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Cars dominate our energy mindset just like gasoline prices are the main way we understand energy costs. Electric vehicles (EVs) tap into this mentality,
making them seem like an effective way for each of us to personally address climate change.
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EVs are a clever marketing ploy that seems logical on the surface but lacks real substance. The reality is that passenger cars contribute only about 8 %
of global emissions—a relatively small part of the bigger problem that is being overlooked.
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// What about yesterday’s announcement from the International Energy Agency (IEA) claiming that renewables can get us two-thirds of the way to
meeting Paris climate targets by 2030, and cut global emissions by 10 billion tonnes by the decade’s end?

It sounds impressive, but here’s the catch: it demands ‘tripling renewables and doubling efficiency targets’ in just five years. That’s an incredibly
unrealistic goal, and arguably disingenuous. Even the IEA admits it’s a steep climb, and reaching those objectives is far from guaranteed.
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Isn’t it true that EV sales have tripled since 2020? Sure, that’s accurate, but it’s misleading. New car sales are just a tiny slice of the total vehicle fleet.
In 2023, nearly 14 million electric cars hit the roads, bringing the global total to 40 million. But 40 million is only 2.8 % of all passenger cars. By 2025,
they’ll make up just 4% of global light vehicles, and only 7% by 2030.
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Yes, wind and solar are expanding rapidly, but here’s the problem: they aren’t cutting fossil fuel use. They’re simply being layered on top of it. The growth
in renewables isn’t displacing fossil fuels—it’s just adding to the overall energy mix.

Unfortunately, these energy sources mostly contribute to electricity, which is only about 20% of total energy consumption. Meanwhile, coal, natural gas,
and oil aren’t going away—they’re still growing. Natural gas will rise by 0.8% per year, oil by 0.5%, and coal by 0.4%.

When we focus on oil consumption, the problem becomes even clearer. Global oil end use is projected to grow 0.7% annually through 2035. Fixating on
EVs doesn’t change the larger transportation picture, which includes trucks, trains, and ships. Nor does it address the industrial sector’s energy demands.
In fact, industrial oil use will grow at twice the rate of transportation over the next decade, and that’s where the real challenge lies.
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Looking closer, most of the growth in industrial oil use is tied to plastics and chemical feedstocks. That’s a major red flag. These products aren’t just a
climate issue—they’re causing significant health problems for humans and animals alike. We’re talking about plastics, pesticides, and endocrine-disrupting
microplastics that are already wreaking havoc well beyond the realm of climate change.

In reality, they’re (renewable energy, EVs) more about corporations adapting to a shifting landscape and finding new ways to make money. The climate
angle is secondary to the business opportunities these technologies present.
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The only real solution to our environmental crises—climate change being just one part—is a dramatic reduction in energy consumption.
No amount of renewables or technological innovation will get around this hard truth: we have to use far less energy, period.

But let’s be honest—that’s not going to happen voluntarily, any more than we’ll triple renewables and double efficiency in the next five years.
Our growth-obsessed society simply can’t make the hard choices or accept the drop in living standards necessary for a much lower-energy
or renewable-based economy.

Despite clear evidence that global decarbonization is failing, we’re repeatedly told that using more renewables and buying more EVs is the answer.
That’s a cynical delusion, completely unsupported by the data. All it really does is funnel more public money into the hands of the same corporations
that have been exploiting consumers for decades, all while creating the illusion of progress.

This kind of optimism provides little more than false hope, downplaying the serious, complex challenge of truly cutting carbon emissions. Instead of
pretending we’re nearing some IEA-style “mission accomplished,” we should be bracing for the impending crisis. Electric vehicles and renewable
energy are a distraction from the hard realities we face.

86% of participants estimated maximum global warming of greater than 2 °C by or before the year 2100 (med = 2.7 °C) while 58% of the sample believed that there was at least a 50% chance of reaching or exceeding 3 °C by or before 2100 (med = 50%).

A previous survey found 60% of Working Group 1 authors believed that warming of 3 °C or more is likely by 2100, while another found that 77% of IPCC authors and editors expected at least 2.5 °C in the same timeframe. Our results corroborate that there is a widespread belief among IPCC authors that substantial warming is likely before 2100

Ocean acidification close to critical threshold, say scientists, posing threat to marine ecosystems and global liveability

Industrial civilisation is close to breaching a seventh planetary boundary, and may already have crossed it, according to scientists who have compiled the latest report on the state of the world’s life-support systems.

“Ocean acidification is approaching a critical threshold”, particularly in higher-latitude regions, says the latest report on planetary boundaries. “The growing acidification poses an increasing threat to marine ecosystems.”

At a briefing outlining the findings, Levke Caesar, a climate physicist at PIK and co-author of the report, said there were two reasons the levels of ocean acidification were concerning.

“One is [that] the indicator for ocean acidification, which is the current aragonite separation state, while still being in the safe operating space, is approaching the threshold of transgressing the safe boundary,” Caesar said.

“The second is that there are actually several new studies that were published over the last years that indicate that even these current conditions may already be problematic for a variety of marine organisms, suggesting a need [to] re-evaluate which levels can actually be called safe.”

Ocean acidification was getting worse globally, with the effects most pronounced in the Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, she added.

China developing 1.28 bln tons of coal mining capacity
Chinese mines in progress more than half global pipeline
35% of projects in pipeline under construction
Current large-scale capacity is 3.88 mln metric tons/year
China responsible for 70% of coal mine methane emissions

In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is necessary to actively promote a coordinated and balanced relationship between carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e), material footprints (MF) and human development, based on the economic and social development stages of different countries and their material resource endowments.

This study comprehensively evaluated the nexus between CO2e, MF, and human development index (HDI) in 151 countries from 1990 to 2019 based on the modified coupling coordination degree model and the improved decoupling index model.

The results show that, both the global MF per capita and HDI have maintained an increasing trend, and the MF per capita has been increasing significantly faster than the HDI. The trend of CO2e per capita is slowly dropping, with very high HDI countries being the main contributors. Besides, global regional differences in CO2e per capita and MF per capita are still expanding.

Net energy exporting countries with high HDI have advantages to achieve decoupling of CO2 emissions.

Net energy importing countries with low HDI shows a significant coupling trend in material footprints.

The study shows that, as the level of human development continues to rise, humanity has made the leap from intermediate to advanced levels of development. However, the real impacts of unsustainability, like the accelerated depletion of natural resources and the massive emission of greenhouse gases, have also intensified.
In the current context of globalization, although achieving a temporary absolute decoupling between CO2e, MF and HDI may occur frequently, maintaining this trend over the long term remains challenging.

As a consequence of global warming and human-induced climate
change, the thawing of permafrost not only contributes to global
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and warming, but also poses
substantial risks to both local ecosystems and human communities in
affected regions

Considering the cold winters and short, cool summers, the presence
of permafrost affects the availability of arable land and the growing
season for crops, making agriculture challenging. While climatedriven northward expansion of agriculture increasingly provides
new food sources, little is known about the effectiveness, feasibility
and risks in cultivation-permafrost interactions.

Thawing permafrost also releases contaminants, including
mercury, into the environment. This negatively
impacts water quality in Arctic rivers and lakes, leading to potential
risks to human health through contaminated food chains and drinking
water sources.

Beyond its ecological consequences, permafrost thaw has significant
implications for the infrastructure built on permafrost soil. As the
ground becomes unstable, buildings, roads, pipelines, water facilities,
and communication systems are damaged and hazardous substances mobilised

Up to 80 per cent of infrastructure elements
show substantial infrastructure damage and 70 per cent of current
infrastructure in the permafrost domain is in areas with high potential
for thaw by 2050