UK

Public supports nationalising ‘gig economy’ apps such as Deliveroo and Uber to improve working conditions

Oxford University study finds strong support for action on gig economy

Jon Stone
Policy Correspondent

Deliveroo riders are classed as self-employed
(PA)

There is strong public support for taking “platform” apps such as Deliveroo and Uber into public ownership if they fail to improve pay and conditions for their workers, new polling has found.

A study of opinion commissioned by researchers at Oxford University found a ratio of nearly two-to-one (41 per cent to 22 per cent) believe so-called gig economy workers are not paid a fair wage.

The researchers from the university’s Fairwork project had pollsters ask voters about measures they would support to improve conditions in the sector.

They found nearly two-thirds of Britons (64 per cent) support changing employment law to stop platform employers from inaccurately describing workers as “self-employed” to get around requirements like holiday pay and sick leave.

And a significant majority (57 per cent) think the companies should be obliged to negotiate with trade unions – which very few of them currently recognise. Sixty per cent also say the companies should have to accept worker representatives sitting on their boards of directors.

But there was also strong support for going further: asked whether the companies behind the apps should be nationalised and taken into public ownership if they repeatedly failed to offer workers fair pay and conditions, 49 per cent agreed and 25 per cent disagreed.

A large majority of 60 per cent of Labour voters support the idea, but it is also popular among Conservative voters, who back it by 47 per cent in favour to 27 per cent opposed.

Apps such as Deliveroo, Uber and Amazon Flex pay workers per job completed rather than a set wage, and claim people who work for them are self-employed rather than employees.

As a result, workers can be paid below the minimum wage, especially during quiet periods, and do not get the same rights as other workers. Defenders of the approach say it offers more flexibility, but critics say it makes it hard for workers to rely on a regular income and makes their jobs extremely precarious.

Mark Graham, a professor the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute, and director of the Fairwork research project, said the polling results showed “an appetite for decisive action to improve fairness in the gig economy”.

“The development of technology has allowed for services like transport and delivery to be organised in new ways, but these developments risk being monopolised for the benefits of platforms and their investors, rather than being passed onto workers,” he said.

“Given the scale of the social challenges we face as we emerge from the pandemic, there is an urgent need for the platform economy to transition towards working for social benefit, not private profit.  

“Gig economy platforms need to start making serious improvements now if they want to keep their customers on side and prevent this demand for change from escalating further.” 

Labour has already pledged to change employment law to stop firms using bogus “self-employment” status to strip workers of the right to holiday and sick pay. The party also says it will bring in “fair pay agreements that would require certain sectors to negotiate with trade unions for minimum pay and conditions”.

Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB union, which organises workers on platform apps, said: "This report reiterates that the tide is turning in the gig economy. Not only are we seeing more and more exploitative employers lose in court and be ordered to give workers the rights they have been illegally denied, but now we are seeing public opinion hugely change too.

"These key workers have proved their value with the huge shift they put in to get us all through the pandemic and the public are getting behind them in demanding better treatment.

"A more ethical employment model would not only be beneficial for the workers, but would improve public perception and benefit the business too. Workers' voices are being heard and this comes as a result of unions like the IWGB getting organised, campaigning and winning in the gig economy and making sure that worker rights remain front and centre."

The polling in the study was conducted by Survation on 21 and 22 October 2021 from a representative sample of 2,020 adults aged 18 and over living in the UK.

UK
Liz Truss sets out plan to ban ‘abhorrent’ conversion therapy

Government wants to ban all ‘coercive’ practices – but experts have warned some victims can appear to have consented

Adam Forrest

Minister for women and equalities minister
(AFP via Getty Images)

Cabinet minister Liz Truss has vowed to protect LGBT+ people from “abhorrent” conversion therapy, as the government finally sets out its long-awaited plan to ban the practice.

The Conservatives promised in 2018 to bring forward legislation to end conversion therapies which seek to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

In March, three of the government’s LGBT+ advisers quit their posts and issued damning criticism over the failure of Boris Johnson’s government to fulfil the long-standing pledge.

Ms Truss, the minister for women and equalities, is now launching a six-week consultation process on the legislative plan to make “coercive” conversion therapies illegal in England and Wales.

The government wants create a new offence for so-called talking conversion therapies, as well as making sure violent conversion therapy acts are sentenced appropriately under existing laws.

“There should be no place for the abhorrent practice of coercive conversion therapy in our society,” said Ms Truss as she launched the consultation.

“Today we are publishing detailed proposals that will stop appalling conversion therapies and make sure LGBT people can live their lives free from the threat of harm or abuse.”

The minister added: “I want everyone to be able to love who they want and be themselves. Today’s announcement sets out how we will ban an archaic practice that has no place in modern life.”

The government said individuals would remain “free to seek out professional help and guidance” – saying legislative efforts would be focused on practices which people have not willingly agreed to undertake.

But campaigners have warned that there should be no defence that a victim appears to have consented to conversion therapy if the government hopes to introduce a truly comprehensive ban.

A recent report by the Forum group of human rights lawyers and experts warned: “Individuals who seek out conversion practices in the hope of being ‘cured’ are not made aware of the severe psychological harm to which they are exposed, and so cannot give informed consent.”

Officials in Northern Ireland have already start preliminary work on drafting a bill after politicians at Stormont passed a motion calling for a ban on conversion therapy in April.

In Scotland, the SNP administration has vowed to end conversion therapy – but said it would wait to see if Mr Johnson’s government follows through on its pledge to “eradicate” the practice and how extensive any proposed ban might be.

The government has made clear its legislative plan is aimed at changing the law in only England and Wales.

The Government Equalities Office (GEO) also said ministers were particularly keen safeguard under 18s – saying legislation would place a strong emphasis on preventing children undergoing any conversion therapies.

Ministers are also preparing to bring in Conversion Therapy Protection Orders to protect potential victims from undergoing the practice. This could include removing passports of those at risk of being taken overseas for conversion therapy.

The government is launching its six-week consultation at 9am on Friday. The GEO is seeking input from charities, and is urging those with experience of conversion therapy to come forward to give their views.

Human species who lived 500,000 years ago named as Homo bodoensis

Species was direct ancestor of early humans in Africa and discovery has led to reassessment of epoch

Homo bodoensis lived in the same epoch as early humans and Neanderthals. Illustration: Ettore Mazza

Nadeem Badshah
Thu 28 Oct 2021 

Researchers have announced the naming of a newly discovered species of human ancestor, Homo bodoensis.

The species lived in Africa about 500,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene age, and was the direct ancestor of modern humans, according to scientists. The name bodoensis derives from a skull found in Bodo D’ar in the Awash River valley of Ethiopia.

Scientists said that the epoch is significant because it was when anatomically contemporary humans, Homo sapiens, appeared in Africa and the Neanderthals, known as Homo neanderthalensis, in Europe.

However, some paleoanthropologists have described this period as “the muddle in the middle” because human evolution during this age is poorly understood.

Dr Mirjana Roksandic, of the University of Winnipeg in Canada and the study’s lead author, said: “Talking about human evolution during this time period became impossible due to the lack of proper terminology that acknowledges human geographic variation.”

Under the new classification, Homo bodoensis will describe the majority of Middle Pleistocene humans from Africa and some from south-east Europe, while many from the latter continent will be reclassified as Neanderthals.

Christopher Bae, from the department of anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and one of the co-authors of the study, said the introduction of Homo bodoensis is aimed at “cutting the Gordian knot and allowing us to communicate clearly about this important period in human evolution”.



Roksandic concluded: “Naming a new species is a big deal, as the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature allows name changes only under very strictly defined rules.

“We are confident that this one will stick around for a long time, a new taxon name will live only if other researchers use it.”

The findings are published in Evolutionary Anthropology Issues News and Reviews.

In August, the Guardian reported that archaeologists unearthed ancient DNA in the remains of a woman who died 7,200 years ago in Indonesia, a discovery that challenged what was previously known about the migration of early humans.

The remains, belonging to a teenager nicknamed Bessé, were discovered in the Leang Panninge cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Initial excavations were undertaken in 2015.

The discovery, published in the journal Nature, is believed to be the first time ancient human DNA has been discovered in Wallacea, the vast chain of islands and atolls in the ocean between mainland Asia and Australia.

The DNA was extracted from the petrous part of Bessé’s temporal bone, which houses the inner ear. Researchers said the intact DNA was a rare find.

This article was amended on 29 October 2021 to replace the main illustration.

UN envoy suggests that US lift sanctions against Zimbabwe

Thu, October 28, 2021, 

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A United Nations special envoy on Thursday urged the United States to end sanctions that she says have worsened Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis, while urging dialogue to end the impasse between the two countries.

The U.N envoy on unilateral coercive measures, Alena Douhan, has been in Zimbabwe for nearly two weeks investigating the impact of sanctions on the southern African country.

The U.S imposed travel and financial sanctions on Zimbabwe’s political, military and economic elite as well as companies linked to the state about two decades ago. This followed violent mass seizures of white-owned land and alleged vote-rigging and human rights violations by the late authoritarian President Robert Mugabe.

In her preliminary findings, Douhan said the U.S should “cease the state of national emergency regarding Zimbabwe.” She said the sanctions have “exacerbated the pre-existing economic and humanitarian crisis, inhibiting the building of essential infrastructure and international and inter-institutional cooperation.”

The United States embassy this week said that Washington “can lift sanctions once it determines sanctioned individuals have stopped undermining democracy, violating human rights, or facilitating corruption.”

The U.N. envoy met President Emmerson Mnangagwa as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations and opposition parties during her visit.

Zimbabwe has slid from being one of Africa’s most promising economies at independence from white minority rule in 1980 to a situation where many of the country's 15 million people reliant on informal trade and food handouts from international donors.

The country's once-robust public health system has also deteriorated while water, transport and other public infrastructure are in shambles. Mnangagwa blames these bad services on sanctions.

The main opposition and the U.S say corruption and human rights abuses are at the root of Zimbabwe’s woes.

The sanctions “do not target the Zimbabwean people,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price earlier this month. “Zimbabwe’s economic ills, we know, are caused by leaders, those leaders abusing power, not U.S. sanctions. Our sanctions target only 83 individuals and 37 entities.”

The sanctions seem to have neither loosened the ruling ZANU-PF party’s grip on power nor improved the human rights situation, some analysts say.

Instead, they have had a “reverse effect” and “have come as manna” for the ruling party, which has used them as a scapegoat for the country’s economic decline and also to gain political mileage by labeling the opposition as lackeys of the U.S, said Harare-based economic commentator Alexander Rusero.

Mnangagwa promised reform after taking power from Mugabe in 2017 and urged Zimbabweans to “stop mourning” about sanctions. But with political pressure rising and resentment seemingly growing, he has returned to Mugabe’s anti-sanctions mantra.

Mnangagwa successfully lobbied the 15-nation regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community, to declare Oct.25 an annual anti-sanctions day. In Zimbabwe, the day was this year marked by pro-government marches, speeches and a televised anti-sanctions musical gala.

COP26: Pope calls for ‘radical’ climate response from world leaders ahead of Glasgow summit

Pope Francis called for “a renewed sense of shared responsibility for our world”, adding that current crises presented the opportunity to make “radical decisions”

P

ope Francis will meet with US President Joe Biden later today to discuss issues including climate change and abortion

 (Photo by Franco Origlia/Vatican Pool – Corbis/Getty Images)

By Poppy Wood
October 29, 2021 10:10 am(Updated 10:16 am)

The Pope has called on global leaders to urgently tackle the climate crisis to give “concrete hope to future generations”, as politicians from around the world head to the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow this weekend.

Pope Francis called for “a renewed sense of shared responsibility for our world”, adding that “each of us — whoever and wherever we may be — can play our own part in changing our collective response to the unprecedented threat of climate change and the degradation of our common home”.

In a special Thought for the Day message for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the leader of the Catholic world warned against countries taking an isolationist approach in tackling a “succession of crises” in healthcare, the environment, food supplies and the economy.

“Climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic have exposed our deep vulnerability and raised numerous doubts and concerns about our economic systems and the way we organise our societies,” he said.

“We can confront these crises by retreating into isolationism, protectionism and exploitation,” the pontiff said, “or we can see in them a real chance for change.”

His comments come as world leaders prepare to head to Glasgow this weekend for the Cop26 climate summit, where countries are under pressure to tighten their commitments to reducing carbon emissions.

Action already pledged by nations to curb CO2 output over the next decade will fall short of plans to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial times, beyond which increasingly severe impacts will be felt.

The Pope told Today: “We have lost our sense of security and are experiencing a sense of powerlessness and loss of control over our lives.”

But in a tone of optimism, the Pontiff added that current crises presented unmissable opportunities to make “radical decisions”.

“The political decision makers who will meet at Cop26 in Glasgow are urgently summoned to provide effective responses to the present ecological crisis and in this way to offer concrete hope to future generations,” he said, in a recording from the Vatican spoken in Italian.

Earlier this month, the Pontiff gathered almost 40 faith leaders from across the world at the Vatican to sign a joint appeal calling on Cop26 to commit to pledges on global warming, carbon neutrality and support for poorer nations to transition to clean energy.

The two-week climate conference set to kick off in Glasgow this weekend will prove vital to deliver on the pledges laid out in the global Paris Agreement in 2015 to limit temperature rises to “well below” 2C — and to try for the safer goal of 1.5C.

Leaders of major economies will head to Scotland following a G20 meeting in Rome this week, where climate is set to dominate the agenda.

The Pope is due to meet US President Joe Biden at the Vatican later. Mr Biden’s domestic climate policies remain on hold after his party postponed a vote on his spending plans yesterday, though the President is expected to discuss the Covid pandemic, climate change, the global energy crisis and other major challenges with other world leaders in Italy.



Read More
What does COP26 stand for? Meaning of Glasgow climate change summit’s name explained and what to expect

Key heads of state including China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are set to miss both summits, with many warning that significant action on climate change will be limited in the absence of two of the world’s largest carbon-emitting countries.

A draft G20 communique revealed that leaders will pledge to take urgent steps to reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C, following calls from UN chiefs, religious leaders and campaigners, to avoid catastrophic climate impacts.

Delegates will also face pressure to phase out coal power, boost electric vehicles and protect forests, while developed countries will be pushed to deliver finance for poorer nations to help transition to clean economies.

CCS IS GREENWASHING
Unlocking Canada's carbon capture potential

MONTREAL, Oct. 28, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - With the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) set to begin in a few short days, governments are expected to double down on GHG emission reduction targets. A recent MEI publication described how carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies can allow governments to reach their targets without compromising our standard of living. A follow-up publication launched today by the MEI offers tangible solutions to encourage uptake of this new technology by entrepreneurs.

"CCUS technologies can trap carbon from GHG emissions at the source and prevent its release into the atmosphere, or capture carbon already emitted and reduce overall atmospheric accumulation. Overall, these technologies present a huge opportunity to reach the government's goal of net-zero by 2050," says Krystle Wittevrongel, co-author of the publication.

"The federal government has committed to introducing a tax credit next year for investments in CCUS technologies, although some aspects of the proposed measure need further consideration. For instance, the exclusion of enhanced oil recovery projects should be eliminated, as these projects not only sequester 90% to 95% of the carbon dioxide injected, they are revenue-generating and more likely to be deployed in the short term. In addition, the tax credit should be refundable, levelling the playing field and making it easier for smaller companies to enter the market," adds the Public Policy Analyst.

"Most importantly, the measure should decouple investment from performance. A performance-based tax credit, such as exists in the United States, would see eligible facilities and projects awarded a credit for each metric ton of carbon captured, which means the carbon tax would be levied on their net emissions. This would really push entrepreneurs to find new and more efficient ways to capture and store (or use) GHG emissions. It really is a win-win," says Miguel Ouellette, Director of Operations and Economist at the MEI.

"The intensity of Canada's GHG emissions has fallen substantially in recent years, and the further innovation of emerging CCUS technologies promises to help the government meet its environmental goals, while also favouring economic growth. We know that CCUS is a viable tool in Canada's climate strategy, so the federal government should ensure that the policies to encourage these technologies are carefully crafted to make them as efficient as possible," concludes Mr. Ouellette.

The publication entitled "Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage: Concrete Market-Based Recommendations to Reduce GHG Emissions" is available on our website.

FRASER INSTITUTE EAST

The Montreal Economic Institute is an independent public policy think tank. Through its publications, media appearances and advisory services to policy makers, MEI stimulates debate and public policy reform based on established principles of market economics and entrepreneurship.

SOURCE Montreal Economic Institute

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2021/28/c2748.html

NOT A WORD ABOUT CARBON NEUTRAL CONCRETE
SNC-Lavalin joins the United Nations' Race to Zero global campaign and The Climate Pledge, committing to halve global emissions by 2030

MONTREAL, Oct. 28, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - SNC-Lavalin (TSX: SNC), a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world, is pleased to announce it has joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC) Race to Zero global campaign and has signed the Business Ambition for 1.5°C commitment. SNC-Lavalin also today announced it has signed The Climate Pledge, a commitment to achieve the Paris Agreement 10 years early, and be net-zero carbon by 2040 or sooner.

"Our commitment to climate action goes beyond setting our own net zero targets. In line with our purpose to engineer a better future for our planet and its people, we want to leverage the work we do with our clients and continue to play an active role in combatting climate change," said Ian L. Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. "Implementing long-term sustainable climate solutions requires close collaboration between industries, governments, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral agencies. We welcome and encourage others to join us in this important mission."

The Race to Zero Campaign was launched to mobilize a coalition of cities, businesses, investors and other stakeholders to achieve net-zero commitments ahead of the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties in November 2021 ("COP26"). Coalition members pledged to reach net zero emissions by 2050, at the latest, in line with global efforts in limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Similarly, the Business Ambition for 1.5°C is a campaign led by the Science Based Targets initiative in partnership with the UN Global Compact and the We Mean Business coalition. It was launched in 2019 by a global coalition of UN agencies, business and industry leaders. The Climate Pledge is a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040.


SNC-Lavalin has taken significant steps in its sustainability journey this year. As signatories to the United Nations Global Compact, we have set high-level goals, including pledging to become net zero carbon by 2030. As part of Race to Zero, the Company will:


rationalize its real estate portfolio to minimize the carbon footprint of buildings and facilities,


adopt digital communication tools to reduce business travel and initiate behavioral change to lower energy usage, and


design buildings and infrastructure that is energy efficient through their life cycle in collaboration with client Companies that sign The Climate Pledge agree to three principles:


Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis;

Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies;

Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially-beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.

The We Mean Business coalition is a group of non-profit organizations working to act on climate change. The global coalition brings together seven organizations: BSR, CDP, Ceres, The B Team, The Climate Group, The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

SNC-Lavalin's Engineering Net Zero
Earlier this year, SNC-Lavalin launched its Vision for Engineering a Sustainable Society with enhanced Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) targets, including a Routemap to achieving Net Zero Carbon emissions by 2030. The Company's progress to Net Zero Carbon Emissions is outlined in the CDP reports. For more information visit the Engineering Net Zero website

The Company's Engineering Net Zero approach has significant impact and reach; the organization helps guide clients in reducing their own carbon emissions. SNC-Lavalin has published two Engineering Net Zero reports, which examine the blueprint to achieve net zero carbon targets by 2050:

Engineering Net Zero Technical Report (Canada)

Engineering Net Zero Summary Report (UK)

About SNC-Lavalin
Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that connect people, technology and data to design, deliver and operate the most complex projects. We deploy global capabilities locally to our clients and deliver unique end-to-end services across the whole life cycle of an asset including consulting, advisory & environmental services, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and capital. – and delivered to clients in key strategic sectors such as Engineering Services, Nuclear, Operations & Maintenance and Capital. News and information are available at snclavalin.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter .

SOURCE SNC-Lavalin

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2021/28/c6712.html

Education Solutions Gain Steam on Eve of UN Climate Conference

Marianna McMurdock
Thu, October 28, 2021


An “unprecedented” level of interest in girls’ education as a climate solution is growing worldwide, advocates say, as youth empowerment and gender are set to take center stage at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference.

From Oct. 31 through Nov. 12, roughly 20,000 international leaders and climate advocates will gather in Glasgow, Scotland for the conference known as COP26. The next annual meeting is an opportunity to shape global climate priorities — during COP21, which took place in 2015, the landmark Paris Agreement was adopted to limit global warming.

This year’s conference is hosted by the United Kingdom, where climate and girls’ education has been prioritized over the last year. In 2021 the country led both the G7 and Global Partnership for Education Summit. In May, G7 countries reinforced political commitments for girls’ education, reaffirming that it’s a human right and setting two goals for the global community by 2026: 40 million more girls in school and 20 million more girls reading by age 10 or the end of primary school.

“There’s a lot of pressure on this COP to accelerate progress on the Paris Agreement and there will be some progress. However, I think the question will be: ‘is it enough?’” Naomi Nyamweya, a lead researcher with the Malala Fund, told The 74 by email. “Leaving girls behind undermines gender equality and governments’ ability to deliver on global climate priorities, including net zero.”

Climate crises will prevent an estimated 4 million girls in lower- and middle- income countries from accessing education in 2021, according to the Malala Fund. With current policy and emission trends, weather-related disruptions will prevent 12.5 million girls from finishing their education by 2025.

“We need leaders to see that climate change, girls’ education and gender equality aren’t separate issues,” Nyamweya added.

Quality, compulsory education for girls may equip more of the younger generation with tools to facilitate climate action, like literacy and critical thinking. And if climate curricula is prioritized alongside access to schools, young leaders can understand value in solutions that move beyond one-off, technical swaps to renewable energy, for example. Millions more can learn to assess climate threats and their root causes and support policies to curb poverty and environmental racism.

An analysis of countries with female political representation found that they are more likely to adopt stricter climate policies and have fewer carbon emissions. The findings further solidify arguments that investing in girls’ education and their pathways to leadership will yield positive outcomes for the earth.

Countries can also build stronger, low-carbon economies with more girls’ educated and entering the workforce. Particularly if their education includes, as advocates and youth activists hope, career and technical education for green jobs.

Climate change, and any possible solutions, are becoming harder to ignore.

Related: When Climate Change Forces Schools to Close: Fires, Storms and Heatwaves Have Already Kept 1 Million Students Out of Classrooms This Semester

Despite education’s consistent presence at past climate talks, many countries are not currently naming climate change education, or girls’ education, as part of their policy strategy. An analysis of recently updated ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDCs) from 73 countries revealed that less than a quarter mention youth or children and none call for mandatory climate change education as a strategy, including the U.S.’s plan.

While NDCs are not the “end-all-be-all” of climate policy, they are the most visible, guiding document for nations to support Paris Agreement goals, says researcher Christina Kwauk, who penned the report and is a nonresident fellow with the Brookings Institute.

If girls’ education continues to be omitted from the documents, she told The 74, the priority will likely be overlooked in subsequent policies, strategies and initiatives — like expanding career and vocational training for green jobs or leadership.

“Girls’ education is going to be collateral damage from climate change, if we’re not paying attention to it. From the research we know that investing in girls’ education can be a powerful climate solution, why aren’t we talking about these two hand in hand?” Kwauk said. “If our education system isn’t helping us to address those structural and systemic aspects of the climate crisis, we will have wasted some really valuable years.”

Related: How Can We Learn When Our Earth is Burning?

If quality girls’ education and reproductive health care are provided over the next 30 years, 85.4 gigatons (mass roughly equal to 16 billion elephants) of carbon dioxide emissions could be avoided, according to researchers with the international nonprofit Project Drawdown, who estimate the impact of particular climate solutions. That is over four times more impactful than increasing concentrated solar power in the same timeframe.

Advocates caution against using Project Drawdown’s oft-quoted measure of impact as the sole driver for expanding girls’ education.

“Many stakeholders link girls’ education to reducing emissions, due to decreased fertility rates, however this places the burden of mitigating climate change on those least responsible for its cause and undermines a rights-based approach. We advocate for girls’ education as it is their right, and can equip them with the skills and knowledge to take climate action, adapt to impacts, be more resilient and engage in policy processes,” Plan International’s Jessica Cooke, a London-based expert in climate change and resilience programming, told The 74 via email.

Cooke will attend the U.N. conference this year with colleagues and youth activists to call for transformative education policy that advances both climate and gender justice.

“A gender-transformative education can equip girls with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle the climate crisis, claim and exercise their rights, and empower them to be leaders and decision-makers, including by challenging the systems and norms which reinforce gender, climate, racial and social injustices around the world,” Cooke added.

Roughly one third of girls don’t currently feel confident participating in climate policy processes, fewer boys feel the same hesitancy — about 25 percent, a recent Plan International youth survey revealed. And over 80 percent of youth surveyed in 37 nations, including the U.S., say that they don’t know anything about their country’s climate policy and that efforts to include them in decision making are insufficient.

More womens’ rights and feminist organizations are pushing for climate education policy as they begin to “see climate justice as a key aspect of work for gender equality,” said Bridget Burns, director of Women’s Environment & Development Organization. Her group partners with U.N. and government agencies as advisors on intersectional policy.

Similar thinking is underway at the U.S. federal level on the eve of the conference. At the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration,Frank Niepold leads climate education efforts and holds a singular leadership role for the U.S. with the UN’s Action for Climate Empowerment. He served as a U.S. delegate to the 2015 climate conference.

Niepold told The 74 that he’s searching for ways to collaborate with other agencies to support girls’ education as a key climate strategy. The infrastructure for dialogue leaves something to be desired. Beyond the climate talks — which are focused on the national level — there is not an existing support system for international groups to collaborate with sub-national agencies like his, which implements policies to protect the environment.

“A gender equity focus on educational programming at the federal level — it is missing,” he said, but added, “I think it’s emerging.”

Niepold confirmed that education remains on the negotiating table for this year’s talks.

Related: Bipartisan Coalition’s New K-12 Climate Action Plan Says Net-Zero Schools, Infrastructure Changes are Key to Mitigating Climate Change

Many are closely watching to see what the U.S. prioritizes during and following the conference, especially given that President Biden’s key clean energy budget provision was just gutted after a key senator voiced opposition. The president originally planned to tout the move — to replace coal and gas power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy sources — as an example of his country’s commitment to climate solutions and infrastructure.

In 2017, former President Trump pledged to drop out of the Paris accord; the U.S. was the first country in the world to formally withdraw in 2020. At the last in-person climate talks in 2019, delegates were in disarray over whether his re-election would further block meaningful climate action globally. President Biden has since made the current administration’s position on climate change clear, rejoining the agreement in February 2021.

The Aspen Institute’s Laura Schifter, who’s heading up a new initiative to make school infrastructure more sustainable, remains hopeful that the nation is now prepared to back more education-centered climate solutions.

“The U.S. has the potential of really being an international leader in this space,” she said. “We have the administration right now committed to climate issues, we have schools across the country who have been experiencing climate impacts. We have a real need … the time is really right for education to mobilize and start taking climate action.”

Shell falls short of Dutch court ruling as it sets new 2030 climate target

The new target includes Scope 1 and 2 emissions, but not Scope 3, which accounts for 90% of Shell’s total.

August Graham
THE INDEPENDENT

Shell’s new target will see its own emissions cut in half by 2030 (Andrew Matthews/PA)
(PA Wire)

Oil giant Shell will halve its emissions by the end of the decade, meeting part of a ruling handed down in a Dutch court earlier this year.

The company said its so-called Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions will be cut by 50% compared with where they were in 2016.

Scope 1 and Scope 2 cover all the greenhouse gases produced at Shell’s oil and gas sites as well as off-site emissions from the energy it uses.

The target strengthens the company’s climate ambitions, but excludes the vital Scope 3 emissions, which are 90% of Shell’s total.

Scope 3 covers what is emitted when customers burn Shell’s fuels.

“It is … an important step as we rise to meet the challenge of the Dutch court’s ruling for our Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which Shell expects to meet by 2030,” the company said.

However, the new target only goes part of the way to meeting that ruling. The court said Shell must cut all three emissions categories by 45%.

Shell is appealing over the court’s decision on Scope 3 emissions.

It said: “Our 2022 business plan will reflect this new target, which we are committed to delivering regardless of whether we win or lose our appeal against the ruling.”

Shell has a separate target to get to net zero Scope 3 emissions by 2050.

The business also said it will stop routine gas flaring by 2025, five years ahead of its previous target.

When extracting oil from the ground producers often also get unwanted gas in their pipes. Sometimes this is used for energy, but often it does not make financial sense to do so and the gas is simply burnt on site.

The World Bank estimates that enough gas to power all of sub-Saharan Africa is wasted this way each year.

Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said: “Today, we also set a new 2030 target to halve the absolute emissions from our operations, compared to 2016 levels on a net basis.

“Altogether, this is clear evidence of how we are accelerating our Powering Progress strategy, purposefully and profitably.”

Stuart Lamont, investment manager at Brewin Dolphin said: “As ever, the tricky balance Shell needs to strike is remaining an attractive investment prospect as it makes the transition towards net zero, which it is currently managing well with a progressive dividend and share buyback programme.

“However, any detrimental change to the oil price could be a significant challenge in that regard.”

Separately, the oil giant announced on Thursday that it made a 988 million US dollar (£719 million) loss in the third quarter of the year.

The figure, which is measured on a current cost of supply basis and attributable to shareholders, was a swing from a 177 million dollar (£129 million) profit a year earlier.

“This quarter we’ve generated record cash flow, maintained capital discipline and announced our intention to distribute 7 billion dollars (£5.1 billion) to our shareholders from the sale of our Permian assets,” Mr van Beurden said.

Wildfires, logging turn protected forests into carbon emitters -report

BOGOTA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Some of the world's most protected forests are emitting more carbon than they absorb, driven by things like logging and wildfires, a new report said on Wednesday, with researchers alarmed that protected areas are contributing to climate change.

At least 10 forests designated World Heritage sites - including Yosemite National Park in the United States - have been net carbon emitters over the last two decades, the report said.

"That even some of the most iconic and best protected forests such as those found in World Heritage sites can actually contribute to climate change is alarming and brings to light evidence of the severity of this climate emergency," Tales Carvalho Resende, report co-author and project officer for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said in a statement.

Forests are considered vital for curbing climate change due to their ability to work as so-called carbon sinks. Trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen, removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

All 257 forests together do act as a net carbon sink, according to the research which analyzed a period from 2001 to 2020. Still, human activities like logging and intense climate-related events such as wildfires are hindering their ability to capture and store more carbon than they emit, which experts say is a cause for grave concern.

As well as in the United States, forests found to be net carbon emitters were also located in Indonesia, Australia and Russia, among other countries.

UNESCO investigators and researchers from advocacy groups the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) combined satellite data with on-site monitoring and found that together the heritage sites saw net absorption of 190 million tons of CO2 annually over the 20-year period.

Over the course of centuries the forests have stored some 13 billion tons of carbon, equivalent to Kuwait's proven oil reserves, the report said.

The findings drew on data published by the journal Nature Climate Change in January, which mapped greenhouse gas emissions and absorption by forests globally.

The researchers used this data and on-the-ground monitoring of the heritage sites to understand what is putting forests at risk, including logging, agricultural incursions, droughts and shifting temperatures.

"I would expect all of them to be removing carbon for the atmosphere, and not to be sources of carbon," Carlos Sanquetta a forestry engineering professor at the Federal University of Parana in Brazil, told Reuters. "Instead of playing a role in carbon sequestration they are a playing a role in carbon emissions."

Though it produced important findings, the report could have presented its methodology in greater depth, he said.

While just 10 of the UNESCO-protected forests were found to have been carbon emitters, the report said other sites also showed clear upward trajectories in emissions.

"This is one more clear sign that even forests we traditionally assumed to be safe are now under increasing threat," David Kaimowitz, one of the forest directors at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, told Reuters.

The report did not place enough emphasis on supporting indigenous and local communities as well as activists who oppose forest destruction than is laid out in the report, he said. He also questioned whether the report was representative of all forests.

"Readers should ... not assume that the specific numbers presented here apply to forests everywhere," he said. (Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by David Gregorio)