ITS NOT A SPORT IT'S SADISM

British gymnasts to begin legal action against governing body over alleged abuse

Issued on: 26/02/2021 -

Britain's Jennifer Pinches performs at the 2012 Olympics in London 

BEN STANSALL 

London (AFP)

A group of 17 former gymnasts including three Olympians are to launch legal action against British Gymnastics for alleged "systemic physical and psychological abuse" by coaches targeting children as young as six.

The athletes have served a letter before action on the sport's governing body in the UK.

The letter says athletes were aged between six and 23 at the time of the alleged abuses, which included "widespread inappropriate use of physical force" by coaches and enforcement of "baseless" weight-management techniques.

An independent review to look into complaints of mistreatment within the sport is currently under way.

Jennifer Pinches, who retired from international competition after helping Team GB reach the final at the 2012 London Olympics, said British Gymnastics had spent too long prioritising "podiums over people".

"It is a heart-breaking truth to face, knowing the level of abuse that we and so many others were subjected to," added Pinches, who is now the community director of the Gymnasts for Change group.

"This is just the beginning of the sweeping changes that we are demanding, and the justice that we will fight for."

Gymnasts for Change campaign director Claire Heafford said: "This is not and has never been about a few bad apples, this is about decades of systemic abuse, encouraged and covered up by those at the top.

"The hopes and dreams of countless children and young adults of competing as professional gymnasts have been destroyed and their love for the sport is now shrouded in fear and suffering."

The group is demanding a response from British Gymnastics, which includes a formal apology, compensation and improved coaching guidelines.

© 2021 AFP

Charlotte Gainsbourg says Serge would struggle with today's censorship


Issued on: 26/02/2021 - 

Serge Gainsbourg and British actress and singer Jane Birkin in Nice - AFP/File


Paris (AFP)

Charlotte Gainsbourg didn't like discussing her father, the pioneering troubadour Serge Gainsbourg, as she struggled to share her personal grief with a public that still reveres him as the epitome of French libertine cool.

Now, on the 30th anniversary of his death, she is finally letting go, throwing open his home and able to enjoy the flood of tributes coming from artists and fans, young and old.

"I held back from giving interviews about him for a long time," she told AFP from her Paris home. "I told myself the anniversaries were too painful.


"But people weren't waiting for me, which is good. The statements are so beautiful. I told myself: 'Maybe I can speak about it, too.'"

A flood of album reissues, documentaries, books and podcasts have underlined the reverence with which Serge Gainsbourg is still held as France marks the anniversary of his death on Tuesday.

Charlotte was just 19 when her father suffered a fatal heart attack, but if there is one consolation, it is perhaps that he would have been an awkward fit in today's easily offended world.

"He had so many facets. He expressed his dark side. He kept no secrets," she said.

"Today, we live in a world that is so censored -- I wonder how he would have coped with that. Would he have been banned from television? He was such a rich personality, who married a great sensitivity with a great taste for provocation. We don't see that at all anymore."

- 'Such class' -

Charlotte, now 49 and a hugely successful actor and singer-songwriter in her own right, says she has been "incredibly moved" by the tributes, especially from young artists.

"I find that incredible. It's only today that I really realise it. Before I was in my grief, my pain. Now, I realise the impact that he has had on generations and generations, and that it hasn't stopped," she said.

"My father was not trapped in one era because he touched on so many styles, and with such class. He was a master of classical and modernist writing, and he did it with humour. It's what one dreams of being able to do, this refinement, such agile gymnastics. It set the bar very, very high."

Time and distance have also allowed her to complete a long-delayed project to open the family home on rue de Verneuil on the Parisian Left Bank to the public.

"It was all I had left of him, so I held on to it like a treasure," she said.

"But when I left for New York six years ago, I had some distance and I understood that it had to be done -- for the public, but also for my mental health, I need to let go. It needs to be a place of French heritage, that is accessible."

- Stuff everywhere -

The opening of the house, where Serge lived from 1969 until his death, was due to happen in March but has been pushed back towards the end of the year by the pandemic.

"It's him, his personality," Charlotte said of the home.

"We have an image of artists in immense, luminous spaces, but this is fairly modest. It was a former stables so the ceilings are not high -- it's not a classic Parisian apartment. There's a miniscule kitchen.

The atmosphere has been immacutely preserved, from the baroque statues to the ashtrays still brimming with Gitanes cigarette butts.

For Charlotte Gainsbourg, the most moving item is a bust of her mother, the actor Jane Birkin: "It's a cast of her body, it's very, very beautiful.

"During my mother's time, there were not many things. Later, there was more and more stuff everywhere. He transformed it into a museum packed with objects. It became difficult to walk around without breaking something."

As for her own music, she confirms she is deep into her new album, which she started during the first lockdown a year ago.

"I'm very happy. It's starting to take form, finally. It should come out in 2022 -- it must!"

© 2021

THE NINTIES ARE BACK; RETURN OF THE YUPPIE SANDAL
Birkenstock steps into big league with new luxury owners

Issued on: 26/02/2021 - 

German sandalmaker Birkenstock goes high-end after an LVMH-backed

 company and the French group's billionaire owner snaps up the iconic brand. 

John MACDOUGALL AFP


Berlin (AFP)

Germany's unabashedly frumpy but comfortable flat sandal maker Birkenstock stepped into the luxury league on Friday, with an LVMH-backed company and the French group's billionaire owner snapping up the iconic brand.

No details were given about the sum paid by LVMH-linked equity firm L Catterton and Bernard Arnault's family holding fund Financiere Agache, but analysts have put the price tag at around 4.0 billion euros ($4.9 billion).

"For the next 250 years we need partners sharing the same strategic and long-term vision as the Birkenstock family," brothers Christian and Alex Birkenstock said in a statement.

The new co-owners "bring both a deep understanding of the details of a manufacturing business that is all about quality and a respect for brands with a long heritage like ours," said the two brothers, who will retain a stake in the company.

The ownership switch marks a watershed for the company which was founded in 1774 to make orthopaedic shoes. By 1897, Konrad Birkenstock had made the first flexible sole fitting the contours of the feet.

The company remained in family hands and the flat sandals were given an international push when they were brought to the United States in the 1960s.

They were quickly adopted by hippies who took to their no-frills comfort but also saw their utilitarian look as an anti-fashion badge.

But a new era dawned in the 1990s when supermodel Kate Moss donned them for a fashion shoot.

Soon, the wide-strapped flat sandals became standard footwear for Hollywood stars in the summer.

And brands from Paco Rabanne and Valentino to Celine have customised their versions of Birkenstocks, even putting them on runways.

Actress Frances McDormand padded on stage at the Oscars in February 2019 in a yellow pair -- vindicating the idea that footwear does not need to be painful to be glamourous.

- 'Casualisation trend' -

With hippies and stars alike all making up its customers, Birkenstock sold 23.8 million pairs of shoes in the financial year through September 2019, with revenues rising 11 percent to 721.5 million euros.

The pandemic has also appeared to give it a boost, with the company reporting record revenues in 2020 even though much of walk-in retail was shuttered across the world as governments scrambled to halt coronavirus contagion.

Fflur Roberts, analyst at Euromonitor International, said Birkenstock had benefitted from the fact that home working was pushing people to opt for more casual dress.

"This casualisation trend is expected to continue for the short- to medium-term at least," she said, noting that the fashion industry was "already going through a transitional period where 'athleisure' and a more relaxed approach to dressing was becoming increasingly popular" even before the pandemic.

Further, the company which employs 4,300 people around the world will also seek to get a firm footing in the huge Asian market through its new connections with Arnault's luxury empire.

"We will get excellent market access and contacts in Asia through the new co-owners, and can push on with our growth at an accelerated pace," Birkenstock chief executive Oliver Reichert told business weekly Handelsblatt.

© 2021 AFP

NOT SO MODEST MODI, EGO SIZE OF INDIA

Spider-Man star caught in Indian Twitter storm mix-up

Issued on: 26/02/2021

British actor Tom Holland is caught in an identity mix-up on Twitter in India

 Jesse Grant 

GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP


New Delhi (AFP)

"Spider-Man" star Tom Holland was grappling with an angry Twitter storm in India on Friday in a case of mistaken cyber identity.

A historian with the Twitter handle @holland_tom tweeted a post mocking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday after a huge cricket stadium was renamed after him.

"I'm a huge admirer of the modesty Modi showed in naming the world's largest cricket stadium after himself," the tweet said.

The post prompted an angry backlash in India, where people mistook the Twitter account with that of another Tom Holland -- the 24-year-old British star of the "Spider-Man" series of Marvel movies -- whose handle is @TomHolland1996.

Soon the hashtag #BoycottSpiderMan started trending in the country of 1.3 billion people.

"This is India's internal matter. We will teach you a lesson of lifetime. #boycottspiderman," said one user in response to the historian's tweet.

"You conspirator, conspiring against global leader (Modi). You just wait, Delhi police is coming for you," said another.

The actor has been active on Twitter this week, teasing fans with possible titles for the newest film in the series.

The #BoycottSpiderMan hashtag then gained further traction as Twitter users mocked others for their misdirected vitriol.

Historian Holland later apologised, tweeting: "Oh dear -- I seem single-handedly to have destroyed prospects for the next Spider-Man in India."

"I should have remembered that with great power comes great responsibility," he said, echoing a famous Spider-Man quote.

Tongue-in-cheek, he added: "Just for the record, & to save Marvel's profits in India, I freely acknowledge that Narendra Modi is a man of immense humility, and that his naming the world's largest cricket stadium after himself is in no way quite hilariously immodest."

The stadium in Ahmedabad in Gujarat state was renamed on Wednesday from Motera to Narendra Modi.

The 110,000-seat venue was the pet project of Modi who was the state's chief minister before becoming India's prime minister in 2014.

© 2021 AFP

DEADPOOL PAYS WELSH FOOTBALL PLAYERS TOP DOLLAR
Hollywood owners offer Wrexham players £250,000 bonus for promotion

Issued on: 26/02/2021 

Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds will contribute to a £250,000 bonus pot should Wrexham achieve promotion 

Cindy Ord GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

London (AFP)

Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney will pay Wrexham players a £250,000 bonus ($353,000) should the club win promotion into the Football League this season.

Deadpool star Reynolds and McElhenney, who is best known for his role in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", completed their takeover of the Welsh club earlier this month.

Wrexham are currently seventh in the fifth-tier National League and occupy the final play-off position.

Players will receive £200 for each win and £50 for a draw, as long as Wrexham remain in a play-off position, while a £250,000 bonus pot will reward promotion.

Wrexham's new ownership believe the incentive scheme is the most generous ever offered since the Red Dragons' relegation from the English Football League in 2008.

Executive director Humphrey Ker told the club's official website: "Rob and Ryan wanted to recognise the players' confidence that they can reach this season's play-offs and provide an added financial incentive to achieve this."

Wrexham captain Shaun Pearson said: "The takeover has brought exciting times for the whole club, the town and the community and we want to bring more excitement through our achievements on the pitch too."

Reynolds and McElhenney have made a £2 million investment in the club since taking 100 per cent control from the Wrexham Supporters Trust on February 9.

The pair said on completion of the deal that "first-team player identification will be a priority", as well as promising money to enhance the women's football programme, community initiatives and the Racecourse Ground.

Russian diplomats arrive from 

virus-hit North Korea on rail trolley

GOVT SAYS THERE IS NO CORONAVIRUS IN THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 

Issued on: 26/02/2021 - 

The group waved and cheered as they made the final approach towards their homeland 

Handout RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY/AFP

Seoul (AFP)

Eight Russian diplomats and family members -- the youngest of them a three-year-old girl -- have arrived home from North Korea on a hand-pushed rail trolley due to Pyongyang's coronavirus restrictions.

Video posted on Russia's foreign ministry's verified Telegram account showed the trolley, laden with suitcases and women, being pushed across a border railway bridge by Third Secretary Vladislav Sorokin, the only man in the group.

They waved and cheered as they approached their homeland, the culmination of an expedition that began with a 32-hour train trip from Pyongyang, followed by a two-hour bus ride to the border.

"It took a long and difficult journey to get home," the ministry said in the post late Thursday, speaking of the final stretch.

"To do this, you need to make a trolley in advance, put it on the rails, place things on it, seat the children -- and go," it said.

"Finally, the most important part of the route -- walking on foot to the Russian side."

Sorokin was "the main 'engine' of the non-self-propelled railcar", it said, and had to push it for more than a kilometre.

Once on Russian territory, they were met by foreign ministry colleagues and were taken by bus to Vladivostok airport.

"Don't leave your own behind", the ministry added as a hashtag.

North Korea imposed a strict border shutdown in January last year to try to protect itself from the coronavirus that first emerged in neighbouring China and has gone on to sweep the world.

The shutdown has cancelled all flights in or out of the nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit country, and cross-border trains.

- 'Rigorous and demanding work' -

With staff and supplies unable to enter, the restrictions have severely hampered the activities of diplomats and aid workers, and several Western embassies have pulled out their entire staff.

But Russia has close relations with the North and maintains a significant diplomatic presence.

On Friday, the Kremlin said the journey out of North Korea demonstrated that diplomatic service is no walk in the park.

"It seems very pleasant and elegant but in reality this is very complex, rigorous and demanding work," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, himself a trained diplomat, told reporters.

"Things like this can happen too," he added.

Stalin's Soviet Union played a key role in the North's foundation after it and the US decided to split the peninsula into two zones either side of the 38th parallel following the World War II surrender of Korea's colonial overlord Japan.

Moscow still has a grand embassy in a prime spot in central Pyongyang, close to the North Korean leadership compound.

In South Korea, people online reacted gleefully to reports of how the diplomats departed.

"I am glad I was not born in North Korea," one posted on South Korea's biggest internet portal Naver.

Another joked: "Please return your cart to where you found it."

© 2021 AFP

ORIGINAL 1% PARASITE
Spain's tainted former king settles tax debts

Issued on: 26/02/2021 - 

Juan Carlos has since lived in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates since last year 

OSCAR DEL POZO AFP/File


Madrid (AFP)

Spain's former king Juan Carlos, who moved to the UAE last year under a cloud of scandal, has settled a debt of nearly 4.4 million euros ($5.3 million) with the Spanish tax authorities to try to avoid an embarrassing lawsuit.

The debts -- the second batch Juan Carlos has settled in less than three months -- have renewed questions over the 83-year-old's financial affairs and further dented the reputation of the Spanish monarchy.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he shared Spaniards' "rejection" of what he called Juan Carlos' "uncivic behaviour".

"An institution is not being judged," Sanchez said, amid anger over the delayed payment.

"What is being questioned is the behaviour of a person."

The back-taxes were due on the value of private jet flights -- worth eight million euros, according to press reports -- that were paid by a foundation based in Liechtenstein belonging to a distant cousin of Juan Carlos.

The value of the flights are considered taxable income on the part of the ex-king. The payment comes after he made a voluntary declaration of this income, his lawyer said in a letter Friday, confirming press reports.

In December Juan Carlos, who has since August lived in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates, settled another tax debt of nearly 680,000 euros.

That settlement is linked to a probe made public last month by Spain's attorney general.

It is investigating whether he used credit cards linked to accounts not registered in his name -- which could constitute a possible money-laundering offence.

The credit card payments took place after Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014, which could mean that he is not shielded by the immunity from prosecution he enjoyed as head of state.

He is also the target of two other investigations over his financial dealings, including those linked to a high-speed train contract in Saudi Arabia.

- Coalition tensions -

Prosecutors are examining the contract won by a consortium of Spanish companies in 2011, seeking to establish whether the then-monarch was paid a commission.

According to Swiss daily La Tribune, the late Saudi king Abdullah deposited $100 million into a Swiss private bank in 2008 to which Juan Carlos I had access, prompting suspicions it was a kickback for the contract which was awarded three years later.

Juan Carlos has not been charged with any crime, and his lawyers have said he would return to Spain if required for legal reasons.

But Cristina Monge, a political scientist at the University of Zaragoza, said this second batch of debts "further soils the image" of the former king, who on Tuesday missed a Madrid ceremony to mark 40 years since a failed military coup.

Juan Carlos' intervention helped defeat the 1981 coup attempt and he won widespread admiration for his role in steering Spain to democracy following the death of longtime dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

But a steady drip of revelations about his love life and lavish lifestyle have severely tainted the monarchy in recent years.

The latest tax settlement "could complicate the relationship" between the ruling Socialist party and its junior coalition partner, the hard left Podemos which is strongly opposed to the monarchy, Monge said.

- 'Shameful' -

The Socialists in contrast are "worried" about the former king's financial affairs and their impact on public opinion, and remain cautious in their censure of Juan Carlos, she added.

"This is not good news," Socialist Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo said Friday, when asked about the latest debts the king had needed to pay.

Podemos MP Gerardo Pisarello said it was "shameful" that the former king was "voluntarily paying the tax office millions which he should have declared years ago".

Podemos has governed in a minority coalition with the Socialists since January 2020. It is the first time that an anti-monarchy party has been in power since Spain returned to democracy in the 1970s.

Since ascending to the throne in 2014, Juan Carlos' son King Felipe VI has taken steps to improve the monarchy's image, such as imposing a "code of conduct" on royals.

Last year he stripped his father of his annual allowance of nearly 200,000 euros after new details of allegedly shady financial dealings emerged.

Boeing studied 777 engine upgrade before Denver incident: report

Issued on: 25/02/2021 -

Boeing had been studying upgrades to 777 engine covers ahead of the weekend incident that deposited debris on a Denver suburb 

Michael Ciaglo GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File



New York (AFP)

Boeing had been working to strengthen engine covers on the 777 for about two years before last weekend's scare on a United Airlines flight, according to a report Thursday.

Boeing was working with the Federal Aviation Administration to strengthen protective engine covers following similar problems on earlier flights preceding Saturday's emergency landing, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The report comes amid a National Transportation Safety Board investigation of Saturday’s United flight, which returned to Denver soon after disembarking after the engine caught fire and began breaking apart.

No one was hurt in the incident, but the episode raised questions about maintenance on the jets.

On Tuesday night, the FAA ordered inspections of all Pratt & Whitney engines similar to the one that broke apart.

Investigators have attributed the Denver incident to a fan blade that broke off soon after takeoff due to metal fatigue and apparently breached the engine cover, known as a cowling.

Both Boeing and the FAA avoided discussing specifics on the efforts to modify the 777. Such changes typically require signficant evaluation and testing.

Boeing is "in constant communication with our customers and the FAA, and engaged in ongoing efforts to introduce safety and performance improvements across the fleet," a Boeing spokesman said.

"We will continue to follow the guidance of the FAA on this issue and all matters related to safety and compliance, and we continue to provide updates to our customers."

The FAA said it focused on fan blade inspections in its most recent order on the Pratt & Whitney engines and on an earlier directive after a 2018 incident on a 777.

"Redesigning airframe and engine components is a complex process. One of the top priorities to date has been reducing the risk of a fan-blade failure that could lead to cowling damage," an FAA spokesman said.

"The FAA engages with manufacturers to continuously enhance safety. Any proposed design change to a critical piece of structure must be carefully evaluated and tested to ensure it provides an equivalent or improved level of safety and does not introduce unintended risks."

© 2021 AFP

Fire poses long-term risk to forest carbon sink: study


Issued on: 25/02/2021 

As Earth continues to heat due to ever higher concentrations of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere, both the number of fires and how fiercely and long they burn for increases 

MATEUS MORBECK AFP/File


Paris (AFP)

Stronger and more frequent wild fires are reducing forests' ability to store carbon in a trend that will likely not be offset by planting new trees, a study said Thursday.

As Earth continues to heat due to ever higher concentrations of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere, both the number of fires, as well as how fiercely and long they burn, increases.

Slower growing tree species are better at surviving such intense blazes, but they capture less atmospheric carbon and reduce nutrient availability, according to research led by the University of Cambridge.


Analysing decades of data on the impact of fires on ecosystems across the world, the team of experts found that repeated fires were driving long-term changes in forest composition, while reducing their population size.

They found that after 50 years, regions with the most extreme annual fires had 72 percent less biomass than regions that had not burned.

Writing in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, the researchers said there were 63 percent fewer trees in hard-hit regions compared to areas untouched by fires.

Because not all areas are suitable for mass reforestation, and because the long-term impact of fires take decades to gauge, the team said simply replanting the trees would likely fail to offset the reduction in forests' capacity to absorb carbon from the atmosphere.

"Planting trees in areas where trees grow rapidly is widely promoted as a way to mitigate climate change," said Adam Pellegrini in the University of Cambridge's Department of Plant Sciences.

"But to be sustainable, plans must consider the possibility of changes in fire frequency and intensity over the longer term."

- Sink almost full -

Wildfires themselves are a major source of planet-warming carbon pollution, with annual blazes releasing CO2 equivalent to around a fifth of fossil fuel emissions.

But they also reduce nature's capacity to absorb the carbon pumped into the atmosphere.

Previous research has shown that frequent fires reduce the levels of soil nutrients such as nitrogen.

Thursday's study showed that this favours slower growing tree species that have adapted to surviving with fewer nutrients.

These species limit the forest's ability to recover as they hold on to nutrients rather than replenishing the soil as they grow.

Throughout human history, forests have maintained the ability to suck carbon from the atmosphere, proving a key line of defence against climate change.

But with relentless emissions growth, they are losing their capacity to do so.

One study from last year suggested that major forests such as the Amazon may soon tip over from being a carbon sink -- i.e. they absorb more carbon than they release -- to a source, perhaps within 15 years.

"As fire frequency and intensity increases because of climate change, the structure and functioning of forest ecosystems are going to change in so many ways because of changes in tree composition," said Pellegrini.

© 2021 AFP

UN Security Council to discuss the ‘gravest threat’ to global peace and stability

Holly Ellyatt@HOLLYELLYATT
PUBLISHED TUE, FEB 23 2021

KEY POINTS

Climate change represents a “grave threat” to global peace and security, the U.K. will say when it chairs a special session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to warn the UN Security Council that unless the global community takes “urgent action to tackle climate change, the world risks worsening conflict, displacement and insecurity,” the government said in a statement.


A resident holding a child walks past debris from damaged homes after Hurricane Iota made landfall on Providencia Island, Colombia, on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Climate change represents the “gravest threats” to global peace and security, the UN Security Council will hear on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to warn the UN Security Council that unless the global community takes “urgent action to tackle climate change, the world risks worsening conflict, displacement and insecurity,” the government said in a statement.

The U.K. currently has a one-month presidency of the Council, which is charged with ensuring international peace and security. Its permanent members are China, France, Russia, the U.K. and U.S. Johnson will address the group at 1.30 p.m. London time.

Ahead of the session, Johnson said the Council “is tasked with confronting the gravest threats to global peace and security, and that’s exactly what climate change represents … From the communities uprooted by extreme weather and hunger, to warlords capitalising on the scramble for resources – a warming planet is driving insecurity.”

He added that “unlike many issues the Council deals with, this is one we know exactly how to address” and that by helping vulnerable countries adapt to climate change, and cutting global emissions to net zero, “we will protect not only the bountiful biodiversity of our planet, but its prosperity and security.”

Well known naturalist and TV personality David Attenborough will also address the Council on Tuesday. He said in a statement released late Monday that “if we bring emissions down with sufficient vigour we may yet avoid the tipping points that will make runaway climate change unstoppable.”

He said the upcoming UN climate change meeting, known as COP26, that will take place in Glasgow in November, could be the “last opportunity to make the necessary step-change.”

“If we objectively view climate change and the loss of nature as world-wide security threats – as indeed, they are – then we may yet act proportionately and in time,” he said.


UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Sudanese climate activist Nisreen Elsaim will also brief the Security Council live on Tuesday.

Briefing ahead of the session, the U.K. noted that “the impacts of climate change are already being felt around the world, with the effects of rising temperatures and extreme weather forcing population movements and creating competition over increasingly scarce natural resources. Of the 20 countries ranked most vulnerable to rising global temperatures, 12 are already in conflict.”

For its part, the U.K. has committed in law to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% by 2030 – the steepest reduction of any major economy.

Alongside the UN Security Council’s permanent members there are 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. These members are currently Estonia, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Norway, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, and Vietnam.

Global efforts to tackle climate change are high on the agenda for the international community, although environmental experts fear that too little too late is being done to combat the issue.

The U.S. is the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China. Under President Joe Biden’s administration, the country has now officially rejoined the Paris climate agreement, a landmark pact among nations to reduce carbon emissions, having left under former President Donald Trump.