Posted on 21 June 2020 by John Hartz

Story of the Week...

Bangladesh Coal Plants Threaten World's Largest Mangrove Forest

Important Coastal Barrier at Risk from Increased Pollution

The Bangladesh government threatens to destroy life-saving forests by building coal-fired power plants. Coal fired plants are a major contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change. (Sipa via AP Images)

Cyclone Amphan, the most powerful to strike in the Bay of Bengal in 20 years, made landfall on the India-Bangladesh coast last month. Amphan ripped off roofs, washed away homes, and flooded farms. Crucially, Bangladesh was able to mitigate impact and save lives because of its robust emergency response system with early warnings and mass-evacuations.

But coastal communities were also protected by Bangladesh’s natural storm shield: the Sundarbans. A protected World Heritage site, this mangrove forest holds land together with its roots as the tides rise. As climate change increases the intensity of extreme weather events like Amphan, the Sundarbans are at risk when they’re needed most.

But the Bangladesh government threatens to destroy these life-saving forests by building coal-fired power plants that could subject them, and the nearly 2.5 million people who depend on them for their livelihoods, to harmful pollution. And while the mangroves slow climate change by soaking up carbon, coal-fired plants contribute greenhouse gas emissions that fuel global warming.

Of particular concern is the proposed Rampal Thermal Power Plant, just north of the Sundarbans. Scientists and activists have repeatedly voiced concerns that the plant could spell disaster for the world’s largest mangrove forest. But the government has fought calls to cancel or relocate the project, using tear gas and rubber bullets against protestors and insisting, contrary to scientific evidence, that the plant will do no harm.

Bangladesh Coal Plants Threaten World’s Largest Mangrove Forest by Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch, June 18, 2020

Click here to access the entire article as originally published on the Human Rights Watch website.

Toon of the Week...

Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page.

Climate Feedback Article Review...

Article in The Guardian misleads readers about sensitivity of climate models by narrowly focusing on single study

Article Analyzed: Climate worst-case scenarios may not go far enough, cloud data shows by Jonathan Watts, Environment, Guardian, June 13, 2020

Six scientists analysed the article and estimate its overall scientific credibility to be ‘low’.

A majority of reviewers tagged the article as: Cherry-picking, Exaggerating, Misleading.

Article in The Guardian misleads readers about sensitivity of climate models by narrowly focusing on single study, Edited by Nikki Forrester, Article Reviews, Climate Feedback, June 18, 2020

Coming Soon on SkS...

• Restoring Science, Protecting the Public: 43 Steps for the Next Presidential Term (CSLDF)
• Shining a spotlight on translations and our translator teams (Baerbel)
• SkS New Research for Week #25 (Doug Bostrom)
• What “Planet of the Humans” gets wrong about renewable energy (Dana)
• IEA: Coronavirus ‘accelerating closure’ of ageing fossil-fuelled power plants (Josh Gabbatiss)
• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #26 (John Hartz)
• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #26 (John Hartz) 

Poster of the Week...

SkS Week in Review... 

• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #25 by John Hartz (SkS Original)
• COVID-19 is the quiz, climate change the final exam by Jeff Masters (Yale Climate Connections Reprint)
• Michigan dam break shows how climate change strains infrastructure by greenman316 (YouTube Video by Peter Sinclair, Yale Climate Connections) 
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #24, 2020 by Doug Bostrom (SkS Original)
• A brief history of climate targets and technological promises by Duncan McLaren (Carbon Brief Repost)
• How Climate Change Reinforces Racism by Climate Adam (YouTube Video)
• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #24 by John Hartz (SkS Original)