Info, news & views for anyone interested in biodiversity conservation and good environmental decision making
“These researchers say that we should be studying both the science and the governance of solar geoengineering, with a focus on two questions: what would happen if we put particles into the stratosphere, and who would make the call?”
Bill McKibben [see item 3]
In this issue of Dbytes
1. Flaws in Australia’s carbon credits schemes undermine transparency, new report finds
2. A connection with tomorrow’s citizens – calling for a Ministry for the Future
3. Dimming the Sun to Cool the Planet Is a Desperate Idea, Yet We’re Inching Toward It
4. BOM and the CSIRO State of the Climate 2022 report shows warming trends continue
5. The role of incentive mechanisms in promoting forest restoration
6. A toolkit for understanding and addressing climate scepticism
7. COP27: one big breakthrough but ultimately an inadequate response to the climate crisis
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1. Flaws in Australia’s carbon credits schemes undermine transparency, new report finds
Criticisms raised by a whistleblower who called Australia’s carbon credits “largely a sham” have been supported in a new report commissioned by the Albanese government. The study by the Australian Academy of Science, requested by the independent Chubb review, examined strengths and limitations of four methods used to generate Australian carbon credit units by reducing or avoiding emissions.
Flaws in Australia’s carbon credits schemes undermine transparency, new report finds | Australia news | The Guardian
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2. A connection with tomorrow’s citizens – calling for a Ministry for the Future
The boldest and most fundamental change being proposed in the book The Ministry for the Future is a combination of economics, technology and innovations in governance that, when combined, gave reason for people to invest in their future. For surely, that is the real challenge of our times. It seems unprecedented climate disruption, with the certain prospect of greater disruption with every passing year, is not enough for us to make this important shift.
https://sustainabilitybites.home.blog/2022/11/23/a-connection-with-tomorrows-citizens-calling-for-a-ministry-for-the-future/
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3. Dimming the Sun to Cool the Planet Is a Desperate Idea, Yet We’re Inching Toward It
The scientists who study solar geoengineering don’t want anyone to try it. But climate inaction is making it more likely.
Dimming the Sun to Cool the Planet Is a Desperate Idea, Yet We’re Inching Toward It | The New Yorker
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4. BOM and the CSIRO State of the Climate 2022 report shows warming trends continue
National and global temperatures continue to rise despite the COVID-induced blip in emissions. Australia’s climate has now warmed by about 1.5 degrees Celsius since national records began in 1910. There has been abundant rain in the south-east this year but long-term trends towards wet season drying in southern Australia remain.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-23/state-of-the-climate-report-2022-bom-csiro/101683628
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5. The role of incentive mechanisms in promoting forest restoration
The authors conducted a systematic literature review to investigate how incentive mechanisms are used to promote forest restoration, outcomes, and the biophysical and socio-economic factors that influence implementation and program success. They found that socio-economic factors such as governance, monitoring systems and the experience and beliefs of participants dominate whether or not an incentive mechanism is successful. They found further that approximately half of the studies report both positive ecological and socio-economic outcomes. However, reported adverse outcomes were more commonly socio-economic than ecological. The results reveal that achieving forest restoration at a sufficient scale to meet international commitments will require stronger assessment and management of socioeconomic factors that enable or constrain the success of incentive mechanisms.
The role of incentive mechanisms in promoting forest restoration | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (royalsocietypublishing.org)
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6. A toolkit for understanding and addressing climate scepticism
Despite over 50 years of messaging about the reality of human-caused climate change, substantial portions of the population remain sceptical. Furthermore, many sceptics remain unmoved by standard science communication strategies, such as myth busting and evidence building. To understand this, we examine psychological and structural reasons why climate change misinformation is prevalent. First, we review research on motivated reasoning: how interpretations of climate science are shaped by vested interests and ideologies. Second, we examine climate scepticism as a form of political followership. Third, we examine infrastructures of disinformation: the funding, lobbying and political operatives that lend climate scepticism its power. Guiding this Review are two principles: (1) to understand scepticism, one must account for the interplay between individual psychologies and structural forces; and (2) global data are required to understand this global problem. In the spirit of optimism, we finish by describing six strategies for reducing the destructive influence of climate scepticism.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-022-01463-y
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7. COP27: one big breakthrough but ultimately an inadequate response to the climate crisis
For 30 years, developing nations have fought to establish an international fund to pay for the “loss and damage” they suffer as a result of climate change. As the COP27 climate summit in Egypt wrapped up over the weekend, they finally succeeded. While it’s a historic moment, the agreement of loss and damage financing left many details yet to be sorted out. What’s more, many critics have lamented the overall outcome of COP27, saying it falls well short of a sufficient response to the climate crisis.
https://theconversation.com/cop27-one-big-breakthrough-but-ultimately-an-inadequate-response-to-the-climate-crisis-194056
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About Dbytes
Dbytes is a weekly eNewsletter presenting news and views on biodiversity conservation and environmental decision science. ‘D’ stands for ‘Decision’ and refers to all the ingredients that go into good, fair and just decision-making in relation to the environment.
From 2007-2018 Dbytes was supported by a variety of research networks and primarily the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED). From 2019 Dbytes is being produced by David Salt (Ywords). Dbytes is supported by the Global Water Forum.
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