Morro Bay seagrass loss causes change in fish populations

Areas once covered with lush seagrass meadows and unique fish species are now home to muddy-seafloor-loving flatfish.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: THE STAGHORN SCULPIN IS ONE OF THE MUDDY-SEAFLOOR-LOVING FLATFISH SPECIES THAT HAS INCREASED IN MORRO BAY FOLLOWING A LOSS OF SEAGRASS HABITAT. SEAGRASS-SPECIALIST FISH SPECIES HAVE DECREASED. view more 

CREDIT: ILIANA ARROYOS

The loss of seagrass habitat caused a dramatic shift in fish species in Morro Bay. Areas once covered with lush seagrass meadows and unique fish species are now home to muddy-seafloor-loving flatfish, according to a paper by Cal Poly researchers published in the October 2021 print edition of Estuaries and Coasts.

Seagrass meadows were previously common throughout the Morro Bay estuary but nearly disappeared over the last decade.

"Seagrass, like the eelgrass in Morro Bay, is important because it supports a range of marine life," said Jennifer O'Leary, who led the research as a California Sea Grant extension specialist based at Cal Poly. O'Leary is now the Western Indian Ocean coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society. "It's like the trees in a forest--these underwater plants provide food, structure, and shelter to many of the marine animals that live in the bay."

Underwater seagrass meadows are one of the main habitats in coastal estuaries, and represent one of the most biologically productive biomes on our planet. Yet seagrass habitats are being lost at an alarming rate, and their decline now rivals those reported for tropical rainforests, coral reefs, and mangroves. Loss is usually the symptom of a larger problem, and seagrasses are therefore considered "coastal canaries." Their decline signals important losses to biodiversity and often impacts the communities that depend on them.

Morro Bay, one of 28 estuaries that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated as critical to the economic and environmental health of the nation, has seen a dramatic loss in its seagrass habitat. Once dominated by a common California eelgrass (Zostera marina), seagrass at this site has declined by more than 95 percent, from covering 344 acres in 2007 to less than 15 acres in 2017.

Seagrass meadows are a multifaceted habitat that secure sediments with their root systems, and provide food, shelter and nurseries for many types of fish and invertebrates. When seagrass meadows are lost, they are often replaced with a less dynamic, muddy seafloor habitat.

O'Leary and colleagues found that seagrass loss did not result in fewer fish but rather led to changes in the types of fish that live in the bay. The research team saw decreasing numbers of some seagrass-specialist fish species, such as the bay pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus). With long thin bodies and olive green coloration, bay pipefish are adapted to hide among the seagrass blades.

In contrast, researchers observed an increase in flatfishes like the speckled sanddab (Citharichthys stigmaeus) and staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus). These fish have flat bodies that are ideal for life along the muddy seafloor and are common residents in California bays and estuaries. These species have moved into the former eelgrass habitats and now make up the majority of the fish species present in Morro Bay.

The loss of eelgrass habitat along the California coast presents a larger problem for species that depend on seagrass, like the bay pipefish. If seagrass doesn't recover, then the surviving meadows will be further apart and have a more fragmented, or patchy, distribution. This distance and patchiness of habitat may impact specialists, like pipefish, by impairing their ability to move to a new habitat to find food or mates. This community isolation may alter the genetic structure and diversity of the overall pipefish population over time.

"The relatively sudden and near complete collapse of eelgrass in Morro Bay has not only changed fish populations, but it has also resulted in substantial changes to estuary physics and geomorphology," said study coauthor Ryan Walter, a Cal Poly physics professor who has been studying eelgrass loss through a California Sea Grant-funded research project that was launched in 2018.

Walter, O'Leary and other Cal Poly researchers, in conjunction with the Morro Bay National Estuary Program, continue to study the cause and consequences of the eelgrass decline. In another study, the team recently found that the loss of eelgrass in Morro Bay led to widespread erosion, or loss of sediment, throughout the estuary.

The new research sheds additional light on changes within Morro Bay that may inform how scientists learn about seagrass communities throughout California. There has not been an eelgrass decline on the United States Pacific Coast of this magnitude, making Morro Bay a novel event that may help predict future estuarine change.

A multifaceted approach to protect and enhance the remaining seagrass will be essential, said the researchers There is hope for the future as the remaining eelgrass is slowly expanding with protection and local planting initiatives, including successful transplant efforts led by the Morro Bay National Estuary Program. Walter and O'Leary have used drone-based surveys to document natural expansion and recovery of eelgrass in areas where it was lost. The mere 9.4 acres of seagrass left in Morro Bay in 2017 expanded to 36.7 acres by 2019. The researchers are still analyzing data from 2020 but are optimistic that the seagrass acreage continues to slowly increase.

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JOURNAL

Estuaries and Coasts

DOI

10.1007/s12237-021-00917-2 

ARTICLE TITLE

Effects of Estuary-Wide Seagrass Loss on Fish Populations

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

23-Oct-2021

Is it worth trying to sway the most staunch climate deniers?

Boston University researcher finds some people who are receptive to disinformation about climate change are still open to the science

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BOSTON UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: BOSTON UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER FINDS SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE RECEPTIVE TO DISINFORMATION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE ARE STILL OPEN TO THE SCIENCE view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO BY CALLUM SHAW ON UNSPLASH

Thanks to algorithms that learn about social media users’ content preferences, Facebook timelines, Twitter feeds, suggested YouTube videos, and other news streams can look startlingly different from one person’s online account to the next. Media and communication experts often wrestle with how to rein in the forces that further polarize people with different views, especially people who sit on opposite sides of the political aisle. When it comes to online content that contains disinformation—inaccurate messages or propaganda intended to deceive and influence readers—why are some people more likely to believe falsehoods often spread via social media and the internet?  

Arunima Krishna, a Boston University College of Communication researcher who studies public perceptions of controversial social issues, is studying the spread of disinformation, specifically related to climate science—an issue that has been manipulated by climate change deniers for decades. In her latest study, Krishna surveyed 645 Americans about their beliefs on climate change—whether or not those beliefs are informed by fact or fiction—to assess their communication behaviors about climate change.

“I think a lot of folks don’t see how close to home climate change is. Even though we’re seeing climate refugees, [worsening] hurricanes, and other [natural] disasters, there is still a level of distance from the problem,” says Krishna, a College of Communication assistant professor of public relations. 

She points out that physical distance from the effects of climate change could be partly why some people find it is easier to separate themselves from the climate crisis. Plus, climate solutions are often things many people don’t readily want to do, like eating less meat, using less plastic, and buying less material goods. Fossil fuel companies and lobbyists for the industry have also worked extremely hard to deceive the public from knowing the full extent of the damaging impact of burning fossil fuels, she says.

According to Krishna’s survey of Americans, 7 in 10 people who are susceptible to believing climate disinformation self-identified as politically conservative. In contrast, 8 in 10 Americans who self-identified as liberal were found to be immune to disinformation about climate change. Those findings double down on past research from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, which found liberals and Democrats are significantly more worried about climate change than conservatives and Republicans, and are more likely to believe humans are causing the climate crisis.

Krishna also detected a difference in age between those who were more susceptible to disinformation and those who weren’t. More than half of the respondents immune to false information about climate were under 45. Those more receptive to climate disinformation were, on average, over the age of 46.

Diving deeper into the respondents’ responses, Krishna categorized the survey results into four different groups. The first segment, made up of people she calls the “disinformation immune,” have not accepted any disinformation about climate change and humans’ role in it, and they likely never will. The second group, the“disinformation vulnerable,” have negative attitudes about how humans are influencing climate. While they haven’t yet accepted disinformation, some of their responses to facts about climate change—as well as their attitudes and motivations—indicate they could possibly believe climate disinformation in the future. The third group, the “disinformation receptive,” have accepted false information about climate change already. Lastly, the fourth group, the “disinformation amplifying,” is made up of people who hold extremely negative attitudes about climate change and doubt humans’ role in accelerating it, have already accepted disinformation, and are highly motivated to spread the disinformation they believe. 

“My study found that [disinformation amplifiers] are more likely to spread their opinions about climate change compared to everybody else in the survey,” Krishna says. The amplifiers are known as what Krishna calls “lacuna publics,” a term she coined in 2017 when she was researching vaccine hesitant groups. (The word “publics” refers to groups connected by issue-specific motivation, and “lacuna” means a gap in knowledge.) Though the disinformation amplifiers, or lacuna publics, are in the minority, they are different from groups that are disinformation vulnerable or receptive because of their willingness to spread disinformation. 

The United States has more climate skeptics than anywhere else in the world, Krishna says, but their ranks have started to shrink. Climate scientists around the world have found unequivocally that the more we continue to emit heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the worse the consequences will be for humans, most species, and ecosystems on Earth. 

Though there is no single solution to stopping the spread of climate disinformation, Krishna emphasizes the importance of engaging with people most vulnerable to believing disinformation. Lacuna publics, or amplifiers, however, might be difficult or impossible to sway.

“It might not be worth using resources to try to reach the lacuna publics,” Krishna says. “Research tells us that one-on-one interaction can often be more effective than mass media messages…so perhaps that’s the best way to [elevate] voices who are disinformation immune.”

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JOURNAL

Journal of Public Relations Research

DOI

10.1080/1062726X.2021.1944155 

ARTICLE TITLE

Lacuna publics: advancing a typology of disinformation-susceptible publics using the motivation-attitude-knowledge framework

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

4-Aug-2021

Capturing Ecology – Winning images of British Ecological Society photography competition announced

Grant and Award Announcement

BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

 

IMAGE: OVERALL WINNER: KUMLIEN'S GULL & FRIENDS, REBECCA NASON view more 

CREDIT: REBECCA NASON

A close up of a Kumlien's Gull’s eye, with speckled markings that aren’t quite what they appear, taken by Rebecca Nason, has been awarded Overall Winner in the British Ecological Society’s annual photography competition, ‘Capturing Ecology’.

The winning images and an additional eight highly commended images, taken by international ecologists and students, celebrate the diversity of ecology, capturing flora and fauna from across the planet.

Subjects range from a blood red snail feeding on dead man's fingers (a fungus found in the rainforests of India) to a rare sighting of the ‘fairy of the Valencian forests’, a recently discovered cave-dwelling bug in Spain.

The winning images from this year’s will be displayed in our immersive virtual exhibition, which is sponsored by Wiley. The exhibition will be made freely available to everyone when the embargo lifts.

Overall winner: Kumlien's Gull & Friends, Rebecca Nason:

On her winning image, Rebecca Nason - an ecologist and photographer living in Britain’s most northerly harbour town of Lerwick, Shetland - said: “In April 2021, I came across a scarce Kumlien's Gull as I fed bread to a growing number of Herring Gull sheltering from a Spring storm. A beautiful gull, these birds breed in the Arctic regions of Canada & winter from Labrador west across the Great Lakes.

“When the Kumlien's gull approached to a good distance to allow for closer full frame shots. I started photographing the eye detail, noting a gorgeous granite coloured iris with dark speckled plumage detail around the eye. It was only when I got home I realised that the speckled patterns were in fact lice clustered around the eye, the Kumlien's Gull hadn't travelled alone!

“I am thrilled to win such a prestigious photography competition after entering for the first time this year. I have had a very symbiotic relationship between ecology work & bird photography in my career, so for both to come together in this way to win a competition with a gull image taken on my local patch, is just the icing on the cake.”

Overall student winner: Hidden Lynx, Dani Davis:

The overall student winner is Dani Davis, a graduate student at Florida State University. Dani’s image captures a green lynx spider with its bumblebee catch in the Apalachicola National Forest, North Florida. Green lynx spiders can change colours to match their background plant, a trait which they use when lying in wait for visiting pollinators. When their prey comes close, they pounce, like their namesake cat.

Dani Davis said: “Green lynx spiders are majestic yet voracious predators. Able to take down relatively large prey. With a quick bite, the lynx can subdue their cumbersome prey and feast in peace. Despite hearing of their ferocity, I was amazed to see this lynx with a bumblebee that matched her in size!

“A culmination of experiences in the field surrounded by incredible photographers and naturalists taught me how to tell natural history stories through images. With enormous thanks to those who spent time outside with me, I'm honoured to be the overall student winner for Capturing Ecology.”

Professor Jane Memmott, President of the British Ecological Society, said:

"This year's photos are of a very high standard and are a pleasure to look through. Overall, the photographs capture a broad swath of biodiversity - from tiny mosses to giant bears. The winner is a beautifully composed photograph of a gull's eye - it's visually arresting, pin sharp and very beautiful, hitchhiking lice included!"

Competition judge, Laura Dyer:

The independent judging panel included six highly respected photographers including eminent ecologists and award-winning wildlife photographers. Among them was Laura Dyer, a South African born wildlife photographer, who has an affinity for animal portraits.

Laura said: “Wildlife and nature photography is so vital today, as it helps to showcase parts of the natural world which would otherwise remain hidden from the view of most of us. And it is only by seeing the beauty of nature that we will be inspired to protect and conserve it. These images from British Ecological Society members and students alike help to showcase these wonders.

“The three overall winners this year demonstrate completely different styles of photography and all so beautifully captured. The spider, which at first glance, is almost unnoticeable in 'Hidden Lynx' - you can imagine the surprise of the bumblebee as he met his end. The detail in the gull, and how at first glance the parasites appear to be feather markings. The delicate lighting and dancing nature of the image of the recently discovered 'Fairy of the Forest'. These are worthy winners.”

Full list of winners:

Overall winner: Rebecca Nason

Kumlien's Gull & Friends: When taking full frame pictures of a Kumlien's gull, the photographer noticed a dark speckled plumage detail around the eye. It was only when they got home they realised that the speckled patterns were in fact lice clustered around the eye, the Gull hadn't travelled alone.

Overall runner-up: Roberto Garcia Roa, University of Valencia

The fairy of the forests: One of the few images of Valenciolenda fadaforesta ("fairy of the Valencian forests"), a cave-dwelling bug recently discovered in a few Spanish caves. Wonderful evidence of the extraordinary biodiversity hidden in the dark of cave ecosystems.

Overall student winner: Dani Davis, Florida State University

Hidden Lynx: A green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) rests on a budding Liatris with its bumblebee catch. Seen in a bog in the Apalachicola National Forest in North Florida, USA. Green lynx spiders are masters of disguise. Able to change colours to match their background plant, they wait for visiting pollinators and then pounce on their prey, like their namesake cat.

Category 1 – Up Close and Personal
An image displaying the intricacy of nature using close-up or macro photography.

Winner: Alicia Hayden, University of the West of England

Beautiful Bryophyte: With the colours of the sunset in the background, the whole scene of this moss growing on a wall in Cornwall looks like something from a tropical rainforest. It shows the extraordinary macro world all around us, and how there is beauty in the smallest of living things.

Student winner: Jack Marcus Smith, University of Cambridge

Beauty in the (Mini)Beast: The image is a high magnification portrait of a blowfly. The photpgrapher wanted to reveal the intricacy and beauty of what many consider a pest. The blowfly is perfect for illustrating complexity in miniature and here they have captured the elaborate nature of each individual microstructure.

Category 2 – Dynamic Ecosystems
Demonstrating interactions between different species within an ecosystem.

Winner: Vijay Karthick, Nature Conservation Foundation, India

It's finger lickin' good: Indrella ampulla, an endemic species of snail is an important soil invertebrate that breaks down organic matter in the rainforest floors of the Western Ghats mountain range in India. Here, its feeding on Xylaria sp. fungi, commonly known as dead man's fingers.

Student winner: Dani Davis, Florida State University

Quick Catch: A tiny Phidippus regius (Regal Jumping Spider) sits perched with a freshly caught Sulphur butterfly. Observed while visiting a bog near Sumatra, Florida. Jumping spiders abound in this habitat. The photographer stared with curiosity at this regal jumping spider doused in yellow scales, holding the butterfly it had just caught.

Category 3 – Individuals and Populations
A unique look at a species in its environment, either alone or as part of a population.

Winner: Roberto Garcia Roa, University of Valencia

Fleeting race: A large flock of gulls performed short but very quick flights to move around a field of rice during the first hours of the morning. The fog in the environment and the fast movements of each individual allowed me to capture this dynamic but also frozen image of such a chaotic situation.

Student winner: Alwin Hardenbol, University of Eastern Finland

Master of the reeds: Bearded Reedlings (Panurus biarmicus) are strongly connected to reedbeds. In wintertime, this species eats reed seeds as shown in this image. The photograph took this picture in Espoo, Finland, aiming to depict how the bird’s weight bends the reed.

Category 4 – People and Nature
An interesting and original take on the relationships between people and nature.

Winner: Molly Dunn, Florence Institute of Design International

Tsunami, Dormant ivy vines reach across a roadside wall blackened at the bottom by car exhaust. The photograph was taken on a small, neighbourhood street in Florence, Italy in the early spring of 2021.

Student winner: John Benjamin Owens, Bangor University/Captive & Field Herpetology Ltd.

Nature's Landmine, The Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) often resides within rice paddies. Accidentally stepped upon by agricultural workers, this viper is frequently involved in human-snake conflict, resulting in death and life changing injuries for millions of Indian people, annually. Something to think about when next buying rice in the supermarket?

Category 5 – Ecology in Action
Showcasing the practice of ecology in action

Winner: Pete Hudson, Penn State University

Bat OneHealth: While many of us are suffering with vaccines and regular swabs, the poor bats are also being sampled. At the start of the pandemic, our team were in Bangladesh sampling fruit bats near locations where Nipah virus had infected humans and recording virus and new viral sequences.

Student winner: Joshua Powell, Zoological Society of London, UCL & Seoul National University

Reintroduction in action: Conservation translocations – such as species reintroductions, or reinforcements – are increasingly important tools in conservation ecology. In South Korea, vets from the Korea National Park Service prepare to transport a female Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in Jirisan National Park.

Category 6 – The Art of Ecology
A creative and original take on photography denoting ecology

Winner: Raul Costa-Pereira, The University of Campinas

Amazonian mosaic: In tropical rainforests, plants are often colonized by an astonishing diversity of organisms that grows on the surface of their leaves, such as epiphyllous mosses, lichens, and fungi. The photo shows the colourful mosaic of biodiversity on the leaves of an Amazonian palm tree in a forest near Manaus, Brazil.

Student winner: Alicia Hayden, University of the West of England

Spotlight: This spider was spending a lot of time repairing its web, and the streetlamp highlighted the movement of its legs as I took the photo. This illustrates the urban wildlife which is not usually acknowledged, showing the great diversity of wildlife in our urban spaces.

- Ends -

CAPTION

Overall student winner: Hidden Lynx, Dani Davis

CREDIT

Dani Davis

CAPTION

Runner up: The fairy of the forests, Roberto Garcia Roa

CREDIT

Roberto Garcia Roa

CAPTION

Category winner: It's finger lickin' good, Vijay Karthick. a red snail feeding on dead man's fingers (a fungus found in the rainforests of India).

CREDIT

Vijay Karthick

Increased temperatures contributed to more than 200,000 cases of kidney disease in 15 years in Brazil alone, world’s largest study finds

World’s largest study of the impact of temperature changes and kidney disease reveals that 7.4 per cent of all hospitalisations for renal disease can be attributed to an increase in temperature

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MONASH UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: PROFESSOR YUMING GUO view more 

CREDIT: MONASH UNIVERSITY

Today the world’s largest study of the impact of temperature changes and kidney disease reveals that 7.4 per cent of all hospitalisations for renal disease can be attributed to an increase in temperature. In Brazil – where the study was focused – this equated to more than 202,000 cases of kidney disease from 2000-2015.

The study, led by Professor Yuming Guo and Dr Shanshan Li, from Planetary Health at Monash University and published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas journal, for the first time quantifies the risk and attributable burden for hospitalizations of renal diseases related to ambient temperature using daily hospital admission data from 1816 cities in Brazil.

The study comes as the world focuses on the impact of climate change at the COP26 conference in Glasgow from 31 October.

In 2017, a landmark article in The Lancet declared renal diseases a global public health concern, estimating that almost 2.6 million deaths were attributable to impaired kidney function that year. Importantly the incidence of death from kidney disease had risen 26.6 per cent compared to a decade previously, an increase that this study may indicate was, in part, caused by climate change.

The study looked at a total of 2,726,886 hospitalizations for renal diseases recorded during the study period. According to Professor Guo, for every 1°C increase in daily mean temperature,  there is an almost 1 per cent increase in renal disease, with those most impacted being women, children under 4 years of age and those 80+ years of age.

The associations between temperature and renal diseases were largest on the day of the exposure to extreme temperatures but remained for 1–2 days post-exposure.

In the paper the authors – who are also from the University of Sao Paulo – argue that the study “provides robust evidence that more policies should be developed to prevent heat-related hospitalisations and mitigate climate change.”

“In the context of global warming, more strategies and policies should be developed to prevent heat-related hospitalizations.”

The authors advise interventions should be urgently incorporated into government policy on climate change, including particularly targeting specific individuals, including females, children, adolescents, and the elderly, as they are more vulnerable to heat with regard to renal diseases.

“Moreover, attention should be paid to low- and middle-income countries like Brazil, where reliable heat warning systems and preventive measures are still in need,” Professor Guo added.

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JOURNAL

The Lancet Regional Health - Americas

DOI

10.1016/j.lana.2021.100101. 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Meta-analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Association between Ambient Temperature and Hospitalization for Renal Diseases in Brazil during 2000–2015: A Nationwide Case-Crossover Study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

31-Oct-2021

COI STATEMENT

None

 

Methane Observatory launched to boost action on powerful climate-warming gas (UNEP / European Commission)

Reports and Proceedings

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME

 

IMAGE: THE INTERNATIONAL METHANE EMISSIONS OBSERVATORY (IMEO) IS RELEASING ITS FIRST ANNUAL REPORT ON SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER 2021. THE RELEASE COINCIDES WITH THE G20 SUMMIT IN ROME AND TAKES PLACE JUST A FEW DAYS AHEAD OF THE BEGINNING OF THE 2021 UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE (COP26) IN GLASGOW. THIS REPORT DESCRIBES HOW STATE ACTORS CAN TAKE ACTION TO CURB METHANE EMISSIONS FROM THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY, AND WHAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE AS PART OF THE DECARBONIZATION PROCESS, PARTICULARLY IN THE ENERGY SECTOR. IMEO’S ANNUAL REPORT SEEKS TO PROVIDE DECISION MAKERS WITH A FRAMEWORK OF ACTION TO TRACK AND MONITOR METHANE EMISSIONS TO PLAN TARGETED AND AMBITIOUS ACTION FOR THEIR MITIGATION. view more 

CREDIT: UNEP

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with support from the European Union, today launched a new Observatory to drive action on reducing methane emissions – a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for at least a quarter of the current climate warming. 

The International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) was launched at the G20 Summit, on the eve of the latest round of climate talks, known as COP26 in Glasgow.

IMEO will improve the reporting accuracy and public transparency of human-caused methane emissions. IMEO will initially focus on methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector, and then expand to other major emitting sectors like agriculture and waste. 

The recently published UNEP-CCAC Global Methane Assessment states that zero or low net-cost reductions could almost halve anthropogenic methane emissions and proven measures could shave 0.28 degrees Celsius from the forecasted rise in the planet’s average temperature by 2050.

IMEO will provide the means to prioritize actions and monitor commitments made by state actors in the Global Methane Pledge – a US- and EU-led effort by over two dozen countries to slash methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. 

Methane: over 80 times more potent than CO2

To stay on track to reach the Paris Agreement goal of limiting climate change to 1.5°C, the world needs to almost halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change notes that if the world is to achieve the 1.5°C temperature target, deep methane emissions reductions must be achieved over this time. 

“As highlighted by IPCC, if the world is serious about avoiding the worst effects of climate change, we need to cut methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry. But this is not a get-out-of-jail free card: methane reductions must go hand in hand with actions to decarbonize the energy system to limit warming to 1.5°C, as called for in the Paris Agreement,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

Methane released directly into the atmosphere is more than 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year time horizon. However, as methane’s atmospheric lifespan is relatively short – 10 to 12 years – actions to cut methane emissions can yield the most immediate reduction in the rate of warming, while also delivering air quality benefits. 

EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said, “Methane has accounted for roughly 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times, and today its emissions are increasing faster than at any other time since record keeping began in the 1980s. Existing systems do not allow us to determine precisely enough where emissions happen across the global and in what volumes. Once better data is available, countries can take swift and well-targeted action. In the EU, we will already propose pioneering legislation to cut methane emissions this year. This includes mandatory leak detection and repair and limiting venting and flaring.”

The fossil fuel industry is responsible for one-third of anthropogenic emissions and is the sector with the highest potential for reductions. The wasted methane, the main component in natural gas, is a valuable source of energy that could be used to fuel power plants or homes. 

IMEO: an independent and trusted entity 

The Observatory will produce a global public dataset of empirically verified methane emissions – starting with the fossil fuel sector - at an increasing level of granularity and accuracy by integrating data principally from four streams: reporting from the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0),  direct measurement data from scientific studies, remote sensing data, and national inventories. This will allow IMEO to engage companies and governments around the world to utilize this data to target strategic mitigation actions and support science-based policy options.

Critical to this effort are data collected through OGMP 2.0, launched in November 2020 in the framework of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition. OGMP 2.0 is the only comprehensive, measurement-based reporting framework for the oil and gas sector, and its 74 member companies represent many of the world’s largest operators across the entire value chain, with assets that account for over 30 per cent of all oil and gas production.

IMEO: First Annual Report 

In a report released to coincide with the launch, IMEO laid out its Theory of Change, at the heart of which is the need for an independent and trusted entity to integrate these multiple sources of heterogenous data into a coherent and policy-relevant dataset. The report also includes the analysis of the first reports submitted by the company members of the OGMP 2.0. During this first year, most companies put significant effort into reporting and outlined ambitious 2025 reduction targets. Out of the 55 companies that set targets, 30 meet or exceed the recommended targets of 45% reduction or near-zero methane intensity, and 51 have submitted plans that provide confidence the accuracy of their data will improve in the next 3-5 years.

Hosted by UNEP, IMEO is budgeted at EUR 100 million over five years. To maintain its independence and credibility, it will receive no industry funding. Instead, IMEO will be entirely funded by governments and philanthropies, with core resources provided by the European Commission as a founding member.

About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

About the European Commission

The European Commission is the European Union’s politically independent executive arm. It is alone responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation, and it implements the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. 

For more information on the EU-US Global Methane Pledge

Joint EU-US Statement on the Global Methane Pledge (europa.eu)

New release! Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform (AP-PLAT) website

Business Announcement

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

 

IMAGE: NEW AP-PLAT WEBSITE WAS REDESIGNED TO PROVIDE BETTER USER EXPERIENCE. view more 

CREDIT: CCCA, NIES

Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform (AP-PLAT) website is accessible at https://ap-plat.nies.go.jp/

 

1. Background of the website

The Climate Change Adaptation Centre is responsible for developing an international information sharing system on climate change and other related issues, as stipulated in the Climate Change Adaptation Act of Japan. We have been operating our website since June 2019 with the aim of disseminating information in the Asia Pacific region, but now we have created and published scientific tools and redesigned the entire website to expand its content.

 

2. Major website contents

ClimoCast

ClimoCast is an online tool that allows users to check future regional climate projections based on the latest climate data (CMIP6 data). It was developed by the Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Platform (AP-PLAT) Center for Climate Change Adaptation (CCCA) with a mission to make climate projections accessible to all individuals, including those that lack a similar academic background. Users can compare four major emission scenarios (SSP126–585), compare the results of ten different climate models, and download the corresponding data.

 

Climate Impact Viewer

The Climate Impact Viewer shows the results of climate change impact assessment in various sectors, including existing climate, water resources, vegetation, agriculture, and health. Users can visually compare global projections across different sectors and time scales.

 

ClimoKit

ClimoKit is a database of free online resources that can be utilized in climate impact assessments and adaptation planning. Users can rapidly find the most relevant data or tools in their sectors or regions by applying search filters. Some resources are designed for general public use, while others require specific knowledge or skills.

 

Capacity development

Capacity development content provides self-paced online learning videos and the most updated scientific tools to support various stakeholders in developing effective policies and planning relevant activities. It aims to build capacity for better climate adaptation in the region. Functioning as a regional hub, this platform also promotes knowledge exchange in collaboration with key partners of capacity development in climate change adaptation.

  

CAPTION

ClimoCast is an online tool that allows users to check future regional climate projections based on the latest climate data (CMIP6 data). It was developed by the Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Platform (AP-PLAT) Center for Climate Change Adaptation (CCCA) with a mission to make climate projections accessible to all individuals, including those that lack a similar academic background. Users can compare four major emission scenarios (SSP126–585), compare the results of ten different climate models, and download the corresponding data.

CREDIT

CCCA, NIES

Others

The website also provides regular updates on the latest developments in adaptation in countries, cities and international organisations, as well as information on the status of adaptation planning.

 

3. Future prospects

We will continue to conduct adaptive research, collect and analyse information, develop new tools and enhance each content. We will also consider how we can enhance the content based on feedback from users and stakeholders.

 

4. Other

The launch of the redesigned website will also be announced at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which opens on Sunday, 31 October and closes on Friday, 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, UK.

 

We are looking forward to seeing you back on our renewed website in November!

CAPTION

The Climate Impact Viewer shows the results of climate change impact assessment in various sectors, including the existing climate, water resources, vegetation, agriculture, and health. Users can visually compare global projections across different sectors and time scales.

CREDIT

CCCA, NIES

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable