Environment

Fungi and flatworms: Scientists want more diverse nature emojis

Too many cats, not enough crustaceans: The current emoji catalog doesn’t accurately represent the breadth of biodiversity seen in nature — and that hurts conservation efforts, according to scientists. An analysis published Monday in the journal iScience found that while animals are well represented by the current emoji catalog, plants, fungi, and microorganisms get short shrift. “While the biodiversity crisis may seem distant from the online world, in our increasingly digitized society, we should not […]

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Last-minute push for historic fossil fuel deal at UN climate talks

DUBAI, Dec 11, 2023 (AFP) – UN climate talks enter their endgame on Monday as negotiators seek to convince an increasingly isolated Saudi Arabia and other holdouts to give up their opposition to a historic phase-out of fossil fuels. With 24 hours to go before the official end of COP28 in Dubai, a new draft deal was expected in the morning in the hope that the right language may have finally been found to achieve […]

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China protests calls to include Taiwan in climate talks

DUBAI, Dec 9, 2023 (AFP) – China on Saturday lodged a protest after calls at the UN climate talks in Dubai to include Taiwan, the self-governing democracy claimed by Beijing. Two of the dwindling number of countries that recognise Taiwan — Guatemala and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru — both hailed support from Taipei in addresses at the COP28 conference. “I would take this opportunity to make special reference to the government of Taiwan, […]

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2023 to be hottest year on record after ‘extraordinary’ November

By Daniel Lawler with Benjamin Legendre in Dubai PARIS, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – This year will be the hottest in recorded history after an “extraordinary” November became the sixth record-breaking month in a row, Europe’s climate monitor said Wednesday, piling pressure on the COP28 talks to act on climate change. Last month smashed the previous November heat record, pushing 2023’s global average temperature to 1.46 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels, the EU’s Copernicus […]

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Planet tipping points pose ‘unprecedented’ threat to humanity: report

By Daniel Lawler PARIS, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – Humanity faces an “unprecedented” risk from tipping points that could unleash a domino effect of irreversible catastrophes across the planet, researchers warned Wednesday. The most comprehensive assessment ever conducted of Earth’s invisible tripwires was released as leaders meet for UN climate talks in Dubai with 2023 set to smash all heat records. While many of the 26 tipping points laid out in the report — such […]

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Toxic air divides Delhi between poverty and privilege

By Aishwarya KUMAR NEW DELHI, Dec 5, 2023 (AFP) – Environmental change hits the poorest the hardest, experts say, and in India’s toxic smog-filled capital that includes the air people breathe. In Old Delhi, the ancient heart of the capital, 39-year-old Rizwan pedals a rickshaw tricycle, transporting passengers and heavy goods through crowded streets often too narrow for cars, earning about seven dollars on a good day. There is no escape from Delhi’s deadly smog […]

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World could breach 1.5C warming threshold in 7 years: study

By Kelly MACNAMARA PARIS, Dec 5, 2023 (AFP) – The world may cross the crucial 1.5C global warming threshold in seven years as fossil fuel CO2 emissions continue to rise, scientists warned Tuesday, urging countries at the COP28 talks to “act now” on coal, oil and gas pollution. Battle lines are being drawn over the future of fossil fuels at the UN climate summit in Dubai, with big polluters trying to see off calls for […]

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US tourist killed by shark in Bahamas

A US tourist visiting the Bahamas was killed by a shark on Monday, police in the Caribbean country said. The unnamed 44-year-old woman, from Boston, was paddle-boarding off a resort on the island of New Providence, also home to the capital Nassau. A lifeguard brought the woman and a male relative she was with to shore and performed CPR, according to a news release from the Royal Bahamas Police Force. “The victim suffered significant trauma […]

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The environment: another victim of Russia’s invasion

By Victoria LUKOVENKO with Lea DAUPLE in Warsaw Ravaged forests, flooded towns and dead dolphins: after nearly two years of war in Ukraine, experts say environmental damage is becoming an “enormous” tragedy that will affect generations to come. The invasion of Ukraine has been particularly devastating for nature, said Doug Weir, head of research at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, a British non-governmental organisation. Unlike conflicts limited to particular areas, the front line in Ukraine […]

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Magnitude 5.1 quake hits sea south of Istanbul

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck just south of Istanbul on Monday, rattling parts of Turkey’s largest city but causing no immediate injuries or damage. The earthquake’s epicentre was in the Marmara Sea’s Gemlik Bay, which lies about 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Istanbul, near the city of Bursa, according to the AFAD emergencies service. AFP reporters felt walls shake on both the Asian and European sides of Istanbul, with television images showing people walking […]

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11 hikers dead after Indonesia volcano erupts, survivors found

By Irwanda Saputra PADANG, Indonesia, Dec 4, 2023 (AFP) – At least 11 hikers were found dead and three others were rescued by search teams that worked through the night to find people missing after the eruption of a volcano in western Indonesia, officials said Monday. Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra, with a peak of 2,891 (9,484 feet) metres erupted on Sunday, spewing an ash tower 3,000 metres into the sky that rained […]

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World Bank to operate ‘loss and damage’ climate fund

DUBAI, Dec 1, 2023 (AFP) – The World Bank will “operate” an ambitious new climate change fund, but donors and recipients will likely control how the money is actually spent, the head of the development lender said Friday. More than $400 million has been pledged initially to the new “loss and damage” fund for countries impacted by climate change since it was approved by nations attending the UN’s COP 28 climate summit in Dubai on […]

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