Decarbonization, News Arctic study urges stronger climate action to prevent catastrophic warming

Mar. 5, 2025 – Environment Journal – Remember when 2°C of global warming was the doomsday scenario? Well, we’re now staring down the barrel of something much worse. From the fish on your plate to the weather outside your window, everything’s about to change.

A new study by an international team of researchers, including Jackie Dawson, professor of Geography, Environment and Geomatics at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Arts, underscores the grave risks posed by insufficient national commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Our findings reveal that the risk of reaching 2.7°C of warming is substantial and that there is not a single sector in society that will remain untouched,” explains Dawson, who is also a Canada Research Chair in the Human and Policy Dimensions of Climate Change. “From marine ecosystems to local infrastructure, the cascading impacts will affect every individual.”

Winnipeg Transit unveils first zero-emission fuel-cell bus

Feb. 19, 2025 – CBC – Winnipeg Transit unveiled its first hydrogen fuel cell bus on Wednesday.  But while the city expects to receive dozens more zero-emission buses over the next few years, supply chain issues, budget pressures and looming tariff threats have thrown the city’s plans to phase out its diesel fleet into doubt. Erin Cooke, manager of Transit’s transition to zero-emission bus program, says the city will test two types of buses — hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric — in 40-foot and 60-foot sizes.

Surge in ocean heat is a sign climate change is accelerating

Jan. 28, 2024 – New Scientist – The surge in ocean temperatures to record-breaking levels in 2023 and 2024 is a sign that the pace of climate change has accelerated, say researchers.

Global ocean temperatures hit record highs for 450 days straight in 2023 and early 2024. Although some of the extra heat can be explained by an El Niño weather pattern emerging in the Pacific Ocean, about 44 per cent of the record warmth is down to the world’s oceans absorbing heat from the sun at an accelerating rate, according to Chris Merchant at the University of Reading, UK.

How hot will 2025 be? It could rival 2024’s record, Canadian officials warn

Jan. 15, 2025 – The Canadian Press – This year’s average global temperature is expected to rival 2024’s record-breaking heat, Canadian officials said Wednesday, underlining humanity’s narrowing window to hit an international target intended to help avert some of climate change’s most serious effects.

Canada’s ‘ugly vegetable’ problem

Jan. 14, 2024 – Concordia University – The Link – Canada wastes $58 billion worth of food each year that could be used to feed those in need, a number that rose by 6.5 per cent since 2019, according to data released by Second Harvest in October 2024. The report found that a large portion of this waste is avoidable and occurs during production, often due to farmers discarding edible “ugly vegetables” that fail to meet Canada’s strict cosmetic retail standards.

Off to a bleak and blazing start

Jan. 10, 2025 – The National Observer – So now we know how the second Trump era begins: with Los Angeles on fire. Apocalyptic, tragic and almost impossibly emblematic. The world at large is spiralling past the guardrail of 1.5 degrees while politics retreats from tackling the problem. Ten thousand homes and buildings burned, neighbours dead and neighbourhoods reduced to ash while the incoming president deflects, derides and promises more drilling for fossil fuels.

Why more frequent cold blasts could be coming from global warming

Jan. 7, 2025 – Associated Press – Frigid air that normally stays trapped in the Arctic has escaped, plunging deep into the United States for an extended visit that is expected to provoke teeth-chattering but not be record-shattering. It’s a cold air outbreak that some experts say is happening more frequently, and paradoxically, because of a warming world.

Climate change is coming for Canada’s vital trade routes

Jan. 3, 2025 – National Observer – When southwestern British Columbia was hit with the historic 2021 atmospheric river, the Port of Vancouver’s operations ground to a halt, stalling billions of dollars in trade for a week. And that’s only the beginning of the upheaval extreme weather and climate change will wreak on our infrastructure and economy. Canada is not ready to deal with the damage climate change will inflict on transportation hubs that safeguard our supply chains, warns a Senate committee report.