Paris Accord Is A Dead Deal Walking As $100 Billion Climate Fund Disappears

via Climate Change Dispatch
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Shocking news—the magic $100 billion climate fund appears not to be taking shape! First world donors have been busily relabeling other foreign aid as contributions to the climate kitty. For developing countries, this is a cheat — they expect $100 billion in new money. Or, to put it more accurately, they are not nearly stupid […]

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April 12, 2017 at 03:30AM

Where Do Luvvies Keep Their Brains?

via Climate Change Dispatch
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http://ift.tt/2nw8636 I’m sure showbiz luvvies must have some brains, it’s just that I don’t know where they keep them! From the Hollywood Reporter: Beach buyers including Brad Pitt and Lady Gaga are moving on up (literally) and over to the once-unimaginable side of the PCH for not only more privacy but rising sea level fears: […]

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April 12, 2017 at 03:30AM

Satellite Data: Post El Niño Global Surface Cooling Continues… Pause Extends To 20 Years

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Critical German climate site wobleibtdieererwaermung.de (WBDE) reports that the earth’s surface is cooling, and presents the latest chart from NCEP As of April 11, the measured global values continue to decline (black curve) as do the computed values for April 18. Source: http://ift.tt/2aXzeBH. The time-delayed post-El Niño cooling is now showing up in the UAH […]

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April 12, 2017 at 03:30AM

Cheap Coal Drives China’s New Coal Boom

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)
http://www.thegwpf.com

Coal conversion has become profitable in China because of an unusual combination of low coal and higher gas and petrol prices.

An existing coal conversion plant in Ningdong © Getty

Water-guzzling coal-conversion projects are springing to life in arid western China, setting the stage for the large-scale deployment of what was previously a niche industry.

A three-year downturn in coal prices has revived projects that convert coal to motor fuel, petrochemical feedstock or gas, after many were shelved in 2008 because of concerns about water supply and pollution. Successful development in China opens the door to the export of coal-intensive technologies, undercutting international efforts to limit emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases. Coal conversion is not only highly polluting, it also consumes large amounts of water. …

China’s coal giants want to promote coal conversion overseas, especially as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative.

“We are pushing overseas projects where there are low-cost coal resources,” Mr Zhang said. Projects that work in China’s state-dominated economy may not be practical elsewhere.

Coal conversion has become profitable in China because of an unusual combination of low coal prices relative to state-set gas or petrol prices. Coal-to-liquids projects normally make economic sense only when oil prices are high or supply is limited. The technology was first developed in Nazi Germany, and commercialised in apartheid-era South Africa.

Natural gas prices are set relatively high in China to justify pipelines running thousands of miles from central Asia to population centres in the east. That gives an opening to gas derived from coal, which is projected to supply 12 per cent of China’s gas consumption by 2020. The switch to gas forms part of Beijing’s Paris agreement pledge for emissions to peak around 2030.

Full post

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) http://www.thegwpf.com

April 12, 2017 at 03:25AM