Climate Snapshot

The United States federal government has increased its estimates for the “social cost of carbon” (SCC) by more than 50 per cent.

It sounds geeky, but packs a wallop. Its main use is to decide whether a particular climate policy will benefit society. But it can also be an invaluable tool to identify hidden carbon risks in the economy.

Below I'll show how applying this new data to Canada's economy and the Alberta oilsands industry reveals some unsettling risks. But first, a Q&A will help set the stage.

Q: What exactly is the "social cost of carbon"?

A: The SCC estimates the "monetized damages" to society caused by the release of one tonne of CO2 (tCO2).

Q: Who determined these new SCC values?

A: Eleven US federal agencies -- only two of which are "environmental" -- shared their expertise and worked together to make these estimates:

No place on earth creates as many tornadoes as the southern and central United States.  And here in the global heartland of tornadoes the last few years have whip lashed between record breaking extremes. Along the way the three most damaging  tornadoes in world history plowed multi-billion dollar swaths of death and destruction through the American cities of Joplin, Tuscaloosa and Moore.

Record breaking tornado years

The best source on climate change and tornadoes that I've found is the writings of  meteorologist Dr. Jeff Masters. He tells the tale of the recent remarkable whiplash between extremes:

"In May 2011, the Joplin, Missouri tornado did $3 billion in damage--the most expensive tornado in world history--and killed 158 people, the largest death toll from a U.S. tornado since 1947.

I joined the "slow travel" movement about six years ago when I quit flying.

Jet travel lost its appeal for me when I realized the oversized climate damage caused by jet travel coupled with the industry's refusal to do anything meaningful about it. Jet travel gave me a burden of complicity in our climate crisis that I didn't enjoy. Below I present the charts and facts that led me to take action. Hopefully these will enable you to decide for yourself how big a problem it is and what should be done about it.

One of the most persistent myths I hear when I talk to people about jet pollution is the notion that the airline industry would have to cut flights to reduce their total climate damage. But that isn't true.

The industry has identified many efficiencies that would allow them to reduce their total climate damage while still increasing flights. A UK government study I cover below shows this to be the case. But the industry insists on increasing flights much faster, regardless of the climate damage this causes.

I've read at least a hundred major media reports and politicians' speeches on the Keystone XL pipeline. Very few mention what is at the heart of this bitter pipeline battle: "lock in".

Big oil demands it. The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns against it. Climate hawks are fighting tooth and nail to prevent it.

Here is the "lock in" battle in a nutshell: