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Biden to host Pacific Island leaders next week
US President Joe Biden will host the leaders of Pacific Island nations at the White House on Monday, his spokeswoman said, as Washington tries to counter Chinese influence in the region. Biden will "reaffirm the US commitment to our shared regional priorities," including climate change, economic growth and countering illegal fishing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Tuesday. The meeting comes four months after Biden was forced to scrap a historic visit to a summit of the Pacific Island Forum in Papua New Guinea, due to talks to avoid a US debt default. Biden hosted his first summit with the forum -- an 18-member bloc of mostly small states scattered across a huge swath of ocean -- last year at the White House. The South Pacific was seen as a relative diplomatic backwater after World War II, but it is an increasingly important arena for powers to compete for commercial, political and military influence. The Biden administration has particularly been pushing to boost its presence there against a rising China, which is itself keen to get a strategic toe-hold in the South Pacific. During this year's meeting, Biden will hear from leaders on "how we can increase cooperation to address the mounting challenges of our time," Jean-Pierre said. As well as being at the center of a superpower tussle, the region is also badly affected by rising sea levels due to climate change. Biden told the UN General Assembly earlier Tuesday that he wanted to "responsibly manage the competition" between the United States and China "so it does not tip into conflict." The post Biden to host Pacific Island leaders next week appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
California sues oil giants, alleging climate risks deception
The US state of California sued five of the world's largest oil companies on Friday, alleging the firms caused billions of dollars in damages and misled the public by minimizing the risks from fossil fuels, according to a court filing. It follows numerous other cases brought by US cities, counties, and states against fossil fuel interests over the impact of climate change as well as alleged disinformation campaigns spanning decades. The civil case was filed in a superior court in San Francisco against ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron, which is headquartered in California. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, is also a defendant in the case. "Oil and gas company executives have known for decades that reliance on fossil fuels would cause these catastrophic results, but they suppressed that information from the public and policymakers by actively pushing out disinformation on the topic," the 135-page complaint read. "Their deception caused a delayed societal response to global warming. And their misconduct has resulted in tremendous costs to people, property, and natural resources, which continue to unfold each day." The suit seeks the creation of an abatement fund to pay for future damages caused by climate disasters in California, which is on the front lines of climate change-fueled wildfires, flooding and other extreme weather phenomena. "By downplaying the scientific consensus on climate change and emphasizing uncertainty, Defendants hoped to delay any regulatory action that might seek to reduce or control (greenhouse gas) emissions, thereby threatening the industry's profits," the complaint added. Representatives of the defendants did not immediately reply to requests for comment from AFP. "For more than 50 years, Big Oil has been lying to us -- covering up the fact that they've long known how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement on Friday. "California is taking action to hold big polluters accountable," he added. Since the current wave of environmental litigation against fossil fuel firms began around 2017, the industry has sought to avoid state trials on procedural grounds. That effort received a major blow in May when the US Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal in two cases, meaning they could proceed. The lawsuits are modeled on successful cases against Big Tobacco as well as against the pharmaceutical industry over the proliferation of opioids. The post California sues oil giants, alleging climate risks deception appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
California sues oil giants, alleging climate risks deception
The US state of California sued five of the world's largest oil companies on Friday, alleging the firms caused billions of dollars in damages and misled the public by minimizing the risks from fossil fuels, The New York Times reported. It follows numerous other cases brought by US cities, counties and states against fossil fuel interests over the impact of climate change as well as alleged disinformation campaigns spanning decades. The civil case was filed in superior court in San Francisco against Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, which is headquartered in California. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, is also a defendant in the case, The New York Times said. The companies and their allies "intentionally downplayed the risks posed by fossil fuels to the public, even though they understood that their products were likely to lead to significant global warming," dating back to the 1950s, the suit alleged, according to the newspaper. Representatives of the defendants did not immediately reply to requests for comment, it added. The California case seeks the creation of an abatement fund to pay for future damages caused by climate disasters in the state, which is on the front lines of climate change-fueled wildfires, flooding and other extreme weather phenomena. "Oil and gas company executives have known for decades that reliance on fossil fuels would cause these catastrophic results, but they suppressed that information from the public and policymakers by actively pushing out disinformation on the topic," the 135-page complaint reads, according to the Times. "Their deception caused a delayed societal response to global warming. And their misconduct has resulted in tremendous costs to people, property, and natural resources, which continue to unfold each day." Since the current wave of environmental litigation against fossil fuel firms began around 2017, the industry has sought to avoid state trials on procedural grounds. That effort received a major blow in May when the US Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal in two cases, meaning they could proceed. The lawsuits are modeled on successful cases against Big Tobacco as well as against the pharmaceutical industry over the proliferation of opioids. The post California sues oil giants, alleging climate risks deception appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Marcos’ plan vs flooding: water dam to catch floods, improve agri
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday called on government entities to implement solutions aligned with the challenges posed by climate change. Marcos made the appeal during his visits to flood-affected communities in Bulacan and Pampanga due to recent typhoons and the intensified southwest monsoon (habagat). "We won't return to how things used to be; this is how climate change is now. We can't do the things we used to do anymore," Marcos said during the situation briefing in Pampanga. Marcos said that the national government has a master plan which includes building a big water dam to help stop floods and improve agriculture at the same time. "If nothing is done, flooding will happen again and again even if we dredge," Marcos said. Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation president Rogelio "Babes" Singson, who previously served as the Public Works and Highways Secretary during the Aquino administration, suggested building a 200-hectare water storage space in the Candaba swamp in Pampanga. Singson, who was present during the situation briefing, explained that the initiative aims to mitigate flooding in the surrounding regions with lower elevations. However, Pampanga Representative Anna York Bondoc disagreed with the suggestion, saying that such a plan could negatively impact the livelihoods of local residents, particularly those engaged in rice farming. Marcos then guaranteed that the government would not do the project without their consent. "If there are people who will be displaced, I will personally guarantee each farmer that they will be transferred to another location that is equally good to ensure they won't encounter difficulties or losses," Marcos said. Marcos also said that the government is planning to raise the North Luzon Expressway bridge in San Simon by 5.2 meters to prevent a recurrence of flooding in the area, adding that they will study other alternative routes. "We'll raise the NLEX so that what recently happened will not happen again. And then we will study alternative routes," Marcos said. For his part, Singson vowed to fix the situation in the San Simon segment to avoid floods since that segment was "very low," with the longest stretch being only 200 meters and the highest point measuring less than 0.7 meters. "The DPWH agreed to let us raise that portion by 0.7 meters, and we will leave a clearance of 4.5 meters. This will allow legally sized trucks to pass through there," Singson said. Marcos also mentioned that fixing the dredgers is just as a short-term solution, as flooding will happen again if the government does not do anything to solve the problem. The latest data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed that more than 3.2 million individuals across the country had been impacted by Typhoons "Egay" and "Falcon" and the intensified southwest monsoon. The Department of Agriculture assessed the total agricultural damage resulting from the combined impact of the inclement weather at P4.66 billion. Preliminary evaluations by the NDRRMC indicated that the initial destruction to infrastructure is estimated at P3.6 billion. The post Marcos’ plan vs flooding: water dam to catch floods, improve agri appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘As long as we have AC’: Phoenix heat shows gap between US rich, poor
Melanie Floyd took her kids to the zoo in Phoenix in the morning, when temperatures in the heat wave roasting the city and much of the US southwest were still bearable. Standing before a turtle exhibit, she downplayed this extreme weather event in a world grappling with climate change. "As long as we have AC and as long as everyone is making smart choices," this stay-at-home mother aged 32 told AFP, "staying hydrated, going in the shade, staying cool, not overexerting themselves, I think it's tolerable." At her home it is, indeed, nice and cool. She keeps the air conditioning between 75 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit (23 and 26 degrees Celsius) so she can look after her kids, aged two and six, comfortably as they play with coloring books and crafts. Outside, day after day for more than three weeks, the temperature in Phoenix is surpassing a hard-to-fathom 110F. The heatwave affecting much of the southwest and southern United States -- including the record temperatures in Phoenix -- is igniting debate on how fast global warming is moving. For Floyd, this particular weather event is no big deal. "You have to fluctuate as the weather fluctuates, so you have to be flexible with it," Floyd said. In this desert city many people that spoke to AFP expressed similar views about the rising frequency of brutally dangerous heat as global warming caused by human activity grinds on: One must learn to live with it. - Living without AC - For many of them life is a series of mad dashes from offices to restaurants to shops, all with air conditioning cranked up good and frosty. In the city center and well-to-do suburbs, people do not think twice about leaving their car running while they get out to do an errand, so as to keep it cool for when they come back. But in less wealthy areas, heat like this is another thing altogether. "If the temperatures go on like this, many people will not be able to cope," said Rosalia Licea, 37, who is raising five kids on her own. She lives in a mobile home park where most of the trailers are from the 1950s. Early in this heat wave her air conditioning broke down. For two days the temperature inside their mobile home hit 97F. The whole family had to take refuge in the room of the eldest child, which had a window AC unit. One of the smaller kids started having headaches. Licea, who hails from Mexico, works several low-paying jobs to make ends meet. She does not have the $2,000 it would cost to buy a new AC system. So she came up with a makeshift solution: spend $800 to fix the broken one. "I had no choice, what with my kids," she said. "It was the priority, more than buying groceries or paying my rent." Even with the new motor in the old AC unit, one of the air conduits is broken so the cold does not reach her living room. That is something else she will have to pay to have fixed. - AC going full blast - Licea tried but failed to qualify for aid offered by the city or some utility companies for people to upgrade their air conditioning units. A study in 2022 by Arizona State University found that while mobile homes make up five percent of all housing in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and its suburbs, they account for 30 percent of indoor heat-related deaths in the city. "It is easy to say 'we can adapt' when you have access to everything," Licea said. "It is different for us." A fire broke out some days ago at her mobile home park, where the residences are hooked up directly to electrical pylons through shoddy connections. One mobile home was destroyed. The fire is believed to have started because of an electrical overload, with washing machines, dryers, fridges and full-blast air conditioning all operating at once. After 19 years in Arizona, Licea lives in fear of an electrical short circuit. So she mainly prepares salads for meals and tries to avoid turning on the lights to keep her electricity consumption, and the temperature, as low as possible. "If I could move to a state that is not so hot I would do it," Licea said. rfo/dw/bfm © Agence France-Presse The post ‘As long as we have AC’: Phoenix heat shows gap between US rich, poor appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Oppressive’ heat wave scorches US West and South
Swaths of the United States home to more than 80 million people were under heat warnings or advisories Sunday, as relentless, record-breaking temperatures continued to bake western and southern states. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of "a widespread and oppressive heat wave" in parts of the Southwest, western Gulf Coast and southern Florida, with sizzling temperatures carrying into the coming week raising health risks for millions. Southern Californians, who saw thermometers peak at 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit (41-43 Celsius) on Saturday, faced a second day of similarly brutal temperatures Sunday, with the mercury expected to top 115F (46C) in parts of California, Nevada and Arizona, the NWS said. By Sunday afternoon, California's famous Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, had reached the near-record temperature of 126F (52C). Tourists visited the national park to get a glimpse of what the NWS warned would be "life-threatening daytime heat" set to last until Tuesday night. Visitor Eliana Luna told broadcaster MSNBC on Sunday the heat felt like a "burning sensation" on her body. "The heat, you can feel it dripping through the back, all the way down," she said. The NWS has said heat is the leading weather-related killer in the United States and urged Americans to take the risk seriously. "In total, from South Florida and the Gulf Coast to the Southwest, over 80 million people remain under either an Excessive Heat Warning or Heat Advisory as of early this morning," the NWS said in a Sunday morning bulletin. The day before, the town of Idyllwild, east of Los Angeles and some 5,400 feet (1,645 meters) above sea level, blew past its previous record to reach 100F. - 'It's hell' - Authorities have been sounding the alarm for days, advising people to avoid outdoor activities in the daytime and to avoid dehydration, which can quickly become fatal in such temperatures. In Arizona, the state capital Phoenix has recorded 17 straight days above 109F, as temperatures hit 113F (45C) on Sunday afternoon. The city, home to over 1.6 million people, is under an Excessive Heat Warning until Wednesday evening, according to the NWS, which said the record seven-day average was likely to be broken. Volunteers have been organized to direct Phoenix residents to cooling centers and distribute bottles of water and hats, but program head David Hondula told the local ABC station that its three-days-per-week schedule is "clearly... not enough." In Miami, the NWS on Sunday issued its first-ever Excessive Heat Warning for the region, in effect until 7:00 pm, as heat and humidity mixed to create a "feels-like" temperature expected to hit 112F. "It's hell, it's hot, it's crazy hot," Miami visitor Lola Cee told AFP along the famed Ocean Boulevard. "I've never experienced this heat before," she added. Residents of the sprawling Texas city of Houston have been asked to conserve electricity from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm Saturday through Monday, in an attempt to mitigate pressure on the electricity grid. - 'Not typical' - Heat waves are occurring more often and more intensely in major US cities, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, with a frequency of six per year during the 2010s and 2020s compared to two per year during the 1960s. "This heat wave is NOT typical desert heat," the NWS's Las Vegas office tweeted Thursday, specifying that "its long duration, extreme daytime temperatures, & warm nights" were unusual. In Canada, which is suffering from warm temperatures combined with months of below-average rainfall, the amount of land burned by devastating wildfires so far in 2023 climbed to an-all time high of 24.7 million acres (10 million hectares) on Saturday. "We find ourselves this year with figures that are worse than our most pessimistic scenarios," Yan Boulanger, a researcher at Canada's natural resources ministry, told AFP. On Sunday, a firefighter died while working in Canada's Northwest Territories, authorities announced, only days after a 19-year-old woman lost her life working to extinguish a fire in nearby British Columbia. While it can be hard to attribute a particular weather event to climate change, scientists insist human-linked global warming is responsible for the multiplication and intensification of heat waves. Flooding has also ravaged parts of the northeastern US in recent weeks. Officials in eastern Pennsylvania's Bucks County reported on Sunday that five people had died and two children were missing after a storm the day before unleashed up to seven inches (18 centimeters) of rain in one hour, causing flash flooding that swept away vehicles. bur-mlm/des/caw © Agence France-Presse The post ‘Oppressive’ heat wave scorches US West and South appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Hot and dangerous weekend’: US bakes under relentless heat dome
Tens of millions of Americans braced for more sweltering temperatures Sunday as brutal conditions threatened to break records due to a relentless heat dome that has baked parts of the country all week. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of an "extremely hot and dangerous weekend," with daytime highs routinely ranging between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in the US West. Residents of central and southern California saw thermometers peaking at 105 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (41 to 43 degrees Celsius) on Saturday, it said. By Saturday afternoon, California's famous Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, had reached a sizzling 124F (51C), with Sunday's peak predicted to soar as high as 129F (54C). Even overnight lows there could exceed 100F (38C). The heat is forecast to remain anchored over the west for the weekend, "growing hotter in the South by early next week," according to the NWS. Authorities have been sounding the alarm for days, advising people to avoid outdoor activities in the daytime and to avoid dehydration, which can quickly become fatal in such temperatures. In Arizona, the state capital of Phoenix has recorded 16 straight days above 109F (43C), as temperatures hit 117F (47C) Saturday afternoon and are expected to stay above 90F (32C) overnight. The NWS said Phoenix is "likely to register its hottest week on record by 7-day temperature average." The city has organized volunteers to direct residents to cooling centers and distribute bottles of water and hats, but program head David Hondula told the local ABC station that its three-days-per-week schedule is "clearly... not enough" as the heat intensifies. The NWS has said that "heat is the leading weather-related killer in the US" and to take the risk "seriously." At a construction site outside Houston, a 28-year-old worker who gave his name only as Juan helped complete a wall in the blazing heat. "Just when I take a drink of water, I get dizzy, I want to vomit because of the heat," he told AFP. "I need something else, a Coca-Cola, a Gatorade -- and cold -- just to be able to keep going." Residents of the Texas metropolis have been asked to conserve energy from 2:00 to 10:00 pm Saturday through Monday by provider Reliant Energy, in an attempt to mitigate high demand. Further west, the Texas border city of El Paso marked its 30th consecutive day of temperatures reaching or topping 100F (38C) Saturday, though it had dipped slightly to 89F by the evening. 'Not typical' Heat waves are occurring more often and more intensely in major cities across the United States, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, with a frequency of six per year during the 2010s and 2020s compared to two per year during the 1960s. "This heat wave is NOT typical desert heat," the NWS's Las Vegas branch tweeted, specifying that "its long duration, extreme daytime temperatures, & warm nights" were unusual. In Canada, which is suffering from warm temperatures combined with months of below-average rainfall, the amount of land burned by devastating wildfires climbed to an all time high of 24.7 million acres (10 million hectares) so far this year on Saturday. "We find ourselves this year with figures that are worse than our most pessimistic scenarios," Yan Boulanger, a researcher at Canada's natural resources ministry, told AFP. Smoke from the wildfires was creating unhealthy air quality conditions in upper-central parts of the United States, similar to episodes in June when Canadian blazes cloaked the US East Coast in a noxious haze. While it can be hard to attribute a particular weather event to climate change, scientists insist that global warming -- linked to humanity's dependence on fossil fuels -- is responsible for the multiplication and intensification of heat waves around the world. The US heat wave comes after the EU's climate-monitoring service said the planet saw its hottest June on record last month. The post ‘Hot and dangerous weekend’: US bakes under relentless heat dome appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Hot and dangerous weekend’: US bakes under relentless heat dome
Brutally high temperatures threatened tens of millions of Americans Saturday, as numerous cities braced to break records under a relentless heat dome that has baked parts of the country all week. The National Weather Service warned of an "extremely hot and dangerous weekend," with daytime highs routinely ranging between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in the US West. Residents of central and southern California, for example, could expect to see thermometers peaking at 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (38 to 43 degrees Celsius), it said. By mid-day Saturday, California's famous Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, had reached a sizzling 119F (48C), with Sunday's peak predicted to soar as high as 130F (54C). Even overnight lows there could exceed 100F (38C). The heat is forecast to remain anchored over the West for the weekend, "growing hotter in the South by early next week." Authorities have been sounding the alarm for days, advising people to avoid outdoor activities in the daytime and to be on the watch for signs of dehydration, which can quickly become fatal in such temperatures. In the hardest-hit areas, residents face a daily endurance marathon against the sun. The Arizona state capital of Phoenix has recorded 16 straight days above 109F (43C). It had reached 111F by noon Saturday, en route to an expected 115F. Las Vegas, Nevada was broiling amid similar temperatures. In Texas, the border city of El Paso had seen 29 consecutive days of temperatures topping 100F (38C). At a construction site outside Houston, Texas, a 28-year-old worker who gave his name only as Juan helped complete a wall in the blazing heat. "Just when I take a drink of water, I get dizzy, I want to vomit because of the heat," he told AFP. "I need something else, a Coca-Cola, a Gatorade -- and cold -- just to be able to keep going." Residents of the Texas metropolis have been asked to conserve energy from 2:00 to 10:00 pm Saturday through Monday by provider Reliant Energy, in an attempt to mitigate high demand. One local news station in the city, KPRC, heralded the prospect of "finally seeing an end to this heat wave" -- by Sunday of next week. 'Not typical' Heat waves are occurring more often and more intensely in major cities across the United States, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, with a frequency of six per year during the 2010s and 2020s compared to two per year during the 1960s. "This heatwave is NOT typical desert heat," the National Weather Service's Las Vegas branch tweeted, specifying that "its long duration, extreme daytime temperatures, & warm nights" were unusual. In Canada, which is suffering from warm temperatures combined with months of below-average rainfall, the amount of land burned by devastating wildfires climbed to 24.7 million acres (10 million hectares) so far this year on Saturday. The prior all-time high occurred in 1989, when 18 million acres were burned over the course of an entire year, according to national figures. "We find ourselves this year with figures that are worse than our most pessimistic scenarios," Yan Boulanger, a researcher at Canada's natural resources ministry, told AFP. Smoke from the wildfires was meanwhile creating unhealthy air quality conditions in parts of the upper-central United States -- similar to episodes in June when blazes in the Canadian province of Quebec cloaked the US East Coast in a noxious haze. While it can be hard to attribute a particular weather event to climate change, scientists insist that global warming -- linked to humanity's dependence on fossil fuels -- is responsible for the multiplication and intensification of heat waves in the world. The US heat wave comes after the EU's climate-monitoring service said the world saw its hottest June on record last month. bfm/mdl/bbk/acb © Agence France-Presse The post ‘Hot and dangerous weekend’: US bakes under relentless heat dome appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Record heatwaves sweep the world from US to Japan via Europe
Record heat is forecast around the world from the United States, where tens of millions are battling dangerously high temperatures, to Europe and Japan, in the latest example of the threat from global warming. Italy faces weekend predictions of historic highs with the health ministry issuing a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna, and Florence. The meteo center warned Italians to prepare for "the most intense heatwave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time". The thermometer is likely to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in Rome by Monday and even 43C on Tuesday, smashing the record of 40.5C set in August 2007. The islands of Sicily and Sardinia could wilt under temperatures as high as 48C, the European Space Agency warned -- "potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe". Greece is also roasting. "Parts of the country could see highs as much as 44C on Saturday," according to the national weather service EMY. The central city of Thebes sweated under 44.2C on Friday. The Acropolis, Athens's top tourist attraction, will on Sunday close during the hottest hours for the third day running. In France, high temperatures and resulting drought are posing a threat to the farming industry, earning Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau criticism from climatologists on Saturday for having brushed aside conditions as "normal enough for summer". June was the second-hottest on record in France, according to the national weather agency, and several areas of the country have been under a heatwave alert since Tuesday. There is little reprieve ahead for Spain, as its meteorological agency warned Saturday that a new heatwave Monday through Wednesday will bring temperatures above 40C to the Canary Islands and the southern Andalusia region. Killer rains Parts of eastern Japan are also expected to reach 38 to 39C on Sunday and Monday, with the meteorological agency warning temperatures could hit previous records. Meanwhile, the northern city of Akita saw more rain in half a day than is typical for the whole month of July, Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported. The downpours also triggered at least one landslide, forcing 9,000 people to evacuate their homes. Torrential rains described by the meteorological agency as the "heaviest rain ever experienced" have also hit southern Japan in recent weeks, leaving at least 11 people dead. Relentless monsoon rains have reportedly killed at least 90 people in northern India, after burning heat. The Yamuna River running through the capital New Delhi has reached a record high of 208.66 meters, more than a meter over the flood top set in 1978, threatening low-lying neighborhoods in the megacity of more than 20 million people. Major flooding and landslides are common during India's monsoons, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity. Americans are watching as a powerful heatwave grip stretches from California to Texas, with its peak expected this weekend. In Arizona, one of the hardest-hit states, residents face a daily endurance marathon against the sun. State capital Phoenix recorded 15 straight days above 109F (43C), with Saturday expected to reach well above that mark. Deadly danger Authorities have been sounding the alarm, advising people to avoid outdoor activities in the daytime and to be wary of dehydration. The Las Vegas weather service warned that assuming high temperatures naturally come with the area's desert climate was "a DANGEROUS mindset! This heatwave is NOT typical desert heat". "Now the most intense period is beginning," it added, as the weekend arrived with record highs threatening on Sunday. California's Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, is also likely to register new peaks Sunday, with the mercury possibly rising to 130F (54C). Southern California is fighting numerous wildfires, including one in Riverside County that has burned more than 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) and prompted evacuation orders. Further north, the Canadian government reported that wildfires burned a record-breaking 10 million hectares this year, with more damage expected as the summer drags on. Morocco may be used to hot weather, but it was slated for above-average temperatures this weekend with highs of 47C in some provinces -- more typical of August than July -- sparking concerns for water shortages, the meteorological service said. River Tigris shrinking Water-scarce Jordan was forced to dump 214 tonnes of water on a wildfire that broke out in the Ajloun forest in the north amid a heatwave, the army said. In Iraq, where scorching summers are common, along with power cuts, Wissam Abed told AFP he cools off from Baghdad's brutal summer by swimming in the Tigris river. But as Iraqi rivers dry up, so does the age-old pastime. With temperatures near 50C and wind whipping through the city like a hair dryer, Abed stood in the middle of the river, but the water only comes up to his waist. "I live here... like my grandfather did before me. Year after year, the water situation gets worse," said the 37-year-old. While it can be difficult to attribute a particular weather event to climate change, scientists insist global warming -- linked to dependence on fossil fuels -- is behind the multiplication and intensification of heat waves in the world. The heatwaves come after the EU's climate monitoring service said the world saw its hottest June on record last month. The post Record heatwaves sweep the world from US to Japan via Europe appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
World breaks average temperature record for early June
Average global temperatures at the start of June were the warmest the European Union's climate monitoring unit has ever recorded for the period, trouncing previous records by a "substantial margin", it said on Thursday. The news comes as the El Nino climate phenomenon has officially arrived, raising fears of extreme weather and more temperature records. "The world has just experienced its warmest early June on record, following a month of May that was less than 0.1 degrees Celsius cooler than the warmest May on record," said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). "Global-mean surface air temperatures for the first days of June 2023 were the highest in the ERA5 data record for early June by a substantial margin", said Copernicus. Some of the unit's data goes back as far as 1950. Copernicus recently announced that global oceans were warmer last month than in any other May on record. The unit also said that at the beginning of June, global temperatures exceeded pre-industrial levels by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (34.7 degrees Fahrenheit), which is the most ambitious cap for global warming in the 2015 Paris Agreement. According to the data, the daily global average temperature was at or above the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold between 7 to 11 June, reaching a maximum of 1.69 degrees Celsius above it on 9 June. While it is the first time the cap has been breached in June, this limit has been exceeded several times in winter and spring in recent years. "Every single fraction of a degree matters to avoid even more severe consequences of the climate crisis", Burgess said. Copernicus is based in the German city of Bonn, where UN-led climate talks are taking place ahead of the COP28 climate summit scheduled to take place in Dubai at the end of the year. The post World breaks average temperature record for early June appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Blinken urges open lines of communication with China
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Wednesday for open lines of communication as he spoke with China's foreign minister, ahead of planned face-to-face discussions in Beijing. Relations between the world's two largest economies have tanked in recent years over Taiwan, trade and human rights, among a litany of other issues. Blinken is due in Beijing on Sunday for talks aimed at calming nerves, after a previous planned visit was abruptly cancelled in February. In his call with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, which took place Wednesday Beijing time, Blinken said they "discussed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues". State Department spokesman Matthew Miller also said Blinken had stressed "the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship to avoid miscalculation and conflict". Blinken "made clear the US would continue to use diplomatic engagements to raise areas of concern as well as areas of potential cooperation", Miller said. A Beijing readout of the call struck a more confrontational tone, reporting that Qin had warned that relations between the two countries had faced "new difficulties and challenges" since the beginning of the year. "It's clear who is responsible," Qin said, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. "China has always viewed and managed China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation put forward by President Xi Jinping," he added. - Blinken in Beijing - Blinken's planned visit to Beijing would be the first trip by a top US diplomat to China since his predecessor Mike Pompeo in October 2018. Presidents Joe Biden and Xi met in Bali in November and agreed to try to prevent tensions from soaring out of control, including by sending Blinken to Beijing. But Blinken abruptly cancelled a trip scheduled in early February after the United States said it detected -- and later shot down -- a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the US mainland. The two sides have more recently looked again to keep tensions in check, including with an extensive, closed-door meeting between Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, and senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna last month. Biden has sought limited areas for cooperation with China, such as climate change, in contrast with the more fully adversarial position adopted at the end of the administration of his predecessor Donald Trump. But two countries remain at deeply at odds over many issues. The White House last week accused China of operating an intelligence unit in Cuba for years and upgraded it in 2019 in an effort to enhance its presence on the Caribbean island. A base in Cuba, which lies 90 miles (150 kilometers) off Florida's southern tip, would be viewed in Washington as a direct challenge to the continental United States. Asked about the base at a regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said he was "unaware of the situation" before criticising US policy on Cuba. bur-oho-ehl/je/kma © Agence France-Presse The post Blinken urges open lines of communication with China appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Twitter blocks troll hunters
For years, a band of science-loving “troll hunters” hounded climate change deniers off Twitter — but Elon Musk’s takeover has upended their efforts, with many ousted accounts back, pushing fresh disinformation. Despite the threat climate change poses to the planet, disinformation about it has gone largely unsanctioned on Twitter. But a secretive global community of about 25 scientists and activists, calling themselves Team Ninja Trollhunters, found a roundabout way to tackle it. Since its founding in 2019, TNT claims to have secured the suspension of some 600 accounts of climate change denialists by reporting them for other infringements, including hate speech, that are officially recognized by the platform as valid grounds for termination. “If they’re saying something racist or offensive or misogynist, we can get them kicked off,” one Germany-based TNT member, a 45-year-old scientist who asked to be identified as Tom, told AFP in a Zoom interview. Like other TNT members interviewed by AFP, he requested that his real identity be withheld to avoid online harassment. TNT members showed AFP archives documenting their campaigns, including a spreadsheet logging thousands of Twitter accounts they reported on grounds ranging from spam and harassment to hate speech and threats. They also shared screenshots confirming numerous suspensions. “We make sure that we’re as under the radar as possible... to get (climate) deniers and ‘sceptics’ and just generally nasty people reported on Twitter,”” a Canada-based member named Peter told AFP. “We’re more effective if we’re very quiet about it. These deniers are quite often very violent in their responses to climate misinformation being corrected. Intimidation and abuse are very common.” The post Twitter blocks troll hunters appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
How many trees should be planted per person to avoid climate catastrophe?
Plant a tree It has become the most popular slogan for tackling climate change. So much so that we see it in advertising and it.....»»
DDR creation to bolster disaster response: Go
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go renewed his call for the passage of his proposed Senate Bill 188, or the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience. The DDR is a specialized department that would be solely responsible for managing the country’s disaster response and mitigation efforts. “We should always be one step ahead whenever there is a disaster. We cannot avoid earthquakes or typhoons, but we should be always prepared so that we can avoid greater damage,” Go said. Senate Bill 188, he said, seeks to address the long-standing issues and challenges in disaster management, including the lack of coordination among government agencies and the absence of a clear chain of command during emergencies because essential functions and mandates are currently spread out to various disaster-related agencies. “We really need to scale up preparedness and resiliency against disasters. That’s why as your senator, I will continue to fight for these proposals and I believe that this is for the good of our country,” he said. If enacted into law, Go said the cabinet secretary-level department shall concentrate on three significant areas — disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness and response, and recovery and building forward better. He said going around the country to extend aid to Filipinos affected by fire, earthquake, flood, tornado, and volcanic eruption is a fulfillment of a promise. “I’ll go to you as long as I have the time and chance. I help as much as I can, provide a solution to their problems like a sustainable project that would benefit the community, and be able to leave a little smile during your difficulties,” he added. In the wake of the devastation brought by the recent Tropical Depression “Amang,” Go said disaster preparedness must be intensified even more. In support of DDR’s functions and responsibilities, the proposed measure also provides for the creation of an Integrated Disaster Resilience Information System or IDRIS which will serve as a database of all relevant disaster risk reduction and climate change information. Go also filed Senate Bill 1709 aimed at providing hazard pay to disaster response personnel nationwide, considering how dangerous their roles are during disasters. It proposes to amend the provisions of the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010” to mandate the local government units to grant a P3,000 monthly hazard pay to the personnel of their respective Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices and Barangay Risk Reduction and Management Committees, and all accredited community disaster volunteers during a State of Calamity declared by the President. “Rescuers and volunteers play a huge role during calamities and disasters because they are the ones who risk their lives to keep our countrymen safe,” Go said. He added: “They deserve to be given proper compensation. Give what is due to them.” The post DDR creation to bolster disaster response: Go appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Climate pledges still ‘nowhere near’ enough for 1.5C: UN
PARIS, France — International climate pledges remain far off track to limit temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to a UN report released Wednesday, less than two weeks ahead of high-stakes negotiations to tackle global warming. The combined climate pledges of more than 190 nations that signed up to the 2015 Paris climate deal put Earth on track to warm around 2.5C (36 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial levels by the century’s end, the UN said. With the planet already battered by climate-enhanced heatwaves, storms and floods after just 1.2C of warming, experts say the world is still failing to act with sufficient urgency to curb greenhouse gas emissions. “We are still nowhere near the scale and pace of emission reductions required to put us on track toward a 1.5 degrees Celsius world,” said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change. “To keep this goal alive, national governments need to strengthen their climate action plans now and implement them in the next eight years.” The UN’s climate experts have said emissions — compared to 2010 levels — need to fall 45 percent by 2030 in order to meet the Paris deal’s more ambitious goal. In this latest report, the UN said that current commitments from governments around the world will in fact increase emissions by 10.6 percent by 2030. When nations met in Glasgow last year for a previous round of climate negotiations, they agreed to speed up their climate pledges to cut carbon pollution and increase financial flows to vulnerable developing nations. An aerial view shows a destroyed in a flooded area following heavy rainfalls near Kastamonu, on August 11, 2021. From flash floods to forest fires, drought to “sea snot”, Turkey is bearing the brunt of increasingly frequent disasters blamed on climate change. Demiroren News Agency (DHA) / AFP ‘Disappointing’ But only 24 countries, of 193, had updated their plans at the time of the report, which Stiell said was “disappointing”. “Government decisions and actions must reflect the level of urgency, the gravity of the threats we are facing, and the shortness of the time we have remaining to avoid the devastating consequences of runaway climate change,” he said. He called on governments to revisit and strengthen their carbon cutting plans in line with the Paris temperature goals before the UN climate meeting, which will be held from November 6 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Nations are meeting in the shadow of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and cascading global crises of hunger, energy prices and living costs, exacerbated by extreme weather. Scientists have warned that any rise above 1.5C risks the collapse of ecosystems and the triggering of irreversible shifts in the climate system. In the last year alone, the world has seen unprecedented floods, crop-withering heatwaves and wildfires across four continents. With the impacts slamming hardest into countries least responsible for fossil fuel emissions, calls have grown louder for richer polluters to pay “loss and damage” to vulnerable nations. In a landmark report this year on climate impacts and vulnerabilities, the UN’s 195-nation Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that time had nearly run out to ensure a “liveable future” for all. That report was signed off by the same governments that will return to negotiations in Egypt......»»
In first 100 days, Marcos talks climate change but action still on back burner
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is leading the Philippines during the most crucial window to avoid or limit some of the worst effects of climate change......»»
Avoid climate disaster
Last week, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report on the present and future state of global warming in the world......»»
‘Revised climate change commitment not enough to avoid negative impact’
The government’s draft new commitments to the Paris Agreement on climate change would still fall short of the goal to control the rise in global temperature which the international community has pledged, the Power for People Coalition said......»»
The Resilient Filipino
Considering our location within the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is a country prone to natural hazards and existential risks of climate change. An average of 20 typhoons pass through our territory every year, the latest of which were typhoons Rolly, Siony, Tonyo and Ulysses that all visited the country in November. With the torrential rains brought about by these typhoons, many of the dams in the country, the Magat Dam specifically, were filled up to critical levels, forcing them to release significant volume of water to avoid further harm. .....»»
Mandatory appointment of PENRO pushed
Recognizing that illegal logging activities remain rampant in some provinces, Siquijor Rep. Jake Vincent Villa has filed a bill seeking the mandatory appointment of Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO). He filed House Bill No. 7382 to amend the Local Government Code by making mandatory instead of optional the appointment of PENRO. Villa sought to specifically amend Section 463 under Chapter 2, Title 4, Book 3 of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, to ensure that there will be an official tasked to safeguard and promote environmental protection in the provinces. “As time passes, changes to the environment in all provinces become readily apparent. From once a land of flora and fauna turned concrete jungle of buildings and infrastructures. As changes occur, in particular, climate change transformation of some of our forests lands into virtual savannas aggravated by illegal logging activities have scalped off the precious cover that in the past has served as protection against rampaging rain water during the typhoon season,” Villa said. “The government should be enjoined to protect and preserve our precious forest reserves to avoid destructive flooding,” Villa said. “It is also for the same reasons that the government should designate an official who should be responsible for ensuring that the lands in every province are protected from wanton and illegal cutting of logs and that in areas where reforestation is needed, the same shall be undertaken to avoid destructive flooding in the future,” he added. HB 7382 also seeks to amend Article 115 (b) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA No. 7160 by including PENRO in the list of appointive provincial officials. At present, there are only 13 mandatory appointive provincial officials – Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, provincial treasurer, provincial accountant, provincial budget officer, provincial planning and development coordinator, provincial engineer, provincial health officer, provincial administrator, provincial legal officer, provincial agriculturist; provincial social welfare and development officer, provincial veterinarian, and provincial general services officer......»»