April 2014 Global Warming Headlines

April 29 - Fossil Fuel Subsidies Hampering Emissions Reductions
The removal of fossil fuel subsidies, estimated to be in around $500 billion globally, could result in carbon dioxide emissions reductions of up to 13 percent.

April 27 - California's Drought Emergency Deepens
California Governor Jerry Brown has issued his second emergency proclamation on the drought in just three months and has called on Californians to do everything possible to conserve water.

April 25 - Australia's Direct Action Falls Short
Extra funding for Australia's controversial "Direct Action" emissions reduction strategy appears to falls far short of what is needed.  The Emissions Reduction Fund will now be capped at $2.55 billion over the next four years.

April 24 - Deforestation Increasing Temperatures In The Congo
The Congo could experience around 3C of warming by the middle of the century; partly due to shrinking rainforest cover.

April 21 - Biofuels Worse Than Fossil Fuels?
While biofuels generate substantially less direct, fuel-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum fuels; the IPPC says indirect emissions of some biofuels can lead to greater total emissions than when using petroleum products.

April 20 - Overwhelming Consensus 
In a recent speech at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Al Gore stated over 9,100 scientists have published climate science papers in peer-reviewed journals, and only one challenged the majority view that climate change is occurring and humans are responsible for it.

April 18 - Bluebells Flowering Earlier
Long term records show the flowering dates for English bluebells in Ireland have been five days earlier over the last half century - and some other species are flowering even earlier.

April 15 - Shale Gas Losing More Green Street Cred
Shale gas is looking even more emissions intensive after a discovery that high levels of methane are present above shale gas wells during a stage in production not previously believed to be a significant source of emissions.

April 11 - Power Outages Increase
While a bit player, climate change may be playing a role in a major uptick in the rate of power outages in the United States in recent decades - and as the planet warms; the more intense and frequent weather events generated could see the trend continue. Read more.

April 10 - Biomass - A Massive Carbon Footprint?
A new study has found biomass based power generators emit as much as 50 percent more carbon dioxide than coal plants per megawatt-hour, calling into question the validity of their "green" status. Read more.

April 7 - IPCC Blasts Newspaper
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has taken issue with the way the Mail On Sunday has characterised the Final Draft of the contribution of Working Group II to the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report; saying it gave "a completely misleading and distorted impression of the report through selective quotation." Read more (PDF).

April 6 - Tasmania's Climate Change Silver Lining
Tasmania's government has been told it should start readying for "climate refugees" from the Australian mainland and other opportunities that will occur as the result of an expected average temperature increase of 2.9 Celsius by the end of the century. Read more.

April 5 - 25 Years Of IPCC Warnings
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has received a great deal of attention in recent years; but the body has been warning of the impacts of climate change for nearly a quarter of a century. It was back in 1990 when the IPCC said climate change was "potentially the greatest global environmental challenge facing humankind". Read more.

April 4 - World Bank : Food Wars Loom
Jim Yong Kim, the president of the World Bank, believes battles over water and food, triggered by climate change, will erupt within the next 5 to 10 years. Read more.

April 4 - Iceland PM Welcomes Climate Change
Iceland's Prime Minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, says "there are great opportunities for Iceland" from the effects of climate change. Read more.

April 3 - Marshall Islands Already Suffering Climate Change Impact
In the Marshall Islands, waves lap at either side of the airport's runway and some roads are flooded. Read more.

April 3 - California's Summer Water Supply Grim
Snow is comparatively thin on California's Sierra Nevada mountains, a signal that water could be scarce over the coming summer months. The snow pack contains around a third of the water it usually does at this time of year. Read more.

April 2 - Bumblebees Face Extinction
The International Union for Conservation of Nature says nearly a quarter of European bumblebee species are threatened with extinction; primarily due to climate change and intensive farming. 46 percent of bumblebee species in Europe already have a declining population. Read more.
 
April 2 - Australian PM 'A Fool' On Climate Change
Greens leader Christine Milne has called Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott a "fool" on the issue of climate change. Read more.

April 2 - IPCC: Deeper Emissions Cuts Needed
Developed nations will need to halve their emissions by 2030 from 2010 levels says a draft report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Read more 

April 1 - Increased Evaporation To Hit Agriculture Hard
Up to a third of Earth may experience more dramatic and frequent droughts by the end of this century according to a study published in the scientific journal Climate Dynamics. Read more.