A global carbon credits breakthrough at COP26 in Glasgow blew away any gloom from failing to phase out coal use, say many observers. Discussion at the UN climate conference had been dominated by soaring atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, largely from fossil fuels but exacerbated by global deforestation, notably in tropical rainforests like the Amazon’s – often called the “Lungs of the Earth”. But while COP26 failed to strike a coal deal, a carbon credit agreement could channel trillions of private sector dollars into protecting rainforests and farms, building renewable energy facilities and other projects to combat Climate Change and promote the circular economy needed to stabilise the Earth’s environment. FILE PHOTO: Carlos Roberto Sanquetta, a forestry engineering professor at ...
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Atmospheric rivers of the kind that drenched California and flooded British Columbia in recent weeks will become larger -- and possibly more destructive -- because of climate change, scientists said. Columns in the atmosphere hundreds of miles long carry water vapor over oceans from the tropics to more temperate regions in amounts more than double the flow of the Amazon River, according to the American Meteorological Society. Flooding covers the Trans Canada Highway 1 after devastating rain storms near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada November 6, 2021. Picture taken November 16, 2021. B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure/Handout via REUTERS These "rivers in the sky" are relatively common, with about 11 present on Earth at any time, according to NASA. But warm...
Read MoreU.N. climate talks ended Saturday with a deal that for the first time targeted fossil fuels as the key driver of global warming, even as coal-reliant countries lobbed last-minute objections. While the agreement won applause for keeping alive the hope of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, many of the nearly 200 national delegations wished they’d come away with more. “If it’s a good negotiation, all the parties are uncomfortable,” U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said in the final meeting to approve the Glasgow Climate Pact. “And this has been, I think, a good negotiation.” COP26 President Alok Sharma gestures as he receives applause during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 13, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman The two-week conferen...
Read MoreDriving, flying, shipping contribute nearly quarter of emissionsSome car makers commit to phasing out fossil-fuel vehiclesSome major economies and producers absent Automakers, airlines and governments unveiled a raft of pledges at the U.N. climate summit on Wednesday to slash greenhouse gas emissions from global transport, albeit with some conspicuous absences. Driving, flying and shipping contribute nearly a quarter of the world’s manmade greenhouse gas emissions, making transport a valuable target in the effort to fight climate change. FILE PHOTO: Exhaust fumes are seen coming from a vehicle stopped at traffic lights in Jakarta. REUTERS/Beawiharta U.S. car makers Ford and General Motors and Germany's Daimler read more were among a group that committed to phasing out fossil-f...
Read MoreAustralia’s Great Barrier Reef will survive if warming kept to 1.5 degrees
A study released on Friday by an Australian university looking at multiple catastrophes hitting the Great Barrier Reef has found for the first time that only 2% of its area has escaped bleaching since 1998, then the world's hottest year on record. If global warming is kept to 1.5 degrees, the maximum rise in average global temperature that was the focus of the COP26 United Nations climate conference, the mix of corals on the Barrier Reef will change but it could still thrive, said the study's lead author Professor Terry Hughes, of the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. "If we can hold global warming to 1.5 degrees global average warming then I think we'll still have a vibrant Great Barrier Reef," he said. Bleaching is a stress response ...
Read MoreNew tourism coalition brings together world leaders to accelerate Net Zero transition
# New Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC) signals tourism's commitment to achieving net-zero emissions# Global sector figures join the STGC conversation at COP26 – from former state presidents to leading institutions# STGC aims for greater collaboration between public and private tourism sectors to help reach net-zero, protect nature and support communities A new coalition will accelerate tourism's transition to net zero, audiences at COP26 heard today. Ministers from major tourism destinations and leaders from international organizations have voiced their support to achieve a sustainable travel and tourism industry, through the Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC). The STGC is a multi-country, multi-stakeholder coalition established to lead, accelerate, and track the touri...
Read MoreThe ‘Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism’ was launched On Thursday at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26. Some of tourism’s biggest businesses have joined governments and destinations in committing to cut emissions in half by 2030 and achieve Net Zero by 2050 at the latest. The Glasgow Declaration recognizes the urgent need for a globally consistent plan for climate action in tourism. Signatories commit to measure, decarbonize, regenerate and unlock finance. Additionally, each signatory commits to deliver a concrete climate action plan, or updated plan, within 12 months of signing. Speaking at COP26, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stressed that “while many private businesses have led the way in advancing climate action, a more ambitious sector-wid...
Read MoreAt the start of a crucial week for global governance, tourism’s relevance will be part of the discussions at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), just as it was in Rome when G20 leaders met to coordinate plans for sustainable and inclusive recovery. In Italy, UNWTO succeeded in placing tourism’s importance in the spotlight. The leaders of some of the world’s biggest economies endorsed the G20 Rome Guidelines for the Future of Tourism, committing themselves to taking action to fulfil its objectives, particularly to accelerate the return of safe and seamless travel and the digital transformation of the sector. The G20 Rome Leaders’ Declaration states: “We will continue to support a rapid, resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery of the tourism sector”, with a special emp...
Read MoreMighty river to muddy trickle: South America’s Parana rings climate alarm
# Parana has retreated to lowest level in 77 years# River is vital for commercial shipping and fishing# Grain transport snarled in Argentina and Paraguay Gustavo Alcides Diaz, an Argentine fisherman and hunter from a river island community, is at home on the water. The Parana River once lapped the banks near his wooden stilt home that he could reach by boat. Fish gave him food and income. He purified river water to drink. Now the 40-year-old looks out on a trickle of muddy water. The Parana, South America's second-largest river behind only the Amazon, has retreated this year to its lowest level since its record low in 1944, hit by cyclical droughts and dwindling rainfall upriver in Brazil. Climate change only worsens those trends. The decline of the waterway, which knits t...
Read MoreGreenhouse gas concentrations hit a record last year and the world is "way off track" in capping rising temperatures, the United Nations said on Monday in a stark illustration of the task facing climate talks in Glasgow. A report by the U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) showed carbon dioxide levels surged to 413.2 parts per million in 2020, rising more than the average rate over the last decade despite a temporary dip in emissions during COVID-19 lockdowns. WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said the current rate of increase in heat-trapping gases would result in temperature rises "far in excess" of the 2015 Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average this century. "We are way off track," he said. "We need to revisit our industr...
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