Extreme weather caused $165 billion in US damage in 2022: officials

by Chris Lefkow

Hurricane Ian, which ravaged Florida in September, caused nearly $113 billion in damage, 

according to an NOAA report.

Major hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, drought and a fierce winter storm caused more than $165 billion in damage in the United States last year with climate change "supercharging" some extreme weather, a government report said Tuesday.

The country experienced 18 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, with Hurricane Ian the most costly at nearly $113 billion.

"Climate change is creating more and more intense extreme events that cause significant damage and often sets off cascading hazards like intense drought followed by devastating wildfires followed by dangerous flooding and mudslides," NOAA administrator Richard Spinrad told reporters.

"More and more Americans and more places are exposed to risks from climate and extreme weather," Spinrad said. "People are seeing the impacts of a changing climate system where they live, work and play on a regular basis."

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information said in a year-end report that 2022 tied 2017 and 2011 for the most billion-dollar disasters in a calendar year, behind the 22 and 20 separate billion-dollar events of 2020 and 2021.

The increasing number of extreme events "hints that the extremely high activity of recent years is becoming the new normal," the NCEI said, with Spinrad adding they should serve as a "wake-up call" to build resiliency.

With a price tag of more than $165 billion, 2022 ranked third in total costs behind 2017 (hurricanes Harvey and Irma) and 2005 (hurricane Katrina), the NCEI said, and the figure could rise when the impact of a sprawling winter storm that hit the central and eastern US in December is fully factored in.

The report noted that the figures do not reflect the total cost of last year's US weather and climate events, only those associated with major disasters that each caused more than $1 billion in damages.

The billion-dollar events accounted for about 85 percent of the total damage from all recorded US weather and climate events in 2022, it said.

Hurricane Ian, which ravaged Florida in September, was far and away the most costly, causing $112.9 billion in damage and 152 deaths.

A summer heat wave and drought which gripped large parts of the central and western United States was next, causing $22.2 billion in damage, 136 deaths and leaving reservoirs such as Lake Mead severely depleted.

Damage left by a tornado which touched down in New Orleans, Louisiana, in March 2022.

Other weather and climate disasters included wildfires in the western US and Alaska, flooding in Missouri and Kentucky, tornadoes across southern and southeastern states and the December winter storm.

The 18 billion-dollar events resulted in at least 474 direct or indirect fatalities, the seventh most since 1980.

'Devastating consequences'

The cost of weather and climate disasters was increasing, the NCEI said, due to a number of factors including increased settlement in vulnerable areas like coasts and river floodplains.

"Climate change is also supercharging the increasing frequency and intensity of certain types of extreme weather that lead to billion-dollar disasters," it said.

This is characterized by rising vulnerability to drought, lengthening wildfire seasons, flooding caused by heavy rainfall and hurricane storm surge worsened by sea level rise.

The NCEI said strong Category 4 or 5 hurricanes have made landfall in the United States in five of the last six years, the most frequent impacts on record.

It said 2022 was the eighth consecutive year in which 10 or more separate billion-dollar disaster events have hit the United States, up from an average of 7.9 events between 1980 and 2022.

In a recent report, the UK-based charity Christian Aid also listed Hurricane Ian as the most costly weather event in a year that saw devastating floods in Australia, parts of Africa, China and Pakistan and a severe summer heatwave and drought in Europe.

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said Tuesday that average temperatures across 2022 made it the fifth warmest year since records began in the 19th century.

"2022 was yet another year of climate extremes across Europe and globally," said Samantha Burgess, deputy head of the climate monitoring service. "These events highlight that we are already experiencing the devastating consequences of our warming world."

© 2023 AFP

NOAA tool now brings disaster risk, vulnerability down to community level

Police move in on anti-coal activists at German protest camp

Author: AFP |Update: 12.01.2023


Policemen on a lifting platform prepare to remove an anti-coal activist sitting on a giant yellow X sculpture on January 10, 2023 in Luetzerath, western Germany / © AFP

German police on Tuesday began removing climate activists perched precariously on high structures as they embarked on a "dangerous" operation to evacuate a protest camp that has become a symbol of resistance against fossil fuels.

Luetzerath, a village in North Rhine-Westphalia state, was once home to around 100 people but has been abandoned over the years as uncertainty hung over its planned evacuation for the expansion of the neighbouring coal mine Garzweiler.

Since the last resident, a farmer, packed up and left in October 2022, the village has been turned over to around 2,000 anti-coal activists who are trying to prevent the site from being dug up for coal.


The activists have built barricades and dug trenches to stop police getting in. Some are also swinging on hammocks erected high up above ground.

The protesters have vowed that there will be "no limits" in its defence of the site, and that they would make an "active defence" of the village.


The activists in Luetzrath have set up an intricate, self-built camp in the trees, linked by a network of ropes and cables, which has been designed to make evacuation difficult / © AFP

"We've left a few surprises for the police," said Joey, 28, a balaclava-clad former surgical assistant who is now a veteran of the occupation of the village.

"Most of the people will choose a passive defence (of the village), but others will act with active defence. There will be no limit.

"It may sound harsh but there are bigger things coming with climate change, people are dying".

Joey said he only fears the violence could escalate the longer the occupation goes on and far from the watchful eye of the media, who will be forced to leave once the operation begins.

- A 'long night' -

Environmental groups had hoped that Luezerath would be spared the excavators after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition including the Green party took office in December 2021 with a vow to phase out coal usage.

But Russia's war in Ukraine has sparked an energy crisis, forcing Berlin to restart mothballed coal plants to secure Germany's power needs.

In the scramble for energy sources as Russia dwindled its supply, Scholz's government granted permission to German energy company RWE to expand the mine neighbouring Luetzerath.

An activist wearing a space blanket sitting high in a self-built structure in the western German village of Luetzerath / © AFP

To clear the protest camp, which is situated on the edge of the Garzweiler mine, the police must overcome walls of barricades, chicanes and trenches dug by the activists.

The activists -- who have planned another demonstration for Saturday -- have set up an intricate, self-built camp in the trees, linked by a network of ropes and cables, which has been designed to make evacuation difficult.

To avoid injuring the protesters, the police will need to enter the village using heavy vehicles including cranes equipped with lifting platforms, to remove the activists one by one.

Each occupant is prepared to stay for hours or even days holed up in the self-built constructions, protected by little more than a tipi.

"The night might be long" a female German activist, who preferred to remain anonymous, told AFP, warming herself around a fire with several other demonstrators.

"We learn day by day, with communication with those who are here for longer than us."

One male activist told AFP he was worried the protesters may not have enough supplies to withstand the forced expulsion.

"I feel concern because we need 2,000 more litres of water to build the trenches.

"We are supposed to receive 20 litres per person, but I doubt it."

- A siege -

In the huge barn that once belonged to the last evicted farmer from Luetzerath, the activists have set up their headquarters.

To clear the protest camp police must overcome walls of barricades, chicanes and trenches dug by the activists / © AFP

The windows and doors have been barricaded, making access almost impossible for the police, while hundreds of sleeping bags are laid out on the floor of the old straw-strewn cattle pens.

"During the arrests, everyone can decide whether or not to show their identity papers", said one of the organisers at a candle-lit meeting on Monday evening.

They have prepared for a state of siege that could last weeks, as access to the camp is now blocked from outside with police checkpoints and constant patrols.

German anti-coal activists storm Green politician's office

Issued on: 12/01/2023 - 

Police have began evicting around 200 anti-coal activists from the town

 © INA FASSBENDER / AFP

Berlin (AFP) – Climate activists occupied the regional office of Germany's vice chancellor Thursday in a show of support for a flagship anti-coal protest, accusing the Green party politician of betrayal.

The Ende Gelaende group said on Twitter that it had broken into Economy Minister Robert Habeck's office in the northern town of Flensburg.

"We stand in solidarity with all the people who are defending Luetzerath!" the group said, posting images of an open window with a banner hanging beneath it.

The western town of Luetzerath became a flashpoint for climate protests when the government decided in 2022 to press ahead with plans to demolish it to allow the expansion of a nearby coal mine.

The decision came in spite of a pledge to phase out coal by 2030, but the government -- a coalition that includes the Greens -- blamed the energy squeeze caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Police on Wednesday began evicting around 200 anti-coal activists from the town, an operation that is expected to take several weeks.

"Robert Habeck is largely responsible for the violent eviction of Luetzerath," Ende Gelaende said, adding that even phasing out coal by 2030 was "not compatible with the Paris climate agreement".

"The Greens have thus once again betrayed their own ideals," the group said.

Police on Thursday continued with efforts to oust the protesters.

Many of the activists have built structures high up in the trees, while others have climbed to the top of abandoned buildings and barns in a bid to complicate the evacuation effort.

Videos shared on social media showing the felling of trees.

Police also said they were checking reports of an underground tunnel system beneath the site.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is expected to join a demonstration near the protest camp this weekend.

© 2023 AFP

In Pictures
Gallery|Climate Crisis

German police begin clearing coal mine protest camp in Luetzerath

The expansion of a lignite mine has highlighted tensions around Germany’s climate policy during the energy crisis.

Protesters clash with police officers next to the Garzweiler lignite opencast mine. 

Michael Probst/AP Photo

Published On 12 Jan 2023

Police in riot gear have begun evicting climate activists from a condemned village in western Germany that is due to be demolished for the expansion of a coal mine.

Some stones and fireworks were thrown on Wednesday as officers entered the tiny hamlet of Luetzerath, which has become a flashpoint of debate over the country’s climate efforts.

Police spokesman Andreas Mueller said the attacks on officers were “not nice” but noted that most of the protests so far had been peaceful.

He said police would stick to their tactic of trying to avoid any escalation by offering to let any activists who leave on their own accord to do so without facing further police measures or prosecution.

“I’m really afraid today,” Petra Mueller, a 53-year-old local who had been at the site for several days, said from a top-floor window of one of the few remaining houses. Mueller said she still held out hope of preserving what is left of Luetzerath “until nothing is left standing; hope dies last”.

Environmentalists say bulldozing the village to expand the nearby Garzweiler coal mine would result in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. The government and utility company RWE argue that coal is needed to ensure Germany’s energy security.


However, a study by the German Institute for Economic Research calls into question the government’s stance. Its authors found other existing coal fields could be used instead, though the cost to RWE would be greater.

Another alternative would be for Germany to increase the production of renewable power, cut demand through energy efficiency measures, or import more coal or gas from abroad, the study found.

Some activists expressed particular anger at the environmentalist Green party, which is part of the regional and national governments that reached a deal with RWE last year allowing it to destroy the village in return for ending coal use by 2030, rather than 2038.

“I think climate protection and protests need symbols but the empty hamlet of Luetzerath, where no one lives any more, is the wrong symbol from my point of view,” Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, a Green who is Germany’s economy and climate minister, told reporters in Berlin.

Climate campaigners counter that expanding a massive open-cast coal mine goes against Germany’s international commitments to reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases. The country is expected to miss its ambitious targets for the second year in a row.

Police officers keep guard as activists stage a sit-in protest against the expansion of the lignite mine in Luetzerath. Andreas Mueller, the police spokesman, said authorities were prepared for the eviction operation to last weeks, if necessary. [Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters]
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Police officers detain an activist in Luetzerath. RWE said in a statement that a 1.5km (1-mile) fence will be built around the site. [Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters]

As the officers moved in, some activists perched on the roofs or the windows of the abandoned buildings, chanting and shouting slogans. [Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters]

Police officers try to evict activists from the tree houses. RWE appealed to activists to peacefully 'end the illegal occupation' of the site. [Christian Mang/Reuters]

The project has underscored Germany's dilemma over climate policy, which environmentalists say has taken a back seat during the energy crisis that has hit Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, forcing a return to dirtier fuels. [Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters]

Police, who had water cannon trucks on standby, led away and carried some protesters from the site. [Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters]

Police officers take away an activist on a trolley. [Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters]

A protester writhes in pain as she’s pinned down by police officers trying to clear a blocked road. [Frank Jordans/AP Photo]

Workers of the German energy company RWE take down the place sign at the village of Luetzerath. [Michael Probst/AP Photo]

Climate activists sit in so-called tripos and block a road that leads to the village of Luetzerath. [Michael Probst/AP Photo]

Police officers stand in front of a barricade at the village of Luetzerath. [Michael Probst/AP Photo]

FULL COVERAGE BY DEUTCHE WELLE (DW)

Climate activists face off with police in Lützerath – DW – 01/10/2023

UN calls for urgent help to combat acute child malnutrition

Thu, 12 January 2023 


The United Nations called Thursday for urgent funding to help 30 million children suffering from acute malnutrition "before it is too late" in countries being hammered by the food crisis.

UN agencies said conflict, climate shocks, the Covid-19 pandemic and rising living costs were leaving an increasing number of children badly malnourished.

"Currently, more than 30 million children in the 15 worst-affected countries suffer from wasting -- or acute malnutrition -- and eight million of these children are severely wasted, the deadliest form of undernutrition," five UN agencies said in a joint statement.


The 15 countries are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen.

Soaring food prices were aggravating food shortages and displacing populations, the UN said, as well as hindering access to affordable essential nutrition.

The joint statement called for greater investment to support its efforts to meet the "unprecedented needs of this growing crisis, before it is too late".

Its plan aims to prevent, detect and treat acute malnutrition among children with interventions in the food, health, water and sanitation, and social protection systems.

"This situation is likely to deteriorate even further in 2023," said Food and Agriculture Organization chief Qu Dongyu.

"We must ensure availability, affordability and accessibility of healthy diets," it said.

The joint agency plan will target children aged under five; pregnant and breastfeeding women; and women and caregivers of children under five.

"Today's cascading crises are leaving millions of children wasted and have made it harder for them to access key services," said Catherine Russell, head of the UN children's agency UNICEF.

"Wasting is painful for the child, and in severe cases, can lead to death or permanent damage to children's growth and development," she said.

"We can and must turn this nutrition crisis around through proven solutions to prevent, detect, and treat child wasting early."

Children with acute malnutrition have weakened immune systems and are at higher risk of dying from common childhood diseases.

Those that survive could face lifelong growth and development challenges.

"The global food crisis is also a health crisis, and a vicious cycle: malnutrition leads to disease, and disease leads to malnutrition," said World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"Urgent support is needed now in the hardest-hit countries to protect children's lives and health, including ensuring critical access to healthy foods and nutrition services, especially for women and children."

A child or youth died once every 4.4 seconds in 2021 – UN report

Another 1.9 million babies were tragically stillborn during the same period, according to a separate UN report.

NEW YORK/GENEVA/WASHINGTON D.C., 10 January 2023 – An estimated 5 million children died before their fifth birthday and another 2.1 million children and youth aged between 5–24 years lost their lives in 2021, according to the latest estimates released by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).

In a separate report also released today, the group found that 1.9 million babies were stillborn during the same period. Tragically, many of these deaths could have been prevented with equitable access and high-quality maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health care.

“Every day, far too many parents are facing the trauma of losing their children, sometimes even before their first breath,” said Vidhya Ganesh, UNICEF Director of the Division of Data Analytics, Planning and Monitoring. “Such widespread, preventable tragedy should never be accepted as inevitable. Progress is possible with stronger political will and targeted investment in equitable access to primary health care for every woman and child.”

The reports show some positive outcomes with a lower risk of death across all ages globally since 2000. The global under-5 mortality rate fell by 50% since the start of the century, while mortality rates in older children and youth dropped by 36%, and the stillbirth rate decreased by 35%. This can be attributed to more investments in strengthening primary health systems to benefit women, children and young people.

However, gains have reduced significantly since 2010, and 54 countries will fall short of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals target for under-5 mortality. If swift action is not taken to improve health services, warn the agencies, almost 59 million children and youth will die before 2030, and nearly 16 million babies will be lost to stillbirth.


“It is grossly unjust that a child’s chances of survival can be shaped just by their place of birth, and that there are such vast inequities in their access to lifesaving health services,” said Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at the World Health Organization (WHO). “Children everywhere need strong primary health care systems that meet their needs and those of their families, so that – no matter where they are born – they have the best start and hope for the future.”

Children continue to face wildly differentiating chances of survival based on where they are born, with sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia shouldering the heaviest burden, the reports show. Though sub-Saharan Africa had just 29% of global live births, the region accounted for 56% of all under-5 deaths in 2021, and southern Asia for 26% of the total. Children born in sub-Saharan Africa are subject to the highest risk of childhood death in the world – 15 times higher than the risk for children in Europe and northern America.

Mothers in these 2 regions also endure the painful loss of babies to stillbirth at an exceptional rate, with 77% of all stillbirths in 2021 occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. Nearly half of all stillbirths happened in sub-Saharan Africa. The risk of a woman having a stillborn baby in sub-Saharan Africa is 7 times more likely than in Europe and North America.

“Behind these numbers are millions of children and families who are denied their basic rights to health,” said Juan Pablo Uribe, Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population, World Bank and Director of the Global Financing Facility. “We need political will and leadership for sustained financing for primary health care which is one of the best investments countries and development partners can make.”

Access to and availability of quality health care continues to be a matter of life or death for children globally. Most child deaths occur in the first five years, of which half are within the first month of life. For these youngest babies, premature birth and complications during labour are the leading causes of death. Similarly, more than 40% of stillbirths occur during labour – most of which are preventable when women have access to quality care throughout pregnancy and birth. For children that survive past their first 28 days, infectious diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria pose the biggest threat.

While COVID-19 has not directly increased childhood mortality – with children facing a lower likelihood of dying from the disease than adults – the pandemic may have increased future risks to their survival. In particular, the reports highlight concerns around disruptions to vaccination campaigns, nutrition services, and access to primary health care, which could jeopardize their health and well-being for many years to come. In addition, the pandemic has fuelled the largest continued backslide in vaccinations in three decades, putting the most vulnerable newborns and children at greater risk of dying from preventable diseases.

The reports also note gaps in data, which could critically undermine the impact of policies and programmes designed to improve childhood survival and well-being.

“The new estimates highlight the remarkable global progress since 2000 in reducing mortality among children under age 5,” said John Wilmoth, Director, UN DESA Population Division. “Despite this success, more work is needed to address persistent large differences in child survival across countries and regions, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Only by improving access to quality health care, especially around the time of childbirth, will we be able to reduce these inequities and end preventable deaths of newborns and children worldwide.”



#####

Notes to editors:

The two reports – Levels & Trends in Child Mortality and Never Forgotten – are the first of a series of important data sets released in 2023, with UN maternal mortality figures to be published later this year.

Download multimedia content here.

Access the report and data here and stillbirth report here

About UN IGME

The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation or UN IGME was formed in 2004 to share data on child mortality, improve methods for child mortality estimation, report on progress towards child survival goals and enhance country capacity to produce timely and properly assessed estimates of child mortality. UN IGME is led by UNICEF and includes the World Health Organization, the World Bank Group and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.

For more information visit: Child Mortality

Iran is using executions to crush dissent and quell protests, says UN

Issued on: 10/01/2023 -

02:13   A judge sits in a courtroom in front of Saeid Yaghoubi, who is to be executed by hanging, along with Majid Kazemi and Saleh Mirhashemi, for allegedly killing members of security forces during nationwide protests in Iran.

© Wana News Agency, via Reuters

Text by:NEWS WIRES

Iran is weaponising the death penalty, attempting to crush dissent by frightening the public with the execution of protesters, the United Nations said Tuesday.

The Islamic republic has been rocked by a wave of protests since the death in custody on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, following the 22-year-old's arrest for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.

Tehran has executed four people in connection with the demonstrations, following expedited trials that did not meet the minimum guarantees of fair trial, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said.

"Criminal proceedings and the death penalty are being weaponised by the Iranian government to punish individuals participating in protests and to strike fear into the population so as to stamp out dissent, in violation of international human rights law," OHCHR said.

Two further executions are scheduled imminently and at least 17 other individuals have reportedly been sentenced to death, said the office of Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights


"The weaponisation of criminal procedures to punish people for exercising their basic rights -- such as those participating in or organising demonstrations -- amounts to state-sanctioned killing," Turk said in a statement.

>> Lack of leadership is both a strength and weakness of Iran's protest movement

OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the UN was against the imposition of the death penalty in all circumstances.

"However, in these instances, what we have seen is a lack of due process; charges that are completely spurious and don't make sense," she told a press briefing.

"These are charges of corruption on Earth and waging war against God, which are very vaguely worded."

She said there were also serious allegations of torture, mistreatment and humiliating treatment prior to the executions.

"In such circumstances, these executions amount to an arbitrary deprivation of life," she explained.
'Listening to their grievances'

OHCHR said it had received information that two further executions are imminent -- that of 22-year-old Mohammad Ghobadlou and Mohammad Boroghani, 19.

"The government of Iran would better serve its interests and those of its people by listening to their grievances," said Turk.

"I reiterate once more my call to the government of Iran to respect the lives and voices of its people, to impose an immediate moratorium on the death penalty and to halt all executions," Turk said.

"Iran must take sincere steps to embark on the reforms that are required and demanded by their own people for the respect and protection of their human rights."

11:26THE INTERVIEW © FRANCE 24

Mohammad Al Nsour, OHCHR's Middle East and North Africa chief, said Turk would be meeting soon with Iranian officials in Geneva.

Turk has voiced his willingness to go to Tehran and meet with the Iranian authorities, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

However, he said there was no agreed date and no discussion as yet on the terms of reference for such a visit.

Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights said Monday that at least 109 protesters now in detention have been sentenced to death or face charges that can carry capital punishment.

The crackdown and executions have sparked global outrage and new Western sanctions against Tehran.

(AFP)

Iran intensifies protest crackdown as UN decries executions

Tue, January 10, 2023 


Iran's judiciary said Tuesday it will "firmly punish" women who violate strict dress rules, as the United Nations warned Tehran is trying to crush protests by weaponising the death penalty.

Demonstrations have swept Iran since the September 16 death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly failing to adhere to the dress rules which demand women wear hijab headscarves.

After nearly four months of protests, in which Iran has hanged four people for their role in the unrest, the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva said Iran's executions without due process amount to "state-sanctioned killing".

Since the outbreak of the protests, the morality police units charged with enforcing the hijab rules have been less visible and many women have taken to the streets with their heads uncovered.

But as the demonstrations continue, the prosecutor general on Tuesday issued a directive in which "police were ordered to firmly punish any hijab violations", Mehr news agency reported.

"Courts must sentence the violators, as well as fine them, to additional penalties such as exile, bans on practising certain professions and closing workplaces," Mehr quoted the judiciary as saying.

- Death sentences rise -

Iran's judiciary said Tuesday it had sentenced another man to death in connection with the protests, with Javad Rouhi found guilty of charges of "corruption on Earth".

Rouhi was found guilty of "leading a group of rioters", "inciting people to create insecurity", as well as of "apostasy by desecration of the Koran by burning it", the judiciary's Mizan Online news website reported.

The sentence, which can still be appealed, brings to 18 the total number of people the judiciary have announced have been condemned to death in connection with the protests.

Of those 18 confirmed, four are already dead and six face retrials.

However, Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) says at least 109 protesters now in detention have been sentenced to death or face charges that can carry capital punishment.

Iran has blamed the unrest on hostile foreign forces, and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that authorities had been dealing "seriously and justly" with those implicated in the "riots".

In an updated death toll, IHR said Monday that 481 protesters had been killed, including 64 minors, since the unrest began.

Iranian authorities say hundreds, including members of the security forces, have been killed.

- 'Strike fear' -

The UN warned that Iran is using capital punishment to frighten the public and crush dissent.

"Criminal proceedings and the death penalty are being weaponised by the Iranian government to punish individuals participating in protests and to strike fear into the population so as to stamp out dissent, in violation of international human rights law," UN rights chief Volker Turk's office said.

"The weaponisation of criminal procedures to punish people for exercising their basic rights -- such as those participating in or organising demonstrations -- amounts to state-sanctioned killing," Turk added.

The crackdown and executions have sparked global outrage and fresh Western sanctions against Tehran.

Rights groups have also accused Iran of extracting forced confessions and denying the thousands arrested due legal process.

According to London-based rights group Amnesty International, Iran is second only to China in its use of the death penalty, with at least 314 people executed in 2021.

Iran executions ‘state sanctioned killing’: UN rights chief

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned the ‘weaponisation’ of the death penalty to squash dissent.

Human rights groups say 481 protesters have been killed, including 64 minors, since the unrest began in September. The sign reads: "Women Life Freedom". 

[File: Raquel Cunha/Reuters]

Published On 10 Jan 2023

The UN human rights chief says the flurry of death sentences handed down following the outbreak of civil unrest in Iran amount to “state sanctioned killing”, with executions being used to strike fear into the population and stamp out dissent.

“The weaponization of criminal procedures to punish people for exercising their basic rights – such as those participating in or organizing demonstrations – amounts to state sanctioned killing,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added that such executions violated international human rights law.

On Saturday, Iran hanged two men convicted of killing a member of the security forces during nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody in September.

The UN Human Rights office has received information that two further executions are imminent, the statement said.

As part of the ongoing crackdown, Iranian activist Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, received a preliminary sentence of five years in prison for spreading “propaganda” and acts against national security, her lawyer, Neda Shams, said on Monday.

Hashemi was arrested in the capital Tehran on September 27 for encouraging residents to demonstrate. The 60-year-old former lawmaker and women’s rights activist was charged with “collusion against national security, propaganda against the Islamic republic and disturbing public order by participating in illegal gatherings”, Shams said.

Hashemi will be able to appeal the sentence.

The Islamic Republic has been rocked by a wave of protests since Amini’s death. The 22-year-old had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.

Iranian authorities said hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed and thousands arrested in connection with the protests, which they generally describe as “riots”.

Despite months of popular unrest, authorities have signalled an increased crackdown since the start of the year, with police warning that women must wear headscarves even in cars. Iran’s judiciary on Tuesday ordered police to “firmly punish” people who violate the country’s hijab law.

“Courts must sentence the violators, as well as fine them, to additional penalties such as exile, bans on practicing certain professions and closing workplaces,” Mehr news agency quoted the judiciary as saying.

Executions spark international concern

Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Monday that at least 109 protesters now in detention have been sentenced to death or face charges that can carry capital punishment.

In an updated death toll, IHR said 481 protesters have been killed, including 64 minors, since the unrest began.

The UN human rights chief’s statement is the latest reprimand from the international community.

The White House on Monday condemned Saturday’s executions, saying the United States stood with other countries demanding a halt to the death sentences.

“We condemn the executions of Mohammad Mehdi Karami & Mohammad Hosseini and the additional executions announced today,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan tweeted.

“We join with partners around the world calling for an immediate cessation of these abuses. Iran will be held accountable.”

Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly announced a new round of sanctions over Iran’s “brutal repression of brave Iranian voices”.

The European Union and several European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway summoned Iranian diplomats in protest.

On Monday, Pope Francis denounced the recourse to the death penalty, saying it “only fuels the thirst for vengeance”.

He stressed everyone had a “right to life” and “demanded greater respect for the dignity of women”.

Iran has blamed the unrest on hostile foreign forces, and the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Monday that authorities had been dealing “seriously and justly” with those implicated in the “riots”.

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SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Denies Gas Stove Ban

By Julianne Geiger - Jan 11, 2023

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has no plans to ban gas stoves, the agency said, according to Bloomberg.

A commissioner from the same agency, Richard Trumka Jr., earlier this week said that the CPSC had been considering a ban on gas stoves for months, with Trumka recommending in October that the agency seek public comment on the hazards of gas stoves.

But the head of the CPSC, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, said on Wednesday that the agency had no such plans.

“I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so,” Hoehn-Saric said in a statement to Bloomberg on Wednesday, just a day after discussions of a ban set off a flurry of reactions on both sides.

Hoehn-Saric added that the Commission—made up of just four members—was researching emissions from gas stoves.

Back in August of last year, the Committee on Oversight and Reform—the principal oversight committee of the House of Representatives, asked the Commission to turn over documents and information “about the CPSC’s failure to establish safety standards and provide adequate warnings to consumers addressing the significant health risks posed by indoor air pollution from gas stoves.” The Committee document was retrieved in Cached form, as the document can no longer be found at its original web location.

The push against gas stoves has resulted in GOP backlash, with Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) also speaking out against the idea of a ban on the cooking appliance preferred by most chefs.

“This is a recipe for disaster. The federal government has no business telling American families how to cook their dinner,” Manchin said, adding that if this was the CPSC’s greatest concern, “I think we need to reevaluate the commission.”

Asthma study sparks debate about safety of cooking with gas

Issued on: 12/01/2023 - 07:30

Paris (AFP) – New research that links cooking with natural gas to around 12 percent of childhood asthma cases has sparked debate about the health risks of kitchen stoves, as well as calls in the United States for stepped-up regulation.

The authors of the study said their findings suggested that around 650,000 US children would not have developed asthma if their homes had electric or induction stovetops, comparing the impact on health to that of second-hand smoke.

But an expert who was involved in the study questioned its findings and cautioned that gas remains far healthier than cooking with wood, charcoal and coal, which are estimated to cause 3.2 million deaths a year from household air pollution, overwhelmingly in developing countries.

The peer-reviewed US study was published last month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

It is based on a calculation of the risk of developing asthma in homes with a gas stove from a 2013 review of 41 previous studies.

Combining that calculation with US census data, it linked 12.7 percent of US childhood asthma cases to gas cooking.

The same calculation was previously used in 2018 research that attributed 12.3 percent of childhood asthma cases in Australia to gas stoves.

A report released Monday used the same calculation to link 12 percent of childhood asthma to gas cooking in the European Union.

The report, which has not been peer-reviewed, was released by the energy efficiency group CLASP and the European Public Health Alliance.
N02 levels exceed limits

The European report included computer simulations conducted by the Netherlands' research organisation TNO analysing exposure to air pollution in different European household kitchens.

The level of nitrogen dioxide was found to exceed EU and World Health Organization guidelines several times a week in all scenarios except for a large kitchen with a range hood that vented outside the home.

Nitrogen dioxide, which is emitted when gas is burned, is "a pollutant closely linked to asthma and other respiratory conditions," according to the WHO.

This year, CLASP will collect air quality measurements from 280 kitchens across Europe in a bid to confirm the results.

The research comes amid heightened scrutiny of gas stoves in the United States.

Richard Trumka Jr, a commissioner at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, tweeted on Monday that the agency "will consider all approaches to regulation".

"To be clear, CPSC isn't coming for anyone's gas stoves. Regulations apply to new products," he later added.

The American Gas Association, a lobby group, denounced the US study as an "advocacy-based mathematical exercise that doesn't add any new science".

Brady Seals, a manager at the Rocky Mountain Institute and co-author of the study, rebuffed the lobby group's statement.

"Of course it's just math," she told AFP. "But it gives us a number that we never had before."

'Not clean'

Rob Jackson of Stanford University, who has previously published research showing that climate-warming methane can leak from gas stoves even when they are switched off, said the US paper was "supported by dozens of other studies concluding that breathing indoor pollution from gas can trigger asthma".

But researchers working to transition the three billion people still cooking with harmful solid fuels such as wood, coal and charcoal to cleaner sources expressed concern.

Daniel Pope, a professor of global public health at the UK's University of Liverpool, said that the link between asthma and pollution from gas stoves had yet to be definitively proven and that further research was needed.

Pope is part of a team conducting research commissioned by the WHO to summarise the effects different kinds of fuel for cooking and heating can have on health.

Pope told AFP that the results, which will be published later this year, indicate a "substantial reduction in risk" when people switched to gas from solid fuels and kerosene.

They found "negligible effects (mostly non-significant) of using gas compared to electricity for all health outcomes -- including asthma," he added.

Seals responded by saying that the study did not assume a causal relationship between asthma and gas cooking, but instead reported the association between exposure and the disease using studies dating back to the 1970s.

"I think it's a real problem that the international community is not explicitly recognising the very well known, very researched risk of gas stoves," Seals said.

"Gas is certainly better" than cooking with wood or coal, she said. "But it's not clean."

© 2023 AFP

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/gas-stove-pollution-causes-roughly-12.html

World enters 'new age' of clean energy manufacturing: IEA

Issued on: 12/01/2023 - 

The cost of building wind turbines outside China has crept up after years of declining prices © Daniel LEAL / AFP

Paris (AFP) – The world is at the "dawn of a new industrial age" of clean energy technology manufacturing that will triple in value by 2030 and create millions of jobs, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday.

The global market for key mass-manufactured technologies including solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries, heat pumps and electrolysers for hydrogen will be worth around $650 billion a year by the end of the decade, the IEA predicted in a report.

The figure is more than three times larger than current levels but is conditional on countries fully implementing their energy and climate pledges, it added.

Related jobs in clean energy manufacturing will more than double from six million to nearly 14 million by 2030, the agency said.

"The energy world is at the dawn of a new industrial age –- the age of clean energy technology manufacturing," the IEA said.

But the Paris-based organisation warned that the concentration of resource extraction and manufacturing poses risks to supply chains.

Three countries account for 70 percent of the manufacting capacity for solar, wind, battery, eletrolyser and heat pump technology, with China "dominant in all of them".

The Democratic Republic of Congo produces more than 70 percent of the world's cobalt, and three countries -- Australia, Chile and China -- account for more than 90 percent of the global production of lithium, a key resource for electric vehicle batteries.

Supply chain tensions risk making the energy transition more difficult and expensive, the report added.

In a first, rising cobalt, lithium and nickel prices in 2022 led to an increase in the global price of electric vehicle batteries by almost 10 percent.

The cost of building wind turbines outside China has also crept up after years of declining prices, while similar trends are affecting solar panels.

IEA executive director Fatih Birol urged countries to diversify supply chains, citing Europe's dependence on Russian gas as a prime of example of the potential exposure to disruption caused by depending excessively on one trade source.

"As we have seen with Europe's reliance on Russian gas, when you depend too much on one company, one country or one trade route –- you risk paying a heavy price if there is disruption," he said.

Birol also stressed the importance of international collaboration, "since no country is an energy island and energy transitions will be more costly and slow if countries do not work together."

© 2023 AFP

MINING IS NOT GREEN

Mining firm: Europe’s largest rare earths deposit found in Sweden

China currently provides the bulk of the EU’s supply.

A view of the iron mine of Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB | Jonas Ekstromer/AFP via Getty Images

BY ANTONIA ZIMMERMANN
JANUARY 12, 2023

Europe's largest known deposit of rare earth elements — key for building electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines — has been discovered in northern Sweden, mining company LKAB announced today.

The Swedish company found a deposit of rare earth metals exceeding 1 million tons of rare earth oxides.

"This is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world, and it could become a significant building block for producing the critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial to enable the green transition," said Jan Moström, the company's president and CEO.

No rare earth elements are currently mined in Europe, with China providing nearly 98 percent of the EU’s supply.

According to the European Commission, demand for these elements is expected to increase more than fivefold by 2030, as they are needed for building digital and green technologies.

Given current permitting processes, it could take between 10 and 15 years for operations begin at the Kiruna mine, where the deposits were found, said Moström.

He called on Brussels to speed up and streamline those processes as part of its Critical Raw Materials Act, which is slated to be announced on March 14.

"Politics must give the industry the conditions to switch to green and fossil-free production," Sweden's Energy and Industry Minister Ebba Busch said in response to the news.

LKAB broadened its business in 2022 to extract phosphorus and rare earths as residual products from iron ore production. (Image: Future circular industrial park LKAB.)

Europe's largest rare earths deposit discovered in Sweden

Issued on: 12/01/2023 

Kiruna (Sweden) (AFP) – Europe's largest known deposit of rare earth elements, essential for the manufacturing of electric vehicles, has been discovered in Sweden's far north, boosting Europe's hopes of cutting its dependence on China.

Swedish mining group LKAB said Thursday the newly-explored deposit, found right next to its iron ore mine, contained more than one million tonnes of rare earth oxides.

"This is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world, and it could become a significant building block for producing the critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial to enable the green transition," LKAB's chief executive Jan Mostrom said in a statement.

"We face a supply problem. Without mines, there can be no electric vehicles," Mostrom added.

While the find is believed to be the biggest in Europe, it remains small on a global scale, representing less than one percent of the 120 million tonnes estimated worldwide by the US Geological Survey.

In 2021, the European Commission said that 98 percent of the rare earths used in the EU were imported from China, prompting Brussels to urge member states to develop their own extraction capacities.

LKAB's find was presented as a delegation from the European Commission visited Sweden, which took over the rotating EU presidency at the start of the year.

"Today, the EU is way too dependent on other countries for these materials," Swedish Energy Minister Ebba Busch told a press conference, pointing specifically to Russia and China.

"This must change. We must take responsibility for the raw material supply needed for the (green) transition," she added.

Trade not enough

The European Union has agreed to phase out new CO2-emitting vehicles by 2035, effectively banning combustion engine cars, meaning the need for rare earth materials will only increase.

In the short term, Busch said the EU needed to "diversify" its trade.

"But in the long run, we cannot rely on trade agreements only," she said.

Mostrom said the full extent of the deposit had yet to be established.

"We are continuing to conduct exploration to see how big this is," Mostrom told AFP, adding that LKAB was also still in the process of figuring out how the new deposit could be mined.

Mostrom said it was difficult to accurately gauge the impact of the discovery on reducing Europe's dependence on Chinese imports.

But he said he was confident "it will have a huge impact."

Asked during a press conference when the deposit could actually be mined and deliver raw materials to the market, Mostrom said it would largely depend on how quickly permits could be secured.

But based on experience, it would likely be "10 to 15 years", he said.

According to LKAB, the rare earth elements found in the Per Geijer deposit occurred "in what is mainly an iron ore deposit and which may therefore be produced as by-products," creating new opportunities for potentially "competitive mining."

From magnets to lenses

Rare earth minerals with names like neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium are crucial to the manufacture of magnets used in industries of the future, like wind turbines and electric cars.

They are also present in consumer goods such as smartphones, computer screens and telescopic lenses.

Others have more traditional uses, like cerium for glass polishing and lanthanum for car catalysts or optical lenses.

Sweden is one of the EU's biggest mining countries.

More than 90 percent of the EU's iron ore production comes from the Scandinavian country, which also has the bloc's largest lead and zinc production, the second largest silver production, and among the highest gold and copper production, according to the Geological Survey of Sweden.

© 2023 AFP