Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Climate

How Climate Denial Is Changing

On the rise of "new" denial, shipping emissions, and nocturnal mountain goats

How Climate Denial Is Changing
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Nashville recorded sub-zero temperatures for only the second time since 1996 • Heavy rains left at least 11 dead in Rio de Janeiro • Invasive and deadly fire ants have been spotted “rafting” on Australian flood waters.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Climate denial tactics are changing

The climate denial movement has entered a new phase, suggests new research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The study analyzed transcripts of more than 12,000 climate-related YouTube videos posted since 2018 and found evidence that “old denial” narratives (Global warming isn’t real! Humans have nothing to do with it!) are becoming less common as the effects of climate change become undeniable. But they’re being replaced by what the researchers call “new denial” tactics. These narratives focus on discrediting climate solutions like renewable energy projects and electric vehicles, or downplaying the harmful effects of global warming. “New denial” claims more than tripled since 2018; “old denial” claims were down by one-third.

CCDH

The shift exposes a gap in YouTube’s disinformation policies: While the platform has cracked down on advertising on videos that deny outright that climate change is real, no such rules exist for the wave of “new denial.” The study estimates YouTube could be making up to $13.4 million per year in ad revenue from channels that promote denial. “Given that the battleground has shifted and the new denial is the biggest component of climate denial content overall, it’s time for them to extend their rules to that as well,” Imran Ahmed, founder and chief executive officer of the CCDH, toldBloomberg Green.

2. Shipping emissions on the rise due to Red Sea conflict

Greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector are increasing due to ongoing disruption in the Red Sea, Reutersreports. The Red Sea is the gateway to the Suez Canal, which offers a quick route for ships transporting goods from Asia to Europe. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been attacking ships in the region in response to the Israel-Hamas war. To avoid the conflict, vessels are taking longer routes via the southern tip of Africa and burning more fuel as a result. The average container vessel transporting goods from China to Rotterdam via the Suez Canal would spew about 41,000 tons of carbon dioxide, but that total jumps to 55,000 tons if that ship has to go the long way, Reuters says. And as ships increase their speeds to make up for lost time, they produce even more pollution. International shipping already accounts for about 2% of global energy-related CO2, according to the International Energy Agency.

Get Heatmap AM directly in your inbox every morning:

* indicates required
  • 3. Southeast Asia boosts solar and wind capacity by 20%

    Southeast Asia has increased its solar- and wind-power capacity by 20% in the last year, according to a new report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM). The analysis looks at the energy mix across 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). These include Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Cambodia. It finds that solar and wind account for 9% of electricity generating capacity in the region, and flags Vietnam as being a regional leader. When combined with hydropower, geothermal, and bioenergy, this brings the ASEAN bloc’s renewable capacity to 32%, which is very near its goal of 35% by 2025. GEM says this target is therefore “unambitious.” The report cautions that fossil fuel use is likely to rise in the region as “energy demands are outpacing utility-scale solar and wind development.”

    4. Mountain goats are becoming more nocturnal

    Mountain goats are daytime creatures, and they usually do most of their foraging while the sun is up. But as global temperatures rise, they are becoming more active at night, according to a new study seen by The Guardian. Researchers from the University of Sassari, in Sardinia, tracked the behaviors of the Alpine ibex goat over 13 years and found that on especially warm days, the animals were more likely to be active at night, even though this put them at higher risk of being attacked by predators. “We can expect that during the night when the temperature is lower other animals will shift their activity towards the nocturnal hours,” Francesca Brivio, who co-authored the study, tells The Guardian. “If during the day it is too hot to eat or to be active, they will prefer to perform all their activities, like foraging, at night.”

    5. Tracking 2000 years of climate change

    Climate scientist Ed Hawkins, creator of the warming stripes, put together a detailed graphic that tracks changes in the climate system alongside important milestones in human history, such as the invention of the steam engine and the discovery of global warming. “In every case, the recent changes are rapid and unusual compared to before human influence on the climate,” he says. Take a look:

    Ed Hawkins

    THE KICKER

    “Do you think those CEOs are going to say, ‘Oh my God, they just elected a new president, let's go back and build internal combustion engine cars?’ Not on your life. Not happening.” –U.S. climate envoy John Kerry on whether a second Trump presidency would halt America’s clean energy transition

    Yellow

    You’re out of free articles.

    Subscribe today to experience Heatmap’s expert analysis 
of climate change, clean energy, and sustainability.
    To continue reading
    Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
    or
    Please enter an email address
    By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
    Economy

    Trump Is Disabling the Agency That Could Fight China’s Rare Earths Embargo

    The Loan Programs Office is good for more than just nuclear funding.

    Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    That China has a whip hand over the rare earths mining and refining industry is one of the few things Washington can agree on.

    That’s why Alex Jacquez, who worked on industrial policy for Joe Biden’s National Economic Council, found it “astounding”when he read in the Washington Post this week that the White House was trying to figure out on the fly what to do about China restricting exports of rare earth metals in response to President Trump’s massive tariffs on the country’s imports.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Q&A

    You, Too, Can Protect Solar Panels Against Hail

    A conversation with VDE Americas CEO Brian Grenko.

    This week's interview subject.
    Heatmap Illustration

    This week’s Q&A is about hail. Last week, we explained how and why hail storm damage in Texas may have helped galvanize opposition to renewable energy there. So I decided to reach out to Brian Grenko, CEO of renewables engineering advisory firm VDE Americas, to talk about how developers can make sure their projects are not only resistant to hail but also prevent that sort of pushback.

    The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Yellow
    Hotspots

    The Pro-Renewables Crowd Gets Riled Up

    And more of the week’s big fights around renewable energy.

    The United States.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    1. Long Island, New York – We saw the face of the resistance to the war on renewable energy in the Big Apple this week, as protestors rallied in support of offshore wind for a change.

    • Activists came together on Earth Day to protest the Trump administration’s decision to issue a stop work order on Equinor’s Empire Wind project. It’s the most notable rally for offshore wind I’ve seen since September, when wind advocates protested offshore opponents at the Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island.
    • Esther Rosario, executive director of Climate Jobs New York, told me the rally was intended to focus on the jobs that will be impacted by halting construction and that about a hundred people were at the rally – “a good half of them” union members or representing their unions.
    • “I think it’s important that the elected officials that are in both the area and at the federal level understand the humans behind what it means to issue a stop-work order,” she said.

    2. Elsewhere on Long Island – The city of Glen Cove is on the verge of being the next New York City-area community with a battery storage ban, discussing this week whether to ban BESS for at least one year amid fire fears.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Yellow