Environment

Indonesian islanders sue cement giant Holcim over climate damage

  ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP) — Residents of Pulau Pari, an Indonesian island threatened by rising sea levels, are suing cement giant Holcim over its carbon dioxide emissions, a Swiss charity said on Tuesday. “Holcim… bears a significant share of the responsibility for the climate crisis as well as for the situation on… Pari,” Yvan Maillard Ardenti, climate expert at Swiss Church Aid (HEKS), said on the charity’s website. The complaint was lodged on Monday with […]

Western Europe wilts under second heatwave in weeks

  by Benoit Petit, with AFP Bureaus in Europe Agence France Presse BORDEAUX, France (AFP) — France and Britain were set to suffer soaring temperatures on Wednesday, with a heatwave in Western Europe fuelling wildfires across vast stretches of forestland. Since Sunday, large parts of the Iberian Peninsula have seen temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Spain and Portugal, where firefighters have battled wildfires. In southern France since Tuesday afternoon, a wildfire ripped […]

‘Desperate for water’: drought hits Mexican industrial powerhouse

by Sofia Miselem Agence France-Presse MONTERREY, Mexico (AFP) — Maria Celia Navarro smiles wistfully as she remembers the now-unthinkable luxury of taking a shower in her home before a water shortage struck one of Mexico’s wealthiest cities. Nestled in mountains a few hours’ drive from the US border, industrial powerhouse Monterrey boasts living standards that many Mexicans could only dream of. Residents of the northern city, whose metropolitan area is home to around five million […]

Pakistan’s prized mango harvest hit by water scarcity

by Ashraf Khan Agence France-Presse MIRPUR KHAS, Pakistan (AFP) — Mango farmers in Pakistan say production of the prized fruit has fallen by up to 40 percent in some areas because of high temperatures and water shortages in a country identified as one of the most vulnerable to climate change. The arrival of mango season in Pakistan is eagerly anticipated, with around two dozen varieties arriving through the hot, humid summers. This year, however, temperatures […]

Western US drought brings Great Salt Lake to lowest level on record

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Water in Utah’s Great Salt Lake has fallen to its lowest level ever recorded, authorities announced this week, a result of the ongoing drought impacting the western United States which scientists warn has been exacerbated by climate change. The average depth of the massive saltwater lake, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, fluctuates naturally with the seasons and local precipitation. But the economically and environmentally important basin has never […]

Weathering sandstorms, Iraqis grit teeth and battle on

by Tony GAMAL-GABRIEL Agence France-Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Another sandstorm has darkened Iraqi skies and it’s hard to breathe, but Baghdad motorcycle delivery rider Milad Mitti doesn’t have the luxury of missing a day’s work. Like most people in the now blistering hot desert country, the 30-year-old battles on in frustration, wearing goggles and a grey neck warmer over his mouth and nose “so I can breathe”. Iraq, still recovering from decades of war, […]

Italy blames climate change for glacier collapse, 7 dead

by Francesco Gilioli with Ella Ide in Rome Agence France-Presse CANAZEI, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s prime minister on Monday linked the collapse of the country’s biggest Alpine glacier to climate change, as hopes faded of finding further survivors from a disaster that killed at least seven people. Eight people were injured and another 14 were reported missing, authorities said, cautioning that it was not clear how many climbers were caught when the glacier gave way […]

California passes sweeping law to reduce non-recyclable plastic

  LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) — Garbage be gone: California Thursday passed an ambitious law mandating reduction of non-recyclable plastic by at least 30 percent in six years, while also placing responsibility on producers. The measure is meant to tackle the persistent problem of plastic refuse — in California, about 85 percent of plastic waste ends up in landfills, according to the CalMatters publication. “California won’t tolerate plastic waste that’s filling our waterways and making […]

India bans many single-use plastics to tackle waste

by Bhuvan BAGGA Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India imposed a ban on many single-use plastics on Friday in a bid to tackle waste choking rivers and poisoning wildlife, but experts say it faces severe headwinds from unprepared manufacturers and consumers unwilling to pay more. The country generates around four million tonnes of plastic waste per year, about a third of which is not recycled and ends up in waterways and landfills […]

Oceans key to global warming fight: US climate envoy

by Marlowe Hood Agence France-Presse LISBON, Portugal (AFP) — Safeguarding the world’s oceans will be fundamental to tackling global warming, US climate envoy John Kerry told AFP on Tuesday, warning that war in Ukraine and its economic fallout meant efforts to curb dangerous carbon pollution were facing “powerful headwinds”. The interview, on the margins of the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, has been edited for length. Q. This meeting has no negotiating agenda. How will […]

No petrol, no cars: Cubans turn to electric transport

  by Leticia PINEDA Agence France Presse SANTA CLARA, Cuba (AFP) — There is a new sight on the streets of Havana: increasing numbers of electric vehicles whizzing among the old American cars so emblematic of the Cuban capital. As fuel shortages and US sanctions take their toll, and even though electricity generation can be spotty, Cubans are turning to smaller, cheaper, plug-in alternatives. “Gasoline? Imagine. After 50 years battling to get hold of it, […]

‘World’s biggest’ freshwater fish netted in Cambodia

  PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP) — A fisherman on the Mekong river in Cambodia has hooked the biggest freshwater fish ever recorded, scientists said — a 300-kilogram stingray. The giant freshwater stingray, which measured four metres (13 feet) from snout to tail, was caught last week and released back into the wild after being fitted with a tag to track its behaviour. The monstrous bottom-dweller beat the previous record for biggest recorded freshwater fish, held […]