50 2024  Skeptical Science’s weekly survey of freshly published academic and government/NGO research related to climate change.  by Doug Bostrom & Marc Kodack, Skeptical Science, Dec 12, 2024

Miscellaneous (Other)

• 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #49  A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 1, 2024 thru Sat, December 7, 2024. by Bärbel Winkler, Doug Bostrom & John Hartz, Skeptical Science, Dec 08, 2024
• Three Questions From Cutting-Edge Climate Science by Raymond Zhong, NYT -> Climate and Environment, Dec 12, 2024

Stories we promoted this week, by publication date:

Before December 8

December 8

• 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #49, Skeptical Science, Bärbel Winkler, Doug Bostrom & John Hartz. A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 1, 2024 thru Sat, December 7, 2024.
• New York Isn`t Ready to Fight More Wildfires, Inside Climate News, Nathan Porceng. New York could see more frequent and destructive blazes, but the state doesn’t have enough forest rangers and firefighters to respond to the growing threat.

December 9

• Climate crisis deepens with 2024 `certain` to be hottest year on record, The Guardian, Damian Carrington. Average global temperature in November was 1.62C above preindustrial levels, bringing average for the year to 1.60C
• This county has an ambitious climate agenda. That`s not easy in Florida., Grist, Sachi Kitajima Mulkey. Alachua County is preparing for a more dangerous future, even if the state government won’t say “climate.”
• Autumn 2024 was the warmest in U.S. history, NOAA says, Eye on the Storm, Yale Climate Connections, Bob Henson. “It may also end up being the nation’s warmest year on record..”
• Scientists advise EU to halt solar geoengineering, The Verge – Science Posts, Justine Calma. There’s ‘insufficient scientific evidence’ backing efforts to artificially cool down the planet, according to the European Commission’s scientific advisers.
• Voters upheld Washington’s major climate law. Advocates hope it’ll be a blueprint for other states, NPR – KNKX Public Radio, Bellamy Pailthorp. Proposed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, the Climate Commitment Act was passed by the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature and signed into law in 2021. An attempt to repeal it was voted down in November.

December 10

December 11

• The town that fears losing its high street to climate change – podcast, The Guardian, Presented by Hannah Moore with Jessica Murrayand Helena Horton; produced by Eli Block, Rachel Keenan and Rudi Zygadlo; executive producer Homa Khaleeli. Flooding in Tenbury Wells used to be a once in a generation event, now its happening increasingly frequently.
• Arctic Tundra Shifts to Source of Climate Pollution, According to New Report Card, Inside Climate News, Marianne Lavelle. NOAA scientists and affiliated researchers have documented profound change in the frozen north as U.S. government science itself faces an uncertain future.
• `A human face on an abstract problem`: ICJ forced to listen to climate victims, The Guardian, Isabella Kaminski. Lede: Marginalised communities have been elevated during hearings in The Hague on impact of climate crisis
• Extreme weather disrupts education worldwide, Yale Climate Connections, YCC Team. Between January 2022 and June 2024, over 400 million students were affected.
• La Niña may develop, but it is likely to be weak and short-lived, Press Release, WMO, Media Staff.
• The Night Shift, Grist, Ayurella Horn-Muller. “With extreme heat making it perilous to work during the day, farmers and fisherfolk worldwide are adopting overnight hours. That comes with new dangers.”