World leaders accused of Myopia over climate change deal
World leaders accused of myopia over climate change deal
Senior officials and negotiators increasingly gloomy about the prospects for a global warming deal next month
- guardian.co.uk, Sunday 1 November 2009 23.24 GMT
- Article history
Melting ice in Greenland. British officials say negotiations on a deal to curb global warming have been progressing too slowly. Photograph: Corbis
The head of the international group leading the fight against climate change has accused countries of pushing science aside in favour of self-serving “political myopia” ahead of the vital Copenhagen summit.
Climate change threatens lives of millions of children, says charity
Climate change threatens lives of millions of children, says charity
Save the Children urges world leaders at talks in Barcelona to prioritise effects of droughts, cyclones and floods on children
- guardian.co.uk, Monday 2 November 2009 12.01 GMT
- Article history
Desperate plight … A child waits at a food centre in southern Ethiopia. Up to 10 million people in drought-affected parts of the country now need food assistance. Photograph: Jose Cendon/AFP
A quarter of a million children could die next year due to the effects of climate change, Save the Children warned today.
The charity said the figure could rise to more than 400,000 per year by 2030.
CSIRO bid to gag emissions trading scheme po;icy attack
CSIRO bid to gag emissions trading scheme policy attack EXCLUSIVE: Nicola Berkovic | November 02, 2009 Article from: The Australian THE nation’s peak science agency has tried to gag the publication of a paper by one of its senior environmental economists attacking the Rudd government’s climate change policies. The paper, by the CSIRO’s Clive Continue Reading →
Atlantic Rising: planting mangroves to fortify coastlines
Atlantic Rising: planting mangroves to fortify coastlines
Tim Bromfield
27th October, 2009
The world’s largest ever mangrove planting project is underway in Senegal, providing work, habitat and coastal defence all in one
‘Become a superhero: plant your mangrove today’, declared the poster.
Eager to join the pantheon of mangrove superheroes we headed to the
Saloum Delta in Senegal where the world’s largest ever mangrove planting project is underway. Organised by local NGO, Oceanium, almost 30 million mangroves have been planted since June.
The mangrove itself is a hero among flora. It provides firewood for cooking and smoking fish, branches for tortoise-shaped village rooftops,
and breeding grounds for countless species of fish, including oysters
that cling stubbornly to the mangroves’ spider-like roots.
Abdoulaye Diouf, Chef de Zone in Sandicoly, tells us that the fishermen
had noticed a decline in the number of fish in recent years. This was
attributed to over-fishing and a decline in mangrove coverage caused by unseasonal heavy rains.
As well as replenishing depleted mangrove stocks, Jean Goepp, Oceanium’s Project Coordinator, says that the project teaches people to conserve their resources.
‘People must re-plant their common resources, not just their gardens,’ he says. Mr Diouf says the village is now aware that it must use all its resources sustainably – the sea, forest and mangroves.
The mangroves were chosen as the resource to launch this
behaviour-changing initiative because once planted they require no human input. Occupying the swampy inter-tidal zone they require no watering and are naturally protected from bush fires and hungry cattle.
80,000 people have been involved in the project, planting and collecting
seedlings from the flowering mangrove trees for which they are paid
1,000 CFA (about £1.50) per sack. Oceanium provides a financial
incentive to the community as well.
Planting is simple. You create a hole in the wet inter-tidal sand with
an extended index finger and plug it with a seedling. Superhero status
is easily attained, but well deserved.
In Sandicoly, the project has been accompanied by footballing success
and the village is through to the regional cup final. They will use the
mangrove money to take their supporters to the match. It will be ice
creams all round as the mangrove superheroes cheer on their footballing stars.
Useful links
Atlantic Rising project website
See also:
Government slashes insulation rebate
Government slashes insulation rebate
November 01, 2009
THE Federal Government has slashed its home ceiling insulation rebate by 25 per cent.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett on Sunday announced Labor would reduce the maximum subsidy for the $3.9 billion program from $1,600 to $1,200 from midnight (AEDT).
Mr Garrett said cutting the rebate would reduce the scheme’s overall budget by $250 million and improve competition in the sector.
Surging dollar hits chance of deal on ETS
Surging dollar hits chance of deal on ETS
Lenore Taylor, National correspondent | October 31, 2009
THE resurgent Australian dollar and strong commodity markets have slashed by more than $10 billion the expected revenue from the emissions trading scheme over the next decade, dramatically reducing the government’s scope to accept Malcolm Turnbull’s amendments.
Ten-year costings for the ETS, expected to be released with the government’s mid-year economic forecasts next week, are likely to show that instead of the $11bn surplus estimated by independent forecasters by 2020, the ETS could run at a loss in many of those years and require top-up funding from the budget.
A large or ongoing deficit would contradict government promises that the scheme will over time pay for itself, and jeopardise promised compensation to businesses and households from revenue raised from selling emissions permits.