It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, March 09, 2023
BIOMASS IS A BIOMESS Stop subsidising energy companies that burn trees for electricity, climate advisers tell government
Wed, 8 March 2023
The government should stop the flow of multimillion pound subsidies to energy companies that burn trees, its climate watchdog has urged.
The controversial energy source involves burning woody biomass to generate electricity.
It is classed as renewable in the UK because new trees are planted to absorb the carbon dioxide released as trees burn.
That made companies like Drax, which used to burn coal but is now the UK's largest bioenergy provider, eligible for £617 million in government subsidies last year.
In its strongest edict on the issue yet, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) today warned for the first time that subsidies for biomass must end when the current round expires in 2027.
Bioenergy is too expensive and "even sustainable biomass supplies have significant lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions", the CCC said, in a much broader report about Britain's energy future.
It welcomed the fact the money had previously helped convert coal power stations to burn biomass instead, and had supported the industry years ago when low-carbon power was still expensive.
But now it is "not good value for money for bill-payers, and it's not the right thing for the climate either," Dr David Joffe, the CCC's head of net zero, told reporters.
The CCC also warned the current system encouraged biomass companies to "run for as many hours as possible rather than operating flexibly in a back-up role" because they are paid the wholesale price, which is linked to gas prices, as well as the subsidies.
Some scientists back bioenergy as a far cleaner means of power than coal or gas, while many argue it is impossible to guarantee the emissions are reabsorbed, or negate the other pollution.
A Drax spokesperson said its "conversion from coal to biomass is one of the primary reasons that the UK's power sector has decarbonised as fast as it has over the last decade, while maintaining energy security".
Drax strongly denies allegations by a BBC Panorama programme that it had been felling trees from primary Canadian forests, rather than burning only "waste wood" as promised.
'Important role' for technology that removes carbon
The CCC also said the UK should abandon biomass in its current form from around 2030.
But it threw its support behind plans to make biomass carbon negative by capturing and burying the emissions under the North Sea in depleted oil or gas fields.
The process is known as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
BECCS will play an "important role" in meeting climate targets because it can remove CO2 from the atmosphere while also generating electricity, the CCC said.
The government's reluctance to try to reduce demand, for example via high-polluting sectors like aviation or agriculture, makes carbon removals such as BECCS even more urgent, Dr Joffe told Sky News.
But Conservative MP Pauline Latham said not only should the government end the "massive renewable subsidies they pay to biomass companies" by 2027, but "further subsidies should not be granted beyond this date in the form of subsidies to BECCS".
"These companies should not be using billpayer money to burn wood from other countries' forests," she told Sky News.
Will bioenergy with carbon capture work?
Energy thinktank Ember estimates Drax's proposed BECCS plant would require £31.7 billion in public subsidies.
Drax says it has successfully piloted the carbon capture process, but cannot test the storage because the underground infrastructure has not yet been built.
Its spokesperson said the CCC identifies "the crucial role that carbon removals, and particularly bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), will play in delivering a reliable and resilient decarbonised power system".
The spokesperson added: "We believe the UK will need multiple solutions in place to achieve net zero, and as the country's biggest renewable power generator by output, we look forward to playing an important role in its transition."
The government's delayed Biomass Strategy, which was due by the end of 2022, is expected between April and June this year.
A government spokesperson said the UK is "decarbonising faster than any other G7 country, while low-carbon sources like renewables and nuclear provide half of our total UK energy generation".
They added: "But we are also investing in the new technologies of the future, rapidly progressing developments in Carbon Capture and Storage, alongside being the first government in decades to invest in nuclear energy which will be critical to energy security and making energy more affordable."
The CCC's wide-ranging report looked at how the UK could decarbonise the grid as hoped by 2035. It said the goal was just about still in reach, but officials were moving too slowly at the moment.
Mystic Meg, one of Britain's most famous astrologers, dies aged 80
Thu, 9 March 2023
Margaret Lake, known as Mystic Meg, has died aged 80.
The astrologer had written daily horoscopes for the Sun newspaper for almost 23 years.
The paper reported that she was admitted to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London last month suffering from flu. She died at 3.45am this morning.
Her agent of 34 years Dave Shapland told the Sun: "Without any question, she was Britain's most famous astrologer by a million miles.
"Nobody came close to Meg in that respect. She was followed by millions in this country and also around the world.
"She even became part of the English language - if a politician, somebody from showbiz or ordinary people in the street are asked a tricky question they will say 'Who do you think I am, Mystic Meg?'
"It shows what an impact she made."
Victoria Newton, the editor of the Sun, said: "This is devastating news. We have lost an icon.
"Our brilliant and incomparable Meg was synonymous with The Sun - she was a total legend. We loved her and so did our readers.
"For more than two decades Mystic Meg has been a must read column and cemented her as Britain's most famous astrologer.
"She was a true professional whose guidance helped our readers daily - our postbag bears testament to this.
"One of my favourite memories of Meg is when all the Spice Girls came to the office, just as they were riding high at number one.
"We planned a tour for them but all they wanted to do was meet Mystic Meg!
"You know you're a true icon when the only person Victoria Beckham is interested in is you.
"Farewell Meg. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our thoughts are with her family and friends."
Mystic Meg was born on 27 July 1942 in Accrington, Lancashire.
She received a teacher's diploma from the university of Leeds.
But she did not go into teaching and instead worked as a sub editor on a women's magazine.
Before she reached the peak of her fame, she wrote erotic stories and worked as a journalist at the now-defunct News of the World magazine.
She became a household name when she started her phone-line horoscope readings in 1989.
She was also a feature on the National Lottery TV show in the 1990s when she would appear on stage and with her crystal ball to predict who would win the weekly jackpot.
Her horoscopes and clairvoyant messages captured the imagination of the public and she received huge amounts of correspondence - particularly from angry Manchester United fans who were angry Mystic Meg predicted their team would lose to Everton in the FA Cup final in 1995.
RIP
Chaim Topol, Fiddler on the Roof actor, dies aged 87 Sian Cain Wed, 8 March 2023
Chaim Topol, the Israeli actor and singer best known for his performance as Tevye the Milkman in Fiddler on the Roof, has died at the age of 87.
Topol, who was widely known by his last name alone, died at home in Israel on Wednesday while surrounded by his family, local media reported. His son had recently confirmed that he had been diagnosed with dementia last year.
In a statement announcing Topol’s death, Israel’s president Isaac Herzog described him as a “gifted actor who conquered many stages in Israel and overseas, filled the cinema screens with his presence and especially entered deep into our hearts.”
Topol played Tevye in the stage musical over five decades, once estimating that he had performed the role more than 3,500 times. He also played the pious Jewish father in the 1971 film, for which he won a Golden Globe award for best actor, and was nominated for best actor at the Academy Awards.
Just 30 years old when he first began playing fiftysomething Tevye on stage in 1966, Topol used makeup and costuming to make himself appear older and heavier than his years; in 2009, when he finished performing the role in his 70s, he had to act younger than his years.
“How many people are known for one part? How many people in my profession are known worldwide? So I am not complaining,” he said in a 2015 interview. “Sometimes I am surprised when I come to China or when I come to Tokyo or when I come to France or when I come wherever and the clerk at the immigration says ‘Topol, Topol, are you Topol?’ So yes, many people saw [Fiddler], and it is not a bad thing.”
Born in Tel Aviv in 1935, Topol enlisted in the Israeli army at the age of 18. There he became a member of an entertainment troupe, singing and acting on the road; one role he played during his time in the troupe was Sallah Shabati in comedic skits written by the future director and writer Ephraim Kishon, who would later direct Topol in a film adaptation in 1964.
Topol began to gain international recognition for his performance in the satire, which follows the titular character as he and his family navigate the chaos of Israeli immigration. Topol won a Golden Globe for most promising male newcomer, and Sallah Shabati was the first Israeli film to be nominated for best foreign film at the Academy Awards.
Two years later, Topol debuted as Tevye, replacing Shmuel Rodensky briefly in the Israeli production when the actor fell ill. Producer of the original Broadway show Harold Prince called Topol to audition for the upcoming West End production. To become fluent in English, Topol memorised the Broadway cast album and spent six months in London learning his part phonetically with a vocal coach.
A few months after opening, Topol returned to Israel when he was summoned during the Arab-Israeli six-day war and joined an entertainment troupe. He returned to London, appearing in more than 400 performances.
He was cast again as Tevye in the 1971 film after director Norman Jewison decided against using the Broadway actor Zero Mostel, who had made the role famous in the US. Topol won a Golden Globe for best actor for his performance in the film, and was nominated for best actor at the Academy Awards, losing to Gene Hackman in The French Connection.
He continued to play the role in various productions of Fiddler on the Roof around the US, London, Israel and Australia until 2009. He was nominated for a Tony award in 1991 for the 1991 Broadway revival.
Topol pictured in 2015, the year he was awarded the Israel prize, one of the country’s top honours. Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
Topol was cast in the lead role in Broadway musical The Baker’s Wife, but was fired after eight months by director David Merrick for unprofessional behaviour.
He landed roles in films including Galileo Galilei in the film Galileo, Dr Hans Zarkov in Flash Gordon and James Bond’s ally Milos Columbo in For Your Eyes Only. He dubbed the voice of Bagheera in the Hebrew-language version of The Jungle Book, and Rubeus Hagrid in the first two Harry Potter films.
In his later years, Topol wrote and illustrated books, and founded a nonprofit for children with special needs. In 2015, he was awarded the Israel prize, one of the country’s top honours.
Undersea graveyard for imported CO2 opens in Denmark
Camille BAS-WOHLERT Wed, 8 March 2023
Denmark on Wednesday inaugurated a project to store carbon dioxide 1,800 metres beneath the North Sea, becoming the first country in the world to bury CO2 imported from abroad.
"Today we opened a new chapter for the North Sea, a green chapter," Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik said at the inauguration ceremony in the town of Esbjerg in the west of Denmark.
The CO2 graveyard, where the carbon is injected to prevent further warming of the atmosphere, is on the site of an old oil field.
Led by British chemical giant Ineos and German oil company Wintershall Dea, the "Greensand" project is expected to store up to eight million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.
Still in their infancy and costly, carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects aim to capture and then trap CO2 in order to mitigate global warming.
Over 200 similar projects are currently operational or under development around the world.
But unlike other projects that store CO2 emissions from nearby industrial sites, Greensand brings in the carbon from far away.
"It's a European success story of cross border cooperation," Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in video message played at the ceremony.
First captured at the source, the CO2 is then liquefied -- in Belgium in Greensand's case -- then transported, currently by ship but potentially by pipelines, and stored in reservoirs such as geological cavities or depleted oil and gas fields.
At Greensand, the carbon is transported in special containers to the Nini West platform, where it is injected into an existing reservoir 1.8 kilometres (1.1 miles) under the seabed.
Once the pilot phase is completed, the plan is to use the neighbouring Siri field as well.
Danish authorities, who have set a target of reaching carbon neutrality as early as 2045, say this is "a much needed tool in our climate toolkit".
Ineos CEO Brian Gilvary said at the opening that at full-scale, the project could meet 40 percent of Danish requirements to reach "net zero" and that it could account for 2.5 percent or up to three percent of European requirements.
- North Sea advantages -
The North Sea is particularly suitable for this type of project, as the region already has pipelines and potential storage sites after decades of oil and gas production.
"The depleted oil and gas fields have many advantages because they are well understood and there are already infrastructures which can most likely be reused," said Morten Jeppesen, director of the Danish Offshore Technology Centre at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
Near the Greensand site, France's TotalEnergies is also exploring the possibility of burying CO2 with the aim of trapping five million tonnes per year by 2030.
In neighbouring Norway, carbon capture and storage facilities are already in operation to offset domestic emissions, but the country will also be receiving tonnes of liquefied CO2 in a few years' time, transported from Europe by ship.
As Western Europe's largest producer of oil, Norway also has the largest potential for CO2 storage on the continent, particularly in its depleted oil fields.
- Room for improvement -
While measured in millions of tonnes, the quantities stored still remain a small fraction of overall emissions.
According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the member states of the EU emitted 3.7 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2020 alone, a year that also saw reduced economic activity owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Long considered a complicated solution with marginal use, carbon capture has been embraced as necessary by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
But it remains far from a miracle cure for global warming.
The energy-intensive process to capture and store the CO2 itself emits the equivalent of 21 percent of the gas captured, according to the Australian think tank IEEFA.
And the technology is not without risks, according to the think tank, which says potential leaks could have severe consequences. Furthermore, the cost of the project has not been made public.
"The cost of CO2 storage must be reduced further, so it will become a sustainable climate mitigation solution as the industry becomes more mature," Jeppesen said. The technology also faces opposition from environmentalists.
"It doesn't fix the problem and prolongs the structures that are harmful," Helene Hagel, head of climate and environmental policy at Greenpeace Denmark, told AFP.
"The method is not changing our deadly habits. If Denmark really wants to reduce its emissions it should look into the sectors that are producing a lot of them," she said, singling out sectors such as agriculture and transportation.
cbw/jll/yad
Nasa map shows which countries are releasing and absorbing CO2
Rob Waugh ·Contributor Wed, 8 March 2023 The map is based on measurements from an Earth-observing satellite (NASA)
The map shows which countries absorbed CO2 (via carbon ‘sinks’ such as forests) and which emitted it through household and industrial emissions (and other factors).
Countries where more carbon dioxide was removed than emitted appear as green depressions, while countries with higher emissions are tan or red and appear to pop off the page.
The video and map are based on increases and decreases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (a ‘top down’ observation), which are used to calculate how much carbon dioxide was emitted and removed.
The OCO-2 mission was not specifically designed to estimate emissions from individual nations, but the findings from the 100-plus countries are well-timed.
The first Global Stocktake, a process to assess the world's collective progress toward limiting global warming, as specified in the 2015 Paris Agreement, takes place in 2023.
Karen St. Germain, director of Nasa's Earth Science Division at Nasa Headquarters in Washington says, "Nasa is focused on delivering Earth science data that addresses real world climate challenges - like helping governments around the world measure the impact of their carbon mitigation efforts.
“This is one example of how Nasa is developing and enhancing efforts to measure carbon emissions in a way that meets user needs."
Traditional activity-based (or "bottom-up") approaches to carbon measurement rely on tallying and estimating how much carbon dioxide is being emitted across all sectors of an economy, such as transportation and agriculture.
Compiling them requires considerable resources, expertise, and knowledge of the extent of the relevant activities.
This is why developing a database of emissions and removals via a top-down approach could be especially helpful for nations that lack traditional resources for inventory development, the researchers say.
Philippe Ciais, a study author and research director at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement in France said: "Although they cannot replace the detailed process understanding of traditional bottom-up methods, we can check both approaches for consistency." Read more: Why economists worry that reversing climate change is hopeless
The scientists' findings include data for more than 50 countries that have not reported emissions for at least the past 10 years.
The study provides a new perspective by tracking both fossil fuel emissions and the total carbon "stock" changes in ecosystems, including trees, shrubs, and soils.
The data is particularly useful for tracking carbon dioxide fluctuations related to land cover change.
Emissions from deforestation alone make up a disproportionate amount of total carbon output in the Global South, which encompasses regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
In other parts of the world, the findings indicate some reductions in atmospheric carbon concentrations via improved land stewardship and reforestation.
Floating solar and trash mountains: How the Netherlands became Europe’s solar power leader
Charlotte Elton Wed, 8 March 2023
In the Dutch countryside about 130 km east of Amsterdam, an unusual-looking hill towers and glistens above farmhouses, leafless trees, and muddy grassland.
The hill - 25 metres tall - is built from 15 years' worth of household and business waste. What's remarkable is what's covering it: 23,000 solar panels.
Dutch solar developer TPSolar opened the array, which can produce up to 8.9 megawatts of power, in Armhoede, in the east of the Netherlands, in mid-2020. The former landfill now generates enough electricity for about 2,500 households.
The project reflects a wider drive in the Netherlands - which now has more than 48 million solar panels installed - to find innovative places to put new renewable energy capacity.
The Netherlands today has an average of two solar panels per inhabitant - and installed capacity of more than 1 kilowatt (KW) per person - making it Europe's per-capita solar powerhouse, according to industry association Solar Power Europe.
How is the Netherlands making space for solar power?
With land for renewable energy siting short nearly everywhere around the world, the Dutch experience - including putting solar on car parks, commercial lakes, sheep grazing fields, strawberry farms, disused churches, train stations and airfields - could inspire better siting of renewables globally.
"Because we have so little space in the Netherlands, it's important to use the ground for multiple reasons," said Bernd Nijen Twilhaar, a coordinator at Dutch solar developer Solarfields, which manages large solar farms and has installed at least 450,000 panels in the country.
"We have to be innovative and creative so we can produce the electricity the Netherlands needs to go green," he added.
Solar developers and analysts say the Dutch expansion has been driven by a huge drop in equipment prices, an effective energy subsidy scheme, and ambitious government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The government aims to make 70 per cent of its electricity renewable by 2030, mainly through expanding solar and wind power capacity as it seeks to cut its emissions as one of Europe's top six polluting countries.
Like many European Union (EU) nations, the Netherlands is cutting energy reliance on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Dutch solar and wind farms have helped fill the electricity supply gap left by gas-fired power stations that have become unprofitable to run amid record-high gas prices.
But the Netherlands' farmland is among the most expensive in the EU, making finding space for solar plans costly.
That reality, combined with the country's high population density, means solar firms have had to be inventive when it comes to finding space. New dutch houses with solar panels. - Canva
The Netherlands leads Europe in solar power
In recent years, the Netherlands has enshrined climate targets like its renewable energy goal into law, vowed to limit onshore gas and oil drilling, and boosted green spending generally. The nation's 2022 renewable energy budget was 13 billion euros.
Last year, the Netherlands generated 14 per cent of its electricity from solar farms - up from 1 per cent in 2015 - overtaking coal-fired power generation for the first time.
The proportion of electricity from solar was the highest generated in the EU, said Ember Climate, a consultancy group.
In parallel, the country's "net metering" system - set up in 2004 and allowing households with solar panels to offset their green electricity production against their consumption - now has more than two million homes generating renewable power, according to the energy ministry.
The Dutch government is assessing how site planning and financial support can be altered to encourage more construction of solar farms better integrated into the landscape, an energy ministry spokesman said by email.
Joeri Jacobs, who focuses on building green energy projects at waste management company Afvalzorg, described the Dutch approach to renewables as "extremely MacGyver-ish" - referring to a 1980s U.S TV show about a resourceful secret agent who assembled ingenious devices from everyday objects.
"We take the different energy technologies, we stack them and we try to make a combination that really works," said Jacobs, whose company has teamed up with a local utility to turn disused landfill sites into solar farms.
"It takes a while but once everybody hops on the train we actually execute relatively quickly in the Netherlands."
Nearly 20 per cent of the low-lying country's surface is water, and solar power developers including GroenLeven have taken advantage by installing farms on man-made lakes.
The company has installed more than 500,000 solar panels on Dutch waters, leaving the Netherlands behind only China globally in such siting, it noted.
"This idea of floating solar came up in the Netherlands earlier than in other countries," said Benedikt Ortmann, global director of solar projects at German renewable energy company BayWa r.e., which acquired GroenLeven in 2018.
Inspired by the Dutch example, BayWa r.e. said it now is rolling out more floating solar sites in European countries such as Belgium, Austria and France.
Dutch firms are also looking for ways to make solar plants work alongside agricultural production.
"Rather than having to fight over who's going to get the access to the land, we come up with solutions to jointly use it," said Carel Kooij, business development manager for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) at the Dutch subsidiary of Swedish utility Vattenfall.
One so-called "Agri-PV" project involves growing strawberries and raspberries below a solar panel roof, replacing the plastic cover traditionally used by farmers.
Halfway through a four-year pilot, project leaders said the plants needed 25 per cent less water because they were sheltered from the sun, potentially saving irrigation water in a future where climate change brings hotter and drier summers.
The Netherlands is a relatively small country - meaning solar power innovators have to be creative in their choice of solar farms. - Canva
Local interests have to come first
Across the board, Dutch solar developers say new projects must be conceived with local interests firmly in mind.
The country's 2019 climate plan, for instance, stipulates that renewable energy projects should aim to allocate 50 per cent of the green energy they produce to local inhabitants.
While this is not legally binding, developers tend to invest in the community - from sending a percentage of renewable power generated to local energy cooperatives, for example, or setting up a socioeconomic fund to make energy efficiency improvements.
"Because the Netherlands is so small, you are always working in someone's backyard," said Robert van der Horst, project developer at TPSolar.
"You always have to talk to the people and discuss what is best for a certain area," he added. "Then you try to enhance that with your solar farm."
France coach Diacre under pressure as tensions grow ahead of Women's World Cup
Andy SCOTT Wed, 8 March 2023
The Women's World Cup is just a few months away but France's preparations for the showpiece in Australia and New Zealand are in disarray after a revolt by leading players piled pressure on coach Corinne Diacre.
On Thursday, the French Football Federation -– itself in crisis following the resignation of its scandal-hit president Noel Le Graet –- will meet to discuss Diacre's position.
Diacre has been in charge since 2017 but there is a strong feeling her position has become untenable after some of the team's biggest stars said they would no longer play for the current coach.
Captain Wendie Renard of Lyon announced last month she would not go to the World Cup.
"I can no longer support the current system which falls a long way short of the demands required to compete at the highest level," said defender Renard, who has 142 caps.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Kadidiatou Diani, who like Renard was nominated for last year's Ballon d'Or, followed suit along with her PSG teammate Marie-Antoinette Katoto.
"We have reached a point of no going back. The girls just can't cope with it any more," Diani told broadcaster TF1 last weekend before adding she would be willing to return "if the necessary major changes finally arrive".
Diacre hit back on Wednesday, saying in a statement to AFP that she had been the victim of a "disgraceful media outburst" and that she was "completely determined to carry out my job and, above all, to do France proud at the next World Cup".
The French federation (FFF) therefore must decide between backing the coach or listening to the players.
There are comparisons to be drawn with Spain's national women's team, who were plunged into crisis last September when 15 players resigned en masse, calling for major changes.
The Spanish Football Federation backed coach Jorge Vilda and none of the rebels have featured since.
In France, however, it seems player power will win out.
"We have the best players in Europe, maybe the world, and we are not getting results. With the World Cup and the Paris Olympics coming up, we need to closely look at the situation and take decisions," Jean-Michel Aulas, president of Lyon and a key figure at the FFF, told sports daily L'Equipe.
"The Federation cannot do nothing after the message delivered by the best French players."
- Divisive -
Diacre, 48, has an admirable CV, from winning 121 caps to a groundbreaking three-year spell in charge of men's team Clermont in the French second division.
But she has been a divisive figure as France coach, from the moment she stripped Renard of the captaincy early in her reign.
Another Lyon star, midfielder Amandine Henry, skippered the team at the 2019 World Cup on home soil, but has been out of the picture since late 2020.
In a television interview Henry described the atmosphere at the World Cup, in which France lost to the USA in the quarter-finals, as "total chaos" and added that "some of the girls don't dare speak out because they are afraid" of Diacre.
France, the beaten semi-finalists at last year's Euro, have at international level been unable to capitalise on Lyon's success at club level.
Lyon won the Champions League last season for a record eighth time but there are concerns that the French club game -– where the talk now is of a professional league finally being launched –- will soon be left behind by the rest of Europe.
"Last year, OL's victory in the Champions League detracted from the bigger picture," said Lyon coach Sonia Bompastor.
"I have been warning everyone for a while about the growing challenge coming from Spain, Italy and England. There will come a time when we can't keep up if we don't react."
France are ranked fifth in the world, in between European champions England and Olympic champions Canada, another team in crisis.
The Canadians recently threatened to strike in a row over pay, funding and contractual issues, demanding the same terms as the men's team. The dispute led to the president of Canada Soccer resigning.
France begin their World Cup campaign against Jamaica in Sydney on July 23.
It appears likely they will do so with a new coach in charge.
as/gj
After the terrifying earthquakes, it’s women and girls in Turkey feeling the aftershocks
Elif Shafak Wed, 8 March 2023 Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters
In Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, one of the most ravaged cities in the recent earthquakes, 25-year-old Alev Altun, the mother of two young children, became homeless in one night, like thousands of others. Having nowhere to go, she agreed to take refuge in the house of her ex-husband, on his invitation, assuming it would be safer to stay with the father of her children than alone in a tent or in a building at risk of collapse.
While she was sleeping, her ex-husband allegedly poured scalding water all over her, shouting she should be grateful that he had not killed her. She remains in intensive care at a local hospital, with severe burns to her head, face and body. Hers is one of the many harrowing stories of women and girls in crisis zones.
Women suffer disproportionately in the aftermath of disasters. While tens of thousands of people have lost homes and jobs, women continue to work ceaselessly in makeshift tents and containers set up for displaced survivors – finding food or trying to cook, washing or cleaning where water is available, constantly providing for others. In traditional, patriarchal societies, the entire burden of looking after extended families is on their shoulders. According to organisations on the ground, a large number of women were found dead – and occasionally pulled out alive – in children’s rooms buried under piles of rubble. When the tremors began, they ran to save their children and babies. Unicef says the number of children who have died in the earthquake “is likely to be in the many thousands”.
There are 356,000 pregnant women across the earthquake-affected areas. Of these, an estimated 39,000 are expected to deliver babies in the coming weeks. For every affected woman and girl, but especially for pregnant women, the lack of toilets and cleaning facilities is a major source of distress.
Growing up in Turkey, I have been told many times to be quiet about and ashamed of the female body, and especially menstruation. Still to this day, one of the widespread definitions of the word “dirty” (kirli) in Turkish dictionaries is “a woman who is menstruating”. When I was younger, often when I bought a sanitary product from a market, I would watch the cashier immediately wrap it in some old newspaper, hiding it as if it was a scandal. Once, in Istanbul, I was scolded by a male grocer when I asked out loud in front of everyone where the period products were. He used a word I have never forgotten, ayip – shame.
‘There are reports from human rights organisations that it is harder to find a tent or access aid if you are a single woman.’ Tents for earthquake survivors in Adiyaman, Turkey, 25 February 2023.
Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
In this sexist culture, female survivors of earthquakes find it very difficult to ask for sanitary pads. There is an assumption that within the broader picture of devastation and destruction, such matters are a trivial concern. They are not. Action Aid has said that the situation for women and girls and marginalised communities “is becoming increasingly alarming”. In times of war and disaster, the rights and freedoms of women and minorities always become casualties to the “more important and urgent issues” of realpolitik. The humanitarian organisation Plan International has reported that, “Our experience shows that children, especially girls, women and the poorest families, are most at risk of exploitation in a disaster like an earthquake. Women and children in the disaster zone will be at risk of exploitation and abuse, should they find themselves once again displaced.”
LGBTQ+ communities find the situation extremely hard. Sexual harassment and violence is a growing threat for many who remain vulnerable in homophobic and transphobic environments. There are reports from human rights organisations that it is harder to find a tent or access aid if you are a single woman. Hate speech is never far from the surface.
Wars, disasters and earthquakes also disrupt education. In Turkey and Syria, girls are much more likely to be pulled out of school. Turkey already has one of the highest rates of child marriage in Europe. Yet instead of helping women and minorities by implementing the Istanbul convention – the treaty designed to combat violence against women – the government under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has done the opposite, withdrawing from the convention and targeting both feminists and LGBTQ+ activists. Erdoğan has repeatedly said that women cannot be equal to men and gender equality is “against nature”.
Crisis times bring out both the best and the worst in humanity. While we have seen a profoundly moving outpouring of help and support from civil society, there is a correlation between the lack of democracy, lack of accountability and high levels of corruption and nepotism in a country and the scale of suffering in natural disasters. Turkey’s AKP under Erdoğan is not only antidemocratic and authoritarian, it is also blatantly macho and misogynist.
Sadly, anti-refugee rhetoric has also proliferated in Turkey after this crisis. In Mersin, Syrians staying at a dormitory were kicked out, saying they had to make way for Turkish citizens. Refugees have been put on buses and dumped on the streets. Even those who were trying to help with rescue efforts have been assaulted in some places. In times of distress, instead of questioning the incapacity and structural mistakes of a government, it is easier to turn to the next vulnerable group and take it out on them.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Turkey’s border in Iran, girls are being poisoned. In at least 26 elementary and high schools, more than 1000 girls have reportedly been targeted in chemical gas attacks. Women and girls have been the leading voice in demanding social change, equality and freedom in the country. The bravery of Iranian women is remarkable: this is why they are being targeted by the regime.
We often hear that the world is presently suffering from multiple crises and therefore relief and aid efforts cannot be expected to continue for too long in one place. It is, however, possible to look at it from a different angle. Whether in Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran or war-torn Ukraine … as we mark International Women’s Day, women and girls and minorities across the world are suffering and struggling disproportionately.
Gender-based relief efforts are essential to rebuild better and fairer societies. Studies show that when women are given financial aid and psychological support, they use this leverage primarily for their families, their children and their communities. There never has been a more urgent time for global solidarity, and especially, global sisterhood. There never has been a more urgent time to say out loud that we can both dearly love and care for our own countries or our adopted countries and at the same time be citizens of the world, citizens of humankind.
Elif Shafak is a novelist and political scientist
SCOTLAND New misogyny law to criminalise messages about rape, sexual assault or disfigurement
Andrew Learmonth Wed, 8 March 2023 Barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.
NEW legislation could see sending threatening or abusive messages to women and girls which refer to rape, sexual assault or disfigurement becoming a specific crime.
The criminal law is one of five being proposed by the Scottish Government following a wide-ranging review by barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.
Others include measures to criminalise misogynistic behaviour, misogynistic harassment, and an offence of stirring up hatred against women and girls.
The government are also seeking to bring in a statutory aggravation concerning misogyny. This would allow the court to take a misogynistic motive into account when deal with a crime such as assault, criminal damage/vandalism or threatening or abusive behaviour.
Baroness Kennedy’s review was commissioned by ministers following criticism that the SNP administration’s controversial hate crime legislation did not explicitly offer protection for women and girls.
Launching the consultation on the new proposals, Justice Secretary Keith Brown said her work had been "stark in its assessment of the level of misogyny that exists in Scotland."
He added: Women and girls are routinely humiliated, touched, groped, undermined, trolled and objectified both online and off, and subjected to threats, harassment and abuse about their looks or desirability – stopping them from fully participating in society.
“Although there are already a range of laws that can be used to prosecute aspects of misogynistic harassment and abuse, these do not accurately identify the particular harm caused by misogyny.
“They also fail to adequately respond to problems faced by women, which is why we are consulting on further criminal reforms.
“And while criminal law reform alone cannot be expected to eliminate misogynistic abuse, or the attitudes which perpetuate it, these specific criminal protections are an important step in challenging society’s - and particularly men’s - tolerance of misogyny.
“I encourage everyone with an interest to consider what is proposed and offer their views.”
Baroness Kennedy urged “as many women as possible to participate in this consultation.”
She added: “For too long the law has not been drawn from the experience of women. It is time to hear from girls and women about what they think should be included in law so that they can be treated as equals and live free from abuse and denigration.”
In 2021, there were calls for the Scottish Government to add a sex aggravator to their controversial Hate Crime Bill, alongside race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender identity.
However, an attempt to amend the bill by former Labour MSP Johan Lamont was defeated.
Instead, the then justice secretary Humza Yousaf urged his colleagues to give “the working group the time that it needs to explore the issue, come forward with recommendations and create, potentially, a world-leading approach.”
First of its kind law centre honouring 'feminist titan' to be launched in Glasgow
Caroline Wilson Wed, 8 March 2023 The University of Glasgow is to launch a new law clinic that will provide free legal advice to victims of sex crimes
A new law centre which aims to increase conviction rates for sex crimes is to be launched by a Scots university in honour of a 'titan of the feminist movement'.
The University of Glasgow has been given funding to establish a first-of-its-kind service that will provide free independent legal advice and representation by practising Scots solicitors,
The clinic is being named in honour of Emma Ritch, a pioneering campaigner for women’s rights and graduate of the University, who died suddenly in 2021.
As well as offering legal advice the Emma Ritch Law Clinic will offer provide "innovative" teaching for the next generation of lawyers.
Research that aims to provide insight into the difference that specialist legal advice and representation can make to complainers’ experiences of prosecution" will also be a focus with data gathered to better understand why cases might fail to reach, or progress, through the criminal justice system. The Emma Ritch Clinic could be transformative for rape complainers
The Clinic will also work to increase awareness of trauma-informed lawyering, and the practice of criminal law, an area with longstanding issues in terms of recruitment and retention.
It will be led by three Co-Directors, Mr Eamon Keane, Dr Jacqueline Kinghan and Professor Nicole Busby with complementary expertise in legal practice, education and research respectively.
Seed funding to establish the clinic has been provided by the Sam and Bella Sebba Foundation, with additional support provided by the Scottish Government.
It will operate in partnership with Rape Crisis Scotland, and other referral agencies, to target unmet legal need in Scotland through the provision of specialist legal advice and representation.
Rape and attempted rape have the highest of all acquittal rates in Scotland, at 48%, followed by sexual assault at 29%.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:“Emma Ritch was a champion of justice and equality, and a passionate advocate for women’s rights.
"Having a law clinic set up in her memory is a fitting tribute to a remarkable woman and a titan of Scotland’s feminist movement.
HeraldScotland:
“I am pleased to announce the Scottish Government’s commitment to support and work with the Emma Ritch Law Clinic at the University of Glasgow.
"The research carried out here will allow for enhanced provision of trauma-informed legal advice, and representation for victims of sexual offences and other forms of gender-based violence to be explored.
“Aligning with the Scottish Government’s Vision for Justice in Scotland, the Clinic will produce valuable research, and is an important step in providing an insight into the difference that specialist independent legal advice and representation can make to complainers’ experiences.”
Sandy Brindley, of Rape Crisis Scotland, added: “The Emma Ritch Clinic could be transformative for rape complainers seeking justice in Scotland.
“We know that many survivors feel as though they are at the margins of the justice process and unprepared for the experience of going to court.
"It can also be hard for survivors to meaningfully access their rights because of difficulties accessing suitable legal advice and representation.
"Having access to a lawyer who understands the system can make a huge difference to somebody’s experience.
“The Emma Ritch Clinic will help Scotland lead the way in improving rape survivors’ access to justice.
"Emma Ritch was a long-time member of the Rape Crisis Scotland Board of Directors and was passionate about improving rape survivors’ position in the justice system.
"We’re very grateful to the University of Glasgow for naming the clinic after Emma. We can’t think of a more fitting legacy.”
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “The Emma Ritch Law Clinic represents the continued commitment to develop social change legal education at the University of Glasgow.
"The Clinic joins a series of initiatives designed by the School of Law to support our students and academics to use the law and their legal skills to make a positive difference to society.
“The University of Glasgow is a civically-minded institution, and we are therefore very proud to partner with the Scottish Government, Rape Crisis Scotland and the Sebba Foundation to host this valuable and much needed service. We hope the Clinic will help shape the national development of legal advice for survivors of sexual offences into the future.”
Eamon Keane, Co-Director & Principal Solicitor, said:“The Emma Ritch Law Clinic represents an exciting developing in the Scottish legal landscape, with real potential to ensure that the legal rights of complainers in sexual offences cases are adequately protected, via the provision of independent and specialist legal advice.”
