Global Spotlight Report #54: The Most Important Climate Events in the First Half of 2022

Introduction

For Post 54 Climate Scorecard asked our Country Managers to analyze the impact of the most important event affecting emissions in their countries since January of this year. The event could or could not be policy related, but needed to have an impact on the current or future level of emissions in your country. If the event was negative impact how could it be changed? If it was positive impact how can the impact be sustained/strengthened?

The Table below lists the events for each country. Complete Country Reports follow.

Table: The Most Important Climate Events in the 1st Half of 2022

Country Important Event
Australia
  • Results of Federal Election Bode Well For Government Climate Action
Brazil
  • Burns in the Amazon are 30% Above Historical Average
Canada
  • New Report Shows Canadian Arctic Warming at Twice the Global Average
China
  • Steps up Climate Pilots with New Monitoring Efforts and Enhance Policy
European Union
  • EU Council Agrees on Legislative Proposals For EU “Fit for 55” Package
France
  • The Absence of Climate Change as a Politically Important Issue
Germany
  • Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Sparks an Energy Security Crisis
Japan
  • Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Sparks an Energy Security Crisis
Mexico
  • New “Evalua” Report Points to the Need to Reform the State-Owned Electricity Commission
Nigeria
  • Inauguration of a Government Clean Cooking Commission
Russia
  • Announcement that Sakhalin will Become Russia’s 1st Carbon-Neutral Region
Saudi Arabia
  • The PetroEnvironment Symposium Sparks Proposals for New Sustainability Efforts
South Africa
  • South Africa’s Public Utility Commits to Producing Renewable Energy
Turkey
  • Extreme Energy Events and Rising Energy Prices
United Kingdom
  • New British Energy Security Strategy
United States
  • EPA to Regulate Emissions

Country Reports

Results of Federal Election in Australia Bode Well for Climate Action

Australia has endured a series of devastating climate events over the past three years. The horrific bushfires of 2019-2020 captured global attention and an outpouring of donations to wildlife rescue and other conservation charities, while the continuous flooding of urban areas in northern New South Wales in early 2022 has led to billions in damages…

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Burns in the Amazon are 30% Above the Historical Average

The destruction of the Amazon by fires has greatly accelerated and is 30% above the historical average. The alert system of the Laboratory of Environmental Satellite Applications at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (LASA/UFRJ) shows that the total amount of forest burned in 2022 already exceeds that of 2021.By 07/13/22, 622 thousand hectares…

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The Arctic is Warming at More Than Twice the Global Average Resulting in Wildfires and Thawing Permafrost

For the second year in a row, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) scientists (April 2022) report a record annual increase in atmospheric levels of methane during 2021 as 17 parts per billion (ppb) since measures began in 1983. Carbon dioxide has also increased with historically high rates of 414.7 parts per million (ppm) during…

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China to Step Up Climate Efforts with Monitoring Pilots and Enhanced Policy

In past articles, we discussed the importance of data monitoring, availability, and quality in order to track emissions developments resulting from policies and required measures introduced by governments.China has been notoriously lagging in data availability, quality, and reporting. Data must be collected, for example, from companies included in the various Emissions Trading Systems across the…

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European Council Agrees on Legislative Proposals for EU “Fit for 55” Package: Promising or Still Not Ambitious Enough?

On June 29, 2022, the European Council came together to discuss the EU’s “Fit for 55” package, which is a set of climate and energy legislation proposed by the European Commission that has the purpose of providing a concrete pathway for the EU to reach its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% when…

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The Absence of Climate Change as a Politically Important Issue in France

The most important climate event in France in the first half of 2022 was, in fact, the absence of an event. The French presidential election dominated the first half of 2022, however, climate change was largely absent from the candidates’ debates and speeches. Neither candidate addressed climate action marches taking place in the country, nor…

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Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Sparked an Energy Security Crisis in Germany

One of the most significant events in Germany’s overall emissions this year was the invasion of Russia into Ukraine.Not only did this event disclose Germany’s major dependency on the Russian energy supply, but it also triggered a still ongoing debate on military rearmament and cooperation and long-term partnerships with controversial countries. Countries, that before were…

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Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Poses a Challenge to Japan’s Energy Security

Due to the scarcity of domestic natural resources, the Japanese energy sector is almost completely dependent on imports, making it vulnerable to even minor changes in the global energy market. Roughly half of the Japanese crude oil imports come from Russia’s Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 projects, and almost all its LNG import from Russia is supplied…

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Mexico Evalua’s Report on the Need to Reform the State-Owned Electricity Commission

According to a 2020 México Evalúa report, the state-owned Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) is responsible for 17% of Mexico’s carbon dioxide emissions. The CFE is an electric power company operating as a Productive State Company (Empresa Productiva del Estado), wholly owned by the Mexican Government. The report, based on an analysis of CFE’s Business…

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Inauguration of a Government-Sponsored National Clean Cooking Committee in Nigeria

The most significant climate change-related event in Nigeria in the first half of the year 2022 is the federal government’s inauguration of a committee to develop a national policy on clean cooking. This development is important because of the country’s pledge to increase access to clean cooking by 2030 as part of its Nationally Determined…

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Sakhalin is Planned to Become the First Carbon-Neutral Region in Russia

Despite the difficult geopolitical situation in Russia, the problem of climate change has not disappeared, and the country’s leadership continues to move according to its plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. In this regard, the most important climate event in Russia within the first half of 2022 is undoubtedly the decision to conduct a…

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Saudi Arabia Hosted PetroEnvironment Symposium in 2022

Description of the event In May 2022, Saudi Arabia hosted a 2-day symposium, PetroEnvironment 2022, that brought together environmental practitioners, policymakers, scientists, end-users, technicians, and engineers to discuss major current and emerging environmental opportunities for global sustainability. During the event, participants exchanged new ideas, approaches, research findings, and partnership initiatives to increase circularity and sustainability….

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South Africa’s Public Utility Commits to Producing Renewable Energy

South Africa depends heavily on coal for its electricity generation and is among the highest GHG emitters in the world. Over the last decade, South Africa has faced major electricity challenges, such as load shedding, which has become part of everyday life in the country. It is estimated that Stage 6 load shedding removed up…

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The Return of Energy Intensive Tourism in Spain

Back to the bars, beaches, and climate negligence. The almost-complete easing of travel-related restrictions in the first quarter of 2022 has jumpstarted recovery in Spain’s tourist industry, reaching around 70% of its pre-pandemic levels. With packed beaches, bars, and nightclubs, the world’s second most important holiday destination is showing nostalgic signs of normality. Despite providing…

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Turkey Experiencing Extreme Weather Events and Rising Energy Prices in 2022

Firstly, after an extended autumn, the winter season started later than usual in most of the country. It continued until mid-May in the western part of Turkey, including Istanbul, which is unusual. On the 19th of May, a heavy snowstorm hit Istanbul paralyzing the whole city and delaying the early summer. This resulted in low…

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The New British Energy Security Strategy

On April 7 the UK government introduced their “British Energy Security Strategy”. The publishing of the strategy was accelerated by the crisis in Ukraine. It made it clear that the UK is very dependent on foreign sources of energy, primarily gas, oil, and coal.With energy prices on the rise globally, this has resulted in rising…

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Supreme Court Restricts Ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Plants

In 2021, climate action made major strides in the United States as President Biden released executive orders, Congress passed a major infrastructure law, and federal agencies strengthened climate-related regulations. However, 2022, by contrast, has brought significant setbacks for climate action. Likely the most important comes in a Supreme Court decision announced on June 30th, which…

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