MADRID, Nov 4 2022 (IPS)* – Just a few days ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt (6-18 November), new revelations show how far rich, industrialised countries –those who contribute most to the growing catastrophes- have been lying over their real contributions to climate finance.
“To force poor countries to repay a loan to cope with a climate crisis they hardly caused is profoundly unfair. Instead of supporting countries that are facing worsening droughts, cyclones and flooding, rich countries are crippling their ability to cope with the next shock and deepening their poverty.” Credit: Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS.
The European Union is giving Ukraine €5 billion in exceptional macrofinancial assistance. Another 9 billion has been provided by the EU-sponsored fundraising campaign. However, this is not enough to cover the budget hole; Zelenski is immediately asking for another 55 billion euros. The US and EU have already donated 100 billion euros in military supplies to Kiev.
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US Weapons to Ukraine – InfoBrics
Add to that billions more spent by the EU on training and arming Ukrainian forces, plus those spent for the same purpose by individual EU countries.
In the U.S., a bill is passing in the Senate that allows the Pentagon to purchase, without specific congressional authorization, huge quantities of weapons for Ukraine directly from the war industries-a colossal business for the military industrial complex, which will further increase its profits with NATO’s Ten-Year Plan to arm Ukraine by repurposing its war industry.
Fortified borders don’t stop migration – they just make inequality worse, just like climate change.
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A man swims in flood water, Sehwan, Pakistan, 6 September 2022 |Akhtar Soomro/Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo
2 November 2022 (openDemocracy)* — What do monsoons have to do with border walls?
Take a recent catastrophe: in June, Pakistan’s monsoon rains triggered devastating flooding that caused one of the worst natural disasters in recent history.
Geneva, 2 November (WMO)* — Temperatures in Europe have increased at more than twice the global average over the past 30 years – the highest of any continent in the world. As the warming trend continues, exceptional heat, wildfires, floods and other climate change impacts will affect society, economies and ecosystems, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
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Europe presents a live picture of a warming world
The State of the Climate in Europe report, produced jointly with the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, focused on 2021. It provides information on rising temperatures, land and marine heatwaves, extreme weather, changing precipitation patterns and retreating ice and snow.
CARACAS, Nov 1 2022 (IPS)* – The decision to cut oil production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies as of Nov. 1 comes in response to the need to face a shrinking market, although it also forms part of the current clash between Russia and the West. | En español
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View of the bulk fuel plant in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Because the kingdom needs oil prices to remain high to balance its budget, it pushed OPEC and its allies to decide on a production cut as of Nov. 1. CREDIT: Aramco
The OPEC+ alliance (the 13 members of the organization and 10 allied exporters) decided to remove two million barrels per day from the market, in a world that consumes 100 million barrels per day. The decision was driven by the two largest producers, Saudi Arabia – OPEC’s de facto leader – and Russia.
The UN Secretary-General underscored the importance of a free press, which he said is vital to a functioning democracy, exposing wrongdoing, navigating our complex world, and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the blueprint for a more just, equitable and greener future.
Today, in an era of all-destroying nuclear weapons, instantaneous global communication and worldwide economic interdependence, nationalism has become a dangerous anachronism.
History, as it is taught today, is centered on the country where it is being taught. Our own country is the most important. Our own country is always in the right, according to nationalist historians. Patriotic soldiers and generals are exalted. It is sweet and noble to die for one’s country.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 31 2022 (IPS)* – For decades, urban practitioners have failed to consider the needs of women in city decision-making and planning. Imagine being a young girl in a bustling metropolis.
Credit: United Nations
Every day she hesitates to go to school, tries different routes on the public bus, walks miles in the hot sun, to avoid the sexual harassment that has become a daily occurrence in public spaces.
A multifaceted response from Europe has so far prevented its energy woes from creating widespread social and economic destabilization. But with winter approaching, the crisis is far from over and risks are getting worse.
John P. Ruehl
While European energy prices have eased slightly in recent months, stress continues to build across a continent that has long been dependent on access to cheap Russian energy.
(UN News)* — National pledges to reduce harmful emissions offer little hope of avoiding climate disaster, UN climate experts said on Thursday [], in an urgent appeal for a radical transformation of the energy sector, before it’s too late.
Unsplash/Shane Stagner | Kelp, a type of seaweed, can be fed to animals and could help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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There’s “no credible pathway to 1.5C in place” today, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) insisted in a new report, despite legally binding promises made at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference to prevent average temperatures rising by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
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