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Retranscription de la conférence d'Olivier Hamant organisée par le CAL Namur […] Olivier Hamant nous invite à questionner notre quête permanente de contrôle et de performance. A l'heure des bouleversements écologiques, il propose un regard original : et si nous nous inspirons du vivant ? Lent, imparfait et vulnérable, il nous montre qu'une autre manière d'organiser nos sociétés est possible, plus robuste et plus humaine.

Comprendre pourquoi l’hydrogène est en difficulté en France, en 2 minutes

We propose a new paradigm, as toxicology currently lacks the proper perspective. From the 1950s to the 1970s, at least one-third of all toxicological testing in the United States, including for chemicals and drugs, was misleading scientists, and this worldwide issue persists today. Moreover, petroleum-based waste and heavy metals have been discovered in pesticide and plasticizer formulations. These contaminations have now reached all forms of life. Widespread exposure to chemical mixtures promotes health and environmental risks. We discovered that pesticides have never undergone long-term testing on mammals in their full commercial formulations by regulatory authorities or the pesticide industry; instead, only their declared active ingredients have been assessed, contrary to environmental law recommendations. The ingredients of these formulations are not fully disclosed, yet the formulations are in general at least 1000 times more toxic at low environmentally relevant doses than the active ingredients alone u

We are hurtling toward climate chaos. The planet's vital signs are flashing red. The consequences of human-driven alterations of the climate are no longer future threats but are here now. This unfolding emergency stems from failed foresight, political inaction, unsustainable economic systems, and misinformation. Almost every corner of the biosphere is reeling from intensifying heat, storms, floods, droughts, or fires. The window to prevent the worst outcomes is rapidly closing. In early 2025, the World Meteorological Organization reported that 2024 was the hottest year on record (WMO 2025a). This was likely hotter than the peak of the last interglacial, roughly 125,000 years ago (Gulev et al. 2021, Kaufman and McKay 2022). Rising levels of greenhouse gases remain the driving force behind this escalation. These recent developments emphasize the extreme insufficiency of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mark the beginning of a grim new chapter for life on Earth.

Analysis and forecast to 2030

Première école supérieure dédiée à l’agriculture biologique et à l’agroécologie bio.

Purpose Animal emissions account for nearly 60% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector. To estimate these emissions, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed a dedicated module within the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM). Although previous studies have explored selected inputs for specific animals and emission types, a comprehensive analysis of all 92 inputs (parameters and emission factors) had not been conducted. This study aimed to identify the most influential inputs affecting ruminant emissions in GLEAM.

Climate sensitivity is substantially higher than IPCC’s best estimate (3°C for doubled CO2), a conclusion we reach with greater than 99 percent confidence. We also show that global climate forcing by aerosols became stronger (increasingly negative) during 1970-2005, unlike IPCC’s best estimate of aerosol forcing. High confidence in these conclusions is based on a broad analysis approach. IPCC’s underestimates of climate sensitivity and aerosol cooling follow from their disproportionate emphasis on global climate modeling, an approach that will not yield timely, reliable, policy advice.

Cette nouvelle étude du Forum Vies Mobiles analyse le coût global du système voiture en France, sur la base des chiffres les plus récents portant sur l’année 2023. Ce travail, réalisé avec le Laboratoire Economie Aménagement Transport (LAET) de Lyon, prend en compte non seulement les dépenses directes des usagers (ménages, entreprises, administrations), mais aussi les coûts supportés par la puissance publique et la société, incluant les externalités négatives telles que la pollution de l’air, le CO2 ou les accidents. L’objectif est d’identifier les différents postes de dépense liés à la voiture et de les quantifier, afin de proposer un panorama complet et inédit des coûts associés à l’automobile.

Why is the Trump Administration trying to kill a small space science institute in New York City? Explanation begins with Galileo’s method of scientific inquiry and ends with the role of special interest money in the United States government. Galileo improved the telescope, allowing clearer observations of the planets and the Sun. Galileo differed from his peers, as he was unafraid to challenge authority. He claimed that the world should be understood based on observations, and he spoke directly to the public. He obtained philanthropic support for his observations and openly described the conclusion that Earth was not the center of the solar system – Earth revolved around the Sun.

Identifying the socio-economic drivers behind greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to design mitigation policies. Existing studies predominantly analyze short-term CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, neglecting long-term trends and other GHGs. We examine the drivers of all greenhouse gas emissions between 1820–2050 globally and regionally. The Industrial Revolution triggered sustained emission growth worldwide—initially through fossil fuel use in industrialized economies but also as a result of agricultural expansion and deforestation. Globally, technological innovation and energy mix changes prevented 31 (17–42) Gt CO2e emissions over two centuries. Yet these gains were dwarfed by 81 (64–97) Gt CO2e resulting from economic expansion, with regional drivers diverging sharply: population growth dominated in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, while rising affluence was the main driver of emissions elsewhere. Meeting climate targets now requires the carbon intensity of GDP to decline 3 times faster than the global

Young people will be exposed to a number of heatwaves that no one would have experienced in pre-industrial times. Young people will be exposed to a number of heatwaves that no one would have experienced in pre-industrial times.

Contexte: Construire une protection sociale-écologique pour une transition juste […] Nos régimes de production et de consommation déstabilisent profondément la biosphère depuis des décennies, exacerbant des vulnérabilités existantes et causant de nouveaux risques qui menacent de plus en plus la stabilité sociale et politique partout sur la planète. Ces risques, qualifiés de risques sociaux-écologiques, sont de deux types: Les risques de transformation biophysique sont liés aux effets sociaux induits par les événements extrêmes (ex.: inondations, canicules, pandémies) et les événements à évolution lente (ex.: montée du niveau des mers) résultant de la déstabilisation anthropique de la biosphère. Les risques de transition sociotechnique sont liés aux effets sociaux des réponses aux risques de transformation biophysique. Ils couvrent les effets directs des politiques environnementales (ex.: mise en place de zones à faibles émissions, primes à la rénovation énergétique des logements, taxes carbone), ainsi que leu

Previous health impact assessments of temperature-related mortality in Europe indicated that the mortality burden attributable to cold is much larger than for heat. Questions remain as to whether climate change can result in a net decrease in temperature-related mortality. In this study, we estimated how climate change could affect future heat-related and cold-related mortality in 854 European urban areas, under several climate, demographic and adaptation scenarios. We showed that, with no adaptation to heat, the increase in heat-related deaths consistently exceeds any decrease in cold-related deaths across all considered scenarios in Europe. Under the lowest mitigation and adaptation scenario (SSP3-7.0), we estimate a net death burden due to climate change increasing by 49.9% and cumulating 2,345,410 (95% confidence interval = 327,603 to 4,775,853) climate change-related deaths between 2015 and 2099. This net effect would remain positive even under high adaptation scenarios, whereby a risk attenuation of 50%

Emerging infectious diseases, biodiversity loss, and anthropogenic environmental change are interconnected crises with massive social and ecological costs. In this Review, we discuss how pathogens and parasites are responding to global change, and the implications for pandemic prevention and biodiversity conservation. Ecological and evolutionary principles help to explain why both pandemics and wildlife die-offs are becoming more common; why land-use change and biodiversity loss are often followed by an increase in zoonotic and vector-borne diseases; and why some species, such as bats, host so many emerging pathogens. To prevent the next pandemic, scientists should focus on monitoring and limiting the spread of a handful of high-risk viruses, especially at key interfaces such as farms and live-animal markets. But to address the much broader set of infectious disease risks associated with the Anthropocene, decision-makers will need to develop comprehensive strategies that include pathogen surveillance across s

Atrazine is an herbicide widely used on plantations worldwide. Experimental studies suggest that the herbicide impairs male reproductive function in mammals. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of atrazine exposure on the levels of hormones from the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis using murine as the animal model. After an extensive literature search, we selected 25 articles for the systematic review.

Après deux années de veille médiatique, QuotaClimat publie ce jour un rapport international révélant une augmentation alarmante des discours de désinformation climatique dans les médias d’information.

This special report on land comes at a time when the scientific evidence is unambiguous: the way we manage our land will directly determine the future of life on Earth. The planetary boundaries framework, highlighted in this report, is a critical scientific tool to understand the complex interdependencies between land, climate, biodiversity and water, among other Earth system components, offering policymakers a focused lens through which to view the potential risks and rewards of different land-use decisions.

Abstract. We review how the international modelling community, encompassing integrated assessment models, global and regional Earth system and climate models, and impact models, has worked together over the past few decades to advance understanding of Earth system change and its impacts on society and the environment and thereby support international climate policy. We go on to recommend a number of priority research areas for the coming decade, a timescale that encompasses a number of newly starting international modelling activities, as well as the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) and the second UNFCCC Global Stocktake. Progress in these priority areas will significantly advance our understanding of Earth system change and its impacts, increasing the quality and utility of science support to climate policy. We emphasize the need for continued improvement in our understanding of, and ability to simulate, the coupled Earth system and the impacts of Earth system change. There is an urgent need to investiga

Some narratives in international development hold that ending poverty and achieving good lives for all will require every country to reach the levels of GDP per capita that currently characterise high-income countries. However, this would require increasing total global output and resource use several times over, dramatically exacerbating ecological breakdown. Furthermore, universal convergence along these lines is unlikely within the imperialist structure of the existing world economy. Here we demonstrate that this dilemma can be resolved with a different approach, rooted in recent needs-based analyses of poverty and development. Strategies for development should not pursue capitalist growth and increased aggregate production as such, but should rather increase the specific forms of production that are necessary to improve capabilities and meet human needs at a high standard, while ensuring universal access to key goods and services through public provisioning and decommodification. At the same time, in high

Under current emission trajectories, temporarily overshooting the Paris global warming limit of 1.5 °C is a distinct possibility. Permanently exceeding this limit would substantially increase the probability of triggering climate tipping elements. Here, we investigate the tipping risks associated with several policy-relevant future emission scenarios, using a stylised Earth system model of four interconnected climate tipping elements.

La France s’est fixé l’objectif ambitieux d’atteindre la neutralité carbone en 2050. La forêt et le bois sont des éléments clés dans cette stratégie du fait de leur capacité à séquestrer du carbone et à éviter, grâce à l’emploi du bois, des émissions de carbone fossile.

Avec la COP28 et son appel à la « transition vers une sortie des combustibles fossiles », nous devons maintenant accélérer la décarbonation de nos activités. Comment réussir à nous éloigner des combustibles fossiles, devenus omniprésents dans notre société ? La tarification du carbone représente l'un des outils à notre disposition. Dans cette Lettre, nous examinons son fonctionnement, en nous attardant spécifiquement sur le Système d’Échange de Quotas d’Émission (ETS) utilisé en Europe. Ce système, souvent méconnu du grand public, fixe une limite aux quantités maximales d’émissions de certains secteurs. Il est basé sur l’achat de quotas représentant des autorisations d’émissions et sur un marché d’échange de ces quotas.

Climate Obstruction Across Europe, coordinated by the Climate Social Science Network (CSSN) and published via Oxford University Press, reveals extensive networks impeding climate action within the region and surrounding states. In Italy and Germany, far-right networks spread misinformation by questioning climate science’s validity, while in Spain and the UK, blame-shifting and deflecting responsibility for climate action are common. European-based fossil fuel industries, like Shell, engage in greenwashing, by framing gas as a ‘bridging technology crucial for the energy transition’, delaying genuine progress.

Alors que la COP 28 vient de conclure ses travaux et que le GIEC entame un nouveau cycle, les émissions de gaz à effet de serre demeurent au centre des débats sur les changements climatiques. Diverses zones riches en carbone organique, telles que le pergélisol ou les tourbières, sont affectées par les changements climatiques et contribuent à des émissions qui s'ajoutent à celles des combustibles fossiles. Afin de mieux appréhender les enjeux mondiaux liés à ces phénomènes, nous avons interviewé la Pre Sophie Opfergelt, géologue et maître de recherches FNRS à l'UCLouvain (Institut ELI), à propos de ses travaux sur le pergélisol en Alaska. Nous avons ensuite abordé le thème des tourbières tropicales avec le Pr Suspense Averti Ifo, enseignant-chercheur à ’Université Marien N'Gouab (Brazzaville, République du Congo). En fin de Lettre, l’agenda reprend des événements liés aux changements climatiques et aux activités du GIEC.

Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2024

Global projections of macroeconomic climate-change damages typically consider impacts from average annual and national temperatures over long time horizons1–6. Here we use recent empirical findings from more than 1,600 regions worldwide over the past 40 years to project sub-national damages from temperature and precipitation, including daily variability and extremes7,8. Using an empirical approach that provides a robust lower bound on the persistence of impacts on economic growth, we find that the world economy is committed to an income reduction of 19% within the next 26 years independent of future emission choices (relative to a baseline without climate impacts, likely range of 11–29% accounting for physical climate and empirical uncertainty). These damages already outweigh the mitigation costs required to limit global warming to 2 °C by sixfold over this near-term time frame and thereafter diverge strongly dependent on emission choices. Committed damages arise predominantly through changes in average tempe

Evidence shows a continuing increase in the frequency and severity of global heatwaves1,2, raising concerns about the future impacts of climate change and the associated socioeconomic costs3,4. Here we develop a disaster footprint analytical framework by integrating climate, epidemiological and hybrid input–output and computable general equilibrium global trade models to estimate the midcentury socioeconomic impacts of heat stress. We consider health costs related to heat exposure, the value of heat-induced labour productivity loss and indirect losses due to economic disruptions cascading through supply chains. Here we show that the global annual incremental gross domestic product loss increases exponentially from 0.03 ± 0.01 (SSP 245)–0.05 ± 0.03 (SSP 585) percentage points during 2030–2040 to 0.05 ± 0.01–0.15 ± 0.04 percentage points during 2050–2060. By 2060, the expected global economic losses reach a total of 0.6–4.6% with losses attributed to health loss (37–45%), labour productivity loss (18–37%) and i

All local communities affected by mining projects should have the right to have a say on whether mining activities will start or continue in their backyard. This belief in community involvement in political, economic, and environmental decision-making is epitomised in a Right to Say No (RTSN), which is the inalienable and collective right of a community to say no (or yes) to extractive projects on the territories/lands they are living within. Currently, there is no real ‘Right’ to Say No outside of iterations of the indigenous right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) — it is a right we are asserting, not something we can yet claim. This toolbox will elaborate on the rights local communities already have and those rights that still need to be recognised and enforced, to establish a Right to Say No.

We owe all children a planet Earth as wonderful as the one we have enjoyed!

Ce rapport analyse les obstacles et leviers à la lumière de projets inspirants en matière d'adaptation des villes à l'élévation du niveau de la mer dans le Pacifique.

Mitigating climate change necessitates global cooperation, yet global data on individuals’ willingness to act remain scarce. In this study, we conducted a representative survey across 125 countries, interviewing nearly 130,000 individuals. Our findings reveal widespread support for climate action. Notably, 69% of the global population expresses a willingness to contribute 1% of their personal income, 86% endorse pro-climate social norms and 89% demand intensified political action. Countries facing heightened vulnerability to climate change show a particularly high willingness to contribute. Despite these encouraging statistics, we document that the world is in a state of pluralistic ignorance, wherein individuals around the globe systematically underestimate the willingness of their fellow citizens to act. This perception gap, combined with individuals showing conditionally cooperative behaviour, poses challenges to further climate action. Therefore, raising awareness about the broad global support for climat

Life on planet Earth is under siege. We are now in an uncharted territory. For several decades, scientists have consistently warned of a future marked by extreme climatic conditions because of escalating global temperatures caused by ongoing human activities that release harmful greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, time is up. We are seeing the manifestation of those predictions as an alarming and unprecedented succession of climate records are broken, causing profoundly distressing scenes of suffering to unfold. We are entering an unfamiliar domain regarding our climate crisis, a situation no one has ever witnessed firsthand in the history of humanity.

By putting in place climate change adaptation measures, NATO has an opportunity to both strengthen operational resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

En mars 2023, le GIEC publie son Rapport de synthèse. Ce rapport est le dernier volet du sixième Rapport d'évaluation du GIEC, dont il intègre les principales conclusions dans tous les domaines (cfr. Lettre n°23 à propos de la manière dont il a été élaboré). Cette Lettre reprend différents extraits représentatifs du Rapport de synthèse et en explicite les termes en vue de les rendre plus accessibles. Ces extraits sont mis en regard de figures et d'exemples issus du rapport.

Les forêts françaises couvrent 31% du territoire métropolitain. Elles contribuent de multiples façons au bienêtre humain (production de bois, purification de l’air et de l’eau, maintien des sols, habitat pour la biodiversité, alimentation, santé, activités récréatives, etc.) et participent aux Objectifs de Développement Durable fixés par l’ONU. En particulier, la France s’étant engagée à atteindre la neutralité carbone dès 2050, le rôle de puits et de stockage de carbone des forêts est considéré comme un élément majeur de sa Stratégie Nationale Bas Carbone (SNBC). Depuis quelques années, les forêts françaises, dont la surface n’avait cessé de croître depuis plus d’un siècle, connaissent, de façon inquiétante, une diminution de productivité, des dépérissements massifs et un risque incendie accru. Le changement climatique en cours met ainsi en péril les ressources forestières et leur contribution attendue pour préserver la biodiversité, favoriser le développement rural et la bioéconomie, renforcer la production

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a major tipping element in the climate system and a future collapse would have severe impacts on the climate in the North Atlantic region. In recent years weakening in circulation has been reported, but assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), based on the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) model simulations suggest that a full collapse is unlikely within the 21st century. Tipping to an undesired state in the climate is, however, a growing concern with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Predictions based on observations rely on detecting early-warning signals, primarily an increase in variance (loss of resilience) and increased autocorrelation (critical slowing down), which have recently been reported for the AMOC. Here we provide statistical significance and data-driven estimators for the time of tipping. We estimate a collapse of the AMOC to occur around mid-century under the current scenario of future emi

L'élection du Bureau du GIEC en vue du 7e cycle de rédactions de rapport a lieu fin juillet 2023. Le bureau comporte 34 membres. Il est responsable de gérer le processus de rédaction de rapports et de conseiller l’assemblée des États membres dans la prise de décision, tout en supervisant la qualité des travaux scientifiques et de la communication. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele est candidat à la Présidence, avec le soutien de la Belgique. Nous lui avons demandé d’exposer ses motivations et sa vision pour le GIEC. L'interview a été réalisée par Alain Tondeur (Plateforme wallone pour le GIEC) et Soumaya Majdoub (Centre climat belge, membre de l’équipe de campagne de Jean-Pascal van Ypersele).

Permafrost and glaciers in the high Arctic form an impermeable ‘cryospheric cap’ that traps a large reservoir of subsurface methane, preventing it from reaching the atmosphere. Cryospheric vulnerability to climate warming is making releases of this methane possible. On Svalbard, where air temperatures are rising more than two times faster than the average for the Arctic, glaciers are retreating and leaving behind exposed forefields that enable rapid methane escape. Here we document how methane-rich groundwater springs have formed in recently revealed forefields of 78 land-terminating glaciers across central Svalbard, bringing deep-seated methane gas to the surface. Waters collected from these springs during February–May of 2021 and 2022 are supersaturated with methane up to 600,000 times greater than atmospheric equilibration. Spatial sampling reveals a geological dependency on the extent of methane supersaturation, with isotopic evidence of a thermogenic source. We estimate annual methane emissions from prog

Simultaneous harvest failures across major crop-producing regions are a threat to global food security. Concurrent weather extremes driven by a strongly meandering jet stream could trigger such events, but so far this has not been quantified. Specifically, the ability of state-of-the art crop and climate models to adequately reproduce such high impact events is a crucial component for estimating risks to global food security. Here we find an increased likelihood of concurrent low yields during summers featuring meandering jets in observations and models. While climate models accurately simulate atmospheric patterns, associated surface weather anomalies and negative effects on crop responses are mostly underestimated in bias-adjusted simulations. Given the identified model biases, future assessments of regional and concurrent crop losses from meandering jet states remain highly uncertain. Our results suggest that model-blind spots for such high-impact but deeply-uncertain hazards have to be anticipated and acc

Le rapport d'information ci-après, déposé en commission des finances, de l'économie générale et du contrôle budgétaire à l'Assemblée nationale, s'intéresse au financement de la transition énergétique « selon deux angles complémentaires : le développement du service public de la rénovation de l’habitat autour du

Plateforme Wallonne / GIEC - Juin 2023 - n°29 - L’année 2022 marquait le 50e anniversaire du « rapport Meadows » sur les limites de la croissance. Commandité par le Club de Rome, il alertait sur les risques associés à la poursuite de la croissance de la population et de l’économie. Ces risques ont déjà commencé à se matérialiser, notamment en matière d’impacts des changements climatiques, comme le rappelle le récent Rapport de synthèse du GIEC. Comment le GIEC, qui s’appuie sur la littérature scientifique, évalue-t-il le rôle de la croissance ? Nous avons posé un même ensemble de questions à ce sujet à deux auteures principales du 6e rapport d’évaluation du GIEC, Céline Guivarch et Julia Steinberger. En complément, il nous a semblé intéressant de recueillir la réaction d’un économiste «  hors GIEC  », et notre choix s’est porté sur Bruno Colmant, économiste, auteur et membre de l’Académie royale de Belgique. Au sommaire : Les « limites » dans l’AR6, avec Céline Guivarch et Julia Steinberger Entretien avec Bru

Quatre chercheurs, dont Philippe Ciais, climatologue CEA au Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement, se sont penchés sur la santé des forêts françaises, fragilisées par les conséquences du changement climatique et par les activités humaines. Verdict : elles se détériorent à grande vitesse et pourraient bien perdre leur capacité à absorber le CO2. Une étude à lire dans un rapport publié par l’Académie des sciences et l’Académie d’agriculture de France, le 7 juin 2023.

Terrestrial ecosystems have taken up about 32% of the total anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the past six decades1. Large uncertainties in terrestrial carbon–climate feedbacks, however, make it difficult to predict how the land carbon sink will respond to future climate change2. Interannual variations in the atmospheric CO2 growth rate (CGR) are dominated by land–atmosphere carbon fluxes in the tropics, providing an opportunity to explore land carbon–climate interactions3–6. It is thought that variations in CGR are largely controlled by temperature7–10 but there is also evidence for a tight coupling between water availability and CGR11. Here, we use a record of global atmospheric CO2, terrestrial water storage and precipitation data to investigate changes in the interannual relationship between tropical land climate conditions and CGR under a changing climate. We find that the interannual relationship between tropical water availability and CGR became increasingly negative during 1989–2018 compared to 1960–1989

France Stratégie, le Commissariat général à la stratégie et à la prospective, est un organisme de réflexion, d’expertise et de concertation placé auprès du Premier ministre. 4 missions orchestrent son action : Évaluer, Anticiper, Débattre, Proposer

Flash drought, characterized by unusually rapid drying, can have substantial impact on many socioeconomic sectors, particularly agriculture. However, potential changes to flash drought risk in a warming climate remain unknown. In this study, projected changes in flash drought frequency and cropland risk from flash drought are quantified using global climate model simulations. We find that flash drought occurrence is expected to increase globally among all scenarios, with the sharpest increases seen in scenarios with higher radiative forcing and greater fossil fuel usage. Flash drought risk over cropland is expected to increase globally, with the largest increases projected across North America (change in annual risk from 32% in 2015 to 49% in 2100) and Europe (32% to 53%) in the most extreme emissions scenario. Following low-end and medium scenarios compared to high-end scenarios indicates a notable reduction in annual flash drought risk over cropland. Flash droughts are projected to become more frequent unde

Du 09 au 11 septembre 2022, SystExt a organisé un Forum citoyen de l’après-mine, réunissant des citoyens, des associations et des collectifs locaux, ainsi que des élus concernés par des pollutions et dommages miniers en France métropolitaine. L’événement s’est tenu dans l’écosite de Villarceaux à Chaussy (95), grâce au soutien de la Fondation pour le Progrès de l’Homme (FPH). Au total, 35 personnes ont assisté à ces rencontres.

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INTERLAKEN, Switzerland, March 20, 2023 -- There are multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change, and they are available now, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released today. ...

En plus de stocker du carbone, les arbres en zones sèches fournissent de nombreux services écosystémiques indispensables à l’environnement et aux populations locales. Très dispersés, leur étude à grande échelle est compliquée. C’est pourquoi une collaboration pilotée par la Nasa et l’Université de Copenhague, impliquant INRAE, le CEA et le CNRS, a mis au point une méthode de suivi combinant images satellitaires de très haute résolution et intelligence artificielle. Cette innovation a permis d’estimer les caractéristiques de plus 9,9 milliards d’arbres situés en Afrique sub-Saharienne, ainsi que leur quantité de carbone stockée, évaluée à 0,84 milliard de tonnes de carbone.

The climate crisis has begun to disrupt human societies by severely affecting the very foundations of human livelihood and social organisation. Climate impacts are not equally distributed across the world: on average, low- and middle-income countries suffer greater impacts than their richer counterparts. At the same time, the climate crisis is also marked by significant inequalities within countries. Recent research reveals a high concentration of global greenhouse gas emissions among a relatively small fraction of the population, living in emerging and rich countries. In addition, vulnerability to numerous climate impacts is strongly linked to income and wealth, not just between countries but also within them.

We are writing to urge you to push the United Arab Emirates to withdraw the appointment of Sultan Al Jaber, head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, as President-designate of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties 28 (COP 28). The decision to name the chief executive of one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies as president of the next U.N. Climate Change Conference risks jeopardizing climate progress from successive U.N. Climate Conferences. To help ensure that COP 28 is a serious and productive climate summit, we believe the United States should urge the United Arab Emirates to name a different lead for COP 28 or, at a minimum, seek assurances that it will promote an ambitious COP 28 aligned with the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings and take concrete steps to demonstrate domestic and regional leadership toward this end.

Improved knowledge of glacial-to-interglacial global temperature change implies that fast- feedback equilibrium climate sensitivity is at least ~4°C for doubled CO2 (2×CO2), with likely range 3.5-5.5°C. Greenhouse gas (GHG) climate forcing is 4.1 W/m2 larger in 2021 than in 1750, equivalent to 2×CO2 forcing. Global warming in the pipeline is greater than prior estimates. Eventual global warming due to today’s GHG forcing alone – after slow feedbacks operate – is about 10°C. Human-made aerosols are a major climate forcing, mainly via their effect on clouds. We infer from paleoclimate data that aerosol cooling offset GHG warming for several millennia as civilization developed. A hinge-point in global warming occurred in 1970 as increased GHG warming outpaced aerosol cooling, leading to global warming of 0.18°C per decade. Aerosol cooling is larger than estimated in the current IPCC report, but it has declined since 2010 because of aerosol reductions in China and shipping. Without unprecedented global actions to

Inondations, vagues de chaleur, sécheresses et incendies : les événements météorologiques et climatiques ont déjà de graves conséquences pour les écosystèmes et pour les humains. Ces situations sont appelées à se répéter dans un monde plus chaud. Il est maintenant évident que nos régions sont touchées. D’autres parties du monde, particulièrement les plus chaudes, sont souvent encore plus affectées. Quelles sont les mesures d’adaptation potentielles et leurs limites ? Cette Lettre s’appuie principalement sur les chapitres consacrés à l’Europe et à l’Afrique dans le 6e rapport d’évaluation du GIEC, d’une manière que nous espérons accessible. Des compléments relatifs à nos régions sont apportés plus spécifiquement en ce qui concerne la biodiversité et les forêts. 

Toute la matière de la forêt est produite à partir de l’énergie de la lumière du soleil et de la richesse du sol. Cette énergie est récupérée par les arbres et plantes, qui construisent la forêt avec leur « corps ». Une multitude d’organismes prospèrent dans cet habitat et s’échangent constamment de l’énergie sous forme de nutriments, qui sont selon les espèces, des végétaux, d’autres espèces vivantes ou leurs cadavres. 

Le Shift publie son nouveau rapport rapport sur l'intégration des enjeux écologiques dans les formations de l'enseignement supérieur : « ClimatSup Business : Former les acteurs de l'économie de demain ».

La protection et la restauration des forêts, des mangroves et des récifs coralliens, la préservation ou la restauration des zones humides, ou encore la création d’espaces verts urbains... ces solutions dites Solutions fondées sur la nature (SfN) s’inspirent et s’appuient sur la nature dans le but de générer des bénéfices aux niveaux environnemental, social et économique.

Vaccination, despite being recognized as one of the most effective primary public health measures, is viewed as unsafe and unnecessary by an increasing number of individuals. Anxiety about vaccines and vaccination programs leading to vaccine hesitancy results from a complex mix of social and political influences, cultural and religious beliefs, the availability of and ability to interpret health and scientific information, and personal and population experiences of health systems and government policies. Vaccine hesitancy is becoming a serious threat to vaccination programs, and was identified as one of the World Health Organization’s top ten global health threats in 2019. The negative impact of anti-vaccination movements is frequently cited as one of the major reasons for rising vaccine hesitancy amongst the general public world-wide. This review discusses the various issues surrounding vaccine hesitancy and the anti-vaccine movement, starting with the definitions of vaccine hesitancy and the anti-vaccine mo

Energy return on investment (EROI) is a biophysical and ecological economics concept that is useful to think about how organisms, ecosystems and societies must obtain enough surplus energy returned from energy gathering activities to live, reproduce, and thrive. EROI can help us overcome the false dualism between nature and society. EROI is a useful metric for economics because it is based on immutable physical laws rather than sometimes arbitrary human preferences. It is essential for assessing useful power, energy trade-offs, efficiencies (and inefficiencies), resource depletion trends, resource quality, and surplus potentials of different fuels and technologies that power, or might power, our socio-economic systems. Apparent inconsistencies in the literature can generally be reduced or eliminated by paying careful attention and explicitly stating boundaries and definitions. We argue that proper use of EROI is critical to understand the interconnections among the environment, energy, and socio-economic deve

En toute transparence, voici les points clés de ma présentation #climat au séminaire de rentrée gouvernemental

Différentes pressions s’exercent sur l’espace alpin, où on observe une augmentation moyenne de la température de 2°C depuis 1950, ce qui entraîne un déficit hydrique, de nouveaux parasites, et impacte les arbres des forêts et de l’espace urbain. On sait également que les forêts ne peuvent pas s’adapter aussi rapidement que les changements climatiques interviennent.

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Ce policy brief propose une série de recommandations et appelle au renforcement des connaissances en amont de l’implantation d’éoliennes en mer. Il prône une meilleure connaissance du fonctionnement des écosystèmes marins, des impacts cumulés des activités humaines existantes et des impacts sur le milieu marin du changement climatique, afin de guider la planification notamment dans le choix des zones d’implantation des éoliennes.

L'Allemagne s'est fixé l'objectif ambitieux d'atteindre la neutralité carbone d'ici à 2045, en misant essentiellement sur le développement des énergies renouvelables et des gains d'efficacité énergétique. Dans l'analyse ci-après (en anglais) publiée le 30 juin par l'Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Ralf Dickel(1) « montre pourquoi, pour l'Allemagne, une approche entièrement renouvelable et principalement électrique pour atteindre zéro émission nette d'ici 2045 ne fonctionnera pas, et ne permettra pas de maintenir un approvisionnement énergétique fiable ». Il souligne à ce titre le rôle essentiel du captage et de la séquestration du CO2 dans le cas allemand. L'auteur s'interroge en particulier sur les possibilités et infrastructures nécessaires pour exporter le CO2 capté sur le territoire allemand vers la Norvège.

En novembre 2020, la Commission européenne a présenté une stratégie visant à développer massivement l'éolien offshore dans l'UE, avec un objectif non contraignant de 300 GW cumulés au sein des différents États membres à l'horizon 2050 (et un objectif intermédiaire de 60 GW éoliens offshore en 2030)(1). En l'état des politiques actuelles et du cadre juridique, l'UE ne pourra toutefois porter la puissance installée potentielle de son parc éolien offshore qu'à 90 GW d'ici la moitié du XXIe siècle, selon les estimations de la Commission. Cette dernière réfléchit ainsi aux moyens de faciliter ce déploiement de l'éolien en mer, en « mettant davantage de pression sur les États membres », expliquent Elin Akinci et Siddarth Iyer dans l'analyse ci-après (en anglais) publiée le 9 juin par l'Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Les auteurs y évoquent « les défis politiques et réglementaires » auxquels est actuellement confrontée l'industrie éolienne offshore et les moyens pour les entreprises du secteur de sur

Metals will play a central role in successfully building Europe’s clean technology value chains and meeting the EU’s 2050 climate-neutrality goal. In the wake of supply disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Europe’s lack of resilience for its growing metals needs has become a strategic concern. This study evaluates how Europe can fulfil its goal of “achieving resource security” and “reducing strategic dependencies” for its energy transition metals, through a demand, supply, and sustainability assessment of the EU Green Deal and its resource needs . It concludes that Europe has a window of opportunity to lay the foundation for a higher level of strate- gic autonomy and sustainability for its strategic metals through optimised recycling, domestic value chain investment, and more active global sourcing. But firm action is needed soon to avoid bottlenecks for several materials that risk being in global short supply at the end of this decade.

The Working Group III report provides an updated global assessment of climate change mitigation progress and pledges, and examines the sources of global emissions. It explains developments in emission reduction and mitigation efforts, assessing the impact of national climate pledges in relation to long-term emissions goals.

Plateforme wallonne pour le GIEC - Lettre n°24 - Édition spéciale - Février 2022 - Aperçu du Résumé pour les décideurs

Le sixième rapport d'évaluation (RE6) du Groupe d'experts intergouvernemental sur l'évolution du climat (GIEC) des Nations unies s'inscrit dans une série de rapports destinés à évaluer et synthétiser les informations scientifiques, techniques et socio-économiques relatives au réchauffement climatique. Il conclura le « sixième cycle d’évaluation du climat » effectué par le GIEC1, décidé à sa 41e session (février 2015)2.

BERLIN, Feb 28 – Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks. People and ecosystems least able to cope are being hardest hit, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released today.

Plusieurs milliers de pages en tout, un résumé en à peu près 30 pages, un atlas interactif… Le rapport présenté par le GIEC en août 2021 contient une grande quantité d’informations. Dans cette Lettre, nous nous appuyons sur ce rapport pour répondre à 11 questions sur les aspects physiques du climat. L’ensemble forme un tout et peut être lu dans l’ordre proposé, mais si vous le préférez, cette présentation vous permet aussi de choisir ce que vous souhaitez lire.

Satisfying the increased demand for food is placing pressure on the world’s water, land and soil resources. Agriculture has its part to play in alleviating these pressures and contributing positively to climate and development goals. Sustainable agricultural practices can lead to direct improvements in the state of land, soil and water, and generate ecosystem benefits as well as reduce emissions from land. Accomplishing all these requires accurate information and a major change in how we manage the resources. It also requires complementing efforts from outside the natural resources management domain to maximize synergies and manage trade-offs.

Le dernier rapport du GIEC réaffirme que nous n’avons plus qu’une dizaine d’années avant de dépasser le quota d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) menant à une élévation des températures globales à 1,5°C. Face à l’urgence de la situation, les jeunes s’engagent pour le climat et font entendre leur voix en demandant une justice tant climatique que sociale. Dans ce contexte, la communication est clé pour mobiliser autour de ces enjeux.

Le gaz et le nucléaire pourraient être considérés comme des investissements « durables » dans la taxonomie européenne. C’est ce que soutient un document confidentiel circulé à la Commission Européenne le 29 octobre. Une information qui, si elle se révélait exacte, porterait un coup de grâce à la construction d’une finance alignée avec les objectifs de lutte contre le réchauffement climatique.

La ou les low-tech, mot à mot basses technologies, ou technologies « appropriées » sont un ensemble de technologies et de logiques visant la durabilité forte, la résilience collective et la transformation culturelle1.

Plateforme Wallonne / GIEC - Septembre 2021 - n°22 Les émissions associées à l’alimentation représentent de l’ordre de 1/4 à 1/3 des émissions de gaz à effet de serre mondiales. Le premier article de cette Lettre synthétise les connaissances à propos de l’origine de ces émissions et des moyens de les réduire. Comme la stratégie que s’est fixée l’Union européenne sous le titre « De la ferme à la table », nous avons tenté d’aborder l’ensemble des systèmes alimentaires, de la production à la consommation.

This Summary for Policymakers (SPM) presents key findings of the Working Group I (WGI) contribution to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6)1 on the physical science basis of climate change. The report builds upon the 2013 Working Group I contribution to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and the 2018–2019 IPCC Special Reports2 of the AR6 cycle and incorporates subsequent new evidence from climate science3.

Scientists are hopeful that the National Ignition Facility’s recent success will advance understanding of thermonuclear reactions.

Climate change is a critical factor affecting biodiversity. However, the quantitative relationship between temperature change and extinction is unclear. Here, we analyze magnitudes and rates of temperature change and extinction rates of marine fossils through the past 450 million years (Myr). The results show that both the rate and magnitude of temperature change are significantly positively correlated with the extinction rate of marine animals.

Elle donne un aperçu du Résumé pour les décideurs du rapport, sous la forme de ses 14 messages clés. Cet automne, une lettre plus substantielle sera consacrée à ce nouveau rapport de près de 4000 pages, mais vous disposez ainsi déjà de l'essentiel, en français (la traduction officielle paraîtra dans plusieurs mois).