Noam Chomsky: 

Don't expect criminal states to investigate their own crimes

Noam Chomsky said it can't be expected that criminal states investigate their own crimes.

ANF
NEWS DESK
Saturday, 26 Nov 2022

World-renowned philosopher Noam Chomsky commented on Turkey's use of chemical weapons against Kurdistan.

Chomsky said that the Turkish state would not accept investigations into allegations of the use of chemical weapons in northern Iraq, nor would they accept investigations into previous and more recent crimes.

Noam Chomsky spoke to Medya Haber TV's presenter Selehattin Işıldak.

Open letter on allegations of the use of chemical weapons by Turkey calls for action

“The Kurdish people do not have a government that can speak up for them,” say dozens of intellectuals who call for action against the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds.

ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 30 Nov 2022

131 academics, activists, unionists, NGO representatives and politicians wrote an open letter calling for actions from various authorities regarding the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish army against the Kurdish guerrilla forces in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).

The signatories call for an urgent end to all cross-border military activity of the Turkish state in Iraq and Syria, criticizing the existing international mechanisms for not reflecting the realities of warfare today.

The open letter reads as follows:

“On the occasion of November 30, the Day of Remembrance of all Victims of Chemical Warfare, we write with deep concern about disturbing allegations of the use of prohibited weapons by the Turkish military in its ongoing military operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Moreover, we are writing at a time in which the Turkish state is once again targeting civilians inside Syria and mobilizing for another possible ground invasion.

On October 18, local media released video footage showing the impacts of alleged chemical weapons exposure on two PKK guerrillas. Both were among 17 of the group’s fighters who lost their lives as a result of alleged chemical attacks in recent months.

The footage followed a report published by the NGO International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) last month that examined other allegations of Turkish chemical weapons use and called for an international investigation based on its findings.

In 2021, human rights monitors and local media reported at least once instance of civilian harm potentially caused by alleged Turkish chemical weapons use. The authors of the IPPNW report attempted to meet with the impacted civilians, but were blocked from doing so by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

We understand that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) can only investigate allegations of chemical weapons use when a request is made by a state party.

However, it is our view that these existing mechanisms do not reflect the realities of warfare today. Peoples without states and non-state political and military actors are deeply involved in modern conflicts. So are autocratic regimes that stifle the voices of those who wish to hold their governments to account for their behavior in war.

Both of these conditions are relevant here. The Kurdish people do not have a government that can speak up for them. They live under repressive regimes with powerful allies in the West—Turkey, for example, is supported by its NATO allies despite consistent evidence of serious human rights abuses.

This means that, while Kurds are disproportionately more likely to be subjected to war crimes and violations of international law as a result of their status as an oppressed minority, they are also disproportionately less likely to have access to justice mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable.

In order to be effective, human rights law and the laws of war must be implemented as universally as possible, free from political considerations. There should be as many avenues as possible for credible allegations of human rights violations and violations of the laws of war to be investigated by impartial international bodies—particularly serious violations like the use of prohibited weapons.

Furthermore, these investigations should not simply be aimed at the historical record. They should build towards justice and accountability for all who violate international law, as well as durable political solutions to ongoing conflicts.

To that end, we the undersigned make the following recommendations:

To the OPCW:Amend investigation procedures to allow greater access to justice and accountability for alleged chemical weapons use.
Investigate allegations that Turkey may have used chemical weapons in Iraqi Kurdistan.

To the government of Turkey:End all cross-border military activity in Iraq and Syria immediately.
Cooperate fully with local and international investigations of alleged chemical weapons use and other alleged war crimes and human rights abuses and hold perpetrators accountable if violations are found.
Return to peace negotiations with the PKK to resolve the Kurdish issue by political means.

To the Kurdistan Regional Government:Allow international investigators full access to impacted regions and communities to determine if Turkey has used chemical weapons in its military operations.

To concerned governments:Request an investigation of alleged Turkish chemical weapons use via existing OPCW mechanism.
End arms sales and security assistance to Turkey.
Pressure Turkey to end cross-border military operations in Iraq and Syria.
Support and assist in return to peace negotiations between Turkey and the PKK to resolve the Kurdish issue by political means.

To international civil society:Support the demands listed here by signing this letter and engaging with relevant governments and international institutions.”

Signatories:

Souad Abdelrahman, Head of Palestine Women’s Association - Palestine

Dr Goran Abdullah - Scotland

Ismet Agirman, Kurdish activist - UK

Prof Dr Tayseer A. Alousi, Secretary General of the Arab Assembly for Supporting Kurdish Issue and President Sumerian Observatory for Human Rights - Netherlands

Dr Maha Al-Sakban, Centre for Women’s Human Rights board member - Iraq

Mick Antoniw MS, Senedd Constituency Member, Welsh Labour Group, Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution - Wales

Chiara Aquino, PhD Candidate, University of Edinburgh - Scotland

Benedetta Argentieri, Journalist and filmmaker - Italy

Rezgar Bahary, Journalist - UK

Naamat Bedrdine, Politician and writer - Lebanon

Walden Bello, International Adjunct Professor of Sociology, SUNY Binghamton, and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (aka Alternative Nobel Prize) in 2003 - USA

Janet Biehl, Independent scholar, author, artist - USA

Jonathan Bloch, Writer - UK

Baroness Christine Blower, House of Lords - UK

Debbie Bookchin, Journalist and author - USA

Prof Bill Bowring, School of Law, Birkbeck College, University of London - UK

Jane Byrne, Teacher - UK

Robert Caldwell, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies, University at Buffalo – USA

Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) - UK

CND (Campaign Against Nuclear Disarmament) - UK

Margaret Cerullo, Hampshire College - USA

Maggie Cook, UNISON NEC member - UK

Mary Davis FRSA, Visiting Professor of Labour History at Royal Holloway University of London - UK

Defend Kurdistan Initiative - UK

Mary Dibis, Mousawat for Women - Lebanon

Penelope Dimond, Writer and actor - UK

Gorka Elejabarrieta Diaz, Basque Senator, Director EH Bildu International Relations Department - Basque Country

Federal Executive Committee of Women’s Union Courage - Germany

Silvia Federici, Author and Professor Emerita of Social Science, Hofstra University - USA

Andrew Feinstein , Executive Director, Shadow World Investigations - UK

Dr Phil Frampton, Author - UK

Freedom Socialist Party - Australian Section

Freedom Socialist Party - USA Section

Andreas Gavrielidis, Greek-Kurdish Solidarity

Lindsey German, Convenor Stop the War Coalition - UK

Selay Ghaffar, Exiled women’s rights activist from Afghanistan

Prof Barry Gills, Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science - UK

Dr Sarah Glynn, Writer - France

Mustafa Gorer, Kurdish activist - UK

Kirmanj Gundi, KHRO (Kurdistan Human Rights Observer) - UK

Prof Michael Gunter, General Secretary of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) - USA

Rahila Gupta, Chair of Southall Black Sisters - UK

Kazhal Hamarashid, Board member of the Toronto Kurdish Community Centre - Canada

Niaz Hamdi, KHRO (Kurdistan Human Rights Observer) - UK

John Hendy QC, Barrister - UK

Nick Hildyard, Policy analyst - UK

Ava Homa, Writer, journalist and activist - Canada/USA

Srecko Horvat, Co-founder of DiEM25 & Progressive International

Dr Stephen Hunt, PiK Ecology Network - UK

John Hunt, Journalist - UK

Alia Hussein, Women’s Affairs Committee of the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions - Iraq

Lord Hylton, House of Lords - UK

Serif Isildag, Journalist - UK

Ruken Isik, Adjunct Lecturer at American University - USA

Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Crymru – Wales

Jin Women’s Association - Lebanon

Ramsey Kanaan, Publisher, PM Press - UK

James Kelman, Author - Scotland

Gulay Kilicaslan, Department of Law and Legal Studies, Carleton University - Kanada

Nida Kirmani, Women Democratic Front, Haqooq-e-Khalq Party – Pakistan

Nimat Koko Hamad, Associate researcher and gender specialist - Sudan

Kongra Star Women’s Movement – Rojava & Syria

Claudia Korol, Founder of Popular Education Collective Pañuelos en Rebeldía, Feministas de Abya Yala - Argentina

Balazs Kovacs, Consultant - UK

Kurdish Women’s Relations Office (REPAK) – Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Şeyda Kurt, Journalist and Writer - Germany

Coni Ledesma, International Women’s Alliance (IWA) Europe - Netherlands

Dr Anjila Al-Maamari, Center for Strategic Studies to Support Women and Children - Yemen

Aonghas MacNeacail, Scottish Gaelic poet - Scotland

Fazela Mahomed, Kurdish Human Rights Action Group - South Africa

Saleh Mamon, Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) - UK

Dr Carol Mann, Director of Women in War - France

Mike Mansfield QC, Barrister - UK

Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Lecturer of Political Sociology, Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge - UK

Zahraa Mohamad, Journalist - Lebanon

Francie Molloy, MP for Mid Ulster - Ireland

David Morgan, Journalist - UK

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, Green Party Member of the House of Lords - UK

Maryam Namazie, Human rights activist, commentator, and broadcaster - UK

Dr Marie Nassif-Debs, President of Association Equality-Wardah Boutros - Lebanon

Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, General Federation of Trade Unions - UK

Margaret Owen, O.B.E., President Widows for Peace through Democracy - UK

Prof Felix Padel, Research associate at Center for World Environmental History, University of Sussex - UK

Sarah Parker, Anti-Capitalist Resistance - UK

Patriotic Democratic Socialist Party (PPDS) - Tunisia

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign - UK

Maxine Peake, Actress - UK

Rosalind Petchesky, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Political Science, Hunter College & the Graduate Center, City University of New York – USA

Dr Thomas Phillips, lecturer in law at Liverpool John Moore University - UK

Eleonora Gea Piccardi, University of Coimbra, PhD candidate - Italy

Ulisse Pizzi, Geologist, UK engineering consultancy - UK

Dr Anni Pues, International human rights lawyer - UK

Radical Women - USA

Radical Women - Australia

Bill Ramsay, Ex-President Educational Institute of Scotland and Convenor of Scottish National Party – Scotland

Ismat Raza Shahjahan, President of Women's Democratic Front - Pakistan

Trevor Rayne, Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! - UK

Gawriyah Riyah Cude, Women’s Trade Union Forum - Iraq

Dimitri Roussopoulos, Writer, editor, publisher, political activist - Canada

Nighat Said Khan, Women's Democratic Front, Women's Action Forum WAF - Pakistan

Dr Michael Schiffmann, Linguist, English Department of the University of Heidelberg, Translator - Germany

Paul Scholey, Morrish Solicitors - UK

Bert Schouwenburg, International Trade Union Advisor - UK

Chris Scurfield, Political activist - UK

Stephen Smellie, Deputy Convenor UNISON Scotland and NEC member - Scotland

Geoff Shears, Vice-Chair of the Centre for Labour and Social Studies(CLASS) - UK

Tony Shephard, Musician and graphic designer - UK

Tony Simpson, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation - UK

Radha D'Souza, Professor of law at the University of Westminster - UK

Oskar Spong, Operator - UK

Chris Stephens MP, Glasgow South West - Scotland

Steve Sweeney, International Editor, Morning Star - UK

Tooba Syed, Women Democratic Front - Pakistan

Greta Sykes, Writer and artist - UK

Tim Symonds, Novelist - UK

Joly Talukder, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Centre - Bangladesh

Latifa Taamalah Women’s Committee - Tunisia

Shavanah Taj, General Secretary Wales TUC - Wales

Lisa-Marie Taylor, CEO of FiLiA - UK

Saadia Toor, Women Democratic Front - Pakistan

Tom Unterrainer, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation - UK

Prof Abbas Vali, Professor of Modern Social and Political Theory - UK

Dr Federico Venturini, University of Udine - Italy

Andy Walsh, Chair, Greater Manchester Law Centre - UK

Julie Ward, Former MEP - UK

Arthur West, Secretary, Kilmarnock and Loudon Trades Union Council - Scotland

Prof Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) - Norway

Alex Wilson, PhD student at York University in Toronto, Ontario - Canada

Dr Fiona Woods, Lecturer, Technological University Shannon - Ireland

Paula Yacoubian, Member of Parliament - Lebanon

Rosy Zúñiga, Latin America and Caribbean Popular Education Council CEAAL - Mexico

Teacher shortages worry countries across Europe

By Euronews with AFP • Updated: 30/11/2022 - 

Alexxa Martinez, in her classroom in Nevitt Elementary School, in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 26, 2022. - Copyright OLIVIER TOURON/AFP or licensors

Teacher shortages are concerning countries across Europe, AFP reports.

France, Germany, Portugal, Sweden and Italy are all facing teacher recruitment troubles amid widespread disaffection within the profession, which has been amplified by COVID.

There will be a shortfall of 25,000 teachers in Germany by 2025 and 30,000 in Portugal by 2030, according to national estimates, while there are currently 4,000 vacant teaching posts in France.

For Eric Charbonnier, an education expert at the OECD, the COVID pandemic gave "visibility" to the teaching profession and highlighted issues around its appeal.

But others have offered different explanations.

Régis Malet, professor of education at the University of Bordeaux, said shortages were due to "the low level of wages, particularly in France, but also the deterioration of working conditions, status and [a] more symbolic dimension strongly felt ... [about a] lack of consideration [and] recognition."

Teachers' salaries: Which countries pay the most and the least in Europe?

Teaching has changed "from a job with high added social value, prestige, to a form of uncertainty in the mission, loss of meaning and ultimately dissonance between the school and life,” he added.

In France, unprecedented recruitment difficulties led the Ministry of Education to kick back the deadline for applying to be a teacher in the 2023 school year due to a lack of candidates.

French Senator Gérard Longuet presented a report in June which said that, at the European level, the attractiveness of the teaching profession is a "general problem ... whatever the salary level".

Germany, Portugal, Sweden and Italy are also facing mass retirements, which will compound the teacher shortages, says Charbonnier.

At the primary school level, 60% of teachers are over 50 in Italy, 37% in Germany, 42% in Portugal, 36% in Sweden and 23% in France, according to the OECD.
What is the picture like outside of Europe?

But teacher shortages are not solely a European issue.

Countries from Niger in Africa to the United States (US) are also experiencing problems finding and retaining educators.

Some 69 million teachers are missing worldwide to achieve universal basic education by 2023, a UNESCO document published in October revealed.

In sub-Saharan Africa, there is on average one qualified teacher for 56 primary school pupils and one for every 55 secondary school students, according to Borhene Chakroun, Director of Policies and Systems of Education at UNESCO.

‘Libs of Tiktok’: Twitter account targets LGBT+ teachers in the U.S.

By 2030, he predicts that Chad and Niger will need "more than double" the amount of primary school teachers to keep up with population growth.

In this part of the African continent, Chakroun says teacher recruitment is "below current and projected needs", with 16.5 million additional teachers needed by 2030.

Richer countries around the world are affected, too.

In the US, there is an “unprecedented” crisis says Charbonnier.

The Washington Post reported there was a "catastrophic shortage" of teachers at the end of August, explaining that the country had "never experienced such a serious situation."

Still, some say these recruitment troubles are not unavoidable.

According to Charbonnier, though "a matter of concern on which action must be taken", teacher shortages are "not inevitable".

"Finland, South Korea or Ireland are doing well, thanks to proactive policies with a valuation of the profession by society," he adds.

JPMorgan, UBS and others vie for bigger share of China's pension market

11/30/2022 | 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese ventures of foreign asset managers including JPMorgan, Warburg Pincus and UBS are gearing up to expand their retirement offerings, as the country officially unveiled a private pension system last week.

China on Friday launched its first private pension scheme in 36 cities as it grapples with a rapidly ageing population, allowing individuals to open retirement accounts at banks to buy pension products ranging from deposits to mutual funds.

The move marked the official launch of China's version of IRA, or Individual Retirement Accounts in the United States, a private pension scheme that offers tax advantages for individuals saving for retirement.

As part of the new system, local domestic workers covered by China's public pension insurance can participate in the private pension scheme and contribute up to 12,000 yuan ($1,680) per year to their individual accounts and receive tax benefits.

Global asset managers including BlackRock and Fidelity have boosted their presence in China in recent years, partly lured by its nascent private pension sector that is expected to surpass $1.7 trillion by 2025 from $300 billion now.

"In the future we will further complete our pension product offerings by launching ... funds that meet the demand of investors with various age profiles and retirement priorities," said Andrew Wang, chief executive of UBS SDIC Fund Management, a joint venture between UBS and China's State Development & Investment Corp.

UBS SDIC Fund Management currently has one mutual fund, which qualifies for the private pension scheme, among a total of 129 funds provided by 40 Chinese and Sino-foreign fund houses.

Eddy Wong, chief executive of China International Fund Management (CIFM), a joint venture between JPMorgan and Shanghai International Trust Co., said China's individual pension market has "huge potential and room for development".

One of the priorities for the firm is to bring "innovative pension product designs" to the market, Wong said, for which his team is leveraging global experience with on-the-ground research to offer retirement solutions with local characteristics.

Warburg Pincus' China venture, Hwabao WP Fund Management (Hwabao WP FM), has set its eyes on retirement investors within Baowu, the majority shareholder of the fund house and also China's national steel champion with more than 45,000 employees.

"Serving the staff of Baowu will be our starting point and we plan to expand coverage to employees of all firms in the steel industry," said Wu Liang, Shanghai-based general manager of the internet finance department at Hwabao WP FM.

Chinese and global insurers and fund houses have been developing and promoting products for the local pension market, while local banks are offering incentives to lure investors to open accounts as they seek to tap into a new market.

"The first movers in China's pension market enjoy an advantage," said Howhow Zhang, Greater China wealth and asset management strategy and transactions leader at consultancy EY.

"I think Chinese retail investors have a learning curve to climb," said Zhang, adding that "education efforts will fall on the shoulders of both asset managers and distributors."

($1 = 7.1426 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Selena Li in Hong Kong and Jason Xue in Shanghai; additional reporting by Samuel Shen; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)

By Selena Li and Jason Xue

One day rail strike in Austria impacts

1 million passengers

Robert Besser
2nd December 2022

VIENNA, Austria: During a 24-hour strike by Austrian rail workers held this week over issues related to pay, rail traffic throughout Austria ground to a standstill from midnight and affected some 8,000 connections and one million passengers.

Public transport, regional services and long-distance night trains, as well as rail freight lines, were closed down by the strike.

The head of the country's rail network, OeBB chief Andreas Matthae, told the ORF radio broadcaster that services would be largely back to normal within a day.

"I do not want to rule out the possibility of irregularities on one train or the other, but in general I expect that we will be back to serving our customers with the usual quality," he said.

The main rail workers' union had called for a $417.88 monthly pay raise for the railroad's 50,000 employees, but the counter offer was only $208 per month, plus a one-off payment of $1,000.

This week's "warning strike" was called by the union after a fifth round of negotiations collapsed this week.

French banks accused of massively fueling Amazon deforestation

RFI
30th November 2022

French banks are "massively" financing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and tropical Cerrado savanna - providing hundreds of millions of euros to Brazilian agribusiness giants responsible for driving forest loss over the past decade, a coalition of NGOs and media outlets has warned.

BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and the Banque Populaire et Caisse d'Epargne group are accused of contributing to the razing of 9,500 square metres of vegetation cleared to create land for soy, palm oil and beef farming.

A report published Monday by investigative news sites Disclose and Reporter Brasil - in partnership with the NGOs Sherpa, Harvest and the Centre for Climate Crime Analysis - found the banks had invested more than 743 million euros in ventures linked to deforestation between 2013 and 2022.

BNP Paribas singled out

At the top of that list was BNP Paribas, singled out as the largest French financial supporter of the sector - and the country's "leading bank for deforestation".

"Between January 2021 and September 2022 alone, BNP Paribas invested nearly 117 million euros in the activities of several agribusiness giants directly involved in the deforestation of the Amazon and the Cerrado," the report said.

"This financing is carried out despite promises and commitments made in favour of the environment."

In February 2021, BNP pledged to stop investing in firms contributing to clearing tropical forest for beef or soybean production in the Amazon and Cerrado, and to only fund companies with zero deforestation strategies by 2025.

The report alleges this promise was not met.

French supermarket giant Casino sued over links to Amazon deforestation

As part of its investigation, the coalition analysed thousands of financial transactions - corporate loans, bonds, equity investments and share issues - tracked by the Forest and Finance platform, which assesses the finance received by hundreds of companies involved in the beef, soy, palm oil, pulp, paper, rubber and timber supply chains.

Agribusiness giants named in the report include Bunge and Cargill, both American, and Brazilian companies Minerva, Marfrig and JBS. The latter, the world's top beef producer, is accused of illegally shipping meat from farms that have been banned by both Brazil and the European Union.

Duty of vigilance law

Since February 2017, a corporate "duty of vigilance" law opens French businesses up to potential legal action for human rights violations and environmental damage linked to their supply chains.

"BNP Paribas is the first bank to invest in the Amazon," said Jean-Philippe Foegle, a lawyer and advocacy officer at Sherpa, adding French companies were bound by law to monitor their foreign activities.

Cop27 climate summit charts small path for global food justice

"What the duty of vigilance and anti-money laundering legislation provides for is that when you have a suspicion that the actor you are financing is involved in illegal activities, you must ensure that you do not finance that actor," he said.

In response, BNP Paribas told RFI it had made strict commitments to protect the environment and it would take time for those practices to be implemented on the ground.

Sherpa says it is considering legal action to force banks to follow through on their commitments.

Originally published on RFI

3 rehabilitated manatees released in Florida Keys

November 30, 2022

1 of 10

In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, from left, Todd Weston, Rockie Weston, Zeiss Weston and Josie Norgren pose for a photo with an unnamed, rehabilitated adult male manatee before its release back to Florida Keys waters, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, in Key Colony Beach, Fla. The family helped marine mammal rescuers recover the manatee off the Keys' Sombrero Beach in April 2022, suffering from propeller wounds to its head and a skull fracture caused by a boat strike. The manatee and two others, also rehabilitated, were released Tuesday in the Florida Keys.

 (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)


KEY COLONY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Three adult male manatees rescued from waters in the Florida Keys earlier this year have been returned to a Keys canal after being treated and rehabilitated at SeaWorld Orlando.

Personnel from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Dolphin Research Center, Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters and SeaWorld helped transition the trio on Tuesday from transport trucks to land and then into the water.

“Three animals in the same day … there’s nothing better,” Dolphin Research Center medical director Dr. Scott Gearhart said. “To take in an animal that needs your help and to see them released is fantastic … all three of them.”

Measuring up to 11 feet (3.3 meters) and weighing more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) each, the manatees were rescued in April, June and July, respectively. Their medical conditions included a boat strike that caused a skull fracture, severe emaciation and gastric issues, dehydration and inflammation.

An animal named Manakey weighed 460 pounds (209 kilograms) when it was rescued June 10. The marine mammal weighed 1,005 pounds (456 kilograms) when it went back into the water.

Treatment ranged from removing bone fragments to antibiotics and nutritional support.

Marine mammal experts remind the public to be vigilant when boating in Florida waters.

“We share the waterways with these animals,” Gearhart said. “They’re very slow moving and they get into stuff, and you really need to be careful about what your activity is on the water.”

COP15

Strong biodiversity agreement must follow climate inaction

WWF

Posted on 30 November 2022


World leaders failed to accelerate efforts for a stable climate at the recent UN COP27 conference. But they can still help to safeguard the natural world, one of our most important allies against the climate crisis, at December's global biodiversity summit.

The UN climate change conference (COP27) in Egypt, which concluded on 20 November, was not without merit. The agreement in principle to financially support vulnerable nations for the climate damage and economic loss they suffer was certainly welcome.

But the failure to agree to ambitious action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions means that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C is slipping away with disastrous consequences for the world.

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead, said: “By failing to agree to phase out fossil fuels at COP27, leaders have missed the chance to accelerate the elimination of fossil fuels, keeping us on course to climate catastrophe.

“Without rapid and deep emissions cuts we cannot limit the scale of loss and damage. The COP28 climate summit next year must be the COP of climate credibility. And countries must deliver.”

But world leaders don’t need to wait until next year to act. Next month’s UN biodiversity conference (COP15) offers another important opportunity for them to help safeguard the future of people and planet.

NATURE MUST RECOVER

After decades of deepening nature loss caused by human activities, a broad global coalition of sustainable business platforms and environmental NGOs, including WWF, is calling on governments to commit to putting the natural world on the path to recovery at COP15.

Nature is vital for everyone’s well-being and survival, from providing fresh air, food and water to offering livelihoods to many millions. But nature-based solutions are also one of our key allies in increasingly urgent attempts to tackle the climate crisis – from mangroves protecting coastal communities from the increasingly severe impacts of storms to forests absorbing greenhouse gas emissions.

We will not slow down the pace of climate change if we allow the nature loss crisis to continue unabated. Meanwhile, climate change is likely to become the main cause of biodiversity loss if we are unable to limit warming to 1.5°C.

The climate and nature crises are both interlinked and deepening, with a narrowing window of opportunity to act. So when COP15 starts on Tuesday 6 December in Canada, leaders must work for a nature-positive global agreement that ensures the natural world is in better shape by 2030 than it was a decade earlier, with at least 30% of land, seas and freshwater environments protected.

Crucially, action must also be taken in a way that safeguards the interests and human rights of all people, and ensures they can effectively take part in any decision-making.

WWF and our coalition partners have been working towards this moment for several years. Now is the time for governments to come together for people and planet.

Read more:

Cop15: What it is and why it matters

WWF at Cop15

What are Nature Based Solutions?

Green is the new Black (Friday): Why the EU needs to embrace a circular economy 

By Tahmid Chowdhury • Updated: 30/11/2022 - 

People queue outside a retail shop in Oxford Street on Black Friday, 

in London, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. - Copyright AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

In Europe, we live in a linear economy. It’s a traditional model we’re all accustomed to where we take, make and create waste.

Raw materials are collected and transformed into products consumers use, until we eventually discard them, unaware (or perhaps blissfully ignorant) of the damage being done to the environment.


Let’s face it, we’re addicted to novelty, whether it's clothes, that new bit of tech or an upgraded kitchen appliance, we can’t resist a sale.

An estimated 6.6 million tons of textiles are bought every year in the EU, with 5.8 million tons thrown away over the same period – that’s about 11.3 kilograms per person.

Nothing epitomises our current cycle more than the recent Black Friday sales.

Despite the cost of living crisis, where some people are having to choose between heating and eating, this year’s deals came back stronger than ever. Millions of flash sales saw loud ad campaigns flooding our screens and dominating our high streets. Simply put, overproduction breeds overconsumption.

And what accompanies all those rushed, discounted purchases? Lots and lots of packaging. As the COVID pandemic took hold, online shopping rates surged by 129% week on week in the UK and Europe.

Black Friday highlights more than ever our need to shift to a circular economy, where we think more about what we consume and how we can reuse the materials and products we already have in the system.

The focus should be on value creation, implementing a "reduce, reuse, recycle" waste management system and optimising resources – instead of churning out newer and newer products in yet more packaging.

On a small scale, we see 2022 Earthshot Prize finalist Notpla disrupting the industry by producing an alternative to plastic packaging made out of seaweed. We might not be there yet on a global level but there is more our leaders can do from the top down to help our economy become more circular.
France to ban plastic packaging for 30 fruit and vegetables

This week we will see the release of the European Commission’s November Circular Economy Package, which should bring about progress in the EU.

It is set to include policies which mandate a minimum amount of recycled material in new packaging, as well as introducing a new "eco-design" criteria to make products more easily recyclable.

The package is also likely to address ‘Green Claims’ put forward by companies, in an effort to tackle greenwashing.

This should involve implementing carbon accounting into the value chain. Currently, there are no clear metrics on how much carbon is used to create a product, and a harmonised framework with clear definitions would support this.

It is vital the European Commission gets this right.

Earlier pilot programmes like the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) put forward a method for modelling the emissions and waste streams associated with a product throughout its life cycle.

But with a lack of clear data, these types of methodologies can be highly problematic. In a worst-case scenario, they can actually put companies off circular business models as they are unintentionally penalised.

This is a critical moment to incorporate greater circularity in our economy.

Tahmid Chowdhury

This is a critical moment to incorporate greater circularity in our economy, and it can only happen by embedding policies at a systems level.

It’s not just consumers who want to see things change, progressive businesses are also calling for greater ambition around the circular economy.

Research from CLG Europe’s Taskforce recently called for a greater link between stakeholders and legislators when it comes to making decisions, and pushed for demand-side policy on sustainable materials in order to boost business confidence.

The research highlights that building a circular economy must be given the necessary attention and support it requires, so that economic activity and environmental and societal well-being can be successfully integrated. Businesses say a gradual transition is already happening, but more ambitious policy is needed to accelerate this shift.

For the sake of our planet, it is key we embrace the principles of a circular economy.

Our current linear model is not sustainable, and without action, we will not only fail to meet our climate targets – we will run out of resources for the next generation.

Tahmid Chowdhury runs the Taskforce for Climate Neutral and Circular Materials at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).

CURISOUR AND CURISOUR

Young Cryptocurrency Experts Die Suddenly: Tiantian Kullander, Nikolai Mushegian

By Efthymis Oraiopoulos

November 30Business

The photo shows physical imitations of cryptocurrency in Dortmund, western Germany, on Jan. 27, 2020.

 (Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)

The sudden death of another cryptocurrency expert has shocked the crypto industry.

Tiantian Kullander, 30, died in his sleep on Nov. 23, his company Amber Group said in a statement.

Kullander co-founded the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency software company Amber Group in 2017.

His company was in the process of raising $200 million from venture capital firms. Singaporean state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte was among the investors. Existing shareholders, including Sequoia China, Pantera Capital, and Tiger Global Management, also took part in the $200 million financing.

Amber Group was valued at $3 billion this year, while its valuation had tripled from mid-2021, according to its website.

Kullander began his career as a market trader for Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley. He was included in the “30 under 30” Forbes list for Asia in 2019. He was also the founder of KeeperDAO, DAOs are decentralized organizations that use blockchain technology.

“He put his heart and soul into the company, in every stage of its growth. He led by example with his intellect, generosity, humility, diligence and creativity,” Amber Group’s statement said.

Kullander was also a board member of Fnatic, an e-sports organization, according to International Business Times.

Nikolai Mushegian

Nikolai Mushegian, the co-founder of the cryptocurrency lending platform MakerDAO and the decentralized stablecoin Dai, was found dead in Puerto Rico at the age of 29 on Oct. 29.

His demise sparked speculation on Twitter regarding the circumstances surrounding his death.

Mushegian reportedly drowned after being swept away by strong sea currents close to Condado Beach in an area that is known for being dangerous.

He was a highly-regarded figure in the cryptocurrency community and helped develop multiple blockchain-based decentralized financial platforms and stablecoin systems.

Just one day before his sudden death, he wrote on Twitter that the “CIA and Mossad and pedo elite are running some kind of sex trafficking entrapment blackmail ring out of Puerto Rico and Caribbean islands” and that “they are going to frame me with a laptop planted by my ex gf [girlfriend] who was a spy. They will torture me to death.”

Two months prior, he wrote on Twitter that he had “three possible futures,” which included either being “suicided by the CIA,” becoming a “CIA brain damage slave asset,” or the “worst nightmare of people who [expletive] with me up until now.”

Helicopter Crash

The more recent death of Russian crypto billionaire Vyacheslav Taran has further shocked many in the crypto world after the 53-year-old died in a helicopter crash near the French-Italian border, reported the New York Post.

Taran was the founder of Forex Club and president of the Libertex Group. He was the only passenger in the helicopter when it crashed on Friday.

Authorities have not raised suspicion of foul play in any of these cases.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.

WAR PROFITEERING

Elon Musk's Starlink ups prices in Ukraine as its networks are faltering: Report

World News
Published on Nov 30, 2022 

Russia-Ukraine War: There is an increase in demand for the SpaceX-manufactured satellite communication device, the report said.

Russia-Ukraine War: The Starlink satellite-based broadband system at the Kherson border region.(AFP)

By Mallika Soni

The list prices of Starlink communications devices have nearly doubled in Ukraine, a report said. This comes as Starlink's mobile networks have started failing under Russia’s assault on the country’s electricity grid. Financial Times reported.

Read more: ‘Be better’: Elon Musk fact-checked by CNN for fake headline on Twitter

There is also an increase in demand for the SpaceX-manufactured satellite communication device. Starlink terminals, made by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, will increase price to $700 for new Ukrainian consumers, according to the company’s website which represents a rise from about $385 earlier this year.

The consumer cost of the monthly subscription to Starlink will now rise to $75 from $60, the report said adding that prices have also soared in neighbouring Poland, where many Ukrainians source Starlink to avoid problems with domestic mail delivery.

Read more: In videos, celebrations in Iran after FIFA world Cup loss to US. Here's why

Earlier, it was reported that negotiations between SpaxeX and the US department of Defence have been ongoing as the company asked Washington to pay $4,500 a month for each terminal intended for Ukraine.

Elon Musk turned on connectivity for the satellite-based service within Ukraine days after Russia launched its invasion on February 24, responding on Twitter to a request by a Ukrainian minister.