Since September, 10% of the local river dolphin population in Lake Tefé, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, has died. It’s likely tied to record-setting drought in the region, brought on by climate change and El Niño.
Chuyên mục: Biến đổi khí hậu – Climate change
A moment of truth for the oil and gas industry
Climate change and clean energy confront oil and gas producers with profound choices
Full report here
Oil and gas producers face pivotal choices about their role in the global energy system amid a worsening climate crisis fuelled in large part by their core products, according to our major new special report.
The Oil and Gas Industry in Net Zero Transitions finds that the oil and gas sector – which provides more than half of global energy supply and employs nearly 12 million workers worldwide – has been a marginal force at best in transitioning to an energy system with net zero emissions, accounting for just 1% of clean energy investment globally.
The report shows how the industry can take a more responsible approach and contribute positively to the new energy economy, highlighting that the UN’s COP28 climate summit in Dubai is “a moment of truth” for the oil and gas sector.To start, all oil and gas companies should commit to tackling emissions from their own operations, according to the report. These emissions need to decline by 60% by 2030 to align with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Companies also need to dramatically change how they allocate their financial resources. In 2022, clean energy investments accounted for a mere 2.5% of the industry’s total capital spending. The report finds that producers looking to align with the aims of the Paris Agreement would need to put 50% of capital expenditures towards clean energy projects by 2030.What’s more, companies must abandon the notion that they can continue with business as usual simply by ramping up the deployment of carbon capture technologies.
The report finds that if oil and gas consumption were to evolve as projected under today’s policy settings, limiting warming to 1.5 °C would require an entirely inconceivable 32 billion tonnes of carbon capture by 2050, with annual investment rising from $4 billion last year to $3.5 trillion.Opportunities lie ahead despite these challenges, however. Nearly a third of the energy consumed in 2050 in a decarbonised energy system comes from technologies that could benefit from the oil and gas industry’s skills and resources, including hydrogen, offshore wind and liquid biofuels.
Rice Markets Are In Crisis Mode
Global supplies of rice are facing its most significant shortage in two decades, exacerbating food insecurity fears. Rice is a staple food for over half the world’s population. India’s export bans sent shockwaves through markets as some argue the country is using food as a political pawn. America’s $34 billion rice industry must compete against the same market uncertainty while managing droughts, floods and changing temperatures. Watch this video to learn more about how global rice markets influence food security, geopolitics and the livelihoods of millions of farmers.
Volunteers Battle Fiery Infernos In World’s Most Densely Populated City, Manila
In Metro Manila, Philippines, an increase in devastating fires has put volunteer firefighters at the front lines, battling blazes in some of the city’s most vulnerable neighbourhoods. These are the lives of Danie Cabillo, Joanna Mandap (who runs a female dominant fire brigade), and Marvin Bustamante – and their families, as we unmask the emotional complexities and high-risk conditions associated with their heroic roles. From facing life-or-death scenarios that test their limits, these are stories of sacrifice, courage, and triumph – where every second is a battle against time.
00:00 Introduction
02:29 Civilian firefighters face dangers from fires – and people
06:07 How to establish a fire volunteer team
08:45 Female-led fire brigade challenges stereotypes
17:10 Teamwork strategies with other brigades and residents
23:46 Volunteers rely on donations and their own income to keep operations running
29:45 Training community residents to be first responders
31:55 Keeping a cool head to fight fires
33:36 Devastating damage caused by fire
38:22 Do they ever feel like giving up?
42:26 Working alongside official government fire responders
How Do Governments Combat Climate Change?
In this free resource, explore seven ways countries are responding to a changing environment, from cap and trade policies to clean energy standards.
Actor Joaquin Phoenix (center) stands with protestors waiting to be arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building during a climate change protest and rally on Capitol Hill on January 10, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
Source: Paul Morigi/Getty ImagesSHARE
Teaching Resources—Climate Change: Policy (including lesson plan with slides)
Higher Education Discussion Guide
Have you ever brought a reusable tote bag to the grocery store? Or refilled a water bottle rather than buying a disposable one? Do you separate your recycling from your trash?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re not alone. In the United States, more than half of all adults claim to have taken some action to protect the environment. But will individual actions be enough to address the massive, transnational challenge of climate change? Unfortunately, no.
Lizards, fish and other species are evolving with climate change, but not fast enough
Climate change is threatening the survival of plants and animals around the globe as temperatures rise and habitats change.
Some species have been able to meet the challenge with rapid evolutionary adaptation and other changes in behavior or physiology. Dark-colored dragonflies are getting paler in order to reduce the amount of heat they absorb from the sun. Mustard plants are flowering earlier to take advantage of earlier snowmelt. Lizards are becoming more cold-tolerant to handle the extreme variability of our new climate.
However, scientific studies show that climate change is occurring much faster than species are changing.
What is evolutionary adaptation?
Tiếp tục đọc “Lizards, fish and other species are evolving with climate change, but not fast enough”
Asia’s climate-driven health crisis raises alarm ahead of COP28
New Delhi residents use clothes and books to protect their faces from the scorching sun on a hot June day in India. 2023 could be the hottest year on record. © EAP/Jiji
Summit’s first health ministerial follows record summer spike in heatstroke and dengue cases
SAYUMI TAKE, Nikkei staff writerNOVEMBER 22, 2023 06:00 JST
TOKYO — 2023 is set to be the world’s hottest year on record, and the consequences for the human body are deadly.
Record-shattering temperatures can cause headaches, dizziness and nausea. Disease-carrying mosquitoes flourish after torrential rain and devastating floods. Polluted air causes shortness of breath and respiratory illnesses. The health emergencies that accompany climate change are shaking communities across the globe.
The impact on Asia is already profound. The continent has warmed at twice the speed of the global average in the past 30 years due to its huge land mass, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
More people in Asia are dying or falling ill than ever before due to high temperatures, the United Nations scientific body Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in 2022. Heat stress is one of many health risks. Dengue and malaria are increasing in Thailand and Malaysia, while respiratory diseases caused by air pollution are rising in Indonesia. Even mental disorders like depression and anxiety are associated with climate change, according to a 2022 report by the IPCC.
“These impacts that we’re seeing today could be just a symptom of a very dangerous future unless we tackle climate change urgently,” warned Marina Romanello, executive director of the authoritative Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report.
Tiếp tục đọc “Asia’s climate-driven health crisis raises alarm ahead of COP28”Biến đổi khí hậu làm thay đổi mô hình lây truyền các bệnh truyền nhiễm
(SK&MT) – Biến đổi khí hậu tác động đến sức khỏe con người theo nhiều cách khác nhau, như làm tăng nguy cơ mắc các bệnh liên quan đến nhiệt, thay đổi mô hình lây truyền và mức độ các bệnh truyền nhiễm. Nhiệt độ tăng 1oC sẽ làm tăng khoảng 7%-11% nguy cơ mắc bệnh sốt xuất huyết, 5,6% mắc bệnh tay chân miệng.
PGS.TS Nguyễn Thị Liên Hương -Thứ trưởng Bộ Y tế tại cuộc họp nhóm đối tác về biến đổi khí hậu và sức khỏe do Bộ Y tế tổ chức với sự hỗ trợ của Tổ chức Y tế thế giới (WHO) và Liên minh Châu Âu.
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| PGS.TS Nguyễn Thị Liên Hương -Thứ trưởng Bộ Y tế phát biểu. |
Climate change hits women’s health harder. Activists want leaders to address it at COP28
BY UZMI ATHAR, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA, AP, Updated 9:02 AM GMT+7, November 21, 2023
NEW DELHI (AP) — Manju Devi suffered in pain for two months last year as she worked on a farm near Delhi, unable to break away from duties that sometimes had her standing for hours in the waist-deep water of a rice paddy, lifting heavy loads in intense heat and spraying pesticides and insecticides. When that pain finally became too much to bear, she was rushed to a hospital.
Tiếp tục đọc “Climate change hits women’s health harder. Activists want leaders to address it at COP28”Khi nào người dân được lựa chọn mua điện từ các đơn vị bán lẻ trực tiếp?
thanhnien.vn 14/11/2023 19:43 GMT+7
Mặc dù Đảng và Nhà nước chủ trương xóa bỏ độc quyền đối với ngành điện, và Tập đoàn Điện lực Việt Nam (EVN) không còn độc quyền sản xuất điện, nhưng người dân và doanh nghiệp hiện chỉ có một lựa chọn duy nhất là mua điện của EVN. Thế độc quyền đó có thể thay đổi không, và sẽ thay đổi như thế nào?
Lộ trình tiến tới thị trường bán lẻ điện cạnh tranh
Xóa độc quyền trong ngành điện được tính đến từ hơn 10 năm trước theo 3 cấp độ: thị trường phát điện cạnh tranh, thị trường bán buôn điện cạnh tranh và thị trường bán lẻ điện cạnh tranh. Từ năm 2012, thị trường phát điện cạnh tranh chính thức vận hành với 32 nhà máy tham gia. Đến năm 2020, số đơn vị tham gia đã có hơn 100 nhà máy. Đến nay, EVN không còn độc quyền phát điện, chỉ sở hữu 37%, các doanh nghiệp tư nhân sở hữu 42%, còn lại do các doanh nghiệp nhà nước khác, các dự án BOT nắm giữ và một tỷ lệ nhỏ khoảng 1% là điện nhập khẩu.
Tiếp tục đọc “Khi nào người dân được lựa chọn mua điện từ các đơn vị bán lẻ trực tiếp?”
Vietnam recommended to regulate Minimum Energy Performance Standard for air conditioners
The cooling sector is a major source of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
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| People shop for air conditioners at an electronics supermarket in the northern province of Hưng Yên.—VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên |
Việt Nam is recommended to regulate minimum energy performance standard (MEPS) for air conditioners’ seasonal energy efficiency ratio, chillers, variable refrigerant flow, and cars’ mobile air-conditioning systems in the country’s National Green Cooling Programme.
Besides, the country should also switch to greener refrigerants such as R290 or R717, enforce and comply with policies through robust monitoring and verification, Anant Shukla, expert of the Consultancy Consortium, said at a consultation workshop held on Tuesday in Hà Nội.
The workshop was co-organised by the Department of Climate Change under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership to provide technical assistance for the project “In-depth study and survey to develop the National Green Cooling Programme”.
Vietnam will struggle to meet 2030 offshore wind goal, top official says
HANOI, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Vietnam will have a hard time reaching its offshore wind power target for 2030, a top executive at a state-owned energy company said, with foreign investors also warning of multiple regulatory hurdles that would need to be cleared.
The Southeast Asian country has good offshore wind power potential given strong winds and shallow waters near densely populated areas, according to the World Bank, which estimates the sector could add at least $50 billion to Vietnam’s economy.
Offshore wind is also a priority for Group of Seven (G7) members that have promised funds to boost the country’s renewable energy sources and reduce its reliance on coal.
Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam will struggle to meet 2030 offshore wind goal, top official says”Thailand’s forest communities fall victim to country’s climate promises
Greenhouse gas emissions can be offset by carbon sinks such as forests, but expanding these areas can put Indigenous communities, reliant on the forests, at risk.
By Rebecca L. Root // 11 October 2023
From Khao Sok National Park in the southwest to Phu Chi Fa Forest Park in the north, forests cover around 30% of Thailand’s total area. Approximately 23 million people live near or in these lush green landscapes, depending on them for sustenance and livelihoods. But that’s now at risk, due to both climate change-related threats and the policies implemented to protect the forests.
Warangkana Rattanarat, Thailand country director for The Center for People and Forests, warned that the arrival of El Niño earlier this year has caused long droughts and less rain, damaging crops and other forest resources. This has affected the availability of food, as well as the income local people can derive from forest resources, she added.
The country has also experienced floods and the highest temperatures on record this year, impacting forests and the communities within them. In the GermanWatch Global Climate Risk Index 2021, Thailand ranked at number nine globally for long-term climate risks.
Additionally, there are land and tenure rights issues for Indigenous forest communities to contend with, and national climate commitments that have the potential to negatively impact such communities, said experts.
Tiếp tục đọc “Thailand’s forest communities fall victim to country’s climate promises”
The Interdependence of Climate Security and Good Governance: A Case Study from Pakistan
By Ameera Adil and Faraz Haider
Last year, Pakistan faced the most devastating floods in the history of the country, which is notable because the country lies on a geographical floodplain. The Indus is an ancient and powerful river. The floodplain of the river covers nearly half of Pakistan, where most of the country’s population resides. When the Indus breathes, as rivers do, the lives and livelihoods on the floodplains are quietly absorbed by the water.
Climate change had a significant role to play in the 2022 floods. The affected areas received 900mm of rainfall between June to August, which is nearly 350 percent more than the long-term average. Tiếp tục đọc “The Interdependence of Climate Security and Good Governance: A Case Study from Pakistan”
CVD 