Poet's Page
music and opinion from Wales' wandering poet.
Poisoning Earth and our terrible fate, if, if, if
Planet Earth could lose
10% of biodiversity
by 2050
by Pavel López Lazo
January 1st, 9:56am
(Prensa Latina)
A new study indicates that the Earth is in danger
of losing 10% of its biodiversity by 2050, due to
climate change and poor land use.
Recently published by the scientific journal Science
Advances, the research referred to the cascading
extinctions of animals and plants on the planet,
which could lead to the loss of up to 27% of
biodiversity by 2100.
This means that, if a certain species becomes extinct,
a predator species of the extinct one could disappear as it runs out of food.
The same thing... will happen to plants, because, if
pollinating insects become extinct... due to harsh
heat, they will also disappear because there will
be no insect to pollinate them. This study
proves, once again, that all species
depend, in some way, on others.
The benefits of a rich biodiversity, lead to a balanced
equilibrium of ecosystems and their respective food
chains, noted Science Advances, so their resources
are maximized where energy waste is minimal and
if biological diversity is limited, there will not be a
healthy ecosystem ------- with very detrimental
repercussions for the planet.
Having a rich variety of flora and fauna means great
productivity - and improves the possibility of taking
advantage of all the resources it provides.
__________________________________
Germany is starting
to use coal -- again
December 22nd, 3:44pm https://en.news-front.info/
Germany is restoring the performance of some coal-
fired power plants. It is reported by Bloomberg.
The German government has decided to return to fossil
fuels, despite the promise to achieve its climate goals.
Due to the economic situation in the country, the
government is trying to prevent a rapid rise
in energy prices.
The agency reports that the volume of electricity
consumed in the third quarter was 13.3 percent
more than in the same period a year ago.
Despite the current situation, the country is not
backing down, on its pledge to phase out coal
by 2030. But now the priority of the country’s
authorities is aimed at supplying electricity
to its citizens.
“We don’t stop sticking to our climate goals, but when
we were faced with the challenge of keeping the
lights on or cutting back on carbon emissions,
we chose light,” says the International
Energy Agency.
_________________________________________
Kazakhstan and Russia have
potential --to work together
on decarbonization projects
December 22nd, 11:52am (TASS)
Kazakhstan proposes a joint project with Russia,
to decarbonize the economy and hopes to solve
various environmental problems together,
Ambassador to Moscow, Ermek
Kosherbaev, told TASS in
an interview.
The environmental issue requires balanced, joint
solutions, because the countries have similar
problems: high levels of air, water and soil
pollution and the buildup of radiation
and industrial waste, the
diplomat said.
"We could jointly work on projects to decarbonize
the economy. Kazakhstan, like Russia, is an
energy-consuming country -- where up to
60% of electricity is generated through
burning coal," Kosherbaev noted.
Scarce forests are another problem where Russia can
help Kazakhstan, the Ambassador said. Kazakhstan
is implementing a state program to plant up to two billion trees, by 2025, he noted. "We need help
growing and preserving these forests," the
diplomat stressed.
There is also a problem of a lack of fresh water.
Kazakhstan’s water security - largely depends
on the hydrological and ecological condition
of cross-border rivers flowing in Russia. In
particular, the catastrophic shallowing &
pollution of the Ural river threatens the
health of residents in the border
regions of both countries, the
diplomat noted.
"I hope that together we will be able to find ways of
solving these problems - and preserve a clean and
comfortable environment for future generations,"
the Ambassador added.
_______________________________________________
Brazilian indigenous leader
denounces effects of
climate change
by Martin Hacthoun
November 13th, 10:10am
(Prensa Latina)
Climate change deeply affects the lives of indigenous
peoples due to fires, floods and other similar
phenomena, warned here, today, Ze
Bajaga Apurin --- the leader of a
Brazilian indigenous community.
''In the past, the rainy season was very regular, but
today it is different --- a situation that also occurs
with floods,'' Bajaga Apurina who is also general
coordinator of the Indigenous Organization
and Community Federation of Pura said.
Now we can’t work all day in the fields, because of
the high temperatures, he said, in an interview
with the Egyptian daily Al Ahram.
Wearing his traditional feathered attire, Bajaga Apurina
said it was for these reasons that he decided to
attend the 27th Conference of the Parties to
the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, which is being held
in this city, located in the north-
western Sinai Peninsula.
''We are here to bring a message to all governments
and businessmen: what they are doing is not only
endangering indigenous peoples, but the entire
planet and all living beings,'' he stressed.
___________________________________
Rwanda Reduced 126,000 Tons
of Carbon Emissions: in 9 Years
November 10th, 2022
(teleSUR)
At least 47,000 hectares of forests and agro-forestry
were planted while 31,000 hectares of watershed
and water bodies have been protected.
Rwanda has cut 126,000 tonnes of carbon emissions
over the last nine years owing to strategic climate
resilience investments made across the country,
official data released during Finance Day at the
27th session of the Conference of the Parties
(COP27) in Egypt showed.
The data on green investments released by the
Rwanda Green Fund showed that since 2013,
funding worth US$247 million... has been
mobilized for strategic climate resilient
investments. The funding was invested
in 46 green projects across the country
that helped to cut carbon emissions.
At least 47,000 hectares of forests and agro-forestry
were planted while 31,000 hectares of watershed
and water bodies have been protected.
Over 88,000 households were given access to off-grid
clean energy while 120,000 people were supported to cope with the effects of climate change, according to the data.
Rwanda needs an estimated US$11 billion to mitigate, and adapt to climate change effects up to 2030, Rwanda's Economic Planning Minister Claudine Uwera said.
"COP27 is an opportunity to engage development
partners, to meet the remaining financing of
US$6.5 billion to accelerate momentum to
deliver on Rwanda's climate agenda,"
she added.
Jeanne D'arc Mujawamariya, Rwandan Environment
Minister called on rich nations to deliver on the US
$100 billion per annum pledge.Since 2009, the
pledge of US$100 billion ------- by developed
countries every year, by 2020, to support developing countries ----- to cope with climate change,is yet to be met.
During the Finance Day heads of governments and
activists called for immediate and innovative
solutions to drive the global climate finance
landscape to complement public finance.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has said
- questioning whether Africa is ready to
make use of climate finance, should
not be used as an excuse to
justify inaction.
____________________________________________
Seychelles to Protect 100% of Mangroves & Seagrass in 2023
Says President At COP27
November 8th,
Seychelles News Agency (Victoria)
Seychelles will move to 100 percent protection of all
its mangroves and seagrass meadows, in 2023,
adding to the already 32 percent protection
of its ocean and 50 percent of its forest,
President Wavel Ramkalawan said
on Monday.
Ramkalawan made the announcement in his
statement.. at the high-level segment for
heads of state and government in the
27th Conference of the Parties
(COP27) --- taking place in
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
"Like other islands - we contribute less to the
destruction of the planet, yet we suffer the
most. For example, the carbon emissions
of Seychelles are very low and we clean
up through our mangroves & seagrass
meadows, thus making us a zero
contributor.. to the destruction
of the planet, yet our islands
are disappearing and our
coasts are being
destroyed,"
he said.
Seychelles has one of the most biologically diverse
marine ecosystems on the planet while the carbon
ecosystems cover over two million hectares, with
seagrass beds accounting for 99 percent of the
blue carbon extent.
The other carbon ecosystem in the island nation
is mangrove forests with more than 80 percent
located within the Aldabra atoll.
Ramkalawan took the opportunity to express
Seychelles' support and solidarity -- with all
nations that have experienced the terrible
effects of climate change, lately.
The head of state of Seychelles, an archipelago
in the western Indian Ocean, asked if the
Conference of the Parties is a counting
game or a real countdown to saving
the planet.
"I pray that we leave Egypt with good decisions and
pledges, that will be followed by concrete actions
--- instead of another set of empty promises,"
he said.
Ramkalawan reiterated the need for the Multi
Vulnerability Index (MVI) to be the new order
as "SIDS [Small Island Developing States]
are vulnerable and we need access to
concessionary funding, in order to
defend ourselves against climate
change, while fulfilling the SDGs
[Sustainable Development Goals]
to give our people a better life."
"Industrialised nations must pay greater attention
to the Damage and Loss agenda. We, the oceanic
states that receive the harsh effects of your
activities, have to be assisted in repairing
the damage you cause to us," he added.
Ramkalawan said that Seychelles is playing
a leadership role... and building strong
partnerships... however small the
island nation is.
He spoke about the Ocean Race Summit the
island nation hosted to discuss the urgency
of saving the ocean.
"Later... we offered the venue for the first European
Blue Invest Forum outside Europe to put emphasis
on financing the Blue Economy and late last
month we welcomed Prince Albert of
Monaco and the Monaco research
expedition in the search for
resilient corals, plus we
are active in promoting
the Great Blue Wall
project," he said.
"Let us be good partners, let us give our youth
a better planet and may we leave Egypt with
enhanced hope and commitment: to save
our one and only blue planet,"
Ramkalawan concluded.
______________________________
China launches promotion
of bambooas a substitute
for plastic
by Alina Ramos Martin
November 7th, 11am
(Prensa Latina)
China and the International Bamboo and Rattan
Organization (Inbar) launched an initiative that
seeks to promote the use of the first resource
as a substitute for plastic, including durable
types such as PVC.
The project aims to formulate policies at national,
regional and global levels, identifying industries
and coordinating standards for trade in bamboo products.
It calls for scientific research, expanding technological innovation and defining
standards in the development of this
area, promoting the expansion of the marketing, advertising and
consumption of this plant as a durable material -------- in
construction, decoration,
furniture, paper making,
and disposable items.
The initiative is expected to serve as a roadmap
to progress in mitigating plastic pollution and
the effects of climate change.
China and Inbar prepared it as part of measures
aimed at strengthening global partnerships and
achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development.
The parties presented the program during the opening
of the 2nd Bamboo and Rattan World Congress (BARC
2022), which is ongoing in Beijing until tomorrow with the attendance of representatives from governments, research institutes, international organizations, non-
governmental organizations and private sectors.
This meeting is seeking to create new platforms to
support producers and achieve carbon neutrality,
including high-level dialogues between
policymakers, parallel sessions and
a small exhibition of goods.
______________________________
New UN Weather Report
'A Chronicle of Chaos'
- UN Chief
Monday, November 7th, 2022
Pan-African News Wire
The world's only international
daily Pan-African News source
UN News Service
The latest report from the UN World Meteorological
Organization (WMO), released on Sunday, shows
that the last 8 years have been the warmest
on record ------ fueled by ever-rising
greenhouse gas concentrations.
The provisional 2022 State of the Global Climate study
outlines the increasingly dramatic signs of the
climate emergency, which include a doubling
of the rate of sea level rise since 1993, to a
new record high this year; and indications
of unprecedented glacier melting on the
European Alps.
The full 2022 report is due to be released in the Spring
of 2023, but the provisional study was brought out
ahead of COP27, the UN climate conference,
raising awareness of the huge scale of the
problems that world leaders must tackle,
if they are to have any hope of getting
the climate crisis under control.
"The greater the warming, the worse the impacts",
said WMO chief Petter Taalas, who launched the
report.... at an event held in Sharm El-Sheikh,
Egypt, the venue for this year's conference.
"We have such high levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere now that the lower 1.5 degree of the
Paris Agreement is barely within reach. It's
already too late for many glaciers and the
melting will continue for hundreds, if
not thousands of years, with major
implications for water security".
Critical conditions in all parts of the world
The report is a dizzying catalogue of worrying climate
events, taking place against a backdrop of record
levels of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous
oxide - the three main greenhouse gases that
contribute to global warming - which is
currently estimated to be around
1.15 degrees Celsius above
pre-industrial levels.
Throughout the alps --- an average thickness loss of
between three and over four metres was recorded,
whilst in Switzerland, all snow melted during the
summer season, the first time this has
happened in recorded history; since
the beginning of the century, the
volume of glacier ice in the
country, has dropped by
more than a third.
The increasing ice melt worldwide has led to sea
levels rising... over the last 30 years, at rapidly
increasing rates. The rate of ocean warming
has been exceptionally high over the past
two decades; marine heatwaves... are
becoming more frequent, and these
warming rates are expected to
continue in the future.
The study, details the effects of both droughts and
excessive rains. Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia are
facing crop failure and food insecurity, because of
another season of below-average rains, whilst
more than a third of Pakistan was flooded in
July and August, as a result of record-
breaking rain, displacing almost
eight million people.
The southern Africa region, was battered by a series
of cyclones over two months at the start of the year,
hitting Madagascar hardest with torrential rain and
devastating floods, and in September, Hurricane
Ian caused extensive damage and loss of life
in Cuba and southwest Florida.
Large parts of Europe sweltered in repeated episodes
of extreme heat: the UK saw a new national record
on July 19th, when the temperature topped more
than 40°C for the first time. This was
accompanied by a persistent and
damaging drought and wildfires.
Early warnings for all
In a statement released on Sunday, the UN
Secretary-General, António Guterres,
described the WMO report as a
"chronicle of climate chaos,"
detailing the catastrophic
speed of climate change,
which is devastating
lives and livelihoods
on every continent.
Faced with the inevitability of continued climate
shocks and extreme weather across the world,
Mr. Guterres is to launch an action plan at
COP27 to achieve Early Warnings for All
in the next five years.
The UN chief explained that these early warning systems
are necessary, to protect people and communities
everywhere."We must answer the planet's
distress signal with action, ambitious,
credible climate action,"he argued.
"COP27 must be the place - and
now must be the time."
______________________________________
Scientific Plan for Nature-
Based Climate Solutions
October 13th, 2:23pm (FNA)
Agricultural engineering professor, Ben Runkle, has
co-authored a leading ecosystem scientists and
policy experts report --- calling for a scientific
approach to nature-based climate solutions
in the United States.
The report is the result of dozens of scientists and
policy experts --- gathering in Washington, DC, in
June, to confront the consequences of climate
change and ensure a scientific footing for
nature-based climate solutions.
The report reviews the current knowledge in the field
and offers a multidisciplinary plan for the science,
tools and technologies needed to support a
policy that will mitigate the effects of
climate change.
The researchers are calling for a roughly $1 billion
investment in science and infrastructure
development to ensure nature-based
climate solutions are robust and
credible, that ground-based
experiments & monitoring,
inform rigorously bench-
marked maps, model
predictions and also
protocol evaluations.
"Although... the investment necessary to generate this
information is not small, it is a fraction of the amount
already allocated, to implement nature-based
solutions,"Runkle said. "Investing in sound
science to predict, monitor and verify the
benefits of these strategies is
fundamental to ensuring
their success."
Nature-based climate solutions include reforestation,
as well as climate-smart agriculture, and wetland
restoration. They harness natural processes to
reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere and slow climate change.
These approaches have substantial and growing
support from bipartisan lawmakers, the private
sector and conservation-minded organizations,
but the scientific evidence to support their
effectiveness is not fully developed.
The authors identify critical gaps in the science needed..
to support large-scale implementations of nature-based
climate solutions and chart a research agenda to
address these gaps. They also provide a set of
principles to guide future assessments of the
effectiveness and viability of nature-
based climate solutions.
Among the numerous strategies for achieving the
overall goal, Runkle's research group focuses on
ecosystem-scale measurement. They use
micrometeorological flux towers to
measure basic atmospheric
conditions.
The measurements will enable the team to enhance
and expand ground-based monitoring networks
and distributed experiments.
This effort includes: • Creating robust datasets against
which models, mapping tools and monitoring protocols
can be evaluated and compared. • Creating networks
of distributed field trials and experiments to evaluate
emerging or understudied strategies for nature-based
Runkle has already started. He recently received $1
million from the USDA Climate Smart Agriculture
Initiative, a project led by USA Rice and Ducks
Unlimited. The award is part of $80 million in funding from US Department of Agriculture
to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
associated with rice production.
The grant was one of 70 announced in September,
totaling a $2.8 billion investment.. in the creation of Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities by the USDA.
US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited Isbell
Farms in central Arkansas on Sept. 16 to highlight
the project. Runkle has collaborated with the
Isbells for several years, focused on making
rice production more sustainable and
climate friendly.
________________________________________
$10.1 billion to be allocated to
environmental programs for
2023-2025: Russian minister
October 7th, 3:46pm (TASS)
Funding for environmental protection, natural
resources reproduction and use and forestry
development programs... will amount to
628 bln rubles ($10.1 bln) ..over the
next three years, Russian Minister
of Natural Resources Alexander
Kozlov said on Friday.
"The Environment Protection state programs - 320 bln
[rubles] ($5.1 bln) --- for the three-year period. We have such positions here as hydrometeorology,
environmental supervision, Arctic research
and hunting, and such federal projects as
Clean Country, Clean Air, Integrated
System of Solid Communal Waste
Management, and Preservation
of Lake Baikal, Biodiversity
and Eco-tourism," the
Minister said.
Funding for the state program... of natural resources
reproduction and use, will amount to 156 bln rubles
($2.5 bln) in the three years to come, and 152 bln
rubles ($2.45 bln) will be provided for the state
program of forestry development,
Kozlov added.
__________________________________
Microplastics are
now discovered in plant leaves
September 12th, 10:37pm
(Lenta.ru)
The University of Presov in Slovakia said that in the
studied samples of plant leaves, scientists, for the first time, found traces of microplastics.
The findings are published in the journal BioRisk.
Plants from the genus of villi (Dipsacus) have
characteristic leaves growing in pairs on
several tiers --- which forms a kind of
receptacle that collects water and
attracts insects into it.
In the samples taken, experts found fragments and
fibres of multi-coloured microplastics -- some of
which were up to 2.4 millimetres long. No third
-party sources of pollution around the territory
were recorded, so the plastic got into the
flowers from the polluted atmosphere,
the researchers say.
Another suggestion is that it could have been
introduced by snails from the soil or from
other plants.
In the future, experts plan to thoroughly study the
impact of microplastics on ecosystems of flora
and insects. In addition, they suggest using
villi as bioindicators of environmental
pollution.
In June 2022, the University of Canterbury
announced the first detection of micro-
plastics in fresh snow.. in Antarctica.
________________________________________
Cuba will host the International
Agroforestry Convention in October
by Elsy Fors Garzon
August 27th, 3:43am
(Prensa Latina)
Cuba will host the 2022 International Agroforestry
Convention next October, a macro-event aimed
at researchers, academics, businessmen and
communicators, it was reported at a
press conference.
The director of the Agroforestry Research Institute
(INAF), Pedro Pablo Henry, highlighted that the VIII
Forestry Congress of Cuba, the IV International
Congress of Coffee and Cocoa, the VIII
International Meeting of Young
Researchers and the VII Cuban
Congress of Beekeeping, will
meet, as part of the event.
Henry pointed out that for 4 days the event’s agenda
will occupy the link between forests and society,
biodiversity and ecosystem services, climate
change, production, as well as the
interactions of forests and water
and sustainable agricultural
production technologies.
Similarly, the director of the INAF, highlighted, that
the integrated management of soils and nutrients,
agroforestry activity ....facing the challenges to achieve the UNs Sustainable Development Goals, the quality, benefit and by-products of coffee, and cocoa, will be discussed & the improvement and breeding of bees.
Henry stressed that the convention will be an opportune
moment - to exchange endorsed scientific experiences
that directly affect the increase in productive activity.
The director of the INAF reported that the presence of
about 400 participants is estimated, and that to date
specialists from Italy, Peru, Panama, Mexico,
Colombia and Ecuador, have confirmed.
______________________________________________
Many Ways Nature
Nurtures Human
Well-Being
August 7th, 10:31am (FNA)
A systematic review of 301 academic articles,
on "cultural ecosystem services" has enabled researchers to identify how the nonmaterial
contributions from nature, are linked to and
significantly affect, human well-being.
They identified 227 unique pathways through which
human interaction with nature - positively or
negatively - affects well-being. These were
then used to isolate 16 distinct underlying
mechanisms, or types of connection,
through which people experience
these effects.
The comprehensive review brings together observations
from a fragmented field of research, which could be
of great use to policymakers --- looking to benefit
society through the careful use and protection
of the intangible benefits of nature.
Do you ever feel the need for a bit of fresh air... to
energize yourself, or to spend time in the garden
to relax? Aside from clean water, food & useful
raw materials, nature provides many other
benefits, that we might overlook, or find
hard to grasp and quantify.
Research into cultural ecosystem services (CESs) the
nonmaterial benefits we receive from nature, aims to
better understand these contributions, whether they
emerge through recreation and social experiences,
or nature's spiritual value and our sense of place.
Hundreds of CESs studies have explored the
connections between nature and human
well-being. However -- they have often
used different methods and measure
-ments -- or focused on different
demographics and places.
This fragmentation makes it difficult to identify
overarching patterns or commonalities, on
how these intangible contributions really
affect human well-being. Better under-
standing them could aid real-world
decision-making --- about the
environment, which could
benefit individuals and
the wider society.
To try to get a "big-picture" view, graduate student
Lam Huynh, from the Graduate Program in
Sustainability Science at the University
of Tokyo, and team... conducted a
systematic literature review of
301 academic articles.
After a critical reading, they were able to identify
hundreds of links. "We identified 227 unique
linkages between a single CES (such as
recreation or aesthetic value), and a
single constituent of human well-
being (such as connectedness,
spirituality, or health).
''We knew that there are many linkages, but we were
surprised ---- to find quite so many of them," said Huynh. "Then, through further critical reading, we could identify major commonalities."
In particular, they identified 16 distinct underlying
"mechanisms," or types of connection, which
refer to the different ways that people's
interaction with nature... affects their well-being.
For example, there can be positive interactions through
"cohesive," "creative" and "formative" mechanisms,
but also, negative interactions, through "irritative"
and "destructive" mechanisms. Previous studies
had identified some of these mechanisms, but
10 were newly defined --- including the more
negative effects, clearly showing that our
well-being is linked to the intangible
aspects of nature, in many more
ways than previously thought.
According to the paper, the negative contributions
to human well-being came mainly through the
degradation or loss of CESs, and through
ecosystem "disservices" ------ such as
annoyance at wildlife noise, which
can affect some people's mental
health, in particular.
However, on the other hand, the highest positive
contributions of CESs, were to both mental and
physical health, which were generated mainly
through: recreation, tourism and
aesthetic value.
"It is particularly interesting to note that the identified
pathways and mechanisms, rather than affecting
human well-being independently, often interact
strongly," explained co-author, Alexandros
Gasparatos, associate professor at the
Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI) at the University of Tokyo.
"This can create negative trade-offs in some contexts,
but also important positive synergies that can be
leveraged, to provide multiple benefits to
human well-being."
Despite the comprehensiveness of the review, the
researchers acknowledge that there may still be
more links, that have not yet been identified,
especially as the review revealed gaps in
the current research landscape.
"We hypothesize... that missing pathways and
mechanisms could be present in ecosystem
-dependent communities, and, especially,
traditional and Indigenous communities,
considering their very unique relations
with nature," said Gasparatos.
"Another of the knowledge gaps we identified --- is
that the existing literature on these nonmaterial
dimensions of human-nature relationships
--- mainly focuses... on the well-being of
individuals, rather than on collective
(community) well-being,"
explained Huynh.
"This significant gap hinders our capacity to identify
possible synergies and trade-offs in ecosystem
management research and practice."
The team has now received a grant, to explore the
effects of CESs provision to human well-being in
the urban spaces of Tokyo. "This project is a
logical follow-up, to test whether and how
some of the identified pathways and
mechanisms unfold in reality and
...intersect with human well-
being," said Gasparatos.
The researchers hope that this study and similar efforts,
will make it possible to apply the key findings from this
complex and diverse body of knowledge, to enable a
real-world impact.
Professor Kensuke Fukushi from IFI, and study co-
author, summarized their hope that: "an improved
understanding of nature's many connections to
human well-being & the underlying processes
mediating them, can help policymakers to
design appropriate interventions. Such
coordinated actions - could leverage
the positive contributions of these
connections - & become another
avenue to protect and manage
ecosystems sustainably."
________________________________
EU Climate Plan Doomed
Unless Anti-Russia
Sanctions Lifted:
Lawmaker
July 10th, 10:29am
(al Manar)
The controversial EU green transition plan, also known
as Fit for 55, which was designed to reduce the bloc’s
greenhouse gas emissions by 55%... by 2030, is
unfeasible --- unless sanctions against Russia
are lifted, EU lawmaker, Roman Haider,
told Sputnik.
“They don’t know how to save their unrealistic
and dangerous, Fit for 55 strategy --- without
canceling the sanctions against Russia,” Haider considered.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament backed EU
regulations designating nuclear and gas energy: as
environmentally sustainable economic activities,
saying that private investment in gas and
nuclear projects... may play a role in the green transition process.
Massively harmful to the environment
Haider indicated that the European Parliament
decision signaled that EU governments are
facing a stark reality, recognizing that
more time and more realistic goals
are required to transform the
energy infrastructure
in Europe.
“This package is a massive threat to businesses in
Europe. It makes Europe even more dependent on imports and drives the price spiral further
upwards. It destroys jobs, promotes the
impoverishment of Europeans --- and is
massively harmful to the environment.
In short, Fit for 55 - is a serious threat
to Europe,” the EU lawmaker warned.
He also stressed that to achieve carbon neutrality
by 2040.. and meet the goals of the Paris climate
agreement, Austria would have to cut emissions,
by 95% over the next 18 years, as a recent study
shows that the country’s CO2 emissions in 2021
reached 1990 levels.
Source: Agencies (edited by
Al-Manar English Website)
______________________________
Colombians RejectJudicial
Authorizationfor Fracking
July 8th, 2022
(teleSUR)
The decision disregards the risk of serious and
irreversible damage that this experimental
technique represents --- for the human
environment, health, and integrity.
On Thursday, Colombian environmental defenders
rejected a decision whereby the Council of State
facilitates oil exploitation through hydraulic
fracturing (fracking).
"The decision disregards the environmental
precautionary principle -- and the risk of
serious and irreversible damage that
this experimental technique
represents: for the human
environment, health, and
integrity" ...the Fracking
Free Colombia Alliance
(ACLF) stressed.
“Fracking is dangerous, in the context of the
climate crisis and openly inconsistent with
the international commitments acquired
by Colombia,” it recalled.
The ACLF also recalled, that the implementation
of this technique will increase risks to the lives
of environmental defenders and Indigenous
peoples in Magdalena Medio, "a territory
that has suffered oil exploitation and
armed violence, for more than
a century."
The Colombian debate about fracking's environmental
and social consequences intensified during the
administration of President Juan Manuel
Santos (2010-2018), who signed a
decree that opened the doors to
the use of fracking in so-called
"unconventional deposits''.
Later, despite the social rejection of the pollution and
violence associated with the operations of fracking
companies, the far-right President Ivan Duque implemented this exploitation practice,
arguing that it would contribute to
the country's energy security.
During the last electoral campaign, the Historical
Pact candidate Gustavo Petro openly took a
position against hydraulic fracturing.
On Thursday, ratifying his political promises,
the President-elect Petro said "there will be
no fracking in Colombia."
______________________________________________
The Brazilian Amazon Lost
3,987 SQ KM of Vegetation
July 8th, 12:53pm (teleSUR)
Since Jair Bolsonaro came to power, in
January 2019, the rates of devastation
in the jungle have increased by 73%.
On Friday, Brazil's National Institute for Space
Research (INPE) revealed that deforestation
in the Brazilian Amazon broke a record in
the first half of the year, with 3,987
square kilometres of devastated
vegetation, 10.6 percent more
than the same period in 2021.
The area of lost vegetation is equivalent to 483
football fields. In June alone, 1,120 square
kilometres of native vegetation were
destroyed in that region of the
country, 5.5 percent more
than in the same month
of 2021.
These are the highest rates - for the month and for
the semester - registered since 2016, when the
measurement began. The data corresponds to the Legal Amazon Deforestation Detection System in Real Time (DETER) which uses satellite images to offer early warnings
about the areas that are being deforested in the Amazon.
This system captures monthly deforestation alarms in
Brazil and differs from the PRODES system, which
only issues annual information between August
and July of the following year, which is
considered the reference period for
measuring environmental
devastation.
However, the figures are beginning to worry, as the
trend shows that the deforestation of the jungle
will grow for the 4th consecutive year,
something that environmentalists
attribute to the lack of controls
and supervision of President
Bolsonaro's administration,
to stop the activities that
destroy the forest, such
as illegal mining or the
illicit trade in wood.
In fact, the far-right politician defends the
exploitation of natural resources in the
Amazon and in indigenous territories,
where the law prohibits
extractive activities.
Since Bolsonaro came to power in January 2019,
the rates of devastation in the jungle have
increased by 73 percent to reach 13,038
square kilometres in 2021. In 2018, a
year before the former Capitan took
office, only 7,536 sq. kilometres
of jungle were devastated.
The largest tropical forest on the planet
concentrates 72%of Brazil's mining
extraction and 99% of the wood
sold by the country is illegally
extracted from the Amazon.
________________________________
Did you know...?
Russia is the only country in the world
where bio-resources... are increasing
every year: forests, fish and wildlife.
Environmental protection
--- a priority in Cuba’s
legislative framework
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
June 5th, 11:07am (Prensa Latina)
The protection of the environment in Cuba has
solid foundations in a regulatory framework
adapted to the peculiarities of the
Caribbean island, which faces
the severe impacts of
climate change.
The Government’s will to promote sustainable
development is expressed in the design and
implementation of specific policies --- such
as the Natural Resources & Environment
Macro Program... that, in turn, responds to the priorities established in Cuba’s
National Economic and Social
Development Plan.
Odalys Goicochea, general director for the
Environment at the Ministry of Science,
Technology and Environment (CITMA),
explained how regulations respond
to the existing social demands
and problems.
“Tarea Vida” (Task Life), a Cuban State Plan to
Face Climate Change, for example, underwent
adjustments, in order to provide more specific
attention to social aspects, and the need to
involve scientists and the population
--- to solve community problems,
Goicochea said.
Several strategies... including the
National Environmental Strategy
- approved for the 2021-2025
period - will allow measuring
progress made in this area,
thanks to indicators:- such
as the ecological footprint
index, the environmental
quality index - & climate
resilience - are proof of
the efforts made in the
regulatory field.
The highest expression of Cuba’s political
willingness to protect the environment,
is the recent approval by the National
People’s Power Assembly, of the
Law on Natural Resources and
Environment System.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel
marks World Environment Day
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
June 5th, 10:17am (Prensa Latina)
President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday marked
World Environment Day, which is celebrated
in Cuba with firm steps to preserve nature.
On Twitter, the president recalled that Cuba has a
new law on Natural Resources and Environment,
includes the natural sphere in the Heritage
Protection Law, & ''types'' environmental
crimes in the Penal Code.
On #WorldEnvironmentDay, recalling that speech
made by #Fidel in #RiodeJaneiro in 1992 is
essential. It seems that it has been said
for today, Diaz-Canel tweeted, in
another of his messages.
The president referred to the speech given by the
historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel
Castro, at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development in Brazil,
where he warned 30 years ago about
the negative impact of humankind
on nature.
“Enough of selfishness. Enough of schemes
of domination. Enough of insensitivity,
irresponsibility and deceit. Tomorrow
will be too late to do what we should
have done a long time ago,” said
Fidel Castro on that occasion,
when he advocated for a just
international economic order.
World Environment Day has been celebrated since
1973 --- to raise awareness among the world’s
population -- about the importance of caring
for ecosystems and promoting respect
for nature.
___________________________
Plastic waste has more
than doubled since 2000
by Pavel López Lazo
February 24th, 6:35pm (Prensa Latina)
A report entitled Global Plastics Outlook on
Thursday, revealed that the amount of
plastic waste has more than doubled
globally since 2000 --- and nearly a
quarter, is dumped in uncontrolled
sites, burned in open pits or leaks
into the environment.
Plastic waste has more than doubled worldwide, since 2000, with a whopping 353 million tons produced in 2019.
After taking into account losses during recycling, only 9% of plastic waste
was ultimately recycled, while
19% was incinerated and
nearly 50% went to
sanitary landfills.
“The remaining 22% was disposed of in
uncontrolled dumpsites, burned in
open pits, or leaked into
the environment.”
On the other hand, a scientific study shows
the oceans already accumulate 24.4 billion
pieces of microplastic.
Experts estimated that amounts range from
82,000 to 578,000 tons, or the equivalent
of roughly $30 billion 500-ml plastic
water bottles.
According to the journal Microplastics and
Nanoplastics, the study aimed to assess
the true impact these particles have, on
aquatic organisms and the environment.
Microplastics – up to 5-mm size – can travel
thousands of kilometres in the open sea
and, depending on their degradation,
remain at certain distances from
the ocean surface.
Although more research is needed to know the
effects of microplastics, several studies have
confirmed a real impact on people’s lives, as
they can suffer from alveolar lung disease,
and altered hormones, leading to other
disorders, including infertility
or hypothyroidism.
According to a report published by the World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), people are at
risk of ingesting around 5 grams of micro-plastic, per week.
_____________________________________
WHY WE ARE ALL EATING SH*T
"A recent publication by a European commission on soil health found up to 70% of soils in the EU, are losing the capacity to provide crucial ecological functions."
"When soil is healthy, it stores and drains water. It also grows 95% of the food humans eat.''
''When soil is degraded, its basic life-giving processes don't function properly. "
They behaved on a par with industrial cities in China
such as coal-dependent Chongqing, they described,
adding that the findings suggest a sponge-like
behaviour of the rainforest trees.
The leaves, which are coated with contaminated dust,
also absorb gaseous mercury as they take in air,
they noted in the article.
The metal, eventually, finds its way to the ground
as leaves fall or rain washes away dust and after
capturing the dripping water, they discovered
more than twice as much rain washout,
compared to any other site.
The results indicated that forests can buffer some
of the harmful effects of mercury, by hiding it in
leaves and soil, the study participants noted.
People and wildlife are generally not at risk from
this locked-up mercury, explained Luis
Fernandez, a tropical ecologist and
executive director of Wake Forest
University’s Amazon Science
Innovation Centre.
You could walk, swim in the water, bury yourself in
the leaves... and you’re not going to get toxicity
doing that -- a reason to keep tropical forests
standing, the expert emphasized.
Still, the airborne form of mercury can become very
dangerous when it seeps into water and sediment
and is converted to something else,
methylmercury, by bacteria in
the liquid, he warned.
The team involved found sobering signs, that
methylmercury is reaching forest creatures,
and by testing three species of songbirds
they had levels two to 12 times higher
than similar species caught in a
forest far from a mine.
This shows that it is entering the food web, said
Emily Bernhardt, a subject supervisor for
biogeochemistry and analysis at Duke
University in North Carolina.
Research data shows that gold mining recently
overtook coal burning, as the world’s largest
source of airborne mercury pollution,
annually releasing up to 1,000 tons
of the potent brain poison into
the atmosphere.
__________________________________
Media report environmental
impact of sea trafficin Europe
by Aleynes Palacios Hurtado
January 11th, 00:15am (Prensa Latina)
Sea traffic in Europe accounts for 13.5 percent
of the emission of greenhouse gases and
carbon microparticles into the airways
of crews working on ships,
media reported.
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) made
public its 2021 report on the environmental impact
of those operations, which revealed that container
ships, bulk carriers and oil tankers account for 60
percent of the emission of those particles (soot).
It noted that cruise ships, despite making up a low
percentage of the total fleet, emit 10 tons per ship
a year, a figure lower than the 1.7 recorded for
an oil tanker.
The report warned about wastewater discharge: large
ships discharge huge quantities of dirty, oily, bilge
and ballast water and solid waste (plastics,
packages, food waste) into the sea,
causing damage to the
sea's ecosystems.
According to EMSA, the main dirty waters discharged
into the sea are used to clean exhaust gases of
chimneys through filters installed to retain
polluting particles.
On the other hand, the report warned about the
accidental loss of huge amounts of containers
with all their content, which ends up at the
bottom of the sea.
Another negative impact is the so-called underwater
noise, caused by ships, which disturbs the life of
cetaceans and other species that use
frequencies to communicate with
each other.
_____________________________
2022 to be among
hottest years
since 1850
by Ana Luisa Brown
January 7th, 00:30am (Prensa Latina)
The average temperature in 2022 will be
between 0.97 and 1.21 degrees Celsius
(°C), among the warmest years since
1850, the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) noted
regarding the estimates
from the UK Service.
The fact that the central figure has exceeded 1.0°C
since 2015 masks the considerable international
variation, explained one of the leading experts
in climate prediction, Doug Smith, who added
that in some places, such as the Arctic,
temperatures have risen several
degrees... since pre-
industrial times.
According to the head of Long Range Forecasting
at the British Met Office, Professor Adam Scaife,
the predicted temperature illustrates that the
increase in greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere is now warming the
planet at an exponential rate.
____________________________
China's 'man-made sun'
sets new world record
December 31st, 2:22pm (PressTV)
Chinese scientists have set a new world record
by achieving a 1,056 second-long operation of
a "man-made sun".
The breakthrough was made on Thursday during
the latest round of experiments at the
experimental advanced super-
conducting tokamak (EAST),
or China's "man-made sun".
The scientists achieved a temperature of 70 million
degrees Celsius of long-pulse and high-parameter
plasma, lasting for 1,056 seconds, according to
Gong Xianzu, a researcher at the Institute of
Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences. The scientist is in charge of the
experiment conducted in Hefei, capital
of east China's Anhui province.
They had earlier set a world record of achieving
a plasma temperature of 120 million degrees
Celsius for 101 seconds on May 28 this year.
The latest round of experiments started in early
December this year, and will last until at least
June 2022.
The ultimate goal of EAST, located in Hefei, is
to create nuclear fusion like the Sun, using
deuterium abounding in the sea, to
provide a steady stream of
clean energy.
_______________________________
World faces largest species extinction
since dinosaur era, WWF warns
December 31st, 1:09pm (RT)
Around a million species might disappear
within the next few decades..... the
conservation organization reports
The Earth is facing the biggest extinction event..
since the end of the dinosaur era, with a million
species at risk of becoming extinct, within the
next few decades, the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) has said in a report.
Titled ‘Winners and Losers of 2021’, the article,
published on Wednesday, lists the endangered
animals whose populations have shrunk or
grown the most this year.
“African forest elephants, polar bears, tree frogs,
cranes and species of fish such as sturgeon and
huchen --- these are just some of the losers in 2021. They represent thousands of endangered animal species,” the WWF said.
Among the ‘winners’, the organization lists the Iberian
lynx – one of the rarest cats in the world – along with
Nepalese rhinos and great bustard birds. Noting that the success of these species is a tribute to
the efforts of conservationists, the WWF
emphasizes that the situation
remains serious.
“Around a million species could become extinct within
the next few decades, which would mark the largest
species extinction since the end of the dinosaur
era,” the organization claimed.
According to a WWF board member Eberhard
Brandes, species protection, now involves
the question of “whether humanity will
someday end up on the red list in a
hazard category and become the
loser of its own way of life.”
There are more than 40,000 animal and plant species
currently on the International Red List, qualified as
threatened with extinction by the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In total the Red List includes almost
142,600 endangered species.
____________________________
Fully biodegradable food
packaging developed
in Russia
December 21st, 2:55am (TASS)
The first food packaging made of laminated
cardboard, which decomposes in soil in
six months, was developed in Russia,
OSQ press service told TASS.
"Laminated craft packaging, when it gets into the
ground, 100% decomposes within six months
& has no analogs in Russia. For comparison,
plastic food packaging begins to decompose
in the ground only after 400 years. The
products of the company’s previous
brand underwent 70%
decomposition in the
environment," the
statement said.
The company specified that the production of
cardboard containers, cups, and other types
of packaging has been established at the
company's plant in Vidnoye, Moscow
Region. In the future, additional
capacities will be added to the
plant in Kaliningrad - with the
investments in construction
of 1.1 bln rubles ($14.85 mln).
___________________________
Biden electric vehicle push
hits ''setback'' in US Senate
December 20th, 11:04am (PressTV)
A bid by the White House to dramatically boost
electric vehicle tax credits hit a major road-
block on Sunday, when a key Senate
Democrat... said he would not
support Biden's $1.75 trillion
domestic investment bill.
West Virginia's Joe Manchin appeared to deal a fatal
blow to President Joe Biden's signature domestic
policy bill, known as Build Back Better, which
also aims to expand the social safety net
and tackle climate change.
The bill includes increasing the current $7,500 EV tax
credit to up to $12,500 for union-made US vehicles
as well as creating a credit of up to $4,000 for
used vehicles. The bill would also, again,
make General Motors and Tesla Inc...
eligible for tax credits after they hit
the 200,000-vehicle cap on the
existing $7,500 credit.
The bill also includes a 30% credit for commercial electric vehicles.
GM and Ford are both launching electric pickup
trucks in 2022, and new tax credits could be
crucial to meeting initial sales targets, as well as meeting rising vehicle
emissions requirements.
Biden wants 50% of new US vehicles to be electric or
plug-in electric hybrid, by 2030. The administration
is expected, as soon as this week, to finalize
tougher new vehicle emissions rules
through 2026, automakers say.
Manchin opposes a $4,500 tax credit for union-made
vehicles that is part of the $12,500 proposal. He
calls the union credit "wrong" and
"not American."
The EV tax credits are backed by Biden, many
congressional Democrats and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and would
disproportionately benefit Detroit's Big Three automakers - GM, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler parent
Stellantis NV - which
assemble their US-
made vehicles in
union plants.
Tesla, and foreign automakers operating in the
United States do not have unions representing
assembly workers --- and many have fought
UAW efforts to organize US plants.
Toyota Motor Corp, which has a plant in West
Virginia, but whose US employees are not
union members, has ''lobbied'' against
the $4,500 union credit.
Toyota announced this month it is building a $1.29
billion battery plant in North Carolina, while EV
startup, Rivian Automotive, said on Thursday
that it will build a $5 billion plant in Georgia.
Vehicles would have to be made in the United States
starting in 2027, to qualify for any of the $12,500
credit, which includes $500 for US made
batteries. It has faced criticism from
Canada, Mexico, Japan and
the European Union.
(Source: Reuters)
_________________________________
‘Doomsday Glacier’
--- melting at an
alarming rate
December, 15th, 11:54am (RT)
A massive glacier in Antarctica, seen as crucial to the global sea level rise, could lose its ice shelf in
“as little as five years,” a team of scientists
has warned.
The Thwaites Glacier in western Antarctica is
sometimes called the Doomsday Glacier
because of its great potential to raise
sea levels once melted. The glacier
is about 74,000 square miles...
which is roughly the size of
Florida, according to
CBS News.
A team of US scientists reported at a US Geophysical
Union meeting, this week, that new cracks were
forming on the eastern ice shelf --- which
supports one third of the glacier.
The shelf, which “acts as a dam to slow
the flow of ice off the continent into
the ocean,” appears to be “losing
its grip” ...due to warm water
seeping under the glacier,
researchers said, citing
satellite images.
“If this floating ice shelf breaks apart, the Thwaites
Glacier will accelerate, and its contribution to sea
level rise, will increase by as much as 25%,” the
scientists wrote, adding that the shelf could be broken up in “as little as five years.”
According to the study, one of the fastest-melting
glaciers in Antarctica is contributing as much as
4% of global annual sea level rises, today, while
the cracks are expanding into the central part
of the ice shelf, at rates as high as 2km
(1.2 miles) per year.
“There is going to be dramatic change in the front
of the glacier, probably in less than a decade.
Both published and unpublished studies
point in that direction,” geology
professor Ted Scambos, US
lead coordinator for the
International Thwaites
Glacier Collaboration..
told the BBC, Tuesday.
____________________________
New FAO report on land,
water resources, paints
an alarming picture
by Pavel López Lazo
December 9th, 5:13pm (Prensa Latina)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) on Thursday launched a landmark
report highlighting the worsening state of the
earth’s soil, land and water resources and
the challenges it poses... for feeding a
global population expected to near
ten billion by 2050.
“The pressures on soil, land and water ecosystems...
are now intense, and many are stressed to a critical
point,” FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, wrote in
the foreword to the synthesis report, entitled the
State of the World´s Land and Water Resources
for Food and Agriculture – Systems at breaking
points (SOLAW 2021).... “Against this back-
ground, it is clear our future food security
will depend on safeguarding our land,
soil and water resources.”
The report says if we keep to the current trajectory,
producing the additional 50% more food needed
could mean water withdrawals for agriculture
increasing by up to 35%. That could create
environmental disasters, increase
competition for resources, and
fuel new social challenges
and conflicts.
Among other aspects, it stands out that human-induced soil degradation affects 34% (1,660 billion hectares) of agricultural lands. Over 95% of our food is produced on land, but there is little room for expanding areas of productive land. Urban areas occupy less than 0.5% of the Earth’s land surface but the rapid growth of cities... has significantly impacted land & water resources,
polluting & encroaching on prime agricultural land that’s crucial... for productivity & food security.
With limited arable land and freshwater resources - a
rapid scaling-up of technology and innovation is vital.
We must strengthen the digital architecture needed to provide basic data, information & science-based
solutions for agriculture... that make full use of
digital technologies and are climate-proofing.
Land and water governance must be more inclusive
and adaptive, to benefit millions of smallholder
farmers, women, youth, and indigenous
peoples. They are the most vulnerable
to climatic and other socio-economic
risks, and face the greatest food
insecurity.
Sustainable soils, land and water are the foundations
for resilient agrifood systems. So the sustainable
use of these resources... is key to achieving
climate mitigation and adaptation targets.
___________________________
Earth is Getting Its Own
Black Box
That Will Tell What Caused
Humanity's Demise
December 6th, 1:08pm (Sputnik)
The device will be placed on an empty plain in
Tasmania, Australia. The researchers behind
the project, say the area was chosen for its
geological as well as geopolitical stability.
Other locations proposed, were located
in Malta, Norway, and Qatar.
Researchers from the University of Tasmania...
have partnered with the Australian marketing
communications company, Clemenger
BBDO, to create a black box for our
planet, which they say.... will tell
future generations (and maybe
extraterrestrial guests, who
knows)....... what caused
humanity's demise.
Black boxes installed on airplanes and automobiles
play an invaluable role in establishing the causes
of accidents - so why shouldn't Earth have one,
researchers apparently wondered. Jim Curtis,
the executive creative director at Clemenger
BBDO, told ABC --- that the project is
completely non-commercial.
The box will be made from 7.5 centimetre-thick steel
...and will be filled with a mass of storage drives,
which, according to researchers, will record
"every step we take... towards" a potential
catastrophe, meaning they are gathering
information: on pollution, the extinction
of species, ocean acidification, as well
as climate change-related events such
as average temperatures, and levels
of carbon dioxide. The latter traps
heat radiated from the Sun and
consequently leads to
climate change.
The black box will have an internet connection and
will also collect contextual data ...such as news
about key international events like the United
Nations Climate Change Conference,
meetings between world leaders, etc.
Although the construction of the structure to house the
box will begin in the middle of 2022, the hard drives
have already begun recording information.
The black box, which will be the size of a bus, will also
have solar panels to provide backup power storage.
Jonathan Kneebone, a co-founder of the artistic
collective, Glue Society, which is also involved
in the project, said the device is "built to
outlive us all".
Researchers say that while the main objective is to
help future civilisations, or whoever accesses the
black box, to understand what should be done to
prevent catastrophes, they also hope that it will
make politicians... put their money where their
mouths are, when it comes to preserving the
environment and protecting life on Earth.
"It's also there to hold leaders to account – to make
sure their action - or inaction - is recorded. When
people know they're being recorded... it does
have an influence on what they do and say",
said Jonathan Kneebone.
________________________________________________
FAOcalls for urgent actionon
sustainable soil management
by Luis Linares Petrov
December 4th, 00:15am (Prensa Latina)
FAO Director General Qu Dongyu called to take
urgent action - to improve information and
capacities in favoor of sustainable soil.
The head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)took part in a video conference
of the eighth edition of World Soil Day, which has
been celebrated every December 5th, by
decision of the General Assembly,
since 2014.
Stopping salinization is the central topic this year,
which according to Qu is one of the main threats
to having healthy soils around the world.
The director general recalled that some 833 million
hectares are affected by salinization in all corners
of the planet, as shown in the World Soil Map
presented in October.
He pointed out that it is a problem present in all
regions, particularly in the Near East, South
America, North Africa, as well as in the
Pacific and Central Asia.
The effects of salt on soils pose a significant risk
to world food security, he noted, and called to
seek innovative ways to make agri-food
systems more efficient, inclusive,
resilient and sustainable.
________________________________
Shell oil company abandons
controversial project in
British seas
by Erich Tellez Corrales
December 3rd, 9:24am (Prensa Latina)
The Anglo-Dutch multinational Royal Dutch Shell
announced, today, that it will abandon a
controversial oil exploration project
in the North Sea, in a decision
welcomed by the British
environmental groups.
According to the company, a comprehensive
analysis of plans to exploit Cambo, a field
..outlined west of Scotland’s Shetland
islands, showed that the economic
benefits are not strong enough at
the moment, plus there are
possibilities of delays
to put the project
into motion.
The announcement by Shell, which held 30%
of the shares, was greeted with rejoicing by
environmental organizations, and environ-
mental defenders who have been demand-
ing for years.. that the British government
prohibit exploration & exploitation permits.
Shell is out! This is the beginning of the end of
Cambo, said on Twitter the environmental
group, Stop Cambo, which warned,
however, that it will not rest until
the entire project is shut down.
Greenpeace’s UK affiliate, which last October lost a
legal challenge to force the government to reverse
a permit granted to British Petroleum to operate in a neighbouring North Sea field, said the Anglo-Dutch oil company’s withdrawal should be seen as a death blow to Cambo.
The right decision to ensure the UK’s energy security
is to speed up the introduction of renewable sources
and ensure that the interests of oil and gas workers
are protected through a fair transition, said Labour
MP and well-known environmentalist Ed Miliband.
The company Siccar Point Energy, which shared
the Cambo project with Shell, promised to look
for alternatives to continue exploration, while
the government limited itself to saying that it is a commercial decision... taken
independently by the Anglo-
Dutch transnational.
___________________________________
The US – the world’s biggest polluter –
calls out countries that need to
'step up' on climate change
December 2nd, 11:26am (PressTV)
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John
Kerry, has called out a number of countries
that need to “step up” on climate change,
despite the fact that the United States
has contributed more than any other
country - to the atmospheric carbon
dioxide that is scorching the planet.
According to studies, the US military is the
largest consumer of hydrocarbons on
the planet and one of the largest
polluters in history.
However, Kerry, in an interview at the Reuters
Next conference, on Wednesday, accused
other countries of falling short on their
commitments to stave off the worst
effects of global warming.
“And that means you have China, India, Russia,
Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, a
group of countries that are going to
have to step up,” Kerry said.
“And we... have to help them. This, is not just
unloading responsibility on them,” he added.
Kerry has said the current climate situation
cannot be rectified... without the “full
engagement and commitment”
from China.
Democrats in the US House of Representatives
and Senate --- have already called on US
President Joe Biden to use targeted
sanctions to punish individuals
and companies that are
worsening the global
climate crisis.
In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last month,
Democratic lawmakers particularly targeted
China and its companies.
The lawmakers urged the US administration to use
sanction authorities under the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act --- to target
individuals and companies that are found
to be involved in climate-related
corruption and human rights
abuses abroad.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations used
the Magnitsky Act, to target individuals and companies they said were engaged in
corruption or human rights abuses
around the world.
Largely, individuals and companies from Russia,
China, Belarus, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Eritrea,
and Cuba, have been targeted.
Last month, scores of countries convened in
Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP26 climate
summit, where they reached a deal that
calls for cutting global carbon dioxide
emissions by 45% by 2030, when
compared to 2010 levels.
Kerry on Wednesday said private investments for
clean-energy technologies are also essential for
fighting climate change, according to Reuters.
“No government on the planet has enough money
to effect this transition... But, the private sector
does have that money. I believe the private
sector has the ability to win this battle
for us,” he said.
US is world's biggest plastic polluter: Report
According to a new report submitted to the US
federal government on Wednesday, the US is,
by far, the biggest contributor to global
plastic waste in the world.
Entitled "Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global
Ocean Plastic Waste," the report calls for... a
national strategy to tackle the growing crisis.
The US contributed around 42 million metric tons
(MMT) in plastic waste in 2016: more than twice
as much as China has --- and more than all the
countries of the European Union combined, according to the analysis.
Every US citizen generates 130 kilograms of plastic
waste in a year, with Britain next on the list --- at
99 kilos per person, per year, followed by
South Korea, at 88 kilos per year,
AFP reported.
"The success of the 20th-century miracle invention (sic)
of plastics, has also produced a global scale deluge
of plastic waste, seemingly, everywhere we look,"
wrote Margaret Spring, chief science officer of
Monterey Bay Aquarium, who chaired the
committee of experts that compiled
this report.
Another Government report says climate change
will shrink the US economy and kill thousands
of US people.
_______________________________________
Vietnam readies 2nd largest
garbage recycling plant ...in the WORLD
by Lino Céspedes Rodríguez
December 2nd, 10:03am (Prensa Latina)
Vietnam polishes the finishing touches to a plant
that will recycle garbage into energy, and be
the second largest in the world, of its kind,
officials from investment company Thien
Y Environment, reported today.
Located on the outskirts of Hanoi, the plant will
have the capacity of processing 4,000 tons of
waste per day (60% of what is produced by
the capital) and producing 75 megawatts
of electricity per hour.
Built at a cost of nearly $ 310 million dollars... the
plant covers a surface of 173,900 square metres,
making it the second largest in the world, after
Chinese Shenzhen, which processes 5,000
tons of garbage per day.
Left over matter, after being used to produce energy,
will be incinerated and used in the manufacture of
bricks and other construction materials.
To fully ensure safety, it will count on a gas
filtration system: preventing the emission
of dioxins, mercury, nitrogen and other
polluting substances into
the environment.
Vietnam thus takes a new step towards the
full elimination and use of... solid waste.
Currently the 3 main ways of waste treatment
in the country, are: burial, the production of
microbiological fertilizers, and burning.
Only 30% of Vietnam’s existing dumping areas
meet ecological standards, while most of its
nearly 300 incinerators, are small-scale.
__________________________________
Climate change......
promises unfulfilled,
pledges forgotten
November 25th, 7:41pm (PressTV)
Climate change, has long been debated under
different settings, researched and debunked
and ‘rebunked’ over the years, so much so
that you would think, strides should have
been made by now, unfortunately, how-
ever, that hasn't been the case. Major
corporations and rich countries have
all fallen short on their so called
promises.
Hypocrisy and inaction
COP 26 still lacks large coal using countries. Studies
show CO2 levels are back at pre COVID-19 levels in
the COP countries but did not include Australia,
China or the United States in the assessment.
Such a state of affairs led to climate protests decrying
one of the highlights of the COP 26 Summit, the
coal pledge.
Children Youth Act climate activists protested
their concerns regarding the slow pace of
emissions reductions and lack of action
on the climate emergency.
Children Youth Act climate activists were rightly
worried about the slow pace of emissions
reductions and action on the
climate emergency.
Nothing will be saved without it is important to
begin with the fact you're born to be creators
of the ground.
Yrsa Daley-Ward, Writer
The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties
to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change.
Carolina Schmidt, President, COP 25
The opening of the COP 26 summit in Glasgow
was quite inspiring but it all came down to the
final draft communiqué.
Well, you know we got a very lengthy
draft decisions from the presidency…
Carolina Schmidt, President, COP25
We need much more concrete action to be
sure to actually really meet this 1.5 target.
Maarten Van Aalst, Director, Intl.
Red Crescent Climate Centre
But the details of the draft were inconsistent
with the declared intention of phasing out
coal as a fuel source.
As a reference of a phasing out of coal and we
are strong believers that that phase out of
coal [is imperative].
Luca Lacoboni, Greenpeace, Italy
Climate Reality, which is funded by the former US
Vice President Al Gore, claimed in an article that
more than 250,000 Americans are exposed to
levels of cancer risk above the highest
limits set by the EPA.
This is an environmental justice nightmare and the
main culprit is toxic pollution from fossil fuels and
petrochemical facilities.
This is what US Senator Ted Cruz said about
the climate change summit that took place
in Glasgow.
I’m not saying they do not believe what they're saying,
but their hypocrisy is rampant. Headed to this climate conference, these officials flew in giant jets.
John Kerry has a private jet that has flown dozens
of times, this past year, all around the country.
I don't know about you, but I don't have a private jet.
I don't believe any of the people on this stage have
their own private jet.
John Kerry when asked about his private jet said
"really, for someone like me it's the only way
that makes sense to travel".
What dripping, condescending, arrogance!
Ted Cruz, US Senator
Robert Evans is a former member of the European
Parliament MEP, and a British Labour Cooperative
politician..... who served as a member of the
European Parliament from 1994 until 2009.
He was first elected to the European
Parliament for London Northwest
and then in 1999 and 2004 for
the London constituency.
Taking a look at what the US Senator Ted Cruz has
said about US policy, slamming his fellow Senator
John Kerry and other world leaders as a whole
for travelling on jets to this cop 26 Glasgow
Summit, does he have a point?
Yeah, I think it's sending entirely the wrong message.
I realize the challenges that some global leaders have
getting from A to B or getting from their own country
to Glasgow, but I think it's sending entirely the
wrong message when they are arriving in
private jets to go around.
Most of the airlines have flights that come to
London where they could have got a train
or a number of people could have
managed it.
Using private airplanes, which are very, very
carbon expensive, is entirely, not so much
unnecessary, but it's sending completely
the wrong message to everybody else.
We have the situation where our Prime Minister
Boris Johnson came back to London by
private jet. Well, I looked it up; there
were six possible scheduled
airlines flights he could
have taken, or a train
from Glasgow
to London.
We cannot have one rule for them
and one rule for everybody else.
So global leaders need to reflect on that;
whatever the challenges, there are
plenty of airlines that could have
accommodated them.
Robert Evens, Former MEP, British Labour Cooperative
That makes sense and sounds fair, but ‘therein lies
the rub’ and the barely veiled hypocrisy of what US
Senator Ted Cruz has said. He himself has, in fact,
received more money from oil and gas companies
in 2018 than any other senator.
Ted Cruz received nearly $800,000 from the oil and
gas industry in the year 2018. And as for other US
senators, one in four US Senators still hold fossil
fuel investments.
The households of those 28 senators own a
combined minimum of $3.7 million, and as
much as $12.6 billion in fossil fuel assets.
"The vicious spiral of global debt these countries at
the frontline of the climate crisis, unable to respond
to his Fallout, and the failure of the world's richest
countries to lift the burden, exposes their climate
hypocrisy", according to The Tribune.
Debt hypocrisy
COP 26.. actually exposed the debt hypocrisy of the
rich nations, and that is where the problem is. Last
year, we had $72 billion flowing out of low income
countries in debt repayments. These are vital
resources that could have been directed to
tackling the climate emergency and easing
the effects of the Pandemic.
Instead, lower income countries are now spending
five times more on debt-repayments that they're
spending on fighting the climate crisis.
Luca Lacoboni is a campaign manager for
energy and climate at Greenpeace, Italy.
When you take a look at the developing countries
there was a lack of representation. Why was
that at this conference? It's a summit?
[The] most affected countries, the countries that
actually see climate change impacting their daily
life almost every day around the world are those
countries that are less represented in COP, in Glasgow and this is absolutely unacceptable
since the richest countries... are those who
are feeling the impacts of climate change less, --- and should hear the voices of the most affected countries and of the most effective people.
This is another important sign of the fact that at
the moment, also that COP26 in Glasgow is
doing a lot of words, but really, not
enough action.
Luca Lacaboni, Greenpeace
One wonders how much money was actually spent
fighting the COVID 19 pandemic, and how much
was spent saving businesses and countries
from actually crashing.
For the prime minister of Barbados, the COP26
summit sheds light on how the desired 1.5
degrees Celsius goal could already have
been reached.
The central banks of the wealthiest countries engaged
in $25 trillion of quantitative easing in the last 13
years, 25 trillion, of that, 9 trillion was in the
last 18 months, to fight the pandemic.
If we had used that 25 trillion to purchase bonds, the
energy transition or the transition of how we eat or
how we move ourselves in transport, we would
now be reaching that 1.5 degrees limit that is
so vital to us.
Mia Motley, PM Barbados
While social media giant Facebook changed its name
to Meta, a group of protestors placed a large melting
iceberg sculpture in front of the Capitol Building in
Washington. This group said Facebook had played
a major role --- by not stopping the spread of
climate disinformation.
Actually, climate disinformation is rampant on
Facebook. There's 1.3 million views of climate
disinformation daily.
Facebook says that they send 100,000 people
to their climate information centre every day.
But if we look at their numbers versus the numbers
that we're getting from the researchers, there's a
massive discrepancy of how much climate
misinformation there really is, on
their platform.
Rewan Al-Haddad, Sumofus Campaign Advisor
When it comes to climate change there needs to be
strong will, on all fronts, from political incentives to
budgetary allocations. With so much ground to
cover on the issue, where would be the
good place to start?
The companies that are responsible for most of
the worlds greenhouse gas emissions would
be a good place to start.
The 20 major fossil fuel companies are collectively
responsible for 35% of global greenhouse gas
emissions. Surely if we know who these 20
companies are, then we should stop them
from doing what they're doing. If only it
were that simple.
What is needed is strong political will, and action
by the gas and oil companies responsible.
Considering the top corporations, for example,
Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, Exxon, Mobil, BP,
and Royal Dutch Shell, and examining how
much CO2 they actually emitted into the
atmosphere, we are looking at 480
billion tons of carbon dioxide.
That's a lot of CO2, regardless of all environmental
disasters that have happened over the past few
decades, however, that is not where the
controversy lies.
The whole notion of the use of coal, oil and gas and its
detrimental effects on the planet and environments..
has been known from as long ago as the year 1965.
In 1965 the US president’s scientific advisory
committee announced that pollutants had
altered the carbon dioxide content of the
air and the lead concentrations in ocean
waters and human populations... on a
global scale.
In simpler language, fossil fuels were causing the
release of carbon dioxide, which was altering the
air on a global scale, posing a huge risk
for mankind.
More examples
The American Petroleum Institute issued a warning
that there's still time to save the planet from the
catastrophic consequences of pollution but
that time was running out.
So there has been warning after warning, and, as if
that were not bad enough... an internal memo from
Exxon Mobil, in 1981, reveals a shocking warning.
One of the managers issued an internal memo
saying that the company's long term business
plans produce effects which will indeed be
catastrophic, at least for a substantial
fraction of the Earth's population.
The big oil companies, however, were not going
to ignore or forgo their profits, thus in 1989 a
company --- by the name of Global Climate
Coalition was established. It was, in fact,
not an environmental group, as the name
may suggest but was intended to really
to sow doubts about climate change.
It actually induced lawmakers to block clean
energy legislation and climate treaties
throughout the 1990s.
Which is, more or less, when the general public
began to doubt the effects of climate change.
The COP 26 goal was to reduce carbon
emissions in the hope of eliminating
it altogether.
The commitments made by various countries, for
instance India, which has pledged net zero
emissions by the year 2070, or Saudi
Arabia, which made a commitment
for net zero emissions by the
year 2060 are both very far
into the future.
We were under the impression that time is
running out and it now appears that
those commitments shall not
be enough.
Saudi Arabia is a very rich country and it's
done very well out of oil over many years.
Of course, I understand why it's worried
about changing it.
But if you're going to have a net zero by 2060,
nearly 40 years away, it's totally unacceptable
as a target. Now, it may be that they don't
reach it till then but I do believe that
countries have got to set ambitious
targets and really make much
greater moves.
You know, the reason that we are still driving around
in petrol driven cars, to a large extent, when 50 years
ago, they had the technology to build battery vehicles,
they just haven't developed it, is because of the power
of the oil industry over the years, the oil industry in
the Middle East, and the plentiful supply of cheap oil.
The amount of investment (that could have) gone into
alternative forms that went into, for instance, mobile
phones, which are now very sophisticated pieces
of technology.
If the same amount of effort and energy had gone
into more environmentally friendly, mass
produced vehicles, we would not all be
driving around in petrol driven
vehicles at the moment.
Robert Evens, Former MEP,
British Labour Cooperative
Subsidized Oil and Gas
The statement lays out important steps: CO2
emissions, as well as including the need to
accelerate using best efforts, by all of us,
to phase down unabated coal in this
decade, as fast as is achievable.
John F Kerry, US Climate Envoy
The US climate representative neglects to point out
the fact that the US government has actually subsidized coal, oil and gas for decades,
to the tune of a billion dollars a year.
So, in the draft today, we saw that coal was referenced
in the draft... as well as subsidies. That's not good
enough! 86% of the emissions trapped in our
atmosphere come from oil, gas and coal,
....and while we talk about targets and
emissions here - these governments,
many of them, especially the wealthy
nations, are proposing new projects
that would take us past 1.5 degrees.
Tzeporah Berman, Chair, Fossil
Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
It comes as no surprise... that there are
protests against this blatant hypocrisy.
At the moment it isn't sufficient. And we need, you
know, world leaders from the richest and most
polluting countries to raise their efficiency
and to provide a clear mandate for
countries to come back to the
table next year... with much
more ambitious emission
reductions by 2030.
Armelle Le Comte, Climate
Advocacy Manager, Oxfam
One of the things that stood out at the COP26 summit
was the presence and the actions of the activists,
urging world leaders to act on climate change,
keen on pointing out the hypocrisy of
feeding lies to the general public.
Take the group of activists led by members of the
Extinction Rebellion direct action group who
highlighted how the mode of transportation
chosen makes a difference, like opting to
travel by rail rather than air.
It is our job to make it very clear; travelling by train
for this distance (instead of by air) is justified by
the carbon emission when we compare that
to airlines.
Jacques Damas, CEO, Eurostar
Another mode of transportation that needs reforming
is global shipping. There is actually a trillion dollar
push to decarbonize cargo ships, which are huge
carbon emitters.
Therefore, if countries and companies hope to meet
the Paris Agreement targets, they must change the
way freight shipping is managed. The use of
electric batteries or alternative fuels, is one
way to go about this.
At present.. shipping products across the ocean using
freight ships creates more greenhouse gas emissions
than the estimated 2 billion US cars and trucks on US
roads combined, at around 1 billion metric tons.
Activists with the group Ocean Rebellion held
a theatrical demonstration in an attempt to
demonstrate the need by COP 26
attendees to step up efforts to
protect their national borders,
calling for greater investment
in ocean based renewable
energy, decarbonization
of industries and further
pertinent research.
So today, we have one of our Ocean Rebellion
classic theatrical performances, creating
conscious pricking imagery to try and
help tell the story, which today, is on
the eve of COP Ocean day, to draw
attention to the delegates that our
oceans need to be way up on
their agenda.
It covers 70% of our [planet] and provides 50 to
80% of the oxygen that we breathe, so it's
vitally important and our oceans are at
crisis point.
Laura Baldwin, Ocean Rebellion, Member
$100 Million pledge made and lost in Copenhagen
12 years ago, at the United Nations climate summit in
Copenhagen, rich nations made a significant pledge;
they promised to channel 100 billion US dollars a
year to less wealthy nations, by 2020, to help
them tackle climate change and mitigate
further rises in global temperatures.
Another clear case of climate hypocrisy was
evidenced when one climate activist asked
the British Finance minister about UK tax
breaks and funding for fossil
fuel companies.
The UK Prime Minister had earlier made a grand
pledge..... to some bemused young pupils at an
infant school to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
And then there was the United States Special
Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry,
talking about emissions.
The IPCC report is the synthesis report of the NDC's,
indicates that we have to achieve somewhere in the
vicinity of a 45% reduction over the next 10 years.
John F Kerry, US Climate Envoy
But the best these two so called world leaders could
do was to squeeze a 2060 pledge out of Saudi Arabia.
I announce today that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
aims to reach net zero in the year 2060, through
the carbon circular economy approach, in line
with its development plans and enabling its
economic diversification and in accordance
with the “Dynamic Baseline”, while
preserving and reinforcing the
Kingdom’s leading role.. in the
security and stability of global
energy markets.
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia,
Mohammad Bin Salman
The COP 26 Climate Summit has ended, more than 190
nations reached a deal, but... without an enforcement
mechanism, critics are saying the agreement, which
calls on governments to strengthen greenhouse gas
emission cuts, is going to fall short --- if not flat on
its nether regions.
We are, globally speaking, a consumer driven society
with billions of products - which are produced using
material & substances produced by these oil firms.
Unless we change the way we live, our lifestyles, and
how we spend our money, that's not going to change,
and the petroleum companies are well aware of that,
which is why they will most probably not live up to
their clean energy commitments; thought
provoking - yet hardly surprising.
_________________________________
Malaysian and Costa Rican institutions win UNESCO prize
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
November 17th, 11:18am (Prensa Latina)
The Forestry Research Institute in Malaysia and
the University for International Cooperation in
Costa Rica won the 2021 UNESCO-Sultan
Qaboos Prize for Environmental
Conservation, the multilateral
organization announced
on Wednesday.
In a communique, the specialized UN agency in
education, science and culture issues, stated
that the awarding ceremony will be held this
Wednesday, in the context of celebrating
the 50th anniversary of the Man and the
Biosphere Program... during the 41st
General Conference of UNESCO, a forum taking place from
November 9th to 24th.
The Malaysian institution was awarded for its initiatives
to monitor & preserve endangered species of national interest, producing publications such as the Plant
Red List, and for documenting the traditional
knowledge of indigenous peoples and
local communities.
The Costa Rican university won the UNESCO-Sultan
Qaboos Prize, for its support to creating new
biosphere reserves in Latin America, such
as Sumaco (Ecuador), Cabo de Hornos
(Chile) and Agua y Paz, in Costa Rica.
According to the jury, both institutions also stood out
for their outreach and public awareness, such as
outdoor activities for students, and the
development of community farms
and eco-tourism.
Allocated every two years -- since 1991 -- the UNESCO-
Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation
was established, thanks to a donation by Sultan
Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said, of Oman.
__________________________________
FAOsupportsCuba in green-
house effect readings
by Erich Tellez Corrales
November 17th, 11:16am (Prensa Latina)
Cuba has reportedly widened its capacity
to read greenhouse gas emissions - with
technical assistance, from the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO).
A workshop recently held by the CBIT- AFOLU project,
implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of Cuba,
with technical assistance from the FAO and funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), has contributed to this purpose.
A press release from the Office of that UN agency in Cuba, referred to the assistance it provides in strengthening technical capacities to assess and report on, emissions and removals of Greenhouse Gases (GHG)... in the agriculture, forestry and other land uses (AFOLU).
The meeting (from the 8th to the 12th of this month),
allowed the exchange of knowledge & experiences
among Cuban experts, to advance towards an
improvement of the National Inventory of
Greenhouse Gases (GHG), the text
also indicates.
It also points out that the above will contribute to increase
accuracy & comparability, in relation to the requirements
established by the Enhanced Transparency Framework
of the Paris Agreement.
In this regard, the workshop addressed the methodologies
used for the calculation of estimates of emissions and
removals of Greenhouse Gases --- according to the
2006 guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) in the AFOLU sector.
The participants in this process included professors
from the Atmospheric Pollution and Chemistry
Centre of the Institute of Meteorology, those
responsible for preparing the inventory...
and specialists from the Livestock
Business Group’s Training
Centre, the Soil Institute,
and the Agroforestry
Research Institute.
The national coordinator of the CBIT-AFOLU project,
Janet Blanco, referred to the problem of information
gaps, in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
She emphasized the need for scientific institutions
to work on the identification of data and factors
that influence the emission of these gases in Cuban agriculture.
___________________________________
Iran climate chief calls COP26
a failure because of colonialist
approaches
November 16th, 6:36pm (PressTV)
Iranian authorities say the United Nations’ recent climate
conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow (COP26)
failed to reach its objectives... because of the
colonialist approaches of rich countries
toward developing nations.
Head of the Iranian government’s Department of
Environment, Ali Salajegheh, said on Tuesday,
that the Glasgow summit turned out to be a
failure... because developed nations
continued to dictate their wishes
on countries that still rely on
fossil fuels for a bulk of
their energy needs.
Salajegheh made the remarks after returning from COP26,
an occasion he used to highlight the impacts of US
sanctions on Iran’s ability to meet climate goals
set under a 2015 global agreement.
In his Tuesday briefing with reporters in Tehran.. the
Iranian climate chief accused the developed nations
of trying to force others into accepting the huge
costs of the global transition to renewables.
“The question is, who created problems for the ozone
layer and the greenhouse gases? They (who created
them) have now come to the conclusion that the
countries with energy resources should pay
for improving the climate, this is a
colonialist policy,” he said.
Salajegheh said Iran will seek to expand its cooperation
with countries that have opposed the unilateral
approaches adopted in the West, on the issue of the environment.
He hailed the positions adopted by Qatar and Saudi
Arabia in COP26, saying Iran should seek to boost
its regional diplomacy on the environment.
The Iranian delegation to the Glasgow summit announced
on Saturday that it was not satisfied with the language
used in the meeting’s draft agreement on phasing
out fossil fuel subsidies and instead, declared
its support for India’s position on the issue.
_____________________________________
Report Finds Air Pollution in Europe
Still Killing Over 300,000 A Year
November 15th, 12:06pm (FNA)
Premature deaths caused by fine particle air pollution
have fallen 10 percent annually across Europe, but
the invisible killer still accounts for 307,000
premature deaths a year, the European
Environment Agency said Monday.
If the latest air quality guidelines from the World Health
Organisation were followed by EU members, the latest
number of fatalities recorded in 2019 could be cut in
half, according to an EEA report, AFP reported.
Deaths linked to fine particulate matter -- with a diameter
below 2.5 micrometres or PM2.5 -- were estimated at
346,000 for 2018.
The clear reduction in deaths for the following year were
put down partly to favourable weather but above all to a progressive improvement in air quality across the
continent, the European Union's air pollution data
centre said.
In the early 1990s, fine particles, which penetrate deeply
into the lungs, led to nearly a million premature deaths
in the 27 EU member nations, according to the report.
That figure had been more than
halved to 450,000 by 2005.
In 2019, fine particulate matter caused 53,800 premature
deaths in Germany, 49,900 in Italy, 29,800 in France
and 23,300 in Spain.
Poland saw 39,300 deaths, the highest
figure per head of population.
The EEA also registers premature deaths linked to two
other leading pollutants, but says it does not count
them in its overall toll, to avoid doubling up.
Deaths caused by nitrogen dioxide -- mainly from cars,
trucks and thermal power stations -- fell by a quarter
to 40,000 between 2018 and 2019.
Fatalities linked to ground-level ozone in 2019
also dropped 13 percent to 16,800 dead.
Air pollution remains the biggest environmental threat
to human health in Europe, the agency said.
Heart disease and strokes cause most premature deaths
blamed on air pollution, followed by lung ailments
including cancer.
In children, atmospheric pollution can harm lung
development, cause respiratory infections and
aggravate asthma.
Even if the situation is improving, the EEA warned
in September that most EU countries were still
above the recommended pollution limits, be
they European guidelines or the more
ambitious WHO targets.
According to the UN health body, air pollution causes
seven million premature deaths, annually, across the
globe - on the same levels as smoking and poor diet.
In September, the alarming statistics led the WHO
to tighten its recommended limits on major air
pollutants for the first time since 2005.
"Investing in cleaner heating, mobility, agriculture
and industry improves health, productivity and
the quality of life for all Europeans, and
particularly for the most vulnerable,"
said EEA director Hans Bruyninck.
The EU wants to slash premature deaths, due to
fine air pollution by at least 55 percent in 2030
compared to 2005.
If air pollution continues to fall at the current rate,
the agency estimates the target will be reached
by 2032.
However an ageing and increasingly urbanised
population could make that more difficult.
"An older population is more sensitive to air pollution...
and a higher rate of urbanisation typically means that
more people are exposed to PM 2.5 concentrations,
which tend to be higher in cities," said the report.
______________________________
Measures taken at COP26 - not
sufficient- UN Sec.-General
November 14th, 10:37pm (TASS)
Measures to combat climate changes agreed in
the conclusion of the 26th UN Climate Change
Conference (COP26, are not enough to
save the planet, UN Sec.-General,
Antonio Guterres, said.
"We did not achieve these goals at this conference.
But we have some building blocks for progress,"
Guterres said. "We are still knocking on the
door of climate catastrophe," he noted.
"These are welcome steps... but they are
not enough," the Secretary-General said.
Delegates of almost 200 countries participating
in the COP26, agreed upon the texts of the
concluding documents of the forum,
COP26 President, and member of
the UK Cabinet, Alok Sharma,
said earlier.
_________________________________
Deforestation in
Brazilian Amazon
sets record in October
by Erich Tellez Corrales
November 12th, 3:17pm (Prensa Latina)
The Brazilian Amazon lost 877 square kilometres
(km²) of forest in October, an increase of five
percent, compared to 2020 and a record for
the month, official sources revealed today.
The data from the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) relied on alerts from the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (Deter).
This method produces daily signals of changes in forest
cover for areas larger than three hectares (0.03 km²), in this case, those totally deforested and those in the process of degradation (by logging, mining, burning and others).
According to the information recorded, this is the largest devastated area for this month since 2016, covering eight states.
It corresponds to the Legal Amazon 59 percent of the
Brazilian territory and comprises the area of the
divisions of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Mato
Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and
Tocantins, as well as part
of Maranhão.
The G1 news portal assures that, at the climate summit
(COP26), held in Glasgow (Scotland), Brazil ignored
the devastation records... and promised to end
illegal deforestation by 2028.
For Márcio Astrini, executive secretary of the
non-governmental organization, Climate
Observatory, the data show -- that the
Brazilian Executive: has no intention
of fulfilling the commitments signed
at COP26: “Emissions occur on the
forest floor, not in the plenary
sessions in Glasgow”.
He pointed out that, in Glasgow, the government
is trying to sell the illusion of its environmental
commitment, but for the world, he remarked,
“the important thing, is not the square
metres of Brazilia that stand, but the kilometres of forest --- that are destroyed every day”.
____________________________
Bill Dores:Wall Street and the
Pentagon,not China,pose
the largest climate threat
November 11th, 2:44pm (PressTV)
US political analyst and activist Bill Dores says
Washington’s “attempt to frame China for the
world climate crisis, is one of the most
hypocritical acts in history,” as the
US is the source of the deadliest
corporate and military assault
on the planet in history,
not China.
Dores, a writer for Struggle/La Lucha, and a longtime
antiwar activist, made the remarks in an interview
with Press TV on Thursday, after Democrats in
the US House of Representatives and Senate
called on US President Joe Biden --- to use
targeted sanctions to punish individuals
and companies that are worsening the
global climate crisis.
In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week, Democrat
lawmakers, particularly targeted China, and its
companies despite the fact that studies show
that the US military is the largest consumer
of hydrocarbons on the planet and one
of the largest polluters in history.
According to the New York Times, the US has contributed
more than any other country to the atmospheric carbon
dioxide that is scorching the planet.
Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.),
Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-
Texas), who signed on the letter, called on the Biden
administration to target individuals and companies
“that are perpetrating the worst climate damage.”
Following is the complete text of
Dores’s comment to Press TV:
US hypocrisy on looming climate disaster
Washington’s attempt to frame China for the
world climate crisis is one of the most
hypocritical acts in history. It is also
one of the most dangerous. It is a
deliberate effort to sabotage the
international cooperation needed
to stop looming climate disaster.
And it is a step toward war --- the
ultimate environmental destroyer.
Fracking industry agent Donald Trump claimed that
climate change: is a “hoax created by and for the
Chinese.” Joe Biden admits the climate crisis is
real, but seeks to blame it on China. Some US senators even say - China should be sanctioned for its alleged
environmental misdeeds.
What mendacity! China leads the world in renewable
energy production, reforestation, electric vehicles,
high-speed rail and solar panel manufacture.
In recent years, China has surpassed the US in overall
carbon emissions. But China is the largest country in
the world. It has nearly five times the population of
the United States. Its per capita emissions are less than half those of the US. And it has a concrete strategy to seriously reduce them.
Meanwhile, the watered-down infrastructure bill passed
by Congress gifts tens of billions of dollars... to the US
fossil fuel industry. That’s not surprising considering
28 US senators are directly invested in fossil fuel
companies. And that 11 lawyers for ExxonMobil
helped to write the bill.
The Trump regime imposed tariffs on all Chinese-made
solar panels, at the behest of his oil company bosses.
Biden.... has outright banned the import of Chinese-
made solar panels.
The White House claims Chinese solar panels are made
with forced labour. Yet the racist US prison-industrial
complex --- is the biggest exploiter of forced labour in the world. Imagine how many jobs installing those panels could create for workers here.
If Washington were really concerned about human rights,
it could stop sending cops and marshals to attack the
Water Protectors, Native activists and their allies,
defending their land against fracking and
pipelines.
They have been gassed, clubbed, shot and jailed by
federal and state agents, in the US and Canada.
Under HR1374, a law now before Congress, state agents
would be authorized to murder anti-pipeline protesters.
Biden seeks to weaponize the climate crisis
Trump denied the climate crisis. Biden, seeks to weaponize
it. Though their tactics be different, they share one object:
To try and restore the stranglehold the US corporate
ruling class once had on the world economy.
For decades, Washington and Wall Street, used their power
to strangle economic development in Africa, Asia and Latin
America. They kept themselves at the centre of the world
economy --- by keeping most of the world impoverished. Meanwhile, US companies poisoned the air with abandon.
Greenhouse gases don’t go away. At least 25 percent of
those that now fill the atmosphere are made in the US.
That doesn’t count the output of the offshore
operations of US-owned corporations.
For decades after World War II, US corporations owned
most of the world’s known oil reserves. That was key
to US global power. They - purposely - kept oil-rich
countries “underdeveloped” and dependent on
selling oil. Today Washington tries to achieve
that, with war and sanctions.
In the 1970s and ’80s, oil-producing countries began
to take back ownership of their own resources. The
Libyan Revolution of 1969, Iraq's nationalizations
of 1972, and especially the Iranian Revolution of
1979, were catalysts in this process.
1 in 4 US senators heavily invested
in fossil fuel industry: Report
The senators present a major hurdle in the way of
President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate agenda.
In 1991, as soon as the Cold War ended, the US went to war against oil-producing countries. Under different names and pretexts, that imperialist war has raged for 30 years.
It has destroyed millions of lives and cost trillions of dollars. The climate is also a victim.
US war machine is the most polluting institution on earth
From 2001 to 2017, the US military poured 1.6 billion
metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere. At least
400 million tons of that, came from US military
operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan
and Syria.
The US war machine, with its massive global
operations, is the most polluting institution
on earth. In 2017... it unleashed 60 billion
metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air.
That was more than the individual output
of 140 countries. Every year - it dumps
750,000 tons of toxic waste-depleted
uranium - oil, jet fuels, pesticides,
defoliants, lead and other
chemicals, into our air,
water and soil.
The US Army’s M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank uses nearly
4 gallons of fuel per mile. An Air Force B2 bomber burns
at least 4.2 gallons of jet fuel per mile, and has to be
refueled every six hours. In the so-called “war on
terror,” B2 bombers flew 44 hours from Missouri
and Nebraska to rain bombs on people in Iraq
and Afghanistan. But the biggest waste of
energy, is the constant transport of
troops, weapons and supplies
around the world.
When the Clinton administration signed the Kyoto
climate agreement in 1997, it insisted the US
military be exempt from the treaty’s
restrictions.
Washington’s 30-year oil war had another devastating
impact on our planet’s climate. It unleashed the
“shale oil revolution” that has made the US
the world’s No. 1 fossil fuel producer.
US fracking industry poisons the earth
After the US invaded Iraq, Corporate America pumped
hundreds of billions of dollars into fracking - the
hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas from shale
rock. War & sanctions against oil-producing
countries created a triple-digit energy price
bubble that made these huge investments
seem profitable. It stimulated the plunder
of Canada’s tar sands, the DAPL and the
Enbridge 3 pipelines and mountain-top removal projects, in Appalachia.
Fracking not only poisons the earth and water --- it
unleashes much more methane, than conventional
drilling. The collapse of the fracking boom has left
many of these wells abandoned. There are over 3
million abandoned oil and gas wells... across the
United States. At least 2 million are unplugged:
gushing out methane and other chemicals.
Plugging those wells and reclaiming the land around
them would create a lot more jobs than fracking and
pipelines do. So would investing in renewable
energy, reforestation, mass transit and
high-speed rail... instead of war.
Attacking China over climate change is a red herring. If
Washington is serious about preventing environmental
disaster -- it should end the US corporate and military
assault on the planet. To make that happen will take
a people’s struggle against corporate power.
End the wars and sanctions. Bring home all the troops,
war fleets and warplanes. Invest that money in renew -able energy, expanding mass transit systems,
affordable high-speed rail and reforestation.
And help poorer countries do the same. Those things...
could create millions of high-paying jobs. Ban fracking
and shut down the DAPL and Enbridge pipelines. The
sky is the limit --- when the needs of humanity are put before corporate profit.
_____________________________________________
UNESCOhighlightsrole of forests
in the face of climate change
October 28th, 2:13pm (Prensa Latina)
UNESCO highlighted the contribution of the forests
inscribed on its World Heritage list, in confronting
climate change, with an estimated annual
absorption of carbon dioxide, at
190 million tons.
UNESCO issued a statement sharing the results of an
unpublished study on the role of forest ecosystems
spread over 257 sites on the planet.
Researchers from UNESCO, the World Resources Institute
- and the International Union for Conservation of Nature -
participated in the research, which made it possible to
measure the impact of forests against the existential
threat posed by climate change, and determine the
causes of certain emissions of pollutants into
the atmosphere.
According to the study, the 190 million tonnes of carbon
dioxide present in the atmosphere absorbed, represent
around half of the CO2 generated by fossil fuels that
the United Kingdom emits annually.
The forests registered by UNESCO cover a total area of
69 million hectares, and constitute ecosystems rich in
biodiversity capable of storing large amounts of
carbon, which, if released, would adversely
impact the climate.
The research, however, left worrying results, in 10 of the
forests, where human action has led them to emit more
carbon than captured, in the last two decades.
Among the causes, UNESCO pointed to the fragmentation
of land, due to forest exploitation, and clearing for the
benefit of agriculture, and reiterated its call --- to
protect forests and prioritize their sustainable
management - in order that they continue to
play a key role on the lives of current and
future generations of human beings.
________________________________
Extinction Rebellion activists... blockade
then break into UK’s largest oil refinery
to roll out‘no future in fossil fuels’ banner
October 28th, 10:06am (RT)
Extinction Rebellion has deployed its infamous pink boat
to blockade the entrance to Hampshire's Fawley Exxon-
Mobil oil refinery, with demonstrators cutting through
the site's electric fence to unveil a banner over its
oil silos.
In a statement released on Thursday, the climate activist
group confirmed they had broken into the Fawley Oil
refinery to “demand that the Government stops all
new fossil fuel investments immediately.”
15 activists, including British Olympians Laura Baldwin
and Etienne Stott, descended on the site in the early
hours of the morning, with several of the activists
breaching the electrified perimeter fence to scale two 50-foot oil silos.
The group unveiled banners declaring that there is a “climate emergency” and “no future in fossil fuels,” sharing photos of the stunt on their Twitter account.
Extinction Rebellion simultaneously blocked access to
the UK’s largest oil refinery with the group’s infamous
pink boat, the Beverly Geronimo, claiming that,
“despite warnings,” British government
officials are “letting Exxon expand to increase by 40%.”
Due to the blockade at the gate of the Hampshire site,
the climate activists confirmed ExxonMobil had sent
its staff home for the day and police were on site to try and disperse the protest.
The stated goal of the demonstration on Thursday is to
secure a commitment from ExxonMobil to stop its
expansion plans at the Fawley oil refinery, which supplies 20% of the UK’s fossil fuels.
(Rhondda Records adds: Why 'infamous', RT?)
________________________________
UN ChiefWarns World on ‘One-Way Ticket to
Disaster’over Climate
October 22nd, 3:28pm (FNA)
United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres said the world’s
current climate situation is “a one-way ticket for
disaster”, reiterating the urgency of agreement
at the COP26 climate conference at the end
of the month.
The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, struck
at the COP21 summit, called for global warming to
be capped at well below two degrees Celsius
(3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-
industrial level, and ideally closer to
1.5C (2.7F), AFP reported.
But current UN estimates indicate a “catastrophic”
warming of 2.7C (4.8F) is on the cards.
Guterres said on Thursday that such an increase
was “obviously a one-way ticket for disaster.”
“The carbon pollution of a handful of countries has
brought humanity to its knees and they bear the
greatest responsibility,” he told an online press
conference with members of the Covering
Climate Now international project.
“I hope we are still on time to avoid a failure in Glasgow,
but time is running short, and things are getting more
difficult and that is why I’m very very worried. I’m
afraid things might go wrong,” he said.
The Glasgow summit begins on October 31st and is
seen as crucial for agreeing on worldwide
emission targets that will slow
global heating.
The Group of 20, which includes the world’s biggest
economies, is due to meet in Italy on October 30th,
but leaders are said to be divided over phasing
out coal and committing to the 1.5C target.
Earlier this month, COP26 President Alok Sharma,
said the G20 meeting would be “make or break”
for success in Glasgow.
“The G20 leaders will meet in Rome and they know
their economies are responsible for four-fifths of
the planet's carbon pollution,” Guterres said.
“If they do not stand up … we are headed
for terrible human suffering,” he added.
He said, “China and the United States must do
more than what they have announced so far.”
______________________________________
Among Europe’s dirtiest:‘Green’
biomass power plant in Yorkshire
burning ‘renewable’ woodemits
MORE CO2 than UK’s coal
– report
October 9th, 5:45pm (RT)
A supposedly “carbon neutral” Drax biomass power
plant is the UK’s leading source of CO2 emissions
--- and belches out more harmful carbon and
particulate matter, than some of Europe’s
dirtiest coal plants, according to a
new report.
Renewable energy firm Drax describes its plant in North
Yorkshire as a “purely renewable” facility, boasting that
it has slashed its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, by
90% since 2012. The plant burns biomass – pellets
of compressed wood – and received £832 million
($1.13 billion) in direct government subsidies
last year, on top of an estimated £258 million ($351 million) in carbon tax breaks.
Yet the energy generated at Drax... is far from green, a
new report by environmental think tank Ember claims.
While the UK and EU consider biomass power “carbon
neutral,” this assessment is based on the assumption
that biomass emissions are offset by the planting of
new trees.
This forest regrowth takes time, and the European
Academies’ Sciences Advisory Council (EASAC)
reported earlier this year that switching plants
from coal to biomass – as was the case at
Drax’ Yorkshire facility – would not cause
any drop in emissions for at least three
to five decades.
“Such technology is not effective in mitigating climate
change and may even increase the risk of dangerous
climate change,” the EASAC stated.
In the UK, wood burning plants like Drax’ currently spew
out more CO2 than coal plants, including coal used in
steel production. Drax is the country’s top emitter
.......releasing 13.3 million tons of CO2 into the
atmosphere per year ---- compared to the
entire coal sector’s yearly emissions
of 10 million tons.
Data shows that Drax is Europe’s third-worst emitter
of CO2, behind Germany's Neurath and Poland’s
BeÅ‚chatów coal plants. It is also Europe’s 4th
-worst emitter of PM10 particulate matter,
coming in behind three coal plants in
Poland and Romania. It is the only
biomass facility... to rank in
Europe’s top ten CO2 and
PM10 emissions lists.
A Drax spokesman responded to Ember’s report by
describing the think tank’s figures as “inaccurate
and completely at odds with what the world’s
leading climate scientists at the UN IPCC
say, about sustainable biomass being crucial to delivering global
climate targets.”
The company says that its carbon emissions are
“biologically sequestered,” meaning they are
technically counted as zero under the
previously-mentioned EU and UK
assumptions of forest regrowth.
However, critics suggest that the scientific consensus on “sustainable” biomass... may soon change.
“Recent science demonstrates that burning forest
biomass for power is unlikely to be carbon
neutral – and there’s a real risk that it’s
responsible for significant emissions,”
Ember Chief Operating Officer Phil MacDonald stated.
“Before the government spends more taxpayer
money on biomass.. we should make sure we
know we’re getting the emissions reductions
that we’re paying for.”
_________________________________
Gazprom and Aeroflot behind
Russia'sfirst green aviation fuel
September 24th, 12:30pm (Prensa Latina)
The Russian companies Gazprom Oil and Aeroflot
reported the signing of a deal to create the first
production of aviation fuel with a minimal
carbon footprint... from agro-forestry
systems.
The oil company explained that the use of such a
green resource can reduce up greenhouse gas
emissions in the sector up to 80 percent,
TASS news agency reported.
The deal between the Russian firms... provides for
the development of various efficient formulations
of aviation fuel. In this case, the fuel is to be
adjusted to various types of aircraft and
it will be certified in accordance with
Russian and international aviation
safety standards.
'In our country and around the world there is a potentially
high demand from the aviation industry for green fuel,
taking into account the task of reducing the carbon
intensity of air traffic,' Gazprom Oil head
Alexander Diukov noted.
He explained that the main research platform for the new
product, will be the Gazprom Neft Industrial Innovation
Technology Centre in Saint Petersburg.
According to Diukov, the partnership with Russia's largest
airline will make the process of developing this aviation
fuel more efficient.
According to Aeroflot CEO Mikhail Poluboyarinov, ecology
is becoming one of the most important issues in aviation,
and its relevance increased under the influence of the
Covid-19 pandemic.
___________________________________________
FAO launches tools to encourage
soil organic carbon sequestration
September 9th, 12:45pm (Prensa Latina)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, on Wednesday, launched
two practical instruments designed to
encourage soil organic carbon
(SOC) maintenance and
sequestration.
The two products unveiled today, part of the RECSOIL
initiative, are a global map illustrating how much and where, CO2 can be sequestered by soils... the GSOCseq, and a technical manual of good practices, to sequester and maintain SOC stocks in soils.
'We must look for innovative ways... to transform our agri-
food systems.. to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and
sustainable. Healthy soils are critical to achieving this,'
FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, told the opening
session of the ninth Global Soil Partnership (GSP)
Plenary Assembly.
While soils and soil health are well-rooted in the global
agenda, tangible impacts remain an important
challenge 'for better production, better
nutrition, a better environment and
a better life for all, leaving no one behind,' Qu said.
___________________________________________
UN chief calls for bold action
to curbbiodiversity crisis
August 31st, 12:51pm (Prensa Latina)
UN Secretary-General (UNSG) António Guterres,
on Monday, warned about the threatening loss
of biodiversity and called for greater actions
to prevent further damage.
In remarks to a high-level virtual meeting to develop
a new global framework to address biodiversity
loss... Guterres underlined the need for
commitment, ambition and credibility.
'As people and livestock encroach further into wild
habitats, we run the risk of unleashing terrifying
new pandemics,' he warned.
He also urged Governments to shift the 'perverse
subsidies' that destroy healthy soils, pollute our
water and empty the oceans of fish.
We must incentivize actions to sustain nature and also
establish larger and better managed conservation
areas to safeguard species, functioning
ecosystems and carbon stocks - for
current and future generations.
Likewise, he laid stress on the need to empower the
leadership of indigenous peoples and local
communities whose lands encompass
much of the world's remaining
biodiversity.
One million species are at risk of extinction:
this is wiping out options for society, from
medicines to food, passing over crucial
solutions for mitigating and adapting
to climate changes, Guterres said.
Humanity is now waging an absurd and self-destructive
war on nature, and peace must be declared as soon as
possible, only courageous action on the ground, can
curb the biodiversity crisis, he added.
__________________________________
UN chiefwarns - about
global temperature rise
September 7th, 12:31pm (Prensa Latina)
The planet is dangerously close to reaching the
internationally agreed threshold of 1.5 degrees
Celsius of temperature increase, the UN
Secretary-General (UNSG) António
Guterres, warned on Monday.
We must act decisively now --- in order to avoid a
climate catastrophe.There is no longer time for
delays, and no room for excuses, Guterres
posted on Twitter.
He shared a link to the interactive atlas containing
information from the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The digital tool enables flexible
spatial and temporal analysis... of a
large part of information checked
and projected on this issue, in upcoming years.
According to IPCC, human-induced climate change
is widespread and rapidly intensifying, while
several trends are irreversible, at least
during present period, and directly
affect the happening of many
extreme weather events.
Scientists also observed changes throughout the
Earth's climate system, in the atmosphere,
oceans, ice floes, and the ground.
Many of these transformations are unprecedented,
and others, such as the continuing sea level rise, are already 'irreversible' for centuries or millenniain the future, according to the IPCC report.
On Monday, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina
Mohammed called for courageous measures for a global economy with zero emissions of harmful gases by 2050, and to limit
