Archive for December, 2023


Paraphrasing a well-known misquote (‘I thought it sounded so good that I never bothered to deny it’): “A trillion here, a trillion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” Why clouds make climate, briefly explained in layman’s terms.
[Start the video at 5 mins. or watch the clip here]
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“This is clearly the most important, the controlling mechanism for the earth’s temperature & climate. And it dwarfs the effect of CO2 & methane.”

Nobel prize winner John Clauser says the complexities of clouds and variations in cloud cover have been largely ignored in climate models—with major implications.

He argues there is no climate emergency, says Climate Depot.

Variation in solar activity during a recent sunspot cycle [credit: Wikipedia]


So soon there’s barely time to read the study, if the prediction is anywhere near correct. Solar cycle 25 has already defeated the majority of pundits anyway, by being considerably more active prior to its peak than the last one. However, at least one group of researchers has already forecast a peak around now (see this April 2023 Talkshop post). The latest (i.e. just revised) Hathaway/Upton forecast graphic is here. What the value is of SC predictions of such short duration, even if they turn out to be close to correct, is not entirely clear. It seems like placing a bet when the jockeys can already see the finish line.
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A new study has found that the impending peak in the Sun’s activity cycle will likely arrive significantly sooner than previously predicted, says Science Alert.

According to an analysis by astrophysicists Priyansh Jaswal, Chitradeep Saha, and Dibyendu Nandy at the Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India, solar maximum is likely to hit in January 2024.

This is much, much sooner than the initial official prediction, which found solar maximum would take place in July 2025.

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Abu Dhabi National Oil Company or ADNOC is the state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates


“You’re reading your own media, which is biased and wrong. I am telling you I am the man in charge.” Classic.
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The president of Cop28, Sultan Al Jaber, has claimed there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5C, the Guardian and the Centre for Climate Reporting can reveal.

Al Jaber also said a phase-out of fossil fuels would not allow sustainable development “unless you want to take the world back into caves”.

The comments were “incredibly concerning” and “verging on climate denial”, scientists said, and they were at odds with the position of the UN secretary general, António Guterres.

Al Jaber made the comments in ill-tempered responses to questions from Mary Robinson, the chair of the Elders group and a former UN special envoy for climate change, during a live online event on 21 November.

As well as running Cop28 in Dubai, Al Jaber is also the CEO of the United Arab Emirates’s state oil company, Adnoc, which many observers see as a serious conflict of interest.

Continued here.


Lack of effective technology isn’t the real problem. Inability to accept the lack of a fixable problem, due to blind adherence to IPCC conjectures about the climate, is the problem.
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Summary of a City AM article, from OilPrice.com:

->> In strictly numerical terms therefore, Cop28 will be a failure, like all the climate summits that came before it.

->> Governments across the world are stepping back from their net zero promises because inflation, the cost of living, Ukraine, Gaza and other issues make it appear too costly politically.

->> Politicians should acknowledge that the current level of technology is insufficient to deliver enough carbon abatement in a way that enables an energy system that is affordable, secure and reliable.

Full article here.
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City AM: Why Cop28 will be a failure and leaders should stay at home – by Paul Domjan, a former Energy Security Adviser to the U.S. European Command of the U.S. Department of Defense.


One day into meteorological winter and already global warming has gone missing. As ‘cold health alerts’ are activated, renewable energy has all but dried up leaving gas to take the strain of electricity generation. Even coal is outperforming wind power.
Update: Flights resume at Glasgow Airport [announced at 1020 am].

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Weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across swathes of the UK as temperatures plummeted below freezing overnight, reports Sky.com.

Forecasters have warned the wintry conditions could affect some road and rail journeys with icy surfaces posing the risk of injury from slips and falls.

Glasgow Airport has suspended flights due to heavy snow, with passengers urged to check with their airline for updates.

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German Autobahn


The legal consequences of government climate obsession rumble on, as countries keep insisting that their ‘targets’ will somehow make the weather nicer, or something. Some pressure groups want lower speed limits but with a future of (supposedly) EVs that seems fairly pointless.
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The German government must present emergency programmes to improve its climate policy in the transport and buildings sector, a Berlin court ruled on Thursday (30 November), after the country repeatedly failed to meet emission reduction targets, reports Euractiv.

The higher administrative court of Berlin-Brandenburg ruled that the German government must present immediate action programmes to reach the emission reduction targets in the transport and buildings sector, as written in the German climate law.

The ruling follows a lawsuit by environmental NGOs Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) and Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), who called it a “groundbreaking” decision.

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