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GlobalABC also debuted a new Buildings Climate Tracker – which looks at measures such as incremental energy efficiency investment in buildings and the share of renewable energy in global buildings. The tracker, unfortunately, found that the rate of annual improvement is decreasing — it was down by 50% between 2016 and 2019. The authors concluded that “to get the buildings sector on track to achieving net-zero carbon by 2050, all actors across the buildings value chain need to increase decarbonization actions and their impact by a factor of five.”
As we approach the 2021 U.N. climate summit, many countries are attempting to enact more ambitious policies. Some recommend that governments should include “green conditionality” that would encourage the construction of low-carbon buildings in COVID-19 stimulus packages. This kind of policy is already in effect — the European Commission’s “Renovation Wave” strives to double building renovation rates within a decade, and South Korea’s $130 billion dollar package that proposes constructing 230,000 energy-efficient buildings. The Report and the new Tracker amply demonstrate the importance of reforming the construction and buildings sector to be more energy-efficient and generate lower emissions.
Yesterday, in his inaugural address, President Biden asked the nation to come together “join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature” in an effort to address the crises before us. He asked for a baseline of reality and a true acknowledgment for the challenges ahead, saying that: Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a […]
The January 6th insurrection at the Capitol was the culmination of years of disinformation, conspiracy theories, and false narratives pushed by the GOP, the Trump administration, white supremacists, and the far-right — but these tactics are not a surprise to those who work in the climate movement. Indeed, experts like John Schwartz, a science writer for The New York Times, the lies and rhetoric that fueled the riots felt all too familiar.
Why This Matters: The fossil fuel industry employed the big tobacco disinformation playbook, a strategy that only became more effective with the onset of the internet age.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on this issue in BP Plc v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, which could determine whether or not oil companies are held accountable for climate change damages to cities and states.
Why This Matters: If SCOTUS rules in favor of BP, future climate litigation will likely be fought in federal courts, which experts say are “less responsive to expansive legal theories,” and thus less likely to rule in favor of these innovative new climate cases based on state law. Whoever wins this case will have a leg up in future climate litigation.
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