This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including preliminary estimates of economic damage caused by Hurricane Helene, the deadliest since Katrina in 2005, and the sentencing of two Just Stop Oil activists.
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1. Deadly Hurricane Helene Could Be One of US Costliest Storms, Experts Say
Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction in southeastern US and southern Appalachia after making landfall on Thursday as the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend region. As of Friday, the death toll had reached 200, making Helene one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit the country.
AccuWeather preliminary estimates for Helene’s total damage and economic loss was between $95-$110 billion, which would make Helene one of the costliest storms in US history, owing to the “devastating storm surge, damaging winds and historic flooding.” Meanwhile, Moody’s Analytics said it expects between $15 billion and $26 billion in property damage.
“Helene was a large and extremely powerful storm, with wind gusts of hurricane force extending far out from the center through the Florida Peninsula and a devastating, even record storm surge all along the Gulf Coast of Florida as the storm headed northward over the eastern Gulf of Mexico,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said on Saturday.
Read more here.
2. ‘Extreme, Disproportionate and Criminally Idiotic’: UK Judge Jails Just Stop Oil Activists Over Van Gogh’s Soup Attack
Just Stop Oil activists Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, have been jailed for two years and 20 months, respectively, for pouring soup over Vincent van Gogh’s famous 1888 Sunflowers painting two years ago.
While the painting itself, which was protected by glass, was unharmed, the 17th-century antique Italian frame was damaged. “That picture frame was correctly described by the prosecution at trial as a work of art in itself. And unfortunately it was permanently damaged by your idiotic and criminal actions,” said Judge Christopher Hehir as he handed down the sentence for an offence he said was committed “in quite extraordinary fashion.”
An hour after the sentencing, three Just Stop Oil supporters dumped tomato soup over two of van Gogh’s Sunflowers paintings – one of which was the artwork targeted by Plummer and Holland two years earlier. This time, both paintings were unharmed. All three activists were arrested. They pleaded not guilty to criminal damage at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and were later granted bail.
Read more here.
3. EU Delays Controversial Anti-Deforestation Law By One Year Following Global Outcry
The European Commission on Wednesday announced a long-sought proposal to delay in the implementation of a controversial anti-deforestation law in response to mounting pressure from global business partners and industry, who have been complaining about a lack of preparedness to comply with the new strict requirements.
Along with the delay, which it said will “in no way puts into question the objectives or the substance of the law,” the Commission also published additional guidance documents to “provide additional clarity to companies and enforcing authorities to facilitate the application of the rules.” The documents cover a wide range of issues, including legality requirements, timeframe of application, agricultural use, and clarifications on the product scope.
Originally set to kick off on 30 December, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) – the first of its kind in the world – was formally adopted last year to address the growing role of the bloc in advancing global deforestation. The 27-country bloc is responsible for importing products that account for approximately 13-16% of deforestation – and related emissions – associated with global trade.
The law cracks down on commodities linked to deforestation and forest degradation for agricultural expansion, targeting cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, and wood sold within the bloc. The six commodities accounted for over 50% of total deforestation between 2001-2015, with cattle accounting for the largest share.
Read more here.
4. Fast-Warming Antarctic Is Greening at Dramatic Rate, Satellite Image Reveals
Scientists at the universities of Exeter and Hertfordshire found that vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold over the last four decades, replacing ice. By analyzing satellite imagery, they found that vegetation cover went from less than one square kilometer in 1986 to almost 12 square kilometers by 2021.
The greening process in the Antarctic Peninsula, researchers found, accelerated by over 30% between 2016 and 2021 relative to the full study period (1986-2021), expanding by more than 400,000 square meters per year during this five-year period.
“The plants we find on the Antarctic Peninsula – mostly mosses – grow in perhaps the harshest conditions on Earth,” said Dr Thomas Roland from the University of Exeter. “The landscape is still almost entirely dominated by snow, ice and rock, with only a tiny fraction colonised by plant life. But that tiny fraction has grown dramatically – showing that even this vast and isolated ‘wilderness’ is being affected by anthropogenic climate change.”
Read more here.
