The Climate Stakes of the Veepstakes

Current conditions:Cooler weekend weather helped fire crews working to contain the Park Fire, which has now burned an area larger than the city of Los Angeles • Two people were killed and 12 were missing after mudslides in China’s Sichuan province linked to record rainfall • Assuming you have clear skies, you should be able to catch the annual Perseid meteor shower, which peaks this week.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Hurricane Debby threatens southeast with catastrophic flooding

Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region this morning as a category 1 storm. It is expected to be extremely dangerous, not necessarily because of its wind speeds but because of the water it will dump over southeastern states in the coming days. Forecasters are warning of life-threatening storm surge, severe flash flooding, as well as strong winds. Up to 18 inches of rain could fall along the coast throughout the week, from Georgia through the Carolinas. If the storm stalls after it hits land, it is likely to strengthen and drop even more rain. Debby is the fourth named storm of the season and is making landfall in the same region Hurricane Idalia hit a year ago. Scientists agree climate change is heating the oceans, which is making tropical storms wetter and stronger.

Image: NOAA

2. Where Harris’ VP contenders stand on climate

Sometime today or tomorrow, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to announce who she has tapped as her running mate in the 2024 presidential race. She spent the last few days speaking with some of the top contenders, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. Here’s a look at their climate track records:

• Shapiro – He has proposed a “cap-and-invest” program to cut state emissions and lower electricity bills. He secured a $369 million federal grant to cut industrial emissions and create 6,000 jobs. Environmentalists aren’t jazzed about his murky history on fracking. As state attorney general, he investigated the gas drilling industry on fracking dangers, but as governor, “he’s become more friendly to drilling,” wrote Mike Soraghan at Politico. Harris might see that as a good thing, though, as Donald Trump tries to target her for being anti-fracking.
• Walz – With a keen understanding of what it will take to get Americans on board with climate policies, Walz is “one of the country's most skillful climate communicators,” wroteTime’s Justin Worland. During Walz’s time in office, Minnesota has passed a law requiring utilities to be 100% carbon free by 2040, created a $2 billion climate spending program to incentivize electrification and emissions reductions, and secured a $200 million federal grant to cut food system emissions.
• Beshear – The Kentucky governor has remained pretty quiet about the climate crisis, probably because he has a fine line to walk as a democratic politician in a red state that depends heavily on coal. That said, he has helped quietly push for investment in renewable energy and EV battery production. Kentucky’s clean energy job growth is the second fastest in the country.
• Kelly – Representing one of the hottest states in the country, the former astronaut has been vocal about the effects of climate change. He pushed to get the final Inflation Reduction Act to include $4 billion from drought mitigation and cosponsored legislation to allow incentives for farmers that deploy carbon-storing agricultural practices. He has “frequently crossed the aisle to work on environment and mining legislation and is well-versed in ongoing disputes over the Western United States’ historic drought,” wrote Timothy Cama at E&E News. Kelly’s science background and knowledge of water and drought policy in the West could boost Harris’ campaign.

3. China setting new emissions limits

China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, plans to set a hard emissions cap. The move is seen as positive because it decouples emissions targets from economic growth. As Bloomberg explained, the country has so far measured its emissions against gross domestic product. “That approach has allowed China to tout environmental successes even as its total emissions soared, so long as they didn’t grow faster than the overall economy.” Under a new five-year plan that begins in 2026, the country will start to target overall emissions volumes and these will become the main measure after the country’s emissions peak, which could happen in 2030 or sooner.

4. Japanese automakers join forces to counter China

In case you missed it: Japanese auto manufacturers Nissan, Honda, and Mitsubishi are teaming up to produce a new EV by 2030, in a bid to take on Tesla and Chinese carmakers. The companies will work together to develop new software and e-axles, and share battery supplies. “It’s another example of big, global automakers pooling their resources in the interest of defraying costs and finding more efficient ways to introduce new EVs to the marketplace,” wrote Andrew J. Hawkins at The Verge.

5. Geoengineering scientist in the spotlight

The New York Times over the weekend published a long feature on David Keith, a professor in the University of Chicago’s department of geophysical sciences and a longtime proponent of solar geoengineering. Keith makes his case for the contentious and still experimental idea of spraying sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere to lower global temperatures. He admits the process comes with risks, but says these are “quantitatively small compared to the benefits.” Yes, the practice could make twilight look different (more orange), but daylight would otherwise probably look the same.

The article quotes Frank Keutsch, one of Keith’s collaborators on a previous project, who compared solar geoengineering to opiates: “They only treat the symptom and not the actual cause,” Keutsch said. “You can get addicted to it if you don’t actually address the cause. In addition, like any painkiller, you’re going to have side effects. And then there are withdrawal symptoms, and that’s termination shock.”

THE KICKER

In an office park in Florida, far from the ocean, Disney-funded scientists are working to preserve and restore the state’s brain corals. The process involves carefully calibrating water chemistry and lighting to mimic the environment off the Florida Keys, Inside Climate News reports.