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by Anna CUENCA Agence France-Presse GLASGOW, United Kingdom (AFP) – Glasgow was a vital cog in the machine of Britain’s Industrial Revolution, which brought the baleful impact of carbon emissions and eventually climate change to the world. Today, the venue for the COP26 environmental summit is home to a pioneering project to counteract the effects of planetary warming, centred on Glasgow’s Forth and Clyde Canal. Coinciding with COP26, its managers have launched “Europe’s first ‘smart […]
by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) – Even as its capital was blanketed by toxic smog, India led the charge to weaken anti-coal pledges at the COP26 summit, with experts saying it is prioritising its economic growth over the planet’s future. The world’s third-largest emitter teamed up with China to water down language on fossil fuels at the Glasgow conference, forcing a compromise: a climate deal that bound countries to “phase down” […]
by Kaouthar Oudrhiri SAIDIA, Morocco (AFP) — Moroccan environmentalist Mohamed Benata stood taking photos of what should be the mouth of the Moulouya river — but after years of drought and over-pumping, it comes to a halt just short of the sea. One of the longest rivers in the North African kingdom and a vital lifeline for farmers in the area near the Algerian border, the final few paces of the 500-kilometre (310-mile) waterway are […]
by Raad Al-Jammas Agence France-Presse Iraqi wheat farmer Khamis Ahmad Abbas lost it all when his battle with drought forced him to abandon his land, pushing him into unemployment. Experts have warned that record low rainfall, compounded by climate change, are threatening social and economic disaster in war-scarred Iraq. “Growing wheat and barley is a gamble. It all depends on the rain,” said the 42-year-old father of nine. Unable to make ends meet, Abbas quit […]
by Patrick GALEY, Jitendra JOSHI, Kelly MACNAMARA and Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse GLASGOW, United Kingdom (AFP) – Nearly 200 nations came together Saturday on a global deal to combat climate change after two weeks of painful negotiation, but fell short of what science says is needed to contain dangerous temperature rises. Rich countries stood accused of failing at the COP26 summit in Glasgow to deliver much-needed finance to vulnerable states at risk of drought, rising […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Pacific Rim leaders will begin a virtual summit Friday, facing pressure to back up ambitious rhetoric on climate change and chart a path to pandemic recovery. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit brings together leaders from 21 nations, including US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Xi is among those who have talked on the sidelines of the New Zealand-hosted event, stressing the need for the […]
by Kelly MACNAMARA / Marlowe HOOD / Patrick GALEY GLASGOW, United Kingdom (AFP) — Helping vulnerable nations cope with the multiplier effect of climate change on droughts, flooding, heatwaves and tropical mega-storms will require trillions of dollars, not the billions now on the table at COP26, a draft UN report obtained by AFP reveals. The failure of rich countries to make good on a promise to deliver $100 billion a year for vulnerable nations has […]
by Andrew LEESON Agence France-Presse NEWCASTLE, Australia (AFP) – Australia’s conservative leaders have defied calls for urgent climate action, boasting they will sell coal for as long as anyone is buying. But in the country’s carbon heartland, locals are already preparing for life beyond fossil fuels. Two-hundred-and-thirty years ago, among the verdant outcrops that flank the southeastern coastal town of Newcastle, a band of escaped convicts made the first recorded discovery of coal on the […]
GLASGOW, United Kingdom (AFP) – China and the United States on Wednesday announced a joint initiative to deliver enhanced climate action, Beijing’s longtime climate envoy told the COP26 summit. “Both sides recognise that there is a gap between the current effort and the Paris Agreement goals so we will jointly strengthen climate action,” Xie Zhenhua told reporters in a surprise announcement. China and US are the two largest emitters in the world and together account […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Pacific Rim trade and foreign ministers agreed to push for a freeze on fossil fuel subsidies at a virtual summit Wednesday but host Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand said more “bold” action on climate change was needed. Ministers from the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group met online to discuss their Covid-19 response ahead of a meeting of national leaders on Saturday including US President Joe Biden and […]
by Martín SILVA Agence France-Presse Santo Corazón, Bolivia (AFP) – The road through San Matias, Bolivia, is a no man’s land. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of once lush forest are now a wasteland of twisted, carbonized tree stumps. It is a protected area, but San Matias — which also hosts subsistence farmers, cattle ranches and quartz mines — burns every year as land is cleared for the next planting season. The practice is legal […]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) – Greenland’s parliament voted Tuesday to ban uranium mining and exploration in the vast Danish territory, following through on a campaign promise from the ruling left-wing party which was elected earlier this year. The Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) party won snap elections in April that were originally triggered by divisions over a controversial uranium and rare earth mining project. The IA won 12 seats in the 31-seat Greenlandic national assembly, beating its rival Siumut, […]
