Quebec to Announce 2035 Phaseout for Internal Combustion Vehicle Sales – The Energy Mix: Quebec is planning to ban sales of new internal combustion cars, from compact vehicles to pick-up trucks and SUVs, as of 2035, Environment Minister Benoit Charette revealed over the weekend, in what CBC is framing as the “flagship measure” in the province’s five-year, C$6.7-billion green economy and climate plan.

“The measure is part of the Plan for a Green Economy the Minister will unveil on Monday,” the French-language Montreal daily reported in a Saturday exclusive. “It did not appear in the versions of the plan that La Presse described in recent months.”

Quebec to Announce 2035 Phaseout for Internal Combustion Vehicle Sales – The Energy Mix: Quebec is planning to ban sales of new internal combustion cars, from compact vehicles to pick-up trucks and SUVs, as of 2035, Environment Minister Benoit Charette revealed over the weekend, in what CBC is framing as the “flagship measure” in the province’s five-year, C$6.7-billion green economy and climate plan.“The measure is part of the Plan for a Green Economy the Minister will unveil on Monday,” the French-language Montreal daily reported in a Saturday exclusive. “It did not appear in the versions of the plan that La Presse described in recent months.”Read More

IEA: Global renewable energy capacity will climb by 200GW in 2020, more in 2021 – Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis:

The IEA report published on Tuesday
says almost 90% of new electricity generation in 2020 will be renewable,
with just 10% powered by gas and coal. The trend puts green electricity
on track to become the largest power source in 2025, displacing coal,
which has dominated for the past 50 years.

IEA: Global renewable energy capacity will climb by 200GW in 2020, more in 2021 – Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis: The IEA report published on Tuesday
says almost 90% of new electricity generation in 2020 will be renewable,
with just 10% powered by gas and coal. The trend puts green electricity
on track to become the largest power source in 2025, displacing coal,
which has dominated for the past 50 years.Read More

President-Elect Biden Brings ‘Clear Climate Mandate’ to White House – The Energy Mix: “Joe Biden will take office with something no U.S. president has had before: robust popular support for climate action, borne out in polling data and election results from a hard-fought campaign,” reports Bloomberg Green. “Global warming was on the ballot to a surprising degree,” and “exit polls appear to show that his messages on climate broke through with voters,” with 74% declaring climate change “very important” to their vote and 67% lining up in favour of increased renewable energy spending.

Click here for our Special Report on climate and the U.S. election.

All in all, “his mandate to go all in on climate change and clean energy could not be more clear,” said Ed Maibach, director of the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.

“They’ve given us a clear mandate for actions on COVID, the economy, climate change, systematic racism,” Biden said Friday night.

President-Elect Biden Brings ‘Clear Climate Mandate’ to White House – The Energy Mix: “Joe Biden will take office with something no U.S. president has had before: robust popular support for climate action, borne out in polling data and election results from a hard-fought campaign,” reports Bloomberg Green. “Global warming was on the ballot to a surprising degree,” and “exit polls appear to show that his messages on climate broke through with voters,” with 74% declaring climate change “very important” to their vote and 67% lining up in favour of increased renewable energy spending.Click here for our Special Report on climate and the U.S. election.All in all, “his mandate to go all in on climate change and clean energy could not be more clear,” said Ed Maibach, director of the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.“They’ve given us a clear mandate for actions on COVID, the economy, climate change, systematic racism,” Biden said Friday night.Read More

Wealthy Countries Fall Short on $100-Billion Annual Climate Fund Promise – The Energy Mix: The international NGO’s 2020 Climate Finance Shadow Report concludes that only $59.5 billion in climate finance was delivered to under-resourced nations in the 2017-2018 period. And 80% of that took the form of loans, not grants, writes Climate Home News.

Adding insult to the injury of having to repay monies spent on protecting themselves from a crisis they played little role in creating, the climate finance often took the form of “investment in projects with weak climate credentials.”

Wealthy Countries Fall Short on $100-Billion Annual Climate Fund Promise – The Energy Mix: The international NGO’s 2020 Climate Finance Shadow Report concludes that only $59.5 billion in climate finance was delivered to under-resourced nations in the 2017-2018 period. And 80% of that took the form of loans, not grants, writes Climate Home News.Adding insult to the injury of having to repay monies spent on protecting themselves from a crisis they played little role in creating, the climate finance often took the form of “investment in projects with weak climate credentials.”Read More

Harvard researchers suggest not living within 12 miles of frac’ing – that puts most of rural Alberta and NEBC out of bounds for living: The data comes from 17 years of measurements at over 150 radiation monitoring sites. Scientists examined these measurements, combined with the location data on more than 120,000 fracking wells. While experts have known fracking can release chemicals into the groundwater in particular, this is the first study to analyze radiation levels.

It can contain such chemicals as:

Trisodium nitrilotriacetate:
Known as a carcinogen. Also, an environmental hazard as it hinders the elimination of heavy metals in wastewater treatment systems. It appears in products like Tilex Soap Scum Remover & Sunlight Laundry Detergent. It is also a common flame retardant. Although it is a known carcinogen, it is overly dangerous in wastewater.

Sodium Persulfate:
Exposure via inhalation or skin contact can cause sensitization, i.e., after initial exposure individuals may subsequently react to exposure at very low levels of that substance. Exposure can also cause skin rashes and eczema. Sodium persulfate is irritating to eyes and respiratory system and long-term exposure may cause changes in lung function (i.e. pneumoconiosis resulting in disease of in airways) and/or asthma.

Benzothiazole:
A chemcial ring of Benzene and Toluene. Short-term health effects of exposure include dizziness, headaches, loss of coordination, respiratory distress, and skin, eye, nose and throat irritation. Long-term health effects of exposure include kidney, liver, and blood system damage. Long-term exposure to benzene can affect bone marrow, causing anaemia and increasing the risk of leukaemia and diseases such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Benzene is a health hazard even in minute quantities. Australian drinking water guidelines for benzene state that there is “no safe concentration of benzene in drinking water.”… and more…

Harvard researchers suggest not living within 12 miles of frac’ing – that puts most of rural Alberta and NEBC out of bounds for living: The data comes from 17 years of measurements at over 150 radiation monitoring sites. Scientists examined these measurements, combined with the location data on more than 120,000 fracking wells. While experts have known fracking can release chemicals into the groundwater in particular, this is the first study to analyze radiation levels.It can contain such chemicals as:Trisodium nitrilotriacetate:Known as a carcinogen. Also, an environmental hazard as it hinders the elimination of heavy metals in wastewater treatment systems. It appears in products like Tilex Soap Scum Remover & Sunlight Laundry Detergent. It is also a common flame retardant. Although it is a known carcinogen, it is overly dangerous in wastewater.Sodium Persulfate:Exposure via inhalation or skin contact can cause sensitization, i.e., after initial exposure individuals may subsequently react to exposure at very low levels of that substance. Exposure can also cause skin rashes and eczema. Sodium persulfate is irritating to eyes and respiratory system and long-term exposure may cause changes in lung function (i.e. pneumoconiosis resulting in disease of in airways) and/or asthma.Benzothiazole:A chemcial ring of Benzene and Toluene. Short-term health effects of exposure include dizziness, headaches, loss of coordination, respiratory distress, and skin, eye, nose and throat irritation. Long-term health effects of exposure include kidney, liver, and blood system damage. Long-term exposure to benzene can affect bone marrow, causing anaemia and increasing the risk of leukaemia and diseases such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Benzene is a health hazard even in minute quantities. Australian drinking water guidelines for benzene state that there is “no safe concentration of benzene in drinking water.”… and more…Read More