Climate change news from the ground, in a warming world Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here [[link removed]] Laurie Goering [[link removed]]

Climate editor

Vijay Rajak has an open-cast coal mine on his land in the Indian state of Jharkhand - but often has no electricity for 10 hours a day, amid coal shortages as increasingly brutal summer temperatures drive soaring demand for power.

In the face of climate change threats, India is rethinking its reliance on coal for 70% of its electricity, adding renewables such as solar and hydropower [[link removed]] to its grid. But it is also stepping up coal mining and adding coal power plants to meet fast-rising demand for power, as millions face blackouts.

As in many places around the world, figuring out a swift but socially fair way to shift to greener energy [[link removed]] - one that balances peoples' need for affordable power with the requirement to slash use of fossil fuels within the decade to prevent runaway climate disasters - remains a major challenge.

A local woman sits atop of an open cast coal field at Dhanbad district in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand September 20, 2012. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

In Cameroon, the government is making an effort by slashing taxes [[link removed]] on renewable power equipment and infrastructure, hoping to spur major solar investment in the sunny African nation as worsening drought hits hydropower supplies.

In coal giant Australia, where a fossil fuel-friendly conservative government lost elections [[link removed]] this month, the new prime minister has set a new target of cutting the country's carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 - a move that would require a rollback of coal use.

But in making that shift, "the absolute single most important thing is to build new renewable generation before shutting the old coal power down," warns Joe Fontaine, an environmental scientist at Murdoch University in Perth.

April O’Leary checks on flood damage in Conway, South Carolina, almost two weeks after Hurricane Florence hit, on Sept. 26, 2018. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Photo credit: Julie Dermansky

In Peru, German judges and scientists last week toured an Andean lake [[link removed]] swollen by increasingly rapid snowmelt, which is threatening to burst and destroy the downstream city of Huaraz.

A farmer and mountain guide has sued coal-dependent Germany's biggest electricity provider, RWE, for contributing to the threat, in a case that was accepted by a German court.

A decision against RWE could open the door to many more lawsuits against major climate polluters, analysts say, as legal challenges become an important tool to force emissions cuts and seek reparation for climate damage.

Also this week, don't miss a fascinating tale of how Republican-dominated Horry County, South Carolina, has drawn up its own flood risk maps [[link removed]], rather than rely on federal government maps, after worsening floods, fuelled by climate change, repeatedly tore through areas not marked as under threat.

"This is a pretty pro-development, red county that enacted some of the most sweeping flood reform regulations (in the) state of South Carolina, if not the East Coast," noted a professor whose research laid the groundwork for the change.

"If we could do this everywhere, I would recommend it," he said.

See you next week!

Laurie

Can Vanuatu inspire new legal game plan in climate justice fight? [[link removed]]

Frustrated with the pace of global action to fight climate change, more at-risk nations could follow the Pacific island nation’s lead by turning to the courts

As U.S. flooding worsens, South Carolina redraws risk maps [[link removed]]

As climate change drives more intense storms and floods, some coastal districts are no longer relying solely on risk maps from U.S. disaster agency FEMA and are drawing up their own

Cameroon slashes taxes to tap its solar power potential [[link removed]]

With its hydroelectric plants hobbled by drought, the country is courting investors to grow a more stable solar energy supply

Climate damage case breaks ground with German judges' visit to Peru glacier [[link removed]]

The lawsuit, filed by a Peruvian farmer against RWE, aims to hold the European electricity giant accountable for the role of its fossil fuel emissions in melting Andean glaciers and hiking flood threats

U.S. cities swap dead trees for new in circular economy for forests [[link removed]]

U.S. cities lose about 36 million trees per year. Now, some are looking to sell them as timber to fund new planting

Evicted villagers pay a high price for India's hydropower push [[link removed]]

India is backing more hydroelectric plants to meet clean energy goals, but locals and environmentalists say projects are destroying communities and forests in the Himalayas

Australia urged to quickly ditch coal to meet new climate goals [[link removed]]

Environmentalists say Australia's new Labor government must support fossil fuel workers as it seeks greater reductions in carbon emissions by 2030

Indian droughts and cyclones fuel trafficking fears for climate migrants [[link removed]]

People fleeing extreme weather events such as drought are more vulnerable to forced labour than those migrating after floods and cyclones, report finds

As heat cuts power in India's 'coal capital', locals seek fair energy share [[link removed]]

In one of India's largest coal-producing states, locals say the lack of power is unfair on their state, whose coal reserves light up big cities and power the nation's industries

OPINION: G7 must seize opportunity to shift public finance from conflict-fuelling gas into clean energy [[link removed]]

Despite increased military aggression in the last decade, Putin's Russia was the third-largest recipient of G7 fossil fuel finance - this has to end

OPINION: It’s time to rekindle the spirit of Stockholm 1972 [[link removed]]

Advocates for urban and natural sustainability should remember that the landmark environmental conference expected them to work together

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