One-third of China’s land protected under ecological scheme
19/9/2022: Nearly a third of China's land is now off-limits to development, bringing the country in accord with global biodiversity targets. Critics say the enforcement of the scheme has remained uneven.
Source: CNA
Poorer countries demand global tax to pay for climate damage
19/9/2022: Low income countries have submitted proposals for a world global carbon tax for discussion at the UN General Assembly. Options for taxation include air and shipping transport and financial transactions. Richer countries have acknowledged the need for a framework for climate loss and damage.
Source: The Guardian
EU seeks to ban imports of deforestation-linked commodities
15/9/2022: The European Parliament has approved a bill that would block imported commodities sourced from deforested areas. Experts believe that a central objective is to address the deforestation of the Amazon to produce beef, soy and timber.
Source: Mongabay
Pakistan floods highlight flaws in concept of climate adaptation
14/9/2022: The scale of devastation in Pakistan challenges the notion of “adaptation” as a core strategic response to climate change. Additional provision for “loss and damage” can help but the real urgency is to limit the degree of climate change.
Source: Inter Press Service
Warming above 1.5C could trigger multiple tipping points
8/9/2022: New research raises concerns about temperature-related tipping points that can trigger large-scale and potentially irreversible changes in the Earth system. It finds that five tipping elements are already within reach.
Source: Carbon Brief
European leaders shun climate adaptation summit
6/9/2022: The Africa Adaptation Summit was recently held in Rotterdam in preparation for the COP27 climate negotiations. Presidents of Senegal, DRC and Ghana criticised the poor representation of richer countries responsible for unmet promises of climate finance for adaptation.
Source: Climate Home News
Fossil fuel subsidies almost doubled in 2021
29/8/2022: Major economies are struggling with longstanding pledges to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. Support for fossil fuels in 51 countries worldwide almost doubled to $697 billion in 2021.
Source: OECD
‘Epic’ Pakistan floods show need for climate action
29/8/2022: Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. It faces rates of warming considerably above the global average. Campaigners are calling on countries most historically responsible for climate change to support vulnerable countries’ adaptation efforts.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Heat renders parts of Africa ‘not suitable’ for life
31/8/2022: According to a senior European humanitarian official, parts of Somalia, northern Kenya and Ethiopia are becoming uninhabitable due to rising temperatures. Almost 3 million people in the Sahel region are surviving in pre-famine conditions.
Source: Devex
Omens are good for a CoP15 plan to protect nature
30/8/2022: Despite many challenges, December’s crucial biodiversity talks in Montreal may set a new path for humans to live with nature. If agreed, the Global Biodiversity Framework would reboot conservation by greatly expanding protected areas, phasing out billions of dollars of subsidies that harm nature, and reducing pollution.
Source: The Guardian