| Trump Declared President: Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States last night, defying all polls and predictions. Trump, who has been critical of international and domestic climate programs including the Paris Agreement, did not mention climate change in his first speech after being declared the winner. The Paris climate deal, which entered into force on November 4, is overwhelmingly supported by major businesses, cities and civil society groups in the US. Though the outcome has cast a shadow over COP22, participants said they are committed to pushing climate action forward. Katherine Egland of the NAACP said, “In the tradition of an old civil rights rallying song, the climate movement is like a tree that’s standing by the water — we shall not be moved!” (News: Bloomberg, Independent, Nature, Reuters, AP, BusinessGreen $, Politico Pro $, E&E News $, Wall Street Journal $, Quartz, PV Magazine, Buzzfeed, Climate Home, IB Times $, New Scientist, Guardian. Commentary: Climate Home, Thomas Hale op-ed; Vox, Brad Plumer column; Slate, Will Oremus analysis; The National, LeAnne Graves analysis; Grist, Rebecca Leber analysis; New York Times editorial $; Wall Street Journal, Holman Jenkins Jr op-ed $)
Solar Wins in FL: Voters in Florida rejected the utility-funded Amendment 1 ballot initiative that would have severely limited rooftop solar in the Sunshine State. The measure, which received nearly $30 million in funding, was widely criticized for its misleading language. In Washington state, Initiative 732, which sought to create a statewide carbon tax, failed to pass. (Florida: Miami Herald, The Hill, Politico, Click Orlando, Tallahassee Democrat, AP, Florida Today, WFLA, CBS, Orlando Sentinel, Huffington Post. Washington: Seattle Times, Puget Sound Business Journal, Huffington Post, King5, AP, Politico Pro $)
Human Footprint “Increasingly Visible”: There is growing evidence that man-made climate change is contributing to individual extreme weather and climate events, according to the latest analysis by the World Meteorological Organization. The report, released at COP22 in Marrakech, finds that greenhouse gas emissions raise the probability of extreme heat events as much as 10 times or more. The report also noted that 2011-2015 was the hottest five-year period on record with 2016 on track to become the hottest year on record. (AP, Reuters, Politico Pro $, Mashable, Huffington Post, BusinessGreen $) |
