[TheClimate.Vote] June 1, 2017 - Daily Global Warming News

[Richard Pauli]

/June 1, 2017/
*
*Exxon Shareholders Approve Climate Resolution: 62% Vote for Disclosure 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31052017/exxon-shareholder-climate-change-disclosure-resolution-approved>*
*The landmark investor vote defied Exxon's management. It requires the 
oil giant to begin reporting climate-related risks to its business.
ExxonMobil shareholders voted Wednesday to require the world's largest 
oil and gas company to report on the impacts of climate change to its 
business - defying management, and marking a milestone in a 28-year 
effort by activist investors.
Sixty-two percent of shareholders voted for Exxon to begin producing an 
annual report that explains how the company will be affected by global 
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate 
agreement. The analysis should address the financial risks the company 
faces as nations slash fossil fuel use in an effort to prevent worldwide 
temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius.
Last year, 38 percent of Exxon shareholders supported essentially the 
same measure, which at the time was a record.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31052017/exxon-shareholder-climate-change-disclosure-resolution-approved*
*


      *Shareholders Push Exxon To Disclose Business Impact Of Fighting
      Climate Change
      <http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/31/530904042/shareholders-push-exxon-to-disclose-business-impact-of-fighting-climate-change>***NPR-

...It's a victory for environmental activists, who have been urging the 
oil company to consider the economic impact the Paris accord would have 
if it were fully implemented. The global agreement calls for more 
investment in renewable energy and for deep cuts in the greenhouse gas 
emissions that result from burning fossil fuels....
The nonbinding proposal passed at the company's general meeting in 
Dallas on Wednesday...
As the Dallas Morning News reports, a vote that resounding indicates 
that major Wall Street investors are following the lead of environmental 
activists on this issue.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/31/530904042/shareholders-push-exxon-to-disclose-business-impact-of-fighting-climate-change


    *Global Warming*Could Push Earth's Rains Northward
    <https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-warming-could-push-earths-rains-northward/>

As the Northern Hemisphere warms faster than the Southern, Earth's rain 
belts may shift to the North
The Earth's rising temperature is expected to knock the global water 
cycle out of whack, but exactly how it will change is uncertain. 
Scientists, though, can look for clues as to what the future might bring 
in the major climate swings that have happened in the past.
A new study that does just that suggests that Earth's rain belts could 
be pushed northward as the Northern Hemisphere heats up faster than the 
Southern Hemisphere. That shift would happen in concert with the 
longstanding expectation for already wet areas to see more rain and for 
dry ones to become more arid...
Because the Northern Hemisphere has more landmass, it is heating up 
faster than the Southern Hemisphere, and, as some climate models have 
suggested, this could push the thermal equator northward, and along with 
it those key rain belts.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-warming-could-push-earths-rains-northward/

*(video) Climate & Extreme Weather News #28 (May 27th to May 30th 2017) 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgX6WlS3lEw>*
including coverage of hurricane onto Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgX6WlS3lEw

*(video) Expert explains Future Sea Level Rise (2017)* 
<https://youtu.be/AAPPq43iRLs?t=5m44s>
Eric Rignot (NASA/JPL) one of the world's most prominent glaciologists, 
who is behind a landmark report revealing the unstoppable collapse of a 
large part of Antarctica, gave a lecture at Victoria University of 
Wellington in February 2017, on future sea level rise.
Future sea-level rise from warming of polar ice sheets 
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/news/2017/0...
This  video has been edited to increase the video audio volume.
https://youtu.be/AAPPq43iRLs?t=5m44s


    If Trump quits the Paris climate accord, he will lead the US into
    the wilderness
    <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/06/01/if-trump-quits-paris-climate-accord-he-will-lead-u-s-into-the-wilderness/>

After months of speculation, it might finally be happening: President 
Trump appears ready to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris 
climate agreement.  If he does, he will place Washington at odds with 
virtually the entire international community.
Despite the excited tone of Trump's tweet (and reports suggesting that 
he had made up his mind), the matter seemed far from settled at the time 
of writing. The president's daughter, Ivanka Trump, and Secretary of 
State Rex Tillerson are supposedly urging Trump to stick with the Paris 
agreement. A host of big companies have urged Trump to reconsider 
withdrawing. On Wednesday, the shareholders of ExxonMobil, Tillerson's 
former company, voted by a wide margin for a resolution they say will 
compel the oil giant to stick to the goal of transitioning to a 
low-carbon economy. Many analysts also point to how clean energy is 
fueling job growth: There are already twice as many solar jobs as there 
are coal jobs in the United States.
Their opponents include White House chief adviser Stephen K. Bannon and 
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, a climate 
skeptic who has already set about dismantling Obama-era regulations on 
the U.S. fossil fuel industry. Trump seems inclined toward the Bannon 
and Pruitt position, which has some - though not unanimous - support 
from the Republican Party. (Only in the United States, of course, is the 
question of climate change subject to partisan debate.)
If the United States withdraws from the accord, it would find itself in 
farcically lonely company. The pact was signed by 195 countries, with 
only Nicaragua and Syria bowing out.
"This is a craven, symbolic political move without any direct benefits 
for the constituents he’s targeting."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/06/01/if-trump-quits-paris-climate-accord-he-will-lead-u-s-into-the-wilderness/

*(Analysis) Who Wins if Donald Trump Exits the Paris Climate Accord? 
<https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/05/31/who-wins-if-trump-pulls-u-s-out-paris-accord>*
A handful of anonymous senior White House officials have begun telling 
the press that President Donald Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from 
the Paris Accord climate deal, adding fuel to rumors that have 
circulated for months that he would follow through with his campaign 
promise.
A "small team including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt" has begun 
drafting up a detailed plan to orchestrate America's withdrawal, 
according to Axios, which reported that Trump's mind was made up. 
Shortly after that report, Trump tweeted he would soon be announcing his 
decision. Several commentators noted Trump has repeatedly seemed to 
reverse course just before making a policy announcement.
If Trump does decide to back away from Paris, he'll be taking the U.S. 
down a path decried by an unusually broad cast of political players, 
including oil and gas giants, coal companies, the pope and even, by some 
polls, 50 percent of Republican voters.
"The decision, which will be announced this week, would put the US at 
odds with nearly every other nation on earth," CNN reported, adding that 
the December 2015 Paris accord has been signed by every country in the 
word except two: war-torn Syria and Nicaragua, which had urged even 
tougher climate controls. (147 of the 195 signers have ratified the 
accord as of May)....
Over 300 major U.S. corporations  -  including Apple, Johnson & Johnson, 
Dow Chemical Co., General Electric and more  -  threw their weight 
behind the Accord. Tesla CEO Elon Musk threatened to drop out of White 
House advisory councils if Trump drops out of Paris...
In a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal, Musk and roughly thirty 
other CEOs of major American companies, including the heads of major 
Wall Street firms like Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan, 
made their conclusions clear. "Based on our vast experience doing 
business all over the world, we believe there is strong potential for 
negative trade implications if the United States exits from the Paris 
Agreement," they wrote.
U.S. newspapers have also backed remaining in Paris, with the editorial 
boards of The Washington Post, the LA Times and USA Today all coming to 
similar conclusions...
In fact, one of the strongest behind-the-scenes players urging Trump to 
withdraw from Paris might be the Koch Brothers, whose network of 
think-tanks has campaigned hard for withdrawal, a DeSmog investigation 
found.
"Analysis carried out by DeSmog and the Climate Investigations Center 
(CIC) shows many of the groups signing the letter have taken 
multi-million dollar donations from groups tied to the Koch brothers, 
who own Koch Industries," DeSmog's Graham Readfearn reported. "Several 
of the groups have accepted cash from oil giant ExxonMobil while many 
also deny the basic science linking fossil fuel burning to dangerous 
climate change."
https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/05/31/who-wins-if-trump-pulls-u-s-out-paris-accord

*Elon Musk has threatened to leave Donald Trump's advisory councils if 
the US pulls out of the Paris climate deal 
<http://on.ft.com/2snMvN6>*http://on.ft.com/2snMvN6
https://twitter.com/FT?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

*(audio) Energy Companies Urge Trump To Remain In Paris Climate 
Agreement 
<http://www.npr.org/2017/05/18/528998592/energy-companies-urge-trump-to-remain-in-paris-climate-agreement>*
"One of the biggest concerns that I have around climate change is the 
unpredictability in which governments will go about it," van Beurden 
says. "If we have a very clear understanding that governments, 
successive governments, will continue to act consistently with a certain 
policy set that we believe in, I have no issue with it."
Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP have also pledged their support for the 
Paris climate pact. Exxon CEO Darren Woods wrote in a blog post the 
Paris accord creates "an effective framework for all countries to 
address rising emissions."
http://www.npr.org/2017/05/18/528998592/energy-companies-urge-trump-to-remain-in-paris-climate-agreement
https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2017/05/20170518_atc_shell_ceo_on_paris_accord.mp3

*UN Chief: Not Even Trump Can Derail Global Action on Climate Change 
<https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30052017/un-guterres-speech-donald-trump-paris-climate-change-agreement>*
The secretary-general sent a clear message to the U.S. about the Paris 
climate accord. "The real danger is the risk to one's economy by failing 
to act."
Without naming the United States' president, the head of the United 
Nations sent a message loud and clear to Donald Trump on Tuesday, 
joining the chorus of international leaders who are not happy with his 
efforts to erode progress in fighting climate change.
In his first major address on climate change, delivered at New York 
University, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres made it 
clear that whatever the U.S. does - whether it remains in the Paris 
climate agreement and attempts to backtrack on its own commitments, or 
whether it exits - the rest of the world will continue to work to reel 
in the disastrous impacts of climate change before it's too late.
"If any government doubts the global will and need for this accord, that 
is reason for all others to unite even stronger and stay the course," 
Guterres said.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30052017/un-guterres-speech-donald-trump-paris-climate-change-agreement

*China and EU strengthen commitment to Paris deal with US poised to step 
away 
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/31/china-eu-climate-lead-paris-agreement>*
Beijing and Brussels to set up new alliance to reduce global carbon 
emissions
'Now is the time to further strengthen these ties' - EU climate commissioner
China and the EU will forge an alliance to take a leading role in 
tackling climate change in response to Donald Trump's expected decision 
to pull the US out of the historic Paris agreement...
But Beijing and Brussels have been preparing to announce their intention 
to accelerate joint efforts to reduce global carbon emissions.
Analysis Paris climate deal: exasperated world leaders prepare to move 
on without US
Trump is reportedly poised to pull out of Paris - prompting murmurings 
that the world would be better off without American involvement
According to a statement being prepared before an EU-China summit in 
Brussels on Thursday and Friday, the new alliance will say they are 
determined to "lead the energy transition" toward a low-carbon economy.
The EU's climate commissioner, Miguel Arias Cañete, told the Guardian: 
"The EU and China are joining forces to forge ahead on the 
implementation of the Paris agreement and accelerate the global 
transition to clean energy."
In their declaration, Brussels and Beijing will also call on all parties 
"to uphold the Paris agreement" and signal their "highest political 
commitment" to doing so themselves...
The document describes climate change as a "national security issue" and 
"multiplying factor of social and political fragility". The Paris pact 
is a "historic achievement" and "irreversible", the document says...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/31/china-eu-climate-lead-paris-agreement 
<China+and+the+EU+will+forge+an+alliance+to+take+a+leading+role+in+tackling+climate+change+in+response+to+Donald+Trump%E2%80%99s+expected+decision+to+pull+the+US+out+of+the+historic+Paris+agreement.,,Trump%20tweeted%20on%20Wednesday%20night%20that%20he%20would%20announce%20his%20decision%20at%203pm%20ET%20on%20Thursday%20at%20the%20White%20House%20and%20there%20are%20fears%20that%20will%20he%20confirm%20reports%20thatthe%20US%20will%20soon%20join%20Nicaragua%20and%20Syria%20on%20the%20small%20list%20of%20countries%20refusing%20to%20back%20the%20climate%20accord,%20signed%20in%202015.,,But%20Beijing%20and%20Brussels%20have%20been%20preparing%20to%20announce%20their%20intention%20to%20accelerate%20joint%20efforts%20to%20reduce%20global%20carbon%20emissions.,,Analysis%20Paris%20climate%20deal:%20exasperated%20world%20leaders%20prepare%20to%20move%20on%20without%20US,Trump+is+reportedly+poised+to+pull+out+of+Paris+%E2%80%93+prompting+murmurings+that+the+world+would+be+better+off+without+American+involvement,%20Read%20more,According%20to%20a%20statement%20being%20prepared%20before%20an%20EU-China%20summit%20in%20Brussels%20on%20Thursday%20and%20Friday,+the+new+alliance+will+say+they+are+determined+to+%E2%80%9Clead+the+energy+transition%E2%80%9D+toward+a+low-carbon+economy.,,The+EU%E2%80%99s+climate+commissioner,+Miguel+Arias+Ca%C3%B1ete,%20told%20the%20Guardian:+%E2%80%9CThe+EU+and+China+are+joining+forces+to+forge+ahead+on+the+implementation+of+the+Paris+agreement+and+accelerate+the+global+transition+to+clean+energy.%E2%80%9D>


    Governor Brown Looks Abroad For*Climate Change*Allies
    <http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/05/31/governor-brown-looks-abroad-climate-change-allies/>

SACRAMENTO (AP)  -  Looking for allies in the fight against climate 
change, California Gov. Jerry Brown heads to China this week in a push 
to build foreign support for carbon-cutting efforts that have found 
resistance in Washington.
California will work with governments around the world to combat climate 
change even if President Donald Trump rolls back environmental 
regulations, Brown said in an interview with The Associated Press.
"It's important for the world to know that America is not Washington. … 
Yes, we're part of the union, but we're also a sovereign state that can 
promote the necessary policies that are required for survival," Brown said.
Brown is making his second trip as governor to China, where he will 
promote the liberal state's ambitious climate policies at a conference 
of global energy ministers and look to marshal states, provinces, cities 
and other non-national governments to take their own actions to reduce 
greenhouse gas emissions.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/05/31/governor-brown-looks-abroad-climate-change-allies/


    GOP congressman who believes in*climate change*says God will 'take
    care of it'
    <http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Michigan-Tim-Walberg-GOP-God-climate-change-11186643.php>

A GOP congressman told constituents at a town hall meeting that if 
climate change exists, God would "take care of it."
Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan was speaking to a group in Coldwater, 
Mich., when he made the comments about climate change, saying that he 
believes climate change is real, but that it is an issue for God to solve.
"I believe there's climate change," Walberg is heard saying in a video 
...  Can man change the entire universe? No."
Walberg goes on.
"Why do I believe that? Well, as a Christian, I believe that there is a 
creator in God who is much bigger than us," Walberg tells the crowd. 
"And I'm confident that if there's a real problem, he can take care of it."
"Trump is not hurting the cause of climate change," said Brown. "He's 
giving it new life and new vitality because his denial, his statement 
that climate change is a hoax is so absurd and so unbelievable and so 
outrageous that the grass roots, the governors, people around the world 
have galvanized and he's actually creating the exact opposite of what he 
wants."
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Michigan-Tim-Walberg-GOP-God-climate-change-11186643.php

*This Day in Climate History June 1, 1992 
<http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/doc/294712216.html> -  from D.R. Tucker*
  June 1, 1992: The Boston Globe's Dianne Dumanoski and Ross Gelbspan 
report:
Summit goal has daunting barriers
An increasing number of analysts believe that orthodox economics itself 
is a major obstacle. Among them are Herman Daly, a World Bank economist 
and a leading thinker on sustainable economies; Robert Repetto of the 
World Resources Institute, a policy think tank in Washington; and Hazel 
Henderson, a leading author and thinker about alternative development.

Economists like Repetto argue that the marketplace cannot adjust to what 
it does not acknowledge: that there are finite limits to the physical 
demands humans put on the Earth. He cites University of Colorado 
economist Kenneth Boulding's comment that "anybody who thinks the 
economy can continue to grow geometrically or indefinitely in a finite 
world must be a madman, or an economist."

[Alan Durning] sees consumerism as an obstacle to sustainable societies 
because "the American dream has become the goal of world development." 
Those who are not among the the fortunate 1 billion desperately want to 
be, because they are "aware of it through television, which is now the 
premier cultural force on Earth. It's just phenomenal, the extent to 
which people all over the world adopt the consumer-class lifestyle."
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/doc/294712216.html/
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