77. Climate Memo Mondays, #77, May 30, 2022

Climate refugees and international laws.
Climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected crises.
The 1.5 goal requires abandonment of 40 percent of “developed reserves.”

Atossa Araxia Abrahamian.  “Warming to Climate Refugees?”  The Nation (Feb. 17, 2020).   IIoane Teitiota of Kiribati struggled for years to become the first formally recognized climate refugee, but was rejected finally by the UN Human Rights Committee.  However the UNHRC did recognize the reality of refugees fleeing climate-based dangers.  The author urges readers to join an international movement to vote nationalists out of office and into office politicians who will vigorously support refugees, for example with special visas for people fleeing massive floods and fires, or seizure of the assets of carbon emitters.

Biodiversity Solutions Also Fight Climate Change
By Tara Lohan, Resilience. Popular Resisstance.org (5-19-22).   Mass extinction lurks beneath the surface of the sea. That was the dire message from a study published in April in the journal Science, which found that continuing to emit greenhouse gases unchecked could trigger a mass die-off of ocean animals that rivals the worst extinction events in Earth’s history. The findings serve as just the latest reminder that climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected crises — even if they’re rarely addressed in tandem by policymakers. Toward that point, the Science study came with a dose of hopeful news: Action to curb greenhouse gas emissions and keep warming below... -more-
 

Existing Fossil Fuel Fields And Mines Must Be Closed To Meet 1.5°C Goal By Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch. Popular Resistance.org (5-19-22).  In 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that, in order to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, no new oil and gas fields or coal mines could be developed. Now, a study published in Environmental Research Letters Tuesday goes even further: In order to meet the 1.5 goal, we will have to abandon nearly 40 percent of “developed reserves” of fossil fuels. “Going beyond recent warnings by the International Energy Agency, our results suggest that staying below 1.5°C may require governments and companies... -more-