– A round-up of the day’s top climate change stories
– Tweet @RTCCnewswire and use #RTCCLive hashtag
– Contact the team at [email protected]
Climate science: A new study has suggested that estimates of extreme temperature changes in the coming decades may need to be reduced. The paper in Nature Geoscience found estimates for near term warming will have to be lowered following the recent slowdown in the rate of rising temperatures. In the longer term, they said that previous estimates would not have to be reduced. The researchers, from a number of institutions including Oxford University and NASA, backed a 4°C warming estimate in the longer term. (BBC)
Estimates of warming in the coming decades will have to be revised down but in the long term, warming of 4°C is expected
Germany: The EU’s trade levies on Chinese solar panels are a “grave mistake” according to Germany’s economy minister Philipp Roesler. The 47% import duty is a response to Beijing subsidies that have made European equipment less competitive. Solar leader Germany is concerned about rising costs damaging its solar sector. (Reuters)
Development Goals: Experts have called for greater consideration of water in the post-2015 development goals. “We may have one hydrological cycle in the world, but we do not have one governance system to avoid its collapse,” János Bogárdi, senior advisor to Global Water System Project. (Sci-dev.net)
USA: The number of heat related deaths in New York will increase by 20% by the 2020s and as much as 90% by the 2080s, according to a new study. Researchers also found the majority of deaths would not occur during the high summer. They found the majority falling in May and September. (RTCC)
Canada: Former NASA climate science chef James Hansen has warned of the dangers posed by Canada’s tar sands. “Oil from tar sands makes sense only for a small number of people who are making a lot of money from that product,” he told the Guardian. “It doesn’t make sense for the rest of the people on the planet.” (The Guardian)