‘Climate apartheid’

FOLLOW US SUBSCRIBE   A week after they ran away rather than face a Democratic effort to address the climate crisis, 11 Republican lawmakers in Oregon are still in hiding. Their refusal to show up at the state capitol, which gained them the support of armed, far-right militia groups, is the latest effort by the party to block legislative efforts to slow global warming. —Josh Petri     "We have reached a point where the best-case outcome is widespread death and suffering by the end of this century, and the worst case puts humanity on the brink of extinction." —Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, warning in a new report that the planet faces a "climate apartheid."     Top stories Democratic presidential contenders in Miami on Wednesday night competed over who would best combat the climate crisis. Still, the topic only consumed seven minutes of the debate.  Europe is suffering through a record heat wave. Germany was forced to impose speed restrictions on the autobahn. Paris is out of air conditioners. One man got so hot he stripped naked and ran through the freezer section of a supermarket. Fossil fuel industry giants such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell are maintaining an outsized presence at global climate discussions, working to protect profits by undermining scientific consensus and slow policy progress. Renewable energy is going mainstream. Clean-energy resources supplied more of America's electricity than coal for the first time ever in April. Climate change is planetary in nature, but politics remain local. A Bloomberg analysis reveals some glaring disparities in the way the crisis is viewed around the world, which presents a dilemma for political leaders. On one hand, many face pressure to burnish their environmental credentials. On the other, they can be accused by opponents of focusing on the threat posed by global warming at the expense of more tactile concerns like healthcare. Here's how this conundrum is playing out around the globe.    What we've been reading In 2004, Hurricane Ivan damaged a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, causing it to spill oil. It hasn't stopped leaking since. Its owner claims the disaster is just a drop of oil per minute. A new federal study estimates it's leaking 108 barrels per day. Greenland's ice sheet holds enough water so raise global sea levels by about 24 feet. The sheet used to change in geological time. Yale Environment 360 illustrates how it's now changing in human time. Being a parent is hard enough without having to explain the frightening reality of impending planetary doom. So how do you have The Climate Change Talk with your child? Carefully and often.  Sponsor Content by Barclays: Impact Series on Oil Demand Three paths to our carbon future In the race against the carbon clock, what is needed to limit temperature rises to agreed levels? Barclays Research examines 3 different scenarios for oil demand to 2050, scrutinizing the impact on the biggest oil-consuming sectors. Read more here.     You received this message because you are subscribed to the Bloomberg Climate Changed newsletter.     Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022