Tag: Environment
Who’s who at COP28 – POLITICO
This article is part of the Road to COP special report, presented by SQM.
The annual U.N. climate summit that starts November 30 has become one of the biggest diplomatic setpieces in the global political calendar.
Organizers are expecting more than 70,000 people to descend upon Dubai’s Expo City: activists, billionaires, presidents, Indigenous leaders, business executives, monarchs and diplomats from every corner of the world. A few will hold sway over the outcome of the talks. Some will make noise
How the far right turned heat pumps into electoral rocket fuel – POLITICO
When they write the book on the downfall of liberal democracy, will it begin with the heat pumps?
Immediately outside the main train station in the German city of Wiesbaden, an election poster has been tied high up on a lamppost, out of reach of those who would tear it down in the belief that it’s a harbinger of fascism once again spreading across the country. The subject? Not scary depictions of migrants. Nor the overreach of the European Union.
Rishi Sunak weaponizes net zero as election looms – POLITICO
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LONDON — Rishi Sunak has rolled the dice on weaponizing net zero for electoral advantage. No one knows if it will pay off — and some say it’s already costing him dearly.
In a Downing Street speech on Wednesday — coincidentally on the very afternoon the UN hosted talks in New York on increasing climate ambition — the British prime minister took a red pen to some of his
Why It’s So Hard to Forecast Wildfire Smoke
Picture the boreal forest, in northern Quebec, on the morning of June 1st. Bears, moose, and wolves roamed, circling its unusually dry lakes, bogs, rivers, and creeks. In the afternoon, after weeks of sunshine, severe thunderstorms suddenly rolled over the forest’s vast tracts of black and white spruce, subalpine fir, jack pine, and aspens. Lightning struck the ground repeatedly. A hundred and twenty-three fires were lit in a single day. The peat and duff of the forest floor began to
Brazil’s Lula pushes end to deforestation, stumbles on fossil fuels – POLITICO
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Under pressure from the EU to rein in deforestation or face trade restrictions, Amazon countries must figure out how to bring prosperity to the region without destroying the forest. And that’s proving difficult.
At a two-day summit starting Tuesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is looking to corral countries to speed up efforts to stop deforestation and decide on a common strategy to save the rainforest.
But
Stick with net zero, Tory voters tell Sunak – POLITICO
LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been under pressure ever since he watered down government rhetoric on net zero targets — from campaigners, industry leaders, and his own warring MPs. Now he faces a challenge on another front: his own voters.
Even as the Tories prevaricate on key climate policies, new polling shows that voters planning to support the Conservative Party at the next election overwhelmingly back the government’s target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Around
Italy yearns to breathe polluted air – POLITICO
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The EU’s pollution problem child is throwing a tantrum.
Italy, one of the bloc’s most polluted countries, has repeatedly failed to meet the EU’s air quality guidelines, prompting the European Commission to take it to court more than once.
Now Rome is lobbying hard to stop Brussels from tightening those guidelines further, arguing that specific geographic and climate conditions — particularly in its northern, industrial regions — prevent it
Slovenia prime minister estimates flood damage at over €500M – POLITICO
Two-thirds of Slovenia has been affected by flash floods in the last several days, with the resulting damage likely to exceed half a billion euros, the country’s Prime Minister Robert Golob said on Saturday.
He has called the flooding the “worst natural disaster” in the country’s history, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reported.
The flooding, which started Thursday evening, has resulted in landslides and at least three deaths as of Friday, according to the Associated Press. Houses have been swept
5 real-life impacts of the EU’s foot-dragging on chemicals law reboot – POLITICO
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For months, European lawmakers, NGOs and scientists have been calling on Brussels to set out a long-awaited revamp of the bloc’s chemicals rules before the summer break.
But as the corridors of the EU institutions empty out and policymakers head off on vacation, those hopes are being dashed.
With next year’s European election looming, many now worry the proposal will come too late to be scrutinized and signed off
Why London’s mayor just can’t scrap his clean air plan – POLITICO
LONDON — Sadiq Khan is under pressure to ditch a controversial plan to clean up London’s air after a bruising by-election for the mayor’s Labour colleagues. But scrapping the plan is no panacea — and critics will have to explain what replaces it.
London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) aims to reduce the U.K. capital’s emissions of nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxide (referred to together as NOx) by imposing a charge on polluting vehicles when they enter the zone. It’s