The bad & good news

First the bad news: 2016 was the warmest year on record. Global sea ice extent is more than four million square kilometres below average. The Arctic temperatures are three degrees over the 1960 -1990 average. Sea levels have risen twenty centre metres since the start of the twentieth century.

World Metrological Organization scientist David Carlson says “we are seeing changes which challenge the limits of our understanding. We are now in unchartered territory”.

However there is also good news: the cost of solar photovoltaic cells have fallen 85% in the past seven years. Bloomberg New Energy Finance says that solar power is already as cheap as coal in Germany, Australia, the US, Spain and Italy. By 2021 it will also be cheaper than coal in China, India, Mexico UK and Brazil.

The cost of installing wind driven power has also fallen 30% in the last eight years and the price continues to fall.

World wide more renewable power plants are being installed than coal, natural gas and oil combined. This year China has cancelled 100 planned or already under construction coal- fired power plants in favour of renewable energy ones. In the US 249 coal plants have been mothballed since 2010.

The sale of electric vehicles are growing 60% a year. The cost of batteries is falling fast and all the major manufacturers are making deep commitment to the new technology.