@monicah_mbesu
monicah mbesu
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Hoarding during the Covid-19 pandemic underlined just how important loo roll is to the British public. But working from home had another unexpected effect: less waste paper from offices, which means less recycled material to make toilet roll. New research by Ethical Consumer magazine shows that the three main toilet brands have cut the amount of recycled paper in their tissues. It said the use of virgin wood pulp was fuelling deforestation, although paper-industry advocates dispute this. The consumer organisation recommended that people avoid buying Andrex, Velvet, Cushelle, Regina and Nicky because more material used to make them is taken from felled trees. It found that Kimberly-Clark, which makes Andrex, cut the amount of recycled fibre it uses for tissue and personalcare products to 19.3% in 2021, down from 29.7% in 2011. It used less fibre, down from 3.53m tonnes to 2.85m, but almost all the reduction was in recycled fibres, while virgin-pulp use fell only slightly. Sofidel, maker of Regina and Nicky, cut recycled fibres from 8.9% in 2019 to 7.3% in 2021. And Essity, which makes Velvet and Cushelle, cut the amount of recycled paper in its products from 2.1m tonnes in 2018 (40%) to 1.9m tonnes in 2022 (36%) while it increased slightly the amount of fibre taken from pulp. Shanta Bhavnani, a researcher at Ethical Consumer and the author of the report, said: “There’s so much awareness now of the importance of trees in addressing climate change so it’s really disappointing to see the big toilet paper companies cutting their use of recycled fibres. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fjun%2F24%2Flack-recycled-toilet-paper-fuelling-deforestation-office-waste-covid-tissue%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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monicah mbesu
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Amid a dangerous heatwave that has brought blistering temperatures across Texas, the state’s governor signed a law this week eliminating local rules requiring water breaks for workers. The measure, which will take effect later this year, will nullify ordinances enacted by Austin and Dallas that mandate 10-minute breaks for construction workers every four hours. It also prevents any other local governments from passing similar worker protections. Just days after Greg Abbott, the governor, ratified the law, officials said a 35-year-old utility lineman working to restore power in Marshall, Texas, died after experiencing symptoms of heat illness. The heat index – which takes into account both the temperature and humidity – was 100F while he was working. It was an omen of what could come after HB 2127 takes effect in September, wrote the Texas branch of the AFL-CIO union, referring to the far-reaching law that not only curbs cities’ right to enact worker protections, but a number of labor, agriculture, natural resources and finance measures. “Banning required rest breaks for construction workers in the Texas heat is deadly.” The law’s passage has enraged workers’ advocates, who warn that it will result in even more heat-related deaths and illnesses in a state that already tallies the highest number of worker deaths due to high temperatures. “In the midst of a record-setting heatwave, I could not think of a worse time for this governor or any elected official who has any, any kind of compassion, to do this,” said David Cruz, the communications director for League of United Latin American Citizens National (Lulac), a Latino civil rights group. “This administration is incrementally trying to move us backwards into a dark time in this nation. When plantation owners and agrarian mentalities prevailed.” Six out of every 10 construction workers in Texas are Latino, and labor advocates say that the law will hurt Latino and Black communities that are already disproportionately affected by extreme heat. Hispanic workers made up a third of all worker heat deaths since 2010, according to an NPR/Columbia study. Local protections are crucial, advocates say, because the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) does not have a national heat protection standard. Still, the Republican lawmakers pushing the new law have said it eliminates a “hodgepodge of onerous and burdensome regulations” that Texas businesses face. The effort aims to prevent cities and counties from enacting progressive policies that counter the state Republican supermajority’s aims. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2023%2Fjun%2F23%2Fgreg-abbott-texas-governor-bill-water-breaks-heatwave%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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Dear monicah mbesu Thank you for getting your climate love to level 2! We have reached out to Greg Abbott and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! /Adam We Don't Have Time
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Good move government
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Super move by the governor, this is going to save more people from effects of high temperatures.
monicah mbesu
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Keir Starmer will pledge to “throw everything” at net zero and the overhaul of the UK’s energy system and industries, promising new jobs in “the race of our lifetime” to a low-carbon future. The Labour leader will seek to regain the initiative on his plan for green growth on Monday, having rowed back earlier this month on a pledge to invest £28bn in a green industrial strategy, a figure that will not now be reached until the second half of a Labour parliament, as well as damaging rows with trade unions over the future of the North Sea. Announcing a package of policies designed to decarbonise the energy system and industry, Starmer will say: “We’re going to throw everything at this: planning reform, procurement, long-term finance, R&D, a strategic plan for skills and supply chains … Pulling together for a simple, unifying priority: British power for British jobs.” Labour’s plans include sweeping changes to the planning system that will allow onshore wind farms, electricity lines, transport links and other low-carbon infrastructure to be built quickly. All regulators will be given instructions to prioritise low-carbon projects, and companies will be given assurances on long-term policy to encourage investment. Speaking in Scotland, Starmer will contrast the opportunities for investing in a low-carbon economy with the devastation of the UK’s industrial heartlands under Margaret Thatcher. “This cannot be a re-run of the 1980s,” he will say. “This is the race of our lifetime, and the prize is real.” Labour’s plans for renewable energy, including a ban on new oil and gas exploration and development in the North Sea, have come under attack, from the Conservatives and trade unions. Grant Shapps, the energy secretary, accused the Labour leader of being “the political wing” of Just Stop Oil. Starmer will counter by arguing net zero is vital to the UK’s safety. “We live in an increasingly volatile world. The twin risks of climate change and energy security now threaten the stability of nations,” he will say. “So we’ve got to ground everything we do in a new insight – that clean energy is now essential for national security team also rebuffed suggestions of a U-turn on the North Sea oil ban. Rescinding permission for projects that have cleared all regulatory hurdles before the general election would be costly and legally complex, so the party’s proposed ban on new oilfields will not cover projects that have achieved all three levels of consent, for exploration, development and production. It is unlikely that many of the more than 100 North Sea licences the government is mulling would fall into that category, though one of the biggest – the Rosebank oil and gas field – could clear the final regulatory hurdles soon. Labour’s plans also include insulating 19 million homes, setting up a national energy company, decarbonising electricity supply by 2030 and a national wealth fund to invest in green infrastructure. Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary for climate change and net zero, told the Guardian the package would transform the UK’s economy. “This is a transformative agenda to bring lower bills, more jobs, energy security and climate leadership,” he said. “Labour is seizing the future, in stark contrast to the Tories, who have abandoned the pitch on this agenda.” New analysis by Carbon Brief found less gas would be imported by 2030 under Labour’s plans than under Tory policies, despite the proposed ban on new North Sea drilling. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fjun%2F18%2Fkeir-starmer-to-throw-everything-at-plan-to-get-uk-to-net-zero%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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It is important to address any concerns and find common ground to ensure a fair and equitable approach to the green transformation.
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We need leaders who are conscious of the effects of climate change and how to mitigate the crisis for the sake of life on earth.
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these are the kind of leaders we need today
monicah mbesu
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Grattan Institute analysis recommends governments help households transition to electric, and ban new gas connections for homes and businessesGetting households off gas for heating and cooking would cut energy bills and improve people’s health, and is necessary for Australia to have any hope of reaching net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, a new analysis says. The report by the Grattan Institute, a Melbourne-based thinktank, called on state and territory governments to set dates for the end of gas use and launch campaigns to encourage and help households become “all electric”, running on renewable energy. It recommended governments also ban new gas connections for homes, shops and small businesses and set dates to phase out the sale of gas appliances and by which rental homes have to be fitted with electric cooktops and water and home heating systems. The report said the transition to running on electricity will be challenging – about 5m homes across the country use gas. In Victoria, the most gas-reliant state, getting off the fossil fuel by 2050 would require an additional 200 households to get off it every day until then. But it said the cost and health benefits would be significant. It recommended governments pay for upgrades to social, community and Indigenous housing and for a limited period offer low-interest loans and tax incentives for other households and landlords. Tony Wood, the lead author of the report, said there was “no time to waste”. “There will be costs to the great energy transition, and governments will need to decide who pays, how much, and when,” he said. “But we must do this for our hip pockets, our health and our environment.” The report said it currently usually costs more to buy an electric appliance than a gas equivalent, but electric options were more efficient and cheaper to run. The lower running costs of efficient electric appliances allowed households to recover more than the upfront cost over the lifespan of an appliance in nearly all cases. Exceptions were for some homes in Western Australia, where gas is much cheaper than in eastern states, and for households that bought cheap, inefficient electric appliances. On health, the report cited studies that found gas stoves released nitrogen dioxide and tiny PM2.5 particles that irritate lungs and have been linked to substantially higher asthma levels in children. Gas stoves may leak particles even when not in use, it said. The report comes as the gas lobbying group, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, has launched a national advertising campaign to bolster gas use, claiming it is fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fjun%2F19%2Faustralian-homes-gas-net-zero-targets-report%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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this is amazing of australia
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These are great strides, if it'll be fully executed
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This is a salient step since it'll not only reduce the cost of living for the Australians but also most importantly it'll ensure a significant decarbonization milestone is achieved since natural gas isn't green at all.
monicah mbesu
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The world must rethink its approach to the climate crisis, by investing trillions of dollars instead of billions in the developing world, and moving beyond conventional ideas of overseas aid, one of the world’s most influential climate economists has urged. “We need a complete rethink of the whole nexus of climate, debt and development,” Avinash Persaud told the Observer, before a key summit. “What we are seeing today is new – countries affected by climate disaster, this is happening now. Countries are drowning.” He called for a tripling of the finance available from the World Bank and similar institutions, and a huge influx of cash from the private sector, driven by the careful use of public funds and regulation to remove the current barriers to investment. “This is the biggest financial opportunity in the world,” he said. Persaud is economic adviser to Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, who is co-hosting a meeting of world leaders this week with French president Emmanuel Macron. More than 50 heads of state and government are expected to attend the summit in Paris this Thursday and Friday, including Lula da Silva of Brazil, Germany’s Olaf Scholtz and the Chinese premier Li Qiang. Rishi Sunak is likely to snub the conference. Joe Biden is sending his climate envoy, John Kerry. In Paris, Mottley and Persaud will set out the “Bridgetown agenda”, named after the Barbados capital where it was first mooted last year. They will call for debt relief for some of the poorest nations facing climate catastrophe, a tripling of funding from the world’s multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, and new taxes to fund climate action, including, potentially, a levy on shipping. They will also call for reforms to the way the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other institutions operate, to make it easier for them to “de-risk” private sector investment in developing countries, such as by providing guarantees or long-term loans. “The private sector has to be involved,” Persaud said. “The numbers needed would swamp developing countries’ balance sheets, but private companies can do it.” Persaud values pragmatism above ideals, and above traditional economic thinking. “If you ask economists for ideas, they will come up with an infinite number of ideas that are clever, elegant – and completely impractical,” he said.fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fjun%2F18%2Fcountries-are-drowning-climate-expert-calls-for-urgent-rethink-on-scale-of-aid-for-developing-world%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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Indeed we need a complete rethink of the whole nexus of climate, debt and development
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Great to see this conversation taking this shape, it's my hope that the resolution of this meeting are going to solve funding problems for the developing nations.
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If permanent solution is not sort,we will continue with the effects of these crisis,it should also be a collective responsibility
monicah mbesu
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In early 2022, the lobbying firm Dragoman met its client, the Northern Territory government, to discuss how to convince the federal government to support a vast new port and manufacturing hub in Darwin.Now known as the Middle Arm sustainable development precinct, the hub will be a major manufacturing centre for gas, petrochemicals, blue and green hydrogen and critical minerals. The precinct is key to the territory’s ambition to develop its massive natural gas reserves in the Beetaloo basin and offshoreWith the federal election looming in May 2022, the lobbyists were keen to extract promises from the Coalition and Labor for the billions needed. According to documents seen by Guardian Australia, at the meeting were the former Liberal minister Robert Hill, now “chairman of counsellors” at Dragoman, and the former Labor leader Simon Crean, who had previously been engaged by Dragoman to help the French government-owned submarine company Naval Group improve its image with Labor. The new documents show how the Northern Territory government pursued a strategy to “influence the commonwealth government to support the establishment of gas-based manufacturing in the NT”. Central to that was the appointment of a lobbying firm in the lead-up to the election that would provide “deep political insight, analysis and strategic guidance”. This was viewed as an urgent task, with one email between senior NT bureaucrats in June 2021 noting “we are about to start the political giving season!”. What was said by the former politicians at the May meeting is not recorded in the documents, but the group discussed “potential alignments and leverages” – lobbyist speak for how to make the project appealing to both sides of politics. The Coalition was on board with a massive expansion of gas, but for Labor it was more complex: it was promising more rapid reductions in Australia’s greenhouse emissions. strategy was a resounding success. In the lead-up to the election, the Morrison government committed $1.5bn to the Middle Arm project. A few days later, Anthony Albanese followed suit. After Labor’s win, the October 2022 budget review statement confirmed the support with an equity investment in Middle Arm of $1.5bn. Later this year, the lobbyists, business figures and former politicians behind the push will pass another milestone in their quest to achieve one of the largest expansions of the fossil fuel industry in Australia’s history, when the NT government lodges its environmental impact assessment (EIS) for the project. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup But some environmentalists fear that the financial commitments of state and federal governments to the project, now more than $2bn, mean it is already a done deal. Supporters of the 1,500-hectare Middle Arm development proclaim it as the linchpin in the NT government’s ambitious economic expansion plans. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Faustralia-news%2F2023%2Fjun%2F19%2Frevealed-documents-detail-key-players-behind-vast-australian-fossil-fuel-expansion%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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The profiteers always in their element..never a]caring about people
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There's enough evidence of egocentrism here in the push for such unjust pursuits that mean no good but evil to the planet by individuals and companies whose solemn interest is to fed for their insatiable greed. That should change nonetheless.
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This is alot of many channeled in the wrong direction, it's time to say no to such negatives investments no matter the profit for the sake of our planet.
monicah mbesu
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The sun has been shining on Scarborough’s South Bay all week, but Steve Crawford isn’t opening up the surf shop he’s so proud of – “mahogany door, views over to the castle” – because the water isn’t safe to swim in. “My business has vanished overnight,” he says. “On coronation weekend, the red flags went up warning people not to go in the water because of poor water quality, and now there are signs at every access point to the beach saying ‘No swimming’.” Poor water quality linked to pollution has been a problem here for many years. But this is the first time Crawford has had to shut completely. Most days I can’t face coming down here,” he says. “I’ve been surfing since I was nine, I’ve run the shop in this old Victorian spa building for 17 years. Right now, I should be sitting outside, drinking coffee and chatting to people about surfing. But it’s all gone. My livelihood has evaporated.”here and across the country, just as Britain’s beaches should be filling up, sewage and pollution are shutting them down. The figures are alarming. Between 15 May and 30 September last year, sewage was dumped into designated bathing waters more than 5,000 times. There were an average of 825 sewage spills every single day into England’s waterways in 2022. In the north west, United Utilities discharged untreated sewage almost 70,000 times last year, while Severn Trent Water discharged sewage through storm overflows 44,765 times in the same period. In just a single eight-day stretch, Southern Water dumped more than 3,700 hours’ worth of sewage at 83 bathing water beaches. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fjun%2F18%2Fno-swimming-no-surfing-how-a-summer-of-sewage-is-ruining-the-british-seaside-day-out%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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It is crucial to prioritize the health of our oceans, support affected communities, and work collectively to ensure that everyone can enjoy clean and safe coastal environments.
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What are the water and sewer authorities as well as the ministry of health doing about this?
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This is so disturbing, we need accountability from companies and homes dumping sewage in waterways. We must keep all water streams clean.
monicah mbesu
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One day in 1986, Caroline Lucas went looking for the Green party headquarters, finding them in a “shoe box” on Clapham High Street in south London, and immediately signed up as a member. Thirty-seven years later, Lucas has announced she will stand down at the next election as the party’s only MP after decades as its highest-profile member. In that time she has been one of its MEPs, its only MP, and its leader on two occasions, and has spearheaded its core strategies of social and environmental justice to achieve some of the party’s best ever election results. As she prepares to concentrate on her environmental work, Lucas leaves behind a bigger, more established and more professional party. She also leaves a parliament where the causes she has championed for years, from ending coal power to banning fracking, have been taken up by the UK’s two biggest parties. “It has been about putting things on the political agenda that would not have been there without me,” she says, hours after announcing her intention to stand down. “On coal power, on fracking, on drug policy, I have worked very hard to make these things issues for mainstream political debate.” Lucas, the child of two Conservative voters, was involved in a variety of progressive causes when she was younger, from women’s rights to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. She says Jonathon Porritt’s book Seeing Green convinced her that these causes were all linked, with ecology and environmentalism at their core. After finishing the book, she immediately joined the Green party. Not long after, the party achieved its best ever election result, winning 15% of the vote and coming third in the 1989 European elections. That result, however, failed to translate into a single seat, thanks to the wide dispersal of Green support across the country. https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Caroline+Lucas%3A+Green+moderniser+who+made+parliament+listen&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2023%2Fjun%2F08%2Fcaroline-lucas-green-party-moderniser-made-parliament-listen%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw
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Caroline Lucas's legacy will endure, serving as an inspiration for future generations of environmental activists and politicians.
monicah mbesu
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Keir Starmer’s promise to block new North Sea oil and gas exploration has received the backing of an eclectic range of high-profile groups, including environmental campaigners, trade unions and even the Women’s Institute. The Labour leader is set to unveil his net zero energy policies during a speech in Scotland this month, including a radical pledge to ban all North Sea oil and gas licences. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2023%2Fjun%2F04%2Fstarmer-labour-new-north-sea-oil-gas-ban%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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There should be no discussions about this!
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This is great decision m
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That's the way to go about it.
monicah mbesu
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A new investigation into Chevron’s climate pledge has found the fossil-fuel company relies on “junk” carbon offsets and “unviable” technologies, which do little to offset its vast greenhouse gas emissions and in some cases may actually be causing communities harm. Chevron, which reported $35.5bn in profits last year, is the US’s second-largest fossil fuel company with operations stretching from Canada and Brazil to the UK, Nigeria and Australia. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fmay%2F24%2Fchevron-carbon-offset-climate-crisis%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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Pinned by We Don't Have Time
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The cited report is biased against our industry and paints an incomplete picture of Chevron’s efforts to advance a lower carbon future. Chevron supports offsets as part of that effort and views them as an important market-based approach to efficient carbon reductions. The majority of the offsets referred to in the report are compliance-grade offsets accepted by governments in the regions where we operate. Chevron’s recently published Corporate Sustainability Report and latest Climate Change Resilience Report offer a more complete view of the many ways we are working constructively to offer solutions for a lower carbon future. Bill Turenne, Jr. External Affairs Advisor Chevron
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Dear monicah mbesu Thank you for getting your climate warning to level 2! We have reached out to Chevron and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! /Adam We Don't Have Time
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Any source of carbon should be treated as hazardous,, and cause chaos to environment
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This is despicable and should be corrected at once.
monicah mbesu
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Water companies in England have apologised for repeated sewage spills and pledged to invest £10bn this decade in an attempt to quell public anger over pollution in seas and rivers. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fmay%2F18%2Fuk-water-companies-offer-apology-and-10bn-investment-for-sewage-spills%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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Let's hope that they will keep their words after the apology
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I hope the action won't be repeated
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It's good they have apologised hopes the action will not be repeated at all
monicah mbesu
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The UN Environment Programme gave a report which states that Global plastic pollution could be reduced to 80% by 2040. The agency said that there are changes that need to eliminate this and are stated below 1.By eliminating unnecessary plastics 2. Increasing the reuse of plastics by boosting recycling 3.Enforcing packaging guidelines to increase recycalability of products among others. If government policies regulate the changes that means plastic pollution would drop to about 40m tons by 2040. If the changes are incorporated it will help reduce the damage caused by plastics to health,the climate and the environment. Its upto to us to take care of this environment and live a healthy life with clean air thus avoiding diseases from a filthy environment. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fmay%2F16%2Fplastic-pollution-could-be-slashed-by-80-by-2040-un-says%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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Very sad...
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This are great news , hope everyone in the world can follow this policy on reusing plastics and reducing its usage.
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Plastic is really bad.
monicah mbesu
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The US Environmental Protection Agency is taking unprecedented enforcement action over PFAS water pollution by ordering the chemical giant Chemours’ Parkersburg, West Virginia, plant to stop discharging extremely high levels of toxic PFAS waste into the Ohio River. The river is a drinking water source for 5 million people, and the EPA’s Clean Water Act violation order cites 71 instances between September 2018 to March 2023 in which Chemours’ Washington Works facility discharged more PFAS waste than its pollution permit allowed. The agency also noted damaged facilities and equipment that appeared to be leaking PFAS waste on to the ground. PFAS are a class of about 15,000 chemicals often used to make thousands of products across dozens of industries resistant to water, stains and heat. The chemicals are ubiquitous and linked at low levels of exposure to cancer, thyroid disease, kidney dysfunction, birth defects, autoimmune disease and other serious health problems. The step by the EPA drew praise from some environmental groups, but at least one noted the permit still allows high levels of PFAS pollution and may not adequately protect the environment and human health. The EPA and states should also be taking similar action against PFAS polluters everywhere, not just Chemours, critics say. Washington Works’ PFAS waste poisoned Parkersburg’s water for decades under DuPont’s management, before it spun off Chemours. That led to lawsuits in the early 2000s that dragged on for years, but in 2017 led to $671m in payouts to town residents, an epidemiological study that linked DuPont PFAS to residents’ health problems and a movie about the controversy. Still, the pollution continues. “The Parkersburg community has a long history with this facility and the ever-present threat of PFAS pollution,” said Adam Ortiz, the EPA mid-Atlantic regional administrator, in a statement. “This order demonstrates that EPA will take action to safeguard public health and the environment from these dangerous contaminants.” The EPA is ordering Chemours to rein in its pollution by testing effluents and implementing a plan to remove more of the dangerous chemicals before discharging water. The order cites exceedances for two PFAS compounds, PFOA and HFPO-DA, the latter more frequently known as GenX. Chemours in 2019 recorded GenX levels from one Washington Works pipe at a monthly average of about 38,000 parts per trillion (ppt). The pollution permit’s current limit is 1,400ppt. But the EPA is in the process of lowering GenX’s national drinking water limit to 5ppt. Similar levels and exceedances were found for PFOA, and the chemicals are generally considered to be two of the most well-studied and dangerous PFAS compounds. The EPA order also noted an unplugged grate and piping were allowing PFAS to spill on to the ground, where it probably moved into ground or surface water and inspectors found ripped storage bins that appeared to be leaking PFAS waste. Chemours failed to “properly operate and maintain all facilities and systems of [pollution] treatment and control”, the EPA wrote.fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2023%2Fmay%2F06%2Fus-epa-pfas-drinking-water-pollution-ohio-river%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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Dear monicah mbesu Thank you for getting your climate love to level 2! We have reached out to Environmental Investigation Agency US and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! /Adam We Don't Have Time
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A step closer to clean water is made
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This enforcement action should serve as a strong deterrent to other industrial facilities.
monicah mbesu
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Fossil fuel extraction and exploration is taking place at almost 3,000 sites in protected areas around the world, analysis has revealed, with the UK having the highest number of fossil fuel sites in protected areas. Globally, the activities affect more than 800 areas established to defend nature. The coal, oil and gas at the fossil fuel sites would lead to 47bn tonnes of climate-heating carbon dioxide if fully exploited, four times the annual emissions of China, the world’s biggest polluter. The sites included are oil and gas operations, coalmines, fossil fuel sites in development and those with exploration licences. “Every single one of these sites is a sign of hypocrisy, saying on one hand that this area is worthy of protection and then on the other hand, bringing fossil fuel extraction into those same areas,” said Alice McGown, a geographic information expert at the Leave it in the Ground Initiative (Lingo), which produced the study. The analysis also assessed the potential CO2 emissions from fossil fuel activities in protected areas for each country, with China, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia making up the top three and the UK, Australia, US and Canada all in the top 12.Affected areas include marine protection areas in the UK, the Arctic national wildlife refuge in the US, Canada’s Rocky Mountain parks, and the Coongie Lakes in South Australia. China’s Xilin Gol natural steppe protected area and the Jubail marine wildlife sanctuary in Saudi Arabia also contain fossil fuel activities. The United Arab Emirates will preside over the UN’s annual climate summit in November and December and is also in the top 12 countries, with oil and gas activities in the Marawah biosphere reserve, which is a refuge for dugongs, sea turtles and corals. At 509, the number of fossil fuel sites in UK protected areas is more than any other country, according to the analysis, with most in the North Sea. It found 170 oil and gas sites in the southern North Sea Ospar marine protected area and further sites in the north Norfolk sandbanks, Saturn reef, and Liverpool Bay protected areas. The Faroe-Shetland sponge belt Ospar area is also an area of major fossil fuel exploitation. Onshore in the UK, the South Downs national park hosts nine oil and gas sites, with other sites in the area of outstanding natural beauty in Lincolnshire Wolds and the North York Moors national park. “Britain has many offshore extraction sites within internationally recognised protected areas in the North Sea and what’s really worrying is that they’re developing even more right now,” said McGown. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fmay%2F10%2Fuk-tops-list-for-fossil-fuel-sites-in-nature-protected-areas%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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This is so sad
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this is really bad
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What is wrong with the UK? They are really doing badly in the fight against climate change.
monicah mbesu
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Spikes in air pollution increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias, a large study has found. The research, based on nearly 200,000 hospital admissions in China, found a significant increase in risk of arrhythmias in the first few hours after an increase in air pollution levels. Heart arrhythmias can increase the risk of heart disease and sudden cardiac death. We found that acute exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with increased risk of symptomatic arrhythmia,” said Dr Renjie Chen of Fudan University in Shanghai. “The risks occurred during the first several hours after exposure and could persist for 24 hours.” A study last year reported a link between fine particulate air pollution and cardiac arrhythmias in otherwise healthy teenagers, and confirmed that this translates to a meaningful health risk. The study also suggested that the exposure risk from six pollutants was roughly linear without an obvious safe threshold. The study included 190,115 patients admitted to hospital in 322 Chinese cities, who were suffering from sudden onset arrythmia, including atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, premature beats and supraventricular tachycardia. Air pollution in China is well above the World Health Organization’s guidelines for air quality, and the researchers analysed the concentrations of six air pollutants from monitoring stations closest to the reporting hospitals. Of these, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) had the strongest association with all four types of arrythmia. The exact impact of air pollution is not clear, but there is some evidence that it causes oxidative stress and inflammation, which can affect the heart’s electrical activity. “Although the exact mechanisms are not yet fully understood, the association between air pollution and acute onset of arrhythmia that we observed is biologically plausible,” the authors wrote. A previous study found that on high pollution days in England hundreds more people are rushed into hospital for emergency care after suffering cardiac arrests, strokes and asthma attacks. In 2020, the British Heart Foundation estimated more than 160,000 people could die in the coming decade from strokes and heart attacks linked to air pollution. And the health impacts extend beyond heart disease, with research showing that particulate air pollution is driving up rates of lung cancer, by awakening dormant mutations that trigger the growth of tumours. The authors said the findings, published in the Canadian Medical Associatiown Journal, highlight the need to protect at-risk people during heavy air pollution and to reduce overall exposure. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fmay%2F01%2Fair-pollution-spikes-linked-to-irregular-heartbeats-study-finds%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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Dear monicah mbesu Your climate warning has received over 50 agrees! We have reached out to REPUBLIC OF CHINA by email and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! To reach more people and increase the chance of a response, click the Share button above to share the review on your social accounts. For every new member that joins We Don't Have Time from your network, we will plant a tree and attribute it to you! /Adam, We Don't Have Time
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This is absurd, the Chinese government must stand up and act. Endangering human health is a grave issue.
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The Chinese government needs to take care of this
monicah mbesu
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Chemical manufacturer Chemours accused of violating human rights by releasing ‘forever chemicals’ into Cape Fear River basin. A citizens group in North Carolina has formally requested the United Nations to investigate multiple alleged human rights violations stemming from chemical manufacturer Chemours’ toxic PFAS pollution in the region. About a half million residents live in the Cape Fear River basin between Fayetteville and Wilmington, where Chemours has produced PFAS and polluted the region for over 40 years. The residents face “an environmental human rights crisis … involving pervasive human exposure to toxic chemicals”, according to a communication filed with the UN by Clean Cape Fear and the University of California at Berkeley Environmental Law Clinic.PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of about 14,000 chemicals often used to make products resistant to water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they are virtually indestructible, and they are linked to cancer, liver problems, thyroid issues, birth defects, kidney disease, decreased immunity and other serious health problems. UN human rights commission investigation there would be the first to look into an environmental crisis in the US. Residents say they have been denied the right to clean water, bodily integrity, information, an effective remedy, and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. University researchers first discovered the pollution in 2017, and North Carolinians are “in disbelief that we are still living with this”, said Clean Cape Fear co-founder Emily Donovan, who resides near Wilmington. “We’re nearly six years into this and my kids still go to a school that has water with high levels of PFAS,” she added. “Everyone is aware of the problem … and is outraged, and we’re all asking, ‘Why is this still going on?’” Chemours is among the world’s largest PFAS producers, and last year the Guardian detailed how pollution from its Fayetteville Works plant has contaminated the air, soil, and water throughout hundreds of square miles in the Cape Fear River basin. For decades, many residents unknowingly drank water contaminated with PFAS at levels thousands of times above what the EPA now considers safe for some compounds. The chemicals have also been found in food grown in the region. At popular tourist beaches, children have played in toxic PFAS foam spread across the sand, and the chemicals are thought to be killing pets and sickening alligators, birds and fish in the basin. Residents suspect the pollution is behind anecdotally high levels of cancer and other diseases linked to exposure to the chemicals. Though a brief state health department analysis found elevated levels of one kind of cancer, it and the EPA have refused to carry out the kind of epidemiological studies needed to determine the pollution’s full health effects, and which are required to hold Chemours legally responsible for health problems. The pervasive toxification of human bodies and the ecosystem of the lower Cape Fear River watershed with PFAS that persist essentially forever lends particular urgency to controlling these toxics at their source,” the complaint states. Chemours did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The communication comes as Chemours is seeking a state permit to expand Fayetteville Works’ production, and just after a federal judge threw out a lawsuit asking the court to force the EPA to take stronger action in the region. In a statement, Chemours said it is “unfortunate to see misinformation campaigns like this continue to be aggressively advanced by groups unwilling to acknowledge the proven progress made or the truth that not all PFAS originates from our site”. The EPA, state and Chemours have taken some steps to rein in the plant’s discharges, but contamination levels still remain well above EPA limits for some PFAS compounds. “The EPA and [North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality] are also, through regulatory timidity and enforcement half-measures, responsible for acquiescing in past and ongoing human rights violations,” the complaint states. If the UN human rights commission chooses to investigate, a special rapporteur would fact-check the allegations in the communication, then issue “pointed” allegation letters to regulators, Chemours and other culpable parties detailing problems and posing questions, said Claudia Polsky, director of UC Berkley Law Clinic. Businesses and governments would have a chance to respond, and usually do, Polsky said. International law is not legally binding, but the process would “put recipients on the defensive” and provide a platform on which the region’s compelling human rights violation narrative is told “to the world at large”, Polsky said. That would put tremendous pressure on the government to act, she added. “It’s not just words in the wind,” Polsky said, adding that it can also “provide cover and give backbone to agencies to do things they may want to do, but feel browbeaten by industry.” The communication asks the special rapporteur to pressure regulators to stop the Fayetteville Works expansion, ensure clean water in the region, conduct an epidemiological study, hold Chemours financially responsible for cleanup and ban the entire PFAS for non-essential uses, among other measures. The UN in 2021 investigated alleged human rights violations in Veneto, Italy, where the environment was also thoroughly contaminated by PFAS. That “inspired” those in the Cape Fear basin, Donovan said. “There’s a lack of accountability so we’ll ask anyone who is willing to help, and we thought ‘Maybe that’s the kind of leverage that we need,’” she added. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fapr%2F28%2Fnorth-carolina-toxic-pfas-pollution-chemours%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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Really disappointing
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This should be investigated and action taken
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Very sad 😭
monicah mbesu
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Suella Braverman is to give police the power to ban slow walking in traffic by protesters, as Just Stop Oil enters the fifth consecutive day of using the tactic in the latest phase of its climate protest campaign. The home secretary said a statutory instrument to the public order bill, which passed its final stages in parliament on Wednesday, would stop what she described as the “selfish disruptive protesters [who] are wreaking havoc in people’s everyday lives across the country”. Just Stop Oil’s supporters have carried out slow marches on busy roads in the capital every day this week, as it renews its campaign after climate rallies in Westminster by Extinction Rebellion last weekend. The group, which calls on the government to stop licensing new oil and gas projects, adopted the tactic at the end of last year, after supporters racked up long lists of arrests and charges for a series of dramatic and disruptive protests. Police were forced to weigh the disruption of the marches against the protesters’ rights to political speech.A change to the definition of “serious disruption” would empower police to intervene when protesters used the tactic, the Home Office said. “This will give police the clarity they have asked for on when to use their existing powers to break up the slow marching tactics protesters have used to halt traffic across the UK,” it said. On Friday morning, 64 Just Stop Oil supporters marched from locations in Ealing, Putney and Mile End, the campaign said. According to the Metropolitan police, in each case protesters moved out of the road after 45 minutes to an hour when officers enforced orders requiring them to only protest on the pavement. In Mile End, a man was escorted from the scene by police after snatching banners from activists and dumping them by the side of the road, MailOnline reported. Just Stop Oil denounced the government’s move. “We won’t be deterred by changes to protest laws or how strongly the police enforce those laws,” a spokesperson said. “Just Stop Oil supporters understand that this is irrelevant when we face mass starvation, mass death and the collapse of ordered human society.” Richard Clark, 49, a Just Stop Oil supporter from Cornwall, said: “The government and their paymasters are engaged in a genocidal attack on the young and those least responsible for climate breakdown around the world. I will support those fighting our corrupt and wanton system, even risking my own freedom and livelihood as a teacher.” The public order bill will create a number of new protest offences and grant police a number of new powers over demonstrations. A new criminal offence of interfering with key national infrastructure carries a 12-month potential sentence. Protesters who lock themselves together, or to objects or buildings, could face six months in jail.The public order bill will create a number of new protest offences and grant police a number of new powers over demonstrations. A new criminal offence of interfering with key national infrastructure carries a 12-month potential sentence. Protesters who lock themselves together, or to objects or buildings, could face six months in jail. https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Police+to+get+powers+to+ban+slow+walking+in+traffic+amid+Just+Stop+Oil+protests&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fapr%2F28%2Fpolice-powers-ban-slow-walking-traffic-just-stop-oil-protests%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw
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Dear monicah mbesu Your climate warning has received over 50 agrees! We have reached out to Suella Braverman by email and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! To reach more people and increase the chance of a response, click the Share button above to share the review on your social accounts. For every new member that joins We Don't Have Time from your network, we will plant a tree and attribute it to you! /Adam, We Don't Have Time
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Well this is just absurd
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This is unbelievable, I wish she could read her statement again and withdraw.
monicah mbesu
50 w
The UK government’s pledges on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farming and land use fall short of promises made in its net zero strategy, analysis has found. Using figures from the government’s carbon budget delivery plan, analysts from WWF found that the total projected emissions reductions from now until 2037 for agriculture and land use were 58% less than the emissions reductions figures underpinning the original net zero strategy. This gap is equivalent to the emissions of the entire UK building sector. The government announced after Brexit that the EU’s common agricultural policy, where land managers were paid for the amount of land they were in charge of, would be replaced by environment land management schemes. Slowly being rolled out now, these are aimed at paying farmers to restore nature. However, despite this, for farming the expected total emission reductions from now to 2037 in the new plan are 38% lower than previously promised in the government’s original net zero strategy, and continue to omit any actions to support a shift to more sustainable diets. The total projected emission benefits from tree planting from now to 2037 are also 85% lower than previously claimed. Tree planting rates are currently only half of what is needed to be in line with net zero. Peatlands are some of the most carbon-rich areas with the biggest benefits if they are restored. However, according to the WWF analysis, the total projected emission benefits from peatland restoration are 80% lower than the equivalent emissions from peatland promised in the original net zero strategy. Environment campaigners have raised the alarm that this lack of ambition will not only impede efforts to reach net zero but will also have dire consequences for wildlife and biodiversity, which would benefit from better nature restoration policies. Angela Francis, the director of policy solutions at WWF, said: “From our economy to the food and drink we consume; nature underpins everything that makes our lives possible. However, these figures show the government have knowingly settled for a lack of ambition, making it painfully clear the gap we face to tackle the climate and nature crisis is greater than ever. We need a proper decarbonisation plan for agriculture, proper investment to support farmers to transition to regenerative farming and meaningful action to support sustainable diets. We cannot halt the nature and climate crisis unless we transform the way we use our land. Investment to reward farmers is a vital step to provide what is necessary to meet our climate and environmental goals, reduce emissions and save our wild isles.” Farmers have previously complained that they have been left behind and not helped to decarbonise their businesses, with the new payment schemes, which faced large delays in being implemented, difficult to sign up to and narrow in their scope. fb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fapr%2F28%2Fuk-failing-to-honour-net-zero-farming-pledges-report-finds%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287
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The UK cannot afford to lag behind.
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It is not in such a matter that they should fail to honor their pledges
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This is not a time to drag behind or fail,it's time for proper a action
monicah mbesu
50 w
Aleading private equity firm that claims to be an industry climate leader in fact almost doubled its average annual greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel investments over the past decade, according to new research. The Carlyle Group’s portfolio of fossil fuel companies emitted an estimated 277m metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) – a measure that includes methane and other potent global-heating gases – from 2011 to 2021, according to an investigation into the company’s energy portfolio. The research calculates the multinational’s 10-year greenhouse gas footprint to be roughly equivalent to the “carbon bomb” that Alaska’s Willow arctic drilling project is to emit over its decades-long operation, and would take an estimated 4.6bn new trees a decade to remove from the atmosphere. The new research, by the Private Equity Climate Risks project, calculated Carlyle’s greenhouse gas footprint using an industry-designed tool developed by the Initiative Climat International (iCI) to document direct and indirect emissions by private equity firms – having first verified which oil, gas and coal companies they back, own or invest in through publicly available information. Carlyle’s investment portfolio contributes substantially to the global climate crisis and inflicts environmental harms most commonly in areas with large proportions of low-income and Black and brown households, according to the report, which calls on lawmakers to close regulatory loopholes and require greater transparency. “Despite its public statements to the contrary, Carlyle is a driving force behind climate change through its substantial financing of greenhouse gas emitting sectors,” said Oscar Valdés Viera, co-author and research manager at the Americans for Financial Reform education fund. “Without meaningful regulatory oversight, private equity firms like Carlyle will continue to get away with endangering low-income and Black and brown communities, who are at greater risk from pollution and environmental harm.” Despite its public statements to the contrary, Carlyle is a driving force behind climate change Oscar Valdés Viera of Americans for Financial Reform The Carlyle Group vehemently disputes the findings and methodology, claiming that it is working to decarbonize “conventional” energy firms and its latest investments in renewables are outpacing fossil fuels. Private equity refers to an opaque form of private financing away from public, regulated markets in which funds and investors manage money for wealthy individuals and institutional investors such as university endowments and state employee pension funds. In recent years, private equity firms have become major greenhouse gas polluters, often acquiring risky oil, gas and coal projects with minimal public scrutiny or regulatory oversight – which makes verifying portfolio companies and assets extremely challenging. Headquartered in Washington DC with more than 2,100 employees in 29 offices around the world, Carlyle is one of the pioneers of private equity, and at the end of 2022 had $373bn of assets under management. Carlyle is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, so is bound by more reporting requirements than the vast majority of private equity firms. The company began investing in renewables in 2019, and last year became the first major private equity firm to pledge to net zero emissions by 2050 (for some of its portfolio). The firm has been promoting its climate credentials by claiming to “drive positive change” with “activities grounded in driving real emission reductions”. Yet at the end of 2022, fossil fuels accounted for 94% of the company’s energy portfolio, including oil and gas operations based in Texas, Massachusetts, Romania and Switzerland, according to the report The Carlyle Group’s Hidden Climate Impact. For every dollar invested in renewable energy sources like solar and wind, Carlyle invests $16 in fossil fuel operations like pipelines, oil and fracking wells, and power plants, according to the consortium of researchers – who told the Guardian that their calculations were based on “conservative emissions estimates” disclosed by the company. The private equity industry manages about $11tn globally. Asset managers and funds buy and restructure companies including startups, franchises, troubled businesses and real estate operations using their clients’ money. Yet unlike banks and other publicly listed companies, private equity firms are exempt from most financial disclosure rules, making it extremely difficult to track their assets – or risks. It means people such as firefighters, nurses and teachers whose pensions are invested in private equity funds have little way of knowing if their retirement nest egg is financing police surveillance equipment, hospitals, leaky pipelines or coal plants. As publicly listed banks, universities and energy companies have come under growing pressure from shareholders and environmental advocates to divest from fossil fuels, rather than phasing out or retiring polluting projects, some have turned to private equity as a source of last-ditch capital. Since 2010, the industry has invested at least $1.1tn in energy projects globally – mostly in companies engaged in the exploration, extraction, transportation, storage, processing and burning of oil, coal and gas. The report argues that Carlyle’s energy portfolio stands out as particularly dirty: between 2011 and 2021, 90% of the estimated 91 energy companies Carlyle backed were fossil fuel operations. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions from the company’s energy portfolio increased by 95% on average annually, researchers found. The company’s greenhouse gas footprint was about equivalent to the 2021 emissions of several large countries including Ukraine, Pakistan, Spain or Nigeria. And it’s paid off: despite accounting for only 6% of total assets under management, energy investments generated around half of the firm’s overall profits in 2022, mainly thanks to $660m from NGP Energy Capital Management – also known as NGP or Natural Gas Partners. https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Fapr%2F27%2Fcarlyle-group-carbon-emissions-doubled-climate-leadership-claims%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb
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Dear monicah mbesu Thank you for getting your climate warning to level 2! We have reached out to Harvey Schwartz and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! /Ford We Don't Have Time
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This is definitely disappointing, @thecarlylegroup must take responsibility.
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They should actually lead by example and not just mere PR
monicah mbesu
51 w
Governor Wisley Rotich has banned charcoal burning and trade in Elgeyo Marakwet county, citing a massive environmental degradation caused by tree felling.Consequently, anyone found burning or transporting charcoal within the county in the Kerio Valley belt will be considered a criminal. Already, roadblocks have been mounted on major roads in the county to hunt down traders who use bodabodas to ferry charcoal in sacks to major towns like Nakuru and Eldoret. Many rivers are drying up and many schools are in distress. Urban areas have limited water supply and poor sanitation and communities and individuals are fighting for water. This is a major threat to human life,” said the governor as he announced the ban. Deadly landslides The Elgeyo escarpment is known for numerous deadly landslides and it is here that massive charcoal burning happens, resulting in environmental degradation. To help with the implementation of the new directive, a multi-agency team comprising Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), police and county officials has been formed. The governor’s action was prompted by a huge outcry from the local community on the wanton destruction of the environment resulting from charcoal burning. Most of those doing the business are people from other counties. “To ensure the ban is enforced successfully, we have resolved to form a multi-agency team to combat charcoal burning which is threatening the livelihood of our residents. This will be jointly done by KFS, KWS, DCI, NEMA, the police as well as county officials,” the governor stated at his Iten office. We have sensitised the communities on the effects of charcoal burning and we want to stop this business. We will not spare anybody during the exercise because environmental degradation has hugely contributed to the ongoing ravaging drought,” the governor said. Register for cash crops As an alternative, all those trading in charcoal have been advised to register for the county cash crop programme as an alternative source of livelihood, with the county boss noting that it gives even better returns without destroying the environment. “As a long-term solution, we have engaged a huge number of partners to help us plant trees in all catchment areas when the rains begin,” he said. He urged the community to ensure all catchment areas are protected from destruction and also participate in tree growing, especially Bamboo, in all springs, wetlands, water intakes, dams, and rivers. “Nema has also been instructed to enforce the riparian law to ensure people don’t farm in the protected areas. All farmers who have planted Eucalyptus trees near water sources are advised to uproot and plant indigenous and Bamboo trees,” he said.
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Sure
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This was long overdue,thanks to the county government,
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This is great decision by the governor, I wish the council of governors can come up with such laws that cut across all counties.
monicah mbesu
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A former Pacific Island president has backed a Torres-Strait Islander-led legal case to hold the Australian government accountable for climate crisis inaction. On Monday, Anote Tong, the former president of Kiribati, signed a statement of solidarity with Paul Kabai and Pabai Pabai, who have taken the government to court, demanding further emissions reductions in line with science. The two Torres Strait Islander men hail from the Boigu and Saibai communities on two of Australia’s northernmost inhabited islands. Low-lying Saibai is just four kilometres from Papua New Guinea, and both islands are regularly flooded by seawater. The pair are leading a landmark class action on behalf of their island communities, arguing the commonwealth of Australia is acting unlawfully in failing to stop climate change that, if unchecked, will destroy their homelands. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Tong lent his support and said Australia needed to do more to cut emissions. “The Australian government is stepping up with cutting domestic emissions and committing to a zero emission level by 2050, which is good – but of course the real challenge has always been the exported fossil fuels, oil and gas which are essentially a lot more substantial than what would be emitted domestically. So that is the real challenge,” he said. “The [Australian] government sometimes feels that it’s not their problem. It’s the problem of the importing country but nevertheless, it still contributes to global emissions.” Tong backed the case after a week-long visit to the two Indigenous communities. “We find a great deal of similarity with the situation that these people are facing with our own situation in our part of the world,” he said. Particularly the most vulnerable Pacific island countries with respect to the impacts of climate change. “These peoples, these communities really do not receive any kind of focus.”Kabai said he feared that his culture and community is at risk of being lost if nothing is done to mitigate climate change.We could lose our culture, our identity, even our own mother land. If we are forced to relocate to a land that land does not belong to us, what will we tell our children of Sabai, of Boigu? It will be lost and we will be climate-change refugees,” Kabai said. Tong served as president of Kiribati from 2003 to 2016, and has meet with global leaders including former US president Barack Obama on climate advocacy. He urged the Australian government to do more to reduce climate change impacts, saying all nations must come together. It’s not created by any single one country and addressing it requires a collective effort. It’s got to be a global effort,” Tong told Guardian Australia. “The tragedy is that people have not come to the realisation that it’s all of our problems and unless we address it, we might be hitting the tipping point, where climate change will become irreversible. The predictions of doom are not so unrealistic.”
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Work on Climate or get sued for lack of action
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Great, Australia government should do more to reduce its climate change impacts
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It's crucial that all nations work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
monicah mbesu
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Local governments in China approved more new coal power in the first three months of 2023 than in the whole of 2021, according to official documents. The approvals, analysed by Greenpeace, reveal that between January and March this year, at least 20.45 gigawatts of coal power was approved, up from 8.63GW in the same period in 2022. In the whole of 2021, 18GW of coal was approved. A Chinese Communist party (CCP) five-year plan from 2016 had placed a heavy emphasis on reducing the use of coal and developing clean energy sources. In 2020 Xi Jinping, China’s leader, pledged that the country would become carbon neutral by 2060. This prompted an era of reduced coal power approvals as local governments sought to keep their local economies in check with Beijing’s priorities. A rise in coal power approvals came in 2020 when the five-year plan came to an end, as local governments anticipated even tighter restrictions on coal expansion in the next round. But in 2021, China suffered huge power outages, leading to a dramatic shift in the CCP’s energy priorities. In September the price of electricity soared as factories reopened to service global demand as the rest of the world emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic. But the government had capped prices, so many power plants reduced output rather than operated at a loss. China relies on coal for more than half of its energy consumption. As homes in the colder north of the country faced the prospect of a gruelling winter without heat, the government’s rhetoric shifted from reducing coal to prioritising energy security. That resulted in a “myth that if you build more power plants, that will bring more energy security,” said Xie Wenwen, a climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace. The war in Ukraine, which sent global energy prices soaring, was “another huge event that fuelled the energy security narrative”. Campaigners argue that in order to meet China’s growing energy needs, it is not more coal that is needed, but a more flexible grid. A report published this month by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, noted that technologies for storing clean energy “are not yet mature enough to be deployed at the scale considered essential” for China’s plans to expand the use of renewable energy.More than 75% of China’s coal, wind, solar and hydro resources are in the west of the country, while more than 70% of power consumption happens in central and eastern China. Five provinces on the east coast account for nearly two-fifths of China’s total consumption. Policymakers have yet to find a solution for efficiently rebalancing this problem. Still, in the 14th five-year plan, which covers the period until 2025, the government said that more than half of increased energy demands in that period should be covered by renewables. Between 2010 and 2021, renewable generation increased by an average annual rate of 19.2%, primarily from wind and solar power. But last year Xi said that coal would remain a mainstay of China’s energy mix that “would be hard to change in the short term”.
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Not acceptable
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Too bad
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So ironical
monicah mbesu
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A judge has warned that Ontario’s weak climate plans will “increase the risk of death” for Canada’s young people – but dismissed a lawsuit brought by a group worried that government inaction on global heating threatens their futures. Justice Marie-Andrée Vermette of Ontario superior court issued a decision on Tuesday that found that while both young people and Indigenous peoples bear the brunt of climate change, government failures to react were not a breach of their rights. In recent years, young people across the globe have turned to the courts to challenge government policies, which they fear are inadequate to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing climate. The landmark Ontario case, brought by the seven youth activists, focused on the climate legislation passed by premier Doug Ford’s conservative government nearly five years ago. The lawsuit alleges the province’s climate plan is incompatible with Canada’s Paris agreement commitments, which Ontario has pledged to uphold. By failing to uphold its climate pledges, the lawsuit claims, the province has violated the charter rights of young people. The lawsuit also called on the courts to require the province to draw up a new climate plan. In her judgment, Vermette found the youth “make a compelling case that climate change and the existential threat that it poses to human life” are clear and that the province’s climate plan “falls severely short” of what’s needed to address climate change. But she was skeptical that weaknesses in Ontario’s climate plan violated section 7 of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security. Vermette also dismissed the idea that Ontario’s plan violated section 15 of the charter, which recognizes the right to equality under the law without discrimination. While she agreed climate change disproportionately affects certain groups, the province was not obliged to fix this inequality through its climate targets. The dismissal is a blow to attempts by young people to hold governments to account, and is the latest lawsuit of its kind to fail. In 2020, the federal court dismissed a separate lawsuit by another group of young people against Ottawa over its climate plan. Despite the loss, Ecojustice, which represented the youth, said there was “reason for optimism” after the court found the case “justiciable”, meaning it is an appropriate legal question for courts to weigh in on. Previous climate cases in Canada that alleged charter breaches have been rejected because they were not justiciable.The decision includes a damning indictment of the Ontario government’s inadequate and dangerous climate target which puts people in the province on a collision course with the harmful and deadly impacts of climate change,” the group said in a statement, adding it would appeal the ruling to the province’s higher court. “The fight to hold the Ontario government accountable for its climate action is not over.”
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The Canadian government has to take seriously the climate crisis
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This is ridiculous! The only thing that threatens our existence is climate change!
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This is unacceptable, the judiciary must stand firm and guard our climate without the fear of intimidation from the executive, the judge sounds hypocritical.
monicah mbesu
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Young activist Mikaela Loach is bringing a steely determination to the fight for climate justice. Just don’t call her ‘the new Greta’. There were a few tears on Mother’s Day last month when Mikaela Loach’s mum came to visit her at her flat on the south coast. Loach handed her a hot-off-the press copy of her new book, It’s Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our Worldts cover dazzles in pink – as does Loach today, a rapidly rising star in the fight for climate justice, who pitches up for our interview in a pink puffer, rose-pink boilersuit and pale-pink glasses. After her mother read Loach’s acknowledgments thanking her for passing on her “huge heart”, she “had a good cry. And then she called my grandmother in Jamaica who was, like, ‘Why you bawling out like?’”Loach promptly rumbles her grandmother for having cried herself when she’d read her the accounts of their conversations early in the pandemic. Her grandmother had described how Hellshire Beach, near Kingston, where Mikaela played as a tiny child, had almost disappeared due to climate change. The helplessness Mikaela heard in her grandmother’s voice spurred her on to write the book. Loach, 25, is a trainee doctor at Edinburgh University and her capacious empathy is part of her armoury. Along with her openness and fearlessness, it shapes her inclusive brand of activism, which has seen her take the UK government to court over what she alleged were unlawful tax breaks afforded to North Sea oil and gas companies, share a stage with Bill Gates, and work with refugees in Calais. In 2020, Cosmopolitan called Loach a “joyful gamechanger”, and later that year she launched her Yikes! podcast, while Forbes, Global Citizen and BBC Woman’s Hour have hailed her as a leading influencer in the UK climate movement. I ask her if she is the new Greta Thunberg and she laughs. “I don’t think any of us are the new Greta. I also think a lot of us are quite tired of being compared to her, and I think Greta is tired of it as well. “She is an incredible leader of our movement, but we have multiple leaders as well. It’s important to note that Greta was chosen by the media to be the palatable face of a movement that’s been around for a long time. It was a choice to choose a young Swedish woman, or girl, at the time. What she was doing didn’t really threaten the status quo in the same way as indigenous activists who were chaining themselves to pipelines the same age as her all over the world.” In It’s Not That Radical, Loach reframes the climate change debate, arguing that it requires racial equality – a pathway to a better world for everyone, regardless of class, colour, where you live, or any other stratification that currently shapes a life. She wants everyone to know that “The climate crisis came from the same systems of repression that cause people harm today.” “I do see it as part of my calling in this movement to make the diaspora feel welcome, even though we didn’t cause this crisis and it’s not our fault. I think it’s our responsibility because we live in the core of the empire and in the core of imperialism here. We have a huge proximity to power that our siblings on the African continent or in Jamaica and all the Caribbean don’t have.” The imbalance of power between the global north and the global south grew out of imperialism and white supremacy and, says Loach, allowed the climate crisis to emerge in the first place. Both persist today and need to be dismantled if climate justice – a better world, for everybody – is to be achieved. Despite this, inclusivity is not something the climate movement has always excelled at, many believing it has been racially and socially riven. Loach believes Extinction Rebellion’s “choice to focus its disruption on the government and status quo rather than on ordinary people is timely”. She says it will help bring in some folks who have been alienated from the movement and made to feel like activists are the enemy. “They will now remember that, in actual fact, we all have a shared enemy and that is the ruling class.”While many of her own efforts are headline-grabbing, Loach has plenty of experience of unflashy activism, and the book makes practical suggestions about how we can work together to move towards climate justice. By 16, she’d become vegan, boycotted fast fashion and was blogging. At 18, she and her mother folded blankets for refugees at Calais. “I remember feeling deeply inspired by these really ordinary people doing the kind of non-glamorous, quiet work of building revolutionary change – tidal change people will never know about.” Loach’s upbringing laid the seeds for her defining belief in the power of incremental change. She was born in Kingston to a Jamaican mother and British father, and the family moved to a village in Surrey when she was two and a half. Her mother now works in “computer stuff”, her dad in “pension stuff”, what she, with her Gen Z perspective, describes as “conventional jobs that people have for many years”. Her family moved for the same reasons “as many people who end up being part of the diaspora”. Her parents raised Loach and her younger brother to question the status quo, armed with a breadth of historical knowledge not found in UK textbooks or classrooms. “My dad was, like, you’re going to understand your history. They would force us to watch documentaries about the freedom fighter Nanny of the Maroons, the 18th- century leader of the Jamaican Maroons, “who would wear the teeth of the enslavers she had killed around her neck,” she says of Jamaica’s only female national hero. Nanny led a community of formerly enslaved Africans, the Windward Maroons, in a guerilla war against the British in the mid-18th century, securing victory and their own freedom, in 1740. “They would teach me about the realities of revolution,” says Loach. “They made it clear that freedom was not something that was just passed down from above – it was something that was fought for from the ground up. That had a big impact on me.” In 2004, Loach watched as the Indian ocean tsunami made the headlines, “I was, like, oh, I’m so sad about this, and my dad said, so what are you going to do about it?” That’s when she took her first action, aged five, baking cakes to raise funds for the victims. “It instilled in me early on that we don’t have to just watch things happen, even if it’s doing a small thing like a bake sale, and that if you can do something about it, you probably should. As I grew up, my dad would challenge me on that more and more. Now, when I see something, I don’t just passively watch.” In late 2021, she took part in Extinction Rebellion’s Scottish Stop Cambo campaign to prevent a new oilfield in the North Atlantic. She camped outside Westminster Abbey and, nervous as she was about her safety and compromising her medical career, agreed to chain herself to the XR stage. It was that same year, again at “personal risk”, that she and two other climate change activists took the UK government to court over the tax breaks afforded to North Sea oil and gas companies, supported by the environmental nonprofit Uplift and the Paid to Pollute campaign. David did not defeat Goliath but, says Loach, “The government was still forced to admit in court that they had given these tax breaks.” Loach, today, is an outward-looking connector. But four years of being “severely” bullied at secondary school, from the age of 11, left her feeling isolated and “terrified” to go to school. She sought refuge in books and self-worth in academic achievement. “I’d get chased out of school with cricket bats. It was quite bad. Not quite bad – it was awful. It was terrible. I was not well at all.” She finds it hard to recall those earlier years. “I think that when you have trauma, your brain kind of blanks.” Her parents moved her to another school, midterm. “I don’t think I would be alive right now if my parents hadn’t…” Her voice falters. “Oh gosh,” she says, “that makes me cry a little bit… if my parents hadn’t pulled me out.” After completing her GCSEs, she went on to a new school for sixth form, on a full scholarship. She finds it “very bizarre” to have the platform she now does and to be a “hope machine”, as she has described herself, albeit one who has grappled with impostor syndrome, had panic attacks from the pressures of social media and, when she chained herself to the XR stage at Westminster, realised she wasn’t “adequately prepared” and felt “just so scared”, scared of being arrested, of “being that visible” and becoming someone that far-right groups “would be keeping an eye on” and, as a Black woman, of police brutality. In my head I was like, I’m going to be in a cell tonight, I’m gonna be alone, and all the names of people who died in [police custody] kind of went through my head and I started crying. It really felt like I was forced into that position. I think that’s how a lot of people feel. You do it, but it’s a last resort.” It is Loach’s ability to connect that has given her a platform. We talk about whether being the connector she is today may have stemmed from being shut down and shut out as a child.
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It is important to have diverse voices leading the climate movement, and Loach's unique perspective as a young activist brings fresh energy to the cause.
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Inspiring!
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great work
monicah mbesu
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The prolonged lack of devolved government in Northern Ireland threatens to seriously hamper the country’s ability to hit the ambitious emissions reduction targets enshrined by law in its climate act, the chief executive of the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has said. There has been no power-sharing government in place to advance work on meeting these commitments since Northern Ireland’s Climate Change Act, which includes a 2050 net zero target, was passed last spring. Chris Stark, the chief executive of the UK government’s official climate advisory body, said there was little hope of Northern Ireland getting on track to meet its legal obligations under the act if power sharing was not restored imminently. He added that despite Scotland’s objectively higher bar of a 2045 net zero target, Northern Ireland now has the “most ambitious targets” in the UK relative to its capacity to meet them and has made the least progress of all the four administrations to move towards achieving them. “It’s hard, sadly, to point to many areas of progress [to date]. It is literally every corner of the economy that needs to respond to this [2050 net zero] target. And we will need literally every single bit of the government and of the executive in Northern Ireland to respond. “Without that, there’s really very little hope of getting on track with any of this.” His comments came as the US president, Joe Biden, concluded his visit to Northern Ireland and the Irish republic this week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. Biden’s trip was overshadowed by the continuing shutdown of the power-sharing institutions established through the 1998 peace accord, owing to a row over post-Brexit customs arrangements in the Irish Sea. The CCC recently published a report detailing its proposals to government on how Northern Ireland could meet its incoming carbon budgets – the first deadline for which is 2027. The advisory report contains a suggested pathway to 2050 net zero that includes measures such as cutting livestock numbers by a third, alongside rapid afforestation, carbon capture and a range of renewable energy initiatives. Northern Ireland’s farming sector, which accounts for 28% of its overall greenhouse gas emissions, is facing “very dramatic” changes, so there needs to be as much government engagement and supportive policy in place as possible, Stark said. “What we’ve recommended in this report is a very dramatic shift in the way that agriculture happens in Northern Ireland. “I hope it flushes out a more realistic appraisal of what needs to happen in Northern Ireland now, because I’m afraid I’m not of the view that these targets can just be presented as just high-ambition ‘stretch’ targets, and that it doesn’t matter if we don’t meet them – because they’re legal obligations. And I don’t want to see the law undermined in that way. “So, if net zero [by 2050] is the goal, this is the path you’ve got to follow. And it has very deep implications for society, and particularly for agricultural production.” During the final votes on the climate bill last year, Northern Ireland’s then agriculture minister attempted to exempt farmers from some of its requirements. Last month, the CCC’s chair, Lord Deben, criticised members of the devolved assembly at Stormont for having legislated emissions reduction targets that were more ambitious than the ones initially advised by the CCC. Stark said many of the changes proposed for Northern Ireland to meet the climate targets would be overwhelmingly “positive for the consumer and for society as a whole”. However, he added: “This will only work if it has the support of farmers because they are ultimately the stewards of the land.”The devolved Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) noted the limits of progressing this work in the absence of power-sharing government, saying that civil servants “will not have all the answers” needed. A Daera spokesperson said: “Daera has welcomed the publication of the CCC report, which clearly sets out the size and scale of the challenge that we are facing across a number of sectors including agriculture, land use, transport and buildings. “This detailed advice from the CCC will be considered by all departments to help inform the best pathway for Northern Ireland. Daera is conscious that the civil service will not have all the answers to the challenges presented in the CCC advice. “As Northern Ireland progresses to net zero, Daera is therefore encouraging organisations across the public, private and third sectors to consider and debate the report and recommendations in readiness for participation in the consultation on a carbon budget and climate action plan in the coming months.”
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This is a dissapointment
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Dissatisfying, hope we can have a government structure in place to help in reaching net zero target.
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Too bad
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It's sad to see UK losing significant amount of trees in order to make toilet papers while they can recycle....
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Toilet paper should only be made of recycled paper there is no point of doing otherwise
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/24/lack-recycled-toilet-paper-fuelling-deforestation-office-waste-covid-tissue?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other