“We must use big data to protect food security and increase climate resilience,” says Commonwealth Secretary-General at COP27

08 November 2022




New Commonwealth policy guide demonstrates how governments can leverage digital tools to revolutionise the agricultural sector


The global threat to food security is one of the major concerns being addressed at COP27 in Egypt this week. Today the Commonwealth Secretary-General called on Commonwealth governments to learn from each other and work together to transform Commonwealth nations into a powerhouse to feed the world.
Food security

To help governments to build a more productive and sustainable agricultural sector, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, encouraged member countries to use the Commonwealth’s new policy guide for governments:


“We must use big data and digital tools to protect food security and increase climate resilience. New technologies and data generation can transform business practices across the agricultural value chain and address bottlenecks in, productivity, harvesting, market access, finance, and supply chain management.

We are releasing this policy guide here today at COP27 because we know how essential food security is to our members and the world. This guide is the first of its kind to assess how digitalisation is impacting the agricultural sector across the Commonwealth. I strongly believe that this is a valuable step, not only for the Commonwealth but for small, developing and middle-income countries globally. It will help policymakers to understand how to target key areas to improve and develop this vital sector and support knowledge exchange between Commonwealth countries."

Agriculture ensures food security and employment in most Commonwealth member countries with over half of the Commonwealth’s 2.5 billion people residing in rural areas and engaging in smallholder farming.

 
Digital innovation

Developed by the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda, the framework outlined in the ‘The State of Digital Agriculture in the Commonwealth’ policy guide, assesses different regions based on their existing digital innovations, data infrastructure, business development services and enabling environment for digitalisation and suggests strategies for progress.

According to the policy guide, while Commonwealth Africa lacks some vital data infrastructure, significant progress has been made through digital innovations, technologies and services. In Commonwealth Asia, technologies for agriculture have advanced across the region but affordability for services remains a challenge to the most vulnerable.

The business development sector, financing and investments are underdeveloped and in need of progress in the Caribbean and Pacific Small Island Developing nations. In the Commonwealth across Europe, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, mobile applications are common and smart farming technologies are widely used, therefore the policy guide encourages other regions to learn from best practices and innovations from these regions to assist them in making rapid and valuable progress.

Whilst speaking on a COP27 panel focussed on ‘Commonwealth Countries Growing Together for Climate Resilience and Food and Nutrition Security’, Secretary-General Scotland stressed that efforts must be made by both the public and private sectors to realise the full potential of digital solutions for the agricultural sector. She went on to encourage policymakers to take advantage of the Commonwealth’s new guide, and the technical expertise and assistance offered by the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda programme.

World can survive inflation and recession but not climate crisis, IMF says at COP27

Naser ElTibi & Tala Michel Issa, Al Arabiya English
Published: 08 November ,2022: 

The world can survive inflation and recession but not an “unmitigated climate crisis,” the International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director told Al Arabiya on the sidelines of the COP27 UN climate conference in Egypt.

“What we need is very massive education campaign, because if people are overtaken by current difficulties and they are not mindful of climate change being an existential risk to humanity, they would be slow to do their part for the transformation,” said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

“We can survive recession. It is hard, but we can survive it. We can survive inflation [but] what we cannot survive, as humanity, is an unmitigated climate crisis.”

World leaders, government officials, top decision makers and experts gathered at COP27 in Egypt’s coastal town of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss the most pressing issues facing humanity in an effort to mitigate the climate crisis.

MIDDLE EAST‘Cooperate or perish’ UN chief Antonio Guterres tells world leaders at COP27

COP27, which kicked off on Sunday and is set to run until November 18, still has much to discuss, from financing the global transition to clean energy to protecting the world’s forests and future-proofing cities.

When asked about a macroeconomic blueprint which the IMF will put forward at the climate summit, aiming for a 25 percent reduction in global emissions by 2030, Georgieva said that first, it would need to gradually increase the price of carbon “to the level necessary to create the incentive for businesses and consumers to bring down emissions.”

“Currently, carbon price globally, on average, is $5 a ton. By 2030, it has to be at least $75 [per] ton if we want to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement,” she explained.

“We need to mobilize, on a much bigger scale; private investment in emerging markets, in developing economies. For this to happen, we need good data, and the IMF is working on that.”

The IMF head also noted that it needed taxonomies to “create comparability for investors from advanced economies, all the way to the poorest countries,” as well as “de-risking schemes.”

“At the IMF, we created the new instruments, the Resilience and Sustainability Trust, to finance this long-term structural transformation. So, we are part of the financing, but we want to use this instrument primarily to bring down perceived and real risk for private investments to move to emerging markets in developing economies.”

‘Major problems’ at hand

Georgieva said that there were currently two problems at hand: climate impact and a “mountain of debt on the shoulders of poor nations.”

“It is important to seek ways to bring a solution to these two problems that connects them,” she explained.

“What we [at the IMF] have concluded is twofold. One, there are ways in which good data for emission reductions can create a predictable revenue stream for countries and be used to service their debt. Two, there has to be a credible way to certify the emission reduction on one side and then what it means for those that are forgiving the debt – in other words, who are receiving the credits.”

If the goal is to ensure that countries credibly link ecological conservation and climate action to a financial flow, then “we have to have good data [and] standardize it, and then make it a part of the solution for the climate crisis,” said Georgieva.

“From the IMF side, we are going to engage on this.”

“I want to caution that if there is a massive problem that requires debt restructuring, that may not be a good candidate for this predictable long-term flow. But if we are talking about debt service over time, not debt restructuring at the moment, [then] yes, we can link carbon credits generated by country to debt service obligations in a way that helps solve two problems at once.”
What can be done during COP27

Georgieva believes that a lot can be achieved at this year’s climate conference.

“There are two things that can be done during COP. The first one is to lift up attention to project preparation and make access to project preparation funds easy also for private investors that are looking for opportunities in the developing world and, two, to provide platforms on a country basis for everybody in the public sector, multilateral development banks and the private sector to come together and seize opportunities that exist,” she said.

The IMF head said that despite everything, there is “some good news to celebrate”: the emergence of significant financing through climate-related bonds.

“Last year, we had $252 billion [in financing]. Only a couple of years ago, we counted them in the tens of billions, not in the hundreds of billions. So, we have to also celebrate where progress is made. Ask: how did they do it? And how we can do even more of it and replicate it elsewhere.”

Facebook owner Meta to cut more than 11,000 jobs

Nov 9, 2022,

Facebook's parent company Meta said on Wednesday that it would cut more than 11,000 jobs, reducing the size of its team by about 13% in the first mass layoffs in the firm's history.

"Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history," Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a message to employees. "I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go."

The sweeping job cuts at Meta — the first in the corporation's 18-year history — follow mass layoffs at Twitter last week under Elon Musk's new leadership and another round of culls at Microsoft in October. Meta also plans to extend its hiring freeze through the first quarter.

Zuckerberg said that he, like others, had predicted the surge of e-commerce at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was a "permanent acceleration" and as a result increased the company's investments. "I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that," he wrote, saying that things "did not play out" as he expected and that factors including the economic downturn and growing competition had led to lower-than-expected revenues.

Meta had reported more than 87,000 employees worldwide at the end of September across its different platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Shares in Meta rose 5% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, after weeks of concerns among investors about Zuckerberg's big bet on his metaverse virtual-reality project.

The company said every member of staff would soon receive an email explaining what the layoffs meant for them. It also listed some details about the severance pay, health insurance, and immigration support employees could expect in the U.S., adding that support for Meta staff in other countries would be "similar".

"I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here. I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted," Zuckerberg said.

Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will begin laying people off on Wednesday morning

Paul Hill @ziks297 · Nov 8, 2022 18:38 EST

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company will begin laying people off from Wednesday morning, according to The Wall Street Journal. According to the news outlet, Mark gave the news to hundreds of executives in a meeting on Tuesday. Meta had more than 87,000 employees at the end of September and the upcoming cuts are said to affect thousands of jobs, though, no concrete figures have been given.

According to people who were at Tuesday’s meeting, Mark seemed to be downcast about the news and held himself responsible for the cuts. He said that he’d been over-optimistic about growth and ended up hiring too many people. Now, given the economic conditions, the company needs to cut thousands of jobs to keep the company’s finances healthy.

To help those affected by the cuts, Meta’s head of human resources, Lori Goler, told the meeting that affected employees will receive four months of salary as severance. This should help people with their living costs as they look for a new job.

Meta will release a general internal announcement about the layoff plans at 6 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. Those affected will be informed in the hours following the general internal announcement. According to the report, people in recruiting and business teams are those most likely to be affected.

Source: The Wall Street Journal (Paywall)

Impact on Irish workforce unknown as Meta job losses expected
Wednesday, 9 Nov 2022 

Around 3,000 people are directly employed by Meta in Ireland

By Brian O'Donovan

Work & Technology Correspondent

Facebook parent company Meta will begin laying off employees today, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

It is not yet known how the company's Irish workforce will be impacted.

Around 3,000 people are directly employed by Meta in Ireland and an additional 6,000 people support its operations here.

According to the Wall Street Journal, an internal announcement of Meta's layoff plans is expected around 11am Irish time this morning.

It is not yet known how the cuts will impact the company's Irish workforce - Meta directly employs 3,000 people in Ireland with an additional 6,000 people supporting its operations here

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg was said to be downcast at a meeting of executives last night and told them he was accountable for the company's missteps that had led to overstaffing.

Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time last night, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that he is not "unduly concerned" about by the prospect of widespread lay offs in the tech sector, and that while he did not want to downplay the seriousness of anyone losing their job, he believes that Ireland has a very well diversified economy.

First sentence ever written in Canaanite language discovered: Plea to eradicate beard lice

Hebrew University unearths ivory comb from 1700 BCE inscribed with plea to eradicate lice—"May this [ivory] tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard”

Peer-Reviewed Publication

THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM

 

IMAGE: THE IVORY COMB (CREDIT: DAFNA GAZIT, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY). view more 

CREDIT: THE IVORY COMB (CREDIT: DAFNA GAZIT, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY).

The alphabet was invented around 1800 BCE and was used by the Canaanites and later by most other languages in the world.  Until recently, no meaningful Canaanite inscriptions had been discovered in the Land of Israel, save only two or three words here and there. Now an amazing discovery presents an entire sentence in Canaanite, dating to about 1700 BCE. It is engraved on a small ivory comb and includes a spell against lice.

The comb was unearthed at Tel Lachish in Israel by a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) and Southern Adventist University in the United States, under the direction of Professors Yosef Garfinkel, Michael Hasel and Martin Klingbeil.  The inscription was deciphered by semitic epigraphist Dr. Daniel Vainstub at Ben Gurion University (BGU). The ivory was tested by HU Prof. Rivka Rabinovich and BGU Prof. Yuval Goren and was found to originate from an elephant tusk.  Their findings were published in Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology.

The letters of the inscription were engraved in a very shallow manner. It was excavated in 2017 but the letters were noticed only in subsequent post-processing in 2022 by Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu. It was cleaned and preserved by Miriam Lavi.

The ivory comb is small, measuring roughly 3.5 by 2.5 cm.  The comb has teeth on both sides. Although their bases are still visible, the comb teeth themselves were broken in antiquity. The central part of the comb is somewhat eroded, possibly by the pressure of fingers holding the comb during haircare or removal of lice from the head or beard. The side of the comb with six thick teeth was used to untangle knots in the hair, while the other side, with 14 fine teeth, was used to remove lice and their eggs, much like the current-day two-sided lice combs sold in stores.

There are 17 Canaanite letters on the comb. They are archaic in form—from the first stage of the invention of the alphabet script. They form seven words in Canaanite, reading: “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.”

“This is the first sentence ever found in the Canaanite language in Israel. There are Canaanites in Ugarit in Syria, but they write in a different script, not the alphabet that is used till today. The Canaanite cities are mentioned in Egyptian documents, the Amarna letters that were written in Akkadian, and in the Hebrew Bible. The comb inscription is direct evidence for the use of the alphabet in daily activities some 3700 years ago. This is a landmark in the history of the human ability to write,” shared Garfinkel.

Ancient combs were made from wood, bone, or ivory. Ivory was a very expensive material and likely an imported luxury object.  As there were no elephants in Canaan during that time period, the comb likely came from nearby Egypt—factors indicating that even people of high social status suffered from lice.

The research team analyzed the comb itself for the presence of lice under a microscope and photographs were taken of both sides. Remains of head lice, 0.5–0.6 mm in size, were found on the second tooth. The climatic conditions of Lachish, however, did not allow preservation of whole head lice but only those of the outer chitin membrane of the nymph stage head louse.

Despite its small size, the inscription on the comb from Lachish has very special features, some of which are unique and fill in gaps and lacunas in our knowledge of many aspects of the culture of Canaan in the Bronze Age.  For the first time, we have an entire verbal sentence written in the dialect spoken by the Canaanite inhabitants of Lachish, enabling us to compare this language in all its aspects with the other sources for it. Second, the inscription on the comb sheds light on some hitherto poorly attested aspects of the everyday life of the time, haircare and dealing with lice.

Third, this is the first discovery in the region of an inscription referring to the purpose of the object on which it was written, as opposed to dedicatory or ownership inscriptions on objects. Further, the engraver’s skill in successfully executing such tiny letters (1–3 mm wide) is a fact that from now on should be taken into account in any attempt to summarize and draw conclusions on literacy in Canaan in the Bronze Age.

Lachish was a major Canaanite city state in the second millennium BCE and the second most important city in the Biblical Kingdom of Judah. To date, 10 Canaanite inscriptions have been found in Lachish, more than at any other site in Israel. The city was the major center for the use and preservation of the alphabet during some 600 years, from 1800-1150 BCE. The site of Tel Lachish is under the protection of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.   

Aerial view of Tel Lachish (Credit: Emil Aladjem).

DOI

10.52486/01.00002.4 

ARTICLE TITLE

A Canaanite’s Wish to Eradicate Lice on an Inscribed Ivory Comb from Lachish.

South Korea revises school curriculum to exclude terms 'gender equality' and 'sexual minorities'

Nov 9, 2022, 

Diego Mendoza

The South Korean government has removed the terms "gender equality" and "sexual minorities" from the national school curriculum, according to local media reports, meaning future textbooks must reword these topics for approval.

REUTERS/Pool via Jeon Heon Kyun

According to Yonhap News Agency, the curriculum overhaul is the largest change to the nation's educational system since 2015, with gender and sexuality at the forefront of revisions.

Under the earlier curriculum, "social minorities" could be defined in classes as "disabled people, immigrant foreigners, and sexual minorities," but the revised guidelines omit the term "sexual minorities."

The term "gender equality" in textbooks will also be changed to "gender prejudice" and redefined as the "ethical problems of gender discrimination," Yonhap reported.

An official from the Ministry of Education said that the current terminology "causes confusion" among students about their social life, according to The Hankyoreh newspaper.

The language changes reflect a nationwide push from right-wing religious groups that oppose LGBTQ rights, with many of these factions also advocating for clear distinctions between gender roles in society.

President Yoon Suk Yeol capitalized on this rhetoric during his election campaign, and at one point said he would consider shutting down the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

South Korea has some of the largest labor market gender gaps among OECD countries, both with regards to earnings and labor force participation, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Critics of the new revisions say that the decisions are discriminatory and based on outdated concepts of gender and sexuality.

"It seems that the expression was changed in order to make it invisible to people who are experiencing discrimination in their daily life because of their gender identity in society," Kim Su-jeong, director of Korea Women's Hotline, told The Hankyoreh newspaper.

Citizens will be able to submit opinions on the changes until Nov. 29, after which the curriculum will become official, according to South Korean website Asia Economy. The curriculum will go into effect in 2024.

“We need proof of life”: Sister of jailed British-Egyptian activist speaks out at COP27

Nov 8, 2022

Karina Tsui

Sanaa Seif, the sister of jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, said Tuesday that she did not know if her brother was alive after he stopped drinking water to escalate his six-month hunger strike in an Egyptian prison.

Seif voiced concerns about Abd El-Fattah’s condition during a press conference at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, drawing a large crowd on the sidelines of the event.

REUTERS/Emilie Madi

Abd El-Fattah was among the leading activists in the country’s 2011 uprising, and has been in jail for more than a decade. In 2019, he was sentenced to five more years in prison after being accused of spreading false information on the mistreatment of inmates in Egyptian jails.

He began a hunger strike in April, and stopped drinking water on Sunday – just as the climate summit began.

Seif, who has been advocating for her brother’s release from Britain, traveled back to Egypt for the global climate summit, which draws leaders, activists, and executives from all around the world.

"Are they force-feeding my brother right now? Is he handcuffed in a bed put on IVs [intravenous therapy] against his will? This is what it sounds like to me," Seif said at the press conference in the German pavilion at the summit. "If that is the case, then he has been plunged into a worse nightmare than he was already in."

She demanded for "proof of life," adding that the British embassy should be allowed to see him.

Egypt's government has publicly said that Abd El-Fattah is getting "healthcare" available to all inmates while France's president Emmanuel Macron said President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi had assured him that the country was "committed" to ensuring the activist's wellbeing, the BBC reported.

Abd El-Fattah’s case and concerns for his health are drawing increasing attention at the global climate summit.

On Tuesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk issued a statement calling for the government’s immediate release of the activist and to “provide him with the necessary medical treatment.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also raised Abd El-Fattah’s case with Sisi at COP27 and his government is trying to push for the activist's release, CNN reported.

“I did not get any response,” Seif said, referring to her calls to the British government to get proof that her brother was still alive.

Nepal earthquake kills six, rattles New Delhi

Published: 09 Nov 2022 - 09:13 am | Last Updated: 09 Nov 2022 - 09:15 am

People stand outside the ruins of collapsed houses after an earthquake struck early Wednesday, in the western district of Doti, Nepal November 9, 2022. Nepal Army/Handout via Reuters

Reuters

Kathmandu: An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 in Nepal early on Wednesday killed four children and two adults, seriously injured five others as several houses collapsed in the western district of Doti, and shook New Delhi in neighbouring India.

Local media showed mud and brick houses destroyed by the quake in the Himalayan country and rescuers digging through the rubble to look for survivors. At least two people are reported missing, said Nepali army spokesperson Narayan Silwal.

Women in the district, about 430 km (270 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, were shown sitting in the open with babies wrapped in blankets to shield them from the cold. Volunteers rescued a cow trapped under the debris.

Ram Upadhyay, chairman of the Purbi Chowki rural municipality in Doti, said he was in a nearby village when the quake struck at 2.12 am Nepal time (2027 GMT).
"It shook terribly and I rushed out immediately. Now we are collecting details including the dead bodies," he said.

Five people were seriously injured as eight houses collapsed, said Bhola Bhatta, Doti's deputy superintendent of police.

Nepal is still rebuilding after two major earthquakes in 2015 killed almost 9,000 people, destroyed whole towns and centuries-old temples and caused a $6 billion blow to the economy.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who faces re-election later this month, offered condolences to the families of the victims. "I have instructed the relevant agencies to arrange immediate and proper treatment of the injured and the victims."

A ground rescue team of the army has been rushed to the site, said spokesperson Silwal, and two helicopters were on standby in nearby Surkhet and Nepalgunj towns.

Kalpana Shrestha, a senior bureaucrat of Doti district, said details were being collected from villages near the epicentre and that one child was among those rescued from under the debris.

Nepal's seismological centre set the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.6. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) had pegged the earthquake at a magnitude of 5.6.

The quake was centred about 158 km (100 miles) northeast of Pilibhit, a populous city in the neighbouring Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, and occurred at a depth of 10 km, EMSC added. There were no reports of damage on the Indian side, though the quake woke up many residents of the capital New Delhi.

COP27: Rich countries must stop stalling talks on climate loss and damage compensation

The issue of loss and damage needs to be discussed honestly, but it must not derail progress at the crucial climate summit.

EDITORIAL
08 November 2022


Floods in Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria in 2015.Credit: Xinhua/Shutterstock

At the two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt, financing for ‘loss and damage’ is on the agenda for the first time. This is a landmark: after decades, high emitters are finally hearing the demand that they compensate low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for the effects of climate change that many are already feeling.

Now all parties must proceed with care, build on research, study other UN environment negotiations and discuss their positions in a constructive spirit of give and take. The need for loss-and-damage finance can no longer be denied. Yet it must not become a wedge issue, dividing nations. If that happens, COP27 and future summits risk failure.

Until now, higher-income countries have preferred to concentrate their climate finance on mitigating the effects of climate change — for example, supporting green energy development — and, to a lesser extent, on adapting to a warmer world. So far, they have promised LMICs US$100 billion annually in climate finance, and $40 billion annually from 2025 specifically for adaptation finance (although neither of these targets is on track).



As COP27 kicks off, Egypt warns wealthy nations of ‘backsliding’

Rich countries have resisted loss-and-damage finance, partly because of a fear of being hit with large claims. But two factors have brought them to the table: first, there’s been sustained advocacy from representatives of climate-vulnerable countries and climate campaigners, backed by research; second, the horrific devastation now unfolding in regions that have contributed little to climate-altering emissions is impossible to ignore.

Loss-and-damage financing could come in several varieties. One possibility, backed by Germany and the V20 group of climate-vulnerable countries, is an insurance-style scheme called Global Shield, along the lines of existing climate-and-disaster insurance. Details are sketchy so far, but if the programme were similar to conventional (general) insurance provision, parties would contribute premiums, creating a pooled fund to provide payouts for damages.

Some countries favour another model, which looks more like climate-related humanitarian aid — a large pot of money to go to wherever there is climate damage. But for many LMICs, this goes against the spirit of loss-and-damage financing, which is money owed according to the ‘polluter pays’ principle, and not charitable funding. And given that mitigation and adaptation finance are already behind schedule, there is justifiable scepticism that another fund will materialize and, if it does, that it will be new money.



At COP27, support poorest for loss and damage

Many LMICs would rather see high emitters accept liability for their historical emissions and agree to provide compensation for damage wrought. This third option is by far the most contentious for high-income countries. They argue that attribution studies cannot yet determine whether climate damage in one country can be traced to specific emissions from another. They also fear that it could lead to trillions of dollars in claims. As a compromise, the COP agenda item agreed ahead of the meeting explicitly excludes questions of liability and compensation. But some LMICs will probably fight hard to have them discussed.

It will fall to conference hosts Egypt to help find a way forward. Pakistan (one-third of which was under water in September because of flooding) also has a pivotal, although tricky, role: it holds this year’s presidency of the G77, the largest group of LMICs, which also includes China. This group is not yet aligned on one model.
A path to agreement

It might prove instructive to examine the experience of negotiators on the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Compared with those working on the climate convention, biodiversity delegates have been more willing to discuss rules for liability and compensation. Take a biodiversity agreement called the Cartagena Protocol, which concerns the international transport of genetically modified (GM) organisms, signed in 2000 after a multi-year negotiation. African countries, led by Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, head of the Ethiopian environment agency, were determined to include a provision for liability and compensation if these organisms caused harm. This idea was opposed by some high-income countries, led by the United States, on the grounds that there was no or little evidence that GM organisms could be harmful. In the end, the provision was not included, because it risked endangering the whole treaty. However, all parties promised to continue discussions, and liability and compensation rules were adopted by UN biodiversity-convention member states in 2010.

It shouldn’t have taken 30 years for loss-and-damage finance to be included on the climate COP agenda. That time would have been better spent designing a scheme that could already have had a big impact on climate-vulnerable countries. The whole world is now at a much more precarious point, and LMICs in particular are more vulnerable.



COP27 will be deadlocked if adaptation funding promise is broken

Higher-income countries must accept responsibility for their previous blocking tactics as they approach this part of the negotiations. COP27 needs to succeed across the board: it must accelerate decarbonization much faster than has been promised so far. It must make good on climate finance that has already been pledged. In addition to loss-and-damage financing, the thorny topic of attributing historical responsibility for current impacts must be broached. It’s unlikely that this summit can solve all the issues. But it would serve no one’s interests to divide countries to the point that the meeting itself looks to be in peril.

Nature 611, 203 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03596-6

'The Sham Must End': UN Cracks Down on Greenwashing at COP27

Its recommendations call for greater scrutiny of net zero claims.


Katie Collins
Nov. 8, 2022 


Fudging net zero claims is a common greenwashing tactic.
Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

This story is part of Choosing Earth, a series that chronicles the impact of climate change and explores what's being done about the problem.

In a win for the environment and anyone who doesn't like to be taken for a ride by false sustainability claims, the UN is cracking down on greenwashing. In a report issued Tuesday at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, the organization laid out recommendations for how companies, financial institutions and cities must calculate their net zero status -- that is, how close they actually are to eliminating their greenhouse gas emissions.

Fudging net zero claims is a favored greenwashing strategy among companies. They will say they're carbon-free thanks to strategies including buying carbon credits, while simultaneously pursuing new fossil fuel projects and continuing to emit greenhouse gases. It makes them look like they're living up to their environmental responsibilities, while, in the words of UN Secretary General António Guterres, they're actually taking advantage of "loopholes wide enough to drive a diesel truck through."

But no more. The UN's report aims to close the loopholes by laying out 10 steps to bring integrity, transparency and accountability to net zero claims. They should help everyone better understand the true extent of the climate efforts being undertaken by companies, especially those claiming to be sustainability leaders.

"Using bogus 'net zero' pledges to cover up massive fossil fuel expansion is reprehensible," Guterres said Tuesday at COP27. "It is rank deception. This toxic coverup could push our world over the climate cliff. The sham must end."

In its report, which was drawn up over the past seven months by a panel of independent experts, the UN stipulated that companies can't claim to be net zero if they are not in line with targets set out by the agency's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. These include cutting global emissions by 45% by 2030. The use of carbon offsets will not be allowed in the short term, and only sparingly in the long term.

"This is about cutting emissions, not corners," said Catherine McKenna, chair of the UN expert group that assembled the report. "Our road map provides clear standards and criteria that must be followed when developing net zero commitments. Right now, the planet cannot afford delays, excuses or more greenwashing."

Companies must also present plans to transition to renewable energy alongside their emissions targets, which are to include details about how they will support workers currently in the fossil fuel industry. They will be duty-bound to publicly advocate for climate action and won't be allowed to fund lobbying for fossil fuels.

All existing voluntary net zero pledges must be revised by the first half of 2023 to fit in with the new requirements, Gutteres said. The report also recommended a move away from voluntary pledges and toward more regulation.

The report demonstrates the need for enforceable measures to prevent greenwashing, said Hana Heikenen, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law in a statement. "Avoiding overshoot of 1.5 degrees Celsius requires deep emissions cuts now, and leaves no room for reliance on fossil fuel prolonging carbon capture and storage or other technofixes, which only delay needed climate action," she said.

COP27 - Corporate climate pledges rife with greenwashing - U.N. expert group

By Gloria Dickie and Simon Jessop - Yesterday 

COP27 climate summit in Egypt© Thomson Reuters

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) -Promises by companies, banks and cities to achieve net-zero emissions often amount to little more than greenwashing, U.N. experts said in a report on Tuesday as they set out proposed new standards to harden net-zero claims.

The report, released at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, is intended to draw a "red line" around false claims of progress in the fight against global warming that can confuse consumers, investors and policy makers.

At last year's climate negotiations in Glasgow, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed 17 experts to review the integrity of non-state net-zero commitments amid concerns about "a surplus of confusion and deficit of credibility" around corporate climate claims.

"Too many of these net-zero pledges are little more than empty slogans and hype", group chair and Canada's former environment minister, Catherine McKenna, said during a news conference launching the report.

"Bogus net-zero claims drive up the cost that ultimately everyone will pay," she said.

Regulators across the world are starting to set tougher rules around what activities can be deemed environmentally friendly, yet progress is patchy and campaigners and activists are increasingly turning to the courts to challenge weak claims.

On Tuesday, an official at Australia's corporate watchdog said it was investigating several companies over greenwashing, in which a company or group makes exaggerated claims over the environmental impact of their products or practices.

Last month, meanwhile, Britain's financial watchdog proposed new rules from 2024 for funds and their managers to prevent consumers being misled about their climate credentials.

An estimated 80% of global emissions are now covered by pledges that commit to reaching net-zero emissions.

The report set out a list of recommendations that companies and other non-state actors should follow to ensure their claims are credible. For example, a company cannot claim to be net-zero if it continues to build or invest in new fossil fuel infrastructure or deforestation.

The report also dismisses the use of cheap carbon credits to offset continued emissions as a viable net-zero strategy, and recommends companies, financial institutions, cities and regions focus on outright emissions and not carbon intensity - a measure of how much carbon is emitted per unit of output.

The report was "potentially very significant, depending on the traction it gets", said Eric Christian Pedersen, head of responsible investments at Nordea Asset Management.

"If this report becomes a legal standard against which one can measure if a net-zero commitment is bona fide or not, then it... can provide ammunition for the lawsuits and regulatory action which are sorely needed to make the absence of climate action more expensive at the individual company level."

The report "gives companies, investors, cities, regions - and by implication, countries - a clear statement of what 'good' looks like", said Thomas Hale, a global public policy researcher at Oxford University and co-leader of the Net Zero Tracker project which measures the effectiveness of such pledges.

"We need to be clear that most net-zero targets are not on track," he told Reuters, noting the tracker found that only half of companies with pledges have robust plans.

Teresa Anderson, global lead for climate justice at poverty-eradication non-profit ActionAid International, said corporations had "long hidden behind net-zero announcements and carbon offsetting initiatives, with very little intention of really doing the hard work of transforming and cutting emissions."

"These recommendations will aim to keep them in line and close any loopholes."

Read more:

COP27 Polluters must pay for climate change, poor nations tell rich

ANALYSIS-COP 27- Big finance's hopes fade in climate of war

EXPLAINER-COP27 What's on the U.N. climate talks agenda

(Reporting by Gloria Dickie and Simon Jessop; editing by Richard Valdmanis, Ed Osmond and Lisa Shumaker)

HE'S A LORD HE LIES

Starmer responds to claims of a Labour left ‘purge’

Sir Keir, who toured a carbon capture pilot plant during a visit to Imperial College London, said Labour was “united” ahead of the next election.

 by Jack Peat
2022-11-07 


Sir Keir Starmer has insisted his party is “united”, amid accusations that the Labour left wing is being “purged”.

Reports emerged over the weekend accusing the Labour leadership of overseeing a “purge” of left-wing candidates, with some blocked from standing at the next general election.

Sir Keir, who on Monday toured a carbon capture pilot plant during a visit to Imperial College London, said that Labour was “united” ahead of the next general election.

He appeared to reject allegations of a purge of left-wing candidates and Jeremy Corbyn backers, arguing instead that he wanted to build a “team for the future”.

The Labour leader told broadcasters: “We are preparing for the next election, the sooner the better.

“I am determined to have a team of incoming MPs, who are the team for the future.

“We will have a big challenge and so of course we are making sure we have got the very best candidates to put before the public for that general election which we so desperately need.”

Sir Keir’s visit to the central London university coincided with the start of Cop27 in Egypt, which is being attended by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak despite him initially saying he would not travel for the conference.

The Labour leader stressed his own party’s climate credentials, as he said that as prime minister he would be involved in “pulling leaders together” to tackle climate change.