Latest news with #greenhouseGas
CTV News
11 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Quebec dials back emissions projections due to global uncertainty
The Quebec government is scaling back its projections for greenhouse gas emissions reductions due to the Trump administration. A report published Thursday by the province's Environment Department says the current U.S. government has created a 'challenging environment for advancing climate action.' It points in particular to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs, which it says have slowed down business investment, including in decarbonization. It also says the administration's attempts to challenge carbon pricing mechanisms in various U.S. states were 'exerting downward pressure on market prices.' 'The economic and political uncertainty caused by the new U.S. federal administration ... does not allow the deployment of measures as quickly and effectively as planned,' the report says. The government now estimates that measures being adopted in Quebec to reduce emissions will account for 65 per cent of the cuts needed to reach the province's 2030 emissions target, down from a projected 67 per cent last year. Quebec is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 37.5 per cent compared to 1990 levels by 2030. That's a drop of about 30 million tonnes from projected emissions in the absence of climate policies. The new report is an annual update on the province's progress toward meeting that goal. It estimates that planned measures will cut emissions by 19.4 million tonnes in 2030, a slight drop from last year's projections. The document also says the Canadian government's decision to scrap the federal consumer carbon price in April could harm the competitiveness of Quebec businesses. 'Uncertainty remains regarding the actions that will be taken by the federal government to combat climate change,' it reads. Quebec has so far maintained its own cap-and-trade carbon pricing system, which is linked with California's system. The report says Quebec's carbon price is a major driver of emissions reductions in the province, and revenue from the carbon market is an important source of funding for other climate measures in the government's plan. The report highlights $10.1 billion in planned government spending over the next five years, much of it to reduce emissions from transportation, industry and housing. It says new initiatives under development could lead to further emissions cuts and could get the province to between 67 and 72 per cent of its 2030 target. Despite dialling back its projections, the government says greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 0.9 million tonnes in Quebec between 2022 and 2023, and have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. The report also says there was a record number of electric-vehicle sales in Quebec in 2024, with more than 125,000 new registrations. Zero-emission vehicle sales made up nearly 31 per cent of light-duty vehicle sales that year, it says, and there were 375,000 electric vehicles on the road in Quebec last December. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025. Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Carolina lawmakers finalize bill that would scrap 2030 carbon reduction goal
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators finalized a bill Thursday that would eliminate an interim greenhouse gas reduction mandate set in a landmark 2021 law, while still directing regulators to aim to cancel out power plant carbon emissions in the state within the next 25 years. With some bipartisan support, the state Senate voted to accept the House version that would repeal the 2021 law's requirement that electric regulators take 'all reasonable steps to achieve' reducing carbon dioxide output 70% from 2005 levels by 2030. The law's directive to take similar steps to meet a carbon neutrality standard by 2050 would remain in place. The bill's Republican supporters pushing the new measure say getting rid of the interim goal benefits ratepayers asked to pay for future electric-production construction and is more efficient for Duke Energy, the state's dominant electric utility. The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who can veto the measure, sign it or let it become law without his signature. Stein previously expressed concerns about the Senate version of the measure, worried that it could hurt electricity users and threaten the state's clean-energy economy. His office didn't immediately provide comment after Thursday's vote. With over a dozen House and Senate Democrats voting for the final version, the chances that any Stein veto could be overridden are higher. Republicans in charge of the General Assembly are only one House seat shy of a veto-proof majority. The bill also contains language that would help Duke Energy seek higher electric rates to cover financing costs to build nuclear or gas-powered plants incrementally, rather than wait until the project's end. The 2021 greenhouse gas law marked a rare agreement on environmental issues by then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican lawmakers. At least 17 other states — most controlled by Democrats — have laws setting similar net-zero power plant emissions or 100% renewable energy targets, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. North Carolina and Virginia are the only ones from the Southeast. The legislation came about as President Donald Trump's administration has proposed rolling back federal environmental and climate change policies, which critics say could boost pollution and threaten human health. Republicans are promoting them as ways to reduce the cost of living and boost the economy. The state Utilities Commission, which regulates rates and services for public utilities, already has pushed back the 2030 deadline — as the 2021 law allows — by at least four years. The panel acknowledged last year it was 'no longer reasonable or executable' for Duke Energy to meet the reduction standard by 2030. Bill supporters say to meet the goal would require expensive types of alternate energy immediately. If the interim standard can be bypassed, GOP bill authors say, Duke Energy can assemble less expensive power sources now and moderate electricity rate increases necessary to reach the 2050 standard. Citing an analysis performed by a state agency that represents consumers before the commission, GOP lawmakers say removing the interim goal would reduce by at least $13 billion what Duke Energy would have to spend — and pass on to customers — in the next 25 years. Bill opponents question the savings figure given uncertainty in plant fuel prices, energy demand and construction costs, and say the interim goal still holds an aspirational purpose to while Duke Energy agreed in 2021 to meet. Provisions in the measure related to recouping plant construction expenses over time would reduce accumulated borrowing interest. Environmental groups argue the financing option would benefit Duke Energy financially on expensive projects even if they're never completed, and the bill broadly would prevent cleaner energy sources from coming online sooner. 'This bill is bad for all North Carolinians, whether they're Duke Energy customers or simply people who want to breathe clean air,' North Carolina Sierra Club director Chris Herndon said after the vote while urging Stein to veto the measure. Bill support came from the North Carolina Chamber and a manufacturers' group, in addition to Duke Energy. 'We appreciate bipartisan efforts by policymakers to keep costs as low as possible for customers and enable the always-on energy resources our communities need,' the company said this week. Gary D. Robertson, The Associated Press
Associated Press
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
North Carolina lawmakers finalize bill that would scrap 2030 carbon reduction goal
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators finalized a bill Thursday that would eliminate an interim greenhouse gas reduction mandate set in a landmark 2021 law, while still directing regulators to aim to cancel out power plant carbon emissions in the state within the next 25 years. With some bipartisan support, the state Senate voted to accept the House version that would repeal the 2021 law's requirement that electric regulators take 'all reasonable steps to achieve' reducing carbon dioxide output 70% from 2005 levels by 2030. The law's directive to take similar steps to meet a carbon neutrality standard by 2050 would remain in place. The bill's Republican supporters pushing the new measure say getting rid of the interim goal benefits ratepayers asked to pay for future electric-production construction and is more efficient for Duke Energy, the state's dominant electric utility. The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who can veto the measure, sign it or let it become law without his signature. Stein previously expressed concerns about the Senate version of the measure, worried that it could hurt electricity users and threaten the state's clean-energy economy. His office didn't immediately provide comment after Thursday's vote. With over a dozen House and Senate Democrats voting for the final version, the chances that any Stein veto could be overridden are higher. Republicans in charge of the General Assembly are only one House seat shy of a veto-proof majority. The bill also contains language that would help Duke Energy seek higher electric rates to cover financing costs to build nuclear or gas-powered plants incrementally, rather than wait until the project's end. The 2021 greenhouse gas law marked a rare agreement on environmental issues by then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican lawmakers. At least 17 other states — most controlled by Democrats — have laws setting similar net-zero power plant emissions or 100% renewable energy targets, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. North Carolina and Virginia are the only ones from the Southeast. The legislation came about as President Donald Trump's administration has proposed rolling back federal environmental and climate change policies, which critics say could boost pollution and threaten human health. Republicans are promoting them as ways to reduce the cost of living and boost the economy. The state Utilities Commission, which regulates rates and services for public utilities, already has pushed back the 2030 deadline — as the 2021 law allows — by at least four years. The panel acknowledged last year it was 'no longer reasonable or executable' for Duke Energy to meet the reduction standard by 2030. Bill supporters say to meet the goal would require expensive types of alternate energy immediately. If the interim standard can be bypassed, GOP bill authors say, Duke Energy can assemble less expensive power sources now and moderate electricity rate increases necessary to reach the 2050 standard. Citing an analysis performed by a state agency that represents consumers before the commission, GOP lawmakers say removing the interim goal would reduce by at least $13 billion what Duke Energy would have to spend — and pass on to customers — in the next 25 years. Bill opponents question the savings figure given uncertainty in plant fuel prices, energy demand and construction costs, and say the interim goal still holds an aspirational purpose to while Duke Energy agreed in 2021 to meet. Provisions in the measure related to recouping plant construction expenses over time would reduce accumulated borrowing interest. Environmental groups argue the financing option would benefit Duke Energy financially on expensive projects even if they're never completed, and the bill broadly would prevent cleaner energy sources from coming online sooner. 'This bill is bad for all North Carolinians, whether they're Duke Energy customers or simply people who want to breathe clean air,' North Carolina Sierra Club director Chris Herndon said after the vote while urging Stein to veto the measure. Bill support came from the North Carolina Chamber and a manufacturers' group, in addition to Duke Energy. 'We appreciate bipartisan efforts by policymakers to keep costs as low as possible for customers and enable the always-on energy resources our communities need,' the company said this week.
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
Climate Action Plan: What does new document mean for NI?
Northern Ireland's first Climate Action Plan has been published for is a roadmap to support emission reduction targets across nine sectors, including energy, transport, waste management and sets out how Northern Ireland will meet its 2023-2027 carbon budget target of cutting emissions by an annual average of 33%, compared to the base year of plan is led by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) and is a legal obligation under the Climate Change Act which must be renewed every five years. So, what does the plan set out for different areas of society? Energy production The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 sets out a target of at least 80% of electricity used in Northern Ireland to come from renewable sources by CAP outlines that the goal is to produce more clean energy, such as wind and solar power to achieve the 80% are plans to continue a support scheme that has helped NI generate more renewable energy and have rules to control certain harmful gases that can damage the CAP proposes a new programme to encourage more renewable electricity. Farming and agriculture Agriculture is the largest emitter. It was responsible for 29.1% of Northern Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, according to the rose to 31% based on 2023 has chosen not to follow the UK Climate Change Committee's recommendation that livestock numbers should be it opts for changing farming practices to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the sector. The UK's Climate Change Committee has previously recommended "radical action" for Northern Ireland to reach its goals, including reducing livestock numbers to reduce emissions in draft plan does not act on that it relies on improving farm productivity through genetics, soil testing and novel feeds, encouraging low carbon farming practices and increasing the use of slurry for energy through biomethane generation to cut emissions in the farming CAP outlines that the Sustainable Agriculture Programme will help farms become more environmentally friendly and work better together, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in farming in Northern Ireland. Business and industry Business and industry is responsible for 11.9% of Northern Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the CAP outlines that businesses and industries in NI follow many UK are also plans in place for NI to help the economy. These include:Checking how well heating and power systems use energy and how they affect the environmentMaking buildings more energy efficientSetting rules on emissions (pollution from businesses), product design, and labellingRequiring businesses to report their emissions and offering funding to help them improveEncouraging the use of natural gas instead of other fuelsUpdating Northern Ireland's building rules Transport Transport is the second-largest source of emissions in Northern CAP says vehicle emissions will be reduced by switching fuels to zero and low emissions plan proposes shifting modes of transport away from private car journeys to sustainable travel alternatives like walking and cycling. It also proposes reducing the need and length of vehicle journeys. Residential and public buildings Emissions from Northern Ireland's homes have fallen by 31.4% between 1990 and 2022, according to the CAP. Emissions from residential buildings are mainly due to the use of fossil fuels for heating and generating hot CAP says in order to cut down emissions, cleaner ways to heat homes will need to be used. This means switching to fuels like natural gas and using new heating systems that run on is also planned that how homes are built will be improved to make them easier to heat, along with making homes use less energy to help reduce how much power is used. Waste management Waste accounted for 3.6% of total Northern Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, according to the recycling rates have increased from 10% in 2010 to just over 51% in law sets a target to recycle at least 70% of waste by CAP says reducing emissions in waste will be achieved by:Making improvements to how food waste is collected from households and less biodegradable waste going to landfill Increasing recycling rates and improving quality of the material that is collected for recycling Land use and forestry Land use and forestry emissions represented 10.1% of total annual emissions in NI in 2022, the CAP outlined. This rose to 12% in CAP says in order to help the environment, a reduction in pollution is needed, along with absorbing more carbon from the plan states:The Forests for Our Future plan will create 9,000 hectares of new woodland by Northern Ireland Peatland Strategy will help protect these important habitats. Programmes such as Farming with Nature and the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme will support farmers in caring for the land while helping the should be noted that at the halfway point of the Forests for Our Future plan, about 2,000 hectares have been created, a shortfall the Woodland Trust described as "a missed opportunity".The conservation charity's Northern Ireland director John Martin said "urgent and sustained action" was needed."Every tree planted is a legacy of hope, resilience, and renewal for generations to come," he said."Now is the time to reinvigorate our collective commitment to woodland creation and management in Northern Ireland." Fisheries Fisheries is the smallest emissions sector, accounting for 0.1% of NI's greenhouse gas emissions in are plans to invest in research to find new ways to make fishing boats less harmful to the are also plans to prepare for change by exploring the use of electric boats and low or zero emission fuels. Announcing the consultation, the Daera minister said it was a "milestone moment" in addressing climate change."We have seen the damaging and costly impacts of climate change around the world and closer to home from flash flooding, wildfires and more frequent and severe storms," Andrew Muir said."No section of society is immune. It is essential we take action and I would encourage everyone to take part in this 16-week consultation." Analysis: Questions over speed of action By BBC News NI agriculture and environment correspondent Louise Cullen The consultation on this draft plan may well be greeted with a cry of, "at last" from campaigners. The final plan should have been laid at the end of 2023, but better late than never. As the lead department, Daera is confident the plan puts Northern Ireland on the trajectory to meet the first carbon budget target – much of the estimated £718m cost has already been invested with many of the policies and proposals referenced in place. But some of those policies are proving slow to get off the ground. "Future generations will thank us for stepping up to this challenge of our lifetimes," ends Muir's statement. But how quickly we move now will be the decider. During the 16-week consultation there will be 10 public events and 2 online sector-specific sessions for people to consultation will close on 8 October.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Science
- Washington Post
Scientists warn that greenhouse gas accumulation is accelerating and more extreme weather will come
WASHINGTON — Humans are on track to release so much greenhouse gas in less than three years that a key threshold for limiting global warming will be nearly unavoidable, according to a study to be released Thursday. The report predicts that society will have emitted enough carbon dioxide by early 2028 that crossing an important long-term temperature boundary will be more likely than not. The scientists calculate that by that point there will be enough of the heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere to create a 50-50 chance or greater that the world will be locked in to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of long-term warming since preindustrial times. That level of gas accumulation, which comes from the burning of fuels like gasoline, oil and coal, is sooner than the same group of 60 international scientists calculated in a study last year. 'Things aren't just getting worse. They're getting worse faster,' said study co-author Zeke Hausfather of the tech firm Stripe and the climate monitoring group Berkeley Earth. 'We're actively moving in the wrong direction in a critical period of time that we would need to meet our most ambitious climate goals. Some reports, there's a silver lining. I don't think there really is one in this one.' That 1.5 goal , first set in the 2015 Paris agreement, has been a cornerstone of international efforts to curb worsening climate change. Scientists say crossing that limit would mean worse heat waves and droughts, bigger storms and sea-level rise that could imperil small island nations. Over the last 150 years, scientists have established a direct correlation between the release of certain levels of carbon dioxide, along with other greenhouse gases like methane, and specific increases in global temperatures. In Thursday's Indicators of Global Climate Change report, researchers calculated that society can spew only 143 billion more tons (130 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide before the 1.5 limit becomes technically inevitable. The world is producing 46 billion tons (42 billion metric tons) a year, so that inevitability should hit around February 2028 because the report is measured from the start of this year, the scientists wrote. The world now stands at about 1.24 degrees Celsius (2.23 degrees Fahrenheit) of long-term warming since preindustrial times, the report said. The report, which was published in the journal Earth System Science Data , shows that the rate of human-caused warming per decade has increased to nearly half a degree (0.27 degrees Celsius) per decade, Hausfather said. And the imbalance between the heat Earth absorbs from the sun and the amount it radiates out to space, a key climate change signal, is accelerating, the report said. 'It's quite a depressing picture unfortunately, where if you look across the indicators, we find that records are really being broken everywhere,' said lead author Piers Forster, director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures at the University of Leeds in England. 'I can't conceive of a situation where we can really avoid passing 1.5 degrees of very long-term temperature change.' The increase in emissions from fossil-fuel burning is the main driver. But reduced particle pollution, which includes soot and smog, is another factor because those particles had a cooling effect that masked even more warming from appearing, scientists said. Changes in clouds also factor in. That all shows up in Earth's energy imbalance, which is now 25% higher than it was just a decade or so ago, Forster said. Earth's energy imbalance 'is the most important measure of the amount of heat being trapped in the system,' Hausfather said. Earth keeps absorbing more and more heat than it releases. 'It is very clearly accelerating. It's worrisome,' he said. The planet temporarily passed the key 1.5 limit last year . The world hit 1.52 degrees Celsius (2.74 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming since preindustrial times for an entire year in 2024, but the Paris threshold is meant to be measured over a longer period, usually considered 20 years. Still, the globe could reach that long-term threshold in the next few years even if individual years haven't consistently hit that mark, because of how the Earth's carbon cycle works. That 1.5 is 'a clear limit, a political limit for which countries have decided that beyond which the impact of climate change would be unacceptable to their societies,' said study co-author Joeri Rogelj, a climate scientist at Imperial College London. The mark is so important because once it is crossed, many small island nations could eventually disappear because of sea level rise, and scientific evidence shows that the impacts become particularly extreme beyond that level, especially hurting poor and vulnerable populations, he said. He added that efforts to curb emissions and the impacts of climate change must continue even if the 1.5 degree threshold is exceeded. Crossing the threshold 'means increasingly more frequent and severe climate extremes of the type we are now seeing all too often in the U.S. and around the world — unprecedented heat waves, extreme hot drought, extreme rainfall events, and bigger storms,' said University of Michigan environment school dean Jonathan Overpeck, who wasn't part of the study. Andrew Dessler, a Texas A&M University climate scientist who wasn't part of the study, said the 1.5 goal was aspirational and not realistic, so people shouldn't focus on that particular threshold. 'Missing it does not mean the end of the world,' Dessler said in an email, though he agreed that 'each tenth of a degree of warming will bring increasingly worse impacts.' ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
