Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Ghana’s Minister-designate for Foreign Affairs, has expressed the country’s displeasure over the United States’ recent decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, calling it a significant setback for global climate efforts.
Speaking before the Appointments Committee on January 30, 2025, Ablakwa emphasized Ghana’s role in supporting the climate accord and the disappointment felt following the US’s exit.
“Let me register our unhappiness at the latest withdrawal by the United States of America from the Paris Climate Accord. That was a very key intervention in the climate change agenda. Ghana played a leading role under former President Mahama when he was president at the time,” Ablakwa stated.
He further lamented that the US’s departure disrupted international climate cooperation but reassured that Ghana would continue advocating for the United States and other major nations to return to the global climate dialogue. “That has clearly created a disruption but we will continue to urge our big brothers and sisters to come back to the climate change agenda and to commit to a new global order to climate issues,” he added.
On January 27, 2025, US President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States had officially notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the Paris Accord, set to take effect by January 27, 2026. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by nearly all countries, aims to limit global temperature rise and combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This is not the first time the US has pulled out of the agreement. During his previous term, Trump had withdrawn from the accord, though the agreement has remained intact, with other nations continuing to honor their commitments. In a statement, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed the US’s withdrawal: “I can confirm to you that the United States has notified the secretary-general, in his capacity as a depository, of its withdrawal on January 27 of this year from the Paris agreement.”
Despite the setback, the Paris Accord is poised to endure, with the broader international community working to keep the climate action momentum going. Major financial contributors, including the United States, play an essential role in funding the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat. With Washington’s withdrawal, the foundation will seek new sources to meet its financial needs. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has pledged to fill the gap by providing the necessary funding through his philanthropic efforts.
The Paris Agreement remains a critical framework for addressing the global climate crisis. At COP21 in 2015, world leaders committed to limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and ideally to 1.5°C, through international cooperation and emissions reduction.
The agreement is legally binding and requires countries to regularly assess their climate goals, finance efforts to help developing nations mitigate climate change, and support climate adaptation measures. All countries must submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to outline their actions for emission reductions and resilience-building, reviewed every five years.
While the US’s withdrawal creates a challenge for the climate change movement, the Paris Agreement remains the cornerstone for global climate action, urging all nations to step up their commitment to a sustainable future.
The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt Hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has called on African legislators to unite under the principles of Pan-Africanism to tackle pressing challenges such as terrorism, conflicts, and climate change.
Speaking during the First Ordinary Session of Côte d’Ivoire’s National Assembly on Monday, Speaker Bagbin emphasized the need for collective action to address the issues undermining stability and development in West Africa. He urged lawmakers across the continent to leverage parliamentary diplomacy to foster peace and sustainable growth.
The event, hosted by the President of Côte d’Ivoire’s National Assembly, H.E. Adama Bictogo, saw participation from parliamentary leaders from Senegal, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, and the ECOWAS Parliament. Speaker Bagbin’s delegation included his spouse, Madam Linda Ofosuah Oboh, along with Members of Parliament Hon. Habib Iddrisu, Hon. Dorcas Toffey, Hon. Dr. Sebastian Sandaare, and other parliamentary staff.
In his remarks, Speaker Bagbin highlighted the critical role of legislators in addressing regional challenges. African lawmakers must stand in solidarity to combat terrorism, resolve conflicts, and confront climate change, he stated.
President of Nigeria’s Senate, Godswill Akpabio, also addressed the assembly, underscoring the importance of collaboration between African nations. He stressed that countries like Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire are bound by a shared responsibility for the progress of the continent.
“The future of West Africa rests upon us. Therefore, let us not be complacent. The challenges before us are vast – youth unemployment, human trafficking, and security threats. Yet, so too are the opportunities,” Akpabio said.
He further called for stronger ties across national boundaries, urging lawmakers to lead the charge for unity. “The colonialists may have cut Africa into geopolitical chunks, but we must unite and stitch the torn fabrics of our heritage and teach the world that blood is still thicker than water. Let us envision a region where borders are bridges of unity, not walls of division, where trade flourishes, cultures blend, and progress becomes the right of every citizen,” Akpabio concluded.
The gathering underscored the critical role of parliamentary collaboration in fostering unity, with leaders reaffirming their commitment to advancing the shared vision of a prosperous and stable Africa.
The fleet of electric buses that were promised by the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has officially arrived in the country.
The new buses, designed by top electric vehicle manufacturers, are equipped with advanced technology to provide efficient, safe, and comfortable rides. Initially, they will operate in major urban centers like Accra and Kumasi, where pollution from traditional, fossil-fuel vehicles is most severe.
By reducing emissions in these high-density areas, the initiative is expected to enhance the quality of life for city residents and support Ghana’s commitment to combatting climate change.
Government officials have expressed optimism that these electric buses will offer Ghanaians a cleaner, more reliable mode of transportation. To support this transition, plans are underway to establish charging stations across the country, creating the necessary infrastructure to sustain an electric public transport system and further promote green energy solutions.
The project is anticipated to have a wider impact by encouraging private transport operators to consider eco-friendly alternatives, potentially reshaping Ghana’s entire transport sector.
President Akufo-Addo has called on global leaders to take urgent and collective action to address the devastating effects of climate change, particularly in Africa.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the President emphasized that Africa, despite being a minimal contributor to global emissions, disproportionately suffers from the dire consequences of climate change.
“Africa cannot continue to bear the burden of a crisis it did not create,” Akufo-Addo stated, stressing that the continent is already experiencing the harsh effects of climate change, including floods and desertification.
He called for “fairness, not charity,” as he advocated for climate justice that benefits everyone rather than just a privileged few.
“At the heart of today’s crisis is the climate emergency which threatens humanity’s very existence,” he continued. “Africa, while contributing the least to global emissions, bears the heaviest burden. From floods to desertification, we are already experiencing its devastating effects. Despite the promises, the vulnerable remain abandoned.”
Akufo-Addo highlighted the difficulty in coping with such challenges, noting that “we are told to adapt and be resilient, but how does one adapt to famine or build resilience when farmers cannot predict the seasons?”
Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions, according to the United Nations.
As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth.
” The wealthiest bear the greatest responsibility: the richest 1 per cent of the global population combined account for more greenhouse gas emissions than the poorest 50 per cent,” the UN report adds.
The President urged world leaders to prioritize climate justice, emphasizing that Africa should not continue paying for a crisis it did not cause.
He reiterated that climate justice is essential, not just for Africa, but for ensuring a global system that works for all nations. “We demand fairness, not charity,” he stressed, calling on the international community to act swiftly to rectify the inequalities in climate action.
In addition to addressing climate change, President Akufo-Addo also drew attention to the wider issue of global inequality, particularly the stark gap between the rich and poor. He noted that over 700 million people, representing 8.57% of the world’s population, still live in extreme poverty.
“As president, the vast gap between the rich and poor should be a sustained act on our conscience. Over 700 million people, representing 8.57% of the world’s population, still live in extreme poverty,” Akufo-Addo pointed out, urging world leaders to take immediate action to address this disparity.
The President’s call to action at the UN General Assembly resonated with many who see climate change and inequality as interconnected crises that require a global response.
''As you know Ghana has quite a big responsibility for the slave trade. 75% of the slave castles in which the trade passed through are situated on Ghanaian soil."
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo addresses #UNGA79, at the UNESCO event honouring the victims of the slavery… pic.twitter.com/4PPRE4dFBH
The Jospong Group of Companies has announced scholarship packages for over 600 Ghanaian students to pursue their studies at RUDN University in Russia over the next five years.
The scholarships, spanning diverse fields such as Agriculture, Information Technology, Integrated Waste Management, and Climate Change studies, are set to benefit 120 Ghanaian students annually from 2024 to 2029.
The momentous announcement took place in the presence of key dignitaries, including the Speaker of the Ghanaian Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, and the Russian Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Sergei Berdnikov. The collaboration between Jospong Group and RUDN University signals a significant stride in broadening educational opportunities for Ghanaian youth.
During the ceremony, the Executive Chairman of Jospong Group, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, expressed his commitment to supporting the scholarship recipients beyond their academic pursuits. “Gone are the days when you finish your education and you stay behind because of a lack of opportunities back home. I want to assure you that Jospong is ready to work with you, so come and let’s develop Ghana together,” he declared.
The scholarship program aims to empower Ghanaian students in key sectors, fostering expertise in areas crucial for national development. The fields of Agriculture, Information Technology, Integrated Waste Management, and Climate Change studies represent critical areas where the scholarship recipients are poised to make a lasting impact upon their return to Ghana.
This collaborative effort not only provides educational opportunities but also underscores the commitment of Jospong Group to contribute to the development of the nation. The company’s assurance to absorb the students into meaningful roles post-education aligns with the broader vision of building a skilled and empowered workforce for the country.
As the first cohort of students prepares to embark on this educational journey, the partnership between Jospong Group and RUDN University is poised to create enduring impacts in Ghana, shaping a brighter future for the scholarship recipients and the nation as a whole.
In the next six years, Africa may witness a reduction of more than two hours in working hours due to heat stress caused by climate change, posing significant challenges to the labor market and overall economies.
This global phenomenon is expected to impact workable hours in various regions, rendering some areas too hot for productive work.
During a recent presentation on climate change and just-transition at a media sensitization program in Accra, the National Project Coordinator of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Gideon Mankralo, highlighted the worsening global situation.
He predicted that by 2030, rising temperatures could lead to work restrictions, with authorities in some countries, such as Ghana, considering measures like prohibiting work between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Mr. Mankralo emphasized the severe repercussions on industries like agriculture and construction, stressing the urgency of implementing the National Green Jobs Strategy to address the imminent challenge.
“So, by 2030, temperatures are going to rise so high that we cannot go to work in the afternoons, and the Ministry of Labour, TUC, workers will come out and say for Ghana between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. nobody should come out to work,” he said.
He urged the promotion of green jobs, emphasizing the connection between 1.2 billion jobs and ecosystem services, warning that climate change effects could lead to substantial job losses, such as 86 million jobs if fisheries collapsed.
The workshop, organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), aimed to enhance journalists’ understanding of the Green and Circular economy. It emphasized the crucial role of media in promoting and creating green jobs.
The National Green Jobs strategy, initiated in 2016, aligns with the country’s commitment to National Determined Contributions (NDCs) for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Gloria Bortele Noi, the Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation at MELR, stressed the importance of citizen awareness about climate change. She called for media involvement in educating the public on climate change issues and the necessity for a just transition. Ms. Noi emphasized that creating green job opportunities is a shared responsibility, requiring policy alignment, coordination, green skills development, and support for green enterprises.
Earlier, an argument about climate science almost took the attention away from the negotiations.
Sultan al-Jaber, the leader of COP28, changed his mind about saying there is no scientific reason to stop using fossil fuels to keep the global temperature from rising too much.
I found Prof Jean-Pascal van Ypersele in the main hall. He used to be the second leader of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the top authority on climate science worldwide.
This is his 27th meeting about the world’s climate at the UN. He has seen many agreements made and then forgotten.
“In 21 pages, there are 100 times that words like acknowledging, noting, recognizing are used. ” “but the word ‘decide’ is only there four times,” he says.
“The air doesn’t get it. ” It only knows about actual emissions, actual cuts, or actual carbon absorption.
If governments agree on this draft at COP, the world will keep getting hotter because emissions won’t be reduced enough.
As Ghana concludes its participation in the 28th session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, has emphasized the crucial necessity for global leaders to take decisive and urgent measures in addressing the repercussions of climate change.
In an address to a team of local and international press on Saturday, December 9, 2023, the Lands Minister stressed the importance of leaders demonstrating their commitment to the fight against climate change by implementing the agreements, promises, and resolutions reached at COP28, hosted by the UAE.
Mr. Jinapor warned of the ruinous impact of climate change already being felt worldwide and cautioned of the risk of total capitulation if global leaders do not follow through on their promises with concrete actions.
“The world is witnessing the relentless and devastating impacts of climate change. We cannot ignore the dire consequences we have experienced, the tragedies that have befallen us, and the challenges that lie ahead. We have seen seasons of droughts, woes of intense flooding, prolonged hunger, and the emergence of diseases, including the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. These are just a few among the myriad of challenges we face as a result of climate change,” he said.
Minister Samuel A. Jinapor expressed concern over the apparent regression in addressing the climate change crisis and its impact, highlighting that two years after the Paris Agreement, the world is not making sufficient progress in addressing this pressing global issue.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on December 12, 2015.
“Indeed the 1.5-degree benchmark for limiting the effects of climate change, cannot be achieved without nature. It is an indisputable fact that forests possess great potential to generate a third of the global climate solutions needed by 2030 as major sinks of greenhouse gases. This is amply supported by reports from the United Nations Environmental Programme, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Food and Agricultural Organizations, and other renowned scientists,” he added.
Mr Jinapor also reminded the world once again that the forest and nature-based approach which is the policy direction being championed by the government of Ghana is the most ideal and globally-accepted method of dealing with climate change crisis.
“Undoubtedly, the Forests and Land-Use sector has been globally recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a significant contributor of nature-based solutions to help attain the 1.5 degrees target under the Paris Agreement. ”Actions such as protecting natural ecosystems from loss and degradation, restoring ecosystems that have been degraded, and sustainably managing working lands can contribute significantly in mitigating climate change and in reaching the Paris Agreement role of keeping global warming below1.5°C,” he said.
He reiterated the commitment and determination of the government of Ghana to partner with countries, public and private agencies to build a resilient climate.
The Minister, therefore, charged the global superpowers to commit funds to the execution of nature-based solutions to the menace.
“I call on you, stakeholders, to commit finance towards nature-based solutions to resonate tangible outcomes. We must scale-up nature-based solutions to protect and restore our forests to achieve a 1.5 degrees Celsius world. I will leave you with a quote by the renowned English Primatologist and anthropologist, Jane Goodall, ‘Deforestation is changing our climate, harming people and the natural world. We must, and can reverse this trend.’”
Researchers from the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) have revealed that Lake Bosomtwe, the largest natural lake in West Africa, is facing a threat from climate change and human activities.
Their study, which compares data to a baseline from 1986, indicates that the lake has been receding and drying up. Since 2005, it has receded by approximately 35 meters from its shoreline, leading to a significant decrease in water levels, a reduction in its size, and a decline in the fish population.
Lake Bosomtwe, believed to have been formed by a meteorite impact around 1.2 million years ago, measures about 8 kilometers in diameter and covers a surface area of roughly 52 kilometers.
However, over time, its depth has decreased from 800 meters to a maximum of 78 meters, and its surface area has reduced from 52 kilometers in 1986 to 46 kilometers in 2020.
This green vegetative cover was once part of the Lake Bosomtwe
The diminishing fish stock has had a profound impact on the communities along the lake, where fishing is a primary livelihood. Consequently, many residents have turned to crop farming, which involves clearing the forest cover surrounding the lake. Additionally, the use of weedicides and pesticides has led to pollution in the lake’s vicinity.
Among the concerned residents seeking solutions to the challenges facing Lake Bosomtwe is 77-year-old Patrick Elliot Ofosu, a lifelong resident of Abono.
“Some years back, about 25-years ago, the whole of this area was part of the Lake. As you see it yourself, the Lake is going back; it’s receding.”
Human activities are impacting negatively on the Lake Bosomtwe
Sediments, comprising organic matter and silt resulting from human activities and erosion, have accumulated beneath West Africa’s largest natural lake. In an initiative named “Building Resilience of Lake Bosomtwe to Climate Change (RELAB),” scientists from the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), in collaboration with international partners from three institutions, aim to enhance the lake’s ability to withstand the impacts of climate change.
Aligned with Goal Two of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the project envisions a world where hunger can be eradicated, ensuring food security, improved nutrition, and enhanced agriculture.
To assess the lake’s resilience to climate change, the project has employed automated measurement systems, conducted limnologic sampling, and carried out laboratory analyses. This involved gathering historical data and implementing new, high-frequency in-crater meteorological measurements, among other methods.
Members of the RELAB Team working on Lake Bosomtwe
The research findings indicate a reduction in the size of the lake, with the surface area diminishing from 52 km² to 47.17 km². This decline in size has resulted in an unprecedented drop in water levels, fish catch, and the forest cover surrounding the lake. These changes can be attributed to human activities that have occurred since 1986.
One of the adverse practices identified as detrimental to Lake Bosomtwe is the use of harmful agricultural inputs by farmers in their efforts to provide for their families.
“Its mainly because of climate change from 2005, we have seen that there’s a rapid loss of water; rapid recession of the water mark from the shoreline to the water mark.”
Dr. Sanful says there could be dire consequences if no action is taken.
Dr. Samuel Sanful is Project Lead
“The Lake is not behaving the way that it used to be in the past. Fish catch has been going down, the people’s livelihood has been affected and their agricultural activities have been intensified as a result of their quest to support their livelihoods from farming.”
The research team remains committed to investigating the potential impacts of human activities and climate change on Lake Bosomtwe, focusing on both the forest cover that surrounds the lake.
In response to the concerns raised, particularly by residents in the affected communities, Dr. Sanful emphasized, “Our responsibility is to conduct the research and collect the data, and then engage in transferring this data to policymakers, who must subsequently incorporate this information into an action plan.”
Residents of Abono and other communities in the vicinity of Lake Bosomtwe, including Mr. Ofosu, are eager to witness the safeguarding and preservation of the lake’s integrity for the benefit of future generations.
“The whole of this place was waterlogged some years back. But look at the speed at which it is receding. So something must be done,” 77-year old native of Abono, Patrick Elliot Frimpong appealed.
Former Botswana Trade Minister and Special Advisor to UN Climate Change Champions, Bogolo Kenewendo, has expressed concerns regarding the trade agreements between Africa and the Western world. She has called for increased advocacy among Africans when it comes to trade negotiations, expressing disappointment in trade agreements that appear to be unfairly tailored for African nations.
During an interview on The Point of View, Bogolo Kenewendo emphasized the importance of Africans adding value to their exported products for the Western world, thereby enabling the generation of higher incomes.
She firmly believes that value addition not only creates job opportunities for the youth within the value chain but also offers significant advantages to economic systems.
“There’s still a little bit of unfairness in the way our trade agreements were tailored, and we need to change that. We need to advocate for ourselves and not just add value. Adding value is a step in the right direction to ensure that we capture more value, not only the more value that is captured.
There’s an opportunity that arises when you add value, as well as employment and an improvement in the balance of payments. All economic systems benefit from a strong and concerted effort on beneficiation. For example, cocoa that is raw or semi-processed can be transformed into chocolate, which commands a higher price.”
The former Trade Minister of Botswana underlined the necessity of investing in the trade sector, emphasizing the potential advantages for Africans.
Additionally, she conveyed her optimism that significant transformations in Africa’s economies could be achieved through investments in human capital.
“I’m confident that money is the pathway to Africa’s transformation. To get money, we need money to trade. There’s more money to be made when you go further up the value chain. There’s less money in selling raw materials, and the more value you add, the more money you can unlock in a product.
“I remain confident that the more we invest in this and in human capital, which can boost our ability to trade both goods and services, the more we will be able to transform our economies. I’m confident that if we work much more concertedly on the Africa free trade area and start trading among ourselves,” she opined.
Asked what can be done to improve intra-trade in Africa, she said, “First is the facilitators of trade, infrastructure, roads, trains that go from the North to the East to the West and so forth. But also our policies being friendlier. We must recognize that no one will be more successful than the other if we do not cooperate. We should be more accepting of each other. Intra-industry trade is the reason why the European market survived.”
The Finance Minister of Ghana, Ken Ofori-Atta, has emphasized the necessity of securing approximately $12.2 billion to effectively combat the impact of climate change within the country.
He clarified that these funds are essential to cover the expenses associated with implementing Ghana’s climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
During his speech at the 19th International Conference on Inclusive Insurance (ICII) in Accra on October 24, Minister Ofori-Atta also underscored the country’s need to generate around $4.1 billion as part of the overall $12.2 billion financial requirement.
Furthermore, he stressed the vital role of insurance protection in addressing Ghana’s vulnerability to climate change and other disasters, particularly through inclusive insurance solutions.
“Climate change impact have adversely affected the country’s poor and vulnerable and we need to ensure that insurance, particularly inclusive insurance is integrated into all that we do. Since 2017 our policy approach has been to provide an environment that ensures that people are protected particularly the poor and the National Financial Inclusion Strategy is an example of the Government’s commitment to financial inclusion for the poor,” Ofori-Atta said.
“Insurance will continue to play a critical role in the socioeconomic growth of the country and it serves as the umbrella that protects the poor from crisis and disasters that occur,” he added.
Nonetheless, the Finance Minister urged the government and key stakeholders in the insurance sector to collaborate and work on strategies aimed at guaranteeing the protection of Ghanaians, especially those in lower income brackets, through inclusive insurance.
The 2023 International Conference on Inclusive Insurance was jointly organized by the National Insurance Commission of Ghana (NIC), the Ghana Insurers Association (GIA), and the Insurance Brokers’ Association of Ghana (IBAG), in partnership with the Munich Re Foundation and the Microinsurance Network.
This conference brought together global insurance experts to brainstorm innovative and progressive approaches to developing micro-insurance products that cater to the needs of the low-income population.
Pope Francis has said that the world is in big trouble because of climate change and it is getting really close to a breaking point.
The pope expressed his disappointment with global organizations for not being able to make effective decisions, and he also criticized those who deny the existence of climate change.
His strong and clear statement has been included in a significant new version of his important 2015 paper on the environment.
He said that some harm caused by climate change is already impossible to fix.
The Pope spoke out against people who refuse to acknowledge, hide, downplay, or make excuses about climate change. He stated that it is no longer possible to deny that humans are responsible for climate change.
Pope Francis has made addressing climate change very important during his time as Pope. In 2015, the pope issued an important document called an encyclical, which marked a change for the Catholic Church.
Since that time, the pope has continuously urged politicians to actually do something to address climate change.
He also criticized “careless ways of living”, especially in the Western world.
He said that people in the US produce around twice as much pollution as people in China, and about seven times more pollution than people in the poorest countries.
The pope stated that if people in the Western world were to change their irresponsible lifestyle, it would have a big and lasting effect.
Saying that there is no hope would be extremely dangerous. It would mean that everyone, especially those who have less money, would experience the horrible effects of climate change.
Carbon capture is a process that is similar to papering over cracks.
Pope Francis said that world governing bodies need a new way to make decisions because the current process that was put in place a long time ago is not enough and doesn’t seem to work well.
He says that anything people do might be seen as a trick to divert attention. He is talking about politicians, especially regarding the change from using fossil fuels to clean energy. He believes this change is happening too slowly and won’t have a big impact. Pope Francis agreed that some progress was made during the COP summits but expressed disappointment over the absence of penalties for failing to fulfill commitments.
He said that some suggestions in the most recent global agreement, from COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, were not clear enough.
The pope cautioned that we should not rely too much on carbon capture technologies because it’s like trying to hide the problem instead of solving it.
He said that thinking all future problems can be solved using new technology is a dangerous and unrealistic mindset, similar to pushing a snowball downhill.
Pope Francis is encouraging people to take action on climate change just like he did in his 2015 encyclical. He argues that it is both a moral and scientific responsibility.
Towards the end of his plea, he speaks directly to the leaders of the world.
To the people in charge, I have a question for you: Why would someone want to stay in power, only to be remembered for not doing anything important when it was really necessary.
The climate crisis is a major issue being discussed at this year’s meeting because we had an extremely hot summer with record-breaking temperatures and harmful environmental disasters.
He wants countries to try harder to reduce the amount of carbon they release into the air and come up with a plan to help countries that are most affected by climate change.
Any important promises or modifications will probably be continued at COP 28, which is the United Nations’ climate meeting, in the United Arab Emirates later this year.
We have heard many leaders, including Columbian President Gustavo Petro, agree with his feelings. President Petro said that it will be difficult but important for the fossil fuel industry to come to an end.
Biden cites a number of recent natural disasters, such as heatwaves in the US and China, wildfires in the US and Europe, drought in Africa, and flooding in Libya, and asserts that these disasters collectively demonstrate what the world would experience if dependence on fossil fuels is not reduced.
Since the first day of Biden’s presidency, he asserts, the United States has been treating this problem as the existential threat that it is—not just to us, but to all of humanity.
The leaders of two small islands that are being affected by rising sea levels to go to a court in Germany to get advice on what countries should do to fight climate change.
Prime Ministers Kausea Natano from Tuvalu and Gaston Browne from Antigua and Barbuda will share information at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. They will discuss if carbon emissions that the ocean absorbs should be seen as pollution, and what responsibilities countries have to safeguard the marine environment.
The tribunal will give an advice, which is not legally required to be followed, but provides a trustworthy statement on legal matters that could help countries when making laws to protect the climate.
The leaders of the Small Island States will say that countries must protect the ocean from greenhouse gases according to the UN Law of the Sea.
“We urgently need help because we believe that international law is important in fixing the unfairness caused by climate change that our people are facing,” said Natano from Tuvalu.
Too much carbon pollution hurts the oceans, causing problems like coral bleaching and acidification.
Islands like Tuvalu and Vanuatu that are close to the water level might go underwater because of the long-term effects of climate change by the end of this century.
Small island countries have also asked other courts for clear legal rules regarding their responsibilities regarding climate change. Vanuatu asked the International Court of Justice to provide their opinion on what countries should do about climate change.
The UN General Assembly voted in March to send the case to the ICJ. The ICJ will give its opinion in 2024.
At least 21 people have died and six are missing, according to local authorities, who blame a flash flood and landslip that happened on the outskirts of the northwest Chinese city of Xi’an.
The Xi’an City Emergency Management Bureau reports that 900 residences experienced power outages as a result of the natural catastrophe, which took place in a mountain town on Friday. The incident also reportedly caused damage to roads, bridges, and communication equipment.
Due to recent record high temperatures and disastrous flooding in parts of China, experts link extreme weather events around the world to climate change.
Following the landslip and flash flood, about 1,000 rescuers were sent to Xi’an’s Weiziping village. As of Sunday evening, 186 people had been rescued, and relief operations were still in progress. In addition, two homes were demolished.
Two structures were destroyed by a tremendous flow of mud and debris that cascaded down the hillside on Friday in the late afternoon, according to a restaurant owner in the town who spoke to the state-run media site Cover News.
He was cited as adding, “Both houses were gone, and the people went missing too.”
According to Cover News, the two demolished residences were used as restaurants.
People travel to the mountains to escape the summer heat in Xi’an. The main source of income in our hamlet is the summertime operation of farm eateries, according to a second local who spoke to Cover News.
Following significant floods on the other side of the nation in northeastern China, which was pummelling by unprecedented rainfall from local typhoons starting late last month, the calamity occurred.
According to local authorities, flooding claimed the lives of at least 29 individuals in the province of Hebei and 33 people in Beijing.
As the rains proceeded north and flooded farmlands in the nation’s grain-producing region, another 14 deaths were recorded in the Jilin province city of Shulan.
According to state media, more than 1.5 million people were forced to abandon their houses in Hebei, including those who had to flee so-called “flood storage areas,” which were flooded as flood control officials let go of trapped water.
According to provincial authorities, approximately 200,000 homes were damaged or completely destroyed by flooding, with the total cost of the disaster’s damage anticipated to exceed $13 billion.
By the end of next month, according to the authorities, they hope to have everyone back in their homes.
Separately, on Sunday, a house in Leyu village, Hengnan county, collapsed due to severe winds, leaving three people dead and two others hurt in Hunan province. According to China National Radio, seven individuals were inside the house when it fell as they sought refuge from the torrential rains.
The British government has casually released a list of all the greatest hazards to life, from another epidemic to volcanic ash.
The Home Office releases a “National Risk Register” every year that lists all of the “most serious threats to the UK.”
There are a good number. The government has identified just under 90 potential ways in which our way of life could be completely upended.
They range from’severe space weather’ and wildfires brought on by climate change to bacterium that kills trees and public unrest.
Each was given a rating by government officials based on a few criteria to determine if they would have a “minor” or, to put it frankly, “catastrophic” effect on life.
They also attempt to quantify how ‘likely’ they are to occur and, in order to guarantee that the UK is ready, lay out a’reasonable worst-case scenario’.
A pandemic sweeping across the nation once more is assessed as the most probable threat (between 5-25%) out of the 89 threats.
The Home Office adds that it’s “impossible” to predict when the next pandemic-causing pathogen, “Disease X,” would emerge. However, the WHO claims that they are already preparing for it.
According to the Home Office assessment, “the reasonable worst-case scenario is based on an unchecked respiratory pandemic with an unassumed transmission route and a high attack rate.”
‘The scenario implies 50% of the UK’s population fall ill for the whole course of the pandemic, with around 1.34 million individuals anticipated to require hospital treatment, perhaps leading to up to 840,000 deaths,’ it continues.
Such “catastrophic” events include a civil nuclear disaster and a radiation release from a nuclear power plant abroad, but the risk of either is less than 0.2%.
However, “larger-scale CBRN attacks,” or those employing chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials, have a probability of one to five percent.
The government warns that in the worst-case scenario, “terrorists, hostile states or criminals” might release “radioactive material into an open environment,” which would be challenging to clean.
It is also considered to be rather possible that the National Electricity Transmission System (NETS), which keeps the lights on in England and Wales, will fail.
Also included were more recent catastrophes and tragedies. Consider drone attacks (even though they have a low impact and possibility) and the 25% likelihood of killing a public figure, like the Tory MP Sir David Ames.
AI, meanwhile, “may increase harmful misinformation and disinformation, or, if handled improperly, reduce economic competitiveness,” according to others.
Officials also take into account hazards including cyberattacks, artificial intelligence, hostage-taking, oil and gas interruptions due to the conflict in the Ukraine and Russia, storms, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and air pollution.
The government is also concerned about the possibility of one of the numerous volcanoes in Europe erupting, as well as Bárarbunga and Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland.
Concerns on officials’ minds from the interruption of British airspace caused by the ash to the possibility of British citizens getting stuck there.
Even in the three years since we released our most recent National Risk Register in 2020, we have witnessed Russia’s heinous invasion of Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic’s widespread and protracted consequences, and the growing influence of climate change on our day-to-day lives. Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, wrote.
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, for example, are changing our society and posing both benefits and hazards.
The Duchy of Lancaster declared that in the face of the long list of hazards, Britain must be “resilient” and “work together” with other nations.
We can make the country safer, more secure, and ultimately more successful by emphasising our common resilience, he continued.
Ghana is leading efforts to transform the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Vulnerable 20 Group (V20) of Finance Ministers into a permanent Inter-Governmental Organization.
The primary goal is to advocate for a “Fair Share” Agenda, seeking appropriate financing for 29 adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage measures.
Additionally, the country aims to leverage its natural resources to raise carbon financing, accelerate climate action, and ensure that the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature threshold is not exceeded.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta shared these objectives while addressing Parliament during the 2023 Mid-Year Budget Review.
Currently, Ghana’s President chairs the Climate Vulnerable Forum, while the Finance Minister leads the V20 Group—an organization representing 58 countries with a combined population of 1.5 billion people, predominantly in climate-affected regions of the world.
Mr. Ofori-Atta revealed that Ghana has already formulated a framework for the V20 Climate Prosperity Plan, designed to attract climate investments from the private sector.
It is estimated that climate change could cost Ghana approximately 1.7 percent of its GDP annually by 2030 if not adequately addressed.
To attract foreign direct green investments and benefit local businesses, the government is actively working to secure carbon financing that will support its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and fulfill its commitments under the Paris Agreement.
“As part of our efforts to address loss and damage from climate change, Ghana, as one of the first pathfinder countries, launched the in-country process for Ghana’s participation in the Global Shield against Climate Risk and the Global Risk Modelling Alliance.
“These initiatives will enable us to assess quantitatively our climate risk, design solutions informed by the data and facilitate access to resources from the Global Shield,” noted Mr. Ofori-Atta.
The government, in partnership with the Green Climate Fund, has established the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reduction Project (GSLERP) at an estimated cost of US$54.5 million.
The Project will focus on the Shea Landscape and will address the country’s efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).
“Additionally, government is implementing the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme (GCFRP), which covers 5.9 million ha – 79% off-reserve, 21% on reserve – in seven regions. The programme will benefit 12 million urban and rural residents,” said Ken Ofori-Atta.
Ghana became the second African country after Mozambique to receive FCPF REDD+ payments in January 2023.
Only a few hours after announcing a large number of North Sea oil and gas licences, Rishi Sunak has once more defended his use of a private aircraft.
The prime minister has long been under fire for using a private jet to travel throughout the UK, with detractors pointing out that environmentally friendly transportation was frequently an option.
Sunak has taken a variety of trips, including a helicopter flight to Dover (followed by an hour-long train ride), three private plane flights in a 10-day period, and a private jet flight from London to Blackpool.
Private aircraft cause up to 14 times more pollution than commercial aircraft and consume more fuel than those aircraft.
Sunak, however, stated that he will travel to Scotland today to announce money for a carbon capture and storage project during a tense and difficult interview with the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland today.
I’ll be flying as usual since that’s the best use of my time, he declared.
The Tory leader claimed that individuals who were critical of him for using a private jet as the climate issue grew wanted to outlaw “holidays.”
If you or others believe that stopping people from doing anything is the best way to combat climate change, he continued, “I mean, I think that’s absolutely the wrong approach.”
Sunak took a private flight this afternoon to St Fergus, a small community near Peterhead, where the Acorn carbon capture project in the North Sea will be presented.
While some of Sunak’s private jet travel is funded by government dollars, it is also well known that Tory contributors pay the tab.
Given how “efficient,” he said, travelling by plane to St. Fergus is what prime leaders before him have long done.
Sunak continued, “But if your approach to tackling climate change is to say no one should travel, I think you are completely and utterly wrong. That is absolutely not the approach to tackling climate change.”
The transition will be aided by new technologies like carbon capture and storage, thus we are investing in sustainable aviation fuel.
Sunak asserted earlier today that the UK will give hundreds of additional oil and gas licences and that the country requires fossil fuels.
Despite the fact that the objective has been codified into law, he asserted, “Even when we reach net zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will still come from oil and gas.”
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), roughly six in ten Britons express concern about climate change.
The Conservatives have fought against green initiatives including low-emission zones and low-traffic districts while questioning some of Britain’s emission reduction targets.
The UK “has lost its clear global leadership position on climate action,” according to the Climate Change Committee, an independent advisory body to the government.
According to a study by the European Association for clean transport Transport & Environment, private jets are 50 times more polluting than railroads and 14 times more polluting than commercial planes per passenger.
A single private jet may produce two tonnes of CO2 in just one hour. An typical trip in one emits roughly the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as driving a petrol vehicle 16 times the length of the UK, or around 860 miles, from Paris to Rome.
While the annual CO2 production of the average person is around seven metric tonnes.
In all, Greenpeace discovered in March that private aircraft emissions have skyrocketed in Europe, totaling 5,300,000 tonnes of CO2 over the previous three years.
This is a little bit more what Uganda, a nation with over 46,000,000 people, generates in a year.
British environmental policy, according to Oliver Sidorczuk, co-director of Zero Hour, the cross-party campaign for the Climate & Ecology Bill, is at best ‘poor’ even as climate change worsens.
After the hottest summer on record, the UK Government should be accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon, environmentally beneficial future rather than approving additional oil, gas and coal initiatives, said he.
Sunak must work with other world leaders to present a “people-powered plan to reverse nature’s decline,” which will help to reduce rising fuel prices and generate green jobs.
‘This should be Rishi Sunak’s top concern,’ Sidorczuk continued, ‘and possibly something for him to think about during his next helicopter or private jet trip.’
Greta Thunberg was punished by a Swedish court for violating the law while participating in a protest.
The environmental activist admits to defying police orders while participating in a demonstration last month in front of an oil complex.
She asserted that her activities were a sort of “self defence” against the growing threat posed by climate change, and hence she rejected any wrongdoing on her part.
After the decision, she stated that humans ‘cannot preserve the world by playing by the rules,’ and she added that she would ‘absolutely not’ be backing down.
The court nevertheless disagreed with her reasoning and fined her 2,500 kronor (approximately £187).
Ms Thunberg was among several youth members of the Reclaim the Future movement charged for refusing police orders to disperse when they blocked road access to an oil terminal in Malmo, southern Sweden, on June 19.
Irma Kjellstrom, a spokesperson for the movement who was also present at the demonstration, said: ‘If the court sees our actions of self-defence as a crime, that’s how it is. [Activists] have to be exactly where the harm is being done.’
Ms Thunberg and her fellow activists returned to the oil terminal just hours after sentencing to stage a further roadblock.
Amid the double-heatwave that has battered Europe over the past few weeks, their protest comes as extraordinary temperatures have sparked devastating wildfires across Greece.
More than 19,000 people have been evacuated from the island of Rhodes, with many hundreds still stranded at the beaches and the airport, as high-speed winds have fanned the spread of the flames.
Starting from Monday evening, four repatriation flights are planned to help those still left on the island escape, as anger continues to mount over what’s been slammed as an inadequate handling of the situation by airlines and travel agencies.
In the current era of climate change, marked by an increase in the frequency and intensity of floods and fires, the importance of implementing preventive measures cannot be overstated.
Ghana, specifically, faces recurrent flooding, which can be attributed to various factors such as heavy rainfall, inadequate drainage systems, and human activities like improper waste management and urbanization. Urban areas within the country are particularly vulnerable to frequent flooding during moderate to heavy rainfalls.
The consequences of flooding can be devastating, including the loss of lives, displacement of people, property damage, and more.
Hence, it is crucial to identify effective strategies to mitigate these impacts. With the rainy season approaching, it is highly advisable to take immediate action to prevent, minimize, or manage the adverse effects and costs associated with flooding.
Some standard mitigation strategies include:
1. When purchasing or renting a property, carefully assess flood risks, ideally choosing higher-lying sites away from major watercourses that are less prone to flooding.
2. If you already reside or have a business in a flood-prone area, consider moving to a safer location if possible.
3. Incorporate proper drainage systems into your property to ensure unobstructed water flow.
4. Construct defense walls designed to withstand the maximum water flow height, significantly reducing the impact and cost of flooding.
5. Business owners in flood-prone areas can take simple measures like elevating stock on pallets or storing water-sensitive items on higher shelves or upper floors.
6. Park vehicles in securely covered raised areas that are not prone to flooding, ensuring easy exit during emergencies.
Regarding fire risks, it is crucial to adhere to some of the tips below:
1. Address faulty electrical wiring, which remains a significant cause of fires in Ghana.
2. Employ professionally qualified electricians who are knowledgeable about building and wiring requirements.
3. Ensure all electrical repairs adhere to statutory building and wiring codes.
4. Report Illegal electricity connections to the relevant authorities, as they pose a danger to the entire neighborhood.
5. Avoid accumulating flammable materials on the premises. Flammable goods should be stored in safe and fire-protected buildings or storage areas.
6. Practise responsible personal behavior, such as switching off electrical equipment when not in use and unplugging them.
7. Proper handling of gas, including turning it off when not in use and storing gas cylinders in purpose-built protective structures or using approved cylinders for internal domestic use and storage.
The role of Insurance
Although these preventive measures can assist in reducing risks, they are not foolproof. Despite their implementation, unforeseen circumstances can still result in fires or floods. This is where insurance plays a critical role, acting as a vital safety net by offering financial protection and assistance.
Insurance is often overlooked as a component of flood or fire risk mitigation strategies; however, it can significantly contribute to compensating for losses incurred when all other measures fail. It is essential to consider the risks you are exposed to and get insured accordingly.
Home Insurance is a must-have for anybody who wants to minimize his/her losses in the unlikely event of fire or flood. It offers financial protection against various risks and perils that can damage or destroy a home and its contents.
Here are some key aspects of home insurance:
1. Protects the structure of your home, including its foundation, walls, roof, and attached structures like garages or decks
2. Covers your personal belongings, such as furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing, and valuables against damage
3. Provides 3rd party liability cover for events that occur within your premises.
4. Provides compensation for the cost of alternative accommodation in the event that flood, fire, or other incidents require you to move out of your home during repairs.
5. Provides personal accident cover
Similarly, for those who rent rather than own the property they live in, House Holder Insurance is a very good loss-mitigation measure as it provides the above benefits to the insured at a lower cost.
In Europe’s hottest summer on record, about 62,000 people died from heat-related causes last year, according to a new study. This is devastating proof that heat is a silent killer and that its victims are massively underreported.
According to the study, which was released on Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, between May 30 and September 4 of last year, 61,672 people in Europe died from heat-related illnesses. With roughly 18,000 fatalities, Italy suffered the most, followed by Spain with little more than 11,000 and Germany with about 8,000.
Researchers also found the extreme heat disproportionately harmed the elderly and women. Of the nearly 62,000 deaths analyzed, heat-related mortality rate was 63% higher in women than in men. Age was also an important factor, with thedeath toll increasing significantly for people aged 65 and over.
“It’s a very big number,” Joan Ballester, an epidemiologist at ISGlobal and the lead author of the study, told CNN.
Eurostat, which is Europe’s statistical office, attempted to quantify the heat wave’s death toll last year by tallying excess deaths — or how many people died more than a typical summer. But Ballester, who lives in Spain and sweated through last year’s heat wave, said the study published Monday was the first to analyze how many deaths last summer were specifically caused by heat.
Researchers analyzed temperature and mortality data between 2015 and 2022 for 35 European countries — representing a total population of 543 million people — and used it to create epidemiological models to calculate heat-related deaths.
“For me, I’m an epidemiologist, so I know what to expect and (the number of deaths) is not surprising, but for the general population, it’s very likely that this is astonishing,” he said.
The region has seen this script before — an unprecedented heat wave resulted in more than 70,000 excess deaths in the summer of 2003. That heat wave was an “exceptionally rare event,” the study’s scientists said, even when accounting for the human-caused climate crisis.
The 2003 heat wave was a wake-up call, researchers said. It showed Europe at the time lacked the kind of preparedness to prevent a mass casualty event from heat, and it exposed the fragile nature of the region’s health system, Ballester said, particularly as weather extremes become more frequent and intense.
But the study’s findings show that even Europe’s current prevention plans are still not enough to keep up with the breakneck pace at which dangerous heat waves are occurring and putting even more lives at risk.
“The fact that more than 61,600 people in Europe died of heat stress in the summer of 2022, even though, unlike in 2003, many countries already had active prevention plans in place, suggests that adaptation strategies currently available may still be insufficient,” said Hicham Achebak, a co-author of the study and researcher at ISGlobal.
While the numbers may have been worse without the region’s current heat prevention plans, the authors warn that the world is only going to get hotter — and that without effective adaptation plans in place, Europe could face more than 68,000 premature deaths each summer by 2030, and over 94,000 by 2040.
“The acceleration of warming observed over the last 10 years underlines the urgent need to reassess and substantially strengthen prevention plans,” Achebak said.
Monday’s study shows how serious a health risk extreme heat can be. In the US, heat kills more Americans than any other weather-related disaster, and the climate crisis has been making these extreme events more deadly. Heat deaths have outpaced hurricane deaths in the country by more than 8-to-1 over the past decade, according to data tracked by the National Weather Service.
Yet the United States’ heat mortality numbers would suggest that far fewer people are dying from heat than in Europe. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 700 people die heat-related deaths each year.
David S. Jones, a physician and historian at Harvard University, said there are a couple explanations as to why US statistics seem low: the US could be underreporting its numbers, or heat is more lethal in Europe due to the lack of air conditioning — or it could be a combination of the two.
Jones, who is not involved with Monday’s study, said just 5% of households in France have air conditioning, for example, compared to nearly 90% in the US.
“There’s also reason to believe that places that are more often exposed to heat, like the American South, are actually less vulnerable to heat than in places like the Northeast US or in Chicago or Europe,” Jones said.
“But it comes back to this question of, well, is Europe just reporting more accurately than the US is?” he said. “There’s been people who have been frustrated with the quality of US health data across the board, not just heat, but everything else, for decades.”
John Balbus, the acting director of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity at the US Department of Health and Human Services, said the number is lower because the CDC estimates heat-related deaths based on death certificates which list heat as the primary or contributing cause of death, whereas academic institutions, such as ISGlobal, use statistical models for their estimates.
A 2020 study found that heat-related deaths were being underestimated in 297 of the country’s most populous counties. Researchers said mortality records tend to neglect other potentially heat-related causes of death, like heart attacks.
But there are other ways of getting at how many people in the US are being harmed by increasingly frequent heat waves. Balbus noted the CDC does track the number of people who show up to emergency rooms for heat-related illnesses.
The Biden administration is working on short-term solutions for heat, Balbus said, like more effective advisories and getting air conditioners into the hands of low-income families.
But they also have an eye on the longterm through recent legislation: planting more trees and green space in urban areas, which cools the surrounding air; offering communities support for reflective streets and roofs; and working to modernize building codes so they trap less heat.
Still, Balbus said, as temperatures continue to climb, more funding should be dedicated to studying and tracking the health impacts of the climate crisis.
“We’re doing the best we can with the resources we have,” Balbus said. “And we could do more with more capacity, but it’s something that has scientific challenges, and it requires support.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the way CDC calculates heat-related deaths. The agency’s estimate includes death certificates that list heat as a primary or contributing factor of death.
Natural adaptations enable plants to flourish in difficult conditions. New features, such as drought tolerance and disease resistance, are produced through spontaneous natural mutations and can aid the plant in thriving. However, the rate of climate change on Earth is accelerating beyond the capacity of plants to adapt organically, putting many of the food-producing plants in danger.
A growing season may be extended or new crops may be cultivated due to changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and frost, but agriculture is very vulnerable to the effects of changing climate conditions. Climate change also poses significant obstacles to farming.
Now, scientists are turning to the vastness of space for solutions.
In 2022, the joint laboratories of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sent seeds on a trip to the International Space Station (ISS). The objective: to induce genetic mutations in the seeds through exposure to cosmic radiation and microgravity, that could help develop resilient crops capable of thriving in the face of the escalating climate crisis.
Seeds of a cereal grain called sorghum, and a type of cress called Arabidopsis, spent several months on the ISS before they were returned to Earth this April for analysis. Now screening will begin to identify favorable traits in the mutated seeds.
Shoba Sivasankar, head of Plant Breeding and Genetics for the joint FAO and IAEA Center of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, explains that scientists are able to artificially induce plant mutations on Earth using gamma rays and X-rays.
However, the space environment, which offers a broader spectrum of radiation and additional extremes like microgravity and temperature fluctuations, has the potential to induce genetic alterations that differ from, or are induced much quicker than, those typically observed using terrestrial radiation sources.
“In space, the stress that will be encountered by an organism would be at the highest level and beyond anything that we can actually simulate on Earth,” explains Sivasankar. She adds that the radiation outside the ISS could be “more than a hundredfold higher” than the natural radiation possible on Earth.
By selectively breeding plants grown from the mutated seeds, Sivasankar and her team hope to create new crop strains.
“Firstly, we are working on improving crop yields and productivity of crops such as grains, legumes, roots and tubers – for example, cassava and sweet potato,” she says. “And then there is climate change resilience – for example resistance to increasing incidence of diseases, tolerance of climate phenomenon such as drought, or high heat, and increasing salinity of the soil because of saltwater intrusion or irrigation and evaporation.”
For decades scientists have been sending seeds to space. China has been using space radiation to induce genetic mutation in crops since the 1980s, exposing seeds to cosmic radiation via satellites and high-altitude balloons, which reportedly facilitated the production of giant sweet peppers and improvements in wheat and rice.
Many different varieties of seed have been aboard the International Space Station, while researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) are currently experimenting with the cultivation of seeds that were sent on a journey around the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
The MSU scientists are exploring the effect of extraterrestrial conditions on plant amino acids – the building block of proteins – and evaluating how that impacts plant growth and development. The research could offer insights into the adaptive capabilities of plants in extreme environments, and help us understand how crops could potentially be grown off-Earth for long-duration space missions.
The private sector has also taken an interest in the impact of spaceflight on plant seeds. In the United Arab Emirates, StarLab Oasis, an Abu Dhabi-based startup, has announced plans to send quinoa seeds into space in the hopes of enhancing the genetic potential of a crop that holds promise for its nutritional value and adaptability in arid regions.
Sending seeds to space will help “sustainability, climate change, and food security on Earth,” StarLab Oasis’ co-founder Allen Herbert told CNN in 2022. “Space is a place where you have limited resources, limited energy, limited space. It’s the perfect place to do research and that same technology can be brought right back down to Earth.”
It’s that same hope of finding solutions for Earthbound agriculture that’s driving Sivasankar, and the IAEA says initial results from its research could be available later this year.
“I do feel hopeful for the future of food security, because technology is coming to the fore,” she says. “But food security is not just about genetics – we need a combination of all technologies, and everybody needs to come together and work together.”
The Regional Programme Manager of the WMO, Dr Ernest Afiesimama, said Africa was already facing severe challenges from climate change such as floods and droughts, which were affecting the livelihoods and well-being of millions of people.
He warned that the situation would worsen in the coming years, as Africa was more vulnerable and less resilient to the effects of climate change, due to its high exposure, fragility and low capacity.
Dr Afiesimama was speaking at a workshop in Accra last Tuesday, where climate experts from across the continent gathered to review the annual state of climate (SoC)report for Africa.
The report is a comprehensive assessment of the climate variability, trends and impacts in Africa, produced by the African Union Commission and the WMO, with technical support from the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development and other regional climate centres.
The three-day workshop aimed at refining the report and exploring additional products to provide relevant and reliable information for optimal climate actions to support Africa’s negotiation positions on mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage.
Gaps
Dr Afiesimama, who presented the report, said that about 60 per cent of people in Africa lacked access to early warning systems, which made them unable to take preventive measures to protect their lives and properties from climate hazards.
He cited some examples of the devastating impacts of climate change in Africa, such as the drought-related hazards that killed more than half a million people and caused over $70 billion in economic losses in the past 50 years.
He also mentioned the drought in Southern Africa in 2015 that led to up to two per cent reduction in GDP growth in some countries, as well as the floods caused by heavy rains and cyclones that affected millions of people and resulted in billions of dollars in losses and damages across the continent.
He said Ghana was not spared from these climate threats, as it experienced severe flooding in many parts of the country last year.
“So this is the message to all governments; we need to begin to do things differently to avoid these climate threats. In this workshop, we expect experts to come up with how we can do things differently,” he said.
Solutions
The Board Chairman of the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Isaac Amoo, said Ghana had been suffering from its share of climate change disasters, such as flooding and tidal waves.
He said while Ghana was dealing with these problems, its neighbouring countries in the Sahara region were facing drought and desertification.
Mr Amoo expressed hope that the workshop would enable the experts to share knowledge, experiences and strategies that would benefit the continent.
To meet their climate pledges, countries must raise $4.2 billion (34%) domestically and $8.29 billion (66%) from international sources, as outlined in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, highlighted the need for innovative climate financing mechanisms to implement adaptation plans within the specified timeframe.
The Minister of Finance, made these statements at the inaugural workshop on the Global Shield against Climate Risks and Global Risk Modelling Alliance held in Accra yesterday.
A workshop was held to engage key stakeholders on climate change issues, informing them about the Global Shield initiative and the Global Risk Modelling Alliance, which aim to provide increased protection and financing against climate risks.
Africa has suffered significant economic losses of over $200 billion due to climate change, underscoring the importance of reliable data for informed decision-making towards a climate-resilient economy and low-carbon development.
Ghana’s Finance Minister emphasized the benefits of joining the Global Shield (GS) and Global Risk Modelling Alliance (GRMA), stating that it would enhance the country’s understanding of climate risks, assess vulnerabilities, and provide access to crucial data and expertise for informed decision-making.
The minister highlighted that participating in these initiatives demonstrated Ghana’s proactive approach in protecting the environment, economy, and the well-being of its people.
He stressed the importance of establishing mechanisms for pre-arranged and trigger-based financing to swiftly respond to climate-related emergencies.
Additionally, the minister emphasized the need to strengthen social protection programs to assist those most affected by climate change, including vulnerable communities, smallholder farmers, and informal sector workers.
The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation urged developed countries to fulfill their commitment to mobilize $100 billion annually in climate finance for developing countries.
Without the necessary resources, Ghana would struggle to reduce emissions, build resilience in priority sectors, and address challenges in water, agriculture, biodiversity restoration, and health.
The German Ambassador, the Development Director of the British High Commission, and the Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation all expressed their commitment to support Ghana in implementing its climate change plans.
On Tuesday, a group from the International Bank of America paid a visit to President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja and praised him for the economic reforms he has already implemented.
The team, which was led by Mr. Bernard Mensah, President of the bank, expressed delight about the first actions taken by the new administration, which, according to him, was returning Nigeria to its proper position on the international stage.
Dele Alake, the President’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, who made this announcement in a statement on Tuesday, also cited the American bank as saying it was willing to help Nigeria address its short- and long-term challenges by providing ideas and financing, among other things.
Mensah said, “We’re excited about the initial direction of the government. We’re looking to see how we can help and partner. We have a lot of global resources that we think can help the Nigerian economy.
“We operate on such a global basis. We’re a huge international firm. We touch so many things. We think we can help think through the markets, the financial architecture and structure.”
Mensah asserted that the bank may also aid in considering new technological applications, the global conversation surrounding climate change, and how it might mobilize resources so that Nigeria can take a position on the global arena with regard to such concerns.
In his remarks, the Nigerian President said though his administration had been on the right track in the past over 30 days, it needed strategic help from international partners.
“We believe we are on the right track so far. We believe we need all the help we can get,” Tinubu told the delegation.
The President said Nigeria’s governance and development challenges could not be addressed without fiscal and institutional reforms.
He said, “21st-century actions on climate change, finance and innovation are intertwined.
“Having a good platform and believing in innovation will help in undertaking reforms and tackling the issues.
“This is the largest economy and democracy in Africa and if we cannot do it, nobody will do it for us,” Tinubu said.
He invited the International Bank of America and other willing financing institutions to help make sure that Nigerian gas competes favorably on the world market as a viable alternative revenue source by highlighting specific areas of support.
Wale Edun, the President’s Special Advisor on Monetary Policy, reported that topics covered during the meeting included the importance of financing and liquidity in advancing the economy as well as the critical function of technology in economic growth.
Mensah was accompanied on the trip by Mr. Chuba Ezenwa, Head of Investment Banking Sub-Saharan Africa, and Mrs. Yvonne Fasinro, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, International Bank of America.
The Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG) has revealed that climate change, environmental concerns, and extensive use of agrochemicals pose significant threats to the survival of Ghana’s domestic honey production sector, which is valued at nearly US$5 billion.
CAG’s Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Selorm Morrison, speaking to the B&FT on the dwindling fortunes of the industry, said honey production booms on organic agroecology systems where bees thrive in a more natural environment than chemically polluted conditions.
The ever-increasing reliance on the use of chemicals, most of which are harmful to the survival of bees, according to Mr. Morrison, has become a bane to the sector.
Data from CAG indicates the country currently produces a little over US$168million worth of honey annually, but that could skyrocket to more than US$5billion if the right strategies are adopted and quality of the commodity given priority.
China, the second largest global exporter of honey, made some US$260million from the commodity in 2021. Interestingly, that country also leads 90 percent of global fake honey production as its honey products do not constitute even 30 percent of natural honey.
But CAG maintained that Ghana has a more conducive and agroecological advantage to derive more from honey than China if the right strategies are adopted to increase production.
“CAG has mango farms, cocoa farms, cashew farms, orange farms piloted for honey production; but the increasing challenge of disease control through chemicals have made it difficult to keep up with the global demand,” he added.
In Europe, pollination is mostly done by companies which provide such services with bees and charge fees. In Ghana and Africa, however, pollination is done naturally by bees in the wild without a cost. This, according to CAG, offers huge opportunities for Ghana to increase production.
“We can only appeal to the Environmental Protection Agency to control and further scrutinise the type of chemicals that are being imported for agriculture purposes. Some of the chemicals are not friendly toward honey production,” the Chamber’s CEO lamented.
Proposed strategies by CAG to increase production
The Chamber argued that secondary schools can be resourced to develop at least 10 acre cashew, orange or coconut farms, as these crops are ideal because they are not heavily disease-induced compared to cocoa and mango, among others.
About 200 secondary schools, CAG noted, can undertake this initiative on the 10-acre plantation and by the time the farm is around three years, beehives can be placed on such farms. In five years, he said, more money could be made from the honey produced than from the cash crops.
“Assuming each of 200 secondary schools have 10-acre beehives, and each acre accommodates 10 beehives. That is 20,000 beehives and this initiative alone should generate not less than US$1.5billion worth of honey annually,” Mr. Morrison indicated.
There are more than 700 secondary schools in Ghana as of 2021 per the GES schools register for 2020.
Standard and quality of Ghana’s honey
The Chamber, in partnership with the livestock division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), has a laboratory for testing locally produced honey.
CAG is also holding a series of training for honey producers in the Northern, Volta and Oti Regions.
Rich countries promise to provide hundreds of billions to address climate change. At the The leaders claimed that their ideas would win billions of dollars in matching investment from the private sector during the New Global Financial Pact summit held in Paris to discuss funding for the climate transition and the post-Covid debt problems of poor countries.
They added that a long-overdue pledge of $100 billion in climate finance for developing countries was now within reach.
Many in attendance, however, said over the two-day summit that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were increasingly ill-suited for tackling the most pressing challenges and needed a broad revamp.
“We … expect an overall increase of $200 billion of MDBs’ lending capacity over the next ten years by optimizing their balance sheets and taking more risks,” the summit’s final statement obtained by Reuters said.
“If these reforms are implemented, MDBs may need more capital,” it added, recognising in a final summit document for the first time that wealthy nations may have to inject more cash.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, whose country is the largest shareholder of the IMF and World Bank, had said ahead of the summit that development banks had to first squeeze out more lending themselves before the possibility of capital increases was considered.
The final summit document called for each dollar of lending by development banks to be matched by at least one dollar of private finance, which analysts said should help international institutions to leverage an additional $100 billion of private money in developing and emerging economies.
The announcements mark a scaling up of action from the development banks in the fight against climate change and set a direction for further change ahead of their annual meetings later in the year.
However, some climate activists were critical of the results.
“While the roadmap from the Paris Summit acknowledges the urgency for substantial financial resources to bolster climate action, it leans too heavily on private investments and ascribes an outsized role to multilateral development banks,” said Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International.
Debt relief
At the summit, the United States and China – long at odds on how to tackle debt restructurings for poor countries – sought to strike a more conciliatory tone after a landmark deal was reached on Thursday to restructure $6.3 billion in debt owed by Zambia, most of it to China.
“As the world’s two largest economies, we have a responsibility to work together on global issues,” Yellen said on a summit panel shared with Chinese Premier Li Qiang among other leaders.
However, differences remain. China – the world’s largest bilateral creditor – has been pushing for lenders like the World Bank or the IMF to absorb some of the losses, which the institutions and Western countries oppose.
“China is ready to be engaged in debt relief efforts in an effective, realistic and comprehensive manner in keeping with the principle of fair burden sharing,” Li said.
Climate pledge
The summit statement said there was a “good likelihood” of finalising this year a $100-billion climate finance pledge to developing countries.
Many of the topics discussed in Paris took up suggestions from a group of developing countries, led by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, dubbed the ‘Bridgetown Initiative’.
“There is the political consensus that this issue is bigger than each of us and we have to work together and multilateral development banks will have to change how they do business and that is accepted,” Mottley said at the summit’s closing panel.
“We leave Paris not with speeches simply, but a commitment to get down into the granular details to make sure that what we agree here can be executed.”
The $100 billion pledge falls far short of poor nations’ actual needs, but has become symbolic of wealthy countries’ failure to deliver promised climate funds. This has fuelled mistrust in wider climate negotiations between countries attempting to boost CO2-cutting measures.
“If we can’t shape the rules in this time like others before, then we will be accountable for what potentially can be the worst reality of mankind,” Mottley said.
A paper claims that deep ocean water in the Antarctic is warming and contracting, which might have significant effects on climate change and deep ocean ecosystems.
The world’s coldest, saltiest water is referred to as “Antarctic bottom water.” By absorbing excess heat and carbon pollution from humans, these waters are essential to the ocean’s ability to act as a barrier against climate change. They also move nutrients around the ocean.
However, the Weddell Sea along Antarctica’s northern coast is experiencing a loss in this crucial water mass as a result of long-term shifts in winds and sea ice, according to a report released on Monday by the British Antarctic Survey.
Scientists used decades of data taken by ships as well as from satellites to assess the volume, temperature and saltiness of this slice of deep Antarctic Ocean.
“Some of these sections were first visited as far back as 1989, making them some of the most comprehensively sampled regions in the Weddell Sea,” Povl Abrahamsen, a physical oceanographer at BAS and co-author, said in a statement.
They found that the volume of the cold bottom waters has shrunk by more than 20% over the past three decades. They also found that ocean waters deeper than 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) have warmed four times faster than the rest of the global ocean.
“We used to think that changes in the deep ocean could only occur over centuries. But these key observations from the Weddell Sea show that changes in the dark abyss can take place over just a few decades,” Alessandro Silvano from the University of Southampton in the UK, a co-author of the study, said in a statement.
The reason these deep waters are shrinking is down to changes in sea ice formation caused by weakening winds, the study found. Stronger winds tend to push ice away from the ice shelf, which leaves areas of water open for more ice to form. Weaker winds have meant these gaps are smaller, slowing sea ice creation, according to the study.
New sea ice is vital to create the Weddell Sea’s very cold, salty water. As the water freezes, it pushes out salt and as salty water is denser, it sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
The changes in these deep waters can have far-reaching consequences. They are a vital part of global ocean circulation, transporting human-caused carbon pollution into the deep ocean where it remains for centuries, said Silvano. If this deep circulation weakens, “less carbon can be absorbed by the deep ocean, limiting the ability of the ocean to mitigate global warming,” Silvano told CNN.
Oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the world’s excess heat since the 1970s and absorb almost a third of human-produced carbon pollution.
This cold, dense water also has a vital role in supplying oxygen to deep ocean waters. How and whether deep ecosystems could adapt to less oxygen “is unclear,” added Silvano.
Holly Ayres, a researcher at the department of meteorology at Reading University in the UK who was not involved in the study, said the BAS research is a step forward in our knowledge about deep ocean water in the Antarctic.
“To have combined decades of ship-based observations and satellite data is a big leap in our understanding of the formation process, and may be helpful in our understanding of how Antarctic bottom water will form in the future,” Ayres told CNN.
While the changes the study identified are the result of natural climate variability, climate change is also having an impact on Antarctica’s deep waters.
In a March study, scientists found that melting ice is diluting the saltiness of the ocean and slowing down the the circulation of deep ocean water in the Antarctic. Failure to limit planet-heating pollution could lead to the collapse of the circulation of deep ocean water, with potentially devastating consequences for the climate and marine life, the report found.
BAS new study is “an early warning” Shenjie Zhou, an oceanographer at BAS and lead author of the study, told CNN. “The ongoing changes in the deep water layer in the Antarctic are already happening and it’s not heading in the direction that we want.”
President Akufo-Addo has reiterated his government’s strong commitment to protecting the environment amidst the challenges posed by climate change.
In light of the pressing global need for sustainable measures to mitigate the negative impacts of global warming, the President emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts.
On the occasion of the 2023 Green Ghana Day to plant 10 million tree seedlings this year, President Akufo-Addo highlighted the significance of ongoing initiatives such as the Green Ghana Project.
In his address at the University of Ghana, Legon, President Akufo-Addo called upon all Ghanaians to actively contribute to the preservation of the environment.
Recognizing the unprecedented global environmental challenges that threaten our existence and the fate of our planet, the president stated that the climate crisis affects our health, livelihoods, security, and our future.
“We are living in a time of unprecedented global environmental challenges that threaten our existence and the faith of our planet. The climate crisis is affecting our health, livelihood, security, and our future and it is the major obstacle to sustainable development.
“The inter-governmental panel on climate change reports that human activities have emitted some 2.4 trillion of carbon dioxide since the pre-industrial era and half of that amount remains in the atmosphere till this very day.”
The Green Ghana Project aims to restore Ghana’s forest cover through extensive tree-planting campaigns and other conservation endeavors.
To bolster Ghana’s reforestation efforts, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, urged citizens to embrace a sense of ownership and accountability toward the trees they plant. By fostering a collective responsibility, Ghana can enhance its endeavors to restore forest cover and combat deforestation.
Additionally, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, emphasized the urgent need for action, highlighting the substantial decline in Ghana’s forest cover over the years.
He called upon all individuals, without exception, to actively contribute to the restoration of Ghana’s forest cover.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa, has lamented the devastating impact of climate change on communities in the region.
He said many communities have been wiped out as a result of climate change.
He explained that in recent years, the effects of the sea have been so drastic that a number of communities have been completely wiped away by its effects.
Speaking on the first day of a two-day National Blue Economy Summit in Accra, the minister stressed that the sea is angry and as such, it is spewing its anger at many of such communities in the region.
“I dare say that the sea is now fighting back. We see an increase in the storm surge, coastal flooding and coastal erosion, with ravaging effects on farmlands, infrastructure, important ecosystems, and the people.
“In the Volta Region, many communities have been, literally, wiped out by the sea, while many more live in constant fear of what the angry sea will spew out next,”
Dr. Archibald Letsa further called for the country to, literally, be at peace with the sea so that it does not continue to exact its ‘anger’ at communities, destroying many properties.
“It will be in our own interest to amend our ways and rather live in harmony with the sea,” he added.
The National Blue Economy Summit enters its second day on Thursday, June 1, 2023.
The Brown family was powerless to stop deadly bushfires that tore through the Victorian countryside in 2008. It served as a wake-up call for them.
It was the third time in several years flames had come close to torching vineyards that five generations of their family had poured over a century of love and work into.
Warming days, declining rainfall and subsequent drought had snuck up on them, but this was a glaring warning sign they couldn’t ignore.
Climate change had become the family businesses’ “biggest threat”, Caroline Brown says.
It’s not a problem unique to the Browns – the family behind one of the oldest wine brands in Australia. The country is the world’s fifth-largest wine exporter and is home to a diverse array of wine regions most other countries could only dream of.
And while climate change is threatening winemakers worldwide, Australia’s industry is on the front lines.
A warming and drying trend
Ashley Ratcliff’s vineyards are already in one of the hottest and driest wine regions on the planet.
There was one year, he recalls, when their vineyards in South Australia’s Riverland region got only 90mm of rain – 10 times less than the annual average for the famous French wine region of Bordeaux.
“It was hot, everything was dirty and dusty,” he says. “And then on the other extreme, you get the really wet years where you never think it’s going to dry out.”
And it will only get worse.
Image caption,Ashley Ratcliff (left) and his family are already feeling the effects of climate change
In the next 20 years, the Riverland will be about 1.3 degrees hotter and rainfall will drop, according to modelling by Australian researchers.
With that will also come more extreme weather events, which are already a near constant in Australia.
The country is still recovering from years of record-breaking floods, but with an El Nino summer likely to bring dry and hot conditions to much of Australia, panic is growing ahead of the coming fire season.
What does that mean for wine?
While grapevines are described as “one of the most valuable weeds in the world”, capable of growing almost anywhere, the fruit itself is vulnerable to its environment.
And climate change is already messing with flavour and quality. Heat affects the speed at which the grapes ripen and with it, their sugar and acidity levels.
Already the growing season has shifted forward – by weeks in some places – which also impacts logistics and infrastructure.
Then there’s the impact of weather events driven by climate change, which at their worst can wipe out an entire season’s crop.
All of this means growing certain types of wine grapes in Australia – those suited to cooler climates like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – will only get harder.
Adaptation is key
The Ratcliffs strategically decided to plant “alternative” varieties more suited to warmer climes when they purchased their vineyards in 2003.
They deemed the risk posed by climate change as greater than that of selling lesser-known grapes. Two decades on, anyone not contemplating doing the same is kidding themselves, Mr Ratcliff says.
“There are all those fervent doomsday people. [But] I think there is an opportunity to rebrand and make the industry really exciting – to use climate change as a positive rather than a negative.”
Image caption,Fiano is primarily grown in southern Italy and Sicily
The average consumer won’t notice a big difference between the wines they love and the up-and-coming alternative varieties that Ricca Terra sells – like Montepulciano, Fiano and Nero D’Avola. The grapes are hardier and often more planet-friendly too, requiring less water.
The Brown family too is growing alternative varieties, including some they created with Australia’s science agency. But they have also looked south to keep current favourites alive.
With climate change in mind, they began snapping up vineyards in cooler locations like Tasmania – a growing trend across the industry.
“We realised that having all of our vineyards in one location in Victoria meant we had all our eggs in one basket,” Ms Brown says.
But Tahbilk Winery’s Hayley Purbrick is one grower who is staying put, despite “confronting” climate modelling.
“We have a philosophy that our responsibility is to create a climate where grapes can grow,” she says. “There’s so much you can do at a local level and sometimes when we think [about climate change on a global scale] we get a bit too wrapped up in the impossibility of what we can’t do.”
Image caption,Tahbilk’s vineyards have been in Ms Purbrick’s family since 1925
Her family’s vineyards in the Goulburn Valley incorporate as much shade and as many “natural coolants” as possible. They’re planted on the edge of wetlands and are surrounded by 160 hectares of trees.
They’ve also slashed their carbon emissions to net zero, through things like solar power, using heat reflective paint to limit the need for air conditioning, and reducing waste.
It’s working so far: “We’re lucky in the sense that we’re three degrees cooler than places even three kilometres away.”
But researcher Tom Remenyi says adaptation and mitigation can only take growers so far.
On the current trajectory, the whole of Australia is going to get warmer and dryer – and while a couple of degrees might not sound like a lot, it could be catastrophic, he says.
“A three-degree shift of the average increases the frequency of extremely hot days by about tenfold, if not more. If the whole globe warms more than three degrees, it’s highly likely that we will not be worried about growing wine.”
Optimism prevails
And that’s exactly what is weighing on growers like Caroline Brown. For her, the family business is inextricably entwined with the family history.
She spent her childhood getting into mischief with her cousins among the vineyards at Milawa. Now they all work in the business.
Image caption,Caroline Brown (left) with her dad Ross and sister Katherine
She desperately wants the same for the next generations.
“We’re very passionate about family,” she says. “Our great-grandfather started the business… we’d love one day for our great-grandchildren to be in the lucky positions we’re in.”
But she is well aware that climate change threatens that.
“If we don’t look after where we’re growing grapes then we’re not going to have any way to plant them in the future. So it is scary,” she says.
But there will be very few – if any – of the country’s favourite varieties it won’t be able to grow somewhere, she argues.
“You’ll always be able to grow Cabernet in Australia, but it just might not taste as good in the years to come.”
General Secretary of the General Construction, Manufacturing, and Query Workers Union, Mrs Comfort Agambaa, has tasked the government to expedite action on climate change and its associated environmental hazards.
According to her, “The world is facing multiple climate-related impacts such as severe droughts and floods, water scarcity, and air pollution, the hardest hit are the developing countries, living women and children vulnerable to malnutrition and diseases.”
She noted that the effects of climate change coupled with the socioeconomic hardships in the country, if not tackled immediately, would lead to disaster.
Mrs Agambaa said this during their visit to INZAG Project Site, a Construction Firm at Shai Hills, as part of this year’s International Women Day Celebration.
The General Secretary said women and girls suffered the greatest impacts of climate change, exposing the already existing gender inequality, posing a unique threat to their livelihoods.
She, therefore, urged government, unions, and employers to support gender equality agenda by being agents of change and to ensure equity in new skills development and technological advancement to protect jobs.
The Project Director at Teles Mr Jose Manuel said: “Women are the source of life and for that matter, this day is very important for all of us to celebrate together.”
He encouraged women to continue to build their capacity as the world of work was gradually changing.
He appreciated the Union for choosing their site for the celebration and motivating the women at the site.
All areas of life are impacted by climate change, but those that depend on the environment are most vulnerable. One example is rural areas with farms.
Economic and non-economic effects of climate change on farmers are the two categories into which they are most frequently divided. Losses that may be calculated or assessed in monetary terms are considered economic consequences.
Losses that cannot be assessed or quantified in monetary terms are referred to as non-economic impacts. Loss of indigenous knowledge, cultural heritage, and a sense of location and belonging are a few examples.
Research and policy strategies have focused on understanding and addressing the economic effects of climate change. Less so the non-economic aspects. I study food and agricultural systems in Ghana. In a recent paper my colleagues and I sought to understand the non-economic effects of climate change on farmers in Ghana.
Our findings have implications for climate change adaptation strategies and policies across the global south.
It is important to note that our research is not in any way suggesting that climate change is the only process driving changes in the farming systems and local culture in Ghana. But, based on the interviews we did, we argue that climate change is playing a role.
Our research and its findings
We conducted 30 in-depth interviews and a focus group with farmers in Offinso, a farming area in southern Ghana. Offinso is traditionally known for both food and cash crops production in Ghana. Farmers in the area produce crops that include maize, vegetables, pawpaw and cocoa. Agriculture in the area is largely rain-fed.
Farmers were asked to describe the weather patterns over a 30-year period. Their responses showed that they had experienced variable weather patterns, a situation that is affecting their farming activities.
For example farmers were no longer able to predict rainfall patterns and farming seasons. Farmers indicated that 30 years ago, the rains were constant during specific months of the year. This enabled them to plan and organise themselves for their yearly farming activities, as they were able to predict rains and start of the farming season.
But rainfall patterns have become very variable.
A consequence of this was that farmers could no longer exchange labour in a system known as Nnoboa. Farmers explained that when they could predict the farming season, they organised themselves at the start of the farming season for Nnoboa. This is often based on the principle of helping one another on the farm as a way of building social bonds. Nnoboa was largely practised at the start of the rainy and farming seasons, when land preparation and planting of crops are required.
But the variable nature of the rains had distorted the farming seasons and organisation of Nnoboa – communal labour. Instead farmers were relying on their nuclear families or hired labour. This reflected a much more individualist – as opposed to a communal – approach to farming.
We also asked farmers to describe how climate change affected their mental well-being. We asked them to describe climate change effects that made them anxious, depressed, grief, helpless, hopeless and sad.
They explained that extreme weather events such as storms and droughts destroyed their crops, leaving them emotionally distressed, helpless and sad. It was clear from the responses that extreme weather events are not new to farmers. Nevertheless, they expressed the view that major changes in weather patterns had become more frequent.
Way forward
Global efforts are underway to curb carbon emissions. Nevertheless changing weather patterns, drought and storm conditions continue to pose both economic and non-economic effects on vulnerable people.
The neglect of the non-economic aspects of climate change in research and policy threatens to worsen the vulnerability of farmers. This gap needs to be filled so that appropriate conventional and local adaptation strategies and policies can be designed to address the effects of climate change in developing countries.
This article is republished from The Conversation Africa under a Creative Commons license.
Climate change is playing a major role in stifling development in the north, and it is for this reason that ActionAid Ghana is recommending the Northern Development Authority (NDA) promote agro-ecology and food sovereignty in northern parts of the country, in order to mitigate the ever-growing threat of agriculture under-productivity and food insecurity.“The vulnerability in the North includes the threat of floods, prolonged droughts, rising temperatures, unreliable rainfall, severe windstorms, and other climate-related emergencies which are already negatively impacting agriculture and threatening productivity and food security,” Justin Bayor of ActionAid said during a presentation at the University for Development Studies’ Harmattan School, on the theme ‘Bridging the Gap between North and South’.
Fatalities due to floods in northern Ghana are reported to be alarmingly high and burdensome and are usually occasioned by spillages from the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso.
Between 2018 and 2020, 78 people were killed by floods; 23,371 houses collapsed by floods, rendering 100,000 people homeless; and 94,379 acres of farmland were destroyed resulting in food insecurity in northern Ghana, data from the National Disaster Management Organisation indicate.
Equally, the World Food Programme has indicated that at least three out of every 100 households in the north is either severely or moderately food insecure, and the poor nutritional status of children in the North is about double the national average.
More than 70 percent of the northern Ghana population depends on unimodal rain-fed agriculture for their food, income, and livelihoods. The over-dependence on rainfall, declining soil fertility, etc. – coupled with limited access to inputs, has resulted in low agricultural productivity and incomes.
It is estimated that for a period of 7-8 months in the year, most of the North’s agricultural population have no alternative or complementary means of securing their livelihoods – as infrastructure to support off-season agricultural activities is underdeveloped or non-existent.
ActionAid also recommended that government should work swiftly to ensure women’s enhanced and secured access to and control of land and other productive resources, by lobbying and engaging landowners on the economic value it brings to women and their families.
Climate change has become a developmental issue across the world. Government and its development partners need to adopt a holistic approach to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change in northern Ghana.
The plaintiffs want damages that reflect Holcim’s contribution to the climate change that has made island life increasingly difficult.
When the first tidal wave struck Pari Island back in 2018, Arif Pujianto’s entire home was flooded for more than 24 hours, contaminating the well from where he sourced his drinking water, rusting his motorbike and leading timber panels to fall off the walls.
The 51-year-old fisherman was forced to abandon his belongings and flee with his wife and son to the other side of the Indonesian island, part of the famed Thousand Islands that lie off Java’s northwestern coast, staying with a friend overnight.
“I was afraid,” Pujianto told Al Jazeera. “I became a refugee on my own land.”
The low-lying island of Pari, about 40km (25 miles) north of Jakarta, is on the front lines of the world’s climate crisis. Extreme flooding is killing off trees and driving away tourists; chaotic weather has devastated fishing hauls; and rising sea levels are submerging the island of 1,500 residents.
On average, Pari lies about 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) above sea level.
“I am angry with the situation,” says Pujianto, who now uses rainwater to desalinate his well. “I want to protect my land. I think about the future of my son, my family.”
On Wednesday, Pujianto and three other plaintiffs on Pari announced that they had formally lodged a lawsuit against the Swiss-based cement producer Holcim for its alleged role in the climate crisis. In July 2022, they submitted a request for conciliation in Zug, Switzerland – where Holcim has its headquarters – but with no agreement reached, they have decided to sue the company in the Swiss civil court.
Low-lying Pari island sits off the northern coast of Java and was a popular destination with tourists [Peter Yeung/Al Jazeera]
Supported by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), Swiss Church Aid (HEKS) and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, the plaintiffs are demanding that Holcim, the world’s largest manufacturer of building materials, reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 43 percent by 2030.
They are also demanding the company co-finance adaptation measures on Pari such as mangrove plantations and, significantly, that it pays “loss and damage” for its role in the climate crisis.
According to a HEKS-commissioned study by the Climate Accountability Institute in the United States, Holcim emitted more than 7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide between 1950 and 2021 – the equivalent of 0.42 percent of all global industrial emissions in human history.
The Pari claimants are seeking a total of 14,700 Swiss francs ($16,000), about $4,000 each, which has been calculated as proportional to Holcim’s contribution to overall climate damage.
“Holcim has been aware of the high emissions created by cement production and its impacts on the climate for at least 30 years,” says Lorenz Kummer, a campaigner at HEKS. “Nonetheless, over that time, the company more than doubled its emissions and those damaging effects are being felt by the people of Pari.”
A spokesperson for Holcim said in a statement that climate action was a “top priority” for the company and that it was “taking individual action and supporting global multilateral frameworks for collective impact to be part of the solution.”
The statement added: “We do not believe that court cases focused on single companies are an effective mechanism to tackle the global complexity of climate action.”
Arif Pujianto says he is worried about the increasing frequency of floods in Pari and wants to protect the island from more harm [Peter Yeung/Al Jazeera]
The Pari islanders’ case against Holcim, one of the first to be initiated by affected parties from the Global South, is part of a growing movement for “loss and damage” and could be the catalyst for more climate litigation.
The case marks the first time a Swiss company is being held accountable in the courts for its role in climate change.
“This kind of litigation shows that policymakers aren’t doing enough to address the needs of the people impacted,” says Noah Walker-Crawford, a researcher specialising in climate litigation at University College London.
“If the claimants were to win, it would set a massive precedent. It would make those responsible for the damage pay.”
‘Global justice’
Campaigners argue it is a matter of “global justice” that people living mostly in developing countries receive compensation as they have been disproportionately affected by climate-related damages and losses – through flooding, heat waves, storms, droughts and more – largely caused by industrialised countries and global corporations.
According to an analysis in July, the US has since 1990 inflicted more than $1.9 trillion in damages to other, mostly poor, countries as a result of its greenhouse gas emissions – through heatwaves, crop failures and other consequences.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November, European leaders acknowledged their role in the climate crisis and agreed to set up a “loss and damage” fund to help the most vulnerable but no concrete investment has yet been established, nor a mechanism by which the funds can be dispersed.
Bobi says he joined the case because he is worried no one will be able to live on the island in the future [Peter Yeung/Al Jazeera]The island is now hit by several floods every year and fishermen say their catch has been affected [Peter Yeung/Al Jazeera]
Several legal challenges have been brought over climate as time runs out for at-risk communities.
A Peruvian farmer and mountain guide are taking action against the German energy firm RWE, whose case is ongoing, while Friends of the Earth Netherlands won a landmark court ruling in 2021 that ordered oil giant Shell to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 45 percent in 10 years.
According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), risks caused by sea level rise including erosion, flooding and salinisation are expected to “significantly increase” by 2100 along all low-lying coasts.
Data from Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency shows that in 2021, there were 5,402 disasters, including 1,794 floods – up from the 3,814 disasters and 784 floods in 2019.
Yonvitner, a professor of fisheries and marine science at Indonesia’s IPB University, warns that if emissions continue on their current trajectory, “disaster” will strike the archipelago’s 17,000 islands and the 150 million people who live near the sea.
“This is a gravely serious issue,” he told Al Jazeera. “Not only Pari but all across the country’s coastal area, there is a significant influence of the climate crisis.”
‘Not normal’
WALHI and HEKS say 11 percent of Pari island has already been submerged over the last decade and that by 2050, most of it will be underwater.
“Indonesia is the largest archipelagic state in the world,” said Parid Ridwanuddin, officer for coastal, marine and small islands for WALHI. “If we continue on the same trajectory, in the future, many islands will disappear. Pari is in serious danger.”
Asmania and some other women have started growing vegetables because the flooding and changing climate has kept tourists away and destroyed their seaweed farm [Peter Yeung/Al Jazeera]
The inhabitants of Pari, which before the COVID-19 pandemic welcomed more than 1,000 tourists every month to its idyllic beaches, live naturally low-carbon lives, actively protecting corals and mangroves. Coconuts, bananas and papaya all grow on the island, and the mangroves teem with fish, crabs and even crocodiles.
“We’re close to nature here,” said Bobi, a 50-year-old fisherman who is one of the islanders involved in the case. “I cry when I imagine the future. Many houses will be destroyed. Nobody will be able to live here.”
“Industries should not only earn money and extract resources, they have to consider sustainability because we only have one planet, no alternative,” he added.
Suleiman, the island’s community leader, says tidal floods that previously occurred once every five years now strike the island several times annually, with three such floods occurring in 2022. Two boats, he says, sank at sea during rough weather.
“Weather changes are normal, they’re part of the season,” he said. “But when things became more serious, when houses were destroyed, I realised this is not normal.”
Asmania, who is also involved in the Pari litigation, says income for her guesthouse has halved since large-scale flooding on the island began.
“After the tidal waves hit the island, many tourists cancelled their reservations,” the 40-year-old said.
Asmania, who like many Indonesians has only one name, says the extreme weather destroyed her seaweed farm so she and several other women have been forced to grow crops on Pari, which is just 2.6km (1.6 miles) long and 430 metres (0.27 miles) at its widest point.
Before the pandemic, more than 1,000 tourists visited the island’s beaches and mangroves every month [Peter Yeung/Al Jazeera]
Edi Mulyono, another claimant and the sixth generation of his family on the island, has been a fisherman for three decades. He says that when previously he could catch in excess of 100kg (220 pounds), he is now lucky to return with 20kg (44 pounds).
As the sun begins to rise above the rows of coconut trees and clear blue waters along Pari, Mulyono is preparing his battered wooden boat for another day at sea.
“I could predict the weather before,” he said. “Across the 12 months of the year, there were seasons for different kinds of fish, like tuna and squid. But now it’s become chaotic. The Earth is getting old. It is in crisis.”
Changing the scenario from one of despair to one of opportunity may help to mitigate and adapt to the climate change crisis.
That is according to a communication lecturer at the University of Professional Professional Studies – Accra (UPSA), Dr Martin Segtub.
He made these comments to journalists at a workshop at Aburi in the Eastern Region.
The effects of climate change are having environmental and economic consequences, such as the destruction of biodiversity, invasions of non-native plant and animal species, and rising disease rates among others.
Dr. Segtub believed that if journalists want to improve their chances of mobilizing political will and citizen action against climate change, they must think carefully about what kinds of key stories to tell.
He stated that there must be a balance struck between doom-laden stories and bright-side opportunities, with the projected effects of climate change.
The expert also recognized one of the challenges as journalists’ desire for and usage of sweeping publications to depict the bigger story of climate change.
Dr. Segtub also observed that doom-laden stories of climate change in the media, such as disaster broadcasts are good at grabbing attention but not so good at driving actual personal engagement or behavior change. Citing that rising sea levels, floods, long dry spells are simple to get people’s attention. These stories, according to him, are by far the most common in climate change coverage, sometimes, changes into the more alarmist of tragedy.
Dr. Segtub was speaking during a three-day training workshop meant to help 15 journalists investigate and tell compelling climate change stories.
Penplusbytes, in cooperation with DW Akademie, organized the workshop to expose, orient, and empower journalists on the complexities of climate change.
Other science communication professionals agree with Dr. Segtub that powerful appeals to fear are unlikely to avert danger and can cause defensive avoidance or concerns about being squeezed or constrained.
According to a Professor of Climate Science at University College London (UCL) and Chair of the European Space Agency (ESA) Director General’s High Level Science Policy Advisory Committee and of London Climate Change Partnership, Professor Chris Rapley, was once captured in some publications that, states of worry and anxiety can change over time to numbness, desensitization, and disengagement from the issue entirely.
Former Republican treasury secretary Hank Paulson was once quoted to have declared that, assuming a cautiously conservative attitude – that is, waiting for more facts before acting – is actually taking a pretty bold risk.
“Taking a cautiously conservative stance – that is, waiting for more information before acting – is actually taking a very radical risk”.
An “El Nino” climate pattern in the Pacific pushed up sea temperatures and consequently global temperaturesin 2016, the current hottest year on record, on top of global warming trends. The opposing “La Nina” cooling effect that has been present in the Pacific in recent years is about to come to an end.
According to experts, next year is expected to be one of the warmest years ever recorded and even warmer than 2022.
According to Met Office scientists, 2023 will mark the tenth year in a row that global temperatures will be at least 1C higher than pre-industrial levels, which are defined as the years between 1850 and 1900.
The current hottest year on record is 2016, a year that saw an “El Nino” climate pattern in the Pacific, pushing up sea temperatures and therefore global temperatures on top of global warming trends.
In recent years, the Pacific has experienced the opposite effect, “La Nina”, which has kept temperatures lower.
However, this is set to come to an end, says Dr Nick Dunstone, who has led the Met Office’s 2023 global temperature forecast.
“The global temperature over the last three years has been influenced by the effect of a prolonged La Nina – where cooler than average sea-surface temperatures occur in the tropical Pacific,” he said. “La Nina has a temporary cooling effect on global average temperature.
“For next year our climate model is indicating an end to the three consecutive years with La Nina state, with a return to relative warmer conditions in parts of the tropical Pacific.
“This shift is likely to lead to global temperature in 2023 being warmer than 2022.”
The Met Office’s forecast predicts global average temperatures in 2023 will be around 1.2C above what they were before humans started to drive climate change.
Last year, experts predicted 2022’s global temperature would be between 0.97C and 1.21C above pre-industrial levels, with a central estimate of 1.09C. Data for the year to October suggests the temperature is around 1.16C above the pre-industrial era.
At the COP27 climate summit, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November, countries agreed a historic dedicated fund to help vulnerable nations hit by climate disasters, but failed to step up efforts to tackle the damaging emissions that cause them.
Professor Adam Scaife, the Met Office’s head of long-range prediction, said that while 2023 might not break the 2016 record it will likely see further high temperatures.
“Without a preceding El Nino to boost global temperature, 2023 may not be a record-breaking year, but with the background increase in global greenhouse gas emissions continuing apace it is likely that next year will be another notable year in the series,” he said.
Image:The Howden Reservoir, at the top of Derwent Valley in the Peak District, pictured earlier in 2022
Dr Doug Smith, a climate prediction expert for the national weather service, said some parts of the world had seen greater increases than others.
“The fact that global average temperatures are at or above 1C for a decade masks the considerable temperature variation across the world,” he said.
“Some locations such as the Arctic have warmed by several degrees since pre-industrial times.”
Delegates at a UN summit are debating a new draft agreement as there are only hours left to secure a global agreement to stop the destruction of nature.
A compromise text has been proposed in a last-ditch effort to forge agreement among close to 200 nations.
The UN summit on biodiversity in Montreal is viewed as a “last chance” to restart nature.
The degree of ambition and the best way to finance the plans, however, have caused severe disagreements.
One big sticking point has been over how to fund conservation efforts in the parts of the globe that harbour some of the world’s most outstanding biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers to all the Earth’s living things and the way they are connected in a complex web of life that sustains the planet.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Biodiversity includes all living things, big and small, and the way they fit together in a web of life
A new text of the agreement was released on Sunday by China, the official president of the summit, which is also known as COP 15. It had to be moved to Canadian soil due to Covid restrictions in China.
The text has been passed to ministers who are expected to discuss the proposals behind closed doors. Environmental groups said these were nervous hours.
“We cannot afford a roll back on ambition; addressing the biodiversity crisis cannot wait – nature will not wait,” said Dr Amy McDougall of BirdLife International.
The document has strong language around ensuring the rights of indigenous peoples are protected and addresses the question of finance with proposals to boost the flow of international finance to developing countries.
IMAGE SOURCE,IISD MIKE MUZURAKIS Image caption, On Saturday, ministers considered progress made on the proposals
“It has a lot of really positive elements and if governments truly implement it nature will be better off by 2030 than it is now,” said Sue Lieberman of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
However, there has been criticism over a lack of focus on oceans in the agreement being negotiated, with questions over how much of the world’s oceans are included in a target to protect 30% of the planet by 2030. And some have raised concerns about the strength of targets for reducing extinctions of plants and animals.
Tony Juniper, head of the government’s advising body for nature in England, tweeted that the new plans were too weak, saying calls for ambition on finance must be matched by stronger ambition for nature recovery.
On Saturday, ministers made impassioned speeches about the need to agree on clear goals to put nature on a path to recovery by the end of the decade.
“Nature is our ship. We must ensure it stays afloat,” said EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius.
Colombia’s environment minister, Susana Muhamed, drew applause when she called for ambition in protecting the planet for the good of all. “Nature does not have boundaries,” she said.
Countries have been meeting in Montreal, Canada, in what is billed a “last chance” to agree a plan that will halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity.
Scientists have warned that with forests and grasslands being lost at unprecedented rates and oceans under pressure from pollution, humans are pushing the Earth beyond safe limits.
This includes increasing the risk of diseases, like SARs CoV-2, Ebola and HIV, spilling over from wild animals into human populations.
A key sticking point has been finance. In echoes of the climate summit, COP 27, in Egypt, some countries have been calling for a new fund to be set up to help preserve biodiversity, but this was rejected by others.
The draft biodiversity framework includes four broad goals around protecting nature and sharing its benefits.
It also includes 22 targets ranging from the sustainable use and management of wildlife to the restoration of destroyed habitats and using fewer plastics and pesticides.
To combat climate change, EU members have agreed to impose a carbon dioxide emissions tariff on imports of polluting goods.
The member states of the European Union have decided to implement a system that will impose a tariff on imports of goods that cause pollution, including iron, steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, and electricity.
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a first-of-its-kind programme aimed at assisting European industries in their decarbonization, will cover industrial imports from the 27 member states of the regional bloc, prioritising the most polluting goods.
“CBAM will be a crucial pillar of European climate policies,” said Mohammed Chahim, a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands, in a statement released by the parliament.
“It is one of the only mechanisms we have to incentivise our trading partners to decarbonise their manufacturing industry,” he said.
Chahim added that it would allow the EU to “apply the ‘polluter pays’ principle to our industry”.
The goal of the policy is that European companies are not undercut by cheaper goods produced in countries with weaker environmental rules.
The deal includes imported hydrogen which was initially not proposed by the EU, but the politicians pushed for in the negotiations.
Some details on the law, including its start date, will be determined later this week in related negotiations on a reform of the EU carbon market.
The test period for the agreement will begin in October 2023, during which importing companies will have to report their carbon emission obligations.
Compliant with WTO rules
“The new bill will be the first of its kind,” the European Parliament said in a statement, adding that it was designed to comply with World Trade Organization rules in order to push back on accusations of protectionism.
“This mechanism promotes the import of goods by non-EU businesses into the EU which fulfil the high climate standards applicable in the 27 EU member states,” said Jozef Sikela, the Czech Republic’s minister of industry and trade.
“This will ensure a balanced treatment of such imports and is designed to encourage our partners in the world to join the EU’s climate efforts.”
Currently, the EU gives domestic industry free CO2 permits to shield them from foreign competition, but plans to phase out those free permits when the carbon border tariff is phased in, to comply with WTO rules.
How quickly that phase-in happens will be decided in the carbon market talks.
The tariff is part of a package of EU policies designed to help the world avoid disastrous climate changeby cutting EU emissions 55 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels.
For 28 minutes in April, Deanna Violet Coco blocked a single lane of rush hour traffic on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, calling for greater action on climate change.
Those 28 minutes would cost her a 15-month jail sentence.
Last week – in a move that has drawn international criticism – an Australian judge sent Coco to prison after she pleaded guilty to breaching traffic laws, lighting a flare and disobeying police orders to move on.
The climate activist had made an “entire city suffer” with her “selfish emotional actions”, Magistrate Allison Hawkins said. “You do damage to your cause when you do childish stunts like this.”
Coco will be eligible for parole in eight months, but her lawyer plans to challenge the sentence, which he says is “extraordinarily harsh” and “baseless”.
“There are five lanes on that bridge. She blocked one, and not for very long,” Mark Davis told the BBC. Her co-accused avoided jail, he pointed out.
“This is almost without precedent.”
Which ‘way of life’?
The outcome of the case quickly sparked uproar. Small protests were held across Australia, and the sentence was condemned by human rights groups and some politicians.
Human Rights Watch researcher Sophie McNeill said the case sends a terrible message to the globe.
“We’re always calling on these authoritarian governments to treat peaceful protesters respectfully and to not jail them… [but] a country like Australia – who should be leading on human rights in the region, as a democracy – is also jailing peaceful activists,” she said.
Image source, Sky News AustraliaImage caption, The protest on the Sydney Harbour Bridge was shut down by police
The UN’s special rapporteur on peaceful assembly Clément Voule said he was “alarmed” by Coco’s sentence.
“Peaceful protesters should never be criminalised or imprisoned,” he said.
Others disagree. There’s been much debate in Australia about whether activists – peaceful or otherwise – should have the right to disrupt businesses or the lives of ordinary people.
The New South Wales (NSW) state government has said it is “on the side of climate change action” but could not allow “a handful of anarchist protesters” to “bring this city to a halt”.
Premier Dominic Perrottet lauded the decision to jail Coco, saying this week: “If protesters want to put our way of life at risk, then they should have the book thrown at them.”
A political opponent, David Shoebridge, countered: “Wait till the premier hears about how badly climate change will put our way of life at risk.”
But Coco’s own uncle Alister Henskens – a minister in the state government – also welcomed the decision, saying “nobody is above the law”. And social media was filled with similar comments on both sides.
In a video posted online, Coco said she didn’t want to be protesting like this, but the climate emergency required “getting in people’s way”.
“Obviously, it’s not comfortable and it’s not fun, but I recognise that it is necessary because lives are at stake,” she said.
Trend of tightening laws
But some argue the real issue with Coco’s case is that it underscores a broader crackdown on protests nationwide.
She is among the first to be sentenced under new state laws which introduced harsher penalties for protests on critical infrastructure – like roads, rail lines, tunnels and bridges.
Earlier this year, Victoria and Tasmania also introduced laws increasing jail sentences and fines for some kinds of obstructive protests.
The pandemic era has seen many flashpoints of controversy. Hundreds of people were arrested – some for violent offences – while protesting against Australia’s strict lockdown rules.
In another instance, two women who organised a peaceful Black Lives Matter march in Melbourne were also taken to court for breaching public health rules.
Such crackdowns will challenge some Australians’ faith in the country’s liberal democratic protections, says politics and law researcher Ron Levy.
Image source, Zebedee Parkes
But Australia is a “utilitarian” society that tends to elevate the “public good” above individual rights, he says. That means laws like these often have popular support.
“It may be that the more there are physical consequences to your speech, the less robustly we’re going to protect it,” Dr Levy tells the BBC.
But Ms McNeill says the issue isn’t that law breakers can’t be punished, it’s how disproportionate the punishments are.
“People who are charged with drunk driving, assault or drug offences… receive no custodial sentences – fines or just suspended sentences – but then you see a peaceful climate activist like Violet Coco given 15 months,” she says.
‘Chilling effect’
Ms McNeill is among those who believe the laws are “politically motivated” and specifically aimed at intimidating climate activists.
Regardless of their target, there is general agreement they may have a chilling effect on protests more broadly.
Dr Levy says that could see the courts intervene to strike down legislation. Two NSW women have already launched a bid for the High Court of Australia to do just that.
It has happened before. Australia’s top court abolished an earlier version of Tasmania’s rules in 2017, finding them unconstitutional.
But higher courts have also upheld what experts say are similar laws. In 2019, two anti-abortion activists lost a challenge to laws banning them from protesting within 150m of abortion clinics.
“The decision tends to be based on how well tailored the law is – is it too vague, does it go too far?” Dr Levy says.
The use of significant jail terms will be a key issue, he says.
“As a former criminal prosecutor myself, I can tell you that prison time is relatively rare and it should be used in limited circumstances. This does seem rather extreme.”
Mr Davis said the “real slap” is that his client was denied bail before her appeal – something that is unusual for a non-violent offender.
“You’ve normally got to be a pretty monstrous person to be denied.”
He will challenge the bail decision next week, but in the meantime he says Coco is “stuck in a cell”.
“Humanity has become a weapon of mass extinction,” the head of the United Nations has warned at the start of a high-level nature summit in Canada.
Governments are meeting in Montreal to agree targets to reverse the loss of nature.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said we have a chance to stop the “orgy of destruction” which has put a million species at risk of extinction.
“It’s time to forge a peace pact with nature,” he added.
Biodiversity is the sum of all living things on the planet and the way they are connected in a complex web of life that we rely upon for food, clean air and water.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Governments must commit to conserve coral reefs and other ecosystems
In Montreal nearly 200 countries will try to agree on a way to put the world on a path to restoring nature by the end of the decade.
The stakes are high with the COP15 UN summitseen as a chance to do for biodiversity what the Paris agreement has done for the fight against climate change.
The two issues are intertwined, with warnings that a failure to secure a good outcome on protecting nature will make it far harder to fight climate change.
“The idea of biodiversity can be quite complicated for people, but it’s basically about nature,” said Dr Abigail Entwistle of conservation charity Fauna and Flora International.
“We’ve not been as good at getting the message across about what’s at stake and how urgent the situation is and we need to have our 1.5 degree moment for biodiversity in the same way we have for climate change.”
Some of the key ambitions of the agreement include:
Reducing the extinction risk threatening more than one million species
Protecting 30% of land and sea
Eliminating billions of dollars of environmentally-damaging government subsidies
Restoring degraded ecosystems.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, An estimated 40% of amphibians face extinction
Several issues threaten to derail the talks including financing of the plans and debate over how to protect the natural world without risking creating “paper parks” or “ghost forests” that are protected only on paper and from which indigenous people and local communities are excluded.
Cambodia Country Director for Fauna and Flora International, Pablo Sinovas, pointed to the need for better protection of areas of the world with undiscovered biodiversity, such as in the country’s Virachey National Park.
“You could say this forest area is the equivalent of the Amazon of Asia,” he said.
“It is a very large forest with outstanding biodiversity – there is much to be explored and much to be discovered, yet unlike the Amazon, it hasn’t received that much attention.”
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The loss of natural habitat is one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss
The UK is among countries pushing for a key goal of protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. It said it was continuing to push for an ambitious outcome at the talks and would work with countries around the globe to put the natural world back on the road to recovery.
However, UK wildlife charities have accused the government of missing its nature targets at home.
The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and is “going backwards” in terms of its domestic agenda, with many species at risk of extinction and in decline, Nick Bruce-White, director for bird protection charity RSPB England, said.
“We have to by the end of 2030 at least halt biodiversity decline and ideally be on a trajectory to try and restore biodiversity,” he said. “This is the last chance saloon.”
The government has faced criticism from environmental groups for missing a deadline to set legally-binding targets on nature as required by the Environment Act but has said it will publish these soon.
The UK lost much of its nature long ago. The south western county of Somerset is at the heart of a drive to restore habitat for wildlife through a string of reserves across the country.
At Streart Marshes on the Somerset coast, important wetland sites for birds and other wildlife have been created by letting the sea flood in and reclaim intensive farmland.
Reserves manager for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Alys Laver, said nature has a fantastic ability to restore itself.
“I think what we’ve learnt here at Steart is providing space for nature on a landscape scale allows nature to take over and get those healthy ecosystems working and the rest just takes its course,” she said.
The United Nationsand its partners have launched an unprecedented $51.5 billion aid appeal for 2023, with tens of millions more people expected to require humanitarian assistance.
According to the UN Global Humanitarian Overview, an additional 65 million people will require assistance next year, bringing the total to 339 million across 68 countries.
That is more than 4% of the world’s population, or roughly the population of the United States.
“It’s a phenomenal number and it’s a depressing number,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told reporters in Geneva on Thursday, adding that it meant “next year is going to be the biggest humanitarian programme” the world has ever seen.
“Humanitarian needs are shockingly high, as this year’s extreme events are spilling into 2023,” Griffiths said, citing the war in Ukraine and drought in the Horn of Africa.
“For people on the brink, this appeal is a lifeline.”
More than 100 million people have been driven from their homes as conflict and climate change heighten a displacement crisis.
The overlapping crises have already left the world dealing with the “largest global food crisis in modern history”, the UN warned.
It pointed out that at least 222 million people across 53 countries were expected to face acute food shortages by the end of this year, with 45 million of them facing the risk of starvation.
“Five countries already are experiencing what we call famine-like conditions, in which we can confidently, unhappily, say that people are dying as a result,” Griffiths said.
Those countries – Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan – have seen portions of their populations face “catastrophic hunger” this year, but have not yet seen countrywide famines declared.
Meanwhile, nine months of war between Russia and Ukraine have disrupted food exports and about 45 million people in 37 countries are currently facing starvation, the report said.
This year’s appeal represents a 25 percent increase compared with last year.
But donor funding is already under strain with the multiple crises. The UN faces the biggest funding gap ever, with its appeals funded only about 53 percent in 2022, based on data through to mid-November.
“Humanitarian organisations are therefore forced to decide who to target with the funds available,” a UN statement said.
New Zealand’s Supreme Courthas ruled that the country’s current voting age of 18 is discriminatory, meaning parliament must discuss whether it should be lowered.
The case was brought by campaign group Make It 16, which wants the voting age reduced to include 16 and 17 year olds.
“This is history,” Make It 16 co-director Caeden Tipler said.
The group argued that young people should be able to vote on matters affecting them, such as climate change.
The issue must now be brought to parliament, after the court ruled that New Zealand’s minimum voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the country‘s Bill of Rights – which gives people who are 16 years and over the right to be free from age discrimination.
The ruling does not mean that the voting age will definitely be lowered.
Reacting to the ruling, Make It 16’s Caeden Tipler told the BBC the campaign had been an “up-hill battle” but they had always felt “confident” that the Supreme Court would support their case.
“We now have the legal backing for what we’ve always known,” they said.
The 17-year-old from Auckland said they had felt frustrated at not being able to vote on issues that mattered to them in the last election in 2020.
“I became incredibly frustrated. I felt like I knew just as much as the adults around me… I was more than capable of voting,” they said.
Following the ruling, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she personally supported reducing the voting age to 16, but added that “it is not a matter simply for me or even the government, any change in electoral law of this nature requires 75% of parliamentarian support”.
Not all parties support the lowering of the voting age.
The centre-right National party opposes the move, while the Labour party is yet to state whether it would support a change in voting age or not.
We’ve been hearing a lot about keeping the global temperature rise to 1.5C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change – but what does it mean?
The figure refers to how much higher, on average, global temperatures are than in the 19th Century, before the industrial revolution.
The planet has already warmed about 1.1C since then. The IPCC, the UN’s panel of climate scientists says many impacts of global warmingare already “irreversible”, with 40% of the world’s population now “highly vulnerable” to climate change.
Also, the IPCC and Nasa say a rise of 2C, compared to 1.5C would mean:
10 million more people would be at risk of coastal flooding
Up to twice as many people would struggle to access water because of climate change
More than a third of the world’s population would be exposed to severe heatwaves once every five years – compared to a seventh at 1.5C
The Arctic would be free of sea-ice once a decade – compared to once per century at 1.5C
Coral reefs would become virtually non-existent, compared to declining by 70-90% at 1.5C
Also, small island states have long argued that keeping temperatures below 1.5C is critical to their survival.
UN climate talks head to a conclusion on Friday with nations deeply divided over cash to help poor countries cope with the impacts of climate change.
The idea of phasing down the use of all fossil fuels to limit the rise in temperatures is also the subject of a deep rift as the COP27 talks wind up.
The Egyptian hosts are trying to broker an agreement among almost 200 countries after two weeks of negotiations.
But such is the scale of division the talks may overrun into the weekend.
There’s a real sense of urgency in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh as negotiating teams try to conclude agreement on a range of complex questions.
The Egyptian presidency has presented a draft document that sums up the positions of the different countries.
Here’s a breakdown of the major areas of disagreement.
1 – “Loss and damage”
The big sticking point here is the need for a new fund to help countries deal with the immediate impacts of climate change.
The issue is known as “loss and damage” in the framework of UN talks. Rich countries have resisted this discussion for 30 years, fearing that since they played a major role in causing climate change, they will have to pay for it for centuries to come.
But the impacts of flooding in Pakistan, Nigeria and elsewhere in recent years have tipped the balance – here in Egypt the issue of the losses and damages due to rising temperatures has finally made it onto the negotiating agenda.
One of those taking part in the discussions is Tuvalu’s minister for finance Seve Paeniu.
“People are now going without water, they are being rationed to two or three buckets of water a day,” he told BBC News.
Drought is hitting the island hard, while at the same time the rising seas are threatening their future as a nation.
Developing countries like Tuvalu want a new financing facility to be established here in Egypt. The US is not in favour. It prefers a “mosaic” of financial arrangements, not a new dedicated fund.
The EU has said it would accept a new fund on loss and damage, with some conditions. EU Vice-President Frans Timmermans wanted to expand the number of countries that would pay into this fund to include China. He also wants to tie the establishment of the fund to tougher language on the phasing down of all fossil fuels and greater efforts to keep 1.5C alive.
Developing countries have also extended an olive branch.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Brazil’s president elect was the superstar of the COP
“For those countries that are that are worried or anxious about liabilities and judicial proceedings, I think we can work around all those anxieties,” said Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s climate minister, who chairs an important group of emerging economies at these talks.
2 – Phasing out all fossil fuels
The final discussions at COP26 in Glasgow last year almost fell apart on the issue of coal.
Richer countries wanted to phase out the use of the most polluting fossil fuel.
Larger developing economies including India and China did not.
Cue frantic huddles on the plenary floor as diplomats tried to find a compromise.
They settled on “phasing down” rather than “phasing out”.
Here, India and a number of other countries wanted to expand this phrase to include oil and gas.
However, the draft document published on Thursday did nothing more than restate the Glasgow formula.
Image source, Getty Images
Many countries, rich and poor, were disappointed – and are pushing for the wider range of fuels to be included.
“This is supposed to be an implementation COP and that means when it comes to climate change, addressing the transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy,” said Catherine Abreu from the Destination Zero campaign group.
“So they should be having that debate at the global scale in these halls.”
3 – Keeping 1.5C alive
This was the mantra of the UK Presidency of COP26, and after Glasgow the concept was on life support, according to Alok Sharma, the minister in charge of the talks.
A rise of 1.5C is viewed by scientists as the threshold to very dangerous levels of warming – but there has been considerable worry here that the commitment to the idea would be watered down, especially as India and China were concerned it was no longer scientifically feasible.
Indeed the draft text published by Egypt is seen as a step back to the language of the Paris agreement, where the world would aim to keep the rise in global temperature “well below” 2C and to make best efforts to keep it under 1.5C.
“I see the will to keep to the 1.5C goal,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as he returned to the talks.
“But we must ensure that commitment is evident in the COP27 outcome.”
4 – US & China
While the recent meeting between Presidents Biden and Xi Jinping has seen some thawing of relations between the world’s two biggest emitters, the lack of concrete areas of co-operation between them is hampering the UN climate process.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, The meeting between the US and Chinese presidents may aid climate talks
A key example is “loss and damage” and climate finance more generally. Traditionally, the developed nations paid and the larger emerging economies, such as India, China and Brazil did not.
Now the US and EU want to expand the number of countries that contribute – and China is top of their list.
“By the end of this decade, China could overtake the US in terms of its historical cumulative emissions, and is the world’s second largest economy, and yet in UN terms it still counts as a developing country,” said Bernice Lee, from Chatham House.
“But the US has consistently failed to deliver climate finance and shoulder its responsibility as the world’s largest emitter to support the the developing world.
“If China and the US can come to terms, a whole new solution space opens up for the rest of the world.”
Sudan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Tunisia, Mali, Mozambique, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Eritrea, Algeria, Sudan, Benin, Rwanda, Chad, Kenya, and Libya are just a few of the many African nations that have been identified as among the thirty (30) nations in the world that are most at risk from the effects of climate change.
According to reports, these nations are experiencing the negative effects of climate change, including food crises, ocean acidification from rising CO2 levels, droughts, flood risks, storms, melting glaciers, rising sea levels that affect low-lying areas and coastal cities, declining crop yields, especially in tropical regions, and water shortages.
These negative effects are leading to the destruction of tropical forests, forest fires, Malnutrition and heat stress, spread of vector-borne disease e.g., malaria, dengue fever etc., Physical displacement of populations and risks of mass migrations, Damage to ecosystems and species extinction, Sudden shifts in weather patterns and many more problems that are confronting humanity and the environment.
Thus, international economist and a member of tralac Advisory Board who is also a former Chief Economist at the Word Trade Center, Patrick Low has challenged African countries to seize the opportunity of the ongoing COP 27 in Egypt to concentrate on Green Growth to improve competitiveness and enhance access in big markets.
Addressing the 2022 tralac Annual Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, Patrick Low who currently serves as a fellow of the Asia Global Institute emphasized that there is the need for a clear and united African position to addressing the climate issues affecting the continent considering the fact that Africa’s population will double by 2050.
Patrick Low distinguished between two main approaches to tackling climate change issues; namely abatement and adaptation where abatement which is also referred to also mitigation seeks to reduce emissions while adaptation refers to preparing the environment to sustain a given level of global warming. He however advised Africa to focus on the sustained growth trajectory relying on particularly the current integrated continental trading under AfCFTA.
“Africa’s challenge is not abatement, but rather mapping out a sustainable growth trajectory. Green growth will improve competitiveness and enhance access in big markets,” he advised.
The Geneva-based consultant on trade and trade-related matters also charged the continent to Support the development of a negotiated carbon price among major emitters and a market for carbon credits particularly when all the major emitters are not necessarily part of the top-tier list of countries that face the worse threats from climate change.
“It is in all countries’ interest to act maximally, especially the major emitters on abatement and the richer countries also with finance for adaptation around the world,” he recommended.
Patrick Low encouraged Africans to continue pushing for countries particularly big emitters of CO2 to fulfill their commitment to climate change financing in order to have funds tackle the adaptation approach of handling climate change.
“Keep up the pressure on financing, remind RoW that Africa is an important carbon sink,” the international economist advocated.
He added that adaptation is about reducing the impact of global warming and big emitters can pursue meaningful abatement policies, but this is less true of small emitters who are the most vulnerable to climate change with disparate income and development levels, vulnerabilities afflicting dozens of countries powerless to address them, even though everyone can play the appropriate part and therefore a Unified Africa can team with other parts of the world to corporate on the levels of addressing all climate change issues.
Climate change was the main cause of the floods that killed over 600 people in Nigeria this year, according to scientists.
In a study revealed on Wednesday, scientists claim that the floods that affected Nigeria, but also Niger, Chad, and neighbouring countries were directly linked to human activity.
According to the experts the floods between June and October this year displaced more than 1.4 million people and were 80 times likelier to occur because of human activity.
The report comes as COP27 climate talks continue in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, where developing nations are demanding rich polluters pay for climate-change-linked calamities.
Africa is home to some of the countries least responsible for carbon emissions but hardest hit by weather extremes, with the Horn of Africa currently in the grips of a severe drought.
Thousands of microbes, including potentially harmful pathogens, could leak into rivers and lakes.
Aberystwyth University researchers said their study emphasised the importance of acting quickly to reduce global warming.
They looked at meltwater from eight glaciers in Europe and North America, as well as two in Greenland.
Glaciers are massive ice masses that have formed over hundreds or thousands of years. They are melting at an alarming rate as the planet warms, causing sea levels to rise.
The team at Aberystwyth University estimated the situation could result in more than a 100,000 tonnes of microbes, such as bacteria, being released into the environment over the next 80 years – a number comparable to all the cells in every human body on earth.
Microbiologist Dr Arwyn Edwards said the study showed clearly for the first time the “vast scale” of micro-organisms living on the surface or locked inside Earth’s glaciers.
“The number of microbes released depends closely on how quickly the glaciers melt, and therefore how much we continue to warm the planet,” he said.
IMAGE SOURCE,ABERYSTWYTH UNIVERSITY Image caption, Researchers travelled to Greenland to study glacial meltwater
The team’s calculations are based on a “moderate” warming scenario, as developed by the IPCC, an international panel of climate experts.
This would see global temperatures rise by between 2C and 3C on average by 2100.
As the flow of microbes into rivers, lakes, fjords and seas increases, there could be “significant” impacts for water quality, Dr Edwards explained.
But this would be followed within decades by the microbe tap being turned off, as the glaciers disappear completely.
He said: “Globally there are 200,000 catchments of note that are fed by glacial meltwater and some of these are very sensitive environments that are poorly developed in terms of organic carbon and nutrients.
“In others there’s a lot of economic activity and billions of human beings whose livelihoods depend on water that ultimately comes from those glaciers.
“We think of glaciers as a huge store of frozen water but the key lesson from this research is that they are also ecosystems in their own right.”
Thousands of different micro-organisms are found growing on glaciers, or stored inside, he said, with some that may be harmful to humans.
“The risk is probably very small, but it requires careful assessment.”
IMAGE SOURCE,ABERYSTWYTH UNIVERSITY Image caption, The team of researchers studied glaciers in Europe, North America and Greenland
Glaciologist Dr Tristram Irvine-Fynn said more research was needed: “Over the coming decades, the forecast ‘peak water’ from Earth’s mountain glaciers means we need to improve our understanding of the state and fate of (these) ecosystems.
“With a better grasp of that picture, we could better predict the effects of climate change on glacial surfaces and catchment biogeochemistry.”
The Aberystwyth academics’ findings are published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment this month.
