The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River, in Central China. It is the world’s largest hydroelectric power station, but all that power comes with great responsibility. According to NASA, the dam delays the rotation of the Earth by 0.06 microseconds. This happens when the dam raises trillions of pounds of water 574 feet (175 m) above sea level increasing the Earth’s moment of inertia and thus slowing its rotation. Will the dam cause major consequences in our future or will the very minor delay not be noticeable for thousands of years?
China’s plan for the ‘world’s riskiest’ mega dam high in the Himalayas
As China seeks to meet its targets of becoming carbon neutral by 2060, it is turning its sights to some of the wildest reaches of the Tibetan Plateau where it plans to build a hydropower plant so ambitious that it could produce three times as much power as Three Gorges.
Experts believe it could be the riskiest mega structure ever built. Not only is the location prone to massive landslides and some of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, it’s also precariously close to the disputed border between India and China. Meaning any major project could further escalate discontent in a tense territorial dispute between the world’s two most populous countries.
Việt Nam rejects claims of cracking down on environmentalists: Foreign ministry
VNN – October 05, 2023 – 18:56
“This is false information used with ill intents with regards to Việt Nam’s efforts to combat and prevent crimes, as well as Việt Nam’s diplomatic activities.”
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| Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Phạm Thu Hằng at Thursday’s press conference in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Văn Điệp |
Man falsely branded as murderer for over 40 years gets $77,800 compensation
VNE – By Viet Quoc October 5, 2023 | 07:06 pm GMT+7
Do Thanh An (R), son of murdered victim Phan Thi Khanh, speaks with Vo Ngoc, son of wrongfully detained man Vo Te in Binh Thuan Province, June 2022. Photo by VnExpressA deceased man in Binh Thuan Province, who was wrongfully detained 43 years ago for murder, will be compensated over VND1.9 billion ($77,840) by the provincial People’s Procuracy.
65-year-old Vo Ngoc, the son of wrongfully accuised man Vo Te, said his family was informed of the compensation on Tuesday.
The central province’s Procuracy would monetarily compensate Te and his loved ones for lost incomes, property losses, mental impacts and financial support for six of his children, who were under 18 at the point of his imprisonment, among other costs.
Tiếp tục đọc “Man falsely branded as murderer for over 40 years gets $77,800 compensation”How gangs are using Malta to smuggle migrants from Vietnam into Europe
Watch on ITV news
We have no choice’: The Vietnamese dying for a chance to work in the UK | ITV News
There’s a saying in Vietnam about the Nghe An province: “Chó ăn đá, gà ăn sỏi.” It means “the dogs eat rocks, the chickens eat pebbles”. It’s a hot, tough place to live, and is also Vietnam’s hub for the trade in human cargo. When 39 Vietnamese were found dead in a lorry in Essex four years ago, the majority had left from Nghe An. Read the full report on the ITV News website here: https://www.itv.com/news/2023-09-26/w…
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What is climate finance and why do we need more of it?
UNDP.org October 2, 2023
Summary
- Climate finance refers to financial resources and instruments that are used to support action on climate change.
- Examples of climate finance include grants provided by multilateral funds, market-based and concessional loans from financial institutions, sovereign green bonds issued by national governments, and resources mobilized through carbon trading and carbon taxes.
- Investments in climate action can yield results that dramatically outweigh the upfront costs, yet significant funding gap remains to advance the green transition and enhance resilience in developing countries.
- Current financial flows for climate change mitigation need to increase at least three times, if we are to limit global warming to 2°C or below and achieve the Paris Agreement targets.
- UNDP is one of the major entities supporting countries access and effectively use climate finance.
What is climate finance?
Tiếp tục đọc “What is climate finance and why do we need more of it?”
The Race to Regulate Artificial Intelligence
Why Europe Has an Edge Over America and China
foreignaffairs.com June 27, 2023 By Anu Bradford
Artificial intelligence is taking the world by storm. ChatGPT and other new generative AI technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way people work and interact with information and each other. At best, these technologies allow humans to reach new frontiers of knowledge and productivity, transforming labor markets, remaking economies, and leading to unprecedented levels of economic growth and societal progress.
At the same time, the pace of AI development is unsettling technologists, citizens, and regulators alike. Even ardent techno-enthusiasts—including figures such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak—are issuing warnings about how unregulated AI can lead to uncontrollable harms, posing severe threats to individuals and societies. The direst predictions concern AI’s ability to obliterate labor markets and make humans obsolete or—under the most extreme scenario—even destroy humanity.
With tech companies racing to advance artificial intelligence capabilities amid intense criticism and scrutiny, Washington is facing mounting pressure to craft AI regulation without quashing innovation. Different regulatory paradigms are already emerging in the United States, China, and Europe, rooted in distinct values and incentives. These different approaches will not only reshape domestic markets—but also increasingly guide the expansion of American, Chinese, and European digital empires, each advancing a competing vision for the global digital economy while attempting to expand its sphere of influence in the digital world.
Stay informed.
Tiếp tục đọc “The Race to Regulate Artificial Intelligence”How Climate Change Is Threatening the Coffee Industry
Impact of global South research ‘should be recognised’
A Namibian female researcher flying a drone to capture images in the field. Perceptions around quality of global South research ‘need to change’, a panel of research funders and observers heard during the science summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Copyright: Miggan91 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Speed read
- Perceptions around quality of global South research ‘need to change’
- Equitable partnerships key to research impact – report
- North-South funding imbalances ‘must be challenged’
By: Sarah Wild
The quality and applicability of research done by institutions in low- and middle-income countries needs to be more broadly recognised, a panel of research funders and observers heard as part of a science summit held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
“When researchers in the global North produce research, it’s understood as if it was universal, whereas when research is done in the global South, then it’s only local and applicable to those settings,” Andrea Ordonez Llanos, executive director of Southern Voice, a network of think tanks in the global South, told the panel discussion on Thursday (21 September).
Tiếp tục đọc “Impact of global South research ‘should be recognised’”Cluster Munition Monitor 2023
Antipersonnel landmines are explosive devices designed to injure or kill people. They can lie dormant for years and even decades under, on, or near the ground until a person or animal triggers their detonating mechanism.
They can be activated by direct pressure from above, by pressure put on a wire or filament attached to a pull switch, by a radio signal or other remote firing method, or even simply by the proximity of a person within a predetermined distance. Because no one controls the detonation of landmines, they can be referred to as victim-activated weapons. Since mines are not aimed at a specific target they can indiscriminately kill or injure civilians, including children, soldiers, peacekeepers, and aid workers.Status of 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions
Cluster Munition Casualties in 2022 and in Historical Record
Main South Africa Power Union Calls to Suspend Climate Finance Pact
- Transition to renewable energy generation must be ‘just’
- As many as 51,000 jobs could be affected, union says
The main labor union at South Africa’s state power utility called for the suspension of an $8.5 billion climate finance pact with some of the world’s richest nations as well as plans to break up Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. into separate units.
Under the Just Energy Transition Partnership, South Africa agreed to begin moving away from generating electricity from coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, to producing more renewable energy using financing from Germany, France, the UK, the US and the European Union. As part of a broader transition plan, which didn’t use funding from the so-called JETP, Eskom last year shuttered its Komati coal-fired power plant, with more closures slated to follow.
Tiếp tục đọc “Main South Africa Power Union Calls to Suspend Climate Finance Pact”Critical Minerals Market Review 2023
Full report on IEA
Introduction
Critical minerals, essential for a range of clean energy technologies, have risen up the policy and business agenda in recent years. Rapid growth in demand is providing new opportunities for the industry, but a combination of volatile price movements, supply chain bottlenecks and geopolitical concerns has created a potent mix of risks for secure and rapid energy transitions. This has triggered an array of new policy actions in different jurisdictions to enhance the diversity and reliability of critical mineral supplies.
Since the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) landmark analysis on the Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions and the new ministerial mandates in March 2022, the Agency has expanded its work on critical minerals to help policymakers address these emerging challenges and ensure reliable and sustainable supplies of critical minerals. These efforts include a commitment to regular market monitoring, which aims to provide a clear understanding of today’s demand and supply dynamics and what they mean for the future. In this inaugural piece of analysis, we review the latest price, investment and production trends in the critical minerals sector. The first chapter provides a snapshot of industry developments in 2022 and early 2023. The second chapter reviews key trends in the battery sector given its importance in driving demand growth for critical minerals. The third chapter presents a concise review of key trends for each individual commodity. In the final chapter, we present implications for policy and industry stakeholders.
Tiếp tục đọc “Critical Minerals Market Review 2023”Negotiations and Vietnam: A Case Study of the 1954 Geneva Conference
Descriptive Note: Memorandum
Corporate Author: RAND CORP SANTA MONICA CA
Personal Author(s): Gurtov, Melvin
Report Date: 1968-07-01
Abstract:
An analysis is made of 1 U.S. policy and diplomacy during the 1954 Geneva Conference on Indochina, 2 the objectives of the participants in the conference, 3 the tactics used during the negotiations, and 4 the implications of those tactics for the present conflict. Although Vietnamese unity was not a priority objective of China or the Soviet Union, neither power may have expected a South Vietnamese regime to survive until the national elections. The U.S. goal, among others, was to maximize the Saigon governments chances of posing an authentic challenge in the elections of 1956. In terms of the present conflict, additional Communist participation might complicate rather than strengthen Hanois position by increasing the opportunity for division on issues of troop withdrawal and political settlement. Saigons influence could be reduced if the United States were to limit South Vietnams role to talks with the Viet Cong. In the realm of tactics, Geneva indicates, first, that an ambiguous commitment on the part of the United States to a negotiated settlement can have far greater value than an obvious disposition to accept terms second, that the threat of a use of force hitherto restrained can be more valuable to the U.S. bargaining position than force already applied.
Full report https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_memoranda/2005/RM5617.pdf
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