African countries are being forced to spend billions of dollars a year coping with the effects of the climate crisis, which is diverting potential investment from schools and hospitals and threatens to drive countries into ever deeper poverty.

Dealing with extreme weather is costing close to 6% of GDP in Ethiopia alone, equating to a spend of more than $1 repairing climate damage for every $20 of national income, according to research by the thinktank Power Shift Africa.

The warning comes just before the major new scientific report from the global authority on climate science, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This report, the second part of the IPCC’s comprehensive summary of global climate science, will set out the consequences of climate breakdown across the world, looking at the floods, droughts, heatwaves and storms that are affecting food systems, water supplies and infrastructure. As global temperatures have risen in recent decades, and as the impact of extreme weather has become more apparent around the world, efforts to make infrastructure and communities more resilient have largely stalled.

Africa will be one of the worst-hit regions, despite having done least to cause the climate crisis. According to the Power Shift Africa study, titled Adapt or Die: An analysis of African climate adaptation strategies, African countries will spend an average of 4% of GDP on adapting to climate breakdown.

These countries include some of the world’s poorest people, whose responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions is many times less than those of people in developed countries, or in large emerging economies such as China. Sierra Leone will have to spend $90m a year on adapting to the climate crisis, though its citizens are responsible for about 0.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year each, while US citizens generate about 80 times more.

Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, said: “This report shows the deep injustice of the climate emergency. Some of the poorest countries in the world are having to use scarce resources to adapt to a crisis not of their making. Despite only having tiny carbon footprints compared with those of the rich world, these African countries are suffering from droughts, storms and floods which are putting already stretched public finances under strain and limiting their ability to tackle other problems.”

He called for more funding from developed countries, which promised at the Cop26 UN climate summit to double the money available to help poor countries adapt to the climate crisis. Rich countries promised in 2009 to provide $100bn a year to help poor countries cut their greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the effects of climate breakdown. But so far they have fallen short of that target, and most of the funds that have been provided have gone to projects to cut emissions, such as windfarms and solar panels, rather than efforts to help countries adapt.

The study examined national adaptation plans submitted to the UN by seven African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan and Togo. South Sudan, which is the world’s second poorest country, was hit by floods last year that displaced 850,000 people, and led to outbreaks of water-borne diseases. The country is to spend $376m a year on adaptation, about 3.1% of its GDP.

Chukwumerije Okereke, director of the centre for climate change and development at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University in Nigeria, said rich countries must respond to the findings, and to the IPCC report.

“It is both irresponsible and immoral for those that are the chief cause of climate change to look on while Africa, which has contributed next to nothing to climate change, continues to bear a disproportionate share of the impact,” he said. “The time for warm words is long gone. We need urgent, scaled-up, long-term support from the world-leading climate polluters.”

  —  African countries spending billions to cope with climate crisis

Mohammed Adow Biography, Net Worth, Career, Age, Parents, Wife, Social Media Handles

Mohammed Adow Biography, Net Worth, Career, Age, Parents, Wife, Social Media Handles

Mohammed Adow Biography, Net Worth, Career, Age, Parents, Wife, Social Media Handles Mohammed Adow Biography – Mohammed Adow, who was born and raised in Garissa County in northeastern Kenya, has experienced the political and economic marginalization of this region of the country.  He returned to check on the territory and its inhabitants for Not Yet Kenyan, only to discover that Kenya’s…

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Avance Media Announces 2023 100 Most Influential Young Africans List

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Avance Media Announces 2023 100 Most Influential Young Africans List

Leading African PR & Rating firm, Avance Media has announced its list of 2023 100 Most Influential Young Africans. The list, which is the 8th edition, features young Africans creating and leading positive impact in their various countries and the continent.

With representatives from about 30 countries, the 2023 list features prominent individuals such as Burkina Faso’s President, Ibrahim Traore, and the African Union Youth Envoy, Chido Cleo Mpemba.  Ministers of State, climate activists, content creators, musicians, and athletes are all recognized for their achievements.

The list is a powerful testament to the vast pool of talents and leaders across Africa. It includes young people making a difference in various sectors, from government and business to activism, entertainment, and media.

“We are incredibly proud to unveil the 2023 edition of the 100 Most Influential Young Africans,” said Prince Akpah, Founder of Avance Media. “This list showcases the incredible diversity and potential of young Africans who are driving change and shaping the future of our continent.  These young leaders inspire us all and serve as role models for the next generation.”

This year’s list includes Ministers of State: Amina Priscille Longoh, Emma Inamutila Theofelus, Rose Pola Pricemou, Yvan Butera (Dr.); Climate Activists: Mohamed Adow, Elizabeth Wathuti, Ineza Umuhoza and Vanessa Nakate & Content Creators such as Wode Maya, Charity Ekezie, Dudu, Le Général Tchoutchoubatchou, Tayo Aina, Uncle Mo and William Last KRM.

Below is Avance Media’s 2023 100 Most Influential Young Africans arranged alphabetically.

Abir Ibrahim || Associate Africa Director, World Economic Forum

Achraf Hakimi || Footballer, PSG

Adebola Williams || Group CEO, RED | For Africa

Adeniyi Adebayo || Chief Business Officer, Yango Africa

Ahmed Kaballo || Founder, Africa Stream

Amina Priscille Longoh || Minister, Chad

Amisa Rashid || Founder, Nivishe Foundation

Anna Ekeledo || CEO, AfriLabs Foundation

Asake || Musician

Asisat Oshoala || Footballer, FC Barcelona

Awa Bousso Drame || Founder, CoastGIS

Ayra Starr || Musician

Benjamin Fernandes || CEO, NALA

Bimbo Ademoye || Actress

Bitania Lulu Berhanu || Programmes Director, AMREF

Black Sherif || Musician

Bogolo Kenewendo || Global Economist

Broda Shaggi || Content Creator

Burna Boy || Musician

Canary Mugume || Journalist

Charity Ekezie || Content Creator

Charlene Ruto || CEO, SMACHs Foundation

Chido Cleo Mpemba || African Union Youth Envoy

Chike || Musician

Christine Mhundwa || Media Personality, DW TV

Chude Jideonwo || Media Personality

Davido || Musician

Debo Adedayo || Content Creator

Déborah Mutund || Media Personality

Dudu || Content Creator

Ebuka Songs || Musician

Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa || CEO, HigherLife Foundation

Elizabeth Wathuti || Climate Activist

Emma Inamutila Theofelus || Minister, Namibia

Francis Zavier Ngannou || Boxer

Ham Serunjogi || CEO , Chipper Cash

Hilda Baci || Chef

Humphrey Nabimanya || CEO, Reach A Hand, Uganda

Ibrahim Traore (H.E.) || President, Burkina Faso

Ineza Umuhoza || Climate Activist

Inna Hengari || Member of the National Assembly, Namibia

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji || CEO, Future Africa

Jamila Mohamed HSC || Journalist

John-Allan Namu || Journalist

Johnson Sakaja || Governor of Nairobi, Kenya

Kennedy Ekezie || CEO, Kippa

Larry Madowo || Journalist, BBC

Lawrence Maleka || Media Personality

Layi Wasabi || Content Creator

Le Général Tchoutchoubatchou || Content Creator

Libianca || Musician

Maimouna Ba || Activist

Mark Masai || Journalist

Mercy Chinwo || Musician

Mohamed Adow || CEO, PowerShift Africa

Mohamed Salah || Footballer, Liverpool

Mohammed Bello El-Rufai || Member of the House of Representatives, Nigeria

Mohammed Kudus || Footballer, West Ham

Moses Bliss || Musician

Mr Eazi || CEO, Empawa Africa

Musa Keys || Musician

Nadia Mukami || Musician

Nancy Isime || Actress

Nozipho Tshabalala || CEO, The Conversation Strategists

Odunayo Eweniyi || Co-Founder, PiggyVest

Olugbenga Agboola || CEO, Flutterwave

Omar Hagrass || CEO, Trella

Raissa Kanku || Community Specialist, World Economic Forum

Rema || Musician

Rose Pola Pricemou, || Minister, Republic of Guinea

Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa || Journalist

Sadio Mane || Footballer, Al Nassr

Sam George Nartey || Member of Parliament, Ghana

Samson Itodo || CEO, YIAGA Africa

Sébastien Haller || Footballer, Borussia Dortmund

Shola Akinlade || CEO, Paystack

Somachi Chris-Asoluka || CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation

Stephen Sang || Governor of Nandi County, Kenya

Stonebwoy || Musician

Susan Nakhumicha Wafula || Cabinet Minister for Health, Kenya

Tayo Aina || Content Creator

Tems || Musician

Thembi Kgatlana || Footballer

Theo Baloyi || CEO, Bathu

Tobi Bakre || Actor

Tunde Onakoya || Founder, Chess in Slums Africa

Tusaiwe Munkhondya || Founder, YANA

Tyla || Musician

Uncle Mo || Content Creator

Vanessa Nakate || Climate Activist

Victor Osimhen || Footballer, Napoli

Walter Pacheco || CEO, Bodiva-Bolsa De Dívida E Valores De Angola

Wema Sepetu || Actress

Wezi || Musician

Wildiley Barroca || Consultant

William Last KRM || Content Creator

Wode Maya || Content Creator

Yassine Bounou || Footballer, Al Hilal

Yvan Butera (Dr.) || Minister of Health, Rwanda

Zuchu || Musician

By Thom Hartmann

Common Dreams

Dec. 1, 2023

More than 70,000 people from nearly 200 countries — including an estimated 700+ fossil fuel industry lobbyists (there were 636 at the last conference) — are arriving this week in Dubai for the opening of the 28th “Conference Of Parties” (COP28) that are signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP is the main decision-making body of the UNFCCC.

And already the Republican Party is doing what it can to sabotage any efforts by the Biden administration to help the world adapt to climate change while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

The Council on Foreign Relations notes that for most of the poor nations of the world, “women, girls, and historically marginalized people, are bearing the brunt of the impacts of climate change…”

COP28 will help focus world and media attention on the climate emergency that 50 years of intentional lies funded by the world’s largest fossil fuel producers have helped create.

Through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), America has been funding efforts to help these groups deal with the impacts of the climate emergency. As the CFR notes:

“But the current divisive political climate within Congress has put programs like this in its crosshairs. Despite the program’s timeliness—with weather and climate extremes increasing in every region across the globe—Congress recently defunded the program. The money previously authorized for this work was withdrawn on the grounds that the money would potentially support abortion services or advocacy abroad, violating the Helms Amendment.”

Abortion, however, is purely a red herring being used by House Republicans to undercut pretty much any efforts by the US government to help a world now afire in part because of American greenhouse gas emissions and the lies promulgated for decades by massive US oil, coal, and methane companies that heavily fund the GOP.

As the CFR notes in the next paragraph:

“The premise of this attack is entirely and demonstrably false. … USAID funding to Global Fund for Women is used solely for climate resilience and crisis response work. Yet the funds were still revoked.”

And that’s just Republican opposition to helping the poor countries of the world deal with the consequences of US emissions. Taking any serious steps to cut fossil fuel production or consumption — after the Biden Administration’s spectacular success with the Inflation Reduction Act’s $369 billion dedicated to climate change passed in the last Congress — are now on hold.

As Politico notes:

“GOP control of Congress’ lower chamber will make it hard to do more internationally.”

Meanwhile, the fossil fuel producing nations of the world are banding together to block serious efforts at shifting the world away from their products and toward renewable energy sources.

In a particularly cynical move, a Saudi program called the “Oil Demand Sustainability Programme (ODSP)” is reaching out to poor countries, particularly in Africa, to encourage them to expand their use of oil to power transportation, housing, and electricity.

Instead of helping poor countries solarize their power systems and electrify their transportation sector, they’re encouraging them to build oil-fired power plants to generate electricity and manufacture more low-cost gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks.

The Guardianquotes Mohamed Adow, the director of the thinktank Power Shift Africa:

“The Saudi government is like a drug dealer trying to get Africa hooked on its harmful product. “The rest of the world is weaning itself off dirty and polluting fossil fuels and Saudi Arabia is getting desperate for more customers and is turning its sights on Africa. It’s repulsive.”

Similarly, Russia — a country with an economy about the size of Italy that is almost entirely based on fossil fuel production — has declared their intention to block any efforts to reduce demand for the oil and gas they produce. As Politico notes:

“[T]here are signs Russia’s geopolitical gambit could disrupt the talks both this year and next year…”

This COP28 meeting is being held in the capital city of the world’s seventh largest producer of fossil fuels. As Meteor Blades notes at Daily Kos:

“Now, you might be saying to yourself, isn’t having a climate conference in a monarchical petrostate kind of like having a middle school on Jeffrey Epstein’s island? You wouldn’t be wrong.”

Nonetheless, COP28 will help focus world and media attention on the climate emergency that 50 years of intentional lies funded by the world’s largest fossil fuel producers have helped create.

For example, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, recently returned from a fact-finding trip to Antarctica and, this week in advance of COP28, tried to warn the world:

“I have just returned from Antarctica—the sleeping giant. A giant being awoken by climate chaos. Together, Antarctica and Greenland are melting well over three times faster than they were in the early 1990s. “It is profoundly shocking to stand on the ice of Antarctica and hear directly from scientists how fast the ice is disappearing. … “Leaders must not let the hopes of people around the world for a sustainable planet melt away.”

Some of the wealthiest and most powerful people, companies, and countries in the world are working to frustrate efforts to salvage a livable planet for us, our children, and our grandchildren.

We can’t let them prevail.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

Over the past few months, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has been working tirelessly to secure new gas deals with Algeria, Angola, Egypt, and the Republic of the Congo. The closing of every single deal – the terms of which remain opaque – was attended by the CEO of Eni, the largest fossil-fuel company active on the African continent. In other words, Draghi, a public servant, has been using government resources to deliver overwhelmingly private gains to an Italian company.

Africa Is Not Europe’s Gas Station | by Mohamed Adow - Project Syndicate

UN Climate Change Conference (COP26)

COP26 will be held in Glasgow from the 31th of October to the 12th of November.

COP26 (Conference of the Parties) is the shorthand name for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. At this meeting, leaders of countries all over the world will come together and discuss climate policies.

These UN climate change conferences have been happening annually as of 1995, but COP26 is considered unique because it will be held mere months after the newest IPCC report. It also marks the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

While many hope this conference will be a turning point in climate policy due to its timing, the event is also subject to criticism. Greta Thunberg has stated that previous instances of this conference have lead to many empty promises, and Mohamed Adow has pointed out that vaccine inequality limits access to the event for delegates of the global south.

BP claims to be environmentally and climate sensitive, but this story tells us that their claims are just ordinary corporate talk, i.e., bullshit. Excerpt from this story from EcoWatch:

A BP fossil-fuel project could threaten a unique biodiversity hotspot and worsen the climate crisis, a new investigation from Unearthed and SourceMaterial has found.

Despite pledges to improve its environmental record, the company behind the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster is planning to dig the deepest natural gas field to date in Africa, right beside what experts believe is the largest coldwater coral reef in the world.

"We can't excuse a company like BP, at a time when it seems to be taking climate change more seriously, simultaneously bankrolling a project that may end up having a big impact on Africa's carbon footprint and future," Mohamed Adow, director of the think tank Power Shift Africa, told The Independent of the project.

The project, officially called the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA), will be a natural gas field 2.7 kilometers (approximately 1.7 miles) beneath the ocean surface, according to Unearthed. It will be located off the coast of Senegal and Mauritania, and BP has promoted it as an opportunity for growth in the region, calling it "the first step in establishing the basin as a world-class gas province," according to Unearthed.

Construction has already begun, and it has been approved through 20 years by the governments of Senegal and Mauritania. The first gas from the field is expected within two years.

Turkey ratifies deal for Libya military support by Al Jazeera English Turkey's parliament has ratified a deal increasing cooperation with Libya's United Nations-recognised government. The agreement could see Turkish troops deployed to defend Tripoli from renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar. The US has called the deal "unhelpful" and "provocative". Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow has more from Istanbul. - Subscribe to our channel: https://ift.tt/291RaQr - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://ift.tt/1iHo6G4 - Check our website: https://ift.tt/2lOp4tL #AlJazeeraEnglish #Turkey #Libya

“At a time when scientists are queuing up to warn about terrifying consequences if emissions keep rising, and school children are taking to the streets in their millions, what we have here in Madrid is a betrayal of people across the world,” said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, a climate and energy think-tank in Nairobi.

Long-time participants in the talks expressed outrage at the unwillingness of major polluters to show ambition commensurate with the gravity of the climate crisis, after a year of wildfires, cyclones, droughts and floods.

Kenyans push for 'justice' over alleged election fraud

Kenyans push for ‘justice’ over alleged election fraud

Kenyans push for ‘justice’ over alleged election fraud

A Kenyan human-rights group says at least 24 people have been shot and killed by police in violence prompted by accusations of election fraud following last Tuesday’s presidential election that incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta won.

A call by opposition leader Raila Odinga for people to stay away from work in protest on Monday has been largely…

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At least 55 people, including women and children, have been killed in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah in air raids carried out by a Saudi and UAE alliance battling Houthi rebels,  the rebel-run health ministry said.

In a statement issued late on Thursday, the ministry said the attacks, which targeted the city's Public al-Thawra Hospital and a busy fishing port, wounded at least 124 Yemenis.

The Reuters news agency put the death toll at 28 late on Thursday, while China's Xinhua said it stood at 70 early on Friday.

Taha al-Mutawakil, the Minister for Public Health and Population in the Houthi-led administration, said local authorities were struggling to cope with the number of casualties, and ambulances feared transporting the wounded to Sanaa or other provinces due to fears of being targeted by air attacks.

The International Red Cross, which supports the al-Thawra hospital, said it sent surgical supplies that will be enough to treat up to 50 patients who are in critical condition.

"What we have seen in Hodeidah is a heinous crime," Mutawakil was quoted by the Houthi-run SABA news agency saying.

He added that US shared responsibility for the deaths.

With logistical support from the US, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been carrying out attacks inside Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to reinstate the internationally recognised government of President Abu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

At least 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

For the last few weeks, the UN had been trying to broker a deal in a bid to avert an assault on the city, which it fears would further hinder Yemenis' access to food, fuel and medicine - worsening the world's most urgent humanitarian crisis.

Hodeidah has been under the control of the Houthis since 2014, and was responsible for delivering 70 percent of Yemen's imports - mostly humanitarian aid, food and fuel - pre-2015.

Mohamed al-Hasni, the head of Hodeidah's fishermen union, told Al Jazeera that there were no military targets in the area and "the targeting of fishermen was not expected".

"The port and market were full of people. It was a massacre," he said.

"There was no military presence in the area. No armed men were around at all. The targeting was aimed at spreading fear and terror.

Fatik al-Rodaini, a charity worker at Mona Relief, an aid group that operates in hard-to-reach areas of the country, said two civilians, one of whom was seeking medical treatment after being injured in the fish market raid, was among the fatalities.

Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow, reporting from neighbouring Djibouti, said "rescue workers told journalists how they saw body parts all over the fish market that was the target of the air attacks.

"The fish market is just 20 metres away from the al-Thawra hospital, which is one of the handful of medical facilities that are still operational in Hodeidah."

Adow added that authorities in Hodeidah said these air attacks "were largely unexpected because both the Houthi fighters and the Saudi-UAE alliance had announced that they were going to cease hostilities in and around the port of Hodeidah to give UN peace efforts a chance".

Colonel Turki al-Malki, the alliance's spokesman, told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite news channel that it did not carry out the attacks and its military campaign "follows a strict and transparent approach based on the rules international law".

However, in June alone, the Saudis and UAE carried out at least 258 air raids on Yemen, nearly a third of which targeted non-military sites.

The Yemen Data Project listed 24 air raids on residential areas, three on water and electricity sites, three targeting hitting healthcare facilities, and one targeting an IDP camp.

The spokesman for the Saudi-UAE alliance did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment.

very comedically, the saudis blamed this airstrike on the houthis, which reuters and the nyt then ran with in their headline, Saudi-Led Coalition Says Houthi Behind Killing of Civilians in Hodeidah, Yemen

the article has at the top a correction, “5/8/2018: A previous version of this story stated that more than 100,000 children have died from extreme hunger and starvation. That was incorrect. In a June 2018 report, UNICEF said it fears that more than 100,000 children may lose their lives if the current situation continues to escalate.” 100,000 is likely an accurate count however, given that save the children estimated last year 130 children die daily in the country, and 130 a day over 2 years is just under 100,000. 

Biden, Calling for Action, Commits U.S. to Halving Its Climate Emissions WASHINGTON — President Biden on Thursday moved to put four years of official climate denial behind the United States, declaring that America would cut its global warming emissions at least in half by the end of the decade. Addressing 40 heads of state at the start of a virtual two-day summit meeting to prove the United States commitment to the Paris climate agreement, which Donald J. Trump had abandoned, Mr. Biden sought to galvanize other countries to take more aggressive steps. He cast the challenge of avoiding catastrophic warming as an economic opportunity for America and the world. “This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative,” Mr. Biden said. “A moment of peril, but also a moment of extraordinary possibilities.” In rapid succession, Japan, Canada, Britain and the European Union committed to steeper cuts. But China, India and Russia made no new emissions promises, and even Mr. Biden’s commitment to cut U.S. greenhouse gases 50 percent to 52 percent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade will be extraordinarily difficult to meet, economically and politically. Energy experts said it would require a dramatic overhaul of American society, including the virtual elimination of coal for electricity and the replacement of millions of gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles. And the Biden administration’s ambitions cut to the heart of its toughest diplomatic challenge: Dealing with China. While the United States is the largest emitter in history, China’s emissions are currently the largest, which only add to the issues that have both Republicans and Democrats seething at Beijing. Republicans immediately questioned why Americans should sacrifice when Chinese coal pollution is likely to swamp any gains from U.S. emissions cuts, at least in the near term. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, said Thursday that China has “shamelessly” kept emitting more. “Their share of greenhouse gas emissions are now nearly double that of the United States,” he said. The stakes are enormous, for Mr. Biden and for the planet. If nations fail to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the world economy will suffer $23 trillion in losses by midcentury from natural disasters and the spread of disease, according to a report from Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest providers of insurance to other insurance companies. American credibility has been battered by years of joining and then abandoning efforts to tackle climate change; if it does not meet its new goals, or if it reverses course once again with a new administration, trust in the United States would plunge still further. The latest pledge puts the United States almost on par with Europe, but still behind Britain. On climate finance, the Biden administration promised to double its contribution to help developing countries address climate change, to an estimated $5.7 billion by 2024. But, like many of Mr. Biden’s promises, that would require the approval of Congress. And even that level would only match what many other rich countries did years ago. Experts said the climate finance announcement was anything but ambitious. That underscores a central fact: Mr. Biden’s promise is little more than that — a promise. Unlike pledges this week from the European Union and Britain, the U.S. target is not entrenched in law. Mr. Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, which includes the money and the policies to draw down carbon pollution, has not yet been translated into legislation much less found support from a divided Congress. Mr. Biden is pushing the heads of his cabinet agencies to enact executive-branch climate change policies across the federal government, from new fuel economy standards for vehicles to rules limiting fossil fuel extraction on public lands to new financial regulations designed to curb Wall Street investment in heavily polluting industries. But those rules alone are unlikely to add up to the steep emissions reductions necessary to meet Mr. Biden’s ambitious new target. And, as the Trump administration showed, they could be undone by a future White House without much trouble. John Kerry, Mr. Biden’s global climate envoy, said changes in the marketplace were happening so quickly that, he believes, the United States will not just meet but surpass its new goal. “It’s not easy,” he allowed. “Is it doable? Yes. Will we probably exceed it? I expect yes.” Republicans denounced the new emissions target as illegal and unrealistic. Patrick Morrisey, the attorney general of West Virginia, called it a “radical” plan and a “domestic and foreign policy blunder of almost unfathomable proportions.” Updated  April 22, 2021, 3:42 p.m. ET To overcome such domestic opposition, Mr. Biden will have to bring the world along, especially China. Several major industrialized nations did announce aggressive new goals at the summit. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan raised his country’s target for cutting emissions to 46 percent from 2013 levels by the end of the decade, up from 26 percent, and in a last-minute surprise said the country would “continue to try for an even higher cut” of 50 percent. The Biden administration had exerted strong pressure on Japan to announce a 50 percent goal. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada raised his country’s goal to a cut of 40 percent to 45 percent from 2005 levels, up from 30 percent. President Moon Jae-in of South Korean announced an end to public finance for coal-fired power plants overseas. Even President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, an ally of Mr. Trump’s who has denied the science of climate change in the past, vowed to end illegal deforestation by 2030 despite having overseen the sharpest rise in the destruction of the Amazon in 12 years. President Xi Jinping did pledge that China would “strictly limit increasing coal consumption” in the next five years and phase it down in the following five years. That could prove significant, since China is, by far, the world’s largest coal consumer and is continuing to expand its fleet of coal-fired power plants. Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel. Mr. Xi also repeated his pledge from last year to draw down carbon emissions to net zero by 2060. In a pointed reminder to his host, he said that the industrialized countries had a responsibility to act faster to reduce emissions. But the United States cannot tame climate change alone, Mr. Biden stressed. America accounts for about 15 percent of global emissions, a point made repeatedly by the president, Mr. Kerry and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. “All of us, and particularly those of us that represent the world’s largest economies, we have to step up,” Mr. Biden said. His new target and the summit drew expected approval from environmental groups who called the figure an aggressive but attainable target that would help America reach its long term goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Former Vice President Al Gore called the target “a groundbreaking step for our country” and called the summit proof of America’s ability to galvanize other countries even after four years of former President Donald J. Trump’s isolationist agenda. “We are still in a period of history in which the United States remains the only nation that can provide effective leadership for the world community,” Mr. Gore said in an interview. “Other countries may feel that period of history is over, but there is no substitute for U.S. leadership,” Mr. Gore added. “Even though our nation’s reputation in the world was damaged by the previous four years, perhaps especially on the climate issue, most nations will welcome the restoration of the traditional U.S. role.” Notably, major fossil fuel industry associations like the American Petroleum Institute, as well as the Chamber of Commerce, praised Mr. Biden for re-engaging internationally on climate change and did not directly criticize the target or question the ability to reach it. Some climate activists, particularly from poorer countries that have polluted the least but are suffering the worst consequences of climate change, said the United States was obligated to do far more. “This summit is a major turning point that now shifts attention toward the laggards and concrete near-term actions,” said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, a research organization based in Nairobi, Kenya. Rich, polluting countries, he said, “need to come back with much stronger pledges, including climate finance for poorer nations.” Thursday’s summit made history as one of the first all-digital gathering of world leaders, and the White House demonstrated that even it was not immune to the Zoom-induced glitches that have frustrated remote workers throughout the pandemic. The opening speeches by Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were plagued with painful echoes, evidently the result of overlapping microphone or speaker devices. The screen on whitehouse.gov then shifted to show Mr. Biden, sitting alone at a small conference table against a starkly-lit blue backdrop, as other world leaders beamed in. Mr. Blinken introduced President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but evidently signals were crossed as the screen alternated between Mr. Putin and President Emanuel Macron of France, and Mr. Putin sat in stony silence. Mr. Suga, the Japanese prime minister, acknowledged the realities of the global time differences by beginning his remarks to his fellow leaders with a cheery, “Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.” As the speeches went on, Mr. Kerry joined Mr. Biden at the conference table to welcome other world leaders to the summit — although he said with a laugh to Mr. Biden, “If you can call it a summit.” Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian, said the inability of the United States government to solve basic computer glitches made him uneasy about its larger promises. “It was amazing to see how bad the technology is and it makes you think, how are we going to solve climate change when you can’t even do video linkage for world leaders?” he said. Despite the technical glitches, leaders expressed open relief at working with a United States administration that embraces science and again acts as part of the global community. “The Paris Agreement is humanity’s life insurance,” said Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission. “It is so good to have the U.S. back on our side.” Brad Plumer contributed reporting. Source link Orbem News #action #Biden #calling #Climate #Commits #emissions #Halving

Germany and Italy are telling Africans that we should saddle ourselves with fossil-fuel infrastructure that will soon become a drag on our economies and propel us toward climate disaster. We must respond with a firm no, and instead demand that European countries support us in the development of renewable-energy systems.

Africa Is Not Europe’s Gas Station | by Mohamed Adow - Project Syndicate

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-55721919

“ Mina de carvão verde 'mina cúpula do clima. “

A liderança britânica na mudança climática está sendo prejudicada por uma decisão do governo de permitir uma nova mina de carvão em Cumbria, alertaram MPs.

O Reino Unido está hospedando uma cúpula do clima da ONU em novembro, onde vai exortar outras nações a eliminar os combustíveis fósseis.

Os parlamentares dizem que a decisão do governo de permitir uma nova mina de carvão em casa tornará mais difícil fechar um acordo.

A mina Woodhouse foi aprovada pelo Conselho do Condado de Cumbria porque criará empregos em uma área de alto desemprego.

O ministro do planejamento, Robert Jenrick, poderia ter rejeitado, mas disse que a questão seria melhor decidida em nível local.

Esse veredicto foi ridicularizado por ambientalistas, que apontaram que as mudanças climáticas causadas pela queima de combustíveis fósseis são um problema global .

Por que 2021 pode ser um ponto de virada para enfrentar as mudanças climáticas Corpo verde dá veredicto sobre as políticas climáticas do Reino Unido Transição verde da África 'improvável' nesta década Alok Sharma, que está liderando a cúpula do clima COP26 e que coordena as políticas do Reino Unido sobre mudança climática, foi questionado pelo comitê de negócios de Com mons se a aprovação da mina era "uma vergonha". Ele respondeu: "Entendo o seu ponto"..

O secretário de negócios, Kwasi Kwarteng, disse ao comitê que havia uma "leve tensão" entre a aprovação da mina, perto de Whitehaven, e tentativas mais amplas de limpar a economia.

Mas ele disse que os ministros decidiram permitir o poço porque vai produzir carvão metalúrgico para a siderurgia, que, de outra forma, teria que ser importado.

Ele disse: "Há uma ligeira tensão entre a decisão de abrir esta mina e nossa intenção declarada de retirar o carvão da rede ... houve um debate no governo sobre o que poderíamos fazer sobre isso, mas foi uma decisão de planejamento local.

“Se não tivéssemos fontes de carvão coqueificável no Reino Unido, estaríamos importando-as de qualquer maneira”.

Isso parece ir contra o conselho do Comitê de Mudança Climática, que disse que todo o carvão - incluindo carvão de coque - deve ser eliminado até 2035. Surgiram dúvidas sobre os investidores na mina sendo deixados com um "ativo ocioso" se a mina for forçado a fechar por motivos climáticos.

'Preguiça de pensar'

A aprovação da mina é ainda mais pungente porque o Reino Unido fundou a 'Powering Past Coal Alliance "- um clube global para persuadir as nações a deixarem o carvão no solo.

Uma fonte próxima ao secretariado da Aliança disse à BBC News que a equipe ficou furiosa com a decisão. Eles acreditam que a decisão foi tomada para ajudar a garantir os chamados votos do "muro vermelho" em áreas que anteriormente votavam no Trabalhismo.

Mohamed Adow, de um grupo de pressão, Powershift Africa, disse à BBC News: "É bastante bizarro que o governo do Reino Unido, no ano em que hospeda as maiores negociações climáticas globais desde a assinatura do Acordo de Paris, tenha aprovado uma nova mina de carvão. "

A jovem ativista Greta Thunberg disse que a decisão mostrou que as promessas de atingir as metas de emissões líquidas zero até 2050 "basicamente não significam nada".

Darren Jones, presidente do comitê de negócios, disse à BBC News que seria difícil para o Reino Unido persuadir países como a Polônia a abandonar o carvão durante a construção de uma mina.

Ele argumentou que o governo deveria ter encontrado outra maneira de trazer empregos para Cumbria. Ele disse: "As indústrias com uso intensivo de carbono estão buscando a liderança do governo na transição para um futuro verde.

"Apoiar o carvão em casa não parece estar de acordo com o recente Livro Branco da Energia e certamente torna nossos esforços para garantir um acordo internacional sobre a descarbonização ambiciosa mais difícil de alcançar."

O presidente do Comitê de Auditoria Ambiental, Philip Dunne, disse à BBC News: "Se o Reino Unido deseja atingir sua ambição de ser um líder ambiental mundial, o governo deve oferecer uma orientação clara sobre como podemos levar todos os setores para zero e oferecer uma pipeline de projetos investíveis.

"O setor de aço precisa desenvolver alternativas para importar carvão metalúrgico. Isso também pode apoiar a próxima geração de empregos verdes - que são urgentemente necessários."

A colega trabalhista Baronesa Worthington disse à BBC News: "Esta decisão é uma verdadeira preguiça de pensamento do governo. Basta pensar no sinal que envia a todos os países que desejam se agarrar ao carvão.

"O governo ainda não tem uma estratégia coesa que faça sentido. É uma loucura. Uma loucura absoluta."