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civil society coalition on climate change

The Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change (CSCCC) is an entity that maintains a website and describes itself as a global group of non-profit organizations with a mission of "seek[ing] to educate the public about the science and economics of climate change in an impartial manner." The Coalition identifies its membership as including 60 independent nonprofit organisations from 40 countries "who share a commitment to improving public understanding about a range of public policy issues." It calls itself "a free-market alternative to mainstream environmentalism." An Indian news media report states that it was founded by the International Policy Network, a London-based organization that receives support from Exxon Mobil.The group publishes background papers and opinion editorials on the science and economics of climate change and maintains a blog. Its Civil Society Report on Climate Change was published in 2007, shortly before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Bali. CSCCC experts make media appearances, such as Julian Morris's 2007 feature on Larry King Live and his televised debate in 2008 with IPCC head Rajendra Pachauri. This IPN in the UK has Julian Morris as executive director. It is actually a part of the Atlas Group/Network (aka Atlas Economic Research Institute) which was founded by UK factory-chicken king, Sir Antony Fisher (one of PM Margaret Thatcher's economic gurus) and American Loctite millionaire Richard Krieble. They had funding support from Krieble, Richard Mellon Scaife, and Philip Morris. [1] Fisher is reputed to have had a primary hand in establishing up to 150 libertarian think-tanks around the world. Fisher's daughter, Linda Whetstone, now works for the (Fisher-founded) Adam Smith Institute. She is also the chairperson of the International Policy Network, and is on the Boards of Directors of the Mont Pelerin Society, the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Atlas Group in the USA. [2] Coalitions and networks of this kind a common with Atlas Group think-tanks, and many of their key staff and directors serve on many different organisations. This faux-multiplicity amplifies the apparent strength of the public attacks on climate-change science. See also the Stockholm Network.[3] and [4] References External links Official website https://www.youtube.com/user/ipnlondon#p/u/14/gIBSKk0b3Zo

fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty initiative

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is a civil society campaign to create a treaty to stop fossil fuel exploration and expansion and phase-out existing production in line with the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, while supporting a just transition to renewable energy.The treaty has been endorsed by the Vatican, the World Health Organization, the European Parliament, Nobel laureates, academics, researchers, activists, and a growing list of governments (municipal, subnational, national), and individual Parliamentarians. The program includes the creation of a standalone Global Registry of Fossil Fuels to ensure transparency and accountability of production and reserves. History In 2015, Pacific Island leaders issued the "Suva Declaration On Climate Change" during the Pacific Islands Development Forum in Suva, Fiji. They called for "the implementation of an international moratorium on the development and expansion of fossil fuel extracting industries, particularly the construction of new coal mines, as an urgent step towards de-carbonising the global economy." The next year, in 2016, 14 Pacific Island nations continued to discuss the world's first "treaty" that would ban new coal mining and embrace the 1.5 °C goal set at the recent Paris climate talks.In August 2017, a group of academics, activists, and analysts issued the Lofoten Declaration which stressed that climate policy and governance required a managed decline of fossil fuel production. The international manifesto called for fossil fuel divestment and phase-out of use with a just transition to a low-carbon economy. The declaration received the support of 744 organizations, spanning 76 countries and helped mobilize efforts for a global treaty on fossil fuel production. The government of Norway divested from exploration and production shortly afterward.At the closing of United Nations Climate Change Conference, on 17 November 2017, the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia made a final statement on behalf of Least Developed Countries (LDC), which they stressed the need for "an increase in ambition by all countries to put us on track to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C by strengthening our national contributions, managing a phase-out of fossil fuels, promoting renewable energy and implementing the most ambitious climate action."A year later, on 23 October 2018, Peter Newell and Andrew Simms, academics at the University of Sussex, wrote an op-ed in The Guardian that renewed these public calls for a "treaty": This time they presented the treaty idea as a "Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty." While the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) advised reducing carbon emissions 45% by 2030 to hold global temperature rise below 1.5 °C, global demand for coal, oil and gas has continued to grow. Newell and Simms noted that fossil fuels accounted for 81% of energy use in 2018 with forecasts, including those by the International Energy Agency, anticipating greater demand in future decades. As a historical precedent for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, Newell and Simms cited the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere in 1988, where the threat of "climatic upheaval" was compared "second only to nuclear war"—a sentiment endorsed at the time by the CIA, MI5, United Nations. In 2019 and 2020, Newell and Simms continued to write and publish on the Treaty in non-specialist news and academic journals. Launch The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative officially launched at Climate Week NYC on September 25, 2020, at an event called "International Cooperation to Align Fossil Fuel Production with a 1.5°C World."Tzeporah Berman, a Canadian environmental activist, was named the chair of the Treaty Initiative, and Alex Rafalowicz, the director of the Treaty Initiative. Berman has argued that by "explicitly addressing the supply side of the climate crisis, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty offers a way for countries to shift course." Berman has since argued that the Treaty would be a more genuine and realistic way to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement than the "net zero" approach which, she claimed, is "delusional and based on bad science." As Rafalowicz has put it, the "Treaty aims to be a complementary mechanism to the Paris Agreement by directly addressing the fossil fuel industry and putting the just transition at its core." "The hope many academics, researchers, and activists have is that an international agreement to prevent the expansion of fossil fuels, to manage a fair global phase-out, and to guide a just transition could be used to preserve a planet that can support human life." "The Treaty aims to be a complementary mechanism to the Paris Agreement by directly addressing the fossil fuel industry and putting the just transition at its core," according to Rafalowicz. Letter to World Leaders On 21 April 2021, the Treaty Initiative coordinated a letter signed by 100 Nobel laureates, including scientists, peace makers, writers, and the Dalai Lama, urging world leaders "to take concrete steps to phase out fossil fuels in order to prevent catastrophic climate change."The open letter referenced the importance of both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 2015 Paris Agreement which aims to limit global warming to "well below" 2 °C and, ideally, restrict any rise to 1.5 °C, compared to pre-industrial levels. It noted that failure to meet the 1.5 °C target would risk "pushing the world towards catastrophic global warming." It also added that the Paris Agreement makes no mention of oil, gas or coal. The letter highlighted a report from the United Nations Environment Programme, stating that "120% more coal, oil, and gas will be produced by 2030 than is consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C."The letter concluded that the expansion of the fossil fuel industry "is unconscionable ... The fossil fuel system is global and requires a global solution—a solution the Leaders' Climate Summit must work towards. And the first step is to keep fossil fuels in the ground."The open letter, published a day before U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the virtual 2021 Leaders' Climate Summit with leaders from various countries, described the burning of fossil fuels as "by far the major contributor to climate change."Alongside the Dalai Lama, signatories to the letter included Jody Williams, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines' founding coordinator; the economist Christopher Pissarides; Shirin Ebadi, the first female judge in Iran; and former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Other names included Liberian peace activist and advocate for women's rights, Leymah Gbowee, and Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian playwright, novelist and poet. Global registry of fossil fuels In February 2021, Carbon Tracker, a UK-based think tank, and Global Energy Monitor, a US-based research organization, announced the creation of an independent and standalone Global Registry of Fossil Fuels. The Registry is supported by the Treaty as an important step in ensuring transparency and accountability in fossil fuel production and reserves.Mark Campanale, the founder and executive director of Carbon Tracker, wrote in the Financial Times that the registry "will allow governments, investors, researchers and civil society organisations, including the public, to assess the amount of embedded CO2 in coal, oil and gas projects globally. It will be a standalone tool and can provide a model for a potential UN-hosted registry."At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Ted Nace, executive director of Global Energy Monitor, said "The development of this dataset is the first step in a virtuous circle of transparency. The more the inventory of carbon in the ground advances, the more useful it will become and the greater the pressure on countries and companies for full transparency." Prospective Role in International Agreements On Jan 31, 2023, journalist Gaye Taylor reported that, "ten years after Ecuador abandoned efforts to get the international community to pay it not to drill for oil in a corner of Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, the cash-strapped country’s decision to double down on fossil exploration is signalling the need for a global fossil fuel non-proliferation agreement." A reassessment of that abandoned Yasuní-ITT Initiative points to the broader issue of how the Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty could be built and implemented as an international agreement and a compliance mechanism for a more fair fossil fuel phase-out. United Nations Climate Change Conferences 2021 On 11 November, at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, "a group of young climate activists delivered a sharp rebuke to delegates at the COP26 climate summit...demanding that a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty be put in place and calling out global leaders for their continued closeness to the coal, oil and gas industries...The activists did not mince their words when they took over the stage at the Glasgow conference, pointing out the absurdity of the fact that the very mentioning of "fossil fuels" in the meeting's agreement has become a sticking point. No COP agreement has ever mentioned fossil fuels as the main driver of the climate crisis.... The youth and the leaders of the Fridays for Future group [had] joined the already established Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, a network of civil society organizations pushing for a speedy and just phaseout of fossil fuels." 2022 At the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference Vanuatu and Tuvalu became the first countries to endorse a fossil fuel non proliferation treaty. Tuvalu's Prime Minister Kausea Natano in his speech stated “We all know that the leading cause of climate crisis is fossil fuels”, “ we have joined Vanuatu and other nations calling for a fossil fuels non-proliferation treaty… It’s getting too hot and there is very (little) time to slow and reverse the increasing temperature. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize fast acting strategies that avoids the most warming.” Endorsements As of February 11, 2022, the initiative "has been supported by 101 Nobel Laureates, 2,600 academics, 170 parliamentarians, hundreds of prominent youth leaders, a growing group of faith leaders, and more than 1,300 civil society organisations, including Catalyst 2030, Limaatzuster, Citizens' Climate Europe, Both Ends and Fridays for Future Leeuwarden."On July 21, 2022, the treaty was endorsed by the Vatican. On September 14, 2022, the World Health Organization, along with nearly 200 other health organizations endorsed the treaty. On October 20, 2022, the European Parliament endorsed the initiative.As of November 17, 2022, "Seventy cities and subnational governments worldwide have...signed on to support the treaty." Scientists and academics As of September 14, 2021, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative has received the endorsement of 2,185 scientists and researchers from 81 countries. Cities Sub-national regional governments National governments Multi-National Organizations See also Powering Past Coal Alliance Fossil fuel phase-out Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons References External links Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative - Official website Research and Publications associated with the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative Legislators, Parliamentarians and other individual elected officials call for a fossil fuel free future (also under "About" at the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative website)

koko warner

Koko Warner is a climate change expert who specializes in human migration and displacement and who holds a PhD in economics from the University of Vienna. In 2014, the International Council for Science named Warner as one of the top 20 women making contributions to climate change debate. Education Warner attended Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah, and graduated in 1990. After graduation, Warner attended Brigham Young University and completed her bachelor's degree in both international relations and economic development. She attended the George Washington University and completed a master's degree in development and environmental economics and international development.In 1996, Warner was selected as a Fulbright scholar and studied at the University of Vienna where she gained a doctorate degree in economics in 2001. She continued research at the University of Vienna until 2003. Academic career In 2006, Warner joined the United Nations University as an expert and section head in the Institute for Environment and Human Security. Since 2019, Warner has been a visiting fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Perry World House. There, she speaks to students about the interdisciplinary aspects of climate-induced displacement and the challenges that current and future policymakers will face as climate change continues to alter the social and legal definitions of refugees. Professional career Climate insurance Warner joined the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, a program within ETH Zurich, a public research university in Switzerland in 2003. There, she contributed to studies that analyzed the connections between economics and climate change. From 2003 to 2006, Warner researched how global financial structures could be changed to help climate-related adaptation efforts, particularly in developing regions.Warner's work with climate finance and the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2005 led her to found the Munich Climate Change Insurance Initiative (MCII) in April 2005, where she served as executive director until 2016. MCII's role as a think tank is to devise insurance strategies that can appropriately address climate change-related impacts. Migration and displacement The Environmental Change and Forced Migration Scenarios (EACH-FOR) project, under the European Commission, brought on Warner as a contributing member in 2007. There, she and other experts studied how climate change affected human migration around the world. One year later, in 2009, Warner helped to bring together the Climate Change, Environment, and Migration Alliance (CCEMA), an informal coalition to create and sustain a dialogue surrounding the complex nature of climate change. CCEMA member organizations included the likes of the World Wildlife Fund, the Munich Re Foundation, and the United Nations University, among others, but the project was discontinued.Warner was a lead author for the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report and sixth IPCC assessment reports on climate change in 2014 and 2021, respectively. The same year, the International Council for Science named Warner as one of the top 20 women making contributions to climate change debate prior to the Paris climate accord discussions that would occur in 2015.In 2016, Warner left her positions at the United Nations University and MCII to join the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a Manager on the Impacts, Vulnerability, and Risks subprogram. There, she provides counsel to scientists and policymakers in their efforts to create climate-related mitigation and adaptation plans around the world. In her role as a Climate Secretariat with the UNFCCC, Warner attends and speaks at the Conference of the parties convention (COP) yearly. She has spoken on human migration as a response to climate change at the yearly COP since at least 2017. In 2021, Warner was a part of an effort to bring more indigenous voices to the COP to bring about the legitimization of local and traditional knowledge. This initiative led to a greater emphasis on bringing local expertise to the conference in 2022.In August 2022, three months before COP27, Warner stressed the importance on following through with recommended migration and financial policies from past conferences and asked the United Nations to be a network that allows its member nations to lessen the impact of human displacement. At COP27, Warner moderated a multinational panel on the broad impacts of human displacement and migration caused by climate change. Notable published works Warner, K. (2012). Human Migration and Displacement in the Context of Adaptation to Climate Change: The Cancun Adaptation Framework and Potential for Future Action. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 30(6), 1061–1077. https://doi.org/10.1068/c1209j IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp. IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 3056 pp., doi:10.1017/9781009325844. == References ==

u.s. climate reference network

The US Climate Reference Network (USCRN) is a network of climate stations developed and maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), completed in 2008.. It has the long-term commitment of the Department of Commerce and the NOAA.As of 2012, it has 114 automated stations at 107 locations. Project Overview The USCRN is made up of over 143 stations in the United States. Its purpose is to maintain a sustainable high quality network which will detect, with high confidence, signals of climate change in the US. It provides the United States with a reference network that meets the requirements of the Global Climate Observing System.The primary goal of the USCRN is to provide future long-term high-quality observations of surface air temperature and precipitation that can be coupled to past long-term observations for the detection and attribution of present and future climate change. It records data with minimal time dependent biases affecting the interpretation of decadal to centennial climate variability and change. Background This program is used to collect and analyze the high-quality data on climate change. The hope is that research based on this data is thrusted to impact near and long term policy and decision plans made by senior government and business leaders. It is being implemented and managed by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) located in Asheville, NC. Scientists and engineers from the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division located in Oak Ridge, TN, are assisting the NCDC USCRN program staff. System design, test, implementation, and associated expenses are being provided by the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service's Office of Systems Development. Stations Each station is positioned in a pristine site which is expected to remain free from development over coming decades. Each station may include the following sensors: triple redundant air temperature sensors, precipitation sensors, wind speed sensors, and ground temperature sensors. Stations have been placed in rural environments in order to avoid possible urban microclimate interference. The contiguous U.S. network of 114 stations was completed in 2008. There are two USCRN stations in Hawaii and deployment of a network of 29 stations in Alaska continues. Components Essential components of the USCRN are well-documented life cycle maintenance, modernization, and performance histories, as well as a robust science and research component. There are routine maintenance visits to the sites and regular calibration of the sensors. Research effort has focused on continual evaluation of the data, new sensors, and emerging calibration techniques. When a new type of sensor can contribute to improving the quality of the observations, there will be at least a one-year continuity overlap of current and new sensors. Every USCRN instrument site is being equipped with the following: a standard set of sensors a data logger a satellite communications transmitter attached to a typical 10 foot (3 meter) instrument tower at least one weighing rain gauge, encircled by a windshieldData from these USCRN sites are used to provide information on long-term changes in air temperature and precipitation, including means and extremes. Additional sensors may be added in the future, such as soil moisture and soil temperature. USCRN data is intended to be used in operational climate monitoring activities and for placing current climate anomalies into a historical perspective. Data is transmitted hourly via the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Data Collection System and is immediately distributed by the National Weather Service to their operational sites. Observations are accessible through the Internet. The future of the project The USCRN hopes to provide the nation with a long-term (50 to 100 years) observation network that will serve as the Nation's Benchmark Climate Reference Network. When fully implemented, the network will consist of several hundred instrument suites strategically selected to capture climate trends, variations, and change across the nation. References External links official website

information council for the environment

The Information Council for the Environment (ICE) was an American climate change denial organization created by the National Coal Association, the Western Fuels Association, and Edison Electrical Institute. History In the 1980s, the scientific consensus on global warming had begun to form: the planet was warming as a result of humans burning fossil fuels, and this would be a problem for humanity. By the early 1990s, public awareness of the issue had grown, and the coal industry's Western Fuels Association sought to present a counterargument that increased carbon emissions would be beneficial, rather than harmful, to the environment. To do this, they created the Greening Earth Society and ICE. To maximize the impact of their campaigns, the Western Fuels Association carried out extensive market research. Indeed, the acronym ICE was chosen before the organization was named. Other potential names included: "Informed Citizens for the Environment", "Intelligent Concern for the Environment", and "Informed Choices for the Environment." Focus groups showed that American citizens trusted scientists more than politicians or activists, so the technical-sounding name "Information Council for the Environment" was selected.In an initiative largely led by Western Fuel's CEO, Fred Palmer, ICE spent $510,000 to run test campaigns from February through August 1991. The organization had several goals that were internally documented; when its top ten were enumerated, number one was to "reposition global warming as theory (not fact)." National Coal Association president Richard L. Lawson asked members to contribute to the ICE campaign. He stated in a memo, "our industry cannot sit on the sidelines in this debate." Four of the 15 largest coal producers (ARCO Coal, Peabody Holding Company, Island Creek Coal Company, and Amax Coal Industries) donated at least $15,000 to the campaigns. Patrick Michaels, Robert Balling and Sherwood B. Idso all lent their names in 1991 to its scientific advisory panel. Its publicity plan called for placing these three scientists, along with fellow climate change denier S. Fred Singer, in broadcast appearances, op-ed pages, and newspaper interviews.Bracy, Williams & Co., a Washington D.C.-based PR firm, did the advance publicity work for the interviews. Another company was contracted to conduct opinion polls, which identified "older, less-educated males from larger households who are not typically active information-seekers" and "younger, lower-income women" as "good targets for radio advertisements" that would "directly attack the proponents of global warming [...] through comparison of global warming to historical or mythical instances of gloom and doom."Print and radio advertisements flooded the cities selected for the campaigns. One print advertisement prepared for the ICE campaign showed a sailing ship about to drop off the edge of a flat world into the jaws of a waiting dragon. The headline read: "Some say the earth is warming. Some also said the earth was flat." Another featured a cowering chicken under the headline "Who Told You the Earth Was Warming . . . Chicken Little?" Another ad was targeted at Minneapolis readers and asked, "If the earth is getting warmer, why is Minneapolis getting colder?" The statements made in the advertisements were false or exaggerated. For example, an officer of the American Meteorological Society noted that Minneapolis had actually warmed 1.0 to 1.5 degrees in the twentieth century. Many of the advertisements had a box in which people could write their contact details to receive more information, from which Bracy, Williams constructed a mailing list of sympathetic civilians.The ICE campaign collapsed after internal memoranda were leaked by environmental activists to the press. An embarrassed Michaels hastily disassociated himself, citing what he called its "blatant dishonesty." Following the collapse, he, Balling, Idso, and Singer continued to express their denial about the scientific facts of global warming. They joined organizations similar to ICE and were prominent in public discussions of climate change despite their positions being widely out of sync with the rest of the scientific community. Industry representatives continued to push the narrative that carbon dioxide emissions were good, with Palmer declaring that fossil fuels were a "gift from God". He stated at a coal industry conference in 1996 that government action to inhibit global warming was the first step in a slippery slope towards socialism, and continued his lobbying and PR work with the re-launch of the Greening Earth Society in 1998. See also Politicization of science References External links The Coal Industry's "ICE" Campaign (1999) Archive of ICE memos Further reading Naomi Oreskes: My facts are better than your facts, in: Peter Howlett, Mary S. Morgan (Hrsg.), How Well Do Facts Travel? The Dissemination of Reliable Knowledge. Cambridge University Press 2011, 136-166, ISBN 978-0-521-19654-3. Riley E. Dunlap, Aaron M. McCright: Organized Climate Change Denial. In: John S. Dryzek, Richard B. Norgaard, David Schlosberg (Eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. Oxford University Press, 2011, pp 144–160.

climate leadership council

The Climate Leadership Council is a bipartisan non-profit organization that advocates for a carbon fee and dividends policy that would tax carbon emissions and refund all the money to Americans in payments of approximately $2,000 a year for a family of four. The plan would reduce emissions by 50 percent by 2035, according to an economic model by Resources for the Future.Launched in 2017 by Ted Halstead and former Republican Secretaries of State James Baker and George Shultz, the council has organized a coalition of companies, environmental organizations, economists and others in support of its climate proposal. Baker-Shultz Carbon Dividends Plan The council's carbon tax and dividends proposal is known as the Baker-Shultz Carbon Dividends Plan. The plan proposes taxing fossil fuels companies on carbon emissions and paying out rebates to Americans. The proposal includes four pillars: Charge fossil fuels companies a fee for their carbon emissions. Give all the money directly back to the American people through quarterly checks. Remove carbon regulations that are no longer necessary so businesses can innovate and invest in a clean energy future; and Compel other countries such as China and India to reduce emissions by charging a fee on the carbon content of imported products.In 2019, the Climate Leadership Council organized the Economists' Statement on Carbon Dividends, which was signed by over 3,500 U.S. economists.In February 2020, the Council published its bipartisan climate roadmap which detailed the dividends proposal. The plan includes increasing carbon taxes gradually, starting at $40 per ton, and paying out dividends to Americans through quarterly payments, starting at $2000 for a family of four in the first year. The council also assembled a group of executives, environmentalists and financial experts to advocate for their carbon dividends plan as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus. Benefits of carbon dividends In addition to lowering CO2 emissions, research and modeling has shown that the plan would also generate $1.4 trillion in new capital investment in innovation and create 1.6 million new jobs by 2035 in clean-energy technologies like electric vehicles, solar panels, carbon capture technologies, and offshore wind farms.A report, America’s Carbon Advantage, published in 2020 argues that the U.S. economy would emerge as a global winner from a border adjustable carbon fee included in the council's plan in part because American-manufactured goods are 40 percent more carbon efficient than the world average. Overseas manufacturers looking to export their goods to the U.S. would pay a U.S. carbon import fee. As a result, American businesses that are more efficient stand to benefit.The council also published a study by NERA Economic Consulting in 2020 asserting that a carbon dividends model would generate more economic output compared with using commonly proposed climate regulations to achieve the same emissions reductions. By 2036, U.S. annual gross domestic product (GDP) would be $190 billion higher annually under a carbon dividends model compared with similar carbon reductions that rely on regulations. Polling The council has published numerous polls showing bipartisan support for action to address climate change and for a carbon dividends solution. Founding members The Climate Leadership Council's coalition of supporters are called Founding Members. The council launched its Founding Members coalition in June 2017. As of August 2021, the council had 46 Founding Members, including 25 corporations, three environmental organizations and 17 individuals.On August 6, 2021, Exxon Mobil Corporation's membership in the Climate Leadership Council was suspended. == References ==

action for climate empowerment

Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) is a term adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It refers to Article 6 of the Convention's original text (1992), focusing on six priority areas: education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information, and international cooperation on these issues. The implementation of all six areas has been identified as the pivotal factor for everyone to understand and participate in solving the complex challenges presented by climate change. The importance of ACE is reflected in other international frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2015); the Global Action Programme for Education for Sustainable Development (GAP on ESD, 2014); the Aarhus Convention (2011); the Escazú Agreement (2018) and the Bali Guidelines (2010).ACE calls on governments to develop and implement educational and public awareness programmes, train scientific, technical and managerial personnel, foster access to information, and promote public participation in addressing climate change and its effects. It also urges countries to cooperate in this process, by exchanging good practices and lessons learned, and strengthening national institutions. This wide scope of activities is guided by specific objectives that, together, are seen as crucial for effectively implementing climate adaptation and mitigation actions, and for achieving the ultimate objective of the UNFCCC. History Article 6 has been part of the UNFCCC since the Convention's text was adopted on 9 May 1992. The importance of international cooperation in achieving Article 6 was emphasised in article 10(e) of the Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997. In New Delhi, 2002, the eighth Conference of the Parties (COP 8) adopted the 'New Delhi Work Programme' (2002–2007) – to serve as a flexible framework for country-driven action on Article 6 in addressing the specific needs and circumstances of Parties, and reflecting their national priorities and initiatives. In 2007, COP 13 (in Bali) amended the New Delhi work programme and extended it for five years (2007-2012) and requested that regional workshops be organized by the UNFCCC secretariat as part of the review of the work programme, and to share lessons learned and best practices. Workshops were held in Europe (2009), Asia and the Pacific (2009), Small Island Developing States (2010), Africa (2010), and Latin America and the Caribbean (2010).In Doha, 2012, COP 18 adopted the eight-year Doha Work Programme on Article 6 of the UNFCCC (2012-2020). This programme invites Parties to designate and provide support, including technical and financial support, and access to information and materials to a National Focal Point for Article 6 of the UNFCCC. Furthermore, Parties agreed to organize an annual in-session Dialogue on Article 6 of the UNFCCC to present and enhance the relevant work. Since 2013, the annual Dialogue has provided a platform for Parties, representatives of relevant bodies established under the UNFCCC and relevant experts, practitioners and stakeholders to share their experiences and exchange ideas, best practices and lessons learned regarding the implementation of the Doha Work Programme.In June 2015, at the 3rd annual dialogue on Article 6 in Bonn, it was decided that efforts related to the implementation of Article 6 would be referred to as Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE): a user-friendly, and unmistakable term for referring to Article 6 of the UNFCCC, as opposed to the very important Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. COP 20 In Lima, December 2014 adopted the 'Lima Ministerial Declaration on Education and Awareness-raising', reaffirming the importance of Article 6 of the UNFCCC in meeting its ultimate objective and in promoting climate-resilient sustainable development. In 2015 at COP 21 (Paris) governments agreed to cooperate in taking measures, as appropriate, to enhance climate change-related education, training, public awareness, public participation and public access to information, recognizing the importance of these steps to enhance actions under the Paris Agreement. In 2016, the 4th annual dialogue on ACE was held in Bonn and the intermediate review of the Doha Work Programme was completed. The final review of the Doha Work Programme will be carried out in 2020. The 5th annual dialogue on ACE was held in Bonn on the 15 and 16 May with the topics 'education', 'training' and 'international cooperation'.The Glasgow work programme on Action for Climate Empowerment was approved at COP26, a framework that will now guide national work on ACE. It contains four priority areas: Policy Coherence Coordinated Action Tools and Support Monitoring, Evaluation, and ReportingParties will now engage in designing action plans to implement this work both globally and within their respective nations. Work leading into the formation of the Glasgow work programme highlighted the intersectional issues of justice; however, not all of these were implemented within the official document that was agreed to at COP26. The six elements of ACE ACE addresses all six priority areas of Article 6: education, training, public awareness, public access to information, public participation, international cooperation. Education enables people to understand the causes and consequences of climate change, to make informed decisions and to take appropriate actions to address climate change. Training provides the technical skills and advanced knowledge needed to support the transition to green economies and sustainable, climate-resilient societies. Successful public awareness campaigns engage communities and individuals in the common effort needed to carry out national and international climate change policies. Ensuring public participation in decision-making and public access to information provides people with the tools and opportunities they need to play a more active role. These elements can all be strengthened through international cooperation. Governments and organizations can support each other with resources, ideas and inspiration for developing climate action programmes. Guiding principles for ACE activities Section B (14) of the Doha Work Programme provides guiding principles on the approach to and characteristics of ACE activities. While all 9 points listed in Section B (14) are important, it is pertinent to emphasize (d), adopting a gender and intergenerational approach. A gender approach A gender approach means ensuring that climate actions are gender-responsive and promote women's participation in decision-making. While women make up approximately 50% of the world population, in many countries women are less able to cope with – and are more exposed to – the adverse effects of climate change because they have lesser economic, political and legal clout. Therefore, supporting women's empowerment and drawing on their experiences, knowledge and skills will make climate change responses more effective. Intergenerational Intergenerational refers to engaging people of all ages in finding solutions for climate change, taking into special consideration the vulnerabilities of youth and the elderly, who have a reduced capacity to cope independently. Future generations are likely to be the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, yet they are also the least represented in current decisions on climate action. At the same time, the world population is ageing very quickly. By 2050 approximately one in five people will be over the age of 60; the number of those aged 80 and older is expected to quadruple. In addition to youth and the elderly, other vulnerable people such as women and traditionally marginalized groups (such as indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities) have limited capacity to engage in policy-making, and risk being overlooked if their needs are not explicitly included in planning. Formal decision-making structures strive to ensure the participation of those most vulnerable and least represented, recognizing that specialized efforts need to be invested in engaging vulnerable communities.Despite ACE's nine guiding principles, critics argue that target-setting and progress-tracking within ACE lacks a trustworthy process and that national government do not always possess the necessary information for effective implementation. International frameworks related to ACE Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets to end poverty, inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030. The SDGs build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015. The new SDGs, and the broader sustainability agenda, go much further than the MDGs. Three of the 17 goals and two associated targets have particular relevance for ACE: Goal 4: Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and particularly Target 4.7: "By 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture's contribution to sustainable development." Goal 13: Climate Action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, and particularly Target 13.3: "Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning." Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies, and particularly Target 16.10: "Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements" and Target 16.7: "Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels." Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (GAP on ESD) The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development took place from 2005 to 2014, with the goal of emphasizing education in all its forms (formal, non-formal and informal) as an indispensable element for achieving sustainable development. In November 2014, as the official follow-up to the DESD, UNESCO launched the Global Action Programme (GAP) for ESD with the overall objective to scale up action on ESD worldwide. Due to its strong linkages with sustainable development, the GAP on ESD provides an excellent framework for understanding the types of education, training and public awareness initiatives conducive to enabling people of all ages to understand and implement solutions for solving the complex problems presented by climate change. Aarhus Convention The Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) provides the main international framework regulating such matters. The Aarhus Convention grants public rights and imposes obligations on governmental authorities regarding, inter alia, public participation in environmental decision-making. In 2015, the Maastricht Recommendations on Promoting Effective Public Participation in Decision-making in Environmental Matters were published as a practical tool to improve public participation in environmental decision-making, including good practice recommendations. Escazú Agreement The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement), adopted on 4 March 2018 under the aegis of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), offers a powerful tool for climate empowerment and action in Latin American and Caribbean countries. By setting regional standards on access to information, public participation and justice, it can foster broad community and multi-stakeholder engagement in climate change issues. It also provides for specific measures to promote and protect climate defenders. More information is available at: http://www.cepal.org/en/escazuagreement. UNEP Bali Guidelines on Principle 10 In order to catalyze and accelerate action to implement Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, governments adopted the Guidelines for the Development of National Legislation on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters at the 11th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council/ Global Ministerial Environmental Forum in Bali, Indonesia. These voluntary guidelines demonstrate a willingness by governments to engage the public more thoroughly at all levels to protect and manage the environment and related resources. In 2016, UNESCO and UNFCCC produced a comprehensive set of guidelines for designing national strategies for ACE. See also Individual and political action on climate change List of international environmental agreements Montreal Protocol Post–Kyoto Protocol negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions United Nations Climate Change conference United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Keeling curve Sources This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0 (license statement/permission). Text taken from Action for climate empowerment: Guidelines for accelerating solutions through education, training and public​, 6, 14-18, 26, 28, UNESCO and UNFCCC, UNESCO. UNESCO. == References ==

energy and climate intelligence unit

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) is a non-profit organisation based in the UK conducting independent research and analysis on energy and climate issues. The organisation was incorporated in 2014. According to their own about page, they are a "a non-profit organisation that supports informed debate on energy and climate change issues in the UK", supporting journalists, parliamentarians and other communicators with accurate briefings on key issues, and work with individuals and organisations that have interesting stories to tell, helping them connect to the national conversation.The ECIU is widely referenced by British and global press when looking for data about Climate change.The organisation was founded by former BBC environment correspondent Richard Black. ECIU's Advisory Board includes climate scientists, energy policy experts, economists, MPs and peers. The Unit is solely funded by philanthropic foundations; they acknowledge support from the European Climate Foundation and other grant funding organisations. Notable research ECIU created a series of studies to estimate how much of the global economy committed to net zero. The research reported 16% of the global economy was committed to such a commitment in June 2019. In February 2020 the organization estimated that 49% of the global GDP was committed to a net zero target. In May 2020, ECIU estimated that 53% of global DFP is committed to a net zero target for 2050. == References ==

copenhagen consensus

Copenhagen Consensus is a project that seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare using methodologies based on the theory of welfare economics, using cost–benefit analysis. It was conceived and organized around 2004 by Bjørn Lomborg, the author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and the then director of the Danish government's Environmental Assessment Institute. The project is run by the Copenhagen Consensus Center, which is directed by Lomborg and was part of the Copenhagen Business School, but it is now an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation registered in the USA. The project considers possible solutions to a wide range of problems, presented by experts in each field. These are evaluated and ranked by a panel of economists. The emphasis is on rational prioritization by economic analysis. The panel is given an arbitrary budget constraint and instructed to use cost–benefit analysis to focus on a bottom line approach in solving/ranking presented problems. The approach is justified as a corrective to standard practice in international development, where, it is alleged, media attention and the "court of public opinion" results in priorities that are often far from optimal. History The project has held conferences in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012. The 2012 conference ranked bundled micronutrient interventions the highest priority, and the 2008 report identified supplementing vitamins for undernourished children as the world’s best investment. The 2009 conference, dealing specifically with global warming, proposed research into marine cloud whitening (ships spraying seawater into clouds to make them reflect more sunlight and thereby reduce temperature) as the top climate change priority, though climate change itself is ranked well below other world problems. In 2011 the Copenhagen Consensus Center carried out the Rethink HIV project together with the RUSH Foundation, to find smart solutions to the problem of HIV/AIDS. In 2007 looked into which projects would contribute most to welfare in Copenhagen Consensus for Latin America in cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank. The initial project was co-sponsored by the Danish government and The Economist. A book summarizing the Copenhagen Consensus 2004 conclusions, Global Crises, Global Solutions, edited by Lomborg, was published in October 2004 by Cambridge University Press, followed by the second edition published in 2009 based on the 2008 conclusions. Copenhagen Consensus 2012 In May 2012, the third global Copenhagen Consensus was held, gathering economists to analyze the costs and benefits of different approaches to tackling the world‘s biggest problems. The aim was to provide an answer to the question: If you had $75bn for worthwhile causes, where should you start? A panel including four Nobel laureates met in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 2012. The panel’s deliberations were informed by thirty new economic research papers that were written just for the project by scholars from around the world. Economists The panel members were the following, four of whom are Nobel Laureate economists. Robert Mundell Nancy Stokey Thomas Schelling Vernon Smith Finn Kydland Challenges Armed conflict Biodiversity Chronic Disease Climate Change Education Hunger and Malnutrition Infectious Disease Natural Disasters Population Growth Water and SanitationIn addition, the Center commissioned research on Corruption and trade barriers, but the Expert Panel did not rank these for Copenhagen Consensus 2012, because the solutions to these challenges are political rather than investment-related. Outcome Given the budget restraints, they found 16 investments worthy of investment (in descending order of desirability): Bundled micronutrient interventions to fight hunger and improve education Expanding the subsidy for malaria combination treatment Expanded childhood immunization coverage Deworming of schoolchildren, to improve educational and health outcomes Expanding tuberculosis treatment R&D to Increase yield enhancements, to decrease hunger, fight biodiversity destruction, and lessen the effects of climate change Investing in effective early warning systems to protect populations against natural disaster Strengthening surgical capacity Hepatitis B immunization Using low‐Cost drugs in the case of acute heart attacks in poorer nations (these are already available in developed countries) Salt reduction campaign to reduce chronic disease Geo‐engineering R&D into the feasibility of solar radiation management Conditional cash transfer for school attendance Accelerated HIV vaccine R&D Extended field trial of information campaigns on the benefits from schooling Borehole and public hand pump intervention Slate ranking During the days of the Copenhagen Consensus 2012 conference, a series of articles was published in Slate Magazine each about a challenge that was discussed, and Slate readers could make their own ranking, voting for the solutions which they thought were best. Slate readers' ranking corresponded with that of the Expert Panel on many points, including the desirability of bundled micronutrient intervention; however, the most striking difference was in connection with the problem of overpopulation. Family planning ranked highest on the Slate priority list, whereas it didn't feature in the top 16 of the Expert Panel's prioritisation. Copenhagen Consensus 2008 Economists Nobel Prize winners marked with (¤) Jagdish Bhagwati François Bourguignon Finn E. Kydland (¤) Robert Mundell (¤) Douglass North (¤) Vernon L. Smith (¤) Thomas Schelling (¤) Nancy Stokey Results In the Copenhagen Consensus 2008, the solutions for global problems have been ranked in the following order: Micronutrient supplements for children (vitamin A and zinc) The Doha development agenda Micronutrient fortification (iron and salt iodization) Expanded immunization coverage for children Biofortification Deworming and other nutrition programs at school Lowering the price of schooling Increase and improve girls’ schooling Community-based nutrition promotion Provide support for women’s reproductive role Heart attack acute management Malaria prevention and treatment Tuberculosis case finding and treatment R&D in low-carbon energy technologies Bio-sand filters for household water treatment Rural water supply Conditional cash transfer Peace-keeping in post-conflict situations HIV combination prevention Total sanitation campaign Improving surgical capacity at district hospital level Microfinance Improved stove intervention to combat Air Pollution Large, multipurpose dam in Africa Inspection and maintenance of diesel vehicles Low sulfur diesel for urban road vehicles Diesel vehicle particulate control technology Tobacco tax R&D and carbon dioxide emissions reduction Carbon dioxide emissions reductionUnlike the 2004 results, these were not grouped into qualitative bands such as Good, Poor, etc. Gary Yohe, one of the authors of the global warming paper, subsequently accused Lomborg of "deliberate distortion of our conclusions", adding that "as one of the authors of the Copenhagen Consensus Project's principal climate paper, I can say with certainty that Lomborg is misrepresenting our findings thanks to a highly selective memory". Kåre Fog further pointed out that the future benefits of emissions reduction were discounted at a higher rate than for any of the other 27 proposals, stating "so there is an obvious reason why the climate issue always is ranked last" in Lomborg's environmental studies. In a subsequent joint statement settling their differences, Lomborg and Yohe agreed that the "failure" of Lomborg's emissions reduction plan "could be traced to faulty design". Climate Change Project In 2009, the Copenhagen convened an expert panel specifically to examine solutions to climate change. The process was similar to the 2004 and 2008 Copenhagen Consensus, involving papers by specialists considered by a panel of economists. The panel ranked 15 solutions, of which the top 5 were: Research into marine cloud whitening (involving ships spraying sea-water into clouds so as to reflect more sunlight and thereby reduce temperatures) Technology-led policy response Research into stratospheric aerosol injection (involving injected ?sulphur dioxide into the upper atmosphere to reduce sunlight) Research into carbon storage Planning for adaptationThe benefits of the number 1 solution are that if the research proved successful this solution could be deployed relatively cheaply and quickly. Potential problems include environmental impacts e.g. from changing rainfall patterns. Measures to cut carbon and methane emissions, such as carbon taxes, came bottom of the results list, partly because they would take a long time to have much effect on temperatures. Copenhagen Consensus 2004 Process Eight economists met May 24–28, 2004 at a roundtable in Copenhagen. A series of background papers had been prepared in advance to summarize the current knowledge about the welfare economics of 32 proposals ("opportunities") from 10 categories ("challenges"). For each category, one assessment article and two critiques were produced. After a closed-door review of the background papers, each of the participants gave economic priority rankings to 17 of the proposals (the rest were deemed inconclusive). Economists Jagdish Bhagwati Robert Fogel Bruno Frey Justin Yifu Lin Douglass North Thomas Schelling Vernon L. Smith Nancy Stokey Challenges Below is a list of the 10 challenge areas and the author of the paper on each. Within each challenge, 3–4 opportunities (proposals) were analyzed: Communicable diseases (Anne Mills) Conflicts (Paul Collier) Education (Lant Pritchett) Financial instability (Barry Eichengreen) Global Warming sometimes also called Climate change (William R. Cline) Government and corruption (Susan Rose-Ackerman) Malnutrition and hunger (Jere Behrman) Population: migration (Phillip L. Martin) Sanitation and water (Frank Rijsberman) Subsidies and trade barriers (Kym Anderson) Results The panel agreed to rate seventeen of the thirty-two opportunities within seven of the ten challenges. The rated opportunities were further classified into four groups: Very Good, Good, Fair and Bad; all results are based using cost–benefit analysis. Very good The highest priority was assigned to implementing certain new measures to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. The economists estimated that an investment of $27 billion could avert nearly 30 million new infections by 2010. Policies to reduce malnutrition and hunger were chosen as the second priority. Increasing the availability of micronutrients, particularly reducing iron deficiency anemia through dietary supplements, was judged to have an exceptionally high ratio of benefits to costs, which were estimated at $12 billion. Third on the list was trade liberalization; the experts agreed that modest costs could yield large benefits for the world as a whole and for developing nations. The fourth priority identified was controlling and treating malaria; $13 billion costs were judged to produce very good benefits, particularly if applied toward chemically-treated mosquito netting for beds. Good The fifth priority identified was increased spending on research into new agricultural technologies appropriate for developing nations. Three proposals for improving sanitation and water quality for a billion of the world’s poorest followed in priority (ranked sixth to eighth: small-scale water technology for livelihoods, community-managed water supply and sanitation, and research on water productivity in food production). Completing this group was the 'government' project concerned with lowering the cost of starting new businesses. Fair Ranked tenth was the project on lowering barriers to migration for skilled workers. Eleventh and twelfth on the list were malnutrition projects – improving infant and child nutrition and reducing the prevalence of low birth weight. Ranked thirteenth was the plan for scaled-up basic health services to fight diseases. Poor Ranked fourteenth to seventeenth were: a migration project (guest-worker programmes for the unskilled), which was deemed to discourage integration; and three projects addressing climate change (optimal carbon tax, the Kyoto Protocol and value-at-risk carbon tax), which the panel judged to be least cost-efficient of the proposals. Global warming The panel found that all three climate policies presented have "costs that were likely to exceed the benefits". It further stated "global warming must be addressed, but agreed that approaches based on too abrupt a shift toward lower emissions of carbon are needlessly expensive."In regard to the science of global warming, the paper presented by Cline relied primarily on the framework set by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and accepted the consensus view on global warming that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are the primary cause of the global warming. Cline relies on various research studies published in the field of economics and attempted to compare the estimated cost of mitigation policies against the expected reduction in the damage of the global warming. Cline used a discount rate of 1.5%. (Cline's summary is on the project webpage ) He justified his choice of discount rate on the ground of "utility-based discounting", that is there is zero bias in terms of preference between the present and the future generation (see time preference). Moreover, Cline extended the time frame of the analysis to three hundred years in the future. Because the expected net damage of the global warming becomes more apparent beyond the present generation(s), this choice had the effect of increasing the present-value cost of the damage of global warming as well as the benefit of abatement policies. Criticism Members of the panel including Thomas Schelling and one of the two perspective paper writers Robert O. Mendelsohn (both opponents of the Kyoto protocol) criticised Cline, mainly on the issue of discount rates. (See "The opponent notes to the paper on Climate Change" ) Mendelsohn, in particular, characterizing Cline's position, said that "[i]f we use a large discount rate, they will be judged to be small effects" and called it "circular reasoning, not a justification". Cline responded to this by arguing that there is no obvious reason to use a large discount rate just because this is what is usually done in economic analysis. In other words, climate change ought to be treated differently from other, more imminent problems. The Economist quoted Mendelsohn as worrying that "climate change was set up to fail".Moreover, Mendelsohn argued that Cline's damage estimates were excessive. Citing various recent articles, including some of his own, he stated that "[a] series of studies on the impacts of climate change have systematically shown that the older literature overestimated climate damages by failing to allow for adaptation and for climate benefits." The 2004 Copenhagen Consensus attracted various criticisms: Approach and alleged bias The 2004 report, especially its conclusion regarding climate change, was subsequently criticised from a variety of perspectives. The general approach adopted to set priorities was criticised by Jeffrey Sachs, an American economist and advocate of both the Kyoto protocol and increased development aid, who argued that the analytical framework was inappropriate and biased and that the project "failed to mobilize an expert group that could credibly identify and communicate a true consensus of expert knowledge on the range of issues under consideration.".Tom Burke, a former director of Friends of the Earth, repudiated the entire approach of the project, arguing that applying cost–benefit analysis in the way the Copenhagen panel did was "junk economics".John Quiggin, an Australian economics professor, commented that the project is a mix of "a substantial contribution to our understanding of important issues facing the world" and an "exercises in political propaganda" and argued that the selection of the panel members was slanted towards the conclusions previously supported by Lomborg. Quiggin observed that Lomborg had argued in his controversial book The Skeptical Environmentalist that resources allocated to mitigating global warming would be better spent on improving water quality and sanitation, and was therefore seen as having prejudged the issues. Under the heading "Wrong Question", Sachs further argued that: "The panel that drew up the Copenhagen Consensus was asked to allocate an additional US$50 billion in spending by wealthy countries, distributed over five years, to address the world’s biggest problems. This was a poor basis for decision-making and for informing the public. By choosing such a low sum — a tiny fraction of global income — the project inherently favoured specific low-cost schemes over bolder, larger projects. It is therefore no surprise that the huge and complex challenge of long-term climate change was ranked last, and that scaling up health services in poor countries was ranked lower than interventions against specific diseases, despite warnings in the background papers that such interventions require broader improvements in health services." In response Lomborg argued that $50 billion was "an optimistic but realistic example of actual spending." "Experience shows that pledges and actual spending are two different things. In 1970 the UN set itself the task of doubling development assistance. Since then the percentage has actually been dropping". "But even if Sachs or others could gather much more than $50 billion over the next 4 years, the Copenhagen Consensus priority list would still show us where it should be invested first." Thomas Schelling, one of the Copenhagen Consensus panel experts, later distanced himself from the way in which the Consensus results have been interpreted in the wider debate, arguing that it was misleading to put climate change at the bottom of the priority list. The Consensus panel members were presented with a dramatic proposal for handling climate change. If given the opportunity, Schelling would have put a more modest proposal higher on the list. The Yale economist Robert O. Mendelsohn was the official critic of the proposal for climate change during the Consensus. He thought the proposal was way out of the mainstream and could only be rejected. Mendelsohn worries that climate change was set up to fail.Michael Grubb, an economist and lead author for several IPCC reports, commented on the Copenhagen Consensus, writing: To try and define climate policy as a trade-off against foreign aid is thus a forced choice that bears no relationship to reality. No government is proposing that the marginal costs associated with, for example, an emissions trading system, should be deducted from its foreign aid budget. This way of posing the question is both morally inappropriate and irrelevant to the determination of real climate mitigation policy. Panel membership Quiggin argued that the members of the 2004 panel, selected by Lomborg, were "generally towards the right and, to the extent that they had stated views, to be opponents of Kyoto." Sachs also noted that the panel members had not previously been much involved in issues of development economics and were unlikely to reach useful conclusions in the time available to them. Commenting on the 2004 Copenhagen Consensus, climatologist and IPCC author Stephen Schneider criticised Lomborg for only inviting economists to participate: In order to achieve a true consensus, I think Lomborg would've had to invite ecologists, social scientists concerned with justice and how climate change impacts and policies are often inequitably distributed, philosophers who could challenge the economic paradigm of "one dollar, one vote" implicit in cost–benefit analyses promoted by economists, and climate scientists who could easily show that Lomborg's claim that climate change will have only minimal effects is not sound science. Lomborg countered criticism of the panel membership by stating that "Sachs disparaged the Consensus 'dream team' because it only consisted of economists. But that was the very point of the project. Economists have expertise in economic prioritization. It is they and not climatologists or malaria experts who can prioritize between battling global warming or communicable disease". See also References Further reading Lomborg, Bjorn (2006). How to Spend $50 Billion to Make the World a Better Place. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-68571-9. Lomborg, Bjørn (2007). Solutions for the World's Biggest Problems: Costs and Benefits. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-71597-3. Lomborg, Bjørn (2009). Global Crises, Global Solutions: Costs and Benefits. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-74122-4. Sachs, Jeffrey D. (12 August 2004). Seeking a global solution. Nature 430:725–726 Lind, Robert C. (1982) (ed.): Discounting for time and risk in energy policy. 468 pp. Published by Resources for the Future. inc., Washington D.C. Lomborg, Bjorn (2013). How to Spend $75 Billion to Make the World a Better Place. Published by the Copenhagen Consensus Center. ISBN 978-1-940-00300-9 External links The Copenhagen Consensus website The Copenhagen Consensus The Economist's home page for the project] SourceWatch entry on Copenhagen Consensus Global Crises, Global Solutions Transcript of Lomborg's talk at the Carnegie Council. Can Development Priorities Be Prioritized?. A presentation by Bjorn Lomborg explaining the Copenhagen Consensus process to World Bank staff on October 12, 2004. Discussants include Robert Watson, Chief Scientist and Senior Advisor at the World Bank’s Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development unit, and Shahid Yusuf, Economic Advisor, DEC Research Group. Criticism: Tom Burke: This is neither scepticism nor science – just nonsense: Why is Bjorn Lomborg's work on climate change taken seriously? The Guardian, 23 October 2004: ("Cost-benefit analysis can help you choose different routes to a goal you have agreed, but it cannot help you choose goals. For that we have politics.") What is wrong about Copenhagen Consensus? on the Lomborg-errors web site.

mónica feria tinta

Monica Feria Tinta is a British/Peruvian barrister, a specialist in public international law, at the Bar of England & Wales. She practises from Twenty Essex, London.In 2000 Monica Feria-Tinta became the first and only Peruvian-born lawyer to receive the prestigious Diploma of The Hague Academy of International Law in history, the year Professor Pierre-Marie Dupuy delivered the General Course. Her litigation work led to the first international human rights court decision ordering the prosecution of a former Head of State for crimes under international law. In 2006 she was awarded the Inge Genefke International Award for her work as an international lawyer and in 2007 she became the youngest lawyer to be awarded the Gruber Justice Prize, for her contributions to advancing the cause of justice as delivered through the legal system; an honour she received at a ceremony chaired by US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Washington DC.Feria-Tinta was the first Latin American lawyer to be called to and practising at the Bar of England and Wales. She is also a member of the American Society of International Law, a Partner Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, and a visiting fellow at Jesus College, University of Cambridge. In 2019 she was amongst the 64 distinguished women barristers selected to feature in the celebratory exhibition of a Century of Women in Law at the Middle Temple. The exhibition marked 100 years since women were permitted to enter the legal profession in England & Wales, led by Helena Normanton, the first woman to practise as a barrister in England. Feria-Tinta is a Bencher at Middle Temple.In 2019 she made news as acting Counsel in the first-world climate change litigation brought by peoples from low-lying islands against a State, before the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the Torres Strait Islanders case. In a ground-breaking decision, the U.N. Human Rights Committee found that the failure of a Sovereign State to adequately protect indigenous peoples from low-lying islands against adverse impacts of climate change violated their rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. She has been a leading expert on climate change litigation globally, including on a potential Advisory Opinion before the International Court of Justice and/or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Education and career Feria-Tinta studied international law at the London School of Economics receiving her LL.M. with merit in 1996. She received further training at the Institut International des Droits de l'Homme in Strasbourg (1997) and at the Institute of Human Rights of the Abo Academy in Turko (Finland) under the sponsorship of the European Commission and the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001. In 2000 she was among the 24 lawyers selected worldwide to be trained by members of the International Law Commission in all areas of General International Law, taking part in the thirty-sixth session of the International Law Seminar in Geneva, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 54/111, under a United Nations Fellowship. Her areas of expertise include international dispute settlement, immunities, consular law, diplomatic protection, treaty law, recognition of state and governments under international law, self-determination under international law, boundary delimitation, law of the sea, territory, investment law, transboundary harm, environmental law, human rights, use of force, laws of war, State Responsibility (inter alia State Responsibility for crimes against humanity, genocide, extrajudicial executions and torture); command responsibility for gross human rights violations; victim rights under international law.After teaching Public International Law at the London School of Economics as a Teaching Assistant to Sir Christopher Greenwood (then Professor at LSE), Feria-Tinta spent a year as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, at the time under the Directorship of former Whewell Professor of International Law, James Crawford.As a practising lawyer Monica Feria-Tinta has advised States, state-owned entities, non self-governing peoples, governments in exile, corporate bodies, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, indigenous peoples, and individuals, in the area of public international law. She started her practising career working for international tribunals; first at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and a year later, at the International Court of Justice, gaining experience in the adjudication of complex international litigation both entailing individual international criminal responsibility and State responsibility. She acted as legal advisor for a State Delegation taking part in the negotiations of the Rome Statute, at the Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court in Rome. During 2018-2019 she served as Assistant Legal Adviser to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.In litigation, Feria-Tinta has appeared as counsel before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights the United Nations Human Rights Committee, UN Special Procedures, OECD Procedures, The High Court (England), and has advised parties before the International Court of Justice, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, UN CEDAW Committee, Court of Appeal (England) and Court of Appeal (Hong Kong). Expert opinions provided in different international fora have included an Amicus Curiae to the Constitutional Court of Ecuador (on the Rights of Nature), the UN Human Rights Committee, the Constitutional Court of Colombia (on the Special Jurisdiction for Peace), the Supreme Administrative Court of Colombia (Consejo de Estado), the Supreme Court of Mexico, a joint Amicus Curiae with Professor John Dugard (former Special Rapporteur on Diplomatic Protection at the ILC) for the Appeals Court of Amsterdam, in the Bouterse case, and expert comments on behalf of the Redress Trust to the Final Report of the UN Independent Expert on the Right of Reparation for Victims of Serious Violations of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Cherif Bassiouni.Her advocacy work before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights contributed to pivotal changes in the Inter-American regional system. Monica Feria-Tinta pioneered the rights of victims in the Inter-American system challenging for the first time the use of State appointed Ad hoc Judges in individual petitions before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which led to the end of a practice that had existed for nearly two decades. She also advocated for the need of a Victims' Fund for legal aid before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to ensure access to justice and equality of arms for victims. A Victims Legal Assistance Fund before the ICHR was finally created in 2010.She litigated the first international human rights case in the world on the protection of the rights of the child in times of war and obtained the first international binding decision on gender justice in the history of adjudication of the Inter-American region, initiating the feminisation of human rights law in the Americas. Feria's litigation work marked a before, and an after, in the manner in which the American Convention on Human Rights is interpreted and applied. In particular, she introduced a gender perspective in the interpretation of human rights in the Americas, which the Inter-American Court on Human Rights upheld, and has followed since. She secured the first finding of rape by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as a violation of the American Convention on Human Rights, and brought the definition of rape in the Americas in line with international law. In addition, Feria Tinta's pleadings prompted the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to hold a State accountable for violations of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women ("Convention of Belém do Pará") for the first time in eleven years, since its entry into force. Most notably, her litigation work on behalf of hundreds of prisoners led to a landmark case on prisoners' rights where the Inter-American Court ruled on a massacre taking place in a prison and on torture practices that had never been tested before an international human rights tribunal, ordering as a consequence, the prosecution of a former Head of State for crimes against humanity.Her forensic experience investigating and documenting torture in international contentious cases, was used as model to train advocates worldwide, representing victims of torture, by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.In 2009 she was commissioned to take part on a project by UNESCO entitled "Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right: Law's Duty to the Poor" (The Philosopher's Library Series) contributing with a thorough study on litigation in Regional Human Rights Systems (European, Inter-American and African) on the justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.Feria Tinta has been a speaker in International law in different fora worldwide including Lancaster House (UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office), the Human Rights Caucus of the US Congress, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, the University of Oxford (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies), the United Nations (Geneva), Trinity College, Dublin (Distinguished Speakers Series), the British Institute of Comparative and International Law, Universidad de los Andes Law Faculty (Colombia), and Georgetown University Law Center. She has been a guest lecturer at Guangxi Normal University, Faculty of Law, China, University of Cambridge (LCIL Executive Course on Investment Law and Arbitration), the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens (Faculty of Law), Universidad de Chile (Faculty of law), Jindal Global Law School (India), Leiden University and at the Master Program of the Institute Universitaire Kurt Bosch-University of Fribourg, Switzerland.She has taken part in expert missions to Kenya (2020), Myanmar (2016), Guatemala (2015) and has trained South African advocates on international law (2017), Colombian lawyers on judicial processes in the context of transitional justice (2017) and members of the Honduran Bar on international arbitration (2016) under the sponsorship of the UK Mission in Honduras. Awards and honours The Inge Genefke Award (2006) Gruber Justice Prize (2007) Appointed to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's World Commission on Environmental Law, the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it (Oceans Specialist Group and Climate Change Specialist Group) (2018). The Lawyer Magazine "Hot 100" 2020. "The Lawyer" magazine featured her in its "Hot 100" 2020 list, as amongst "the most daring, innovative and creative lawyers" in the United Kingdom. The Lawyer Awards - "Barrister of the Year" Finalist (2020).. Shortlisted as "Barrister of the Year" by the Lawyer's Awards 2020, alongside Lord Pannick QC, one of the UK's highly regarded advocates. Appointed by the government of Malaysia to the AIAC Advisory Council (2021). Master of the Bench of Middle Temple (2021). Panel of arbitrators for the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Korea (Proposed by the United Kingdom)(2022). Cases Arbitral appointments include:- Presiding Arbitrator, Investment Arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty - (Chair, appointed by Arbitral Institution)Selected Cases include:- Deutsche Bank AG London Branch and Receivers Appointed by the Court, Central Bank of Venezuela, and The Governor and Company of the Bank of England and The Ad Hoc Administrative Board of The Central Bank of Venezuela and the Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela [2020] EWHC 1721 (The High Court, Queen’s Bench Division Commercial Court) (Advising the BCV) R (Charles & Dunn) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2020] EWHC 3185 (Admin) – (for the claimants) (diplomatic immunity case) On the Constitutionality of Federal Mining Law – before The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) of Mexico; Legal Intervention in a constitutional action brought by the Masewal people of Cuetzalan based in the Sierra Norte of the Mexican state of Puebla against Mexico’s Federal Mining Law. Case of Los Cedros, before the Constitutional Court of Ecuador - (Amicus Curiae) Legal Intervention on the Rights of Nature. Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta – Linea Negra Decree 1500 Nullity case, before the Supreme Administrative Court of Colombia – Legal Intervention focusing on international law norms directly relevant to the protection of rainforests and natural world of global importance. Cerrejón case before the UN Special Procedures (for claimants) (sole counsel)(concerning alleged violations of environmental harm and human rights by one of the largest open pit coal mines in the world owned by BHP, Anglo American and Glencore). Gençay Bastimar v Turkey, CCPR Case No. 3592/2019, before the United Nations Human Rights Committee (for the BHRC of England & Wales) – (Amicus Curiae with leave by the UN HRC) Torres Strait Islanders v Australia, UN Human Rights Committee (for the Torres Strait Islanders) Montara Oil Spill case (concerning transboundary harm/Australia), UN Special Proceedings (for 13 West Timor regencies) Advised non-self-governing peoples on the UN Charter, decolonisation, and statehood. Adrian Favela case (concerning enforced disappearance/Mexico), UN Special Proceedings (for the claimants) Advised a government on exile on its position under international law, treaty interpretation, statehood and self-determination. Case regarding the Constitutionality of Legislative Act No 1, 2017 which establishes the Special Jurisdiction for Peace to prosecute crimes during the internal armed conflict in Colombia, Constitutional Court of Colombia - Amicus Curiae brief on Command Responsibility and Corporate Responsibility (Article 24 and Article 16 respectively) Legal Consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 (Request for Advisory Opinion), International Court of Justice (Application on behalf of seeking intervener under Article 66 (2) of the ICJ Statute) Gareth Henry v Jamaica, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Advising the claimant) Eloise Mukami Kimathi and others and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ('The Kenyan Emergency Group Litigation'), High Court of Justice (for the defendant) The Enrica Lexie Incident (Italy v India), International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (advising Italy) Case of J v Peru, Inter-American Court of Human rights (for the claimant) Communication No 2034/2011 v Canada, UN Human Rights Committee (for the claimants) Case of Miguel Castro Castro Prison Massacre vs Peru, Inter-American Court of Human Rights (for the claimant) Caso of the Gomez Paquiyauri Brothers vs Peru, Inter-American Court of Human Rights (for the claimants) LaGrand case (Federal Republic of Germany v United States of America), International Court of Justice (advising Germany) Case Concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v Serbia and Montenegro), International Court of Justice (Advising the ICJ) Prosecutor v Timohir Blaskic, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (Advising Chamber Trial I) Bouterse case, Amsterdam Court of Appeals - Joint Amicus Curiae brief with Professor John Dugard, former Special Rapporteur on Diplomatic Protection at the United Nations International Law Commission Selected publications Books Foreign State Immunity and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in English Courts (Oxford University Press, forthcoming) The Landmark Rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the Rights of the Child, (Book) Brill Nijhoff, Series International Studies in Human Rights, 2008 ISBN 9789004165137. Chapters "The Future of Environmental cases in the European Court of Human Rights" in N. Kobylarz and E. Grant, Human Rights and the Planet (Elgar Publishers, 2022) 'Los Cambios de paradigmas del Derecho Internacional Público: el auge del Derecho Ambiental Internacional'in E. Sobenes et al Vol. 1 "Hablemos de Derecho Internacional" (2022) ‘The Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ in E. Sobenes et al, The Environment Through the Lens of International Courts and Tribunals (Springer, 2022)ISBN 978-94-6265-507-2 ‘Declarant: Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR)’, Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law, June 2021 (OUP) 'Climate Change as a Human Rights Issue: Litigating Climate Change in the Inter-American System of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee' in Climate Change Litigation: Global Perspectives, I. Alogna, C. Bakker and J.P. Gauci (eds.)(Brill, 2021)ISBN 978-90-04-44761-5 'Arbitration and the European Convention on Human Rights'in International Arbitration and EU Law, J, Mata Dona and N. Lavranos (eds.)(Elgar Publishers, 2021)ISBN 978-17-88-97399-1 "The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as a Litigation Tool before the Inter-American System of Protection of Human Rights" in Litigating the Rights of the Child, T Liefaard and J. E. Doek (ed), Springer, 2014 ISBN 978-94-017-9444-2 "Litigation in Regional Human Rights Systems on Economics, Social and Cultural Rights against Poverty" in Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right Volume 4, 2009 UNESCO Publishing; Van Bueren (ed), Series Editor: Pierre Sane. Articles ‘Climate Change Litigation in the European Court of Human Rights: Causation, Imminence and Other Key Underlying Notions’, L’Europe des Droits et Libertés Journal, December 2020 (Issue 3) 'Banking and Human Rights: World Bank Group immunities after Jam et al v International Finance Corp’ in the Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation (JIBLR) (2019) issue 34 (10). 'International Environmental Law for the 21st Century', Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional Vol 21, 2019. 'The Rise of Environmental Law in International Dispute Resolution: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights Issues a Landmark Advisory Opinion on the Environment and Human Rights’ Yearbook of International Environmental Law (Oxford University Press 11 October 2018). 'Bolivia and Chile in The Hague: Can They Quiet the Ghosts of the Pacific War, and Thrive together in the 21st Century?’ Opinio Juris (27 March 2018) ‘Sovereign Debt Enforcement in English Courts: Ukraine and Russia meet in the Court of Appeal in US $3 Billion Eurobonds Dispute’ (2018) 33(2) Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation (with A. Wooder). ‘Like Oil and Water? Human Rights in Investment Arbitration in the Wake of Philip Morris v. Uruguay’ (2017) 34(4) Journal of International Arbitration 601 'Extra-Territorial Claims in the "Spider’s Web" of the Law? UK Supreme Court Judgment in Ministry of Defence v Iraqi Civilians’ EJIL Talk! (25 May 2016) 'The South China Sea: Chess Arbitration?’ EJIL: Talk! (10 August 2016). "Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Inter-American System of Protection of Human Rights: Beyond Traditional Paradigms and Notions"; Human Rights Quarterly, Volume 29, Number 2, May 2007, pp. 431–459. "Primer caso internacional sobre violencia de género en la jurisprudencia de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos: El caso del penal Miguel Castro Castro; un hito histórico para Latinoamérica." CEJIL journal year II, No. 3 (2006) "La Responsabilidad Internacional del Estado en el Sistema Interamericano de Protección de Derechos Humanos a 25 años del funcionamiento de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos: Las Lecciones del Caso Hermanos Gómez Paquiyauri." UNAM "La Víctima ante la Corte interamericana de Derechos Humanos a 25 años de su funcionamiento"; Revista IIDH, instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos 43. "Due Process and the Right to Life in the Context of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations: Arguing the LaGrand Case", EJIL 2001. "Commanders on Trial: The Blaškić. Case and the Doctrine of Command Responsibility under International Law", Netherlands International Law Review / Volume 47 / Issue 03 / December 2000, pp 293–322. "Individual Human Rights v. State Sovereignty: The Case of Peru’s Withdrawal from the Contentious Jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights" Leiden Journal of International Law (2000), 13: 985-996 Cambridge University Press. M. Feria-Tinta and G. Verdirame, ‘The Entry into Force of the Human Rights Act, 1998’, 4 International Law Association Forum (2000) 213-217. "The Right to Seek Asylum and the Authority of International Refugee Law: The Case of the United Kingdom", African Yearbook of International Law, Volume 8, 2000. == References ==

president's council of advisors on science and technology

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is a council, chartered (or re-chartered) in each administration with a broad mandate to advise the president of the United States on science and technology. The current PCAST was established by Executive Order 13226 on September 30, 2001, by George W. Bush, was re-chartered by Barack Obama's April 21, 2010, Executive Order 13539, by Donald Trump's October 22, 2019, Executive Order 13895, and by Joe Biden's February 1, 2021, Executive Order 14007. History The council follows a tradition of presidential advisory panels focused on science and technology that dates back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Science Advisory Board, continued by President Harry Truman. Renamed the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) by Dwight Eisenhower, it was disbanded by President Richard Nixon. Reagan science advisor Jay Keyworth re-established a smaller "White House Science Council" It reported, however, to him, not directly to the president. Renamed PCAST, and reporting directly to the president, a new council was chartered by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, enabling the president to receive advice directly from the private and academic sectors on technology, scientific research priorities, and mathematics and science education. Mission The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology mission is to provide advice to the president and the Executive Office of the President. PCAST makes policy recommendations in areas such as understanding of science, technology, and innovation. PCAST is administered by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Recent PCAST reports have addressed antibiotic resistance, education technology (with a focus on MOOCs), cybersecurity, climate change, networking and information technology, and agricultural preparedness, among many others. Members and structure PCAST has been enlarged since its inception and currently consists of 27 members and three co-chairs. The council members, distinguished individuals appointed by the president, are drawn from industry, education, research institutions, and other NGOs. The council is administered by an executive director. PCAST membership under President Biden On February 1, 2021, less than a month into his presidency, President Biden issued an executive order reestablishing the PCAST. He had already announced the 3 co-chairs Frances Arnold, Maria Zuber, and Eric Lander before his swearing-in in January 2021. He announced an initial roster of 27 additional members on September 22, 2021.As of January 2023, there are 3 co-chairs: Frances Arnold, Maria Zuber, and Arati Prabhakar. There are 25 additional members: Dan Arvizu, Chancellor of the New Mexico State University Dennis Assanis, President of the University of Delaware John Banovetz, Executive Vice President at 3M Frances Colón, Senior Director, International Climate at the Center for American Progress Lisa Cooper, internal medicine and public health physician, and the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Equity in Health and Healthcare at Johns Hopkins University John Dabiri, Centennial Chair Professor at the California Institute of Technology Bill Dally, Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President for Research at Nvidia Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former Chief Executive Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Inez Fung, Professor of atmospheric science at the University of California, Berkeley Andrea Goldsmith, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University Laura Greene, physics professor at Florida State University and Chief Scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Paula T. Hammond, David H. Koch Professor in Engineering and the Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Eric Horvitz, Chief Scientific Officer at Microsoft Joe Kiani, Chairman and CEO at Masimo Jonathan Levin, Dean at Stanford Graduate School of Business Stephen W. Pacala, Frederick D. Petrie Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University Saul Perlmutter, U.S. astrophysicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley William H. Press, Leslie Surginer Professor of Computer Science and Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin Jennifer Richeson, Philip R. Allen Professor of Psychology and Director of the Social Perception and Communication Lab at Yale University Vicki Sato, retired Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School Lisa Su, Chair and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices Kathryn D. Sullivan, former NASA Astronaut Terence Tao, Professor & The James and Carol Collins Chair in the College of Letters and Sciences at University of California, Los Angeles Phil Venables, Chief Information Security Officer at Google Cloud Catherine Woteki, Visiting Distinguished Institute Professor in the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia and Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State UniversityFormer members include: Eric Lander, co-chair, serving concurrently as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, who resigned from the Biden administration in February 2022 after a workplace bullying scandal Francis Collins, acting co-chair, former director of the National Institutes of Health, who served from February to October 2022 between the resignation of Lander and the swearing in of Prabhakar Marvin Adams, member, nuclear engineer and computational physicist, who resigned from the council in April 2022 after being confirmed as a deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Ash Carter, member, Director of the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School and 25th United States Secretary of Defense, who served until his death in October 2022 Penny Pritzker, member, Chairman of PSP Partners, who served through December 2022 PCAST membership under President Trump On October 22, 2019, after a record 33 months since President Obama's PCAST held its final meeting, the Trump administration issued an executive order reestablishing the PCAST, appointing its first seven members: Catherine Bessant, the chief operations and technology officer at Bank of America Shannon Blunt, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Kansas Dario Gil, an electrical engineer and computer scientist, as well as the director IBM Research Robert Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, a professor of engineering at Ohio State University, as well as associate dean for research Sharon Hrynkow, chief scientific officer at Cylo Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company that focuses on research around rare diseases Herbert Fisk Johnson III, the CEO of S. C. Johnson & Son Abraham (Avi) Loeb, a professor of physics at Harvard University, director of the Institute for Theory and Computation and the Black Hole Initiative, and chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies Theresa Mayer, executive vice president for research and partnerships and professor at Purdue University Daniela Rus, a professor of electrical engineering at MIT, director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory A. N. Sreeram, a senior vice president at the Dow Chemical Company with a doctorate in materials science and engineering from MIT Hussein Tawbi, associate professor at the Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston Shane Wall, the chief technology officer for Hewlett-Packard and director of HP Labs K. Birgitta Whaley, a chemistry professor at the University of California, Berkeley and a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryThe council was chaired by Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin Droegemeier. PCAST membership under President Obama The PCAST under President Obama was co-chaired by John P. Holdren and Eric Lander. The outgoing membership included: John P. Holdren was one of two co-chairs of PCAST in addition to his duties as the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President and assistant to the president for science and technology. Previously he was a professor of environmental policy and director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. He also served concurrently as professor of environmental science and policy in Harvard’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and as director of the independent, nonprofit Woods Hole Research Center. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as a former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship. Eric Lander served as one of two co-chairs of PCAST as well as the director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He is a professor of biology at MIT and professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, and is a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. He was one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project, recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship and is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine. William H. Press was one of the two vice-chairs, and is professor of computer sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, has wide-ranging expertise in computer science, astrophysics, and international security. A member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, he previously served as Deputy Laboratory Director for Science and Technology at the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1998 to 2004. He is a professor of astronomy and physics at Harvard University and a former member of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (1982–1998). Maxine Savitz was one of the two vice chairs, and is a retired general manager of Technology Partnerships at Honeywell and has more than 30 years of experience managing research, development and implementation programs for the public and private sectors, including in the aerospace, transportation, and industrial sectors. From 1979 to 1983 she served as deputy assistant secretary for conservation in the U.S. Department of Energy. She currently serves as vice-president of the National Academy of Engineering. Wanda M. Austin, former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position. Austin also served as interim president for the University of Southern California, following the resignation of C. L. Max Nikias. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position. In 2009, Austin served as a member of the U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee. The following year, she was appointed to the US Defense Science Board and in 2014 she became a member of the NASA Advisory Council, both of which were White House commissioned. In 2015, Austin was selected by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Rosina Bierbaum, a widely recognized expert in climate-change science and ecology, is dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. Her PhD is in evolutionary biology and ecology. She served as associate director for environment in OSTP in the Clinton administration, as well as acting director of OSTP in 2000–2001. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Christine Cassel is president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and previously served as dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs at Oregon Health & Science University. A member of the U.S. Institute of Medicine, she is a leading expert in geriatric medicine and quality of care. Christopher Chyba is professor of astrophysical sciences and international affairs at Princeton University and a member of the Committee on International Security and Arms Control of the National Academy of Sciences. His scientific work focuses on solar system exploration and his security-related research emphasizes nuclear and biological weapons policy, proliferation, and terrorism. He served on the White House staff from 1993 to 1995 at the National Security Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy and was awarded a MacArthur Prize Fellowship (2001) for his work in both planetary science and international security. Sylvester James Gates, Jr., is the John S. Toll Professor of Physics and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the first African American to hold an endowed chair in physics at a major research university. He has served as a consultant to the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense, and the Educational Testing Service, and held appointments at MIT, Harvard, California Institute of Technology, and Howard University. Mark Gorenberg. is a managing director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, which he joined in 1990 when the firm began investing its first fund. Previously, he was with Sun Microsystems, where he managed emerging new media areas and was a member of the original SPARCstation team. Susan L. Graham is the Pehong Chen Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. She has won the Harvard Medal, the IEEE John von Neumann Medal, the Berkeley Citation, and the ACM/IEEE Ken Kennedy Award. She was named a University of California, Berkeley Fellow in 2011. She was a member of the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) from 1997 to 2003. She served as the Chief Computer Scientist for the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI) from 1997 to 2005. She currently chairs the Computing Research Association’s Computing Community Consortium. Graham is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). J. Michael McQuade is senior vice president for science & technology at United Technologies Corporation. Prior to joining UTC in 2006, he served as vice president of 3M’s Medical Division, and before that he was president of Eastman Kodak’s Health Imaging Business. He is a member of the board of trustees for Carnegie Mellon University, the board of directors of Project HOPE, and the board of trustees for Miss Porter’s School. He serves on advisory and visiting boards for a number of university science and engineering schools. He currently serves as a member of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. Chad Mirkin is the founding director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology, the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry, professor of chemical and biological engineering, professor of biomedical engineering, professor of materials science & engineering, and professor of medicine at Northwestern University. He is a chemist and a world-renowned nanoscience expert, who is known for his development of nanoparticle-based biodetection schemes, the invention of Dip-Pen Nanolithography, and contributions to supramolecular chemistry. He is one of only fifteen scientists, engineers and medical doctors, and the only chemist to be elected into all three branches of the National Academies, and he has been recognized for his accomplishments with over 90 national and international awards, including the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize, the Linus Pauling Medal, and the Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology. Mario J. Molina is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, and the Center for Atmospheric Sciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as well as director of the Mario Molina Center for Energy and Environment in Mexico City. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 for his role in elucidating the threat to the Earth's ozone layer of chlorofluorocarbon gases. The only Mexican-born Nobel laureate in science, he served on PCAST for both Clinton terms. He is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. Craig Mundie is chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft. He has 39 years of experience in the computer industry, beginning as a developer of operating systems. He co-founded and served as CEO of Alliant Computer Systems. Barbara A. Schaal is professor of biology at Washington University in St. Louis. She is a renowned plant geneticist who has used molecular genetics to understand the evolution and ecology of plants, ranging from the U.S. Midwest to the tropics. She serves as vice president of the National Academy of Sciences, the first woman ever elected to that role. Eric Schmidt is the executive chairman of Google and a former member of the board of directors of Apple Inc. Before joining Google, he served as chief technology officer for Sun Microsystems and later as CEO of Novell Inc. Daniel P. Schrag is the Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University and professor of environmental science and engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He is also director of the Harvard-wide Center for Environment. He was trained as a marine geochemist and has employed a variety of methods to study the carbon cycle and climate over a wide range of Earth’s history. Awarded a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 2000, he has recently been working on technological approaches to mitigating future climate change. Ed Penhoet is a director of Alta Partners. He serves on the board of directors for ChemoCentryx, Immune Design, Metabolex, and Scynexis. He was a co-founder of Chiron and served as the company’s president and chief executive officer from 1981 until 1998. He was also a member of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). From 2004 to 2008 he served as the president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, where he is currently serving on the board. Penhoet was a faculty member of the biochemistry department of the University of California, Berkeley. From July 1998 to July 2002, he served as dean of the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of the US Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves on the board of Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland. See also Office of Science and Technology Policy National Science and Technology Council Technology policy References External links Official website

general circulation model

A general circulation model (GCM) is a type of climate model. It employs a mathematical model of the general circulation of a planetary atmosphere or ocean. It uses the Navier–Stokes equations on a rotating sphere with thermodynamic terms for various energy sources (radiation, latent heat). These equations are the basis for computer programs used to simulate the Earth's atmosphere or oceans. Atmospheric and oceanic GCMs (AGCM and OGCM) are key components along with sea ice and land-surface components. GCMs and global climate models are used for weather forecasting, understanding the climate, and forecasting climate change. Versions designed for decade to century time scale climate applications were originally created by Syukuro Manabe and Kirk Bryan at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) in Princeton, New Jersey. These models are based on the integration of a variety of fluid dynamical, chemical and sometimes biological equations. Terminology The acronym GCM originally stood for General Circulation Model. Recently, a second meaning came into use, namely Global Climate Model. While these do not refer to the same thing, General Circulation Models are typically the tools used for modelling climate, and hence the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, the term "global climate model" is ambiguous and may refer to an integrated framework that incorporates multiple components including a general circulation model, or may refer to the general class of climate models that use a variety of means to represent the climate mathematically. History In 1956, Norman Phillips developed a mathematical model that could realistically depict monthly and seasonal patterns in the troposphere. It became the first successful climate model. Following Phillips's work, several groups began working to create GCMs. The first to combine both oceanic and atmospheric processes was developed in the late 1960s at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. By the early 1980s, the United States' National Center for Atmospheric Research had developed the Community Atmosphere Model; this model has been continuously refined. In 1996, efforts began to model soil and vegetation types. Later the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research's HadCM3 model coupled ocean-atmosphere elements. The role of gravity waves was added in the mid-1980s. Gravity waves are required to simulate regional and global scale circulations accurately. Atmospheric and oceanic models Atmospheric (AGCMs) and oceanic GCMs (OGCMs) can be coupled to form an atmosphere-ocean coupled general circulation model (CGCM or AOGCM). With the addition of submodels such as a sea ice model or a model for evapotranspiration over land, AOGCMs become the basis for a full climate model. Structure Three-dimensional (more properly four-dimensional) GCMs apply discrete equations for fluid motion and integrate these forward in time. They contain parameterisations for processes such as convection that occur on scales too small to be resolved directly. A simple general circulation model (SGCM) consists of a dynamic core that relates properties such as temperature to others such as pressure and velocity. Examples are programs that solve the primitive equations, given energy input and energy dissipation in the form of scale-dependent friction, so that atmospheric waves with the highest wavenumbers are most attenuated. Such models may be used to study atmospheric processes, but are not suitable for climate projections. Atmospheric GCMs (AGCMs) model the atmosphere (and typically contain a land-surface model as well) using imposed sea surface temperatures (SSTs). They may include atmospheric chemistry. AGCMs consist of a dynamical core which integrates the equations of fluid motion, typically for: surface pressure horizontal components of velocity in layers temperature and water vapor in layers radiation, split into solar/short wave and terrestrial/infrared/long wave parameters for: convection land surface processes albedo hydrology cloud coverA GCM contains prognostic equations that are a function of time (typically winds, temperature, moisture, and surface pressure) together with diagnostic equations that are evaluated from them for a specific time period. As an example, pressure at any height can be diagnosed by applying the hydrostatic equation to the predicted surface pressure and the predicted values of temperature between the surface and the height of interest. Pressure is used to compute the pressure gradient force in the time-dependent equation for the winds. OGCMs model the ocean (with fluxes from the atmosphere imposed) and may contain a sea ice model. For example, the standard resolution of HadOM3 is 1.25 degrees in latitude and longitude, with 20 vertical levels, leading to approximately 1,500,000 variables. AOGCMs (e.g. HadCM3, GFDL CM2.X) combine the two submodels. They remove the need to specify fluxes across the interface of the ocean surface. These models are the basis for model predictions of future climate, such as are discussed by the IPCC. AOGCMs internalise as many processes as possible. They have been used to provide predictions at a regional scale. While the simpler models are generally susceptible to analysis and their results are easier to understand, AOGCMs may be nearly as hard to analyse as the climate itself. Grid The fluid equations for AGCMs are made discrete using either the finite difference method or the spectral method. For finite differences, a grid is imposed on the atmosphere. The simplest grid uses constant angular grid spacing (i.e., a latitude / longitude grid). However, non-rectangular grids (e.g., icosahedral) and grids of variable resolution are more often used. The LMDz model can be arranged to give high resolution over any given section of the planet. HadGEM1 (and other ocean models) use an ocean grid with higher resolution in the tropics to help resolve processes believed to be important for the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Spectral models generally use a gaussian grid, because of the mathematics of transformation between spectral and grid-point space. Typical AGCM resolutions are between 1 and 5 degrees in latitude or longitude: HadCM3, for example, uses 3.75 in longitude and 2.5 degrees in latitude, giving a grid of 96 by 73 points (96 x 72 for some variables); and has 19 vertical levels. This results in approximately 500,000 "basic" variables, since each grid point has four variables (u,v, T, Q), though a full count would give more (clouds; soil levels). HadGEM1 uses a grid of 1.875 degrees in longitude and 1.25 in latitude in the atmosphere; HiGEM, a high-resolution variant, uses 1.25 x 0.83 degrees respectively. These resolutions are lower than is typically used for weather forecasting. Ocean resolutions tend to be higher, for example HadCM3 has 6 ocean grid points per atmospheric grid point in the horizontal. For a standard finite difference model, uniform gridlines converge towards the poles. This would lead to computational instabilities (see CFL condition) and so the model variables must be filtered along lines of latitude close to the poles. Ocean models suffer from this problem too, unless a rotated grid is used in which the North Pole is shifted onto a nearby landmass. Spectral models do not suffer from this problem. Some experiments use geodesic grids and icosahedral grids, which (being more uniform) do not have pole-problems. Another approach to solving the grid spacing problem is to deform a Cartesian cube such that it covers the surface of a sphere. Flux buffering Some early versions of AOGCMs required an ad hoc process of "flux correction" to achieve a stable climate. This resulted from separately prepared ocean and atmospheric models that each used an implicit flux from the other component different than that component could produce. Such a model failed to match observations. However, if the fluxes were 'corrected', the factors that led to these unrealistic fluxes might be unrecognised, which could affect model sensitivity. As a result, the vast majority of models used in the current round of IPCC reports do not use them. The model improvements that now make flux corrections unnecessary include improved ocean physics, improved resolution in both atmosphere and ocean, and more physically consistent coupling between atmosphere and ocean submodels. Improved models now maintain stable, multi-century simulations of surface climate that are considered to be of sufficient quality to allow their use for climate projections. Convection Moist convection releases latent heat and is important to the Earth's energy budget. Convection occurs on too small a scale to be resolved by climate models, and hence it must be handled via parameters. This has been done since the 1950s. Akio Arakawa did much of the early work, and variants of his scheme are still used, although a variety of different schemes are now in use. Clouds are also typically handled with a parameter, for a similar lack of scale. Limited understanding of clouds has limited the success of this strategy, but not due to some inherent shortcoming of the method. Software Most models include software to diagnose a wide range of variables for comparison with observations or study of atmospheric processes. An example is the 2-metre temperature, which is the standard height for near-surface observations of air temperature. This temperature is not directly predicted from the model but is deduced from surface and lowest-model-layer temperatures. Other software is used for creating plots and animations. Projections Coupled AOGCMs use transient climate simulations to project/predict climate changes under various scenarios. These can be idealised scenarios (most commonly, CO2 emissions increasing at 1%/yr) or based on recent history (usually the "IS92a" or more recently the SRES scenarios). Which scenarios are most realistic remains uncertain. The 2001 IPCC Third Assessment Report F igure 9.3 shows the global mean response of 19 different coupled models to an idealised experiment in which emissions increased at 1% per year. Figure 9.5 shows the response of a smaller number of models to more recent trends. For the 7 climate models shown there, the temperature change to 2100 varies from 2 to 4.5 °C with a median of about 3 °C. Future scenarios do not include unknown events – for example, volcanic eruptions or changes in solar forcing. These effects are believed to be small in comparison to greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing in the long term, but large volcanic eruptions, for example, can exert a substantial temporary cooling effect. Human GHG emissions are a model input, although it is possible to include an economic/technological submodel to provide these as well. Atmospheric GHG levels are usually supplied as an input, though it is possible to include a carbon cycle model that reflects vegetation and oceanic processes to calculate such levels. Emissions scenarios For the six SRES marker scenarios, IPCC (2007:7–8) gave a "best estimate" of global mean temperature increase (2090–2099 relative to the period 1980–1999) of 1.8 °C to 4.0 °C. Over the same time period, the "likely" range (greater than 66% probability, based on expert judgement) for these scenarios was for a global mean temperature increase of 1.1 to 6.4 °C.In 2008 a study made climate projections using several emission scenarios. In a scenario where global emissions start to decrease by 2010 and then declined at a sustained rate of 3% per year, the likely global average temperature increase was predicted to be 1.7 °C above pre-industrial levels by 2050, rising to around 2 °C by 2100. In a projection designed to simulate a future where no efforts are made to reduce global emissions, the likely rise in global average temperature was predicted to be 5.5 °C by 2100. A rise as high as 7 °C was thought possible, although less likely. Another no-reduction scenario resulted in a median warming over land (2090–99 relative to the period 1980–99) of 5.1 °C. Under the same emissions scenario but with a different model, the predicted median warming was 4.1 °C. Model accuracy AOGCMs internalise as many processes as are sufficiently understood. However, they are still under development and significant uncertainties remain. They may be coupled to models of other processes in Earth system models, such as the carbon cycle, so as to better model feedbacks. Most recent simulations show "plausible" agreement with the measured temperature anomalies over the past 150 years, when driven by observed changes in greenhouse gases and aerosols. Agreement improves by including both natural and anthropogenic forcings.Imperfect models may nevertheless produce useful results. GCMs are capable of reproducing the general features of the observed global temperature over the past century.A debate over how to reconcile climate model predictions that upper air (tropospheric) warming should be greater than observed surface warming, some of which appeared to show otherwise, was resolved in favour of the models, following data revisions. Cloud effects are a significant area of uncertainty in climate models. Clouds have competing effects on climate. They cool the surface by reflecting sunlight into space; they warm it by increasing the amount of infrared radiation transmitted from the atmosphere to the surface. In the 2001 IPCC report possible changes in cloud cover were highlighted as a major uncertainty in predicting climate.Climate researchers around the world use climate models to understand the climate system. Thousands of papers have been published about model-based studies. Part of this research is to improve the models. In 2000, a comparison between measurements and dozens of GCM simulations of ENSO-driven tropical precipitation, water vapor, temperature, and outgoing longwave radiation found similarity between measurements and simulation of most factors. However the simulated change in precipitation was about one-fourth less than what was observed. Errors in simulated precipitation imply errors in other processes, such as errors in the evaporation rate that provides moisture to create precipitation. The other possibility is that the satellite-based measurements are in error. Either indicates progress is required in order to monitor and predict such changes.The precise magnitude of future changes in climate is still uncertain; for the end of the 21st century (2071 to 2100), for SRES scenario A2, the change of global average SAT change from AOGCMs compared with 1961 to 1990 is +3.0 °C (5.4 °F) and the range is +1.3 to +4.5 °C (+2.3 to 8.1 °F). The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report asserted "very high confidence that models reproduce the general features of the global-scale annual mean surface temperature increase over the historical period". However, the report also observed that the rate of warming over the period 1998–2012 was lower than that predicted by 111 out of 114 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project climate models. Relation to weather forecasting The global climate models used for climate projections are similar in structure to (and often share computer code with) numerical models for weather prediction, but are nonetheless logically distinct. Most weather forecasting is done on the basis of interpreting numerical model results. Since forecasts are typically a few days or a week and sea surface temperatures change relatively slowly, such models do not usually contain an ocean model but rely on imposed SSTs. They also require accurate initial conditions to begin the forecast – typically these are taken from the output of a previous forecast, blended with observations. Weather predictions are required at higher temporal resolutions than climate projections, often sub-hourly compared to monthly or yearly averages for climate. However, because weather forecasts only cover around 10 days the models can also be run at higher vertical and horizontal resolutions than climate mode. Currently the ECMWF runs at 9 km (5.6 mi) resolution as opposed to the 100-to-200 km (62-to-124 mi) scale used by typical climate model runs. Often local models are run using global model results for boundary conditions, to achieve higher local resolution: for example, the Met Office runs a mesoscale model with an 11 km (6.8 mi) resolution covering the UK, and various agencies in the US employ models such as the NGM and NAM models. Like most global numerical weather prediction models such as the GFS, global climate models are often spectral models instead of grid models. Spectral models are often used for global models because some computations in modeling can be performed faster, thus reducing run times. Computations Climate models use quantitative methods to simulate the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface and ice. All climate models take account of incoming energy as short wave electromagnetic radiation, chiefly visible and short-wave (near) infrared, as well as outgoing energy as long wave (far) infrared electromagnetic radiation from the earth. Any imbalance results in a change in temperature. The most talked-about models of recent years relate temperature to emissions of greenhouse gases. These models project an upward trend in the surface temperature record, as well as a more rapid increase in temperature at higher altitudes.Three (or more properly, four since time is also considered) dimensional GCM's discretise the equations for fluid motion and energy transfer and integrate these over time. They also contain parametrisations for processes such as convection that occur on scales too small to be resolved directly. Atmospheric GCMs (AGCMs) model the atmosphere and impose sea surface temperatures as boundary conditions. Coupled atmosphere-ocean GCMs (AOGCMs, e.g. HadCM3, EdGCM, GFDL CM2.X, ARPEGE-Climat) combine the two models. Models range in complexity: A simple radiant heat transfer model treats the earth as a single point and averages outgoing energy This can be expanded vertically (radiative-convective models), or horizontally Finally, (coupled) atmosphere–ocean–sea ice global climate models discretise and solve the full equations for mass and energy transfer and radiant exchange. Box models treat flows across and within ocean basins.Other submodels can be interlinked, such as land use, allowing researchers to predict the interaction between climate and ecosystems. Comparison with other climate models Earth-system models of intermediate complexity (EMICs) The Climber-3 model uses a 2.5-dimensional statistical-dynamical model with 7.5° × 22.5° resolution and time step of 1/2 a day. An oceanic submodel is MOM-3 (Modular Ocean Model) with a 3.75° × 3.75° grid and 24 vertical levels. Radiative-convective models (RCM) One-dimensional, radiative-convective models were used to verify basic climate assumptions in the 1980s and 1990s. Earth system models GCMs can form part of Earth system models, e.g. by coupling ice sheet models for the dynamics of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and one or more chemical transport models (CTMs) for species important to climate. Thus a carbon chemistry transport model may allow a GCM to better predict anthropogenic changes in carbon dioxide concentrations. In addition, this approach allows accounting for inter-system feedback: e.g. chemistry-climate models allow the effects of climate change on the ozone hole to be studied. See also Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) (in the US) Earth Simulator Global Environmental Multiscale Model Ice-sheet model Intermediate General Circulation Model NCAR Prognostic variable References IPCC AR4 SYR (2007), Core Writing Team; Pachauri, R.K; Reisinger, A. (eds.), Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report (SYR), Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC, ISBN 978-92-9169-122-7. Further reading Ian Roulstone & John Norbury (2013). Invisible in the Storm: the role of mathematics in understanding weather. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691152721. External links IPCC AR5, Evaluation of Climate Models "High Resolution Climate Modeling". – with media including videos, animations, podcasts and transcripts on climate models "Flexible Modeling System (FMS)". Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. – GFDL's Flexible Modeling System containing code for the climate models Program for climate model diagnosis and intercomparison (PCMDI/CMIP) National Operational Model Archive and Distribution System (NOMADS) Archived 30 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research] – model info NCAR/UCAR Community Climate System Model (CESM) Climate prediction, community modeling NASA/GISS, primary research GCM model EDGCM/NASA: Educational Global Climate Modeling Archived 23 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine NOAA/GFDL MAOAM: Martian Atmosphere Observation and Modeling / MPI & MIPT

david mclaughlin (political figure)

David McLaughlin is a Canadian political figure. He was Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in 1993. Career A native of New Brunswick, he served as deputy minister and then chief of staff to Premier Bernard Lord from his victory in the 1999 election until just after the 2003 election. From 2003 to 2005 he was deputy minister for the Commission on Legislative Democracy, a royal commission charged with re-evaluating the political system in New Brunswick. McLaughlin was involved in many major decisions in the Lord government. Following the completion of the commission in 2005, McLaughlin was made a deputy minister in the Executive Council Office with no particular policy role but was instead given to the Council of the Federation on loan to oversee their study of the fiscal imbalance. In 2006, he was named chief of staff to federal Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty in the new Conservative Party of Canada government. Travel Expenses report In 2017 in Manitoba, McLaughlin acted as "temporary director of communications and stakeholder relations" as well as "climate change advisor" for the office of Conservative Premier Brian Pallister. Controversy arose after it became public that along with his annual salary of $133,375, McLaughlin had claimed nearly $60,000 in travel expenses, mainly for hotels in Winnipeg and for flights to and from Ottawa. Although McLaughlin listed the expenses as being for "climate change project/meetings," or "communications and stakeholder relations," Premier Pallister, while describing McLaughlin as "a respected international expert on climate change [and] sustainable development," said the expenses were paid "to help [McLaughlin] maintain touch with his two children and his wife." == References ==

stott (disambiguation)

The Stotts were a British family of architects. Stott or Stotts may also refer to: People Alicia Boole Stott (1860–1940), British mathematician Amanda Stott (born 1982), Canadian Singer Bryson Stott (born 1997), American baseball player Christopher Stott (born 1969), British businessman, husband of Nicole Stott Craig Stott (born 1990), Australian actor Etienne Stott (born 1979), British, Olympic canoeist George Stott (disambiguation), multiple people Gordon Stott (1909–1999), Lord Advocate of Scotland John Stott (1921–2011) British, Evangelical cleric and theologian Kathryn Stott (born 1958), British pianist Ken Stott (born 1954), Scottish film and television actor Kevin Stott (born 1967), American, FIFA soccer referee Lally Stott (1945–1977), British songwriter Mary Stott (1907–2002), British feminist and journalist Muriel Stott (1889–1985), Australian architect Nicole Stott (born 1962), American astronaut Peter A. Stott (fl. 1989–2007), British scientist and expert on climate change Philip Stott (born 1945), British professor emeritus of biogeography Ramo Stott (1934–2021), American stock car driver Rebecca Stott (born 1964), British author and academic Rebekah Stott (born 1993), New Zealand association footballer Robert Stott (1858–1928), Australian police commissioner Robert Stott (soldier) (1898–1984), British military commander Ron Stott (1938–2014), American businessman and politician Philip Sidney Stott (1858–1937), architect, civil engineer and surveyor Terry Stotts (born 1957), American basketball coach and former player Wally Stott (1924-2009), British musician, composer and conductor Other Stott and Sons, an architectural firm founded by Abraham Henthorn Stott Stott's College, an Australian college Stotts Creek, a stream in the United States Støtt or Støttvær, an island group in northern Norway See also Stotz, surname Stotting, an animal behaviour

standard of living

Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality of life. Standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outside an individual's personal control, such as economic, societal, political and environmental matters – such things that an individual might consider when evaluating where to live in the world, or when assessing the success of economic policy. In international law, an "adequate standard of living" was first described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further described in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. To evaluate the impact of policy for sustainable development, different disciplines have defined Decent Living Standards in order to evaluate or compare relative living experience.During much of its use in economics, improvements to standard of living was thought to be directly connected to economic growth, increase amount of energy consumption and other materials. However, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report found that literature demonstrates that improvements in sustainable development practices as well as changes in technological efficiency and energy production and use, allow for a Decent Living Standard for all people without fossil fuels and ~15.3 GJ per capita by the end of the 21st century. This allows for climate change mitigation by demand reduction as well as other sustainable development practices. Factors considered by scholars Standard of living might be evaluated using a number of characteristics including as the quality and availability of employment, class disparity, poverty rate, quality and housing affordability, hours of work required to purchase necessities, gross domestic product, inflation rate, amount of leisure time, access to and quality of healthcare, quality and availability of education, literacy rates, life expectancy, occurrence of diseases, cost of goods and services, infrastructure, access to, quality and affordability of public transportation, national economic growth, economic and political stability, freedom, environmental quality, climate and safety. For the purposes of economics, politics and policy, it is usually compared across time or between groups defined by social, economic or geographical parameters. Right to an adequate standard of living Decent Living Standard The standard of living varies between individuals depending on different aspects of life. The standard of living consists of the individuals having the basics such as food, shelter, social safety and interaction which all contribute to their wellbeing and what is considered to be a decent living standard. Experts use a number of different measures and approaches to establish the decent living standard or DLS. The decent living standard revolves around the idea and principle that a majority of the population are in demand for the basics that will allow them to have shelter, food and water, however it is not always able to be maintained for a long period of time. Measurement Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as inflation-adjusted income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality, and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods (such as the number of refrigerators per 1000 people), or measurement of health such as life expectancy. It is the ease by which people living in a time or place are able to satisfy their needs and/or wants.There is also the biological standard of living, which pertains to how well the human biological organism fares in its socio-economic environment. It is often measured by the height of a population.The idea of a 'standard' may be contrasted with the quality of life, which takes into account not only the material standard of living but also other more intangible aspects that make up human life, such as leisure, safety, cultural resources, social life, physical health, environmental quality issues. See also Gini coefficient Human Development Index Income and fertility Index of Economic Freedom List of countries by Social Progress Index Measurable economic welfare Median household income Quality of life Right to an adequate standard of living Total fertility rate Where-to-be-born Index Working hours References External links Industrial Revolution and the Standard of Living by Freddy Madero Commission on Living Standards Archived 12 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine

the climate book

The Climate Book is a collective non-fiction book by the climate activist Greta Thunberg. The original English edition was published in October 2022. Translations are published in languages including German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian The cover features a warming stripes data visualization graphic of a type developed by British climatologist Ed Hawkins.The book consists of a collection of short essays by more than a hundred experts. It analyses the causes, consequences and challenges of the climate crisis. Parts and authors The Climate Book is organised in five parts: Part 1: How climate works Contributors: Peter Brannen, Beth Shapiro, Elizabeth Kolbert, Michael Oppenheimer, Naomi Oreskes and Johan Rockström. Part 2: How our planet is changing Contributors: Katharine Hayhoe, Zeke Hausfather, Bjørn Samset, Paulo Ceppi, Jennifer Francis, Friederike Otto, Kate Marvel, Ricarda Winkelmann, Stefan Rahmstorf, Hans-Otto Pörtner, Karin Kvale, Peter Gleick, Joëlle Gergis, Carlos Nobre, Julia Arieira, Nathália Nascimento, Beverly Law, Andy Purvis, Adriana De Palma, Dave Goulson, Keith Larson, Jennifer Soong, Örjan Gustafsson and Tamsin Edwards Part 3: How it affects us Contributors: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Ana Vicedo-Cabrera, Drew Shindell, Felipe Colón-Gonzalez, John Browstein, Derek MacFadden, Sarah McGough, Mauricio Santilla, Samuel Myers, Saleemul Huq, Jacqueline Patterson, Abraham Lustgarten, Michael Taylor, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Elin Anna Labba, Sônia Guajajara, Solomon Hsiang, Taikan Oki, Marshall Burke and Eugene Linden Part 4: What we've done about it Contributors: Kevin Anderson, Alexandra Urisman Otto, Bill McKibben, Glen Peters, Karl-Heinz Erb, Simone Gingrich, Niclas Hällström, Jennie Stephens, Isak Stoddard, Rob Jackson, Alexander Popp, Michael Clark, Sonja Vermeulen, John Barett, Alice Garvey, Ketan Joshi, Alice Larkin, Jilian Anable, Christian Brand, Annie Lowry, Mike Berners-Lee, Silpa Kaza, Nina Schrank, Nicholas Stern, Sunita Narain, Jason Hickel and Amitav Ghosh Part 5: What we must do now Contributors: Stuart Capstick, Lorraine Whitmarsh, Kate Raworth, Per Espen Stoknes, Gison Eshel, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, George Monbiot, Rebecca Wrigley, Margaret Atwood, Erica Chenoweth, Michael Mann, Seth Klein, David Wallace-Wells, Naomi Klein, Nicole Becker, Disha Ravi, Hilda Flavia Nakabuye, Laura Verónica Muñoz, Ina Maria Shikongo, Ayisha Siddiqa, Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Wanjira Mathai, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò and Robin Wall Kimmerer Reception A Publishers Weekly reviewed praised the book's passion and "lucid and accessible" explanations of global warming, and concluded that the book is "comprehensive and articulate". Gaia Vince from The Guardian commented that Thunberg wrote with directness, which she evaluated as "both refreshing to read and tiring". Vince also complimented numerous other writers, but criticised the lack of coverage on technologies that could potentially be solutions, including geo-engineering and nuclear power, concluding that the book is superb in explaining the importance of preventing climate change but has "little pragmatism over what to do about now-certain changes". A review from The Daily Telegraph awarded the book four out of five stars, praising the book's "stunningly handsome" design and calling it a "superb vademecum", but critiqued the book's thinking as "anti-capitalistic" and "anti-technology". See also Climate change Climate change mitigation Climate justice Greenwashing Tipping points in the climate system 2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years (A follow-up to The Limits to Growth report to the Club of Rome) Vom Ende der Klimakrise – Eine Geschichte unserer Zukunft (English: "About the end of the clima crises - a tale of our future") References Further reading Eckert, Werner [in German] (2022-10-26). ""Das Klimabuch" von Greta Thunberg: Weise und infantil zugleich" [The "climate book" by Greta Thunberg: Wise and infantile at the same time]. Literatur. SWR2 (in German). Südwestrundfunk. Archived from the original on 2022-11-13. Retrieved 2022-11-13. Müller-Jung, Joachim [in German] (2022-10-28). "Greta Thunbergs neues Buch: "Wir müssen jetzt das scheinbar Unmögliche tun"" [Greta Thunberg's new book: "We need to do the seemingly impossible now""]. Feuilleton / Natur und Wissenschaft. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH. Archived from the original on 2022-11-13. Retrieved 2022-11-13. Schmidt, Katharina (2022-11-11). "500 Seiten: Greta Thunbergs Buch macht fassungslos" [500 pages: Greta Thunberg's book leaves one bewildered]. Umweltschutz. utopia.de (in German). Utopia GmbH. Archived from the original on 2022-11-13. Retrieved 2022-11-13. External links Official website

fondazione eni enrico mattei

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center and think tank based in Milan with offices in Venice and Viggiano. FEEM is considered a leading international research center for the study of energy and environmental issues, focusing globally on the environment, sustainable development and governance. The Foundation's mission is the research-based improvement of the quality of public and private sector decision-making. History Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei was organized by members of the Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI) and others, beginning in 1982. The first board meeting occurred in 1987, setting down the principles for its activities. Named to honor Enrico Mattei, FEEM was formally recognized on June 7, 1989 by the President of the Italian Republic Francesco Cossiga. Leadership As of 21 September 2020, Alessandro Lanza was appointed as the Executive Director of Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei by the FEEM Board of Directors, succeeding Paolo Carnevale. The chair of FEEM's board of directors is Lucia Calvosa. Work Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei carries out research and provides objective analysis on a range of issues relating to the environment, energy and the global economy, including mitigation and adaptation to climate change. FEEM works with an international and interdisciplinary network of researchers in innovative programs, providing and promoting training in specialized research fields, disseminating the results of their studies through various communication channels and informing policy makers through participation in various institutional forums.In 2009 FEEM and the Giorgio Cini Foundation co-founded the International Center for Climate Governance, renamed the Initiative on Climate Change policy and Governance (ICCG) as of 2017. ICCG is based in Venice on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. It serves as an international disseminator of research on climate change policy and governance. In 2012, ICCG released the first in a series of international rankings of think tanks engaged in research on climate change science, economics, and policy.Among other activities, in April 2019 FEEM worked with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) to bring together a worldwide group of experts on decarbonization technologies, resulting in the report The Roadmap to 2050: A Manual for Countries to Decarbonize by Mid-Century. External links Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Official website (also in English) Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers, BE Press == References ==

geography of mauritania

Mauritania, a country in the Western Region of the continent of Africa, is generally flat, its 1,030,700 square kilometres forming vast, arid plains broken by occasional ridges and clifflike outcroppings. Mauritania is the world’s largest country lying entirely below an altitude of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). It borders the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara, Mali and Algeria. It is considered part of both the Sahel and the Maghreb. A series of scarps face southwest, longitudinally bisecting these plains in the center of the country. The scarps also separate a series of sandstone plateaus, the highest of which is the Adrar Plateau, reaching an elevation of 500 metres or 1,640 feet. Spring-fed oases lie at the foot of some of the scarps. Isolated peaks, often rich in minerals, rise above the plateaus; the smaller peaks are called Guelbs and the larger ones Kedias. The concentric Guelb er Richat is a prominent feature of the north-central region. Kediet ej Jill, near the city of Zouîrât, has an elevation of 915 metres or 3,002 feet and is the highest peak. Approximately three-fourths of Mauritania is desert or semidesert. As a result of extended, severe drought, the desert has been expanding since the mid-1960s. The plateaus gradually descend toward the northeast to the barren El Djouf, or "Empty Quarter," a vast region of large sand dunes that merges into the Sahara Desert. To the west, between the ocean and the plateaus, are alternating areas of clayey plains (regs) and sand dunes (ergs), some of which shift from place to place, gradually moved by high winds. The dunes generally increase in size and mobility toward the north. Belts of natural vegetation, corresponding to the rainfall pattern, extend from east to west and range from traces of tropical forest along the Sénégal River to brush and savanna in the southeast. Only sandy desert is found in the centre and north of the country. Climate The climate is characterized by extremes in temperature and by meager and irregular rainfall. Annual temperature variations are small, although diurnal variations can be extreme. The harmattan, a hot, dry, and often dust-laden wind, blows from the Sahara throughout the long dry season and is the prevailing wind, except along the narrow coastal strip, which is influenced by oceanic trade winds. Most rain falls during the short rainy season (hivernage), from July to September, and average annual precipitation varies from 500 to 600 millimetres (19.7 to 23.6 in) in the far south to less than 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in the northern two-thirds of the country. Major geographic and climate zones Mauritania has four ecological zones: the Saharan Zone, the Sahelian Zone, the Senegal River Valley, and the Coastal Zone. Although the zones are markedly different from one another, no natural features clearly delineate the boundaries between them. Sand, varying in color and composition, covers 40 percent of the surface of the country, forming dunes that appear in all zones except the Senegal River Valley. Fixed sand dunes are composed of coarse, fawn-colored sand, while shifting ("mobile") dunes consist of fine, dustlike, reddish-colored sands that can be carried by the wind. Plateaus generally are covered with heavier blue, gray, and black sands that form a crusty surface over layers of soft, loose sand. Saharan zone The Saharan Zone makes up the northern two-thirds of the country. Its southern boundary corresponds to the isohyet (a line on the Earth's surface along which the rainfall is the same) that represents annual precipitation of 150 millimetres (5.9 in). Rain usually falls during the hivernage, which lasts from July to September. Often, isolated storms drop large amounts of water in short periods of time. A year, or even several years, may pass without any rain in some locations. Diurnal variations in temperature in the Saharan Zone may be extreme, although annual variations are minimal. During December and January, temperatures range from an early morning low of 0 °C (32 °F) to a midafternoon high of 38 °C (100.4 °F). During May, June, and July, temperatures range from 16 °C (60.8 °F) in the morning to more than 49 °C (120.2 °F) by afternoon. Throughout the year, the harmattan often causes blinding sandstorms. The administrative regions (formerly called cercles) of Tiris Zemmour in the north, Adrar in the center, and northern Hodh ech Chargui in the east, which make up most of the Saharan Zone, are vast empty stretches of dunes alternating with granite outcroppings. After a rain, or in the presence of a well, these outcroppings may support vegetation. In the populated Adrar and Tagant plateaus, springs and wells provide water for pasturage and some agriculture. In the western portion of the Saharan Zone, extending toward Nouakchott, rows of sand dunes are aligned from northeast to southwest in ridges from two to twenty kilometres wide. Between these ridges are depressions filled with limestone and clayey sand capable of supporting vegetation after a rain. Dunes in the far north shift with the wind more than those in the south. The Saharan Zone has little vegetation. Some mountainous areas with a water source support small-leafed and spiny plants and scrub grasses suitable for camels. Because seeds of desert plants can remain dormant for many years, dunes often sprout sparse vegetation after a rain. In depressions between dunes, where the water is nearer the surface, some flora—including acacias, soapberry trees, capers, and swallowwort—may be found. Saline areas have a particular kind of vegetation, mainly chenopods, which are adapted to high salt concentrations in the soil. Cultivation is limited to oases, where date palms are used to shade other crops from the sun. Sahelian zone The Sahelian Zone extends south of the Saharan Zone to within approximately 30 kilometres of the Senegal River. It forms an east–west belt with its axis running from Boutilimit through 'Ayoûn el 'Atroûs to Néma, including the Aoukar basin. The area is mostly made up of steppes and savanna grasslands. Herds of cattle, sheep, and goats move across this zone in search of pasturage. The hivernage begins earlier in the Sahelian Zone than in the Saharan Zone, often lasting from June until October. Because farmers and herders depend on annual rains, a delay of one month in the beginning of the rainy season can cause large losses and lead to mass migrations from Hodh ech Chargui and Hodh el Gharbi into Mali. Although temperature extremes are narrower than in the Saharan Zone, daily variations range from 16 to 21 °C (60.8 to 69.8 °F). The harmattan is the prevailing wind. In the northern Sahel, dunes are covered with scrub grasses and spiny acacia trees. Farther south, greater rainfall permits denser vegetation. Sands begin to give way to clay. Large date palm plantations are found on the Tagant Plateau, and savanna grasses, brushwood, balsam, and spurge cover fixed dunes. Occasional baobab trees dot the flat savanna grasslands of the southern Sahel. Forest areas contain palm trees and baobabs. Vast forests of gum-bearing acacia grow in Trarza and Brakna regions. Farther south, particularly in Assaba and the northern portion of Guidimaka regions, rainfall is high enough to support forms of sedentary agriculture. Senegal River Valley The Senegal River Valley, sometimes known as the Chemama or the pre-Sahel, is a narrow belt of land that extends north of the Senegal River. Before the droughts of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the belt ranged from 16 to 30 kilometres (10 to 19 mi) north of the river. By the late 1980s, desertification had reached the northern bank of the river in some parts of the valley. The valley is wider in Guidimaka Region and is completely dominated by the seasonal cycle of the river. Almost all of the valley's economically active population engages in sedentary agriculture or fishing along the Senegal River and its main tributaries—the Karakoro, the Gorgol, and the Garfa. This area supplies most of the country's agricultural production. The climate of the Senegal River Valley contrasts with that of the Saharan and Sahelian zones. Rainfall is higher than in other regions, ranging from 400 to 600 millimetres (15.7 to 23.6 in) annually, usually between May and September. This rainfall, combined with annual flooding of the river, provides the basis for agriculture. Temperatures are cooler and subject to less annual and diurnal variation than in other regions. The Senegal is the only permanent river between southern Morocco and central Senegal. From its source in Guinea, it flows north and west 2,500 kilometres (1,553 mi), reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Saint Louis, Senegal. From its mouth, the river is navigable as far as Kayes, Mali, during the rainy season and Podor, Senegal, during the rest of the year. Heavy rains, beginning in April in Guinea and May and June in Senegal and Mali, bring annual floods. These floods cover the entire valley up to a width of 25 to 35 kilometres (16 to 22 mi), filling numerous lakes and sloughs (marigots) that empty back into the river during the dry season. A notable example of these is Lake R'Kiz. When the waters recede from the bottomlands, planting begins. The Senegal River Valley, with its rich alluvial and clayey soil, is comparatively abundant in flora. Moreover, higher rainfall, irrigation, and abundant side channels and sloughs tend to produce a lush, near-tropical vegetation, with baobab and gonakie trees and abundant rich grasses. Ddounm and barussus palms are also found here. Much of the flood plain is cultivated. Coastal zone The Coastal Zone, or Sub-Canarian Zone, extends the length of the approximately 754-kilometre (469 mi) long Atlantic coast. Prevailing oceanic trade winds from the Canary Islands modify the influence of the harmattan, producing a humid but temperate climate. Rainfall here is minimal; in Nouadhibou it averages 30 mm annually and occurs between July and September. Temperatures are moderate, varying from mean maximums of 28 and 32 °C (82.4 and 89.6 °F) for Nouadhibou and Nouakchott, respectively, to mean minimums of 16 and 19 °C (60.8 and 66.2 °F). Battering surf and shifting sand banks characterize the entire length of the shoreline. The Ras Nouadhibou (formerly known as Cap Blanc) peninsula, which forms Dakhlet Nouadhibou (formerly Lévrier Bay) to the east, is 50 kilometres (31 mi) long and 13 km wide. The peninsula is administratively divided between Western Sahara and Mauritania, with the Mauritanian port and railhead of Nouadhibou located on the eastern shore. Dakhlet Nouadhibou, one of the largest natural harbours on the west coast of Africa, is 43 kilometres (27 mi) long and 32 kilometres (20 mi) wide at its broadest point. Fifty kilometres southeast of Ras Nouadhibou is Arguin. In 1455 the first Portuguese installation south of Cape Bojador (in the present-day Western Sahara) was established at Arguin. Farther south is the coastline's only significant promontory, 7-metre (23 ft)-high Cape Timiris. From this cape to the marshy area around the mouth of the Senegal River, the coast is regular and marked only by an occasional high dune. On coastal dunes vegetation is rare. At the foot of ridges, however, large tamarisk bushes, dwarf acacias, and swallowworts may be found. Some high grass, mixed with balsam, spurge, and spiny shrubs, grows in the central region. The north has little vegetation. A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 494km² of tidal flats in Mauritania, making it the 48th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area. Expansion of the desert The climate has altered drastically since the onset of the prolonged drought in the 1960s, part of a recurrent pattern of wet and dry cycles common to Sahelian Africa. Experts agree, however, that overgrazing, deforestation, denuding of ground cover around wells, poor farming methods, and overpopulation have aggravated the drought. In Mauritania the isohyet indicating annual rainfall of 150 millimetres—considered the minimum for pastoralism—has shifted southward about 100 kilometres to a point well south of Nouakchott. During the 1980s, the desert was advancing southward at an estimated rate of six kilometres a year. Each major climatic zone had shifted southward, and in some cases near-desert conditions had reached the banks of the Senegal River. By the late 1980s, desertification had fundamentally altered agro-pastoral and human settlement patterns. Loss of ground cover in the Sahelian Zone had driven animals and people southward in search of food and water and had given rise to new fields of sand dunes. The advancing dunes threatened to engulf wells, villages, and roads; they had even invaded Nouakchott on their march to the sea. The government secured international help to stabilize the dune field around Nouakchott and planted 250,000 palm trees to create a barrier against the encroaching desert. To further combat desiccation, the government constructed dams on the Senegal River and its tributaries to increase the amount of cultivable land. Area and boundaries Area total: 1,030,700 km2 (397,960 sq mi) land: 1,030,700 km2 (397,960 sq mi) water: 0 km2 (0 sq mi) Land boundaries total: 5,074 kilometres (3,153 mi) border countries: Algeria 463 kilometres (288 mi), Mali 2,237 kilometres (1,390 mi), Senegal 813 kilometres (505 mi), Western Sahara 1,561 kilometres (970 mi) Coastline 754 kilometres (469 mi; 407 nmi) Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi) continental shelf: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) Elevation extremes lowest point: Sebkha de Ndrhamcha −5 metres (−16 ft) highest point: Kediet ej Jill 915 metres (3,002 ft) Resources and Land use Natural resources iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish Land use arable land: 0.44% permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.55% (2011) Irrigated land 450.1 km² (2004) Total renewable water resources 11.4 km3 Environmental concerns Natural hazards hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts Environment – current issues overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal which is the only perennial river; locust infestation Environment – international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements Cities The population is mainly concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River at the southern border of the country. Extreme points This is a list of the extreme points of Mauritania, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. Northernmost point – the tripoint with Algeria and Western Sahara, Tiris Zemmour Region Easternmost point – the tripoint with Algeria and Mali, Tiris Zemmour Region Southernmost point – the confluence of the Senegal River and the Karakoro River on the border with Mali, Guidimaka Region Westernmost point – unnamed location on the border with Western Sahara on the Ras Nouadhibou, peninsula, Dakhlet Nouadhibou Region References This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Mauritania: A Country Study. Federal Research Division. External links Map

2020 uttarakhand forest fires

The 2020 Uttarakhand forest fires started in late May, after several forest fires broke out in Srinagar of Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand, India. As of 24 May 2020, 46 fires were reported covering around 71 hectares and 2 people have died. Overview The state of Uttarakhand in north India is primarily mountainous, with the northern part of the state lying within the Greater Himalayas. According to the Government of India, as of 2014, 71% of the land of the state is forested. In total, the forest cover in Uttarakhand stretches to 24000 square kilometers, and extends through several protected regions, and biodiversity hotspots in the Himalayan region.Naturally-occurring forest fires are a regular summer occurrence in the state, and the State Government of Uttarakhand's prevention methods including collecting pine needles from forested areas, spreading awareness to limit man-made fires, and maintaining local alert systems. The usual season for such naturally occurring fires is between February and June, i.e. during the Indian summer months, when temperatures are high and there is limited to no rainfall. Cause and spread In the last week of May 2020, Indian news media began reporting events of extensive and unprecedent rates of forest fires in the state of Uttarakhand. Initial reports suggested that the fires were primarily in the Kumaon region, but also confirmed that there were multiple, separate incidents of forest fires occurring throughout the state's forest cover. On 26 May 2020, the Times of India reported that there had been 46 incidents of forest fire in the state, resulting in a loss of 51.34 hectares (0.5134 km2) of forest cover.In October 2020, forest officials reported continued incidents of forest fires, which were stated to be 'untimely' for that time of the year. Forest officials described these fires as being caused by an unseasonable heatwave and period of dry weather. Damage It led to a large damage to plants, animals along with destruction of large amount of land . Response Initial reports of forest fires in Uttarakhand in May were met with denials by the State Government. The Uttarakhand State Department's Conservator, Dr Parag Madhukar, stated that visuals of forest fires being circulated in the media were fake. Another Forest Department official, on 26 May 2020, described the spread of the fires in 2020 as a "record low" for the region. On 27 May 2020, Jai Raj the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests for the Uttarakhand Forest Department stated that fake images circulating on social media had produced misleading beliefs in the spread of the fires, as these indicated crown fires, whereas forest fires in Uttarakhand were primarily limited to the ground level. On 28 May 2020, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat stated that he had instructed the Uttarakhand Police to register First Information Reports against any person spreading rumors about forest fires in the state. Impact == References ==

helen plume

Helen Joan Plume is a climate change expert and senior New Zealand public servant in the Ministry for the Environment. She has represented New Zealand as a negotiator at many United Nations Climate Change Conferences. Career Plume joined the Ministry for the Environment in the mid-1980s. She has represented New Zealand as a negotiator and contributed to climate change agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol and COP 26.In 2008 Plume was elected to serve a two-year term as chair of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice and was the first New Zealander to fill this position. The then minister for climate change, David Parker, acknowledged her "exceptional ability" when he announced her appointment.In the 2020 New Year Honours, Plume was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the environment.As of October 2020 she was chair of the Climate Change Experts Group, a collaboration between the OECD and the International Energy Agency. References External links Helen Plume interviewed by Ben Abraham, Tea with the High Commission podcast on "Behind the scenes at COP26

ecosystem-based adaptation

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) encompasses a broad set of approaches to adapt to climate change. They all involve the management of ecosystems and their services to reduce the vulnerability of human communities to the impacts of climate change. The Convention on Biological Diversity defines EBA as "the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change".EbA involves the conservation, sustainable management and restoration of ecosystems, such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, mangroves or coral reefs to reduce the harmful impacts of climate hazards including shifting patterns or levels of rainfall, changes in maximum and minimum temperatures, stronger storms, and increasingly variable climatic conditions. EbA measures can be implemented on their own or in combination with engineered approaches (such as the construction of water reservoirs or dykes), hybrid measures (such as artificial reefs) and approaches that strengthen the capacities of individuals and institutions to address climate risks (such as the introduction of early warning systems). EbA is nested within the broader concept of nature-based solutions and complements and shares common elements with a wide variety of other approaches to building the resilience of social-ecological systems. These approaches include community-based adaptation, ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction, climate-smart agriculture, and green infrastructure, and often place emphasis on using participatory and inclusive processes and community/stakeholder engagement. The concept of EbA has been promoted through international fora, including the processes of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). A number of countries make explicit references to EbA in their strategies for adaptation to climate change and their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.While the barriers to widespread uptake of EbA by public and private sector stakeholders and decision makers are substantial, cooperation toward generating a greater understanding of the potential of EbA is well established among researchers, advocates, and practitioners from nature conservation and sustainable development groups. EbA is increasingly viewed as an effective means of addressing the linked challenges of climate change and poverty in developing countries, where many people are dependent on natural resources for their lives and livelihoods. Overview Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) describes a variety of approaches for adapting to climate change, all of which involve the management of ecosystems to reduce the vulnerability of human communities to the impacts of climate change such as storm and flood damage to physical assets, coastal erosion, salinisation of freshwater resources, and loss of agricultural productivity. EbA lies at the intersection of climate change adaptation, socio-economic development, and biodiversity conservation (see Figure 1). While ecosystem services have always been used by societies, the term Ecosystem-based Adaptation was coined in 2008 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its member institutions at the UN Climate Change Convention Conference in 2008. EbA was officially defined in 2009 at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Conference. Adaptation to climate change hazards Healthy ecosystems provide important ecosystem services that can contribute to climate change adaptation. For example, healthy mangrove ecosystems provide protection from the impacts of climate change, often for some of the world's most vulnerable people, by absorbing wave energy and storm surges, adapting to rising sea levels, and stabilizing shorelines from erosion. EbA focuses on benefits that humans derive from biodiversity and ecosystem services and how these benefits can be used for managing risk to climate change impacts. Adaptation to climate change is particularly urgent in developing countries and many Small Island Developing States that are already experiencing some of the most severe impacts of climate change, have economies that are highly sensitive to disruptions, and that have lower adaptive capacity. Making active use of biodiversity and ecosystem services EbA can involve a wide range of ecosystem management activities that aim to reduce the vulnerability of people to climate change hazards (such as rising sea levels, changing rainfall patterns, and stronger storms) through using nature. For example, EbA measures include coastal habitat restoration in ecosystems such as; coral reefs, mangrove forests, and marshes to protect communities and infrastructure from storm surges; agroforestry to increase resilience of crops to droughts or excessive rainfall; integrated water resource management to cope with consecutive dry days and change in rainfall patterns; and sustainable forest management interventions to stabilise slopes, prevent landslides, and regulate water flow to prevent flash flooding (see Table 1 and Figure 2). Co-benefits of EbA By deploying EbA, proponents cite that many other benefits to people and nature are delivered simultaneously. These correlated benefits include improved human health, socioeconomic development, food security and water security, disaster risk reduction, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation. For example, restoration of ecosystems such as forests and coastal wetlands can contribute to food security and enhance livelihoods through the collection of non-timber forest products, maintain watershed functionality, and sequester carbon to mitigate global warming. Restoration of mangrove ecosystems can help increase food and livelihood security by supporting fisheries, and reduce disaster risk by decreasing wave height and strength during hurricanes and storms. Implementation and examples of EBA Examples of EBA measures and outcomes Particular ecosystems can provide a variety of specific climate change adaptation benefits (or services). The most suitable EbA measures will depend on local context, the health of the ecosystem and the primary climate change hazard that needs to be addressed. The below table provides an overview of these factors, common EbA measures and intended outcomes. Principles and standards for implementing EBA Since the evolution of the concept and practice of EBA, various principles and standards have been developed to guide best practices for implementation. The guidelines adopted by the CBD build on these efforts and include a set of principles to guide planning and implementation. The principles are broadly clustered into four themes: Building resilience and enhancing adaptive capacity through EBA interventions; Ensuring inclusivity and equity in planning and implementation; Consideration of multiple spatial and temporal scales in the design of EBA interventions; Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of EBA, for example, by incorporating adaptive management, identifying limitations and trade-offs, integrating the knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities.These principles are complemented by safeguards, which are social and environmental measures to avoid unintended consequences of EBA to people, ecosystems and biodiversity. Standards have also been developed to help practitioners understand what interventions qualify as EBA, including the elements of helping people adapt to climate change, making active use of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and being part of an overall adaptation strategy. Challenges to be addressed for greater adoption of EbA Although interest in Ecosystem-based Adaptation has grown, and meta-analyses of case studies are demonstrating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of EbA interventions, there are recognized challenges that should be addressed or considered to increase adoption of the approach. These include: Potential limitations of ecosystem services under a changing climate. One challenge facing EbA is the identification of limits and thresholds beyond which EbA might not deliver adaptation benefits and the extent ecosystems can provide ecosystem services under a changing climate.Difficulty in monitoring, evaluation, and establishing the evidence base for effective EbA. Confusion around what Ecosystem-based Adaptation means has led to an array of different methodologies used for assessments, and the lack of consistent and comparable quantitative measures of EbA success and failure makes it difficult to argue the case for EbA in socio-economic terms. EbA research has also relied heavily on Western scientific knowledge without due consideration of local and traditional knowledge. In addition, it can be difficult to implement a plan for monitoring and evaluation due to potentially long timescales required to observe the impacts of EbA. Governance and institutional constraints. Because EbA is a multi-sectoral policy issue, the challenges of governing and planning are immense. This is due in part to the fact that EbA involves both the sectors that manage ecosystems and those that benefit from ecosystem services.Economic and financial constraints. Broad macroeconomic considerations such as economic development, poverty, and access to financial capital to implement climate adaptation options are contributing factors to constraints impeding greater uptake of EbA. Public and multilateral funding for EbA projects thus far has been available through the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the Global Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, the European Union, the Department for International Development of the Government of the United Kingdom, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Danish International Development Agency, among other sources. Social and cultural barriers. A clear factor constraining EbA is varying perceptions of risks and cultural preferences for particular types of management approaches such as cultural preferences for what a particular landscape should look like. Potential stakeholders can hold negative perceptions about particular types of EbA strategies. Policy frameworks Several international policy fora have acknowledged the multiple roles that ecosystems play in delivering services and addressing global challenges, including those related to climate change, natural disasters, sustainable development, and biodiversity conservation. Climate change policy The Paris Agreement explicitly recognises nature's role in helping people and societies address climate change, calling on all Parties to acknowledge "the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and the protection of biodiversity, recognised by some cultures as Mother Earth"; its Articles include several references to ecosystems, natural resources and forests. This notion has translated into high-level national intent, as revealed by comparative analyses of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by signatories of the Paris Agreement. The UNFCCC also established the national adaptation plan (NAP) process as a way to facilitate adaptation planning in least developed countries (LDCs) and other developing countries. Because of their lower level of development, climate change risks magnify development challenges for LDCs. Disaster risk reduction policy Measures and interventions applied as part of EbA are often closely linked or similar to those employed under ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR). The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction acknowledges that in order to strengthen disaster risk governance and manage disaster risk and risk reduction at global and regional levels, it is important "to promote transboundary cooperation to enable policy and planning for the implementation of ecosystem-based approaches with regard to shared resources, such as within river basins and along coastlines, to build resilience and reduce disaster risk, including epidemic and displacement risk". Sustainable development policy The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. Biodiversity and ecosystems feature prominently across many of the SDGs and associated targets. They contribute directly to human well-being and development priorities. Biodiversity is at the centre of many economic activities, particularly those related to crop and livestock agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Globally, nearly half of the human population is directly dependent on natural resources for its livelihood, and many of the most vulnerable people depend directly on biodiversity to fulfil their daily subsistence needs. Ecosystem-based Adaptation offers potential to contribute towards the implementation of numerous SDGs, including the goals related to climate adaptation (SDG 13), eliminating poverty and hunger (SDGs 1 and 2), ensuring livelihoods and economic growth (SDG 8) and life on land and life under water (SDGs 14 and 15), among others. Biodiversity conservation policy The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), aim to halt the loss of biodiversity to ensure ecosystems are resilient and continue to provide essential services. Most recently, the Conference of the Parties has adopted voluntary guidelines for the design and effective implementation of ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation and disaster risk reduction.EbA and similar approaches have been called for in other policy frameworks, including the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Ramsar Convention. EbA knowledge exchange platforms The following is an alphabetical list of EbA networks, working groups, and platforms that are exchanging knowledge and experiences in an effort to address and overcome the challenges of implementing EbA. This selection is not exhaustive. AdaptationCommunity Coastal EbA EbA Community Friends of EbA International EbA Community of Practice PANORAMA Solutions – EbA Portal We Adapt == References ==

geography of georgia (country)

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region, on the coast of the Black Sea. Sometimes considered a transcontinental country, it is located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia, and is today generally regarded as part of Europe. It is bordered to the north and northeast by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. Location Georgia is largely surrounded by the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus mountains, which form part of a natural boundary between Eastern Europe and West Asia. Because the Europe–Asia boundary is essentially a “historical and cultural construct”, Georgia's continental placement has varied greatly. Anaximander placed the boundary between Europe and Asia along the Phasis River (the modern Rioni River), which effectively located northern parts of Georgia in Europe and the south in Asia, a convention also followed by Herodotus. According to one 18th century definition, which set the Kuma–Manych Depression as the continental boundary, Georgia and the entire Caucasus fell into Asia. However, yet another definition drew the line at Aras River, effectively placing all of Georgia in Europe.Notwithstanding variations in geographic placement, Georgia’s proximity to the bulk of Europe, combined with various historical, cultural and political forces, has led increasingly to its inclusion in Europe. The country has joined European organizations, such as the Council of Europe and Eurocontrol, and has been deemed eligible to apply for membership of the European Union if it so wishes in the future. Topography Despite its small area, Georgia has one of the most varied topographies of the former Soviet republics. It is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, lying mostly in the Caucasus Mountains, with its northern boundary partly defined by the Greater Caucasus range. The Lesser Caucasus range, which runs parallel to the Turkish and Armenian borders, and the Surami Range, which connects the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus, create natural barriers that are partly responsible for cultural and linguistic differences among regions. Because of their elevation and a poorly developed transportation infrastructure, many mountain villages are virtually isolated from the outside world during the winter. Earthquakes and landslides in mountainous areas present a significant threat to life and property. Among the most recent natural disasters were massive rock- and mudslides in Ajaria in 1989 that displaced thousands in southwestern Georgia, and two earthquakes in 1991 that destroyed several villages in Racha, upper Imereti and the Tskhinvali Region (South Ossetia).Georgia has about 25,000 rivers, many of which power small hydroelectric stations. Drainage is into the Black Sea to the west and through Azerbaijan to the Caspian Sea to the east. The largest river is the Kura River, which flows 1,364 km from northeast Turkey across the plains of eastern Georgia, through the capital, Tbilisi, and into the Caspian Sea. The Rioni River, the largest river in western Georgia, rises in the Greater Caucasus and empties into the Black Sea at the port of Poti. Soviet engineers turned the river lowlands along the Black Sea coast into prime subtropical agricultural land, embanked and straightened many stretches of river, and built an extensive system of canals. Deep mountain gorges form topographical belts within the Greater Caucasus. Coastline The coastline of Georgia is 310 km long. Out of the Georgian coastline, 57 km is the coastline of Ajaria (Ajara), and 200 km is the coastline of Abkhazia. The Encyclopedia of the Nations lists the total length of the coastline as 315 km long. Georgia has an Exclusive Economic Zone of 21,946 km2 (8,473 sq mi) in the Black Sea. Climate Georgia's climate is affected by temperate humid influences from the west and continental influences from the east. The Greater Caucasus range moderates local climate by serving as a barrier against cold air from the north. Warm, moist air from the Black Sea moves easily into the coastal lowlands from the west. Climatic zones are determined by distance from the Black Sea and by altitude. Along the Black Sea coast, from Abkhazia to the Turkish border, and in the region known as the Colchis Lowland inland from the coast, the dominant subtropical climate features high humidity and heavy precipitation (1,000 to 2,000 mm or 39.4 to 78.7 in per year; the Black Sea port of Batumi receives 2,500 mm or 98.4 in per year). Several varieties of palm trees grow in these regions, where the midwinter average temperature is 5 °C (41 °F) and the midsummer average is 22 °C (71.6 °F).The plains of eastern Georgia are shielded from the influence of the Black Sea by mountains that provide a more continental climate. Summer temperatures average 20 °C (68 °F) to 24 °C (75.2 °F), winter temperatures 2 °C (35.6 °F) to 4 °C (39.2 °F). Humidity is lower, and rainfall averages 500 to 800 mm (19.7 to 31.5 in) per year. Alpine and highland regions in the east and west, as well as a semi-arid region on the Iori Plateau to the southeast, have distinct microclimates.At higher elevations, precipitation is sometimes twice as heavy as in the eastern plains. In the west, the climate is subtropical to about 650 m (2,133 ft); above that altitude (and to the north and east) is a band of moist and moderately warm weather, then a band of cool and wet conditions. Alpine conditions begin at about 2,100 m (6,890 ft), and above 3,600 m (11,811 ft) snow and ice are present year-round. Environmental issues Beginning in the 1980s, Black Sea pollution has greatly harmed Georgia's tourist industry. Inadequate sewage treatment is the main cause of that condition. In Batumi, for example, only 18 percent of wastewater was treated before release into the sea as of the early 1990s. As of the early 1990s, an estimated 70 percent of surface water contained health-endangering bacteria to which Georgia's high rate of intestinal disease was attributed.The war in Abkhazia did substantial damage to the ecological habitats unique to that region. In other respects, experts considered Georgia's environmental problems less serious than those of more industrialized former Soviet republics. Solving Georgia's environmental problems was not a high priority of the national government in the post-Soviet years, however; in 1993 the minister for protection of the environment resigned to protest this inactivity. In January 1994, the Cabinet of Ministers announced a new, interdepartmental environmental monitoring system to centralize separate programs under the direction of the Ministry of Protection of the Environment. The system would include a central environmental and information and research agency. The Green Party used its small contingent in the parliament to press environmental issues in 1993.Georgia participates in a number of international environmental agreements. It is a party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Wetlands. Extreme points Northernmost point: (de jure): Abkhazia Northernmost point (de facto): Mestia Municipality, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Southernmost point: Dedoplistsqaro Municipality, Kakheti Westernmost point (de jure): Abkhazia Westernmost point (de facto): Adjara Easternmost point: Dedoplistsqaro Municipality, Kakheti (border with Azerbaijan) See also Glaciers of Georgia List of earthquakes in Georgia (country) == References ==

global corruption report

The Global Corruption Report is one of Transparency International's flagship publications, bringing together experts from all over the world to discuss and analyze corruption in a specific sector. Reports have focused on corruption in climate change, the private sector, water and the judiciary. It began in 2001 simply as a collection of research on global corruption. But, since 2003, has grown into a report dedicated to providing information and solutions to corruption in various areas. Aim Corruption is a global, ethical and legal issue and is defined by Transparency International as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. The aim of the Global Corruption Report is to bring the matter of corruption to the attention of the world and aid in combating it. It is also designed as a tool to help policymakers and the public to change corrupt behaviour by providing guidelines and recommendations within the report. The Global Corruption Report uses various sources of information including experts and activists, as well as up to date research, in order to bring to the fore the recent developments in corruption. The report also addresses international and regional trends, highlights significant cases and uses the Bribe Payers Index and the Corruption Perceptions Index as empirical evidence of corruption. The report provides an assessment of corruption within more than 30 countries, as well as research findings and perspectives, and it is designed to be useful to a broad range of readers. This includes policymakers, journalists, educators, students as well as the general public. Each year the report focuses on a particular sector and examines the prevalence of corruption within that sector around the world. By focusing on one sector the report further underlines the seriousness of corruption and the need for change to be implemented. It also emphasises how corruption in that sector affects the people and economy of those affected countries. The report helps to expose what may be lacking in the policies of those nations and encourages them to put in place better policies and processes. In reviewing the policies related to one sector, this may further encourage policymakers to review other sectors and implement change throughout. Examples In previous reports, the 2007 Global Corruption Report focused on judicial corruption and its effect on the justice system as a whole. It also assessed the pressures applied to judges and courts by politicians, society and economic conditions. The report reviewed where and why corruption in the judicial system is occurring. It also gave details on efforts to reduce judicial corruption as well as recommendations for judiciary participants to avoid and eradicate corruption in their own country. The 2007 report stressed the need for judicial systems to remain “clean” and maintain integrity, accountability and transparency. Only by doing so can the judiciary act without undue influence and ensure the basic human right to a fair trial is upheld. The 2006 Global Corruption Report focused on corruption in the health sector and how public money may be an enticement to corruption. It also discussed corruption in the pharmaceutical chain, as well as in hospital administration, while also highlighting the various forms that corruption takes in the health sector around the world. The report also offered perspectives on the people of countries affected by such corruption and the effect on their health. The 2005 Global Corruption Report focused on how corruption in the construction sector and post-conflict reconstruction undermines economic development. This report included a particular focus on Iraq and the rebuilding that was necessary after the war. The report also reviewed the economic cost and environmental effect of corruption within the construction industry. It covered financing of corruption with a specific look at multilateral development banks and export credit agencies world wide. The 2004 report focused on political corruption and how political and party finances play an influential role on the levels of corruption globally. The report examines the role of disclosure in the prevention of corruption in the political sector as well as discussing corporate contributions, vote buying and legal hurdles encountered by politicians. The Global Corruption Reports are not designed to merely emphasise the extent of corruption and how it affects processes. They also demonstrate how reforms and activism can help remedy a system tainted by corruption. The reports have a vast array of contributors giving perspectives from various points of view and levels of experience in dealing with corruption. This assists in maintaining objectivity throughout the report and ensures it does not just act as an advertisement for the interests of Transparency International in eradicating corruption. While it is clear throughout the reports that the underlying theme is to help stop corruption occurring in the world wide domain, the Global Corruption Reports are not just propaganda. Availability All of the Global Corruption Reports from are available via download from the Transparency International website or by ordering from Transparency International. This allows anyone from around the world the ability to access the reports and ensures the latest research, developments and guidelines are available to the world at all times. By making the reports readily available it means that any individual in any part of the world can assess the state of corruption within their own country. This is the first step in bringing about change or encouraging countries to continue to operate in a corruption free environment. Transparency International Global Corruption Report for Education 2013 available for pre-order for Oct. 3, 2013 (Archives). See also Index of perception of corruption Worldwide Corruption Index, by Gallup Global Integrity Report by Global Integrity External links http://www.transparency.org The Global Corruption Report: Climate Change (2011) The Global Corruption Report: Private Sector (2009) The Global Corruption Report: Water (2008) "The Global Corruption Report: Judiciary (2007)". Archived from the original on 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2007-11-18. The Global Corruption Report: Health (2006) Archived 2010-02-23 at the Wayback Machine == References ==

2023 asia heat wave

Starting in April 2023, a record-breaking heat wave has affected many Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. Several regional temperature records have been set. The heat wave has caused many deaths due to heat stroke and has prompted health warnings and power outages across multiple countries. A May study by the World Weather Attribution found that the heat wave was made at least 30 times more likely by climate change in India and Bangladesh, and that climate change raised temperatures by at least 2 °C (3.6 °F) in many parts of Asia in April. West Asia Iran had announced a nationwide shutdown due to heat but it has been said it was secretly because of electricity power shortage. South Asia Bangladesh In Dhaka, temperatures rose above 40 °C (104 °F) on 15 April, which resulted in road surfaces melting. Power cuts took place in parts of Bangladesh due to a surge in electricity demand caused by the heat wave. Cases of heat exhaustion and heat stroke have increased in the country due to the heat.M. A. Rahim, a professor at Daffodil University in Dhaka, said that the heat wave was impacting the country's rice and fruit production, estimating that rice production could fall by up to 40%.In early June, the maximum temperature rose to about 41 °C (106 °F). The heat wave caused primary schools to be closed, and frequent power cuts, with a fuel shortage resulting in the shutdown of several power plants. It has also affected the country's tea production. India Six cities in India's north and eastern regions recorded temperatures above 44 °C (111 °F), while New Delhi recorded 40.4 °C (104.7 °F) on 18 April.The Ministry of Labour issued an advisory to all states and regions to provide workers with adequate drinking water, emergency ice packs and frequent breaks. Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, closed all schools in the state between 17 and 22 April due to concerns about the heat. In the same week, schools were closed in Tripura and Odisha.K. J. Ramesh, director general of meteorology at the Meteorological Department, said in May that some states had started implementing mitigation efforts, such as closing schools by 1 p.m., operating government offices at 7 a.m.–1 p.m. and advising youths and seniors to stay indoors at 11 a.m.–3 p.m.Later in May, the Indian Meteorological Department issued a heat wave alert for seven southern and central states. Temperatures surpassed 45 °C (113 °F) in Uttar Pradesh, with some parts being hit by 12-hour blackouts. The blackouts sparked protests at power stations near Lucknow. On May 23 and 25, three cheetah cubs died in Kuno National Park and one was sent to be treated in a critical care facility. The cubs were the first to be born in India in over seven decades. The heat wave in India was believed to have weakened the cubs.As of 19 June, 119 people in Uttar Pradesh and 47 people in Bihar had died due to heat-related illnesses. Around 400 people were hospitalised in Uttar Pradesh in the same time period. Maharashtra deaths On 16 April, 13 people died from heat stroke after attending the Maharashtra Bhushan award event in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, and 50–60 people were hospitalised.The incident happened at a government event where Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented social worker Appasaheb Dharmadhikari with the Maharashtra Bhushan award. The episode was brought on by extended physical effort and exposure to high temperatures. Despite the fact that the IMD had not issued any heat wave warnings on that particular day, doctors have linked the deaths to prolonged exposure to heat in open spaces and strenuous activity. Many people came from nearby districts as well, which would have made their situation worse. Outrage over the occurrence has led to political figures calling for the government to be held accountable for the fatalities.Nana Patole, President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, has sought the resignations of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister and called for the administration to be held accountable. Uddhav Thackeray, the former chief minister of Maharashtra, and Ajit Pawar, the head of the NCP, went to the hospital to inspect the situation and criticise the organisation of the event. Concerns regarding the need for improved planning and procedures to stop similar catastrophes in the future have been raised in response to the tragedy. Nepal In June, temperatures in Nepal topped 40 °C (104 °F) for days, with cities such as Nepalgunj and Nawalpur reaching as high as 44 °C (111 °F). The heat forced the closures of some schools and colleges in the country for over a week. The country's meteorological department warned that the high temperatures would likely persist until mid-July. Pakistan Nine cities recorded temperatures greater than or equal to 40 °C (104 °F) on 23 April. On 21 May, Jacobabad reached 49 °C (120 °F). Sri Lanka On 17 April, Sri Lanka's Department of Meteorology warned that the temperature was expected to increase to "caution level" in the Eastern, North Central and North Western provinces and the Hambantota, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Monaragala, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya districts. As of 27 April, the temperature in the country was 39–40 °C (102–104 °F). Southeast Asia Tieh-Yong Koh, an associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said in May that the prolonged dryness across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam is due to suppressed rainfall during the previous winter. He noted, "Because dry soil heats up faster than moist soil, a hot anomaly naturally forms as spring arrives". Cambodia Cambodia has been affected by water shortages due to high water demand in Thailand. Cambodia's Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology predicted that hot weather would continue until mid-May, with less rainfall than in 2022. It also said that weather patterns were being affected by El Niño, and the resulting heat would last until August.In May, temperatures of 41.6 °C (106.9 °F) were recorded in Kratié and the Ponhea Kraek district, setting a new national May record. Laos In April, the Sainyabuli province reached 42.9 °C (109.2 °F) on 19 April in a new all-time record for the country.On 6 May, Luang Prabang reached 43.5 °C (110.3 °F), surpassing the country's previous record, and Thakhek recorded 31.8 °C (89.2 °F) that night, making it the country's hottest night. Over the same weekend, Vientiane reached 42.5 °C (108.5 °F), breaking the city's all-time record. Malaysia In April, Malaysia's Meteorological Department issued heat wave alerts in several states. The highest temperature recorded was 38.4 °C (101.1 °F) in Negeri Sembilan. On 25 April, an 11-year-old boy and a 19-month-old toddler died of heat stroke and severe dehydration in Kelantan. At least five people required medical treatment due to the heat.On 3 May, the Education Ministry announced that all outdoor activities in schools would be suspended due to the heat. Two days later, the national meteorological department said the country's heat wave was expected to last until June. Students have been permitted to wear casual clothing instead of school uniforms. On 16 May, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that there were no immediate plans to declare the heat wave an emergency, but the government would do so if necessary. Myanmar On 25 April, four weather stations in Myanmar recorded monthly high temperatures, with Theinzayet in the Mon State recording the highest temperature at 43 °C (109 °F). The next day, the city of Bago reached 42.2 °C (108.0 °F), matching a record previously reached in May 2020 and April 2019, according to weather historian Maximiliano Herrera.On 7 May, the temperature rose to 46 °C (115 °F) in the Magway Region. Media reports said that there were 61 deaths due to heat-related problems, but Radio Free Asia was unable to verify the number. Philippines In the Philippines, temperatures reached up to 37 °C (99 °F), while the heat index rose to 48 °C (118 °F) in Butuan on 21 April – the highest in the country so far for 2023. A power cut at a secondary school resulted in nearly 150 students being affected by heat stroke; two students were rushed to a hospital. The Department of Education announced that from 24 April, schools would be able to move classes online at their discretion to avoid the heat. 839 schools switched to distance learning to prevent students from falling ill due to the extreme heat.On 12 May, the heat index reached 50 °C (122 °F) in Legazpi, Albay. In the same month, schools in Quezon City were allowed to shorten their hours due to the extreme heat. Singapore Singapore reached 36.1 °C (97.0 °F) in Admiralty on 14 April, the highest temperature recorded in the country since the start of 2023. This was broken just under a month later, with the temperature reaching 36.2 °C (97.2 °F) in Choa Chu Kang on 12 May. On the following day, the temperature in Ang Mo Kio hit 37.0 °C (98.6 °F), tying the record set on 17 April 1983 at Tengah. Singapore also recorded its highest ever daily minimum temperature for the month of May – 29.7 °C (85.5 °F) in East Coast Park on 25 May. In general, May 2023 was the warmest May on record for Singapore, with the Changi climate station observing an average temperature of 29.5 °C (85.1 °F).Several schools have begun relaxing their rules on school uniforms to help students deal with the heat. Singapore's Meteorological Service said earlier in May that the country was "not currently experiencing a heatwave" despite recently recording relatively high temperatures. Thailand In Thailand, the temperature rose to over 45 °C (113 °F) for the first time in its history according to Herrera, with the city of Tak reaching 45.4 °C (113.7 °F) on 15 April. Large portions of the country have had temperatures in the range of upper 30s to lower 40s degrees Celsius since March. According to ArabiaWeather, Thailand's previous all-time record was 44.6 °C (112.3 °F) in the Mae Hong Son province. Two deaths due to the heat wave were reported.Thousands were forced to flee from Chiang Mai due to pollution caused by the annual burning in northern Thailand and Myanmar. Power outages have become common due to the high use of air conditioners and refrigeration. On 25 April, rain in Bangkok brought respite from the heat.The Thai government has issued health warnings, with the health department warning about the risk of heat stroke. On 22 April, the government issued a warning for people to stay indoors. On 21 April, Thailand's national weather service said that the heat index hit a record of 54 °C (129 °F).On 6 May, Bangkok reached 41 °C (106 °F), the highest recorded in the city. On the next day, there were reports of people fainting due to the extreme heat, including advance voters in the 2023 general election. This included 14 people at Ramkhamhaeng University and 3 at Chan Kasem Rajabhat University. In the same week, temperatures in the northern and central regions remained above 40 °C (104 °F), resulting in an increase in power demand.A May study by the World Weather Attribution found that Thailand's record heat wave was exacerbated by high humidity and a large number of forest fires that occurred around the same time. Vietnam The Hòa Bình province recorded the highest temperature in 27 years for March in Kim Bôi district at 41.4 °C (106.5 °F).On 6 May, the temperature in Hội Xuân, about 150 km south of Hanoi, reached 44.1 °C (111.4 °F), surpassing the country's previous record of 43.4 °C (110.1 °F) in 2019. Later, the temperature reached 44.2 °C (111.6 °F) in the Tương Dương district.On 19 May, nationwide blackouts started rolling out across the country, with notices by Vietnam Electricity (EVN) saying the blackouts could continue until the end of the month and could last up to 7 hours in some areas. EVN warned that high temperatures could put pressure on the national power system due to a spike in electricity consumption and lower-than-normal water levels in some dams.On 30 May, authorities in Hanoi started reducing the duration of public lighting to keep the power system running. On 1 June, Muong La reached 43.8 °C (110.8 °F), breaking the record for Vietnam's hottest June day. East Asia China On 18 April, temperatures rose as high as 42.4 °C (108.3 °F) in Yuanyang County, Yunnan. According to climatologist Jim Yang, over 100 weather stations broke their temperature record on 17 April. In multiple provinces, temperatures have exceeded 35 °C (95 °F). On 22–23 April, a cold front sweeping south and east triggered a significant drop in temperatures, torrential rain and heavy snowfall in parts of northern China, with Shanxi reporting up to 24 cm of snow.On 6 May, the Changjiang Li Autonomous County in Hainan province reached 41.5 °C (106.7 °F), making it the highest temperature recorded in the province. In mid-May, Shandong province and Beijing issued heat warnings, with cities such as Jinan, Tianjin and Zhengzhou expecting temperatures to rise as high as 37 °C (99 °F). On 29 May, Shanghai recorded 36.7 °C (98.1 °F), the highest May temperature recorded in the city in 100 years. The previous record of 35.7 °C (96.3 °F) was reached in 1876, 1903, 1915 and 2018.In June, temperatures across southern China reached at least 42.2 °C (108.0 °F). Hong Kong reached a new June record of 37.9 °C (100.2 °F). On 7 June, temperatures over 45 °C (113 °F) were recorded in the country. On 22 June, Beijing hit 41.1 °C (106.0 °F), which is the highest ever recorded temperature in June in the capital, breaking the June record of 40.6 °C (105.1 °F) set back in 1961, making this the 7th time the capital has exceeded 40 °C (104 °F). On the same day, Tianjin hit 41.4 °C (106.5 °F), which not only was its highest ever June temperature on record, but the all-time highest temperature ever recorded.On 23 June, Beijing issued a "red" alert level, which advises people to avoid outdoor work and for children and elderly people to take precautions. As predicted, the capital hit 40.3 °C (104.5 °F), exceeding 40 °C for a second day in a row, which has never happened in the Chinese capital since reliable observations were kept since 1951. The same thing occurred in nearby Tianjin.On 24 June, the red alert level was issued once again to all or part of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Inner Mongolia, with temperatures forecasted to hit at least 40 °C in 24 hours. As predicted, the capital and Tianjin once again hit 40 °C, which meant an unprecedented third day of 40 °C temperatures for both cities. Japan The temperature in Minamata, Kumamoto reached 30.2 °C (86.4 °F) in a new April record for the area. In June, the Japan Meteorological Agency said that Japan finished its warmest March to May period on record. Also, an average temperature in nation wide Japan, especially in Hokkaidō and northern Honshū on August, Sapporo, 26.7 °C (80.1 °F) on 2023 August, 22.3 °C (72.1 °F) an average on August, Hakodate, 26.5 °C (79.7 °F) and 22.1 °C (71.8 °F), Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, 27.9 °C (82.2 °F) and 23.5 °C (74.3 °F), Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, 30.1 °C (86.2 °F) and 25.5 °C (77.9 °F), Niigata City, 30.6 °C (87.1 °F) and 26.5 °C (79.7 °F), other place, Kanazawa, 30.5 °C (86.9 °F) and 27.3 °C (81.1 °F), Kyoto City, 30.3 °C (86.5 °F) and 28.5 °C (83.3 °F), Hiroshima City, 30.0 °C (86.0 °F) and 28.5 °C (83.3 °F), Tokyo, 29.2 °C (84.6 °F) and 26.9 °C (80.4 °F), Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, 27.3 °C (81.1 °F) and 24.5 °C (76.1 °F), according to Japan Meteorological Agency official confirmed report, JMA also report, above minimum 30.0 °C (86.0 °F) day's temperature recorded place on August 10, 31.4 °C (88.5 °F) in Itoigawa, 30.8 °C (87.4 °F) in Jōetsu, both Niigata Prefecture, 30.4 °C (86.7 °F) in Yonago and Matsue, both Sanin region, 30.1 °C (86.2 °F) in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, and high day's temperature, 40.0 °C (104.0 °F) in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture on same day, these places were highest temperature recorded, since first observation recorded on local observatory. JMA official reported, many place minimum daily temperature above 25.0 °C (77.0 °F) days from July to September, 59 days in Shimonoseki, 57 days in Hiroshima and Tokyo, 54 days in Kyoto, 52 days in Takamatsu, Shikoku Island, 50 days in Kanazawa, 48 days in Nagoya, 41 days in Kumamoto, Kyushu Island, 39 days in Yonago, 38 days in Niigata, 35 days in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture.On August 2nd 2022, the temperature in Nisshin, Aichi prefecture reached 41 degrees Celsius. Central Asia Unusual temperatures for April were recorded in several central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, where the city of Taraz reached 33.6 °C (92.5 °F), as well as Turkmenistan, which reached 42.4 °C (108.3 °F), and Uzbekistan.On 7 June, temperatures of 41 °C (106 °F) in Kazakhstan and 43 °C (109 °F) in Uzbekistan were recorded. North Asia On 3 June, Jalturovosk in Siberia reached 37.9 °C (100.2 °F) in its hottest day in history. The next day, Alexandrovskoe and Laryak reached record high temperatures of 36.1 °C (97.0 °F) and 34.9 °C (94.8 °F) respectively. On 7 June, multiple all-time heat records were broken in Siberia, with Baevo reaching 39.6 °C (103.3 °F) and Barnaul reaching 38.5 °C (101.3 °F). Impact Of climate change Parts of Thailand and Vietnam have been affected by thick smog during the heat wave. Experts contacted by NBC News noted that the combination of extreme heat and air pollution could lead to an increase in respiratory, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, and these impacts would worsen due to climate change intensifying heat waves and air pollution.A May study by the World Weather Attribution found that the heat wave was made at least 30 times more likely by climate change in India and Bangladesh, and that climate change raised temperatures by at least 2 °C (3.6 °F) in many parts of Asia in April.Archana Shrestha, the deputy director general of Nepal's Meteorological Forecasting Division, said that "we can't deny the impact of climate change and global warming when we look at the various climatic patterns." Anil Pokharel, the CEO of Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Authority (NDRRMA), said, "If we look at the pattern, the heat waves have become more and more severe and frequent in recent years and decades. Though this is primarily a climate change-induced trend, we humans and our behaviors, lifestyles and policies are equally responsible."An analysis conducted using the Climate Shift Index (CSI), a metric developed by Climate Central, found that climate change at least doubled the chances of the June heat wave in Uttar Pradesh, India. Fossil fuel consumption In India, Karnataka's three coal power plants, which previously had reduced demand, were set to run at full capacity in April to meet the increased electricity demand caused by the heat wave.Many Asian countries have been forced to rely on coal to keep up with the energy demands caused by the heat wave, due to the European boycott of Russian oil during the Russian invasion of Ukraine reducing the availability of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia. Bloomberg News reported that Russia exported 7.6 million metric tonnes of coal to Asia in April, with India and China buying over two-thirds. See also 2023 heat waves == References ==

bali road map

After the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference held on the island of Bali in Indonesia in December 2007, the participating nations adopted the Bali Road Map as a two-year process working towards finalizing a binding agreement at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference encompassed meetings of several bodies, including the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the third session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 3). The Bali Road Map includes the Bali Action Plan (BAP), which was adopted by Decision 1/CP.13 of COP-13. It also includes the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) negotiations and their 2009 deadline, the launch of the Adaptation Fund, the scope and content of the Article 9 review of the Kyoto Protocol, as well as decisions on technology transfer and on reducing emissions from deforestation. Bali Action Plan Cutting emissions The participating nations acknowledged that evidence for global warming was unequivocal, and that humans must reduce emissions to reduce the risks of "severe climate change impacts". The urgency in addressing climate change was accepted. There was a strong consensus for updated changes for both developed and developing countries. Although there were not specific numbers agreed upon in order to cut emissions, the decision recognized that there was a need for "deep cuts in global emissions" (several countries proposed 100% reductions by 2050) and that "developed country emissions must fall 10-40% by 2020". Mitigation Enhanced action on mitigation of climate change includes, inter alia: Nationally appropriate mitigation commitments or actions by all developed countries. Nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) by developing countries. Cooperative sectorial approaches and sector-specific actions (CSAs). Ways to strengthen the catalytic role of the convention. Forests The nations pledge "policy approaches and positive incentives" on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries; and enhancement of forest carbon stock in developing countries This paragraph is referred to as “REDD-plus”. Adaptation Participants agreed on enhanced co-operation to "support urgent implementation" of measures to protect poorer countries against climate change, including National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs). Technology In technology development and transfer, the nations will consider how to facilitate the transfer of clean and renewable energy technologies from industrialised nations to the developing countries. This includes, inter alia: Removal of obstacles to, and provision of financial and other incentives for, scaling up the development and transfer of technology to developing country Parties in order to promote access to affordable environmentally sound technologies (renewable energies, electric vehicles). Ways to accelerate the deployment, diffussion and transfer of such technologies. Cooperation on research and development of current, new and innovative technology, including win-win solutions. The effectiveness of mechanism and tools for technology cooperation in specific sectors. Finance Provision of financial resources and investment includes: Improved access to predictable and sustainable financial resources and the provision of new and additional resources, including official and concessional funding for developing country Parties (dcP). Positive incentives for dcP for national mitigation strategies and adaptation action. Innovative means of funding for dcP that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change in meeting the costs of adaptation. Incentivisation of adaptation actions on the basis of sustainable development policies. Mobilization of funding and investment, including facilitation of climate-friendly investment choices. Financial and technical support for capacity-building in the assessment of costs of adaptation in developing countries, to aid in determining their financial needs. Ad Hoc Working Groups The Conference decided to establish two subsidiary bodies under the Convention to conduct the process, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) and the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP), which were to complete their work in 2009 and present the outcome to the COP15/MOP 5. The AWG-LCA and AWG-KP presented draft conclusions to COP15 and CMP5, which contained many unresolved issues. The working groups were subsequently asked to report to COP16 and CMP6 in Cancun, Mexico. Timescales Four major UNFCCC meetings to implement the Bali Road Map were planned for 2008, with the first to be held in either March or April and the second in June, with the third in either August or September followed by a major meeting in Poznań, Poland in December 2008. The negotiation process was scheduled to conclude at the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen. See also Agenda 21 Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Carbon financing Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) Expert Group on Technology Transfer (EGTT) Flexibility mechanism Global Environment Facility (GEF) Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) LULUCF Monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN) Risk assessment Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) UNDP Zero-carbon economy References External links Part of the UNFCCC site dedicated to the Bali Roadmap BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | At a glance: Bali climate deal Bali Action Plan (.pdf) on United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change gateway Full text of the Framework Convention, agreed 9 May 1992 Conference official blog Video clips of key moments on the last session of the Conference and interviews with Hilary Benn and Myron Ebell on Channel4 News: Bali: a deal of sorts Draft report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol on its tenth session Outcome of the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention. Draft conclusions proposed by the Chair.

environmental modification convention

The Environmental Modification Convention (ENMOD), formally the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques, is an international treaty prohibiting the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects. It opened for signature on 18 May 1977 in Geneva and entered into force on 5 October 1978. The Convention bans weather warfare, which is the use of weather modification techniques for the purposes of inducing damage or destruction. The Convention on Biological Diversity of 2010 would also ban some forms of weather modification or geoengineering.Many states do not regard this as a complete ban on the use of herbicides in warfare, such as Agent Orange, but it does require case-by-case consideration. Parties The convention was signed by 48 states; 16 of the signatories have not ratified. As of 2022 the convention has 78 state parties. History The problem of artificial modification of the environment for military or other hostile purposes was brought to the international agenda in the early 1970s. Following the US decision of July 1972 to renounce the use of climate modification techniques for hostile purposes, the 1973 resolution by the US Senate calling for an international agreement "prohibiting the use of any environmental or geophysical modification activity as a weapon of war", and an in-depth review by the Department of Defense of the military aspects of weather and other environmental modification techniques, US decided to seek agreement with the Soviet Union to explore the possibilities of an international agreement. In July 1974, US and USSR agreed to hold bilateral discussions on measures to overcome the danger of the use of environmental modification techniques for military purposes and three subsequent rounds of discussions in 1974 and 1975. In August 1975, US and USSR tabled identical draft texts of a convention at the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (CCD), Conference on Disarmament, where intensive negotiations resulted in a modified text and understandings regarding four articles of this Convention in 1976. The convention was approved by Resolution 31/72 of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1976, by 96 to 8 votes with 30 abstentions. Environmental Modification Technique Environmental Modification Technique includes any technique for changing – through the deliberate manipulation of natural processes – the dynamics, composition or structure of the earth, including its biota, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, or of outer space. Structure of ENMOD The Convention contains ten articles and one Annex on the Consultative Committee of Experts. Integral part of the convention are also the Understandings relating to articles I, II, III and VIII. These Understandings are not incorporated into the convention but are part of the negotiating record and were included in the report transmitted by the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament to the United Nations General Assembly in September 1976 Report of the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament, Volume I, General Assembly Official records: Thirty-first session, Supplement No. 27 (A/31/27), New York, United Nations, 1976, pp. 91–92. Anthropogenic climate change ENMOD treaty members are responsible for 83% of carbon dioxide emissions since the treaty entered into force in 1978. The ENMOD treaty could potentially be used by ENMOD member states seeking climate-change loss and damage compensation from other ENMOD member states at the International Court of Justice. With the knowledge that carbon dioxide emissions can enhance extreme weather events, the continued unmitigated greenhouse gas emissions from some ENMOD member states could be viewed as ‘reckless’ in the context of deliberately declining emissions from other ENMOD member states. It is unclear whether the International Court of Justice will consider the ENMOD treaty when it issues a legal opinion on international climate change obligations requested by the United Nations General Assembly on 29 March 2023. See also Arms control agreements Environmental agreements Climate engineering Operation Popeye United Nations Convention on Environmental Modification References Welcome! | UN GENEVA External links The text of the agreement compiled by the NGO Committee on Education Ratifications A Political Primer on the ENMOD Convention from the Sunshine Project.

quaternary extinction event

The latter half of the Late Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene (~50,000-10,000 years Before Present) saw extinctions of numerous predominantly megafaunal (large) animal species (the Pleistocene megafauna), which resulted in a collapse in faunal density and diversity across the globe. The extinctions during the Late Pleistocene are differentiated from previous extinctions by the widespread absence of ecological succession to replace these extinct megafaunal species, and the regime shift of previously established faunal relationships and habitats as a consequence. The timing and severity of the extinctions varied by region and are thought to have been driven by varying combinations of human and climatic factors. Human impact on megafauna populations is thought to have been driven by hunting ("overkill") as well as possibly environmental alteration. The relative importance of human vs climatic factors in the extinctions has been the subject of long-running controversy.Major extinctions occurred in Australia-New Guinea (Sahul) beginning approximately 50,000 years ago and in the Americas about 13,000 years ago, coinciding in time with the early human migrations into these regions. Extinctions in northern Eurasia were staggered over tens of thousands of years between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, while extinctions in the Americas were virtually simultaneous, spanning only 3000 years at most. Overall, during Late Pleistocene about 65% of all megafaunal species worldwide became extinct, rising to 72% in North America, 83% in South America and 88% in Australia, with Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia having much lower extinctions than other regions. Extinctions by biogeographic realm Summary Introduction The Late Pleistocene saw the extinction of many mammals weighing more than 40 kilograms (88 lb). The proportion of megafauna extinctions is progressively larger the further the human migratory distance from Africa, with the highest extinction rates in Australia, and North and South America. The increased extent of extinction mirrors the migration pattern of modern humans: the further away from Africa, the more recently humans inhabited the area, the less time those environments (including its megafauna) had to become accustomed to humans (and vice versa). There are two main hypotheses to explain this extinction: Climate change associated with the advance and retreat of major ice caps or ice sheets causing reduction in favorable habitat. Human hunting causing attrition of megafauna populations, commonly known as "overkill".There are some inconsistencies between the current available data and the prehistoric overkill hypothesis. For instance, there are ambiguities around the timing of Australian megafauna extinctions. Evidence supporting the prehistoric overkill hypothesis includes the persistence of megafauna on some islands for millennia past the disappearance of their continental cousins. For instance, ground sloths survived on the Antilles long after North and South American ground sloths were extinct, woolly mammoths died out on remote Wrangel Island 6,000 years after their extinction on the mainland, while Steller's sea cows persisted off the isolated and uninhabited Commander Islands for thousands of years after they had vanished from the continental shores of the north Pacific. The later disappearance of these island species correlates with the later colonization of these islands by humans. The original debates as to whether human arrival times or climate change constituted the primary cause of megafaunal extinctions necessarily were based on paleontological evidence coupled with geological dating techniques. Recently, genetic analyses of surviving megafaunal populations have contributed new evidence, leading to the conclusion: "The inability of climate to predict the observed population decline of megafauna, especially during the past 75,000 years, implies that human impact became the main driver of megafauna dynamics around this date."An alternative hypothesis to the theory of human responsibility is climate change associated with the last glacial period. Discredited explanations include the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis and Tollmann's hypothesis that extinctions resulted from bolide impacts. Recent research indicates that each species responded differently to environmental changes, and no one factor by itself explains the large variety of extinctions. The causes may involve the interplay of climate change, competition between species, unstable population dynamics, and human predation. Africa Although Africa was one of the least affected regions, the region still suffered extinctions, particularly around the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition. These extinctions were likely predominantly climatically driven by changes to grassland habitats. Ungulates Even-Toed Ungulates Suidae (swine) Metridiochoerus Kolpochoerus Bovidae (bovines, antelope) Giant buffalo (Syncerus antiquus) Megalotragus Rusingoryx Antidorcas australis Antidorcas bondi Damaliscus hypsodon Damaliscus niro Gazella atlantica Gazella tingitana Caprinae Makapania? Odd-toed Ungulates Rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidae). Stephanorhinus hemitoechus (North Africa) Wild Equus spp. Caballine horses Equus algericus (North Africa) Subgenus Asinus (asses) Equus melkiensis (North Africa) Zebras Equus capensis Saharan zebra (Equus mauritanicus) Proboscidea Elephantidae (elephants) Palaeoloxodon iolensis? (other authors suggest that this taxon went extinct at the end of the Middle Pleistocene) South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia The timing of extinctions on the Indian subcontinent is uncertain due to a lack of reliable dating. Similar issues have been reported for Chinese sites, though there is no evidence for any of the megafaunal taxa having survived into the Holocene in that region. Extinctions in Southeast Asia and South China have been proposed to be the result of environmental shift from open to closed forested habitats.Ungulates Even-Toed Ungulates Several Bovidae spp. Bos palaesondaicus (ancestor to the banteng) Bison hanaizumiensis Cebu tamaraw (Bubalus cebuensis) Bubalus grovesi Bubalus wansijocki Short-horned water buffalo (Bubalus mephistopheles) Cervidae Sinomegaceros spp. (including Sinomegaceros yabei in Japan, and Sinomegaceros ordosianus in China). Hippopotamidae Hexaprotodon (Indian subcontinent) Odd-toed Ungulates Equus spp. Equus namadicus (Indian subcontinent) Yunnan horse (Equus yunanensis) Giant tapir (Tapirus augustus, Southeast Asia and Southern China) Merck's rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis Eastern Asia) Pholidota Giant Asian pangolin (Manis palaeojavanica) Carnivora Caniformia Arctoidea Bears Ailuropoda baconi (ancestor to the giant panda) Afrotheria Afroinsectiphilia Orycteropodidae/Tubulidentata Aardvark (Orycteropus afer; extirpated in South Asia circa 13,000 BCE) Paenungulata Tethytheria Proboscideans Stegodontidae Stegodon spp. (including Stegodon florensis on Flores, Stegodon orientalis in East and Southeast Asia, and Stegodon sp. in the Indian subcontinent) Palaeoloxodon spp. Palaeoloxodon namadicus (Indian subcontinent, possibly also Southeast Asia) Naumann's elephant (Japan) Palaeoloxodon huaihoensis (China) Birds Japanese flightless duck (Shiriyanetta hasegawai) Leptoptilos robustus Reptiles crocodilia Alligator munensis Primates Several simian (Simiiformes) spp. Pongo (orangutans) Pongo weidenreichi (South China) Various Homo spp. (archaic humans) Homo erectus (Java) Homo floresiensis (Flores) Homo luzonensis (Luzon, Philippines) Denisovans (Homo sp.) Europe and northern Asia The Palearctic realm spans the entirety of the European continent and stretches into northern Asia, through the Caucasus and central Asia to northern China, Siberia and Beringia. Extinctions were more severe in Northern Eurasia than in Africa or South and Southeast Asia. These extinctions were staggered over tens of thousands of years, spanning from around 50,000 years Before Present (BP) to around 10,000 years BP, with temperate adapted species like the straight-tusked elephant and the narrow-nosed rhinoceros generally going extinct earlier than cold adapted species like the woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. Climate change has been considered a probable major factor in the extinctions, possibly in combination with human hunting. Ungulates Even-Toed Hoofed Mammals Various Bovidae spp. Steppe bison (Bison priscus) Baikal yak (Bos baikalensis) European water buffalo (Bubalus murrensis) European tahr (Hemitragus cedrensis) Giant muskox (Praeovibos priscus) Northern saiga antelope (Saiga borealis) Twisted-horned antelope (Spirocerus kiakhtensis) Goat-horned antelope (Parabubalis capricornis) Various deer (Cervidae) spp. Broad-fronted moose (Cervalces latifrons) Giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus) Praemegaceros savini Cretan deer (Candiacervus) Haploidoceros mediterraneus All native Hippopotamus spp.Hippopotamus amphibius (European range) Maltese dwarf hippopotamus (Hippopotamus melitensis) Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus (Hippopotamus minor) Sicilian dwarf hippopotamus (Hippopotamus pentlandi) Camelus knoblochi and other Camelus spp. Odd-Toed Hoofed Mammals Various Equus spp. e.g. Wild horse (Equus ferus ssp.) Equus cf. gallicus European wild ass (Equus hydruntinus) Equus cf. latipes Equus lenensis Equus cf. uralensis All native Rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidae) spp. Elasmotherium Woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) Stephanorhinus spp. Merck's rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis) Narrow-nosed rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemiotoechus) Carnivora Caniformia Canidae Caninae Wolves Cave wolf (Canis lupus spelaeus) Dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) Dholes European dhole (Cuon alpinus europaeus) Sardinian dhole (Cynotherium sardous) Arctoidea Various Ursus spp. Steppe brown bear (Ursus arctos "priscus") Gamssulzen cave bear (Ursus ingressus) Pleistocene small cave bear (Ursus rossicus) Cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) Giant polar bear (Ursus maritimus tyrannus) Musteloidea Mustelidae Several otter (Lutrinae) spp. Robust Pleistocene European otter (Cyrnaonyx) Algarolutra Sardinian giant otter (Megalenhydris barbaricina) Sardinian dwarf otter (Sardolutra) Cretan otter (Lutrogale cretensis) Feliformia Various Felidae spp. Eurasian scimitar cat (Homotherium latidens) Cave lynx (Lynx pardinus spelaeus) Issoire lynx (Lynx issiodorensis) Panthera spp. Cave lion (Panthera spelaea) European ice age leopard (Panthera pardus spelaea) Herpestoidea Cave hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) hyaena prisca All native Elephant (Elephantidae) spp. Mammoths Woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) Dwarf Sardinian mammoth (Mammuthus lamarmorai) Straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) (Europe) Dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi (Crete) Cyprus dwarf elephant (Palaeoloxodon cypriotes) Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis (Sicily) Rodents Giant Eurasian porcupine (Hystrix refossa) Leithia spp. (Maltese and Sicilian giant dormouse) Lagomorpha Pika (Ochotona) spp. e.g. Giant pika (Ochotona whartoni) Eurasian giant beavers (Trogontherium cuiveri) Birds Asian ostrich (Struthio asiaticus) Giant swan (Cygnus falconeri) Yakutian goose (Anser djuktaiensis) Various European crane spp. (Genus Grus) Grus primigenia Grus melitensis Cretan owl (Athene cretensis) Primates Homo Denisovans (Homo sp.) Neanderthals (Homo (sapiens) neanderthalensis; survived until about 40,000 years ago on the Iberian peninsula) Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) (European range) North America Extinctions in North America were concentrated at the end of the Late Pleistocene, around 13,800–11,400 years Before Present, which were coincident with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling period, as well as the emergence of the hunter-gatherer Clovis culture. The relative importance of human and climactic factors in the North American extinctions has been the subject of significant controversy. Extinctions totalled around 35 genera. The radiocarbon record for North America south of the Alaska-Yukon region has been described as "inadequate" to construct a reliable chronology.North American extinctions (noted as herbivores (H) or carnivores (C)) included: Ungulates Even-Toed Hoofed Mammals Various Bovidae spp. Most forms of Pleistocene bison (only Bison bison in North America, and Bison bonasus in Eurasia, survived) Ancient bison (Bison antiquus) (H) Long-horned/Giant bison (Bison latifrons) (H) Steppe bison (Bison priscus) (H) Bison occidentalis (H) Several members of Caprinae (the muskox survived) Giant muskox (Praeovibos priscus) (H) Shrub-ox (Euceratherium collinum) (H) Harlan's muskox (Bootherium bombifrons) (H) Soergel's ox (Soergelia mayfieldi) (H) Harrington's mountain goat (Oreamnos harringtoni; smaller and more southern distribution than its surviving relative) (H) Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica; extirpated) (H) Deer Stag-moose (Cervalces scotti) (H) American mountain deer (Odocoileus lucasi) (H) Torontoceros hypnogeos (H) Various Antilocapridae genera (pronghorns survived) Capromeryx (H) Stockoceros (H) Tetrameryx (H) Pacific pronghorn (Antilocapra pacifica) (H) Several peccary (Tayassuidae) spp. Flat-headed peccary (Platygonus) (H) Long-nosed peccary (Mylohyus) (H) Collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu; extirpated, range semi-recolonised) (H) (Muknalia minimus is a junior synonym) Various members of Camelidae Western camel (Camelops hesternus) (H) Stilt legged llamas (Hemiauchenia ssp.) (H) Stout legged llamas (Palaeolama ssp.) (H) Odd-Toed Hoofed Mammals All native forms of Equidae Caballine true horses (Equus cf. ferus), has historically been assigned to many different species, but the taxonomy of these horses is unclear, and many of these species are likely invalid. Stilt-legged horse (Haringtonhippus francisci / Equus francisci; (H) Tapirs (Tapirus; three species) California tapir (Tapirus californicus) (H) Merriam's tapir (Tapirus merriami) (H) Vero tapir (Tapirus veroensis) (H) †Order Notoungulata Mixotoxodon (H) Carnivora Feliformia Several Felidae spp. Saber-Tooths North American saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis) (C) North American scimitar cat (Homotherium serum) (C) American cheetah (Miracinonyx; not true cheetah) Miracinonyx trumani (C) Cougar (Puma concolor; megafaunal ecomorph extirpated from North America, South American populations recolonised former range) (C) Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi; extirpated, range semi-recolonised) (C) Margay (Leopardus weidii; extirpated) (C) Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis; extirpated, range marginally recolonised) (C) Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx; extirpated) (C) Jaguars Pleistocene North American jaguar (Panthera onca augusta; range semi-recolonised by other subspecies) (C) North America Jaguar Panthera balamoides (dubious, suggested to be a junior synonym of the short faced bear Arctotherium) Lions American lion (Panthera atrox; endemic to North America after 340,000 BP) (C) Cave/steppe lion (Panthera spelaea; present only as far as modern day Yukon) (C) Caniformia Canidae Dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) (C) Pleistocene coyote (Canis latrans orcutti) (C) Megafaunal wolf e.g. Beringian wolf (Canis lupus ssp.) (C) Dhole (Cuon alpinus; extirpated) (C) Protocyon troglodytes (C) Arctoidea Musteloidea Mephitidae Short-faced skunk (Brachyprotoma obtusata) (C) Mustelidae Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii; extirpated) (C) Various bear (Ursidae) spp. Arctodus simus (C) Florida spectacled bear (Tremarctos floridanus) (C) South American short-faced bear (Arctotherium wingei) (C) Giant polar bear (Ursus maritimus tyrannus; a possible inhabitant) (C) Afrotheria Afroinsectiphilia Orycteropodidae/Tubulidentata Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla; extirpated, range partially recolonised) (C) Paenungulata Tethytheria All native spp. of Proboscidea Mastodons American mastodon (Mammut americanum) (H) Pacific mastodon (Mammut pacificus) (H) (validity uncertain) Gomphotheriidae spp. Cuvieronius (H) Stegomastodon (H) Mammoth (Mammuthus) spp. Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) (H) Pygmy mammoth (Mammuthus exilis) (H) Woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) (H) Sirenia Dugongidae Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas; extirpated from North America, survived in Beringia into 18th century) (H) Euarchontoglires Bats Stock's vampire bat (Desmodus stocki) (C) Pristine mustached bat (Pteronotus (Phyllodia) pristinus) (C) Rodents Giant beaver (Castoroides) spp. Castoroides ohioensis (H) Castoroides leiseyorum (H) Klein's porcupine (Erethizon kleini) (H) Giant island deer mouse (Peromyscus nesodytes) (C) Neochoerus spp. e.g. Pinckney's capybara (Neochoerus pinckneyi) (H) Neochoerus aesopi (H) All giant hutia (Heptaxodontidae) spp. Blunt-toothed giant hutia (Amblyrhiza inundata; could grow as large as an American black bear) (H) Plate-toothed giant hutia (Elasmodontomys obliquus) (H) Twisted-toothed mouse (Quemisia gravis) (H) Osborn's key mouse (Clidomys osborn's) (H) Xaymaca fulvopulvis (H) Lagomorphs Aztlan rabbit (Aztlanolagus sp.) (H) Giant pika (Ochotona whartoni) (H) Xenarthrana All remaining ground sloth spp. Eremotherium (megatheriid giant ground sloth) (H) Nothrotheriops (nothrotheriid ground sloth) (H) Megalonychid ground sloth spp. Megalonyx (H) Nohochichak (H) Xibalbaonyx (H) Meizonyx Mylodontid ground sloth spp. Paramylodon (H) All members of Glyptodontidae Glyptotherium (H) (H) Beautiful armadillo (Dasypus bellus) (H) Pachyarmatherium All Pampatheriidae spp. Holmesina (H) Pampatherium (H) Birds Water Fowl Ducks Bermuda flightless duck (Anas pachyscelus) (H) Californian flightless sea duck (Chendytes lawi) (C) Mexican stiff-tailed duck (Oxyura zapatima) (H) Turkey (Meleagris) spp. Californian turkey (Meleagris californica) (H) Meleagris crassipes (H) Various Gruiformes spp. All cave rail (Nesotrochis) spp. e.g. Antillean cave rail (Nesotrochis debooyi) (C) Barbados rail (Incertae sedis) (C) Cuban flightless crane (Antigone cubensis) (H) La Brea crane (Grus pagei) (H) Various flamingo (Phoenicopteridae) spp. Minute flamingo (Phoenicopterus minutus) (C) Cope's flamingo (Phoenicopterus copei) (C) Dow's puffin (Fratercula dowi) (C) Pleistocene Mexican diver spp. Plyolimbus baryosteus (C) Podiceps spp. Podiceps parvus (C) Storks La Brea/Asphalt stork (Ciconia maltha) (C) Wetmore's stork (Mycteria wetmorei) (C) Pleistocene Mexican cormorants spp. (genus Phalacrocorax)Phalacrocorax goletensis (C) Phalacrocorax chapalensis (C) All remaining teratorn (Teratornithidae) spp. Aiolornis incredibilis (C) Cathartornis gracilis (C) Oscaravis olsoni (C) Teratornis merriami (C) Teratornis woodburnensis (C) Several New World vultures (Cathartidae) spp. Pleistocene black vulture (Coragyps occidentalis ssp.) (C) Megafaunal Californian condor (Gymnogyps amplus) (C) Clark's condor (Breagyps clarki) (C) Cuban condor (Gymnogyps varonai) (C) Several Accipitridae spp. American neophrone vulture (Neophrontops americanus) (C) Woodward's eagle (Amplibuteo woodwardi) (C) Cuban great hawk (Buteogallus borrasi) (C) Daggett's eagle (Buteogallus daggetti) (C) Fragile eagle (Buteogallus fragilis) (C) Cuban giant hawk (Gigantohierax suarezi) (C) Errant eagle (Neogyps errans) (C) Grinnell's crested eagle (Spizaetus grinnelli) (C) Willett's hawk-eagle (Spizaetus willetti) (C) Caribbean titan hawk (Titanohierax) (C) Several owl (Strigiformes) spp. Brea miniature owl (Asphaltoglaux) (C) Kurochkin's pygmy owl (Glaucidium kurochkini) (C) Brea owl (Oraristix brea) (C) Cuban giant owl (Ornimegalonyx) (C) Bermuda flicker (Colaptes oceanicus) (C) Several caracara (Caracarinae) spp. Bahaman terrestrial caracara (Caracara sp.) (C) Puerto Rican terrestrial caracara (Caracara sp.) (C) Jamaican caracara (Carcara tellustris) (C) Cuban caracara (Milvago sp.) (C) Hispaniolan caracara (Milvago sp.) (C) Psittacopasserae Psittaciformes Mexican thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta phillipsi) (H) Several giant tortoise spp. Hesperotestudo (H) Gopherus spp. Gopherus donlaloi (H) Chelonoidis spp. Chelonoidis marcanoi (H) Chelonoidis alburyorum (H)The survivors are in some ways as significant as the losses: bison (H), grey wolf (C), lynx (C), grizzly bear (C), American black bear (C), deer (e.g. caribou, moose, wapiti (elk), Odocoileus spp.) (H), pronghorn (H), white-lipped peccary (H), muskox (H), bighorn sheep (H), and mountain goat (H); the list of survivors also include species which were extirpated during the Quaternary extinction event, but recolonised at least part of their ranges during the mid-Holocene from South American relict populations, such as the cougar (C), jaguar (C), giant anteater (C), collared peccary (H), ocelot (C) and jaguarundi (C). All save the pronghorns and giant anteaters were descended from Asian ancestors that had evolved with human predators. Pronghorns are the second-fastest land mammal (after the cheetah), which may have helped them elude hunters. More difficult to explain in the context of overkill is the survival of bison, since these animals first appeared in North America less than 240,000 years ago and so were geographically removed from human predators for a sizeable period of time. Because ancient bison evolved into living bison, there was no continent-wide extinction of bison at the end of the Pleistocene (although the genus was regionally extirpated in many areas). The survival of bison into the Holocene and recent times is therefore inconsistent with the overkill scenario. By the end of the Pleistocene, when humans first entered North America, these large animals had been geographically separated from intensive human hunting for more than 200,000 years. Given this enormous span of geologic time, bison would almost certainly have been very nearly as naive as native North American large mammals. The culture that has been connected with the wave of extinctions in North America is the paleo-American culture associated with the Clovis people (q.v.), who were thought to use spear throwers to kill large animals. The chief criticism of the "prehistoric overkill hypothesis" has been that the human population at the time was too small and/or not sufficiently widespread geographically to have been capable of such ecologically significant impacts. This criticism does not mean that climate change scenarios explaining the extinction are automatically to be preferred by default, however, any more than weaknesses in climate change arguments can be taken as supporting overkill. Some form of a combination of both factors could be plausible, and overkill would be a lot easier to achieve large-scale extinction with an already stressed population due to climate change. South America South America suffered among the worst losses of the continents, with around 83% of its megafauna going extinct. Extinctions are thought to have occurred in the interval 13,000–10,000 years Before Present, coincident with the end of the Antarctic Cold Reversal (a cooling period earlier and less severe than the Northern Hemisphere Younger Dryas) and the emergence of Fishtail projectile points, which became widespread across South America. Fishtail projectile points are thought to have been used in big game hunting, though direct evidence of exploitation of extinct megafauna by humans is rare. Fishtail points rapidly disappeared after the extinction of the megafauna, and were replaced by other styles more suited to hunting smaller prey. Humans have traditionally been less cited as a causal factor in the extinctions than in North America, though some recent scholarship is beginning to challenge this. Ungulates Even-Toed Hoofed Mammals Several Cervidae spp. Morenelaphus Antifer Agalmaceros blicki Odocoileus salinae Various Camelidae spp. Eulamaops Stilt legged llama Hemiauchenia Stout legged llama Palaeolama Odd-Toed Hoofed Mammals Several species of tapirs (Tapiridae) Tapirus rondoniensis Tapirus cristatellus All Pleistocene wild horse genera (Equidae) Equus neogeus HippidionHippidion devillei Hippidion principale Hippidion saldiasi All remaining Meridiungulata genera Order Litopterna Macraucheniidae Macrauchenia Macraucheniopsis Xenorhinotherium Proterotheriidae Neolicaphrium recens Order Notoungulata Toxodontidae Piauhytherium (Some authors regard this taxon as synonym of Trigodonops) Mixotoxodon Toxodon Trigodonops Carnivora Feliformia Several Felidae spp. Saber-toothed cat (Smilodon) spp.North American saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis) South American saber-toothed cat (Smilodon populator) Patagonian jaguar (Panthera onca mesembrina) (some authors have suggested that these remains actually belong to the American lion instead) Caniformia Canidae Dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) Nehring's wolf (Canis nehringi) Protocyon spp.Protocyon trogolodytes Protocyon tarijense Dusicyon avus Pleistocene bush dog (Speothos pacivorus) Arctoidea South American short-faced bear (Arctotherium spp.) Arctotherium bonairense Arctotherium tarijense Arctotherium wingei Rodents Giant vampire bat (Desmodus draculae) Neochoerus All remaining Gomphotheridae spp. Cuvieronius Notiomastodon Xenarthrans All remaining ground sloth genera Megatheriidae spp. Eremotherium Megatherium Nothrotheriidae spp. Nothropus Nothrotherium Megalonychidae spp. Ahytherium Australonyx Diabolotherium Megistonyx Valgipes Mylodontidae spp. Catonyx Glossotherium Lestodon Mylodon Scelidotherium Scelidodon Mylodonopsis Ocnotherium All remaining Glyptodontinae spp. Doedicurus Glyptodon/Chlamydotherium Heteroglyptodon Hoplophorus Lomaphorus Neosclerocalyptus Neuryurus Panochthus Parapanochthus Plaxhaplous Sclerocalyptus Several Dasypodidae spp. Beautiful armadillo (Dasypus bellus) Eutatus Pachyarmatherium Propaopus All Pampatheriidae spp. Holmesina (et 'Chlamytherium occidentale') Pampatherium Tonnicinctus Birds Psilopterus (small terror bird remains dated to the Late Pleistocene, but these are disputed) Various Caracarinae spp. Venezuelan caracara (Caracara major) Seymour's caracara (Caracara seymouri) Peruvian caracara (Milvago brodkorbi) Various Cathartidae spp. Pampagyps imperator Geronogyps reliquus Wingegyps cartellei Pleistovultur nevesi Crocs & Gators Caiman venezuelensis Chelonoidis lutzae (Argentina) The Pacific (Australasia and Oceania) A scarcity of reliably dated megafaunal bone deposits has made it difficult to construct timelines for megafaunal extinctions in certain areas, leading to a divide among researches about when and how megafaunal species went extinct.There are at least three hypotheses regarding the extinction of the Australian megafauna: that they went extinct with the arrival of the Aboriginal Australians on the continent, that they went extinct due to natural climate change.This theory is based on evidence of megafauna surviving until 40,000 years ago, a full 30,000 years after homo sapiens first landed in Australia, and thus that the two groups coexisted for a long time. Evidence of these animals existing at that time come from fossil records and ocean sediment. To begin with, sediment core drilled in the Indian Ocean off the SW coast of Australia indicate the existence of a fungus called Sporormiella, which survived off the dung of plant-eating mammals. The abundance of these spores in the sediment prior to 45,000 years ago indicates that many large mammals existed in the southwest Australian landscape until that point. The sediment data also indicates that the megafauna population collapsed within a few thousand years, around the 45,000 years ago, suggesting a rapid extinction event. In addition, fossils found at South Walker Creek, which is the youngest megafauna site in northern Australia, indicate that at least 16 species of megafauna survived there until 40,000 years ago. Furthermore, there is no firm evidence of homo sapiens living at South Walker Creek 40,000 years ago, therefore no human cause can be attributed to the extinction of these megafauna. However, there is evidence of major environmental deterioration of South Water Creek 40,000 years ago, which may have caused the extinct event. These changes include increased fire, reduction in grasslands, and the loss of fresh water. The same environmental deterioration is seen across Australia at the time, further strengthening the climate change argument. Australia's climate at the time could best be described as an overall drying of the landscape due to lower precipitation, resulting in less fresh water availability and more drought conditions. Overall, this led to changes in vegetation, increased fires, overall reduction in grasslands, and a greater competition for already scarce fresh water. These environmental changes proved to be too much for the Australian megafauna to cope with, causing the extinction of 90% of megafauna species. The third hypothesis shared by some scientists is that human impacts and natural climate changes led to the extinction of Australian megafauna. About 75% of Australia is semi-arid or arid, so it makes sense that megafauna species used the same fresh water resources as humans. This competition could have led to more hunting of megafauna. Furthermore, homo sapiens used fire agriculture to burn impassable land. This further diminished the already disappearing grassland which contained plants that were a key dietary component of herbivorous megafauna. While there is no scientific consensus on this, it is plausible that homo sapiens and natural climate change had a combined impact. Overall, there is a great deal of evidence for humans being the culprit, but by ruling out climate change completely as a cause of the Australian megafauna extinction we are not getting the whole picture. The climate change in Australia 45,000 years ago destabilized the ecosystem, making it particularly vulnerable to hunting and fire agriculture by humans; this is probably what led to the extinction of the Australian megafauna.Several studies provide evidence that climate change caused megafaunal extinction during the Pleistocene in Australia. One group of researchers analyzed fossilized teeth found at Cuddie Springs in southeastern Australia. By analyzing oxygen isotopes, they measured aridity, and by analyzing carbon isotopes and dental microwear texture analysis, they assessed megafaunal diets and vegetation. During the middle Pleistocene, southeastern Australia was dominated by browsers, including fauna that consumed C4 plants. By the late Pleistocene, the C4 plant dietary component had decreased considerably. This shift may have been caused by increasingly arid conditions, which may have caused dietary restrictions. Other isotopic analyses of eggshells and wombat teeth also point to a decline of C4 vegetation after 45 Ka. This decline in C4 vegetation is coincident with increasing aridity. Increasingly arid conditions in southeastern Australia during the late Pleistocene may have stressed megafauna, and contributed to their decline. In Sahul (a former continent composed of Australia and New Guinea), the sudden and extensive spate of extinctions occurred earlier than in the rest of the world. Most evidence points to a 20,000 year period after human arrival circa 63,000 BCE, but scientific argument continues as to the exact date range. In the rest of the Pacific (other Australasian islands such as New Caledonia, and Oceania) although in some respects far later, endemic fauna also usually perished quickly upon the arrival of humans in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Marsupials Various members of Diprotodontidae Diprotodon Hulitherium tomasetti Maokopia ronaldi Zygomaturus Palorchestes ("marsupial tapir") Various members of Vombatidae Lasiorhinus angustidens (giant wombat) Phascolonus (giant wombat) Ramasayia magna (giant wombat) Vombatus hacketti (Hackett's wombat) Warendja wakefieldi (dwarf wombat) Sedophascolomys (giant wombat) Phascolarctos stirtoni (giant koala) Marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex) Various members of Macropodidae Procoptodon (short-faced kangaroos) e.g. Procoptodon goliah Sthenurus (giant kangaroo) Simosthenurus (giant kangaroo) Various Macropus (giant kangaroo) spp. e.g. Macropus ferragus Macropus titan Macropus pearsoni Protemnodon (giant wallaby) Troposodon (wallaby) Bohra (giant tree kangaroo) Propleopus oscillans (omnivorous, giant musky rat-kangaroo) Nombe Congruus Various forms of Sarcophilus (Tasmanian devil) Sarcophilus laniarius (25% larger than modern species, unclear if it is actually a distinct species from living Tasmanian devil) Sarcophilus moornaensis Monotremes: egg-laying mammals. Echidna Murrayglossus hacketti (giant echidna) Megalibgwilia ramsayi Birds Pygmy Cassowary (Casuarius lydekkeri) Genyornis (a two-meter-tall (6.6 ft) dromornithid Giant malleefowl (Progura gallinacea) Cryptogyps lacertosus Dynatoaetus gaffae Several Phoenicopteridae spp. Xenorhynchopsis spp. (Australian flamingo) Xenorhynchopsis minor Xenorhynchopsis tibialis Reptiles Crocs & GatorsIkanogavialis (the last fully marine crocodilian) Pallimnarchus (Australian freshwater mekosuchine crocodiian) Quinkana (Australian terrestrial mekosuchine crocodilian, apex predator) Volia (a two-to-three meter long mekosuchine crocodylian, apex predator of Pleistocene Fiji) Mekosuchus Mekosuchus inexpectatus (New Caledonian land crocodile) Mekosuchus kalpokasi (Vanuatu land crocodile) Varanus sp. (Pleistocene and Holocene New Caledonia) Megalania (Varanus pricus) (a giant predatory monitor lizard comparable or larger than the Komodo dragon) Snakes Wonambi (a five-to-six-metre-long Australian constrictor snake) Several spp. of Meiolaniidae (giant armoured turtles) Meiolania Ninjemys Relationship to later extinctions There is no general agreement on where the Quaternary extinction event ends, and the Holocene, or anthropogenic, extinction begins, or if they should be considered separate events at all. Some have suggested that anthropogenic extinctions may have begun as early as when the first modern humans spread out of Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago, which is supported by rapid megafaunal extinction following recent human colonisation in Australia, New Zealand and Madagascar, in a similar way that any large, adaptable predator moving into a new ecosystem would. In many cases, it is suggested even minimal hunting pressure was enough to wipe out large fauna, particularly on geographically isolated islands. Only during the most recent parts of the extinction have plants also suffered large losses.Overall, the Holocene extinction can be characterised by the human impact on the environment. The Holocene extinction continues into the 21st century, with overfishing, ocean acidification and the amphibian crisis being a few broader examples of an almost universal, cosmopolitan decline of biodiversity. Hunting hypothesis The hunting hypothesis suggests that humans hunted megaherbivores to extinction, which in turn caused the extinction of carnivores and scavengers which had preyed upon those animals. This hypothesis holds Pleistocene humans responsible for the megafaunal extinction. One variant, known as blitzkrieg, portrays this process as relatively quick. Some of the direct evidence for this includes: fossils of some megafauna found in conjunction with human remains, embedded arrows and tool cut marks found in megafaunal bones, and European cave paintings that depict such hunting. Biogeographical evidence is also suggestive: the areas of the world where humans evolved currently have more of their Pleistocene megafaunal diversity (the elephants and rhinos of Asia and Africa) compared to other areas such as Australia, the Americas, Madagascar and New Zealand without the earliest humans. Circumstantially, the close correlation in time between the appearance of humans in an area and extinction there provides weight for this scenario. The megafaunal extinctions covered a vast period of time and highly variable climatic situations. The earliest extinctions in Australia were complete approximately 50,000 BP, well before the last glacial maximum and before rises in temperature. The most recent extinction in New Zealand was complete no earlier than 500 BP and during a period of cooling. In between these extremes megafaunal extinctions have occurred progressively in such places as North America, South America and Madagascar with no climatic commonality. The only common factor that can be ascertained is the arrival of humans. This phenomenon appears even within regions. The mammal extinction wave in Australia about 50,000 years ago coincides not with known climatic changes, but with the arrival of humans. In addition, large mammal species like the giant kangaroo Protemnodon appear to have succumbed sooner on the Australian mainland than on Tasmania, which was colonised by humans a few thousand years later.Extinction through human hunting has been supported by archaeological finds of mammoths with projectile points embedded in their skeletons, by observations of modern naive animals allowing hunters to approach easily and by computer models by Mosimann and Martin, and Whittington and Dyke, and most recently by Alroy.A study published in 2015 supported the hypothesis further by running several thousand scenarios that correlated the time windows in which each species is known to have become extinct with the arrival of humans on different continents or islands. This was compared against climate reconstructions for the last 90,000 years. The researchers found correlations of human spread and species extinction indicating that the human impact was the main cause of the extinction, while climate change exacerbated the frequency of extinctions. The study, however, found an apparently low extinction rate in the fossil record of mainland Asia. Overkill hypothesis The overkill hypothesis, a variant of the hunting hypothesis, was proposed in 1966 by Paul S. Martin, Professor of Geosciences Emeritus at the Desert Laboratory of the University of Arizona. Objections to the hunting hypothesis The major objections to the theory are as follows: There is no archeological evidence that in North America megafauna other than mammoths, mastodons, gomphotheres and bison were hunted, despite the fact that, for example, camels and horses are very frequently reported in fossil history. Overkill proponents, however, say this is due to the fast extinction process in North America and the low probability of animals with signs of butchery to be preserved. A study by Surovell and Grund concluded "archaeological sites dating to the time of the coexistence of humans and extinct fauna are rare. Those that preserve bone are considerably more rare, and of those, only a very few show unambiguous evidence of human hunting of any type of prey whatsoever." Eugene S. Hunn points out that the birthrate in hunter-gatherer societies is generally too low, that too much effort is involved in the bringing down of a large animal by a hunting party, and that in order for hunter-gatherers to have brought about the extinction of megafauna simply by hunting them to death, an extraordinary amount of meat would have had to have been wasted. Climate change hypothesis At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, when scientists first realized that there had been glacial and interglacial ages, and that they were somehow associated with the prevalence or disappearance of certain animals, they surmised that the termination of the Pleistocene ice age might be an explanation for the extinctions. Critics object that since there were multiple glacial advances and withdrawals in the evolutionary history of many of the megafauna, it is rather implausible that only after the last glacial maximum would there be such extinctions. One study suggests that the Pleistocene megafaunal composition may have differed markedly from that of earlier interglacials, making the Pleistocene populations particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment.Some evidence weighs against climate change as a valid hypothesis as applied to Australia. It has been shown that the prevailing climate at the time of extinction (40,000–50,000 BP) was similar to that of today, and that the extinct animals were strongly adapted to an arid climate. The evidence indicates that all of the extinctions took place in the same short time period, which was the time when humans entered the landscape. The main mechanism for extinction was probably fire (started by humans) in a then much less fire-adapted landscape. Isotopic evidence shows sudden changes in the diet of surviving species, which could correspond to the stress they experienced before extinction.Evidence in Southeast Asia, in contrast to Europe, Australia, and the Americas, suggests that climate change and an increasing sea level were significant factors in the extinction of several herbivorous species. Alterations in vegetation growth and new access routes for early humans and mammals to previously isolated, localized ecosystems were detrimental to select groups of fauna.Some evidence obtained from analysis of the tusks of mastodons from the American Great Lakes region appears inconsistent with the climate change hypothesis. Over a span of several thousand years prior to their extinction in the area, the mastodons show a trend of declining age at maturation. This is the opposite of what one would expect if they were experiencing stresses from deteriorating environmental conditions, but is consistent with a reduction in intraspecific competition that would result from a population being reduced by human hunting. Increased temperature The most obvious change associated with the termination of an ice age is the increase in temperature. Between 15,000 BP and 10,000 BP, a 6 °C increase in global mean annual temperatures occurred. This was generally thought to be the cause of the extinctions. According to this hypothesis, a temperature increase sufficient to melt the Wisconsin ice sheet could have placed enough thermal stress on cold-adapted mammals to cause them to die. Their heavy fur, which helps conserve body heat in the glacial cold, might have prevented the dumping of excess heat, causing the mammals to die of heat exhaustion. Large mammals, with their reduced surface area-to-volume ratio, would have fared worse than small mammals. A study covering the past 56,000 years indicates that rapid warming events with temperature changes of up to 16 °C (29 °F) had an important impact on the extinction of megafauna. Ancient DNA and radiocarbon data indicates that local genetic populations were replaced by others within the same species or by others within the same genus. Survival of populations was dependent on the existence of refugia and long distance dispersals, which may have been disrupted by human hunters. Arguments against the temperature hypothesis Studies propose that the annual mean temperature of the current interglacial that we have seen for the last 10,000 years is no higher than that of previous interglacials, yet most of the same large mammals survived similar temperature increases.In addition, numerous species such as mammoths on Wrangel Island and St. Paul Island survived in human-free refugia despite changes in climate. This would not be expected if climate change were responsible (unless their maritime climates offered some protection against climate change not afforded to coastal populations on the mainland). Under normal ecological assumptions island populations should be more vulnerable to extinction due to climate change because of small populations and an inability to migrate to more favorable climes. Increased continentality affects vegetation in time or space Other scientists have proposed that increasingly extreme weather—hotter summers and colder winters—referred to as "continentality", or related changes in rainfall caused the extinctions. The various hypotheses are outlined below. Vegetation changes: geographic It has been shown that vegetation changed from mixed woodland-parkland to separate prairie and woodland. This may have affected the kinds of food available. Shorter growing seasons may have caused the extinction of large herbivores and the dwarfing of many others. In this case, as observed, bison and other large ruminants would have fared better than horses, elephants and other monogastrics, because ruminants are able to extract more nutrition from limited quantities of high-fiber food and better able to deal with anti-herbivory toxins. So, in general, when vegetation becomes more specialized, herbivores with less diet flexibility may be less able to find the mix of vegetation they need to sustain life and reproduce, within a given area. Rainfall changes: time Increased continentality resulted in reduced and less predictable rainfall limiting the availability of plants necessary for energy and nutrition. Axelrod and Slaughter have suggested that this change in rainfall restricted the amount of time favorable for reproduction. This could disproportionately harm large animals, since they have longer, more inflexible mating periods, and so may have produced young at unfavorable seasons (i.e., when sufficient food, water, or shelter was unavailable because of shifts in the growing season). In contrast, small mammals, with their shorter life cycles, shorter reproductive cycles, and shorter gestation periods, could have adjusted to the increased unpredictability of the climate, both as individuals and as species which allowed them to synchronize their reproductive efforts with conditions favorable for offspring survival. If so, smaller mammals would have lost fewer offspring and would have been better able to repeat the reproductive effort when circumstances once more favored offspring survival.In 2017 a study looked at the environmental conditions across Europe, Siberia and the Americas from 25,000 to 10,000 YBP. The study found that prolonged warming events leading to deglaciation and maximum rainfall occurred just prior to the transformation of the rangelands that supported megaherbivores into widespread wetlands that supported herbivore-resistant plants. The study proposes that moisture-driven environmental change led to the megafaunal extinctions and that Africa's trans-equatorial position allowed rangeland to continue to exist between the deserts and the central forests, therefore fewer megafauna species became extinct there. Arguments against the continentality hypotheses Critics have identified a number of problems with the continentality hypotheses. Megaherbivores have prospered at other times of continental climate. For example, megaherbivores thrived in Pleistocene Siberia, which had and has a more continental climate than Pleistocene or modern (post-Pleistocene, interglacial) North America. The animals that became extinct actually should have prospered during the shift from mixed woodland-parkland to prairie, because their primary food source, grass, was increasing rather than decreasing. Although the vegetation did become more spatially specialized, the amount of prairie and grass available increased, which would have been good for horses and for mammoths, and yet they became extinct. This criticism ignores the increased abundance and broad geographic extent of Pleistocene bison at the end of the Pleistocene, which would have increased competition for these resources in a manner not seen in any earlier interglacials. Although horses became extinct in the New World, they were successfully reintroduced by the Spanish in the 16th century—into a modern post-Pleistocene, interglacial climate. Today there are feral horses still living in those same environments. They find a sufficient mix of food to avoid toxins, they extract enough nutrition from forage to reproduce effectively and the timing of their gestation is not an issue. Of course, this criticism ignores the obvious fact that present-day horses are not competing for resources with ground sloths, mammoths, mastodons, camels, llamas, and bison. Similarly, mammoths survived the Pleistocene Holocene transition on isolated, uninhabited islands in the Mediterranean Sea and on Wrangel Island in the Siberian Arctic until 4,000 to 7,000 years ago. Large mammals should have been able to migrate, permanently or seasonally, if they found the temperature too extreme, the breeding season too short, or the rainfall too sparse or unpredictable. Seasons vary geographically. By migrating away from the equator, herbivores could have found areas with growing seasons more favorable for finding food and breeding successfully. Modern-day African elephants migrate during periods of drought to places where there is apt to be water. Large animals store more fat in their bodies than do medium-sized animals and this should have allowed them to compensate for extreme seasonal fluctuations in food availability.The extinction of the megafauna could have caused the disappearance of the mammoth steppe. Alaska now has low nutrient soil unable to support bison, mammoths, and horses. R. Dale Guthrie has claimed this as a cause of the extinction of the megafauna there; however, he may be interpreting it backwards. The loss of large herbivores to break up the permafrost allows the cold soils that are unable to support large herbivores today. Today, in the arctic, where trucks have broken the permafrost grasses and diverse flora and fauna can be supported. In addition, Chapin (Chapin 1980) showed that simply adding fertilizer to the soil in Alaska could make grasses grow again like they did in the era of the mammoth steppe. Possibly, the extinction of the megafauna and the corresponding loss of dung is what led to low nutrient levels in modern-day soil and therefore is why the landscape can no longer support megafauna. Arguments against both climate change and overkill It may be observed that neither the overkill nor the climate change hypotheses can fully explain events: browsers, mixed feeders and non-ruminant grazer species suffered most, while relatively more ruminant grazers survived. However, a broader variation of the overkill hypothesis may predict this, because changes in vegetation wrought by either Second Order Predation (see below) or anthropogenic fire preferentially selects against browse species. Hyperdisease hypothesis Theory The hyperdisease hypothesis, as advanced by Ross D. E. MacFee and Preston A. Marx, attributes the extinction of large mammals during the late Pleistocene to indirect effects of the newly arrived aboriginal humans. The hyperdisease hypothesis proposes that humans or animals traveling with them (e.g., chickens or domestic dogs) introduced one or more highly virulent diseases into vulnerable populations of native mammals, eventually causing extinctions. The extinction was biased toward larger-sized species because smaller species have greater resilience because of their life history traits (e.g., shorter gestation time, greater population sizes, etc.). Humans are thought to be the cause because other earlier immigrations of mammals into North America from Eurasia did not cause extinctions.Diseases imported by people have been responsible for extinctions in the recent past; for example, bringing avian malaria to Hawaii has had a major impact on the isolated birds of the island. If a disease was indeed responsible for the end-Pleistocene extinctions, then there are several criteria it must satisfy (see Table 7.3 in MacPhee & Marx 1997). First, the pathogen must have a stable carrier state in a reservoir species. That is, it must be able to sustain itself in the environment when there are no susceptible hosts available to infect. Second, the pathogen must have a high infection rate, such that it is able to infect virtually all individuals of all ages and sexes encountered. Third, it must be extremely lethal, with a mortality rate of c. 50–75%. Finally, it must have the ability to infect multiple host species without posing a serious threat to humans. Humans may be infected, but the disease must not be highly lethal or able to cause an epidemic.One suggestion is that pathogens were transmitted by the expanding humans via the domesticated dogs they brought with them, though this does not fit the timeline of extinctions in the Americas and Australia in particular. Arguments against the hyperdisease hypothesis Generally speaking, disease has to be very virulent to kill off all the individuals in a genus or species. Even such a virulent disease as West Nile fever is unlikely to have caused extinction. The disease would need to be implausibly selective while being simultaneously implausibly broad. Such a disease needs to be capable of killing off wolves such as Canis dirus or goats such as Oreamnos harringtoni while leaving other very similar species (Canis lupus and Oreamnos americanus, respectively) unaffected. It would need to be capable of killing off flightless birds while leaving closely related flighted species unaffected. Yet while remaining sufficiently selective to afflict only individual species within genera it must be capable of fatally infecting across such clades as birds, marsupials, placentals, testudines, and crocodilians. No disease with such a broad scope of fatal infectivity is known, much less one that remains simultaneously incapable of infecting numerous closely related species within those disparate clades. On the other hand, this objection does not account for the possibility of a variety of different diseases being introduced around the same era. Numerous species including wolves, mammoths, camelids, and horses had emigrated continually between Asia and North America over the past 100,000 years. For the disease hypothesis to be applicable there it would require that the population remain immunologically naive despite this constant transmission of genetic and pathogenic material. The dog-specific hypothesis cannot account for several major extinction events, notably the Americas (for reasons already covered) and Australia. Dogs did not arrive in Australia until approximately 35,000 years after the first humans arrived there, and approximately 30,000 years after the Australian megafaunal extinction was complete. Second-order predation hypothesis Scenario The Second-Order Predation Hypothesis says that as humans entered the New World they continued their policy of killing predators, which had been successful in the Old World but because they were more efficient and because the fauna, both herbivores and carnivores, were more naive, they killed off enough carnivores to upset the ecological balance of the continent, causing overpopulation, environmental exhaustion, and environmental collapse. The hypothesis accounts for changes in animal, plant, and human populations. The scenario is as follows: After the arrival of H. sapiens in the New World, existing predators must share the prey populations with this new predator. Because of this competition, populations of original, or first-order, predators cannot find enough food; they are in direct competition with humans. Second-order predation begins as humans begin to kill predators. Prey populations are no longer well controlled by predation. Killing of nonhuman predators by H. sapiens reduces their numbers to a point where these predators no longer regulate the size of the prey populations. Lack of regulation by first-order predators triggers boom-and-bust cycles in prey populations. Prey populations expand and consequently overgraze and over-browse the land. Soon the environment is no longer able to support them. As a result, many herbivores starve. Species that rely on the slowest recruiting food become extinct, followed by species that cannot extract the maximum benefit from every bit of their food. Boom-bust cycles in herbivore populations change the nature of the vegetative environment, with consequent climatic impacts on relative humidity and continentality. Through overgrazing and overbrowsing, mixed parkland becomes grassland, and climatic continentality increases. Support This has been supported by a computer model, the Pleistocene extinction model (PEM), which, using the same assumptions and values for all variables (herbivore population, herbivore recruitment rates, food needed per human, herbivore hunting rates, etc.) other than those for hunting of predators. It compares the overkill hypothesis (predator hunting = 0) with second-order predation (predator hunting varied between 0.01 and 0.05 for different runs). The findings are that second-order predation is more consistent with extinction than is overkill (results graph at left). The Pleistocene extinction model is the only test of multiple hypotheses and is the only model to specifically test combination hypotheses by artificially introducing sufficient climate change to cause extinction. When overkill and climate change are combined they balance each other out. Climate change reduces the number of plants, overkill removes animals, therefore fewer plants are eaten. Second-order predation combined with climate change exacerbates the effect of climate change. (results graph at right). The second-order predation hypothesis is supported by the observation above that there was a massive increase in bison populations. Arguments against the second-order predation hypothesis The multispecies model produces a mass extinction through indirect competition between herbivore species: small species with high reproductive rates subsidize predation on large species with low reproductive rates. All prey species are lumped in the Pleistocene extinction model. The control of population sizes by predators is not fully supported by observations of modern ecosystems. Arguments against the second-order predation plus climate hypothesis It assumes decreases in vegetation due to climate change, but deglaciation doubled the habitable area of North America. Any vegetational changes that did occur failed to cause almost any extinctions of small vertebrates, and they are more narrowly distributed on average. See also Australian megafauna – Large animals in Australia, past and present era Holocene extinction – Ongoing extinction event caused by human activity Late Quaternary prehistoric birds – Extinct bird speciesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets List of quaternary mammalian fauna of China Megafauna – Large animals Pleistocene megafauna – Extinction event occurring during the late Quaternary periodPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets Pleistocene rewilding – Ecological practice Toba catastrophe theory – Supereruption 74,000 years ago that may have caused a global volcanic winter References External links Hyperdisease hypothesis MacFee, Ross D. E.; Marx, Preston A. (1998). "Lightning Strikes Twice: Blitzkrieg, Hyperdisease, and Global Explanations of the Late Quaternary Catastrophic Extinctions". American Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on 2011-09-03. J.H. Brown. "Was a hyperdisease responsible?" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-27. Second-order predation Elin Whitney-Smith. "Quaternary.Net". Archived from the original on 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2008-08-09. Other links "Ice Age Bay Area". Archived from the original on 2008-12-26. "The Extinct Late Pleistocene Mammals of North America". PBS. Peter Tyson. "End of the Big Beasts". PBS. Archived from the original on 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2017-09-03. S. Kathleen Lyons; Felisa A. Smith; James H. Brown (2004). "Of mice, mastodons and men: human-mediated extinctions on four continents" (PDF). Evolutionary Ecology Research. 6: 339–358. "Return to the Ice Age: The La Brea Exploration Guide". Archived from the original on 2011-08-12.

himanshu gupta

Himanshu Gupta is an Indian American energy policy expert, engineer and entrepreneur in climate change. He is the co-founder and CEO of ClimateAI, which was recognized in 2022 by TIME magazine as one of the greatest innovations of that year. Gupta held roles from 2011 onwards for the Government of India in the energy sector, specializing in renewable and low carbon energy. In 2012, he drafted and created India's Renewable Energy Chapter in its National Five Year Plan, probably the youngest person to do so. In 2016, Himanshu was included in the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 India list for his work in energy and climate change space in India. He then went onto work with Al Gore as an expert on India's climate policy and co-authored a paper with Nicholas Stern and Montek Singh Ahluwalia on India's low carbon future. He then co-founded ClimateAI in 2017, which has currently raised $12 million and models the risk of climate change on supply chains.In 2022, Gupta he was interviewed at the Davos World Economic Forum on the subject of food security. He also introduced the concept of adaptation credits - a mechanism to fund climate adaptation in vulnerable countries. Early life and education Gupta had a humble start to life, he was born and raised in Vrindavan, India. In interviews, he recalled the effects of droughts and monsoons had on his town while he was growing up. It played a major role in him becoming involved in climate action.He studied in India and completed his undergraduate education in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2009. He was a resident in Azad Hall and was actively involved in Dramatics and Technology societies. Career Early career Following on from his educational focus on electrical engineering, Gupta secured a role with AREVA T&D, which later became Alstom. It was a company in India that specialized in the manufacturing and installation of electrical substations and smart grids. In May 2011, Gupta took a sizeable pay cut to begin working for the Indian government, as the country increased its focus on clean energy. This began with India's creation of a National Clean Energy Fund in 2011, with him remaining in that role until 2013. His main role during this period was with the Indian Planning Commission, to oversee certain projects.India's increased focus on clean energy and Gupta's role for the Planning Commission's renewable energy division meant his level of responsibility increased quickly. In 2012, he was tasked with drafting and creating the countries Renewable Energy Chapter in its twelfth National Five Year Plan. He also authored a second section of the five-year plan on research & development for India's energy sector. This work on the National Five Year Plan made him the youngest lead. His work with the Government of India continued into 2014, where he was the project leader for the India Energy Security Scenarios 2047 report, under the guidance of Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The year 2047 is seen as symbolic for India, as it is the year it will celebrate 100 years of independence. As part of the work on India's policy on energy security, Gupta organised both multilateral and bilateral dialogues with US Department of Energy and the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change. ClimateAI In 2015, Gupta joined the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment to work with Lord Nicholas Stern on a research paper for India's transition to low carbon energy. A number of conclusions were drawn from the paper, including that India needed to reduce its energy intensity in order to meet global targets to keep the Earth below a 2% temperature rise. Gupta also studied the importance of energy pricing and how it could impact on the speed of adoption of greener technology and fuels. Around the same period, Gupta co-founded the NGO, Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI), to help businesses and governments reduce their carbon footprints and increase energy security. His work with SGI and his business partner Shrey Goyal led to him featuring in Forbes India's 30 Under 30 list in 2016.Gupta then moved to Stanford University in 2015 to study his MBA. Gupta worked with Al Gore for a short period during the same year as an expert on India's energy and climate policy. While at Stanford, he met Max Evans and together they co-founded ClimateAI in July 2017. ClimateAI's seed funding was partly provided by Stanford University, along with other backers including professors at Stanford.ClimateAI secured $12 million in its Series A funding round in July 2021. In 2022, Gupta's ClimateAI was recognized as one of TIME magazine's best inventions of 2022. The forecasting tool generates climate predictions for specific local areas up to two decades into the future. At the time of the award, the predictor focused on food and agriculture supply chains, predicting average temperatures, extreme weather and water availability. TIME predicted that future uses for the predictor could include flooding risk for developers. The company is now working with many known brands such as Driscoll's, Oceanspray, Nuveen Natural Capital, UPL among other market leaders.At Davos World Economic Forum in 2022, Gupta spoke about the difficulty of getting new seeds to market for farmers. He stated that often new seeds that had a higher tolerance to drought for example, could take upto 15 years to enter local markets. With the speed of the change in climate, often seeds would prove to be less effective than initially planned, purely due to the lead time of the process. The artificial intelligence deployed by ClimateAI allows for specific seeds to be chosen based on weather and soil data within hours, instead of lengthy trials often taking years. == References ==

communist youth of chile

The Communist Youth of Chile (Spanish: Juventudes Comunistas de Chile, JJ.CC. / La Jota) is the youth wing of the Communist Party of Chile. It was founded on September 5, 1932, and it incorporates young communist activists between the ages of 14 and 28. The JJ.CC has political representation at the local and national level and its members have played a prominent role in the student organizations in Chile. The youth wing of the communist party currently has 5,300 members. Principles The Communist Youth of Chile (JJ.CC.) state that they constitute a diverse group of young people, that have acknowledge that to effectuate social change there is a fundamental need to organize politically. They state that there are urgent problems in Chilean society that will not be solved by the isolated acts of individuals; that therefore, they have chosen to give up part of their individual autonomy in order to be part of a collective and great movement. The Communist Youth of Chile is a broad youth political organization which is composed of people from all walks of life: blue-collar workers, indigenous people, professionals, intellectuals, students, athletes and artists. It forms the youth wing of the Communist Party of Chile which applies and develops its political programme and movement among Chilean youth. It claims to struggle for the sovereignty, the political, economic, social and cultural liberation of the Chilean people; for democracy in its broadest possible expression. The political programme of the JJ.CC. is based on the materialist conception of history and scientific socialism developed by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, V. I. Lenin and Luis Emilio Recabarren among other Marxist and progressive thinkers from Chile, Latin America and the world. The JJ.CC. is organized to contribute, from various areas, to a fundamental change to society – to the political system and the economic model in Chile. From minor areas that strengthen the organizations, such as the plight for the welfare of students, for the improvement of the living condition of workers and residents from the marginalized areas of society, to those that enable the communist youth to contend political power. Notable members (past and present) Alejandro Rojas Wainer, academic, expert in climate change and sustainable agriculture. Camila Vallejo, student and vice president of the Student Federation of the University of Chile. Francisco Coloane, novelist. Gladys Marin, former president and secretary of the Communist Party of Chile. Julieta Campusano, Chilean senator. Karol Cariola, current general secretary of the Communist Youth of Chile. Luis Corvalán, educator, secretary and president of the Communist Party of Chile. María Jesús Sanhueza, penguin revolution 2006 leader/spokesperson. Marisol Prado, former president of the Student Federation of the University of Chile. Pablo Neruda, poet and nobel laureate. Rodolfo Parada, composer, musician. Sergio Ortega, composer and pianist. Sola Sierra, human rights activist. Victor Jara, theatre director, poet and singer-songwriter. Violeta Parra, singer, poet, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. Volodia Teitelboim, lawyer, writer. References External links Official website

plant-for-the-planet

Plant-for-the-Planet is an organisation that aims to raise awareness among children and adults about the issues of climate change and global justice. The Initiative also works to plant trees and considers this to be both a practical and symbolic action in efforts to reduce the effect of climate change. Its motto is "Stop Talking, Start Planting". In 2011, it reached a goal of planting a million trees.The organisation is part of the Partner Circle of the Foundations Platform F20, an international network of foundations and philanthropic organizations. Origin The idea for Plant-for-the-Planet was first developed in Germany in 2007 by Felix Finkbeiner, a nine-year-old boy. It was when Finkbeiner's teacher set the assignment to prepare a school report about the issue of climate change, that was first inspired. While conducting his research he came across the story of Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate from Kenya who had worked to plant over 30 million trees across Africa as part of her "Green Belt Movement". At the end of Felix's presentation, he shared the idea that the children of the world could plant 1 million trees in every country on Earth. On 28 March 2007 the first tree was planted at Finkbeiner's school, marking the official launch of Plant-for-the-Planet. Students in Bavaria and across Germany also got involved and continued to plant trees under the initiative's name. Colin Mummert helped spearhead the Munich campaign for Plant for the Planet. After one year, 150,000 trees had been planted, and in 2008 Finkbeiner was able to reach a larger audience after he was elected to the children's board of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during the International UNEP Children's Conference in Norway. Development Since its creation in 2007, the organisation has developed into a worldwide movement. In August 2009, Finkbeiner spoke at the UNEP Tunza Children and Youth Conference in Daejeon, South Korea. There he promoted Plant-for-the-Planet and recruited children all around the world to promise to plant 1 million trees in each of their own countries. Plant-for-the-Planet promotes the view that each tree is a contribution towards environmental and climate protection. It also suggests that each tree planting is an action for social justice. The organisation says that it is most often the developing countries that suffer the most from the effects of climate change, despite the fact that they have most often done the least to cause it. Plant-for-the-Planet says it considers each tree to also be a symbol for climate justice. By the start of 2011, there were children participating in more than 93 countries. As the organisation has grown, so has its main goal. By 2011, the children had achieved their goal of planting a total of 1 million trees around the world. Founder Felix Finkbeiner was in 2018 awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Educational networking events known as Global Youth Summits are held for Climate Justice Ambassadors and their youth leaders and supporters, most recently at the Evangelishce Akademie, Frankfurt 4–8 October 2023. Previous Global Youth Summits have been held at Jugendherberge Bonn, in November 2022 and 20–24 November 2019 and online, 16–18 October 2020 and 22–24 October 2021. Structure The organisation's membership is mostly young people, consisting of "members" and "ambassadors"." A member can become an ambassador by attending the Academy, which is a one day conference. As of 2016, members and ambassadors vote online to elect a Global Board, which consists of 14 children (8–14 years old) and 14 youths (15–21 years old). In a second round of voting, two of them are chosen as Global President and Vice-Global President. In addition to the young people, one adult also serves on the board, in a position called the "Planet-for-the-Planet Secretariat". The goal of the Global Board is to give the organisation a focus and make organisation-wide decisions. Tree planting Coordinated with the organisation, tree planting activities or "parties" are organised by students and children themselves. The students need to find foresters and environmental organisations to supply seedlings, and show them how, where, and when to plant. The funding needed to plant trees comes from individual and corporate donations. For restoration in Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, Plant-for-the-Planet promises to plant one tree for every Euro donated. The organization also has a system of independent auditors to guarantee that the correct number of trees have been planted. In 2018, Plant-for-the-Planet created the platform for Trillion Tree Campaign where restoration organizations showcase their projects and receive funding directly from Plant-for-the-Planet supporters. As of 19 June 2021, 32 million trees have been donated and 167 projects participate globally. To help collect on-site data for forest restoration and to enhance transparency in the platform, Plant-for-the-Planet has created TreeMapper, an open source and free tool for restoration organizations. The Change Chocolate The Change Chocolate, also known as "Die Gute Schokolade" in Germany, is a fair trade, carbon-neutral product initiated by the Plant-for-the-Planet movement. The Change Chocolate was created by children who sought support from global chocolate firms for their tree-planting campaign but were turned down. This led them to establish their own brand, now Germany's best-tasting Fairtrade chocolate. The chocolate has also been presented to delegates attending the UN Climate Conferences with a call for urgent action for climate justice. Each sale of five bars results in one tree planted, contributing to over 9 Million trees financed as of October 1, 2023. A dark vegan chocolate variant has also been introduced to cater to a wider demographic. Partners The children of Plant-for-the-Planet do have support from adults: Klaus Töpfer, a former executive director of UNEP and environmental politics expert, is a patron of the organisation. The AVINA Foundation, the Club of Rome and the Global Marshall Plan all offer administrative support to the organisation. Develey, Ernst & Young, Hess Natur and Toyota also provide financial support.In February 2010, a Plant-for-the-Planet Children's Foundation was established. The function of the foundation is to facilitate cooperation with partners in order to coordinate and support the work and activities of the children. The foundation is also intended to relieve the Global Marshall plan, who were previously acting as secretariat. Trillion Tree Campaign After the handover of Billion Tree Campaign by the UNEP, Plant-for-the-Planet increased the goal of the initiative to plant a Trillion Trees. In September 2019, Plant-for-the-Planet released the "Plant-for-the-Planet App" to enable transparency and monitoring to global tree planting efforts. According to the Trillion Tree Campaign website 13.6 Billion trees have been planted as a part of the initiative. In the World Economic Forum 2020 at Davos, the Forum launched an initiative to bring support to plant a Trillion Trees worldwide. Many prominent people have appeared in the "Stop Talking, Start Planting" poster campaign, including politician Mary Robinson, actor Harrison Ford and Albert II, Prince of Monaco. Press Coverage, Criticism and Rebuttal A 2017 National Geographic article provides a comprehensive background to the organisation and its founder, Felix Finkbeiner. In 2019, Die Zeit published an article questioning the published planting figures and the methods used to determine them. Criticism was raised about the mixing of data on trees planted on Plant for the Planet's initiative with those already planted through UN actions before the project was founded, which was handed over by the UN to Plant-for-the-Planet in 2011. The collection of data on plantings without prior control was also criticized. By now, planting entries are supported by geodata.In 2020, Die Zeit renewed its criticism. Both the tree plantings reported by Plant for the Planet, and their survival rate, were said to be "unlikely " high. " The chosen location of the tree plantings was also criticized, as further plantings at this location would not seem to make much ecological sense. The transparency of the organization was criticized , whereupon Plant for the Planet published that they will disclose all data, facts and figures transparently in the future.Felix Finkbeiner explained the criticism on the same day in an open letter as a "complete distortion" that would misrepresent facts and work with assumptions and insinuations.In 2021, the magazines Zeit and Stern again reported critically. The promises of Plant for the Planet were "too good to be true". The magazines again criticized that the areas selected by the organization were not optimally chosen. Up until 2018 tree planting activities were certified by the Comisión Nacional Forestal (CONAFOR), the sub-authority of the Mexican Ministry of Environment. Due to Conafor-budget cuts regular visits by the authorities were stopped which was criticized by the authors of the Zeit. Yet, the foundation states that visits by authorities, experts and journalists are possible at any time. The accusation is also made that the organizational structure of the Mexican subsidiary association, to which the donations from Germany are transferred, is "not compatible with German laws". The association consisted only of the two founders, father and son Finkbeiner and a Mexican entrepreneur. The foundation has announced that they have convened an independent group of reforestation experts to review and monitor the work in the planting site and that auditors from PKF would examine the financial records.Some partners decided to temporarily pause the cooperation until the test certificates and expert opinions are available.In August 2021, auditing firm PKF issued a statement that read "The results of the audit did not give rise to any objections, and on 30 July 2021 an unconditional audit opinion was issued on the annual reports of Plant For The Planet, A.C. for the 2015 to 2020 reports." Another auditing firm HSL also provided with unconditional audit opinions on the financial statements of Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation in Germany. International Law firms, White & Case and Gibson Dunn also presented their statements that read Plant-for-the-Planet's statues and structure are in compliance with both the Mexican and German laws respectively. See also Billion Tree Campaign Global Marshall Plan 350.org Climate Reality Project Climate justice Climate crisis References External links official website

csiro oceans and atmosphere

CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere (O&A) (2014–2022) was one of the then 8 Business Units (formerly: Flagships) of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's largest government-supported science research agency. In December 2022 it was merged with CSIRO Land and Water to form a single, larger Business Unit called simply, "CSIRO Environment". History The CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere (O&A) Business Unit was formed in 2014 as one of the then 10 "Flagship" operational units of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) as part of a major organisational restructure; from 2015 onwards the term "Flagship" was officially dropped. This Business Unit was formed essentially as a synthesis of the pre-existing CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research (CMAR), representing the scientific capability, and the previously established Wealth from Oceans (WfO) Flagship, which was the route via which much of the relevant Australian government research funding was directed. In 2016, its Director was Dr. Ken Lee, previously WfO Flagship Director; in 2017 its Director was Dr. Tony Worby, previously with the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC); and for the period 2021–2022 its final Director was Dr. Dan Metcalfe. The O&A Business Unit employed between 350 and 400 staff who were/are located at its various laboratories including Hobart (Tasmania), Aspendale (Victoria), Dutton Park (Queensland), Black Mountain (Canberra) and Floreat Park (Western Australia). For 2016 it was quoted as operating with an annual budget of $108M Australian Dollars with its research organised into the following programs: Climate Science Centre; Coastal Development and Management; Earth System Assessment; Engineering and Technology; Marine Resources and Industries; and Ocean and Climate Dynamics. Certain previous CMAR activities, notably those involving the operation of the Marine National Facility (research vessel) RV Investigator and several scientific collections, are now managed within the separate CSIRO National Facilities and Collections Program. The previous CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research was itself formed as a result of a 2005 merger between the former CSIRO Division of Marine Research, with laboratories in Hobart, Brisbane, and Perth, and CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research, with laboratories in Aspendale and Canberra; the Division of Marine Research was formed in 1997 as a merger between two previous CSIRO Divisions, the Division of Fisheries Research and the Division of Oceanography, both with their headquarters in Hobart since 1984; prior to that time, the Division of Fisheries and Oceanography (subsequently separate Divisions) had occupied facilities in Cronulla, New South Wales since its inception in 1938 (following the CSIRO's departure this site became the New South Wales State Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre). Additional details of the somewhat convoluted organisational history of the relevant Divisions and their predecessors are available here.In December 2022 it was announced that CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere was to merge with CSIRO Land and Water to form a new Business Unit, simply entitled Environment. Seagoing capabilities Through the 1980s and 1990s the marine Divisions of CSIRO had the use of both the RV Southern Surveyor, equipped for biological as well as oceanographic research, and the purpose-built RV Franklin for physical and chemical oceanographic research, both of which served at various times as the Marine National Facility for the nation (meaning that other agencies could also carry out research using these vessels at what was effectively a subsidised rate by the Australian government). The last of the vessels to be retired, the Southern Surveyor, was replaced in 2014 by a new purpose-built research vessel to serve as the Marine National Facility, the RV Investigator. Coupled with these major vessels, all capable of significant ocean-going research expeditions, staff were able to use a range of smaller boats and sometimes, charter vessels to carry out research in a range of coastal waters. 2016 Climate Science cuts controversy and subsequent partial restoration In February 2016 the chief executive of CSIRO, Dr Larry Marshall, announced that research into the fundamentals of climate science was no longer a priority for CSIRO and up to 110 jobs were feared to be cut from the climate research section(s) of the Oceans and Atmosphere Unit. After overwhelming negative reaction both within Australia and overseas, along with the forced redundancy of prominent climate scientists including the internationally renowned sea level expert Dr John Church, the Australian Government intervened with a directive and promise of new money to support the restoration of 15 jobs and the creation of a new Climate Science Centre to be based in Hobart with a staff of 40, with funding guaranteed for 10 years from 2016, although the expected number of job losses for O&A was still estimated at 75. While the establishment of the new Centre was described as a "major U-turn in the direction of the CSIRO" and a win for the Turnbull government over the previous CSIRO announcement, the generally positive reaction from other scientists was qualified by the fact that the new Centre would still represent a net loss to CSIRO's previous capability in this area. Selected notable scientists associated with O&A and its predecessors Kenneth Radway Allen - fisheries biologist, International Whaling Commission (IWC) panel member, and former head of the CSIRO Division of Fisheries and Oceanography in Cronulla Greg Ayers - atmospheric scientist, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and subsequently Director of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, 2009-2012 John A. Church - renowned climate scientist, winner of a number of medals and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, also co-convening lead author for the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report Shirley Jeffrey - discoverer of chlorophyll C and internationally renowned microalgal researcher, winner of numerous medals and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science Peter R. Last - ichthyologist, former curator of the Australian National Fish Collection, and responsible for the description of numerous new shark and ray species; co-author (with John Stevens) of Sharks and Rays of Australia (2009) Trevor McDougall - oceanographer, Fellow of the Royal Society and 2011 winner of the Prince Albert I Medal for significant work in the physical and chemical sciences of the oceans Graeme Pearman - international expert on climate change, winner of numerous medals and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science Michael Raupach - climate scientist and founding co-chair of the Global Carbon Project (GCP) and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science Keith J. Sainsbury - researcher on shelf ecosystems and winner of the 2004 Japan Prize for scientific achievement Penny Whetton - climate researcher, a lead author of the IPCC's Third Assessment Report, and of the Fourth Assessment Report which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize (jointly with Al Gore) Susan Wijffels - oceanographer with special interest in the international Argo float program; winner the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society's Priestly Medal and the Australian Academy of Science's Dorothy Hill Award in recognition of her efforts to understand the role of the oceans in climate change. Books on CSIRO's marine research activities CSIRO At Sea, a "popular" account of the early research activities of the marine components of the relevant CSIRO Divisions (former Divisions of Fisheries, Fisheries and Oceanography, Oceanography, and Fisheries Research) was published in 1988, a few years after the relocation of the majority of CSIRO's marine research activities to Hobart from Cronulla, New South Wales. See also Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific References External links Former CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere web page (Archived copy, November 2022) Former CSIRO Wealth from Oceans web page (Archived copy, February 2014) Former CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Division home page (accessed 4 January 2017) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Publications Lists - CMAR compilations (accessed 4 January 2017) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Publications as listed by Google Scholar (accessed 4 January 2017)

lai-yung ruby leung

Lai-yung Ruby Leung is an atmospheric scientist internationally recognized in the field of Earth Systems modeling and hydrologic processes. She is known for her contributions to the development of local climate models, and for her understanding of the consequences of climate change. Her interests are diverse across mountain hydrometeorology, aerosol-cloud interactions, orographic precipitation and climate extremes. Leung was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering in 2017 for leadership in regional and global computer modeling of the Earth's climate and hydrological processes. In 2019, she became one of eight Battelle Fellows at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Education and early life Leung completed her B.S. (1984) with honors in Physics and Statistics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She then took two years to teach at a local high school, after which she earned her M.S. (1988) and Ph.D. (1991) in Atmospheric Science from Texas A&M University. With her advisor, Gerald North, she wrote her dissertation on "Atmospheric Variability on a Zonally Symmetric Land Planet," which studied the effects of external forcing on the atmosphere. For her postgraduate degree, she co-authored a paper titled "A study of long-term climate change in a simple seasonal nonlinear climate model." Career and research Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Leung completed her research dissertation at PNNL in 1989 before beginning her career as a research associate in 1991. She then worked as a staff scientist and senior scientist before becoming a laboratory fellow in 2004 and a Battelle Fellow in 2017. Her current research focuses on the dynamics of various land-atmosphere interactions as well as hydrological cycles. Her team at PNNL was the first group of researchers to link soot deposition with snowpack availability in the western United States. They also found that the primary cause of intense hurricanes is a climate cycle known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO).Along with other PNNL scientists, Leung contributed to the assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with Albert Arnold. As a contributing author of the report's Regional Climate Projections, she helped disseminate the knowledge on the consequences of anthropogenic activities in global warming. Energy Exascale Earth System Model In 2016, Leung was appointed as the chief climate scientist of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM), previously known as the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME) project, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). By shifting climate models from global to a regional scale, Leung and her team enhanced the efficiency of computational modeling. The model provides twice as much as details than the previous simulations and further allows for focusing on local climate effects. Leung's leadership was crucial in investigating climate change through the perspectives of various Earth System components including hydrological and biogeochemical cycles as well as cryosphere-ocean systems. She is currently working on Phase II of the project that is expected to be completed by 2021. Professional service and membership Leung is an editor of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Hydrometeorology and the American Geophysical Union's Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmosphere. She is co-chair of the Science Advisory Board Climate Working Group at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She is also a member of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Research Applications Board and the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee (BERAC). In the past, she served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) and was a member of the Science Steering Committee for the Community Earth System Models. Workshops As a part of BERAC, Leung organized a workshop entitled 'Second Atmospheric River Tracking Method Inter-comparison Project' where participants from the U.S. Federal Agencies, national laboratories, and U.S. and international universities attended. The workshop provided guidance on utilizing algorithms to understand the uncertainties of atmospheric river science. She has also organized several workshops and seminars sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), DOE, NOAA and National Science Foundation (NSF). Awards and recognitions Leung has been recognized in multiple national organizations. Her research on climate change has been featured in major news publications including Science, Popular Science, Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio among others. Some of her achievements are listed below: Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2015) Fellow, American Meteorological Society (2009) Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2008) Member, National Academy of Engineering (2017) Member, Washington State Academy of Sciences (2013) Distinguished Paper Award, International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, January 13–16, San Francisco, CA (2002) Publications Leung has published over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles. Her most cited articles include research on climate modeling and the effects of climate change. == References ==

2019 mass invasion of russian polar bears

In February 2019, the Russian archipelago of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean experienced a mass invasion of polar bears. Dozens of polar bears were seen trying to enter homes, civic buildings, and inhabited areas. The Arkhangelsk Oblast authorities declared a state of emergency on the 16th of February 2019.According to the local report agency, at least 52 bears entered the area near Belushya Guba, the main settlement on the island. Footage shows the polar bears looking for food in the rubbish at a local dump. Polar bears cannot subsist on a garbage-based diet because of a lack of enough protein and fat.Local administrator Alexander Minayev said at least between 6 and 10 bears came into the settlement's territory. People were frightened and did not want to leave their homes, so their planned daily routines were stopped. "Parents are afraid to let the children go to school or kindergarten," Minayev said. He also said that the bears "literally chased people in the region". Zhigansha Musin, the head of the local administration, said, "There have never been so many polar bears in this area since 1983".Hunting polar bears and shooting them has been prohibited by law in Russia, and vehicle patrols and dogs were not successful in deterring them. A team of experts was dispatched to the Arctic region to remove polar bears coming into the inhabited area and its vicinity. Climate change effects Russia's World Wildlife Fund said "Today, polar bears are entering human areas more frequently than in the past and climate change is the reason. Global warming is reducing sea-ice and this phenomenon forces polar bears to come to land in order to find new sources of food". Liz Greengrass, a director at the UK animal conservation charity Born Free Foundation told CNN that seals are the most popular food for polar bears, but global warming is shrinking their environment, so polar bears must change their food regime.According to a 2013 study in the journal Nature, global warming is increasingly affecting the planet more than in the past. Model suggestions say that Arctic sea ice is declining at a rate of 13 percent per decade. Scientists believed this climate change is the main reason for the aggressive behavior of the polar bears. Aftermath The local authorities have taken a number of safety measures, such as hunting down designated problem bears, securing a local school with fencing and sending military personnel to their posts by "special vehicles." == References ==

joe biden

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. ( BY-dən; born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who is the 46th and current president of the United States. Ideologically a moderate member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama and represented Delaware in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden moved with his family to Delaware in 1953. He studied at the University of Delaware before earning his law degree from Syracuse University. He was elected to the New Castle County Council in 1970 and to the U.S. Senate in 1972. As a senator, Biden drafted and led the effort to pass the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the Violence Against Women Act. He also oversaw six U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, including the contentious hearings for Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. Biden ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008. In 2008, Obama chose Biden as his running mate, and Biden was a close counselor to Obama during his two terms as vice president. In the 2020 presidential election, Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, defeated incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Biden is the second Catholic president in U.S. history (after John F. Kennedy), and his politics have been widely described as profoundly influenced by Catholic social teaching. Taking office at age 78, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history, the first to have a female vice president, and the first from Delaware. In 2021, he signed a bipartisan infrastructure bill, as well as a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its related recession. Biden proposed the Build Back Better Act, which failed in Congress, but aspects of which were incorporated into the Inflation Reduction Act that was signed into law in 2022. Biden also signed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which focused on manufacturing, appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court and worked with congressional Republicans to prevent a first-ever national default by negotiating a deal to raise the debt ceiling. In foreign policy, Biden restored America's membership in the Paris Agreement. He oversaw the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan that ended the war in Afghanistan, during which the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban seized control. Biden has responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia and authorizing civilian and military aid to Ukraine. During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Biden announced American military support for Israel, and condemned the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militants as terrorism. In April 2023, he announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination in the 2024 presidential election. Early life (1942–1965) Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden (née Finnegan) and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. The oldest child in a Catholic family of largely Irish descent, he has a sister, Valerie, and two brothers, Francis and James.Biden's father had been wealthy and the family purchased a home in the affluent Long Island suburb of Garden City in the fall of 1946, but he suffered business setbacks around the time Biden was seven years old, and for several years the family lived with Biden's maternal grandparents in Scranton. Scranton fell into economic decline during the 1950s and Biden's father could not find steady work. Beginning in 1953 when Biden was ten, the family lived in an apartment in Claymont, Delaware, before moving to a house in nearby Mayfield. Biden Sr. later became a successful used-car salesman, maintaining the family in a middle-class lifestyle.At Archmere Academy in Claymont, Biden played baseball and was a standout halfback and wide receiver on the high school football team. Though a poor student, he was class president in his junior and senior years. He graduated in 1961. At the University of Delaware in Newark, Biden briefly played freshman football, and, as an unexceptional student, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 with a double major in history and political science.Biden had a stutter, and has mitigated it since his early twenties. He has described his efforts to reduce it by reciting poetry before a mirror. Marriages, law school, and early career (1966–1973) On August 27, 1966, Biden married Neilia Hunter, a student at Syracuse University, after overcoming her parents' reluctance for her to wed a Roman Catholic. Their wedding was held in a Catholic church in Skaneateles, New York. They had three children: Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, Robert Hunter Biden, and Naomi Christina "Amy" Biden.In 1968, Biden earned a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law, ranked 76th in his class of 85, after failing a course due to an acknowledged "mistake" when he plagiarized a law review article for a paper he wrote in his first year at law school. He was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1969.In 1968, Biden clerked at a Wilmington law firm headed by prominent local Republican William Prickett and, he later said, "thought of myself as a Republican". He disliked incumbent Democratic Delaware governor Charles L. Terry's conservative racial politics and supported a more liberal Republican, Russell W. Peterson, who defeated Terry in 1968. Biden was recruited by local Republicans but registered as an Independent because of his distaste for Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon.In 1969, Biden practiced law, first as a public defender and then at a firm headed by a locally active Democrat who named him to the Democratic Forum, a group trying to reform and revitalize the state party; Biden subsequently reregistered as a Democrat. He and another attorney also formed a law firm. Corporate law did not appeal to him, and criminal law did not pay well. He supplemented his income by managing properties.In 1970, Biden ran for the 4th district seat on the New Castle County Council on a liberal platform that included support for public housing in the suburbs. The seat had been held by Republican Henry R. Folsom, who was running in the 5th District following a reapportionment of council districts. Biden won the general election by defeating Republican Lawrence T. Messick, and took office on January 5, 1971. He served until January 1, 1973, and was succeeded by Democrat Francis R. Swift. During his time on the county council, Biden opposed large highway projects, which he argued might disrupt Wilmington neighborhoods.Biden had not openly supported or opposed the Vietnam War until he ran for Senate and opposed Richard Nixon's conduct of the war. While studying at the University of Delaware and Syracuse University, Biden obtained five student draft deferments, at a time when most draftees were sent to the war. In 1968, based on a physical examination, he was given a conditional medical deferment; in 2008, a spokesperson for Biden said his having had "asthma as a teenager" was the reason for the deferment. 1972 U.S. Senate campaign in Delaware In 1972, Biden defeated Republican incumbent J. Caleb Boggs to become the junior U.S. senator from Delaware. He was the only Democrat willing to challenge Boggs, and with minimal campaign funds, he was given no chance of winning. Family members managed and staffed the campaign, which relied on meeting voters face-to-face and hand-distributing position papers, an approach made feasible by Delaware's small size. He received help from the AFL–CIO and Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell. His platform focused on the environment, withdrawal from Vietnam, civil rights, mass transit, equitable taxation, health care, and public dissatisfaction with "politics as usual". A few months before the election, Biden trailed Boggs by almost thirty percentage points, but his energy, attractive young family, and ability to connect with voters' emotions worked to his advantage, and he won with 50.5% of the vote. Death of wife and daughter On December 18, 1972, a few weeks after Biden was elected senator, his wife Neilia and one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware. Neilia's station wagon was hit by a semi-trailer truck as she pulled out from an intersection. Their sons Beau (aged 3) and Hunter (aged 2) were taken to the hospital in fair condition, Beau with a broken leg and other wounds and Hunter with a minor skull fracture and other head injuries. Biden considered resigning to care for them, but Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield persuaded him not to. The accident filled Biden with anger and religious doubt. He wrote that he "felt God had played a horrible trick" on him, and he had trouble focusing on work. Second marriage Biden met the teacher Jill Tracy Jacobs in 1975 on a blind date. They married at the United Nations chapel in New York on June 17, 1977. They spent their honeymoon at Lake Balaton in the Hungarian People's Republic. Biden credits her with the renewal of his interest in politics and life. Biden is Roman Catholic and attends Mass with his wife, Jill, at St. Joseph's on the Brandywine in Greenville, Delaware. Their daughter, Ashley Biden, is a social worker, and is married to physician Howard Krein. Beau Biden became an Army Judge Advocate in Iraq and later Delaware Attorney General before dying of brain cancer in 2015. Hunter Biden worked as a Washington lobbyist and investment adviser; his business dealings and personal life came under significant scrutiny during his father's presidency. Teaching From 1991 to 2008, as an adjunct professor, Biden co-taught a seminar on constitutional law at Widener University School of Law. Biden sometimes flew back from overseas to teach the class. U.S. Senate (1973–2009) Senate activities In January 1973, secretary of the Senate Francis R. Valeo swore Biden in at the Delaware Division of the Wilmington Medical Center. Present were his sons Beau (whose leg was still in traction from the automobile accident) and Hunter and other family members. At 30, he was the seventh-youngest senator in U.S. history. To see his sons, Biden traveled by train between his Delaware home and D.C.—74 minutes each way—and maintained this habit throughout his 36 years in the Senate.Elected to the Senate in 1972, Biden was reelected in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008, regularly receiving about 60% of the vote. He was junior senator to William Roth, who was first elected in 1970, until Roth was defeated in 2000. As of 2023, he was the 19th-longest-serving senator in U.S. history.During his early years in the Senate, Biden focused on consumer protection and environmental issues and called for greater government accountability. In a 1974 interview, he described himself as liberal on civil rights and liberties, senior citizens' concerns and healthcare but conservative on other issues, including abortion and military conscription. Biden was the first U.S. senator to endorse Jimmy Carter for president in the 1976 Democratic primary. Carter went on to win the Democratic nomination and defeat incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 election. Biden also worked on arms control. After Congress failed to ratify the SALT II Treaty signed in 1979 by Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev and President Jimmy Carter, Biden met with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko to communicate American concerns and secured changes that addressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's objections. He received considerable attention when he excoriated Secretary of State George Shultz at a Senate hearing for the Reagan administration's support of South Africa despite its continued policy of apartheid.In the mid-1970s, Biden was one of the Senate's strongest opponents of race-integration busing. His Delaware constituents strongly opposed it, and such opposition nationwide later led his party to mostly abandon school integration policies. In his first Senate campaign, Biden had expressed support for busing to remedy de jure segregation, as in the South, but opposed its use to remedy de facto segregation arising from racial patterns of neighborhood residency, as in Delaware; he opposed a proposed constitutional amendment banning busing entirely. In 1976, Biden supported a measure forbidding the use of federal funds for transporting students beyond the school closest to them. In 1977, he co-sponsored an amendment closing loopholes in that measure, which President Carter signed into law in 1978. Biden became ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1981. In 1984, he was a Democratic floor manager for the successful passage of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act. His supporters praised him for modifying some of the law's worst provisions, and it was his most important legislative accomplishment to that time. In 1994, Biden helped pass the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which included a ban on assault weapons, and the Violence Against Women Act, which he has called his most significant legislation. The 1994 crime law was unpopular among progressives and criticized for resulting in mass incarceration; in 2019, Biden called his role in passing the bill a "big mistake", citing its policy on crack cocaine and saying that the bill "trapped an entire generation".In 1993, Biden voted for a provision that deemed homosexuality incompatible with military life, thereby banning gays from serving in the armed forces. In 1996, he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, thereby barring individuals in such marriages from equal protection under federal law and allowing states to do the same. In 2015, the act was ruled unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges.Biden was critical of Independent Counsel Ken Starr during the 1990s Whitewater controversy and Lewinsky scandal investigations, saying "it's going to be a cold day in hell" before another independent counsel would be granted similar powers. He voted to acquit during the impeachment of President Clinton. During the 2000s, Biden sponsored bankruptcy legislation sought by credit card issuers. Clinton vetoed the bill in 2000, but it passed in 2005 as the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, with Biden being one of only 18 Democrats to vote for it, while leading Democrats and consumer rights organizations opposed it. As a senator, Biden strongly supported increased Amtrak funding and rail security. Brain surgeries In February 1988, after several episodes of increasingly severe neck pain, Biden underwent surgery to correct a leaking intracranial berry aneurysm. While recuperating, he suffered a pulmonary embolism, a serious complication. After a second aneurysm was surgically repaired in May, Biden's recuperation kept him away from the Senate for seven months. Senate Judiciary Committee Biden was a longtime member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. He chaired it from 1987 to 1995 and was a ranking minority member from 1981 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 1997.As chair, Biden presided over two highly contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings. When Robert Bork was nominated in 1988, Biden reversed his approval‍—‌ given in an interview the previous year‍—‌ of a hypothetical Bork nomination. Conservatives were angered, but at the hearings' close Biden was praised for his fairness, humor, and courage. Rejecting the arguments of some Bork opponents, Biden framed his objections to Bork in terms of the conflict between Bork's strong originalism and the view that the U.S. Constitution provides rights to liberty and privacy beyond those explicitly enumerated in its text. Bork's nomination was rejected in the committee by a 5–9 vote and then in the full Senate, 42–58.During Clarence Thomas's nomination hearings in 1991, Biden's questions on constitutional issues were often convoluted to the point that Thomas sometimes lost track of them, and Thomas later wrote that Biden's questions were akin to "beanballs". After the committee hearing closed, the public learned that Anita Hill, a University of Oklahoma law school professor, had accused Thomas of making unwelcome sexual comments when they had worked together. Biden had known of some of these charges, but initially shared them only with the committee because Hill was then unwilling to testify. The committee hearing was reopened and Hill testified, but Biden did not permit testimony from other witnesses, such as a woman who had made similar charges and experts on harassment. The full Senate confirmed Thomas by a 52–48 vote, with Biden opposed. Liberal legal advocates and women's groups felt strongly that Biden had mishandled the hearings and not done enough to support Hill. In 2019, he told Hill he regretted his treatment of her, but Hill said afterward she remained unsatisfied. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Biden was a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He became its ranking minority member in 1997 and chaired it from June 2001 to 2003 and 2007 to 2009. His positions were generally liberal internationalist. He collaborated effectively with Republicans and sometimes went against elements of his own party. During this time he met with at least 150 leaders from 60 countries and international organizations, becoming a well-known Democratic voice on foreign policy.Biden voted against authorization for the Gulf War in 1991, siding with 45 of the 55 Democratic senators. He said the U.S. was bearing almost all the burden in the anti-Iraq coalition.Biden became interested in the Yugoslav Wars after hearing about Serbian abuses during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991. Once the Bosnian War broke out, Biden was among the first to call for the "lift and strike" policy. The George H. W. Bush administration and Clinton administration were both reluctant to implement the policy, fearing Balkan entanglement. In April 1993, Biden held a tense three-hour meeting with Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević. Biden worked on several versions of legislative language urging the U.S. toward greater involvement. Biden has called his role in affecting Balkan policy in the mid-1990s his "proudest moment in public life" related to foreign policy. In 1999, during the Kosovo War, Biden supported the 1999 NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia. He and Senator John McCain co-sponsored the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which called on Clinton to use all necessary force, including ground troops, to confront Milošević over Yugoslav actions toward ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq Biden was a strong supporter of the War in Afghanistan, saying, "Whatever it takes, we should do it." As head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he said in 2002 that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was a threat to national security and there was no other option than to "eliminate" that threat. In October 2002, he voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq, approving the U.S. Invasion of Iraq. As chair of the committee, he assembled a series of witnesses to testify in favor of the authorization. They gave testimony grossly misrepresenting the intent, history, and status of Saddam and his secular government, which was an avowed enemy of al-Qaeda, and touted Iraq's fictional possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Biden eventually became a critic of the war and viewed his vote and role as a "mistake", but did not push for withdrawal. He supported the appropriations for the occupation, but argued that the war should be internationalized, that more soldiers were needed, and that the Bush administration should "level with the American people" about its cost and length.By late 2006, Biden's stance had shifted considerably. He opposed the troop surge of 2007, saying General David Petraeus was "dead, flat wrong" in believing the surge could work. Biden instead advocated dividing Iraq into a loose federation of three ethnic states. Rather than continue the existing approach or withdrawing, the plan called for "a third way": federalizing Iraq and giving Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis "breathing room" in their own regions. In September 2007, a non-binding resolution endorsing the plan passed the Senate, but the idea failed to gain traction. Presidential campaigns of 1988 and 2008 1988 campaign Biden formally declared his candidacy for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination on June 9, 1987. He was considered a strong candidate because of his moderate image, his speaking ability, his high profile as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the upcoming Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination hearings, and his appeal to Baby Boomers; he would have been the second-youngest person elected president, after John F. Kennedy. He raised more in the first quarter of 1987 than any other candidate.By August his campaign's messaging had become confused due to staff rivalries, and in September, he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock. Biden's speech had similar lines about being the first person in his family to attend university. Biden had credited Kinnock with the formulation on previous occasions, but did not on two occasions in late August.: 230–232  Kinnock himself was more forgiving; the two men met in 1988, forming an enduring friendship.Earlier that year he had also used passages from a 1967 speech by Robert F. Kennedy (for which his aides took blame) and a short phrase from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address; two years earlier he had used a 1976 passage by Hubert Humphrey. Biden responded that politicians often borrow from one another without giving credit, and that one of his rivals for the nomination, Jesse Jackson, had called him to point out that he (Jackson) had used the same material by Humphrey that Biden had used.A few days later, an incident in law school in which Biden drew text from a Fordham Law Review article with inadequate citations was publicized. He was required to repeat the course and passed with high marks. At Biden's request the Delaware Supreme Court's Board of Professional Responsibility reviewed the incident and concluded that he had violated no rules.Biden has made several false or exaggerated claims about his early life: that he had earned three degrees in college, that he attended law school on a full scholarship, that he had graduated in the top half of his class, and that he had marched in the civil rights movement. The limited amount of other news about the presidential race amplified these disclosures and on September 23, 1987, Biden withdrew his candidacy, saying it had been overrun by "the exaggerated shadow" of his past mistakes. 2008 campaign After exploring the possibility of a run in several previous cycles, in January 2007, Biden declared his candidacy in the 2008 elections. During his campaign, Biden focused on the Iraq War, his record as chairman of major Senate committees, and his foreign-policy experience. Biden was noted for his one-liners during the campaign; in one debate he said of Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani: "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and 9/11."Biden had difficulty raising funds, struggled to draw people to his rallies, and failed to gain traction against the high-profile candidacies of Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton. He never rose above single digits in national polls of the Democratic candidates. In the first contest on January 3, 2008, Biden placed fifth in the Iowa caucuses, garnering slightly less than one percent of the state delegates. He withdrew from the race that evening.Despite its lack of success, Biden's 2008 campaign raised his stature in the political world.: 336  In particular, it changed the relationship between Biden and Obama. Although they had served together on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, they had not been close: Biden resented Obama's quick rise to political stardom, while Obama viewed Biden as garrulous and patronizing.: 28, 337–338  Having gotten to know each other during 2007, Obama appreciated Biden's campaign style and appeal to working-class voters, and Biden said he became convinced Obama was "the real deal".: 28, 337–338 Vice presidential campaigns of 2008 and 2012 2008 campaign Shortly after Biden withdrew from the presidential race, Obama privately told him he was interested in finding an important place for Biden in his administration. In early August, Obama and Biden met in secret to discuss the possibility, and developed a strong personal rapport. On August 22, 2008, Obama announced that Biden would be his running mate. The New York Times reported that the strategy behind the choice reflected a desire to fill out the ticket with someone with foreign policy and national security experience. Others pointed out Biden's appeal to middle-class and blue-collar voters. Biden was officially nominated for vice president on August 27 by voice vote at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.Biden's vice-presidential campaigning gained little media attention, as the press devoted far more coverage to the Republican nominee, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Under instructions from the campaign, Biden kept his speeches succinct and tried to avoid offhand remarks, such as one he made about Obama's being tested by a foreign power soon after taking office, which had attracted negative attention. Privately, Biden's remarks frustrated Obama. "How many times is Biden gonna say something stupid?" he asked.: 411–414, 419  Obama campaign staffers called Biden's blunders "Joe bombs" and kept Biden uninformed about strategy discussions, which in turn irked Biden. Relations between the two campaigns became strained for a month, until Biden apologized on a call to Obama and the two built a stronger partnership.: 411–414 As the financial crisis of 2007–2010 reached a peak with the liquidity crisis of September 2008 and the proposed bailout of the United States financial system became a major factor in the campaign, Biden voted for the $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which passed in the Senate, 74–25. On October 2, 2008, he participated in the vice-presidential debate with Palin at Washington University in St. Louis. Post-debate polls found that while Palin exceeded many voters' expectations, Biden had won the debate overall.On November 4, 2008, Obama and Biden were elected with 53% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes to McCain–Palin's 173.At the same time Biden was running for vice president, he was also running for reelection to the Senate, as permitted by Delaware law. On November 4, he was reelected to the Senate, defeating Republican Christine O'Donnell. Having won both races, Biden made a point of waiting to resign from the Senate until he was sworn in for his seventh term on January 6, 2009. Biden cast his last Senate vote on January 15, supporting the release of the second $350 billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and resigned from the Senate later that day. 2012 campaign In October 2010, Biden said Obama had asked him to remain as his running mate for the 2012 presidential election, but with Obama's popularity on the decline, White House Chief of Staff William M. Daley conducted some secret polling and focus group research in late 2011 on the idea of replacing Biden on the ticket with Hillary Clinton. The notion was dropped when the results showed no appreciable improvement for Obama, and White House officials later said Obama himself had never entertained the idea.Biden's May 2012 statement that he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage gained considerable public attention in comparison to Obama's position, which had been described as "evolving". Biden made his statement without administration consent, and Obama and his aides were quite irked, since Obama had planned to shift position several months later, in the build-up to the party convention. Gay rights advocates seized upon Biden's statement, and within days, Obama announced that he too supported same-sex marriage, an action in part forced by Biden's remarks. Biden apologized to Obama in private for having spoken out, while Obama acknowledged publicly it had been done from the heart.The Obama campaign valued Biden as a retail-level politician, and he had a heavy schedule of appearances in swing states as the reelection campaign began in earnest in spring 2012. An August 2012 remark before a mixed-race audience that Republican proposals to relax Wall Street regulations would "put y'all back in chains" once again drew attention to Biden's propensity for colorful remarks. In the vice-presidential debate on October 11 with Republican nominee Paul Ryan, Biden defended the Obama administration's record. On November 6, Obama and Biden won reelection over Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan with 332 of 538 Electoral College votes and 51% of the popular vote. Vice presidency (2009–2017) First term (2009–2013) Biden said he intended to eliminate some explicit roles assumed by George W. Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney, and did not intend to emulate any previous vice presidency. On January 20, 2009, he was sworn in as the 47th vice president of the United States. He was the first vice president from Delaware and the first Roman Catholic vice president.Obama was soon comparing Biden to a basketball player "who does a bunch of things that don't show up in the stat sheet". In May, Biden visited Kosovo and affirmed the U.S. position that its "independence is irreversible". Biden lost an internal debate to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about sending 21,000 new troops to Afghanistan, but his skepticism was valued, and in 2009, Biden's views gained more influence as Obama reconsidered his Afghanistan strategy. Biden visited Iraq about every two months, becoming the administration's point man in delivering messages to Iraqi leadership about expected progress there. More generally, overseeing Iraq policy became Biden's responsibility: Obama was said to have said, "Joe, you do Iraq." By 2012, Biden had made eight trips there, but his oversight of U.S. policy in Iraq receded with the exit of U.S. troops in 2011. Biden oversaw infrastructure spending from the Obama stimulus package intended to help counteract the ongoing recession. During this period, Biden was satisfied that no major instances of waste or corruption had occurred, and when he completed that role in February 2011, he said the number of fraud incidents with stimulus monies had been less than one percent.In late April 2009, Biden's off-message response to a question during the beginning of the swine flu outbreak led to a swift retraction by the White House. The remark revived Biden's reputation for gaffes. Confronted with rising unemployment through July 2009, Biden acknowledged that the administration had "misread how bad the economy was" but maintained confidence the stimulus package would create many more jobs once the pace of expenditures picked up. On March 23, 2010, a microphone picked up Biden telling the president that his signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was "a big fucking deal". Despite their different personalities, Obama and Biden formed a friendship, partly based around Obama's daughter Sasha and Biden's granddaughter Maisy, who attended Sidwell Friends School together.Members of the Obama administration said Biden's role in the White House was to be a contrarian and force others to defend their positions. Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff, said that Biden helped counter groupthink. Obama said, "The best thing about Joe is that when we get everybody together, he really forces people to think and defend their positions, to look at things from every angle, and that is very valuable for me." The Bidens maintained a relaxed atmosphere at their official residence in Washington, often entertaining their grandchildren, and regularly returned to their home in Delaware.Biden campaigned heavily for Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections, maintaining an attitude of optimism in the face of predictions of large-scale losses for the party. Following big Republican gains in the elections and the departure of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Biden's past relationships with Republicans in Congress became more important. He led the successful administration effort to gain Senate approval for the New START treaty. In December 2010, Biden's advocacy for a middle ground, followed by his negotiations with Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, were instrumental in producing the administration's compromise tax package that included a temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts. The package passed as the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. In March 2011, Obama delegated Biden to lead negotiations with Congress to resolve federal spending levels for the rest of the year and avoid a government shutdown. The U.S. debt ceiling crisis developed over the next few months, but Biden's relationship with McConnell again proved key in breaking a deadlock and bringing about a deal to resolve it, in the form of the Budget Control Act of 2011, signed on August 2, 2011, the same day an unprecedented U.S. default had loomed. Some reports suggest that Biden opposed proceeding with the May 2011 U.S. mission to kill Osama bin Laden, lest failure adversely affect Obama's reelection prospects.In December 2012, Obama named Biden to head the Gun Violence Task Force, created to address the causes of school shootings and consider possible gun control to implement in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Later that month, during the final days before the United States fell off the "fiscal cliff", Biden's relationship with McConnell again proved important as the two negotiated a deal that led to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 being passed at the start of 2013. It made many of the Bush tax cuts permanent but raised rates on upper income levels. Second term (2013–2017) Biden was inaugurated to a second term on January 20, 2013, at a small ceremony at Number One Observatory Circle, his official residence, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor presiding (a public ceremony took place on January 21).Biden played little part in discussions that led to the October 2013 passage of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, which resolved the federal government shutdown of 2013 and the debt-ceiling crisis of 2013. This was because Senate majority leader Harry Reid and other Democratic leaders cut him out of any direct talks with Congress, feeling Biden had given too much away during previous negotiations.Biden's Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized again in 2013. The act led to related developments, such as the White House Council on Women and Girls, begun in the first term, as well as the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, begun in January 2014 with Biden and Valerie Jarrett as co-chairs.Biden favored arming Syria's rebel fighters. As the ISIL insurgency in Iraq intensified in 2014, renewed attention was paid to the Biden-Gelb Iraqi federalization plan of 2006, with some observers suggesting Biden had been right all along. Biden himself said the U.S. would follow ISIL "to the gates of hell". Biden had close relationships with several Latin American leaders and was assigned a focus on the region during the administration; he visited the region 16 times during his vice presidency, the most of any president or vice president. In August 2016, Biden visited Serbia, where he met with the Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vučić, and expressed his condolences for civilian victims of the bombing campaign during the Kosovo War. Biden never cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate, making him the longest-serving vice president with this distinction. Role in the 2016 presidential campaign During his second term, Biden was often said to be preparing for a bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. With his family, many friends, and donors encouraging him in mid-2015 to enter the race, and with Hillary Clinton's favorability ratings in decline at that time, Biden was reported to again be seriously considering the prospect and a "Draft Biden 2016" PAC was established.By late 2015, Biden was still uncertain about running. He felt his son's recent death had largely drained his emotional energy, and said, "nobody has a right ... to seek that office unless they're willing to give it 110% of who they are." On October 21, speaking from a podium in the Rose Garden with his wife and Obama by his side, Biden announced his decision not to run for president in 2016. Subsequent activities (2017–2019) After leaving the vice presidency, Biden became an honorary professor at the University of Pennsylvania, developing the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. Biden remained in that position into 2019, before running for president.In 2017, Biden wrote a memoir, Promise Me, Dad, and went on a book tour. By 2019, he and his wife reported that they had earned over $15 million since the end of his vice presidency from speaking engagements and book sales.Biden remained in the public eye, endorsing candidates while continuing to comment on politics, climate change, and the presidency of Donald Trump. He also continued to speak out in favor of LGBT rights, continuing advocacy on an issue he had become more closely associated with during his vice presidency. In 2018, he gave a eulogy for Senator John McCain, praising McCain's embrace of American ideals and bipartisan friendships. Biden continued to support efforts to find treatments for cancer. 2020 presidential campaign Speculation and announcement Between 2016 and 2019, media outlets often mentioned Biden as a likely candidate for president in 2020. When asked if he would run, he gave varied and ambivalent answers, saying "never say never". A political action committee known as Time for Biden was formed in January 2018, seeking Biden's entry into the race. He finally launched his campaign on April 25, 2019, saying he was prompted to run because he was worried by the Trump administration and felt a "sense of duty". Campaign As the 2020 campaign season heated up, voluminous public polling showed Biden as one of the best-performing Democratic candidates in a head-to-head matchup against President Trump. With Democrats keenly focused on "electability" for defeating Trump, this boosted his popularity among Democratic voters. It also made Biden a frequent target of Trump. In September 2019, it was reported that Trump had pressured Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate alleged wrongdoing by Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Despite the allegations, no evidence was produced of any wrongdoing by the Bidens. Trump's pressure to investigate the Bidens was perceived by many as an attempt to hurt Biden's chances of winning the presidency. Trump's alleged actions against Biden resulted in a political scandal and Trump's impeachment by the House of Representatives for abuse of power and obstruction of congress.In March 2019 and April 2019, eight women accused Biden of previous instances of inappropriate physical contact, such as embracing, touching or kissing. Biden had previously called himself a "tactile politician" and admitted this behavior had caused trouble for him. Journalist Mark Bowden described Biden's lifelong habit of talking close, writing that he "doesn't just meet you, he engulfs you... scooting closer" and leaning forward to talk. In April 2019, Biden pledged to be more "respectful of people's personal space". Throughout 2019, Biden stayed generally ahead of other Democrats in national polls. Despite this, he finished fourth in the Iowa caucuses, and eight days later, fifth in the New Hampshire primary. He performed better in the Nevada caucuses, reaching the 15% required for delegates, but still finished 21.6 percentage points behind Bernie Sanders. Making strong appeals to Black voters on the campaign trail and in the South Carolina debate, Biden won the South Carolina primary by more than 28 points. After the withdrawals and subsequent endorsements of candidates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, he made large gains in the March 3 Super Tuesday primary elections. Biden won 18 of the next 26 contests, putting him in the lead overall. Elizabeth Warren and Mike Bloomberg soon dropped out, and Biden expanded his lead with victories over Sanders in four states on March 10.In late March 2020, Tara Reade, one of the eight women who in 2019 had accused Biden of inappropriate physical contact, accused Biden of having sexually assaulted her in 1993. There were inconsistencies between Reade's 2019 and 2020 allegations. Biden and his campaign denied the sexual assault allegation.When Sanders suspended his campaign on April 8, 2020, Biden became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president. On April 13, Sanders endorsed Biden in a live-streamed discussion from their homes. Former President Barack Obama endorsed Biden the next day. On August 11, Biden announced U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate, making her the first African American and first South Asian American vice-presidential nominee on a major-party ticket. On August 18, 2020, Biden was officially nominated at the 2020 Democratic National Convention as the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 2020 election. Presidential transition Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States in November 2020. He defeated the incumbent, Donald Trump, becoming the first candidate to defeat a sitting president since Bill Clinton defeated George H. W. Bush in 1992. Trump refused to concede, insisting the election had been "stolen" from him through "voter fraud", challenging the results in court and promoting numerous conspiracy theories about the voting and vote-counting processes, in an attempt to overturn the election results. Biden's transition was delayed by several weeks as the White House ordered federal agencies not to cooperate. On November 23, General Services Administrator Emily W. Murphy formally recognized Biden as the apparent winner of the 2020 election and authorized the start of a transition process to the Biden administration.On January 6, 2021, during Congress' electoral vote count, Trump told supporters gathered in front of the White House to march to the Capitol, saying, "We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved." Soon after, they attacked the Capitol. During the insurrection at the Capitol, Biden addressed the nation, calling the events "an unprecedented assault unlike anything we've seen in modern times". After the Capitol was cleared, Congress resumed its joint session and officially certified the election results with Vice President Mike Pence, in his capacity as President of the Senate, declaring Biden and Harris the winners. Presidency (2021–present) Inauguration Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021. At 78, he is the oldest person to have assumed the office. He is the second Catholic president (after John F. Kennedy) and the first president whose home state is Delaware. He is also the first man since George H. W. Bush to have been both vice president and president, and the second non-incumbent vice president (after Richard Nixon in 1968) to be elected president. He is also the first president from the Silent Generation.Biden's inauguration was "a muted affair unlike any previous inauguration" due to COVID-19 precautions as well as massively increased security measures because of the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Trump did not attend, becoming the first outgoing president since 1869 to not attend his successor's inauguration. First 100 days In his first two days as president, Biden signed 17 executive orders. By his third day, orders had included rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, ending the state of national emergency at the border with Mexico, directing the government to rejoin the World Health Organization, face mask requirements on federal property, measures to combat hunger in the United States, and revoking permits for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. In his first two weeks in office, Biden signed more executive orders than any other president since Franklin D. Roosevelt had in their first month in office.On February 4, 2021, the Biden administration announced that the United States was ending its support for the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen. On March 11, the first anniversary of COVID-19 having been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus and relief package that he had proposed to support the United States' recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The package included direct payments to most Americans, an extension of increased unemployment benefits, funds for vaccine distribution and school reopenings, and expansions of health insurance subsidies and the child tax credit. Biden's initial proposal included an increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, but after the Senate parliamentarian determined that including the increase in a budget reconciliation bill would violate Senate rules, Democrats declined to pursue overruling her and removed the increase from the package.Also in March, amid a rise in migrants entering the U.S. from Mexico, Biden told migrants, "Don't come over." In the meantime, migrant adults "are being sent back", Biden said, in reference to the continuation of the Trump administration's Title 42 policy for quick deportations. Biden earlier announced that his administration would not deport unaccompanied migrant children; the rise in arrivals of such children exceeded the capacity of facilities meant to shelter them (before they were sent to sponsors), leading the Biden administration in March to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help.On April 14, Biden announced that the United States would delay the withdrawal of all troops from the war in Afghanistan until September 11, signaling an end to the country's direct military involvement in Afghanistan after nearly 20 years. In February 2020, the Trump administration had made a deal with the Taliban to completely withdraw U.S. forces by May 1, 2021. Biden's decision met with a wide range of reactions, from support and relief to trepidation at the possible collapse of the Afghan government without American support. On April 22–23, Biden held an international climate summit at which he announced that the U.S. would cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 50%–52% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Other countries also increased their pledges. On April 28, the eve of his 100th day in office, Biden delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress. Domestic policy On June 17, Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which officially declared Juneteenth a federal holiday. Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday since 1986. In July 2021, amid a slowing of the COVID-19 vaccination rate in the country and the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, Biden said that the country has "a pandemic for those who haven't gotten the vaccination" and that it was therefore "gigantically important" for Americans to be vaccinated. Economy Biden entered office nine months into a recovery from the COVID-19 recession and his first year in office was characterized by robust growth in real GDP, employment, wages and stock market returns, amid significantly elevated inflation. Real GDP grew 5.9 percent, the fastest rate in 37 years. Amid record job creation, the unemployment rate fell at the fastest pace on record during the year. By the end of 2021, inflation reached a nearly 40-year high of 7.1 percent, which was partially offset by the highest nominal wage and salary growth in at least 20 years. In his third month in office, Biden signed an executive order to increase the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 per hour, an increase of nearly 37 percent. The order went into effect for 390,000 workers in January 2022.Amid a surge in inflation and high gas prices, Biden's approval ratings declined, reaching net negative in early 2022. After 5.9 percent growth in 2021, real GDP growth cooled in Biden's second year to 2.1 percent, after slightly negative growth in the first half spurred recession concerns. Job creation and consumer spending remained strong through the year, as the unemployment rate fell to match a 53-year low of 3.5 percent in December. Inflation peaked at 8.9 percent in June before easing to 3.2% by October 2023. Stocks had their worst year since 2008 before recovering. Despite widespread predictions of an imminent recession in 2022 and 2023, by late 2023 indicators showed economic acceleration. GDP growth hit 4.9% in the second quarter of 2023.Biden signed numerous major pieces of economic legislation in the 117th Congress, including the American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Honoring our PACT Act.Over the course of five days in March 2023, three small- to mid-size U.S. banks failed, triggering a sharp decline in global bank stock prices and swift response by regulators to prevent potential global contagion. After Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, the first to do so, Biden expressed opposition to a bailout by taxpayers. He claimed that the partial rollback of Dodd-Frank regulations contributed to the bank's failure.At the beginning of the 118th Congress, Biden and congressional Republicans engaged in a standoff that raised the risk that the United States would default on its debt. Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck a deal to raise the debt limit, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which suspended the debt limit until January 2025. Biden signed it on June 3, averting a default. The deal was generally seen as favorable to Biden. Judiciary By the end of 2021, 40 of Biden's appointees to the federal judiciary had been confirmed, more than any president in his first year in office since Ronald Reagan. Biden has prioritized diversity in his judicial appointments more than any president in U.S. history, with most of his appointees being women and people of color. Most of his appointments have been in blue states, making a limited impact since the courts in these states already generally lean liberal.In January 2022, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a moderate liberal nominated by Bill Clinton, announced his intention to retire from the Supreme Court. During his 2020 campaign, Biden vowed to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court if a vacancy occurred, a promise he reiterated after Breyer announced his retirement. On February 25, Biden nominated federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 7 and sworn in on June 30.By November 2023, Biden had confirmed 150 federal judges, including 100 women. Infrastructure and climate As part of Biden's Build Back Better agenda, in late March 2021, he proposed the American Jobs Plan, a $2 trillion package addressing issues including transport infrastructure, utilities infrastructure, broadband infrastructure, housing, schools, manufacturing, research and workforce development. After months of negotiations among Biden and lawmakers, in August 2021 the Senate passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, while the House, also in a bipartisan manner, approved that bill in early November 2021, covering infrastructure related to transport, utilities, and broadband. Biden signed the bill into law in mid-November 2021.The other core part of the Build Back Better agenda was the Build Back Better Act, a $3.5 trillion social spending bill that expands the social safety net and includes major provisions on climate change. The bill did not have Republican support, so Democrats attempted to pass it on a party-line vote through budget reconciliation, but struggled to win the support of Senator Joe Manchin, even as the price was lowered to $2.2 trillion. After Manchin rejected the bill, the Build Back Better Act's size was reduced and comprehensively reworked into the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, covering deficit reduction, climate change, healthcare, and tax reform.The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was introduced by Senators Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin. The package aimed to raise $739 billion and authorize $370 billion in spending on energy and climate change, $300 billion in deficit reduction, three years of Affordable Care Act subsidies, prescription drug reform to lower prices, and tax reform. According to an analysis by the Rhodium Group, the bill will lower US greenhouse gas emissions between 31 percent and 44 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. On August 7, 2022, the Senate passed the bill (as amended) on a 51–50 vote, with all Democrats voting in favor, all Republicans opposed, and Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie. The bill was passed by the House on August 12 and was signed by Biden on August 16.Before and during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Biden promoted an agreement that the U.S. and the European Union cut methane emissions by a third by 2030 and tried to add dozens of other countries to the effort. He tried to convince China and Australia to do more. He convened an online Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Change to press other countries to strengthen their climate policy. Biden pledged to double climate funding to developing countries by 2024. Also at COP26, the U.S. and China reached a deal on greenhouse gas emission reduction. The two countries are responsible for 40 percent of global emissions. In July 2023, when the 2023 heat waves hit the U.S., Biden announced several measures to protect the population and said the heat waves were linked to climate change. COVID-19 diagnosis On July 21, 2022, Biden tested positive for COVID-19 with reportedly mild symptoms. According to the White House, he was treated with Paxlovid. He worked in isolation in the White House for five days and returned to isolation when he tested positive again on July 30. Other domestic policy issues In 2022, Biden endorsed a change to the Senate filibuster to allow for the passing of the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act, on both of which the Senate had failed to invoke cloture. The rules change failed when two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, joined Senate Republicans in opposing it. In April 2022, Biden signed into law the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 to revamp the finances and operations of the United States Postal Service agency.On July 28, 2022, the Biden administration announced it would fill four wide gaps on the Mexico–United States border in Arizona near Yuma, an area with some of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings. During his presidential campaign, Biden had pledged to cease all future border wall construction. This occurred after both allies and critics of Biden criticized his administration's management of the southern border. In the summer of 2022, several other pieces of legislation Biden supported passed Congress. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act aimed to address gun reform issues following the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The act's gun control provisions include extended background checks for gun purchasers under 21, clarification of Federal Firearms License requirements, funding for state red flag laws and other crisis intervention programs, further criminalization of arms trafficking and straw purchases, and partial closure of the boyfriend loophole. Biden signed the bill on June 25, 2022.The Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 was introduced in 2021 and signed into law by Biden on August 10, 2022. The act intends to significantly improve healthcare access and funding for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances, including burn pits, during military service. The bill gained significant media coverage due to the activism of comedian Jon Stewart.Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law on August 9, 2022. The act provides billions of dollars in new funding to boost domestic research on and manufacture of semiconductors, to compete economically with China.On October 6, 2022, Biden pardoned all Americans convicted of "small" amounts of cannabis possession under federal law. Two months later, he signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and requires the federal government to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial marriages. 2022 elections On September 2, 2022, in a nationally broadcast Philadelphia speech, Biden called for a "battle for the soul of the nation". Off camera, he called Trump supporters "semi-fascists", which Republican commentators denounced. A predicted Republican wave election did not materialize and the race for U.S. Congress control was much closer than expected, with Republicans securing a slim majority of 222 seats in the House of Representatives, and the Democratic caucus keeping control of the U.S. Senate, with 51 seats, a gain of one seat from the last Congress.It was the first midterm election since 1986 in which the party of the incumbent president achieved a net gain in governorships, and the first since 1934 in which the president's party lost no state legislative chambers. Democrats credited Biden for their unexpectedly favorable performance, and he celebrated the results as a strong day for democracy. Discovery of classified documents On November 2, 2022, while packing files at the Penn Biden Center, Biden's attorneys found classified documents dating to his vice presidency in a "locked closet". According to the White House, the documents were reported that day to the U.S. National Archives, which recovered the documents the next day. On November 14, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. to conduct an investigation. On December 20, a second batch of classified documents was discovered in the garage of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware residence.The findings were made public on January 10, 2023, after several news organizations published articles on the investigation. On January 12, Garland appointed Robert K. Hur as special counsel to investigate "possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records". On January 20, after a 13-hour consensual search by FBI investigators, six more items with classified markings were recovered from Biden's Wilmington residence. FBI agents searched Biden's home in Rehoboth Beach on February 1 and collected papers and notes from his time as vice president, but did not find any classified information. Foreign policy In June 2021, Biden took his first trip abroad as president. In eight days he visited Belgium, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. He attended a G7 summit, a NATO summit, and an EU summit, and held one-on-one talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin.In September 2021, Biden announced AUKUS, a security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, to ensure "peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific over the long term"; the deal included nuclear-powered submarines built for Australia's use. Withdrawal from Afghanistan American forces began withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2020, under the provisions of a February 2020 US-Taliban agreement that set a May 1, 2021, deadline. The Taliban began an offensive on May 1. By early July, most American troops in Afghanistan had withdrawn. Biden addressed the withdrawal in July, saying, "The likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely."On August 15, the Afghan government collapsed under the Taliban offensive, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Biden reacted by ordering 6,000 American troops to assist in the evacuation of American personnel and Afghan allies. He faced bipartisan criticism for the manner of the withdrawal, with the evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies described as chaotic and botched. On August 16, Biden addressed the "messy" situation, taking responsibility for it, and admitting that the situation "unfolded more quickly than we had anticipated". He defended his decision to withdraw, saying that Americans should not be "dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves".On August 26, a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport killed 13 U.S. service members and 169 Afghans. On August 27, an American drone strike killed two ISIS-K targets, who were "planners and facilitators", according to a U.S. Army general. On August 29, another American drone strike killed ten civilians, including seven children. The Defense Department initially claimed the strike was conducted on an Islamic State suicide bomber threatening Kabul Airport, but admitted the suspect was harmless on September 17, calling its killing of civilians "a tragic mistake".The U.S. military completed withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30. Biden called the extraction of over 120,000 Americans, Afghans and other allies "an extraordinary success". He acknowledged that up to 200 Americans who wanted to leave did not, despite his August 18 pledge to keep troops in Afghanistan until all Americans who wanted to leave had left. Aid to Ukraine In late February 2022, after warning for several weeks that an attack was imminent, Biden led the U.S. response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, imposing severe sanctions on Russia and authorizing over $8 billion in weapons shipments to Ukraine. On April 29, Biden asked Congress for $33 billion for Ukraine, but lawmakers later increased it to about $40 billion. Biden blamed Vladimir Putin for the emerging energy and food crises, saying, "Putin's war has raised the price of food because Ukraine and Russia are two of the world's major breadbaskets for wheat and corn, the basic product for so many foods around the world."On February 20, 2023, four days before the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Biden visited Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. While there, he promised more military aid to Ukraine and denounced the war. The trip was unannounced, and involved major security coordination to ensure safety. China relations China's assertiveness, particularly in the Pacific, remains a challenge for Biden. The Solomon Islands-China security pact caused alarm, as China could build military bases across the South Pacific. Biden sought to strengthen ties with Australia and New Zealand in the wake of the deal, as Anthony Albanese succeeded to the premiership of Australia and Jacinda Ardern's government took a firmer line on Chinese influence. In a September 2022 interview with 60 Minutes, Biden said that U.S. forces would defend Taiwan in the event of "an unprecedented attack" by the Chinese, which is in contrast to the long-standing U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity" toward China and Taiwan. The September comments came after three previous comments by Biden that the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. Amid increasing tension with China, Biden's administration has repeatedly walked back his statements and asserted that U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed. In late 2022, Biden issued several executive orders and federal rules designed to slow Chinese technological growth, and maintain U.S. leadership over computing, biotech, and clean energy.On February 4, 2023, Biden ordered the United States Air Force to shoot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Biden administration described the balloon as carrying two railroad cars' equivalent of spy equipment with a propeller for maneuverability. The State Department said the balloon carried antennas and other equipment capable of geolocating communications signals, and similar balloons from China have flown over more than 40 nations. The Chinese government denied that the balloon was a surveillance device, instead claiming it was a civilian (mainly meteorological) airship that had blown off course. The incident was seen as damaging to U.S. and China relations. Israel In May 2021, during a flareup in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Biden said, "my party still supports Israel". In October 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel that devolved into a war, jeopardizing the administration's push to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Biden stated his unequivocal support for Israel, deployed aircraft carriers in the region to deter others from joining the war, and called for an additional $14 billion in military aid to Israel. He later began pressuring Israel to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Biden rejected calls for a ceasefire but said he supported "humanitarian pauses" to deliver aid to the people of the Gaza Strip. He asked Israel to pause the invasion for at least three days to allow for hostage negotiations; Israel agreed to daily four-hour pauses. Other foreign issues In early February 2022, Biden ordered the counterterrorism raid in northern Syria that resulted in the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, the second leader of the Islamic State. In late July, Biden approved the drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second leader of Al-Qaeda, and an integral member in the planning of the September 11 attacks. The 2022 OPEC+ oil production cut caused a diplomatic spat with Saudi Arabia, widening the rift between the two countries, and threatening a longstanding alliance.In August 2023, Biden's letter to Peruvian President Dina Boluarte for Fiestas Patrias praising her government for "advancing our democratic values, including human rights" raised controversy due to her administration's violent response to protests, including the Ayacucho and Juliaca massacres.Biden may skip the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) even though United Arab Emirates officials previously expected he would participate. The 2023 Israel–Hamas war and internal problems with government spending are cited as possible causes. Impeachment inquiry On September 12, 2023, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy initiated a formal impeachment inquiry against Biden, saying that recent House investigations "paint a picture of corruption" by him and his family. Congressional investigations, most notably by the House Oversight committee, have discovered no evidence of wrongdoing by Biden. 2024 presidential campaign Ending months of speculation, on April 25, 2023, Biden confirmed he would run for a second term as president in the 2024 election, with Harris again as his running mate. The campaign launched four years to the day after the start of his 2020 presidential campaign. It was also announced that Julie Chávez Rodriguez would serve as campaign manager and Quentin Fulks would be principal deputy campaign manager. Co-chairs include Lisa Blunt Rochester, Jim Clyburn, Chris Coons, Tammy Duckworth, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Gretchen Whitmer. On the day of his announcement, a Gallup poll found that Biden's approval rating was just 37 percent. Most who were surveyed in the poll said that the economy was their biggest concern. During his campaign, Biden has promoted his economic record by touting the creation of over 13 million jobs, faster pandemic recovery in terms of GDP than other G7 countries, and the longest period of low unemployment in over 50 years. Political positions Biden is a moderate Democrat whose positions are deeply influenced by Catholic social teaching.According to political scientist Carlo Invernizzi Accetti, "it has become second nature to describe his politics with such ready-made labels as centrist or moderate." Accetti says that Biden represents an Americanized form of Christian democracy, taking positions characteristic of both the center-right and center-left. Biden has cited the Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain, credited with starting the Christian democratic movement, as immensely influential in his thinking. In 2022, journalist Sasha Issenberg wrote that Biden's "most valuable political skill" was "an innate compass for the ever-shifting mainstream of the Democratic Party".Biden has proposed partially reversing the corporate tax cuts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, saying that doing so would not hurt businesses' ability to hire. But he supports raising the corporate tax only up to 28% from the 21% established in the 2017 bill, not back to 35%, the corporate tax rate until 2017. He voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Biden is a staunch supporter of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). He has promoted a plan to expand and build upon it, paid for by revenue gained from reversing some Trump administration tax cuts. Biden's plan aims to expand health insurance coverage to 97% of Americans, including by creating a public health insurance option.Biden did not support national same-sex marriage rights while in the Senate and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, but opposed proposals for constitutional amendments that would have banned same-sex marriage nationwide. Biden has supported same-sex marriage since 2012.As a senator, Biden forged deep relationships with police groups and was a chief proponent of a Police Officer's Bill of Rights measure that police unions supported but police chiefs opposed. In 2020, Biden also ran on decriminalizing cannabis, after advocating harsher penalties for drug use as a U.S. senator.Biden believes action must be taken on global warming. As a senator, he co-sponsored the Boxer–Sanders Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, the most stringent climate bill in the United States Senate. Biden opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He wants to achieve a carbon-free power sector in the U.S. by 2035 and stop emissions completely by 2050. His program includes reentering the Paris Agreement, nature conservation, and green building. Biden supports environmental justice, including climate justice, and has taken steps to implement it. A major step is increasing energy efficiency, water efficiency and resilience to climate disasters in low-income houses. This should help mitigate climate change, reduce costs for households, and improve health and safety. Biden has called global temperature rise above the 1.5 degree limit the "only existential threat humanity faces even more frightening than a nuclear war". Despite his clean energy policies and congressional Republicans characterizing them as a "War on American Energy", domestic oil production reached a record high in October 2023.Biden has said the U.S. needs to "get tough" on China, calling it the "most serious competitor" that poses challenges to the United States' "prosperity, security, and democratic values". Biden has spoken about human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region to the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, pledging to sanction and commercially restrict Chinese government officials and entities who carry out repression.Biden has said he is against regime change, but for providing non-military support to opposition movements. He opposed direct U.S. intervention in Libya, voted against U.S. participation in the Gulf War, voted in favor of the Iraq War, and supports a two-state solution in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Biden has pledged to end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and to reevaluate the United States' relationship with Saudi Arabia. Biden supports extending the New START arms control treaty with Russia to limit the number of nuclear weapons deployed by both sides. In 2021, Biden officially recognized the Armenian genocide, becoming the first U.S. president to do so.Biden has supported abortion rights throughout his presidency. In 2019, he said he supported Roe v. Wade and repealing the Hyde Amendment. After Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, he criticized near-total bans on abortion access passed in a majority of Republican-controlled states, and took measures to protect abortion rights in the United States. He has vowed to sign a bill codifying the protections of Roe into federal law; such a bill passed the House in 2022, but was unable to clear the Senate filibuster. Public image Biden was consistently ranked one of the least wealthy members of the Senate, which he attributed to his having been elected young. Feeling that less-wealthy public officials may be tempted to accept contributions in exchange for political favors, he proposed campaign finance reform measures during his first term. As of November 2009, Biden's net worth was $27,012. By November 2020, the Bidens were worth $9 million, largely due to sales of Biden's books and speaking fees after his vice presidency.The political writer Howard Fineman has written, "Biden is not an academic, he's not a theoretical thinker, he's a great street pol. He comes from a long line of working people in Scranton—auto salesmen, car dealers, people who know how to make a sale. He has that great Irish gift." Political columnist David S. Broder wrote that Biden has grown over time: "He responds to real people—that's been consistent throughout. And his ability to understand himself and deal with other politicians has gotten much much better." Journalist James Traub has written that "Biden is the kind of fundamentally happy person who can be as generous toward others as he is to himself". In recent years, especially after the 2015 death of his elder son Beau, Biden has been noted for his empathetic nature and ability to communicate about grief. In 2020, CNN wrote that his presidential campaign aimed to make him "healer-in-chief", while The New York Times described his extensive history of being called upon to give eulogies.Journalist and TV anchor Wolf Blitzer has called Biden loquacious; journalist Mark Bowden has said that he is famous for "talking too much", leaning in close "like an old pal with something urgent to tell you". He often deviates from prepared remarks and sometimes "puts his foot in his mouth". Biden has a reputation for being prone to gaffes and in 2018 called himself "a gaffe machine". The New York Times wrote that Biden's "weak filters make him capable of blurting out pretty much anything". During his presidency, several Republicans have criticized Biden's publicized gaffes as related to cognitive health issues due to his age, which Biden has repeatedly denied.According to The New York Times, Biden often embellishes elements of his life or exaggerates, a trait also noted by The New Yorker in 2014. For instance, he has claimed to have been more active in the civil rights movement than he actually was, and has falsely recalled being an excellent student who earned three college degrees. The Times wrote, "Mr. Biden's folksiness can veer into folklore, with dates that don't quite add up and details that are exaggerated or wrong, the factual edges shaved off to make them more powerful for audiences." Job approval According to Morning Consult polling, Biden maintained an approval rating above 50 percent in the first eight months of his presidency. In August 2021, it began to decline, and it reached the low forties by December. This was attributed to the Afghanistan withdrawal, increasing hospitalizations from the Delta variant, high inflation and gas prices, disarray within the Democratic Party, and a general decline in popularity customary in politics.In February 2021, Gallup, Inc. reported that 98 percent of Democrats approved of Biden. As of October 2023, that number had declined to 75 percent. His approval rating among Republicans reached a high of 12 percent in February 2021 and again in July 2021. See also Notes References Citations Works cited Further reading External links Official President Joe Biden official website Presidential campaign website Obama White House biography (archived)Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress Other Appearances on C-SPAN Joe Biden at Curlie Joe Biden at IMDb Joe Biden collected news and commentary at The New York Times Joe Biden at On the Issues Joe Biden at PolitiFact Joe Biden on TwitterProfile at Vote Smart Template:Authority control

ipcc summary for policymakers

The Summary for policymakers (SPM) is a summary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports intended to aid policymakers. The form is approved line by line by governments: "Negotiations occur over wording to ensure accuracy, balance, clarity of message, and relevance to understanding and policy." Process The IPCC is divided into three "Working Groups" (WG) covering a section of the human-caused climate change topic: Working Group I (WGI): The Physical Science Basis. Working Group II (WGII): Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Working Group III (WGIII): Mitigation of Climate ChangeApproximately every five years, each Working Group prepares a full "assessment report" by collating all the available research results. Before the end of this period, a selection of about 50 scientists within each Working Group produces a first draft "Summary for policymakers" (SPM) summarizing its section of the full assessment report. This first draft SPM is sent for comments to the participating government. Comments are taken into account in a second draft prepared by the scientists. When the full assessment report is finalized, each second draft SPM is then reviewed during a four days plenary session comprising government delegations and observer organizations. Each reviewing session is chaired by the scientists chairing the Working Group, surrounded by a panel of scientists. The government delegations usually consist of one to six delegates, comprising generally a mix of national experts (some of which are part of the IPCC) and a few diplomats or other non-scientist civil servants. The objective of the review session is to improve the form of the SPM, which must remain faithful to the scientific content of the full assessment report. This process also results in some form of endorsement by the participating governments. For the Fourth Assessment SPMs, each review lasted three days. The beginning of the first day was open to journalists and started with introductory speeches (from the IPCC President, local politicians, etc.). Then each sentence of the draft SPM, displayed on a giant screen, was discussed at length by the delegates and often ended up completely rewritten. Some paragraphs were removed and others are added, under the full control of the Chair and its panel of scientist who ensured that every sentence strictly conforms to the content of the full assessment. When the discussion on a sentence lasted too long, a subgroup chaired by a scientist was formed to craft aside a revised text for later submission to the plenary. Generally the process was very slow at the beginning: in some cases, as little as a few paragraphs were reviewed at the end of the first day. The review generally ended late in the night of the third day – sometimes even in the next morning. On the fourth day, the reviewed SPM was released during a closing session open to journalists. Support for the IPCC process The IPCC process has received widespread support and praise from major scientific bodies. In 2001, a joint statement on climate change was made by sixteen national academies of science. The IPCC process was supported by these academies: The work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) represents the consensus of the international scientific community on climate change science. We recognise IPCC as the world's most reliable source of information on climate change and its causes, and we endorse its method of achieving this consensus. Some IPCC authors have expressed their personal support for the process that produces the Summary for Policymakers document. John Houghton, who was formerly a co-chair of IPCC Working Group I, has stated: It is important to note that IPCC Policymakers' Summaries are agreed unanimously at intergovernmental meetings involving over 200 government delegates from around 100 countries. This agreement is only achieved after several days of scientific debate (only scientific arguments not political ones are allowed) the main purpose of which is to challenge the scientific chapter authors regarding the accuracy, clarity and relevance of the summary and most especially its consistency with the underlying chapters. Agreement at such a meeting has ensured that the resulting document, so far as is possible, is scientifically accurate, balanced and free from personal or political bias. Martin Parry, co-chair of the IPCC Working Group II Fourth Assessment Report, has said: The SPM is chewed over for some days (and sometimes nights) by the panel; and it is this process that has sometimes brought criticism from a few scientists who have questioned how much this government involvement alters the meaning of the scientists' conclusions. I do not think it does; Plenary might alter some nuances, but the key conclusions of the assessments remain intact. IPCC author Terry Barker has commented on the IPCC process and Summary for Policymakers document:My impressions of the IPCC process is that it is an open, highly innovative and progressive means to address the issue, namely the organisation of the scientific policy-relevant advice to governments of an evolving, complex and highly contentious topic. ... My experience in the 2001 [IPCC] process was that political considerations inevitably play a role in the development of the SPM, since governments will not necessarily agree with the scientific consensus expressed in the initial drafts of the [Summary for Policymakers] SPM. Since there is always some uncertainty in the scientific findings, reasons can always be found to qualify or remove unpalatable conclusions. Whether the political considerations introduce a large gap between what the authors say in the Report and what appears in the SPM is a matter of opinion. US National Research Council comments In 2001, the Bush Administration asked the US National Research Council to produce a report on climate change. The committee writing this report was asked, among other things, to comment on the IPCC Working Group I Third Assessment Report and its Summary for Policymakers: The committee finds that the full IPCC Working Group I (WGI) report is an admirable summary of research activities in climate science, and the full report is adequately summarized in the Technical Summary. The full WGI report and its Technical Summary are not specifically directed at policy. The Summary for Policymakers reflects less emphasis on communicating the basis for uncertainty and a stronger emphasis on areas of major concern associated with human-induced climate change. This change in emphasis appears to be the result of a summary process in which scientists work with policy makers on the document. Written responses from U.S. coordinating and lead scientific authors to the committee indicate, however, that (a) no changes were made without the consent of the convening lead authors (this group represents a fraction of the lead and contributing authors) and (b) most changes that did occur lacked significant impact. Debate about Working Group I's 2001 summary IPCC authors Kevin E. Trenberth and Richard Lindzen have criticized past editions of the SPM, alleging that the summary does not completely represent the full report. However, their criticisms were diametrically opposite: Trenberth arguing that the summary diluted the main report, Lindzen arguing that it was too alarmist. Kevin E. Trenberth, a lead author of the 2001 IPCC Working Group I report, wrote: The rationale here is that the scientists determine what can be said, but the governments determine how it can best be said.. ... The IPCC process is dependent on the good will of the participants in producing a balanced assessment. However, in Shanghai, it appeared that there were attempts to blunt, and perhaps obfuscate, the messages in the report. ... In spite of these trials and tribulations, the result is a reasonably balanced consensus summary. ... IPCC author Richard Lindzen has made a number of criticisms of the IPCC. Among his criticisms, Lindzen has stated that the WGI Summary for Policymakers (SPM) does not faithfully summarize the full WGI report. The report is prefaced by a policymakers' summary written by the editor, Sir John Houghton, director of the United Kingdom Meteorological Office. His summary largely ignores the uncertainty in the report and attempts to present the expectation of substantial warming as firmly based science. Lindzen has stated that the SPM understates the uncertainty associated with climate models. John Houghton has responded to Lindzen's criticisms of the SPM. Houghton has stressed that the SPM is agreed upon by delegates from many of the world's governments, and that any changes to the SPM must be supported by scientific evidence (see above). See also Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation Mitigation of climate change References Template:Harvard citation no brackets references: IPCC TAR WG1 (2001), Houghton, J.T.; Ding, Y.; Griggs, D.J.; Noguer, M.; van der Linden, P.J.; Dai, X.; Maskell, K.; Johnson, C.A. (eds.), Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis, Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-80767-0, archived from the original on 2019-12-15, retrieved 2019-12-18 (pb: 0-521-01495-6) External links SPM for the TAR Comments on the process by Kevin E. Trenberth

change management

Change management (sometimes abbreviated as CM) is a collective term for all approaches to prepare, support, and help individuals, teams, and organizations in making organizational change. It includes methods that redirect or redefine the use of resources, business process, budget allocations, or other modes of operation that significantly change a company or organization. Organizational change management (OCM) considers the full organization and what needs to change, while change management may be used solely to refer to how people and teams are affected by such organizational transition. It deals with many different disciplines, from behavioral and social sciences to information technology and business solutions. As change management becomes more necessary in the business cycle of organizations, it is beginning to be taught as its own academic discipline at universities. There are a growing number of universities with research units dedicated to the study of organizational change. One common type of organizational change may be aimed at reducing outgoing costs while maintaining financial performance, in an attempt to secure future profit margins. In a project-management context, the term "change management" may be used as an alternative to change control processes wherein changes to the scope of a project are formally introduced and approved.Drivers of change may include the ongoing evolution of technology, internal reviews of processes, crisis response, customer demand changes, competitive pressure, acquisitions and mergers, and organizational restructuring. History Pre-1960s Kurt Lewin was a social scientist who researched learning and social conflict. Lewin's first venture into change management started with researching field theory in 1921. Five years later, Lewin would begin a series consisting of about 20 articles to explain field theory. He would go on and publish Principles of Topological Psychology in 1936, which was Lewin's most in depth look at field theory. Shortly before his death, Lewin would write two articles called Human Relations which are the foundation of his three-step model.In 1934, Lewin set up a proposal to create an action research-orientated department of psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Shortly after, Lewin moved to America and started up other action research initiatives with children, housewives, religious groups, racial intolerance, and leadership. During this time, Lewin became the first psychologist to study group dynamics. His definition of a "group" from this project is still used today; "It is not the similarity or dissimilarity of individuals that constitutes a group, but interdependence of fate". 1960s Many change management models and processes are based with their roots in grief studies. As consultants saw a correlation between grieving from health-related issues and grieving among employees in an organization due to loss of jobs and departments, many early change models captured the full range of human emotions as employees mourned job-related transitions.In his work on diffusion of innovations, Everett Rogers posited that change must be understood in the context of time, communication channels, and its impact on all affected participants. Placing people at the core of change thinking was a fundamental contribution to developing the concept of change management. He proposed the descriptive Adopter groups of how people respond to change: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards. 1980s McKinsey & Company consultant Julien Phillips published a change management model in 1982 in the journal Human Resource Management.Robert Marshak has since credited the big six accounting and consulting firms with adopting the work of early organizational change pioneers, such as Daryl Conner and Don Harrison, thereby contributing to the legitimization of a whole change management industry when they branded their re-engineering services as change management in the 1980s.In the late 1980s, General Electric under Jack Welch was somewhat shell-shocked and demoralized following several years of organizational restructuring and de-layering that resulted in far fewer people but the same amount of work, while saddled with a stifling bureaucracy. Welch directed a team that ultimately included Dave Ulrich, Todd Jick, Steve Kerr, and Ron Ashkenas among others, to create a process to "get unnecessary work out of the system." The process became known as Work-Out, which was similar in concept to Quality Circles that were made popular by Japanese companies in the 1980s. “In small teams, people challenge prevailing assumptions about ‘the way we’ve always done things’ and come up with recommendations for dramatic improvements in organizational processes. The Work-Out teams present their recommendations to a senior leader in a Town Meeting where the manager engages the entire group in a dialog about the recommendations and then makes a yes-no decision on the spot. Recommendations for changing the organization are then assigned to ‘owners’ who have volunteered to carry them out and follow through to get results. That’s Work-Out in a nutshell.” “[Work-Out] is also a catalyst for creating an empowered workforce that has the self-confidence to challenge the inevitable growth of organizational bureaucracy. It can help create a culture that is fast-moving, innovative, and without boundaries.” 1990s In 1990, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter Senge is published. In 1997, Harvard Business Review identified The Fifth Discipline as one of the seminal management books of the previous 75 years. For this work, he was named "Strategist of the Century" by the Journal of Business Strategy, which said that he was one of a very few people who "had the greatest impact on the way we conduct business today." According to Senge, there are four challenges in initiating changes: 1. There must be a compelling case for change. 2. There must be time to change. 3. There must be help during the change process. 4. As the perceived barriers to change are removed, it is important that some new problem, not before considered important or perhaps not even recognized, doesn't become a critical barrier. The first edition of Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change by William Bridges is published in 1991. Bridges emphasized the importance of managing the psychology of transitions, consisting of three phases: letting go of the past, the "neutral zone" where the past is gone but the new isn't fully present, and making the new beginning. The 1990 oil price shock occurred as a result of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 and contributed to the recession of the early 1990s in the United States. At General Electric, Jack Welch and the senior leadership team were forced to abandon methodically developed strategic plans. Welch recognized the obvious problem with long-term planning – no one can predict the future. Welch has been quoted by Steve Kerr as saying, “It’s not that we’re surprised that bugs me, it’s that we’re surprised that we’re surprised that bugs me.” He recognized the advantage of being able to react to change faster than GE’s competitors. Welch commissioned a team, including Dave Ulrich and Steve Kerr, to create a process to "accelerate change" throughout GE. “Thus in 1992 and 1993, some of the external faculty, in collaboration with Crotonville staff, developed and implemented the Change Acceleration Process (CAP) as a follow-up to Work-Out. In this process, drawn from experiences with other companies, teams of managers from a business took on major change projects and learned how to orchestrate an entire change effort.”In his 1993 book, Managing at the Speed of Change, Daryl Conner coined the term 'burning platform' based on the 1988 North Sea Piper Alpha oil rig fire. He went on to found Conner Partners in 1994, focusing on the human performance and adoption techniques that would help ensure technology innovations were absorbed and adopted as best as possible. The first State of the Change Management Industry report was published in the Consultants News in February 1995.In the mid-90s, John Kotter authors arguably the most influential publications in the history of Change Management. Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail appeared in a 1995 issue of the Harvard Business Review, and his follow-up book, Leading Change published in 1996. Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, published in 1998, is a bestselling seminal work by Spencer Johnson. The text describes the way one reacts to major change in one's work and life, and four typical reactions to those changes by two mice and two "Littlepeople," during their hunt for "cheese." A New York Times business bestseller up on release, Who Moved My Cheese? remained on the list for almost five years and spent over 200 weeks on Publishers Weekly's hardcover nonfiction list. 2000s Linda Ackerman Anderson states in Beyond Change Management that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, top leaders, growing dissatisfied with the failures of creating and implementing changes in a top-down fashion, created the role of the change leader to take responsibility for the human side of change. 2010s In response to lack of understanding in how to manage change in large projects and programs of work, Christina Dean (author of RIMER Managing Successful Change Professional Edition), established the Australian Government National Competency Standards at Diploma Level, and RIMER as the Australian National Competency Standard Certification. RIMER is a Project Based approach to managing change, which introduced the concept of Enterprise Change Management. Christina also influenced the Human Resource Management Institute and Project Management Institute Industry Associations to include Change Management in their Academic programmes to Masters Level. By 2016, all Australian Universities offered programs that provided a formal vocational pathway, through a HRM or Project Management.In response to continuing reports of the failure of large-scale top-down plan-driven change programmes, innovative change practitioners have been reporting success with applying Lean and Agile principles to the field of change management.The Lean Change Management Association became the world's first global organization to offer trainings designed to apply Lean Startup, Agile, and Design Thinking principles to change.The Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) announced a new certification to enhance the profession: Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP) in 2016. Approach Organizational change management employs a structured approach to ensure that changes are documented and implemented smoothly and successfully to achieve lasting benefits. Reasons for change Globalization and accelerated innovation of technology result in a constantly evolving business environment. Phenomena such as social media and mobile adaptability have revolutionized business and the effect of this is an ever-increasing need for change, and therefore change management. The growth in technology also has a secondary effect of increasing the availability and therefore accountability of knowledge. Easily accessible information has resulted in unprecedented scrutiny from stockholders and the media and pressure on management. With the business environment experiencing so much change, organizations must then learn to become comfortable with change as well. Therefore, the ability to manage and adapt to organizational change is an essential ability required in the workplace today. However, major and rapid organizational change is profoundly difficult because the structure, culture, and routines of organizations often reflect a persistent and difficult-to-remove "imprint" of past periods, which are resistant to radical change even as the current environment of the organization changes rapidly.Due to the growth of technology, modern organizational change is largely motivated by exterior innovations rather than internal factors. When these developments occur, the organizations that adapt quickest create a competitive advantage for themselves, while the companies that refuse to change get left behind. This can result in drastic profit and/or market share losses. Organizational change directly affects all departments and employees. The entire company must learn how to handle changes to the organization. The effectiveness of change management can have a strong positive or negative impact on employee morale. Change models There are several models of change management: Lean Change Management Lean Change Management is an ecosystem of modern change management ideas created by Jason Little. Inspired by Lean Startup, Agile, and Design Thinking, Lean Change Management is designed to help change agents create an adaptable, and contextual approach to changefocus on creating shared purpose over creating false urgency focus on enabling meaningful dialogue over broadcasting change communications focus on experimentation over executing tasks in the plan focus on understanding the response to change over blaming people for resisting focus on co-creation of change over getting buy-inJason began developing Lean Change Management in 2009 as a response to outdated traditional change management approaches designed in a pre-digital world. Kurt Lewin's 3-Step Change Model Kurt Lewin a German-American psychologist, developed this 3-step model to implement change. The model consists of three steps: Unfreezing Changing Refreezing The unfreezing stage "destabilizes the equilibrium" and "unleashes some energy for change". The changing stage involves entering the change using collaboration and action research; and refreezing is the stablizing stage in which new policies and standards are set. This model of change, developed by Lewin, was a simplistic view of the process to change.This original model "developed in the 1920s and fully articulated in Lewin's (1936a) book Principles of Topological Psychology" paved the way for other change models to be developed in the future.John Kotter's 8-Step Process for Leading ChangeJohn P. Kotter, the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus, at the Harvard Business School is considered the most influential expert of change management. He invented the 8-Step Process for Leading Change. It consists of eight stages: Create a Sense of Urgency Build a Guiding Coalition Form a Strategic Vision and Initiatives Enlist a Volunteer Army Enable Action by Removing Barriers Generate Short-Term Wins Sustain Acceleration Institute ChangeThese steps are very much tied to Lewin's model and build upon his simplistic process of creating change. They follow the same general steps of Lewin's model: Unfreezing, Changing, and Refreezing. Change Management Foundation and ModelThe Change Management Foundation is shaped like a pyramid with project management managing technical aspects and people implementing change at the base and leadership setting the direction at the top. The Change Management Model consists of four stages: Determine Need for Change Prepare & Plan for Change Implement the Change Sustain the ChangeThe Prosci ADKAR ModelThe Prosci ADKAR Model is an individual change framework created by Jeff Hiatt. ADKAR is an acronym that represents the five building blocks of successful change for an individual: Awareness of the need for change Desire to participate and support in the change Knowledge of what to do during and after the change Ability to realize or implement the change as required Reinforcement to ensure the results of a change continueThe ADKAR Model is prescriptive and goal-oriented, each milestone must be achieved to define success. It uses a 1–5 scale to determine how strongly an individual meets the requirements of each milestone. If a person scores a three or below, that specific step must be addressed before moving forward, Prosci defines this as a barrier point. The Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle, and choosing which changes to implement The Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle, created by W. Edwards Deming, is a management method to improve business method for control and continuous improvement of choosing which changes to implement. When determining which of the latest techniques or innovations to adopt, there are four major factors to be considered: Levels, goals, and strategies Measurement system Sequence of steps Implementation and organizational changes Balogun and Hope Hailey types of change Balogun and Hope identified four different classifications of change that depend on the speed of change and the extent of change: Evolution, involves implementing change slowly through interrelated initiatives. Adaption, involves undertaking a series of steps to realign the company culture. Revolution, involves taking huge steps to change company culture. Reconstruction is change undertaken to realign the company culture and is often forced and reactive, involving many initiatives. Managing the change process Although there are many types of organizational changes, the critical aspect is a company's ability to win the buy-in of their organization's employees on the change. Effectively managing organizational change is a four-step process: Recognizing the changes in the broader business environment Developing the necessary adjustments for their company's needs Training their employees on the appropriate changes Winning the support of the employees with the persuasiveness of the appropriate adjustmentsAs a multi-disciplinary practice that has evolved as a result of scholarly research, organizational change management should begin with a systematic diagnosis of the current situation in order to determine both the need for change and the capability to change. The objectives, content, and process of change should all be specified as part of a change management plan. Change management processes should include creative marketing to enable communication between changing audiences, as well as deep social understanding about leadership styles and group dynamics. As a visible track on transformation projects, organizational change management aligns groups' expectations, integrates teams, and manages employee training. It makes use of performance metrics, such as financial results, operational efficiency, leadership commitment, communication effectiveness, and the perceived need for change in order to design appropriate strategies, resolve troubled change projects, and avoid change failures. Factors of successful change management Successful change management is more likely to occur if the following are included: Define measurable stakeholder aims and create a business case for their achievement (which should be continuously updated) Monitor assumptions, risks, dependencies, costs, return on investment, dis-benefits and cultural issues Effective communication that informs various stakeholders of the reasons for the change (why?), the benefits of successful implementation (what is in it for us, and you) as well as the details of the change (when? where? who is involved? how much will it cost? etc.) Devise an effective education, training and/or skills upgrading scheme for the organization Counter resistance from the employees of companies and align them to overall strategic direction of the organization Provide personal counseling (if required) to alleviate any change-related fears Monitoring implementation and fine-tuning as and when required Reasons for failure Research into change management has identified a number of reasons why change might fail: Inappropriate executive sponsorship, in particular where the executive sponsor does not have a sufficiently senior position withth the organisation Starting on a solution before the underlying problem [that requires the change] is fully understood Failure to spend time on systematically analyzing the people and styles that are involved Jumping to a solution to the problem(s) Failure to validate the proposed solutions Failure to plan for certainty Failure to communicate what is happening and why Failure to define measurable outcomes and way-points Absence of strong governance in place, particularly around dependencies Not dealing properly with risk and contingency Lack of a clear sense of urgency when warning signs are clear Lack of shared commitment and leadership Lack of ability to recognize obstacles to the vision Lack of planning for and creating short-term wins Poor anchoring of changes within an organisation's culture. Change fatigue Challenges Change management is faced with the fundamental difficulties of integration and navigation, and human factors. Change management must also take into account the human aspect where emotions and how they are handled play a significant role in implementing change successfully. Integration Traditionally, organizational development (OD) departments overlooked the role of infrastructure and the possibility of carrying out change through technology. Now, managers almost exclusively focus on the structural and technical components of change. Alignment and integration between strategic, social, and technical components requires collaboration between people with different skill-sets. Navigation Managing change over time, referred to as navigation, requires continuous adaptation. It requires managing projects over time against a changing context, from interorganizational factors to marketplace volatility. It also requires a balance in bureaucratic organizations between top-down and bottom-up management, ensuring employee empowerment and flexibility. Human factors One of the major factors which hinders the change management process is people's natural tendency for inertia. Just as in Newton's first law of motion, people are resistant to change in organizations because it can be uncomfortable. The notion of doing things this way, because 'this is the way we have always done them', can be particularly hard to overcome. Furthermore, in cases where a company has seen declining fortunes, for a manager or executive to view themselves as a key part of the problem can be very humbling. This issue can be exacerbated in countries where "saving face" plays a large role in inter-personal relations. As mentioned above, there are some groups that prioritize their own benefits above organizations' benefits, and involving such groups into organizational change will naturally create obstacles, and some departments may directly or indirectly resist organizational change due to the conflicts of their interests.To assist with this, a number of models have been developed which help identify their readiness for change and then to recommend the steps through which they could move. A common example is ADKAR, an acronym which stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. This model was developed by researcher and entrepreneur Jeff Hiatt in 1996 and first published in a white paper entitled The Perfect Change in 1999. Hiatt explained that the process of becoming ready for change is sequential, starting from the current level of each individual, and none of the five steps could be avoided: "they cannot be skipped or reordered". Solutions to overcoming challenges and avoiding failure When going through change, many organizations and individuals fail and are faced with challenges when implementing change. There are many measures organizations and individuals can take to avoid failure and overcome challenges. Human factors When faced with a resistance to change by individuals, there are many strategies to get individuals to change. Morten T. Hansen proposed the following ten methods to induce personal change. Embrace the power of one – Focus on one behavior to change at a time. This is because people are not good at multi-tasking. Make it sticky – With the goal to change behavior, to do this effectively the goal must be measurable and concrete. Paint a vivid picture – To be effective in getting change for people, tap into their emotions and paint them a picture of where they currently are and offer up the vision of where they should want to get to. Activate peer pressure – As individuals we look to others in our immediate circle for approval. These peers in our circle can set the expectations to what is acceptable behavior. Leaders can implore these people to apply pressure and get the change that is desired. Mobilize the crowd – When individuals embrace a new behavior it typically follows a pattern – early adopters, safe followers, and late-comers. To get a change in the group it is imperative that a leader gets a few early adopters on board with a changed behavior. Then have them influence and convince the rest of the group to come and adopt said behavior. Tweak the situation – People tend to go with the default option. To influence change, an organization can nudge them and indirectly shape their choices. This can be done by changing the default option which in turn shapes individual behavior. Subtract, not just add – Instead of trying to add something in to solve the problems, rather removing the enablers, triggers, and barriers that cause these problems. Dare to link carrots and sticks (and follow through) – To motivate individuals to change behavior, offer incentives for both performance related objectives and behavior related objectives. Teach and coach well – Developing certain behaviors have a skill dimension. Time is needed for people to develop desired behaviors. As a leader it is important to guide individuals to the desired end result. Hire and fire based on behaviors – Some people may or may not be able to or want to adopt these new behaviors and change. Instead leaders should look to bring in people that embody these desired behaviors and are able changeThese tactics can be helpful when faced with resistance from individuals with implementing change into a group. The tactics can be helpful with either implementing a behavioral change among the group or a procedural or managerial change in the group. On an organizational level When trying to change at an organizational level, these tactics developed by Irving Calish and Donald Gamache help companies in trying to enter into new markets and with creating new products. Welcome the opportunity for change Creating an environment that does not punish mistakes Clearly define a growth plan that will enable management to zero in company resources on meaningful targets Set realistic criteria for new opportunities Avoid trying for short-term financial success Remember that a good idea can be identified only after the fact. An idea is "good" only when it is the right fit for your company, its resources, and its goals Have a fund of ideas; a choice of opportunities fosters objectivity and helps prevent falling hopelessly in love with one Make sure the rewards for success are far greater than the penalties for failureThese tactics implored on an organizational level aid in overcoming resistance and challenges when it comes to change. These tactics are more optimal for when an organization is trying to implement change at an organizational level or trying to enter into a new product space, but still work for other avenues. Avoiding failure Based upon the reasons for failure, there are many actions a leader can take to avoid these failures when it comes to change. They can: Create a clearly defined and organized plan Communicate this plan effectively to the group Define measurable goals Create a solid management structure Properly manage riskThe antithesis for this is doing the opposite of what causes failure in the first place. Following these steps in combination with the other suggestions will aid in avoiding failure and overcoming challenges. Additionally, to be successful with change, it is imperative to follow the change models to get actions right and avoid failure in the first place. Case studies There are many situations in which we have seen the change models being implemented and ultimately result success. Two of the following case studies below highlight these examples. Lewin's change-theory example At a Vietnamese University there was a desire to use Lewin's change theory to create a more "effective working environment where lecturers collaborate in a constructive spirit to improve their teaching practices and learning outcomes." To start this process of implementing change, they began by observing how the teachers at this university taught their class, and by giving questionnaires and interviews about how the teachers conducted their jobs. After receiving the feedback about how the teachers conducted their lectures and where they needed to improve, the administration communicated to the teachers how to fix these problems. They began by offering professional seminars as a way for the teachers to improve and refine their knowledge. Additionally the university also brought in professionals that introduced them to alternative ways of teaching. After the teachers had learned this new information they then implemented this into the classes they teach. To monitor the transition and the implementation of these new tactics, the classes were once again observed and feedback was provided through questionnaires and interviews. This data was sent to the administration after the second review and later was organized to show the feedback before and after the changes were implemented in the class room. The data ultimately revealed that after this change was conducted, satisfaction among the students was far greatly improved. This university followed Lewin's model when trying to implement change at their university and the end result was a success. Kotter's change-theory example The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted an analysis at a federally qualified health center in Kentucky and looked to "improve its delivery of preventive care services, close care gaps, and reduce health disparities among its patient population." With understanding the goal in mind, they utilized Kotter's change theory as a model to attain this goal and implement the change needed at this facility. They began this process to change, by creating a climate for change within the health center. To do this they interviewed employees on how well this facility implemented certain protocols, how high these standards were held, and how well these standards were being enforced. This was done to gain insight on where the organization currently is and where it should be going. Once this knowledge was attained, the organization then implemented the change into the care facility with higher quality standards. After this was complete, the employees were interviewed again and this time the questions shifted to how leadership engaged and enabled the whole organization. This was done to look at how well the organization was implementing the new standards at the care facility. The final phase of questioning was about how the implementation of these standards could have gone better and if there were any unanticipated challenges that came with implementing these standards. These interviews gave the CDC a read on how well the implementation of new health standards at this care facility went well and where they could have improved. This example is one of many of how organizations can use Kotter's change model to correctly implement change. See also == References ==

africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both aspects. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, tribalism, colonialism, the Cold War, neocolonialism, lack of democracy, and corruption. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states, eight cities and islands that are part of non-African states, and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. This count does not include Malta and Sicily, which are geologically part of the African continent. Algeria is Africa's largest country by area, and Nigeria is its largest by population. African nations cooperate through the establishment of the African Union, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa. Africa straddles the equator and the prime meridian. It is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to the southern temperate zones. The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, the northern tip of Mauritania, and the entire territories of Morocco, Ceuta, Melilla, and Tunisia which in turn are located above the tropic of Cancer, in the northern temperate zone. In the other extreme of the continent, southern Namibia, southern Botswana, great parts of South Africa, the entire territories of Lesotho and Eswatini and the southern tips of Mozambique and Madagascar are located below the tropic of Capricorn, in the southern temperate zone. Africa is highly biodiverse; it is the continent with the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. However, Africa also is heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues, including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity and pollution. These entrenched environmental concerns are expected to worsen as climate change impacts Africa. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified Africa as the continent most vulnerable to climate change.The history of Africa is long, complex, and has often been under-appreciated by the global historical community. Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, is widely accepted as the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes). The earliest hominids and their ancestors have been dated to around 7 million years ago, including Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Australopithecus africanus, A. afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster—the earliest Homo sapiens (modern human) remains, found in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Morocco, date to circa 233,000, 259,000, and 300,000 years ago, respectively, and Homo sapiens is believed to have originated in Africa around 350,000–260,000 years ago. Africa is also considered by anthropologists to be the most genetically diverse continent as a result of being the longest inhabited.Early human civilizations, such as Ancient Egypt and Carthage emerged in North Africa. Following a subsequent long and complex history of civilizations, migration and trade, Africa hosts a large diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. The last 400 years have witnessed an increasing European influence on the continent. Starting in the 16th century, this was driven by trade, including the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, which created large African diaspora populations in the Americas. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, European nations colonized almost all of Africa, reaching a point when only Ethiopia and Liberia were independent polities. Most present states in Africa emerged from a process of decolonisation following World War II. Etymology Afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of then-known northern Africa to the west of the Nile river, and in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean (Ancient Libya). This name seems to have originally referred to a native Libyan tribe, an ancestor of modern Berbers; see Terence for discussion. The name had usually been connected with the Phoenician word ʿafar meaning "dust", but a 1981 hypothesis has asserted that it stems from the Berber word ifri (plural ifran) meaning "cave", in reference to cave dwellers. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, a Berber tribe originally from Yafran (also known as Ifrane) in northwestern Libya, as well as the city of Ifrane in Morocco. Under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province it then named Africa Proconsularis, following its defeat of the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War in 146 BC, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land (e.g., in Celtica from Celtae, as used by Julius Caesar). The later Muslim region of Ifriqiya, following its conquest of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire's Exarchatus Africae, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lies to the west of Egypt, while "Asia" was used to refer to Anatolia and lands to the east. A definite line was drawn between the two continents by the geographer Ptolemy (85–165 CE), indicating Alexandria along the Prime Meridian and making the isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea the boundary between Asia and Africa. As Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of "Africa" expanded with their knowledge. Other etymological hypotheses have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa": The 1st-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (Ant. 1.15) asserted that it was named for Epher, grandson of Abraham according to Gen. 25:4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya. Isidore of Seville in his 7th-century Etymologiae XIV.5.2. suggests "Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning "sunny". Massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning "to turn toward the opening of the Ka." The Ka is the energetic double of every person and the "opening of the Ka" refers to a womb or birthplace. Africa would be, for the Egyptians, "the birthplace." Michèle Fruyt in 1976 proposed linking the Latin word with africus "south wind", which would be of Umbrian origin and mean originally "rainy wind". Robert R. Stieglitz of Rutgers University in 1984 proposed: "The name Africa, derived from the Latin *Aphir-ic-a, is cognate to Hebrew Ophir ['rich']." Ibn Khallikan and some other historians claim that the name of Africa came from a Himyarite king called Afrikin ibn Kais ibn Saifi also called "Afrikus son of Abraham" who subdued Ifriqiya. Arabic afrīqā (feminine noun) and ifrīqiyā, now usually pronounced afrīqiyā (feminine) 'Africa', from ‘afara [‘ = ‘ain, not ’alif] 'to be dusty' from ‘afar 'dust, powder' and ‘afir 'dried, dried up by the sun, withered' and ‘affara 'to dry in the sun on hot sand' or 'to sprinkle with dust'. Possibly Phoenician faraqa in the sense of 'colony, separation'. History Prehistory Africa is considered by most paleoanthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth, with the Human species originating from the continent. During the mid-20th century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago (Before present, BP). Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have evolved into modern man, such as Australopithecus afarensis radiometrically dated to approximately 3.9–3.0 million years BP, Paranthropus boisei (c. 2.3–1.4 million years BP) and Homo ergaster (c. 1.9 million–600,000 years BP) have been discovered.After the evolution of Homo sapiens approximately 350,000 to 260,000 years BP in Africa, the continent was mainly populated by groups of hunter-gatherers. These first modern humans left Africa and populated the rest of the globe during the Out of Africa II migration dated to approximately 50,000 years BP, exiting the continent either across Bab-el-Mandeb over the Red Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar in Morocco, or the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt.Other migrations of modern humans within the African continent have been dated to that time, with evidence of early human settlement found in Southern Africa, Southeast Africa, North Africa, and the Sahara. Emergence of civilization The size of the Sahara has historically been extremely variable, with its area rapidly fluctuating and at times disappearing depending on global climatic conditions. At the end of the Ice ages, estimated to have been around 10,500 BCE, the Sahara had again become a green fertile valley, and its African populations returned from the interior and coastal highlands in sub-Saharan Africa, with rock art paintings depicting a fertile Sahara and large populations discovered in Tassili n'Ajjer dating back perhaps 10 millennia. However, the warming and drying climate meant that by 5000 BC, the Sahara region was becoming increasingly dry and hostile. Around 3500 BC, due to a tilt in the Earth's orbit, the Sahara experienced a period of rapid desertification. The population trekked out of the Sahara region towards the Nile Valley below the Second Cataract where they made permanent or semi-permanent settlements. A major climatic recession occurred, lessening the heavy and persistent rains in Central and Eastern Africa. Since this time, dry conditions have prevailed in Eastern Africa and, increasingly during the last 200 years, in Ethiopia. The domestication of cattle in Africa preceded agriculture and seems to have existed alongside hunter-gatherer cultures. It is speculated that by 6000 BC, cattle were domesticated in North Africa. In the Sahara-Nile complex, people domesticated many animals, including the donkey and a small screw-horned goat which was common from Algeria to Nubia. Between 10,000 and 9,000 BC, pottery was independently invented in the region of Mali in the savannah of West Africa.In the steppes and savannahs of the Sahara and Sahel in Northern West Africa, people possibly ancestral to modern Nilo-Saharan and Mandé cultures started to collect wild millet, around 8000 to 6000 BCE. Later, gourds, watermelons, castor beans, and cotton were also collected. Sorghum was first domesticated in Eastern Sudan around 4000 BC, in one of the earliest instances of agriculture in human history. Its cultivation would gradually spread across Africa, before spreading to India around 2000 BC. People around modern-day Mauritania started making pottery and built stone settlements (e.g., Tichitt, Oualata). Fishing, using bone-tipped harpoons, became a major activity in the numerous streams and lakes formed from the increased rains. In West Africa, the wet phase ushered in an expanding rainforest and wooded savanna from Senegal to Cameroon. Between 9,000 and 5,000 BC, Niger–Congo speakers domesticated the oil palm and raffia palm. Black-eyed peas and voandzeia (African groundnuts), were domesticated, followed by okra and kola nuts. Since most of the plants grew in the forest, the Niger–Congo speakers invented polished stone axes for clearing forest.Around 4000 BC, the Saharan climate started to become drier at an exceedingly fast pace. This climate change caused lakes and rivers to shrink significantly and caused increasing desertification. This, in turn, decreased the amount of land conducive to settlements and encouraged migrations of farming communities to the more tropical climate of West Africa. During the first millennium BC, a reduction in wild grain populations related to changing climate conditions facilitated the expansion of farming communities and the rapid adoption of rice cultivation around the Niger River.By the first millennium BC, ironworking had been introduced in Northern Africa. Around that time it also became established in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, either through independent invention there or diffusion from the north and vanished under unknown circumstances around 500 AD, having lasted approximately 2,000 years, and by 500 BC, metalworking began to become commonplace in West Africa. Ironworking was fully established by roughly 500 BC in many areas of East and West Africa, although other regions did not begin ironworking until the early centuries CE. Copper objects from Egypt, North Africa, Nubia, and Ethiopia dating from around 500 BC have been excavated in West Africa, suggesting that Trans-Saharan trade networks had been established by this date. Early civilizations At about 3300 BC, the historical record opens in Northern Africa with the rise of literacy in the Pharaonic civilization of ancient Egypt. One of the world's earliest and longest-lasting civilizations, the Egyptian state continued, with varying levels of influence over other areas, until 343 BC. Egyptian influence reached deep into modern-day Libya and Nubia, and, according to Martin Bernal, as far north as Crete.An independent centre of civilization with trading links to Phoenicia was established by Phoenicians from Tyre on the north-west African coast at Carthage.European exploration of Africa began with the ancient Greeks and Romans. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great was welcomed as a liberator in Persian-occupied Egypt. He founded Alexandria in Egypt, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic dynasty after his death. Following the conquest of North Africa's Mediterranean coastline by the Roman Empire, the area was integrated economically and culturally into the Roman system. Roman settlement occurred in modern Tunisia and elsewhere along the coast. The first Roman emperor native to North Africa was Septimius Severus, born in Leptis Magna in present-day Libya – his mother was Italian Roman and his father was Punic.Christianity spread across these areas at an early date, from Judaea via Egypt and beyond the borders of the Roman world into Nubia; by 340 AD at the latest, it had become the state religion of the Aksumite Empire. Syro-Greek missionaries, who arrived by way of the Red Sea, were responsible for this theological development.In the early 7th century, the newly formed Arabian Islamic Caliphate expanded into Egypt, and then into North Africa. In a short while, the local Berber elite had been integrated into Muslim Arab tribes. When the Umayyad capital Damascus fell in the 8th century, the Islamic centre of the Mediterranean shifted from Syria to Qayrawan in North Africa. Islamic North Africa had become diverse, and a hub for mystics, scholars, jurists, and philosophers. During the above-mentioned period, Islam spread to sub-Saharan Africa, mainly through trade routes and migration.In West Africa, Dhar Tichitt and Oualata in present-day Mauritania figure prominently among the early urban centers, dated to 2,000 BC. About 500 stone settlements litter the region in the former savannah of the Sahara. Its inhabitants fished and grew millet. It has been found by Augustin Holl that the Soninke of the Mandé peoples were likely responsible for constructing such settlements. Around 300 BCE, the region became more desiccated and the settlements began to decline, most likely relocating to Koumbi Saleh. Architectural evidence and the comparison of pottery styles suggest that Dhar Tichitt was related to the subsequent Ghana Empire. Djenné-Djenno (in present-day Mali) was settled around 300 BC, and the town grew to house a sizable Iron Age population, as evidenced by crowded cemeteries. Living structures were made of sun-dried mud. By 250 BCE, Djenné-Djenno had become a large, thriving market town.Further south, in central Nigeria, around 1,500 BC, the Nok culture developed on the Jos Plateau. It was a highly centralized community. The Nok people produced lifelike representations in terracotta, including human heads and human figures, elephants, and other animals. By 500 BC, and possibly earlier, they were smelting iron. By 200 AD, the Nok culture had vanished. and vanished under unknown circumstances around 500 AD, having lasted approximately 2,000 years. Based on stylistic similarities with the Nok terracottas, the bronze figurines of the Yoruba kingdom of Ife and those of the Bini kingdom of Benin are suggested to be continuations of the traditions of the earlier Nok culture. Ninth to eighteenth centuries Pre-colonial Africa possessed perhaps as many as 10,000 different states and polities characterized by many different sorts of political organization and rule. These included small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the San people of southern Africa; larger, more structured groups such as the family clan groupings of the Bantu-speaking peoples of central, southern, and eastern Africa; heavily structured clan groups in the Horn of Africa; the large Sahelian kingdoms; and autonomous city-states and kingdoms such as those of the Akan; Edo, Yoruba, and Igbo people in West Africa; and the Swahili coastal trading towns of Southeast Africa. By the ninth century AD, a string of dynastic states, including the earliest Hausa states, stretched across the sub-Saharan savannah from the western regions to central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and the Kanem-Bornu Empire. Ghana declined in the eleventh century, but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the thirteenth century. Kanem accepted Islam in the eleventh century. In the forested regions of the West African coast, independent kingdoms grew with little influence from the Muslim north. The Kingdom of Nri was established around the ninth century and was one of the first. It is also one of the oldest kingdoms in present-day Nigeria and was ruled by the Eze Nri. The Nri kingdom is famous for its elaborate bronzes, found at the town of Igbo-Ukwu. The bronzes have been dated from as far back as the ninth century.The Kingdom of Ife, historically the first of these Yoruba city-states or kingdoms, established government under a priestly oba ('king' or 'ruler' in the Yoruba language), called the Ooni of Ife. Ife was noted as a major religious and cultural centre in West Africa, and for its unique naturalistic tradition of bronze sculpture. The Ife model of government was adapted at the Oyo Empire, where its obas or kings, called the Alaafins of Oyo, once controlled a large number of other Yoruba and non-Yoruba city-states and kingdoms; the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey was one of the non-Yoruba domains under Oyo control. The Almoravids were a Berber dynasty from the Sahara that spread over a wide area of northwestern Africa and the Iberian peninsula during the eleventh century. The Banu Hilal and Banu Ma'qil were a collection of Arab Bedouin tribes from the Arabian Peninsula who migrated westwards via Egypt between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Their migration resulted in the fusion of the Arabs and Berbers, where the locals were Arabized, and Arab culture absorbed elements of the local culture, under the unifying framework of Islam.Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464–1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle Niger and the western Sudan and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Jenne in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Mohammad I (1493–1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought to Gao Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship. By the eleventh century, some Hausa states – such as Kano, jigawa, Katsina, and Gobir – had developed into walled towns engaging in trade, servicing caravans, and the manufacture of goods. Until the fifteenth century, these small states were on the periphery of the major Sudanic empires of the era, paying tribute to Songhai to the west and Kanem-Borno to the east. Height of the slave trade Slavery had long been practiced in Africa. Between the 15th and the 19th centuries, the Atlantic slave trade took an estimated 7–12 million slaves to the New World. In addition, more than 1 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in North Africa between the 16th and 19th centuries.In West Africa, the decline of the Atlantic slave trade in the 1820s caused dramatic economic shifts in local polities. The gradual decline of slave-trading, prompted by a lack of demand for slaves in the New World, increasing anti-slavery legislation in Europe and America, and the British Royal Navy's increasing presence off the West African coast, obliged African states to adopt new economies. Between 1808 and 1860, the British West Africa Squadron seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard.Action was also taken against African leaders who refused to agree to British treaties to outlaw the trade, for example against "the usurping King of Lagos", deposed in 1851. Anti-slavery treaties were signed with over 50 African rulers. The largest powers of West Africa (the Asante Confederacy, the Kingdom of Dahomey, and the Oyo Empire) adopted different ways of adapting to the shift. Asante and Dahomey concentrated on the development of "legitimate commerce" in the form of palm oil, cocoa, timber and gold, forming the bedrock of West Africa's modern export trade. The Oyo Empire, unable to adapt, collapsed into civil wars. Colonialism Independence struggles Imperial rule by Europeans would continue until after the conclusion of World War II, when almost all remaining colonial territories gradually obtained formal independence. Independence movements in Africa gained momentum following World War II, which left the major European powers weakened. In 1951, Libya, a former Italian colony, gained independence. In 1956, Tunisia and Morocco won their independence from France. Ghana followed suit the next year (March 1957), becoming the first of the sub-Saharan colonies to be granted independence. Most of the rest of the continent became independent over the next decade. Portugal's overseas presence in sub-Saharan Africa (most notably in Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe) lasted from the 16th century to 1975, after the Estado Novo regime was overthrown in a military coup in Lisbon. Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, under the white minority government of Ian Smith, but was not internationally recognized as an independent state (as Zimbabwe) until 1980, when black nationalists gained power after a bitter guerrilla war. Although South Africa was one of the first African countries to gain independence, the state remained under the control of the country's white minority through a system of racial segregation known as apartheid until 1994. Post-colonial Africa Today, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries, most of which have borders that were drawn during the era of European colonialism. Since independence, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of the presidential system of rule. However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic governments on a permanent basis – per the criteria laid out by Lührmann et al. (2018), only Botswana and Mauritius have been consistently democratic for the entirety of their post-colonial history. Most African countries have experienced several coups or periods of military dictatorship. Between 1990 and 2018, though, the continent as a whole has trended towards more democratic governance.Upon independence an overwhelming majority of Africans lived in extreme poverty. The continent suffered from the lack of infrastructural or industrial development under colonial rule, along with political instability. With limited financial resources or access to global markets, relatively stable countries such as Kenya still experienced only very slow economic development. Only a handful of African countries succeeded in obtaining rapid economic growth prior to 1990. Exceptions include Libya and Equatorial Guinea, both of which possess large oil reserves. Instability throughout the continent after decolonization resulted primarily from marginalization of ethnic groups, and corruption. In pursuit of personal political gain, many leaders deliberately promoted ethnic conflicts, some of which had originated during the colonial period, such as from the grouping of multiple unrelated ethnic groups into a single colony, the splitting of a distinct ethnic group between multiple colonies, or existing conflicts being exacerbated by colonial rule (for instance, the preferential treatment given to ethnic Hutus over Tutsis in Rwanda during German and Belgian rule). Faced with increasingly frequent and severe violence, military rule was widely accepted by the population of many countries as means to maintain order, and during the 1970s and 1980s a majority of African countries were controlled by military dictatorships. Territorial disputes between nations and rebellions by groups seeking independence were also common in independent African states. The most devastating of these was the Nigerian Civil War, fought between government forces and an Igbo separatist republic, which resulted in a famine that killed 1–2 million people. Two civil wars in Sudan, the first lasting from 1955 to 1972 and the second from 1983 to 2005, collectively killed around 3 million. Both were fought primarily on ethnic and religious lines. Cold War conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union also contributed to instability. Both the Soviet Union and the United States offered considerable incentives to African political and military leaders who aligned themselves with the superpowers' foreign policy. As an example, during the Angolan Civil War, the Soviet and Cuban aligned MPLA and the American aligned UNITA received the vast majority of their military and political support from these countries. Many African countries became highly dependent on foreign aid. The sudden loss of both Soviet and American aid at the end of the Cold War and fall of the USSR resulted in severe economic and political turmoil in the countries most dependent on foreign support. There was a major famine in Ethiopia between 1983 and 1985, killing up to 1.2 million people, which most historians attribute primarily to the forced relocation of farmworkers and seizure of grain by communist Derg government, further exacerbated by the civil war. In 1994 a genocide in Rwanda resulted in up to 800,000 deaths, added to a severe refugee crisis and fueled the rise of militia groups in neighboring countries. This contributed to the outbreak of the first and second Congo Wars, which were the most devastating military conflicts in modern Africa, with up to 5.5 million deaths, making it by far the deadliest conflict in modern African history and one of the costliest wars in human history. Various conflicts between various insurgent groups and governments continue. Since 2003 there has been an ongoing conflict in Darfur (Sudan) which peaked in intensity from 2003 to 2005 with notable spikes in violence in 2007 and 2013–15, killing around 300,000 people total. The Boko Haram Insurgency primarily within Nigeria (with considerable fighting in Niger, Chad, and Cameroon as well) has killed around 350,000 people since 2009. Most African conflicts have been reduced to low-intensity conflicts as of 2022. However, the Tigray War which began in 2020 has killed an estimated 300,000–500,000 people, primarily due to famine. Overall though, violence across Africa has greatly declined in the 21st century, with the end of civil wars in Angola, Sierra Leone, and Algeria in 2002, Liberia in 2003, and Sudan and Burundi in 2005. The Second Congo War, which involved 9 countries and several insurgent groups, ended in 2003. This decline in violence coincided with many countries abandoning communist-style command economies and opening up for market reforms, which over the course of the 1990s and 2000s promoted the establishment of permanent, peaceful trade between neighboring countries (see Capitalist peace). Improved stability and economic reforms have led to a great increase in foreign investment into many African nations, mainly from China, which further spurred economic growth. Between 2000 and 2014, annual GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa averaged 5.02%, doubling its total GDP from $811 Billion to $1.63 Trillion (Constant 2015 USD). North Africa experienced comparable growth rates. A significant part of this growth can also be attributed to the facilitated diffusion of information technologies and specifically the mobile telephone. While several individual countries have maintained high growth rates, since 2014 overall growth has considerably slowed, primarily as a result of falling commodity prices, continued lack of industrialization, and epidemics of Ebola and COVID-19. Geology, geography, ecology, and environment Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the largest landmass of the Earth. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez (transected by the Suez Canal), 163 km (101 mi) wide. (Geopolitically, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of Africa, as well.)The coastline is 26,000 km (16,000 mi) long, and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is illustrated by the fact that Europe, which covers only 10,400,000 km2 (4,000,000 sq mi) – about a third of the surface of Africa – has a coastline of 32,000 km (20,000 mi). From the most northerly point, Ras ben Sakka in Tunisia (37°21' N), to the most southerly point, Cape Agulhas in South Africa (34°51'15" S), is a distance of approximately 8,000 km (5,000 mi). Cape Verde, 17°33'22" W, the westernmost point, is a distance of approximately 7,400 km (4,600 mi) to Ras Hafun, 51°27'52" E, the most easterly projection that neighbours Cape Guardafui, the tip of the Horn of Africa.Africa's largest country is Algeria, and its smallest country is Seychelles, an archipelago off the east coast. The smallest nation on the continental mainland is The Gambia. African plate Climate The climate of Africa ranges from tropical to subarctic on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily desert, or arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna plains and dense jungle (rainforest) regions. In between, there is a convergence, where vegetation patterns such as sahel and steppe dominate. Africa is the hottest continent on Earth and 60% of the entire land surface consists of drylands and deserts. The record for the highest-ever recorded temperature, in Libya in 1922 (58 °C (136 °F)), was discredited in 2013. Ecology and biodiversity Africa has over 3,000 protected areas, with 198 marine protected areas, 50 biosphere reserves, and 80 wetlands reserves. Significant habitat destruction, increases in human population and poaching are reducing Africa's biological diversity and arable land. Human encroachment, civil unrest and the introduction of non-native species threaten biodiversity in Africa. This has been exacerbated by administrative problems, inadequate personnel and funding problems.Deforestation is affecting Africa at twice the world rate, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). According to the University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center, 31% of Africa's pasture lands and 19% of its forests and woodlands are classified as degraded, and Africa is losing over four million hectares of forest per year, which is twice the average deforestation rate for the rest of the world. Some sources claim that approximately 90% of the original, virgin forests in West Africa have been destroyed. Over 90% of Madagascar's original forests have been destroyed since the arrival of humans 2000 years ago. About 65% of Africa's agricultural land suffers from soil degradation. Environmental issues Water resources Water development and management are complex in Africa due to the multiplicity of trans-boundary water resources (rivers, lakes and aquifers). Around 75% of sub-Saharan Africa falls within 53 international river basin catchments that traverse multiple borders. This particular constraint can also be converted into an opportunity if the potential for trans-boundary cooperation is harnessed in the development of the area's water resources. A multi-sectoral analysis of the Zambezi River, for example, shows that riparian cooperation could lead to a 23% increase in firm energy production without any additional investments. A number of institutional and legal frameworks for transboundary cooperation exist, such as the Zambezi River Authority, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol, Volta River Authority and the Nile Basin Commission. However, additional efforts are required to further develop political will, as well as the financial capacities and institutional frameworks needed for win-win multilateral cooperative actions and optimal solutions for all riparians. Climate change Fauna Africa boasts perhaps the world's largest combination of density and "range of freedom" of wild animal populations and diversity, with wild populations of large carnivores (such as lions, hyenas, and cheetahs) and herbivores (such as buffalo, elephants, camels, and giraffes) ranging freely on primarily open non-private plains. It is also home to a variety of "jungle" animals including snakes and primates and aquatic life such as crocodiles and amphibians. In addition, Africa has the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. Politics African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states. The union was formed, with Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as its headquarters, on 26 June 2001. The union was officially established on 9 July 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). In July 2004, the African Union's Pan-African Parliament (PAP) was relocated to Midrand, in South Africa, but the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights remained in Addis Ababa. The African Union, not to be confused with the AU Commission, is formed by the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which aims to transform the African Economic Community, a federated commonwealth, into a state under established international conventions. The African Union has a parliamentary government, known as the African Union Government, consisting of legislative, judicial and executive organs. It is led by the African Union President and Head of State, who is also the President of the Pan-African Parliament. A person becomes AU President by being elected to the PAP, and subsequently gaining majority support in the PAP. The powers and authority of the President of the African Parliament derive from the Constitutive Act and the Protocol of the Pan-African Parliament, as well as the inheritance of presidential authority stipulated by African treaties and by international treaties, including those subordinating the Secretary General of the OAU Secretariat (AU Commission) to the PAP. The government of the AU consists of all-union, regional, state, and municipal authorities, as well as hundreds of institutions, that together manage the day-to-day affairs of the institution. Extensive human rights abuses still occur in several parts of Africa, often under the oversight of the state. Most of such violations occur for political reasons, often as a side effect of civil war. Countries where major human rights violations have been reported in recent times include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Ivory Coast. Boundary conflicts Economy Although it has abundant natural resources, Africa remains the world's poorest and least-developed continent (other than Antarctica), the result of a variety of causes that may include corrupt governments that have often committed serious human rights violations, failed central planning, high levels of illiteracy, low self-esteem, lack of access to foreign capital, legacies of colonialism, the slave trade, and the Cold War, and frequent tribal and military conflict (ranging from guerrilla warfare to genocide). Its total nominal GDP remains behind that of the United States, China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and France. According to the United Nations' Human Development Report in 2003, the bottom 24 ranked nations (151st to 175th) were all African.Poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and inadequate water supply and sanitation, as well as poor health, affect a large proportion of the people who reside in the African continent. In August 2008, the World Bank announced revised global poverty estimates based on a new international poverty line of $1.25 per day (versus the previous measure of $1.00). Eighty-one percent of the sub-Saharan African population was living on less than $2.50 (PPP) per day in 2005, compared with 86% for India.Sub-Saharan Africa is the least successful region of the world in reducing poverty ($1.25 per day); some 50% of the population living in poverty in 1981 (200 million people), a figure that rose to 58% in 1996 before dropping to 50% in 2005 (380 million people). The average poor person in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to live on only 70 cents per day, and was poorer in 2003 than in 1973, indicating increasing poverty in some areas. Some of it is attributed to unsuccessful economic liberalization programmes spearheaded by foreign companies and governments, but other studies have cited bad domestic government policies more than external factors.Africa is now at risk of being in debt once again, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries. The last debt crisis in 2005 was resolved with help from the heavily indebted poor countries scheme (HIPC). The HIPC resulted in some positive and negative effects on the economy in Africa. About ten years after the 2005 debt crisis in sub-Saharan Africa was resolved, Zambia fell back into debt. A small reason was due to the fall in copper prices in 2011, but the bigger reason was that a large amount of the money Zambia borrowed was wasted or pocketed by the elite.From 1995 to 2005, Africa's rate of economic growth increased, averaging 5% in 2005. Some countries experienced still higher growth rates, notably Angola, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, all of which had recently begun extracting their petroleum reserves or had expanded their oil extraction capacity. In a recently published analysis based on World Values Survey data, the Austrian political scientist Arno Tausch maintained that several African countries, most notably Ghana, perform quite well on scales of mass support for democracy and the market economy. Tausch's global value comparison based on the World Values Survey derived the following factor analytical scales: 1. The non-violent and law-abiding society 2. Democracy movement 3. Climate of personal non-violence 4. Trust in institutions 5. Happiness, good health 6. No redistributive religious fundamentalism 7. Accepting the market 8. Feminism 9. Involvement in politics 10. Optimism and engagement 11. No welfare mentality, acceptancy of the Calvinist work ethics. The spread in the performance of African countries with complete data, Tausch concluded "is really amazing". While one should be especially hopeful about the development of future democracy and the market economy in Ghana, the article suggests pessimistic tendencies for Egypt and Algeria, and especially for Africa's leading economy, South Africa. High Human Inequality, as measured by the UNDP's Human Development Report's Index of Human Inequality, further impairs the development of human security. Tausch also maintains that the certain recent optimism, corresponding to economic and human rights data, emerging from Africa, is reflected in the development of a civil society. The continent is believed to hold 90% of the world's cobalt, 90% of its platinum, 50% of its gold, 98% of its chromium, 70% of its tantalite, 64% of its manganese and one-third of its uranium. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has 70% of the world's coltan, a mineral used in the production of tantalum capacitors for electronic devices such as cell phones. The DRC also has more than 30% of the world's diamond reserves. Guinea is the world's largest exporter of bauxite. As the growth in Africa has been driven mainly by services and not manufacturing or agriculture, it has been growth without jobs and without reduction in poverty levels. In fact, the food security crisis of 2008 which took place on the heels of the global financial crisis pushed 100 million people into food insecurity.In recent years, the People's Republic of China has built increasingly stronger ties with African nations and is Africa's largest trading partner. In 2007, Chinese companies invested a total of US$1 billion in Africa.A Harvard University study led by professor Calestous Juma showed that Africa could feed itself by making the transition from importer to self-sufficiency. "African agriculture is at the crossroads; we have come to the end of a century of policies that favoured Africa's export of raw materials and importation of food. Africa is starting to focus on agricultural innovation as its new engine for regional trade and prosperity." Electricity generation The main source of electricity is hydropower, which contributes significantly to the current installed capacity for energy. The Kainji Dam is a typical hydropower resource generating electricity for all the large cities in Nigeria as well as their neighbouring country, Niger. Hence, the continuous investment in the last decade, which has increased the amount of power generated. Demographics Africa's population has rapidly increased over the last 40 years, and is consequently relatively young. In some African states, more than half the population is under 25 years of age. The total number of people in Africa increased from 229 million in 1950 to 630 million in 1990. As of 2021, the population of Africa is estimated at 1.4 billion . Africa's total population surpassing other continents is fairly recent; African population surpassed Europe in the 1990s, while the Americas was overtaken sometime around the year 2000; Africa's rapid population growth is expected to overtake the only two nations currently larger than its population, at roughly the same time – India and China's 1.4 billion people each will swap ranking around the year 2022. This increase in number of babies born in Africa compared to the rest of the world is expected to reach approximately 37% in the year 2050; while in 1990 sub-Saharan Africa accounted for only 16% of the world's births.The total fertility rate (children per woman) for Sub-Saharan Africa is 4.7 as of 2018, the highest in the world. All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had TFRs (average number of children) above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27.1% of global livebirths. In 2021, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 29% of global births.Speakers of Bantu languages (part of the Niger–Congo family) are the majority in southern, central and southeast Africa. The Bantu-speaking peoples from the Sahel progressively expanded over most of sub-Saharan Africa. But there are also several Nilotic groups in South Sudan and East Africa, the mixed Swahili people on the Swahili Coast, and a few remaining indigenous Khoisan ("San" or "Bushmen") and Pygmy peoples in Southern and Central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon. In the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "Hottentots") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other Africans and are the indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of central Africa.The peoples of West Africa primarily speak Niger–Congo languages, belonging mostly to its non-Bantu branches, though some Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic speaking groups are also found. The Niger–Congo-speaking Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani, Akan, and Wolof ethnic groups are the largest and most influential. In the central Sahara, Mandinka or Mande groups are most significant. Chadic-speaking groups, including the Hausa, are found in more northerly parts of the region nearest to the Sahara, and Nilo-Saharan communities, such as the Songhai, Kanuri and Zarma, are found in the eastern parts of West Africa bordering Central Africa. The peoples of North Africa consist of three main indigenous groups: Berbers in the northwest, Egyptians in the northeast, and Nilo-Saharan-speaking peoples in the east. The Arabs who arrived in the 7th century CE introduced the Arabic language and Islam to North Africa. The Semitic Phoenicians (who founded Carthage) and Hyksos, the Indo-Iranian Alans, the Indo- European Greeks, Romans, and Vandals settled in North Africa as well. Significant Berber communities remain within Morocco and Algeria in the 21st century, while, to a lesser extent, Berber speakers are also present in some regions of Tunisia and Libya. The Berber-speaking Tuareg and other often-nomadic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. In Mauritania, there is a small but near-extinct Berber community in the north and Niger–Congo-speaking peoples in the south, though in both regions Arabic and Arab culture predominates. In Sudan, although Arabic and Arab culture predominate, it is mostly inhabited by groups that originally spoke Nilo-Saharan, such as the Nubians, Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, who, over the centuries, have variously intermixed with migrants from the Arabian peninsula. Small communities of Afro-Asiatic-speaking Beja nomads can also be found in Egypt and Sudan.In the Horn of Africa, some Ethiopian and Eritrean groups (like the Amhara and Tigrayans, collectively known as Habesha) speak languages from the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, while the Oromo and Somali speak languages from the Cushitic branch of Afro-Asiatic. Prior to the decolonization movements of the post-World War II era, Europeans were represented in every part of Africa. Decolonization during the 1960s and 1970s often resulted in the mass emigration of white settlers – especially from Algeria and Morocco (1.6 million pieds-noirs in North Africa), Kenya, Congo, Rhodesia, Mozambique and Angola. Between 1975 and 1977, over a million colonials returned to Portugal alone. Nevertheless, white Africans remain an important minority in many African states, particularly Zimbabwe, Namibia, Réunion, and South Africa. The country with the largest white African population is South Africa. Dutch and British diasporas represent the largest communities of European ancestry on the continent today.European colonization also brought sizable groups of Asians, particularly from the Indian subcontinent, to British colonies. Large Indian communities are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and southeast African countries. The large Indian community in Uganda was expelled by the dictator Idi Amin in 1972, though many have since returned. The islands in the Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans. The Malagasy people of Madagascar are an Austronesian people, but those along the coast are generally mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. Malay and Indian ancestries are also important components in the group of people known in South Africa as Cape Coloureds (people with origins in two or more races and continents). During the 20th century, small but economically important communities of Lebanese and Chinese have also developed in the larger coastal cities of West and East Africa, respectively. Alternative Estimates of African Population, 0–2018 AD (in thousands) Source: Maddison and others. (University of Groningen). Shares of Africa and World Population, 0–2020 AD (% of world total) Source: Maddison and others (University of Groningen). Religion While Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, the majority of the people respect African religions or parts of them. However, in formal surveys or census, most people will identify with major religions that came from outside the continent, mainly through colonisation. There are several reasons for this, the main one being the colonial idea that African religious beliefs and practices are not good enough. Religious beliefs and statistics on religious affiliation are difficult to come by since they are often a sensitive topic for governments with mixed religious populations. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, Islam and Christianity are the two largest religions in Africa. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, 45% of the population are Christians, 40% are Muslims, and 10% follow traditional religions. A small number of Africans are Hindu, Buddhist, Confucianist, Baháʼí, or Jewish. There is also a minority of people in Africa who are irreligious. Languages By most estimates, well over a thousand languages (UNESCO has estimated around two thousand) are spoken in Africa. Most are of African origin, though some are of European or Asian origin. Africa is the most multilingual continent in the world, and it is not rare for individuals to fluently speak not only multiple African languages, but one or more European ones as well. There are four major groups indigenous to Africa: The Afroasiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout the Horn of Africa, North Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. The Nilo-Saharan languages consist of a group of several possibly related families, spoken by 30 million people between 100 languages. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by ethnic groups in Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and northern Tanzania. The Niger-Congo language family covers much of sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of number of languages, it is the largest language family in Africa and perhaps one of the largest in the world. The Khoisan languages form a group of three unrelated families and two isolates and number about fifty in total. They are mainly spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 400,000 people. Many of the Khoisan languages are endangered. The Khoi and San peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa.Following the end of colonialism, nearly all African countries adopted official languages that originated outside the continent, although several countries also granted legal recognition to indigenous languages (such as Swahili, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa). In numerous countries, English and French (see African French) are used for communication in the public sphere such as government, commerce, education and the media. Arabic, Portuguese, Afrikaans and Spanish are examples of languages that trace their origin to outside of Africa, and that are used by millions of Africans today, both in the public and private spheres. Italian is spoken by some in former Italian colonies in Africa. German is spoken in Namibia, as it was a former German protectorate. In total, at least a fifth of Africans speak the former colonial languages. Health More than 85% of individuals in Africa use traditional medicine as an alternative to often expensive allopathic medical health care and costly pharmaceutical products. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) Heads of State and Government declared the 2000s decade as the African Decade on African traditional medicine in an effort to promote The WHO African Region's adopted resolution for institutionalizing traditional medicine in health care systems across the continent. Public policy makers in the region are challenged with consideration of the importance of traditional/indigenous health systems and whether their coexistence with the modern medical and health sub-sector would improve the equitability and accessibility of health care distribution, the health status of populations, and the social-economic development of nations within sub-Saharan Africa.AIDS in post-colonial Africa is a prevalent issue. Although the continent is home to about 15.2 percent of the world's population, more than two-thirds of the total infected worldwide – some 35 million people – were Africans, of whom 15 million have already died. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for an estimated 69 percent of all people living with HIV and 70 percent of all AIDS deaths in 2011. In the countries of sub-Saharan Africa most affected, AIDS has raised death rates and lowered life expectancy among adults between the ages of 20 and 49 by about twenty years. Furthermore, the life expectancy in many parts of Africa has declined, largely as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with life-expectancy in some countries reaching as low as thirty-four years. Culture Some aspects of traditional African cultures have become less practised in recent years as a result of neglect and suppression by colonial and post-colonial regimes. For example, African customs were discouraged, and African languages were prohibited in mission schools. Leopold II of Belgium attempted to "civilize" Africans by discouraging polygamy and witchcraft.Obidoh Freeborn posits that colonialism is one element that has created the character of modern African art. According to authors Douglas Fraser and Herbert M. Cole, "The precipitous alterations in the power structure wrought by colonialism were quickly followed by drastic iconographic changes in the art." Fraser and Cole assert that, in Igboland, some art objects "lack the vigor and careful craftsmanship of the earlier art objects that served traditional functions. Author Chika Okeke-Agulu states that "the racist infrastructure of British imperial enterprise forced upon the political and cultural guardians of empire a denial and suppression of an emergent sovereign Africa and modernist art." Editors F. Abiola Irele and Simon Gikandi comment that the current identity of African literature had its genesis in the "traumatic encounter between Africa and Europe." On the other hand, Mhoze Chikowero believes that Africans deployed music, dance, spirituality, and other performative cultures to (re)assert themselves as active agents and indigenous intellectuals, to unmake their colonial marginalization and reshape their own destinies."There is now a resurgence in the attempts to rediscover and revalue African traditional cultures, under such movements as the African Renaissance, led by Thabo Mbeki, Afrocentrism, led by a group of scholars, including Molefi Asante, as well as the increasing recognition of traditional spiritualism through decriminalization of Vodou and other forms of spirituality. As of March 2023, 98 African properties are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Among these proprieties, 54 are cultural sites, 39 are natural sites and 5 are mixed sites. The List Of World Heritage in Danger includes 15 African sites. Visual art Architecture Cinema Music Dance Sports Fifty-four African countries have football teams in the Confederation of African Football. Egypt has won the African Cup seven times, and a record-making three times in a row. Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, and Algeria have advanced to the knockout stage of recent FIFA World Cups. Morocco made history at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA Men's World Cup. South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup tournament, becoming the first African country to do so. The top clubs in each African football league play the CAF Champions League, while lower-ranked clubs compete in CAF Confederation Cup. In recent years, the continent has made major progress in terms of state-of-the-art basketball facilities which have been built in cites as diverse as Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Kigali, Luanda and Rades. The number of African basketball players who drafted into the NBA has experienced major growth in the 2010s.Cricket is popular in some African nations. South Africa and Zimbabwe have Test status, while Kenya is the leading non-test team and previously had One-Day International cricket (ODI) status (from 10 October 1997, until 30 January 2014). The three countries jointly hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Namibia is the other African country to have played in a World Cup. Morocco in northern Africa has also hosted the 2002 Morocco Cup, but the national team has never qualified for a major tournament. Rugby is popular in several southern African nations. Namibia and Zimbabwe both have appeared on multiple occasions at the Rugby World Cup, while South Africa is the joint-most successful national team (alongside New Zealand) at the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament on 3 occasions, in 1995, 2007, and 2019. Territories and regions The countries in this table are categorized according to the scheme for geographic subregions used by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated. See also Index of Africa-related articles African historiography Outline of Africa Notes References Bibliography Malone, Jacqui (1996). Steppin' on the Blues: the Visible Rhythms of African American Dance. University of Illinois Press. OCLC 891842452. Welsh-Asante, Kariamu (2009). African Dance. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-2427-8. Shillington, Kevin (2005). History of Africa. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-59957-0. Further reading External links General information Africa web resources provided by GovPubs at the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries Africa at the Encyclopædia Britannica Africa at Curlie Africa: Human Geography at the National Geographic Society African & Middle Eastern Reading Room from the United States Library of Congress Africa South of the Sahara from Stanford University Aluka, digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa Africa Interactive Map from the United States Army AfricaHistory The Story of Africa from BBC World Service "Africa" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 320–358. Africa Policy Information Center (APIC) Hungarian military forces in Africa Archived 3 November 2013 at the Wayback MachineNews media allAfrica.com current news, events and statistics Focus on Africa magazine from BBC World Service

new brunswick

New Brunswick (French: Nouveau-Brunswick, pronounced [nuvo bʁœ̃swik], locally [nuvo bʁɔnzwɪk]) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and French as its official languages. New Brunswick is bordered by Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to the west. New Brunswick is about 83% forested and its northern half is occupied by the Appalachians. The province's climate is continental with snowy winters and temperate summers. New Brunswick has a surface area of 72,908 km2 (28,150 sq mi) and 775,610 inhabitants (2021 census). Atypically for Canada, only about half of the population lives in urban areas. New Brunswick's largest cities are Moncton and Saint John, while its capital is Fredericton. In 1969, New Brunswick passed the Official Languages Act which began recognizing French as an official language, along with English. New Brunswickers have the right to receive provincial government services in the official language of their choice. About two thirds of the population are English speaking and one third is French speaking. New Brunswick is home to most of the cultural region of Acadia and most Acadians. New Brunswick's variety of French is called Acadian French and 7 regional accents can be found.New Brunswick was first inhabited by First Nations like the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet. In 1604, Acadia, the first New France colony, was founded with the creation of Port-Royal. For 150 years afterwards, Acadia changed hands multiple times due to numerous conflicts between France and the United Kingdom. From 1755 to 1764, the British deported Acadians en masse, an event known as the Great Upheaval. This, along with the Treaty of Paris, solidified Acadia as British property. In 1784, following the arrival of many loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, the colony of New Brunswick was officially created, separating it from what is now Nova Scotia. In the early 1800s, New Brunswick prospered and the population grew rapidly. In 1867, New Brunswick decided to confederate with Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada (now Quebec and Ontario) to form Canada. After Confederation, shipbuilding and lumbering declined, and protectionism disrupted trade with New England. From the mid-1900s onwards, New Brunswick was one of the poorest regions of Canada, a fact eventually mitigated by transfer payments. However, the province has seen the highest eastward migration in 45 years in both rural and urban areas, as people from Ontario and other parts of Canada migrate to the area. As of 2002, the provincial GDP was derived as follows: services (about half being government services and public administration) 43%; construction, manufacturing, and utilities 24%; real estate rental 12%; wholesale and retail 11%; agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, mining, oil and gas extraction 5%; transportation and warehousing 5%. A powerful corporate concentration of large companies in New Brunswick is owned by the Irving Group of Companies. The province's 2019 output was CA$38.236 billion, which is 1.65% of Canada's GDP.Tourism accounts for 9% of the labour force either directly or indirectly. Popular destinations include the Hopewell Rocks, Fundy National Park, Magnetic Hill, Kouchibouguac National Park and Roosevelt Campobello International Park. Toponymy New Brunswick was named in 1784 in honour of George III, King of Great Britain, King of Ireland, and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg in what is now Germany. History Indigenous societies and European explorations (pre-1604) Paleo-Indians are believed to have been the first humans on the land of New Brunswick, settling there roughly 10,000 years ago. Because their descendants did not leave a written record, there is a lack of knowledge of the history of the area before the arrival of European explorers. At the time of European contact, inhabitants were the Micmac of New Brunswick's eastern coast, the Maliseet of the Wolastoq valley, and the Passamaquoddy of the St. Croix River valley. These people all lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Many tribal placenames originate from their Eastern Algonquian languages, such as Aroostook, Bouctouche, Memramcook, Petitcodiac, Quispamsis, Richibucto and Shediac. The first documented European exploration of New Brunswick was made by Jacques Cartier in 1534, when his party set foot in Miscou and explored the coasts of Chaleur Bay. They made contact with aboriginals, who from this point on began to trade with Europeans. This also exposed them to Old World diseases. Acadia and Nova Scotia (1604–1784) Acadia, a colonial division of New France covering the Maritimes, was founded in 1604 by Samuel de Champlain and Pierre Dugua de Mons with a settlement on Saint Croix Island. It was quickly abandoned due to difficult living conditions and moved to Acadia's capital, Port-Royal. There, the Micmacs helped the French survive. In 1626, Port-Royal was destroyed by the British. The British conquered Acadia shortly after and held it until 1629. James VI and I, King of Scotland, renamed it "Nova Scotia" in English. The Micmacs helped all French survivors, including Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour. Together, they established a fur trade network along the Saint John River. With the onset of the Anglo-French War (1627–1629), de la Tour was issued a charter to govern Acadia. In 1629, Acadia was officially returned to France. As such, a new wave of French settlers arrived in Port-Royal to revitalise the colony, including Isaac de Razilly, a new governor of Acadia, and Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, his cousin. de Razilly and de la Tour's charters conflicted with each others', but the two maintained an amicable relationship. In 1635, de Razilly died, triggering tensions between de la Tour, who governed from the Saint John valley, and d'Aulnay, who governed from Port-Royal. In the 1630s, this erupted into the Acadian Civil War. d'Aulnay managed to expel de la Tour in 1644. But, following d'Aulnay's death in 1650, de la Tour married his widow in 1653, essentially overturning his success. Over time, French settlement extended up the river to the site of present-day Fredericton. Other settlements in the southeast extended from Beaubassin, near the present-day border with Nova Scotia, to Baie Verte, and up the Petitcodiac, Memramcook, and Shepody Rivers. The descendants of Acadia's French colonists became the Acadians. Acadians developed a unique society characterised by dyking technology, which allowed them to cultivate marshes left by the Bay of Fundy's tides, and by tightly knit independent communities, because they were often neglected by French authorities.During the 1690s, in King William's War, attacks were launched from the Saint John valley by Acadian militias onto New England colonists. This would create a deep English hostility against the French presence in the region. From the 1600s to mid-1700s, Acadia was routinely a war zone between the French and the English and would often change hands. However, Acadia would definitively fall into British hands following Queen Anne's War, a conquest of most of the Acadian peninsula, formalized by the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. After the war, Acadia was reduced to Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) and Île-Royale (Cape Breton Island), with the ownership of continental Acadia (New Brunswick) being disputed between France and Britain, with an informal border on the Isthmus of Chignecto. In an effort to limit British expansion into continental Acadia, the French built Fort Beauséjour at the isthmus in 1751. From 1749 to 1755, Father Le Loutre's War took place, where British soldiers fought against Acadians and Micmacs to consolidate their power over Acadia/Nova Scotia. In 1755, the British captured Fort Beauséjour, severing the Acadian supply lines to Nova Scotia, and Île-Royale. Continental Acadia thus came to be incorporated into the British colony of Nova Scotia with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. Following this, the British, unsatisfied with the Acadian's surrender because they refused to pledge allegiance, turned to capturing and exporting Acadians en masse, an ethnic cleansing event known as the Deportation of the Acadians which was ordered by Robert Monckton. From 1755 to 1763, 12,000 Acadians out of 18,000 were forcefully deported to various locations around the world, though 8000 died before arrival. The remaining 6000 Acadians escaped the British by fleeing North to the present Acadia, or to Canada. From 1755 to 1757, most Acadians were deported to the Thirteen Colonies. From 1758 to 1762, most were sent to France. Between 1763 and 1785, many deported Acadians relocated to join their compatriots in Louisiana. Their descendants became Cajuns. In the 1780s and 1790s, some Acadians returned to Acadia, and discovered several thousand English immigrants, mostly from New England, on their former lands.In the late 1700s, the British began to make efforts to colonise the region, mostly by importing colonists from New England. Before the American Revolution, these colonists were called planters. After the revolution, the colonists were called loyalists, because only those loyal to the British crown settled in Nova Scotia. In 1766, planters from Pennsylvania founded Moncton, and English settlers from Yorkshire arrived in the Sackville area. In the 1770s, 10,000 loyalists settled along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy. The number reached almost 14,000 by 1784, with about one in ten eventually returning to the United States. Colony of New Brunswick (1784–1867) New Brunswick was founded in 1784 upon the partition of Nova Scotia into two areas which became the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. In the same year, New Brunswick formed its first elected assembly. In 1785, Saint John became Canada's first incorporated city. The population of the colony reached 26,000 in 1806 and 35,000 in 1812. The 19th century saw an age of prosperity based on wood export and shipbuilding, which was bolstered by the Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 and demand from the American Civil War. St. Martins became the third most productive shipbuilding town in the Maritimes and produced over 500 vessels. In 1848, responsible home government was granted, and the 1850s saw the emergence of political parties largely organised along religious and ethnic lines. The first half of the 1800s saw large-scale immigration from Ireland and Scotland, with the population reaching 252,047 by 1861. The notion of unifying the separate colonies of British North America was discussed increasingly in the 1860s. Many felt the American Civil War to be the result of weak central government and wished to avoid such violence and chaos. The 1864 Charlottetown Conference was intended to discuss a Maritime Union, but concerns over possible conquest by the Americans, coupled with a belief that Britain was unwilling to defend its colonies against an American attack, led to a request from the Province of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec) to expand the meeting's scope. In 1866 the United States cancelled the Reciprocity Treaty, leading to loss of trade with New England and prompting a desire to build trade within British North America, and Fenian raids increased support for union. On 1 July 1867, New Brunswick entered the Canadian Confederation along with Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada. Canadian province (1867–present) Confederation brought into existence the Intercolonial Railway in 1872, a consolidation of the existing Nova Scotia Railway, European and North American Railway, and Grand Trunk Railway. In 1879 John A. Macdonald's Conservatives enacted the National Policy which called for high tariffs and opposed free trade, disrupting the trading relationship between the Maritimes and New England. The economic situation was worsened by the decline of the wooden ship building industry. The railways and tariffs did foster the growth of new industries in the province such as textile manufacturing, iron mills, and sugar refineries, many of which eventually failed to compete with better capitalized industry in central Canada. In 1937 New Brunswick had the highest infant mortality and illiteracy rates in Canada. At the end of the Great Depression the New Brunswick standard of living was much below the Canadian average. In 1940 the Rowell–Sirois Commission reported that the federal government attempts to manage the depression illustrated grave flaws in the Canadian constitution. While the federal government had most of the revenue gathering powers, the provinces had many expenditure responsibilities such as healthcare, education, and welfare, which were becoming increasingly expensive. The Commission recommended the creation of equalization payments, implemented in 1957. After Canada joined World War II, 14 NB army units were organized, in addition to The Royal New Brunswick Regiment, and first deployed in the Italian campaign in 1943. After the Normandy landings they redeployed to northwestern Europe, along with The North Shore Regiment. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, a training program for ally pilots, established bases in Moncton, Chatham, and Pennfield Ridge, as well as a military typing school in Saint John. While relatively unindustrialized before the war, New Brunswick became home to 34 plants on military contracts from which the province received over $78 million. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who had promised no conscription, asked the provinces if they would release the government of said promise. New Brunswick voted 69.1% yes. The policy was not implemented until 1944, too late for many of the conscripts to be deployed. There were 1808 NB fatalities among the armed forces. The Acadians in northern New Brunswick had long been geographically and linguistically isolated from the more numerous English speakers to the south. The population of French origin grew dramatically after Confederation, from about 16 per cent in 1871 to 34 per cent in 1931. Government services were often not available in French, and the infrastructure in Francophone areas was less developed than elsewhere. In 1960 Premier Louis Robichaud embarked on the New Brunswick Equal Opportunity program, in which education, rural road maintenance, and healthcare fell under the sole jurisdiction of a provincial government that insisted on equal coverage throughout the province, rather than the former county-based system. In 1969 the Robichaud government adopted the Official Languages Act making the province officially bilingual and establishing the right of New Brunswickers to obtain provincial government services in the official language of their choice. In 1982 at the request of the government of Richard Hatfield, this right became part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and therefore part of the Constitution of Canada.The flag of New Brunswick, based on the coat of arms, was adopted in 1965. The conventional heraldic representations of a lion and a ship represent colonial ties with Europe, and the importance of shipping at the time the coat of arms was assigned. Geography Roughly square, New Brunswick is bordered on the north by Quebec, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Bay of Fundy, and on the west by the US state of Maine. The southeast corner of the province is connected to Nova Scotia at the isthmus of Chignecto. Glaciation has left much of New Brunswick's uplands with only shallow, acidic soils which have discouraged settlement but which are home to enormous forests. Climate New Brunswick's climate is more severe than that of the other Maritime provinces, which are lower and have more shoreline along the moderating sea. New Brunswick has a humid continental climate, with slightly milder winters on the Gulf of St. Lawrence coastline. Elevated parts of the far north of the province have a subarctic climate. Evidence of climate change in New Brunswick can be seen in its more intense precipitation events, more frequent winter thaws, and one quarter to half the amount of snowpack. Today, the sea level is about 30 cm (1 ft) higher than it was 100 years ago, and it is expected to rise twice that much again by the year 2100. Flora and fauna Most of New Brunswick is forested with secondary forest or tertiary forest. At the start of European settlement, the Maritimes were covered from coast to coast by a forest of mature trees, giants by today's standards. Today less than one per cent of old-growth Acadian forest remains, and the World Wide Fund for Nature lists the Acadian Forest as endangered. Following the frequent large scale disturbances caused by settlement and timber harvesting, the Acadian forest is not growing back as it was, but is subject to borealization. This means that exposure-resistant species that are well adapted to the frequent large-scale disturbances common in the boreal forest are increasingly abundant. These include jack pine, balsam fir, black spruce, white birch, and poplar. Forest ecosystems support large carnivores such as the bobcat, Canada lynx, and black bear, and the large herbivores moose and white-tailed deer. Fiddlehead greens are harvested from the Ostrich fern which grows on riverbanks. Furbish's lousewort, a perennial herb endemic to the shores of the upper Saint John River, is an endangered species threatened by habitat destruction, riverside development, forestry, littering and recreational use of the riverbank. Many wetlands are being disrupted by the highly invasive Introduced species purple loosestrife.The deer population in the province has dropped by 70% since 1985. The widespread use of glyphosate may have contributed to this.Since 2014, the New Brunswick government has allowed forestry companies to harvest 20 percent more wood there than before. Geology Bedrock types range from 1 billion to 200 million years old. Much of the bedrock in the west and north derives from ocean deposits in the Ordovician that were subject to folding and igneous intrusion and that were eventually covered with lava during the Paleozoic, peaking during the Acadian orogeny.During the Carboniferous period, about 340 million years ago, New Brunswick was in the Maritimes Basin, a sedimentary basin near the equator. Sediments, brought by rivers from surrounding highlands, accumulated there; after being compressed, they produced the Albert oil shales of southern New Brunswick. Eventually, sea water from the Panthalassic Ocean invaded the basin, forming the Windsor Sea. Once this receded, conglomerates, sandstones, and shales accumulated. The rust colour of these was caused by the oxidation of iron in the beds between wet and dry periods. Such late Carboniferous rock formed the Hopewell Rocks, which have been shaped by the extreme tidal range of the Bay of Fundy. In the early Triassic, as Pangea drifted north it was rent apart, forming the rift valley that is the Bay of Fundy. Magma pushed up through the cracks, forming basalt columns on Grand Manan. Topography New Brunswick lies entirely within the Appalachian Mountain range. The rivers of New Brunswick drain into either the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the east or the Bay of Fundy to the south. These watersheds include lands in Quebec and Maine.New Brunswick and the rest of the Maritime Peninsula was covered by thick layers of ice during the last glacial period (the Wisconsinian glaciation). It cut U-shaped valleys in the Saint John and Nepisiguit River valleys and pushed granite boulders from the Miramichi highlands south and east, leaving them as erratics when the ice receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation, along with deposits such as the eskers between Woodstock and St George, which are today sources of sand and gravel. Demographics The four Atlantic Provinces are Canada's least populated, with New Brunswick the third-least populous at 775,610 in 2021, up 3.8% since 2016. A more recent estimate is that the population surpassed 800,000 in March 2022.The Atlantic provinces also have higher rural populations. New Brunswick was largely rural until 1951; since then, the rural-urban split has been roughly even. Population density in the Maritimes is above average among Canadian provinces; this reflects their small size and the fact that they do not possess large, unpopulated hinterlands like the other seven provinces and three territories. New Brunswick's 107 municipalities cover 8.6% of the province's land mass but are home to 65.3% of its population. The three major urban areas are in the south of the province and are Greater Moncton, population 157,717, Greater Saint John, population 130,613, and Greater Fredericton, population 108,610. Ethnicity In the 2001 census, the most commonly reported ethnicities were British 40%, French Canadian and Acadian 31%, Irish 18%, other European 7%, First Nations 3%, Asian Canadian 2%. Each person could choose more than one ethnicity. Language As of the 2021 Canadian Census, the most spoken languages in the province included English (698,025 or 91.94%), French (317,825 or 41.86%), Spanish (7,580 or 1%), Arabic (6,090 or 0.8%), Tagalog (4,225 or 0.56%), and Hindi (3,745 or 0.49%). The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. According to the Canadian Constitution, both English and French are the official languages of New Brunswick, making it the only officially bilingual province. Government and public services are available in both English and French. For education, English-language and French-language systems serve the two linguistic communities at all levels. Anglophone New Brunswickers make up roughly two-thirds of the population, while about one-third are Francophone. Recently there has been growth in the numbers of people reporting themselves as bilingual, with 34% reporting that they speak both English and French. This reflects a trend across Canada. Religion According to the 2021 census, religious groups in New Brunswick included: Christianity (512,645 persons or 67.5%) Irreligion (225,125 persons or 29.7%) Islam (9,190 persons or 1.2%) Hinduism (3,340 persons or 0.4%) Sikhism (1,780 persons or 0.2%) Buddhism (1,120 persons or 0.1%) Indigenous Spirituality (1,005 persons or 0.1%) Judaism (1,000 persons or 0.1%) Other (3,990 persons or 0.5%)In the 2011 census, 84% of provincial residents reported themselves as Christian: 52% were Roman Catholic, 8% Baptist, 8% United Church of Canada, 7% Anglican and 9% other Christian. 15% percent of residents reported no religion. Economy As of October 2017, seasonally adjusted employment is 73,400 for the goods-producing sector and 280,900 for the services-producing sector. Those in the goods-producing industries are mostly employed in manufacturing or construction, while those in services work in social assistance, trades, and health care. A large portion of the economy is controlled by the Irving Group of Companies, which consists of the holdings of the family of K. C. Irving. The companies have significant holdings in agriculture, forestry, food processing, freight transport (including railways and trucking), media, oil, and shipbuilding.The United States is the province's largest export market, accounting for 92% of a foreign trade valued in 2014 at almost $13 billion, with refined petroleum making up 63% of that, followed by seafood products, pulp, paper and sawmill products and non-metallic minerals (chiefly potash). The value of exports, mostly to the United States, was $1.6 billion in 2016. About half of that came from lobster. Other products include salmon, crab, and herring. In 2015, spending on non-resident tourism in New Brunswick was $441 million, which provided $87 million in tax revenue.The influence of the Irving family (owners of Canada's largest refinery, vast farms and forest estates, newspapers, numerous sawmills and paper mills, a fleet of boats and trucks, or a rail network) on New Brunswick is such that the province is sometimes described as being subject to a form of economic feudalism. In 2016, the 200 or so companies it controls gave it about $10 billion in capital.The group's activities are supported by the authorities through numerous tax exemptions and the payment of subsidies, notably through the Renewable Energy Purchase Program for Large Industry. The province has also progressively handed over the management of the public sector forestry assets to the Irving Group, regularly lowering standards. In 2014, the latter reduced the size of buffer zones between forests and human settlements, allowed more clear-cutting, increased the planned production volume and reduced the proportion of protected areas from 31% to 22%.Through Acadia Broadcasting the family owns several local radio stations. The family owned all the province's English-language newspapers through Brunswick News until its sale to Postmedia in 2022. For academic Alain Deneault, "the conflicts of interest that arise from this situation seem caricatural: the group's media essentially echo the positions of the Irving family in all the fields of social and industrial life in which it is involved." The information transmitted by the group and disseminated by the press is sometimes questioned (notably in the fall of 2018, during an explosion at the Saint John refinery), but few public officials, professors and members of parliament carry denunciations, as the family's financial contributions to universities and political parties provide it with leverage.Biologists, academics and Eilish Cleary, the province's former head of public health, have reported being subjected to intense pressure (including dismissal in Cleary's case) while analyzing the impact of the company's pesticides and its opaque forest management. Since the 1970s, every premier in the province has been elected with the support of Irving. Blaine Higgs, premier since November 2018, is a former executive of the group. According to journalist Michel Cormier: "We might be able to win an election without Irving's tacit support, but we could hardly aspire to power if he decided to openly oppose it." Primary sector A large number of residents from New Brunswick are employed in the primary sector of industry. More than 13,000 New Brunswickers work in agriculture, shipping products worth over $1 billion, half of which is from crops, and half of that from potatoes, mostly in the Saint John River valley. McCain Foods is one of the world's largest manufacturers of frozen potato products. Other products include apples, cranberries, and maple syrup. New Brunswick was in 2015 the biggest producer of wild blueberries in Canada. The value of the livestock sector is about a quarter of a billion dollars, nearly half of which is dairy. Other sectors include poultry, fur, and goats, sheep, and pigs. About 85 to 90% of New Brunswick is forested. Historically important, it accounted for more than 80% of exports in the mid-1800s. By the end of the 1800s the industry, and shipbuilding, were declining due to external economic factors. The 1920s saw the development of a pulp and paper industry. In the mid-1960s, forestry practices changed from the controlled harvests of a commodity to the cultivation of the forests. The industry employs nearly 12,000, generating revenues around $437 million.Mining was historically unimportant in the province, but has grown since the 1950s. The province's GDP from the Mining and Quarrying industry in 2015 was $299.5 million. Mines in New Brunswick produce lead, zinc, copper, and potash. Forest management in the province is particularly opaque. Donald Bowser, an international expert on political corruption, says he is "shocked to discover that there is less transparency in New Brunswick than in Kurdistan, Guatemala or Sierra Leone, despite the huge public funds committed to natural resource development. Education Public education elementary and secondary education in the province is administered by the provincial Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. New Brunswick has a parallel system of Anglophone and Francophone public schools. In the anglophone system, approximately 27 per cent of the students are enrolled in a French immersion programs.The province also operates five public post-secondary institutions, including four public universities and one college. Four public universities operate campuses in New Brunswick, including the oldest English-language university in the country, the University of New Brunswick. Other English-language public universities include Mount Allison University and St. Thomas University. Université de Moncton is the province's only French-language university. All four universities offer undergraduate, and postgraduate education. Additionally, the Université de Moncton and the University of New Brunswick also provide professional programs. Public colleges in the province are managed as a part of the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) system, except for the New Brunswick College of Craft & Design, which has operated through the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour since 1938. In addition to public institutions, the province is also home to several private vocational schools, such as the Moncton Flight College; and universities, the largest being Crandall University. Government Under Canadian federalism, power is divided between federal and provincial governments. Among areas under federal jurisdiction are citizenship, foreign affairs, national defence, fisheries, criminal law, Indigenous policies, and many others. Provincial jurisdiction covers public lands, health, education, and local government, among other things. Jurisdiction is shared for immigration, pensions, agriculture, and welfare.The parliamentary system of government is modelled on the British Westminster system. Forty-nine representatives, nearly always members of political parties, are elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. The head of government is the Premier of New Brunswick, normally the leader of the party or coalition with the most seats in the legislative assembly. Governance is handled by the executive council (cabinet), with about 32 ministries. Ceremonial duties of the Monarchy in New Brunswick are mostly carried out by the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. Under amendments to the province's Legislative Assembly Act in 2007, a provincial election is held every four years. The two largest political parties are the New Brunswick Liberal Association and the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick. Since the 2018 election, minor parties are the Green Party of New Brunswick and the People's Alliance of New Brunswick. Judiciary The Court of Appeal of New Brunswick is the highest provincial court. It hears appeals from: The Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick: has jurisdiction over family law and major criminal and civil cases and is divided accordingly into two divisions: Family and Trial. It also hears administrative tribunals. The Probate Court of New Brunswick: has jurisdiction over estates of deceased persons. The Provincial Court of New Brunswick: nearly all cases involving the criminal code start here.The system consists of eight Judicial Districts, loosely based on the counties. The Chief Justice of New Brunswick serves at the apex of this court structure. Administrative divisions Historically the province was divided into counties with elected governance, but this was abolished in 1966. While county governments have been abolished in New Brunswick, counties continue to be used as census divisions by Statistics Canada, and as an organizational unit, along with parishes, for registration of real-estate and its taxation. Counties continue to figure into the sense of identity of many New Brunwickers. Counties are further subdivided into 152 parishes, which also lost their political significance in 1966 but are still used as census subdivisions by Statistics Canada. Ninety-two per cent of the land in the province, inhabited by about 35% of the population, is under provincial administration and has no local, elected representation. The 51% of the province that is Crown land is administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development. Most of the province is administrated as a local service district (LSD), an unincorporated unit of local governance. As of 2017, there are 237 LSDs. Services, paid for by property taxes, include a variety of services such as fire protection, solid waste management, street lighting, and dog regulation. LSDs may elect advisory committees and work with the Department of Local Government to recommend how to spend locally collected taxes. In 2006 there were three rural communities. This is a relatively new type of entity; to be created, it requires a population of 3,000 and a tax base of $200 million. In 2006 there were 101 municipalities. Regional Service Commissions, which number 12, were introduced in 2013 to regulate regional planning and solid waste disposal, and provide a forum for discussion on a regional level of police and emergency services, climate change adaptation planning, and regional sport, recreational and cultural facilities. The commissions' administrative councils are populated by the mayors of each municipality or rural community within a region. Provincial finances In 2015, New Brunswick had the most poorly-performing economy of any Canadian province, with a per capita income of $28,000. The government has historically run at a large deficit. With about half of the population being rural, it is expensive for the government to provide education and health services, which account for 60 per cent of government expenditure. Thirty-six per cent of the provincial budget is covered by federal cash transfers.The government has frequently attempted to create employment through subsidies, which has often failed to generate long-term economic prosperity and has resulted in bad debt, examples of which include Bricklin, Atcon, and the Marriott call centre in Fredericton.According to a 2014 study by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, the large public debt is a very serious problem. Government revenues are shrinking because of a decline in federal transfer payments. Though expenditures are down (through government pension reform and a reduction in the number of public employees), they have increased relative to GDP, necessitating further measures to reduce debt in the future. In the 2014–15 fiscal year, provincial debt reached $12.2 billion or 37.7 per cent of nominal GDP, an increase over the $10.1 billion recorded in 2011–12. The debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to fall to 36.7% in 2019–20. Infrastructure Energy Publicly owned NB Power operates 13 of New Brunswick's generating stations, deriving power from fuel oil and diesel (1497 MW), hydro (889 MW), nuclear (660 MW), and coal (467 MW). There were 30 active natural gas production sites in 2012. Health care New Brunswickers are entitled to the universal and government-funded healthcare operated by the Department of Health. They can use their Medicare card to get this care or receive care in another province. New Brunswick is divided into 2 health care regions: Vitalité Health Network and Horizon Health Network. There also exists 2 confidential health information lines: 911 (for emergencies) and 811 (for non-urgent health questions).Finding a family doctor is important for all New Brunswickers, but it has become difficult over the last decade. Patient Connect NB is a provincially managed, bilingual patient registry that matches New Brunswickers with a family doctor or nurse practitioner on a first-come, first-serve basis. As of 2022, this registry lists at 74,000 people waiting to be matched.Health care services not covered by the government include: dentists, optometrists, retirement homes, mental health services, private clinics, and health insurance. Transportation The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure maintains government facilities and the province's highway network and ferries. The Trans-Canada Highway is not under federal jurisdiction, and traverses the province from Edmundston following the Saint John River Valley, through Fredericton, Moncton, and on to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Rail Via Rail's Ocean service, which connects Montreal to Halifax, is currently the oldest continuously operated passenger route in North America, with stops from west to east at Campbellton, Charlo, Jacquet River, Petit Rocher, Bathurst, Miramichi, Rogersville, Moncton, and Sackville. Canadian National Railway operates freight services along the same route, as well as a subdivision from Moncton to Saint John. The New Brunswick Southern Railway, a division of J. D. Irving Limited, together with its sister company Eastern Maine Railway form a continuous 305 km (190 mi) main line connecting Saint John and Brownville Junction, Maine. Culture Historic places and museums There are about 61 historic places in New Brunswick, including Fort Beauséjour, Kings Landing Historical Settlement and the Village Historique Acadien. Established in 1842, the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John was designated as the provincial museum of New Brunswick. The province is also home to a number of other museums in addition to the provincial museum. Music and theatre The music of New Brunswick includes artists such as Henry Burr, Roch Voisine, Lenny Breau, and Édith Butler. Symphony New Brunswick, based in Saint John, tours extensively in the province. Symphony New Brunswick and the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada tours nationally and internationally. Theatre New Brunswick tours plays around the province. Canadian playwright Norm Foster saw his early works premiere with Theatre New Brunswick. Other theatres of the province include the Théatre populaire d'Acadie in Caraquet, the Live Bait Theatre in Sackville, the Imperial in Saint John, the Capitol theatre in Moncton, and the Playhouse theatre in Fredericton. Visual arts New Brunswick is home to many galleries across the province, including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, which was designated as New Brunswick's provincial art gallery in 1994, and the Galerie d’art Louise-et-Reuben-Cohen at the Université de Moncton. New Brunswick also has four artist-run-centres: Connexion ARC located in Fredericton, Galerie Sans Nom in Moncton, Struts Gallery in Sackville, and Third Space Gallery in Saint John, as well as one artist-run printshop, Atelier d'estampe Imago Inc., located in Moncton. Mount Allison University is known for its art program, which was created in 1854. The program came into its own under John A. Hammond, from 1893 to 1916. Notable graduates include Alex Colville, Christopher Pratt, Mary Pratt, and Herménégilde Chiasson. The university also opened an art gallery in 1895 and is named for its patron, John Owens of Saint John. The Owens Art Gallery at Mount Allison University is presently the oldest university-operated art gallery in Canada. Modern New Brunswick artists include landscape painter Jack Humphrey, sculptor Claude Roussel, and Miller Brittain. Literature Julia Catherine Beckwith, born in Fredericton, was Canada's first published novelist. Poet Bliss Carman and his cousin Charles G. D. Roberts were some of the first Canadians to achieve international fame for letters. Antonine Maillet was the first non-European winner of France's Prix Goncourt. Other modern writers include Alfred Bailey, Alden Nowlan, John Thompson, Douglas Lochhead, K. V. Johansen, David Adams Richards, and France Daigle. A recent New Brunswick Lieutenant-Governor, Herménégilde Chiasson, is a poet and playwright. The Fiddlehead, established in 1945 at University of New Brunswick, is Canada's oldest literary magazine. Media New Brunswick has four daily newspapers: the Times & Transcript, serving eastern New Brunswick; the Telegraph-Journal, based in Saint John and distributed province-wide; The Daily Gleaner, based in Fredericton; and L'Acadie Nouvelle, based in Caraquet. The three English-language dailies and the majority of the weeklies are owned and operated by Brunswick News—which is privately owned by James K. Irving. Due to its dominant position, critics have accused Brunswick News of being biased towards the Irving Group of Companies, noting its reluctance to publish stories that are critical of the group.The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has anglophone television and radio operations in Fredericton. Télévision de Radio-Canada is based in Moncton. CTV and Global also operate stations in New Brunswick, which operate largely as sub-feeds of their stations in Halifax as part of regional networks. There are 34 radio stations licensed in New Brunswick, broadcasting in English or French. See also Outline of New Brunswick Symbols of New Brunswick Royal eponyms in Canada References External links Official website of the Government of New Brunswick Official site of Tourism New Brunswick

carbon fee and dividend

A carbon fee and dividend or climate income is a system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. The system imposes a carbon tax on the sale of fossil fuels, and then distributes the revenue of this tax over the entire population (equally, on a per-person basis) as a monthly income or regular payment. Since the adoption of the system in Canada and Switzerland, it has gained increased interest worldwide as a cross-sector and socially just approach to reducing emissions and tackling climate change.Designed to maintain or improve economic vitality while speeding the transition to a sustainable energy economy, carbon fee and dividend has been proposed as an alternative to emission reduction mechanisms such as complex regulatory approaches, cap and trade or a straightforward carbon tax. While there is general agreement among scientists and economists on the need for a carbon tax, economists are generally neutral on specific uses for the revenue, though there tends to be more support than opposition for returning the revenue as a dividend to taxpayers. Structure The basic structure of carbon fee and dividend is as follows: A fee is levied on fuels at their point of origin into the economy, such as the well, mine, or port of entry. The fee is based upon the carbon content of a given fuel, with a commonly-proposed starting point being $10–16 /t of carbon that would be emitted once the fuel is burned. The fee is progressively increased, providing a steady, predictable price signal and incentivizing early transition to low-carbon energy sources and products. A border tax adjustment is levied on imports from nations that lack their own equivalent fee on carbon. For example, if the United States legislated a carbon fee-and-dividend system, China would face the choice of paying carbon fees to the United States or creating its own internal carbon pricing system. This would leverage American economic power to incentivize carbon pricing around the world. Some or all of the fee is returned to households as an energy dividend. Returning 100% of net fees results in a revenue-neutral carbon fee-and-dividend system; this revenue neutrality often appeals to conservatives, such as former Secretary of State George Shultz, who want to reduce emissions without increasing the size and funding of the federal government.In order to maximize effectiveness, the amount of the fee would be regulated based on the scientific assessments from both economic and climate science in order to balance the size and speed of fee progression. Advantages A climate income has several notable advantages over other emission reduction mechanisms: Social justice and acceptability. While there is broad scientific consensus that a carbon tax is the most powerful way to reduce emissions, such a tax necessarily increases prices and the cost of living. By handing out the revenue of this tax as a universal climate income, the price rise is largely compensated. It has been calculated that in total, low and middle incomes would go up under a system of climate income. Market based and cross-sector. Unlike complex regulatory approaches, a fossil fuel fee allows market forces to reduce emissions in the most efficient and cost effective way. Cross-sector. There is a broad range of sources of carbon emissions. Regulatory approaches and emissions trading often address only one or a couple of sectors. A truly universal fossil fuel fee addresses all these sectors at once. Moreover, through a universal price on CO2-equivalent emissions, the fee can cover other greenhouse gases (such as methane and nitrous oxide) or emission sectors (industry, agriculture) as well. Compatible. The mechanism is compatible with other measures and regulations imposed by the government, such as investments in education, research and infrastructure. Revenue neutral. A climate income would not increase the budget of the government, or utilise the imposed carbon fee as a means to balance the government deficit. Carbon fee and dividend should avoid fuel protests that have occurred in many places. Studies Energy Modeling Forum study 2012 In late 2012 the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF), coordinated by Stanford University, released its EMF 29 study titled "The role of border carbon adjustment in unilateral climate policy". It is well understood that unilateral climate policy can lead to emissions leakage. As one example, trade-exposed emissions-intensive industries may simply relocate to regions with laxer climate protection. A border carbon adjustment (BCA) program can help counter this and related effects. Under such a policy, tariffs are levied on the carbon embodied in imported goods from unregulated trading partners while the original climate protection payments for exported goods are rebated. The study finds that the BCA programs evaluated: can reduce emissions leakage yield modest gains in global economic efficiency shift substantial costs from abating OECD counties to non-abating non-OECD countriesIn light of these findings, the study recommends care when designing and implementing BCA programs. Moreover, the regressive impact of shifting part of the abatement burden southward conflicts with the UNFCCC principle of common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities, which explicitly acknowledges that developing countries have less ability to shoulder climate protection measures. Regional Economic Models study 2014 A 2014 economic impact analysis by Regional Economic Models, Incorporated (REMI) concluded that a carbon fee that began at US$10 per ton and increased by US$10 per year, with all net revenue returned to households as an energy dividend, would carry substantial environmental, health, and economic benefits: CO2 emissions in the United States would decrease to 50% of 1990 levels in the first 20 years. Over the same timespan, reductions in airborne pollution that accompanies CO2 emissions would result in 230,000 fewer premature deaths. Regular dividend payments would stimulate the U.S. economy, leading to the creation of 2.8 million jobs over baseline during the program's first two decades. The stimulative effect was also found to positively affect national GDP, adding $70–85 billion/year for a cumulative 20-year increase of $1.375 trillion over baseline (the approximate equivalent of adding an additional year of growth during that span). International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis study 2016 A 2016 working paper from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) looked more narrowly at the impact of a proposed carbon fee and dividend on American households during the first year. Due to the shorter window analyzed (which did not allow for considerations of changes to personal energy use under the policy) the paper found a smaller percentage of households benefiting from carbon fee and dividend than the REMI report summarized above (53% versus approximately two-thirds in the REMI report). It also found that an additional 19% of households suffered a loss of less than 0.2% of annual income, an amount that might be experienced as effectively "breaking even" by households in the upper income quintiles most likely affected. Implementation As of July 2022, there were eight jurisdictions globally implementing a form of carbon fee and dividend: Switzerland, Austria and Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon and British Columbia in Canada. Switzerland The Swiss carbon tax redistributes around two thirds of its revenue to residents, including children, and to businesses (in proportion to their payroll). The remaining third is invested in a building energy efficiency program and a clean technology fund. Residents receive the dividend on an annual basis via their health insurance bill. This approach was chosen for practical reasons according to Mildenberger et al. (2022) – health insurance is mandatory for all residents in Switzerland and the same process was already being used to distribute funds from the volatile organic compounds tax. However, the authors note that the approach may contribute to low levels of awareness of the dividend amongst the public. Their 2019 survey of 1,050 residents found that just 11.8% of respondents were aware that most funds are redistributed to residents and businesses, while only 14.7% of respondents were aware that the dividend was paid to them via a discount on their annual health insurance bill. Regular and more direct payment methods (e.g. monthly cash payments) would likely increase the salience of the dividend for residents. The Swiss carbon tax and dividend scheme commenced in 2008 when voluntary measures failed to meet intermediate targets linked to Switzerland's Kyoto Protocol commitments, as legislated under its Federal Act on the Reduction of CO2 Emissions ("CO2 Act"). The carbon tax applies only to fossil fuels used to generate heat, light or electricity in the building sector and parts of the industry sector. Sectors excluded from the scheme (transport, agriculture, waste and around 60% of the industry sector) are instead regulated under either the Swiss Emissions Trading Scheme or the non EHS program. Overall, the carbon tax accounts for around one third of greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland.The carbon tax was introduced at CHF 12 per ton of CO2 equivalent (CO2-e) and has risen by CHF 12 periodically until reaching its current rate of CHF 96 in 2018. The impacts on emissions from the scheme are estimated to be a reduction of around 6.9 million tons of CO2-e between 2008 and 2015. An evaluation by the Federal Office of the Environment found the scheme to be highly efficient for reducing emissions.On 13 June 2021, despite having the support of almost all major political parties, a public referendum vote rejected (51.6% against) new laws that would expand the carbon tax to cover the transport sector and increase the tax rate from CHF 120 to CHF 210 per ton by 2030. Mildenberger et al. (2022) note that the dividend aspect of the scheme did not play a prominent role in public debate in the lead up to the referendum, which instead focussed heavily on the costs of the carbon tax. The authors suggest that this was a missed opportunity to raise awareness of the dividend and reflect on its function and benefits to date. The Swiss Government has since proposed new amendments to the laws which would maintain the tax rate of CHF 120 per ton of emissions but continue to exclude the transportation sector.Canada Four provinces and two territories currently operate a form of carbon fee and dividend in Canada. Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Nunavat use the federal carbon tax system, the Federal Fuel Charge, which started in 2019. Of these, all but Nunavat have a carbon fee and dividend scheme in place that redistributes tax revenue to the public. New Brunswick used the scheme from April 2019 to March 2020, but has since implemented its own carbon tax which recycles revenue back into the economy, but not as a dividend to consumers.The carbon fee and dividend systems in these jurisdictions have been implemented as part of the federal government's Carbon Pricing Backstop policy (see Carbon pricing in Canada). Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan did not voluntarily implement the policy, therefore dividend payments in these jurisdictions are managed federally as Climate Action Incentive payments, whereby revenue from the fuel charge in each jurisdiction is redistributed directly to households (one person per household, based on the number of adults and children within the household). Rural households receive a 10% increase of the dividend.Initially, Climate Action Incentive payments were made annually via federal income tax credits. However, from April 2022, the dividends have been paid on a quarterly basis in ‘cash’ (by cheque or direct deposit).Yukon and Nunavut implemented the federal carbon fee system voluntarily and as such, the revenue is returned to those governments to redistribute. Yukon pays 100% of the revenue as dividends to Yukon businesses (49.5%), individuals (45%), municipal governments (3%) and first nations governments (2.5%). Nunavut has implemented the Nunavut Carbon Rebate which rather than using a dividend to the public, redistributes funds via a 50% subsidy on home heating oil, vehicle diesel and other fuels at the point of sale.All six provinces and territories applying Federal Fuel Fee use the same carbon price. The fee was introduced in 2019 at CAD $20 per ton of CO2-e, rising by $10 annually to $50 per ton in 2022. From 2023, the fuel fee will rise by CAD $15 per year until it reaches $170 per ton of CO2-e in 2030.The British Columbia carbon tax, implemented in 2008, could be considered as ‘fee and dividend’, although there are some differences. Rather than entirely or mostly being returned as a dividend to households, most of the revenue is used to provide tax cuts for businesses (around 55% of revenue) and individuals (around 23%). The dividend component comes in the form of a tax credit to low- and middle-income families and accounts for around 17% of carbon tax revenue. As of 1 July 2022, the maximum amount an adult (and their partner) can receive is CAD $193.50 annually, paid in quarterly instalments, and $56.50 per child.The policy is popular amongst residents in British Columbia, with polls showing between 55% and 65% support for the tax.Austria In July 2022, Austria implemented a carbon tax and dividend, which will be paid in the form of a 'climate bonus' of €100 to €200 per year, depending on where they live (e.g. those in rural areas will receive a larger dividend) and their access to public transport. The carbon tax rate commenced at €35 per ton of CO2-e and will rise to €55 per ton by 2025. All residents, regardless of citizenship and age, will receive the bonus provided they had resided in Austria for six months. The dividend will be paid directly by cheque or bank deposit. Political support United States Carbon fee and dividend is the preferred climate solution of Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL). Citizens' Climate Lobby argues that a fee-and-dividend policy will be easier to adopt and adjust than relatively complicated cap-and-trade or regulatory approaches, enabling a smooth, economically positive transition to a low-carbon energy economy.James Hansen, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies has frequently promoted awareness of carbon fee and dividend through his writings and frequent public appearances, as well as his position at Columbia University.A Carbon Dividends plan has been proposed by the Climate Leadership Council, which counts among its members 27 Nobel laureates, 15 Fortune 100 companies, all four past chairs of the Federal Reserve, and over 3000 US economists. Among those supporting the Climate Leadership Council's Carbon Dividends Plan are Greg Mankiw, Larry Summers, James Baker, Henry Paulson, Ted Halstead, and Ray Dalio. It claims to be the most popular, equitable and pro-growth climate solution.Inspired by the market-friendly structure of carbon fee and dividend, Republican Congressman Bob Inglis introduced H.R. 2380 (the 'Raise Wages, Cut Carbon Act of 2009') in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 13, 2009. Concerned about energy infrastructure as an issue of national security, he supports Fee and Dividend as a reliable means of reducing dependence on foreign oil.Another bill partly inspired by the Fee and Dividend structure was introduced by Democratic Congressman John B. Larson on July 16, 2015. H.R. 3104, or the "America's Energy Security Trust Fund Act of 2015" includes a steadily rising price on carbon but uses some revenue for job retraining, and returns the remainder of revenue via a payroll tax cut rather than direct dividend payments. On September 1, 2016, the California Assembly Joint Resolution 43, "Williams. Greenhouse gases: climate change", was filed, having passed both houses. The measure urges the United States Congress to enact a tax on carbon-based fossil fuels. The proposal is revenue-neutral, with all money collected going to the bottom 2⁄3 of American households. It may have difficulty passing in Congress because it would be considered a tax, but if households were to receive an equal share in the form of a dividend then the legislation should properly class as a carbon fee. Thus California's recommendation for national legislation is perhaps close to being acceptable to Congress. A bipartisan carbon fee and dividend bill, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, was introduced into United States House of Representatives during the second session of the 115th Congress. After the bill died at the end of the session, it was reintroduced in the first session of the 116th Congress on January 24, 2019. The lead sponsor is Democrat Ted Deutch and it is cosponsored by Republican Francis Rooney. The bill would levy a $15 fee per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent which would increase by $10 each year, with all revenue being returned to households. A similar bill, the Climate Action Rebate Act, was introduced on July 25, 2019, into the Senate by Democrats Chris Coons and Dianne Feinstein and into the House of Representatives by Democrat Jimmy Panetta. This bill's carbon fee would also start at $15 per ton of CO2-equivalent, but it would increase by $15 each year. The revenue would be split between dividends, infrastructure, research and development, and transition assistance. Several 2020 presidential candidates have publicly shared their support of the fee and dividend policy, including Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, and John Delaney. European Union In the European Union a petition (addressed to the European Commission) was started on May 6, 2019, with the request to introduce a Climate Income in the EU. The petition is a registered European Citizens' Initiative, so if it reaches 1 million signatures, the topic will be placed on the agenda of the European Commission, and will be considered to form a legislative proposal. Australia An Australian version was proposed by Professors Richard Holden and Rosalind Dixon at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and launched by Member for Wentworth Professor Kerryn Phelps AM MP. Surveys conducted by UNSW showed that the proposal would receive 73% support. Opposition There are objections on the way the tax revenue is used. Emeritus professor of management Henry Jacoby, formerly of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reviewed some of the more common concerns in a Guardian article in January 2021, particularly the stigma of taxation's perceived unpopularity. Some opponents are concerned with governments possibly not returning the revenue to people. A 2021 study looking at the only two countries with implemented carbon dividends – Canada and Switzerland – found that the news of the funds raised being returned to the public had little impact on the carbon taxes unpopularity, and that among Canadian conservatives it may even have increased opposition. References External links The Economic, Climate, Fiscal, Power, and Demographic Impact of a National Fee-and-Dividend Carbon Tax (2014). Report by Regional Economic Models, Inc. Dan Miller (23 October 2014). TEDxOrangeCoast Talk — A simple and smart way to fix climate change. YouTube. Retrieved 2016-09-11. Explains fee and dividend.

hot air (economics)

Hot air in economics refers to the Assigned Amount Units (AAU) credits given for the reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions among the former Soviet Bloc countries since 1990. The fall of the Soviet Union led to massive restructuring and deindustrialization of many of the former Soviet Bloc. When the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated, there were several mechanisms that allowed for trading of emissions credits. These included credits produced under the Joint Initiative (JI) provision: Emission Reduction Unit credits; the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): Certified Emission Reduction credits; and Assigned Amount Units (AAU) now also widely known as Hot Air in the post Soviet context. These were given to Russia as an incentive to sign the treaty. Critical climate change experts decry these credits as a way for countries to buy their way out of taking action to address climate change. References Japan Denies Buying ‘Hot Air’ to Meet Kyoto Target Russia and carbon trading, New York Times, 28 Dec 2005

climate policy initiative

The Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) is an independent non-profit research group and international climate policy organization based in San Francisco, California with other offices worldwide. CPI is supported primarily by philanthropic organizations and government development finance.With over 100 analysts and advisors the climate think tank works to improve energy and land use policies around the world, with a particular focus on finance. It is considered a leader expert group in tracking global climate finance. Beginning with the Landscape of Climate Finance (2011), CPI has published a series of annual reports which examine both public and private financial flows worldwide. CPI also publishes in-depth case studies on the public sector's mobilization of private investment. As of 2021, CPI reported that flows of climate-related finance in and between countries account for only about 0.7% of the world’s GDP, far below the amount that is projected to be needed for climate mitigation and adaptation. The San Giorgio Group (SGG), a working group established by CPI and others in 2011, focuses on ways in which financing can support green low-emissions investment. History Founded in 2009 by Thomas Heller, CPI is headquartered in San Francisco (United States). It also has offices in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), New Delhi (India), Jakarta (Indonesia), and London (United Kingdom). As of 2020, the Global Managing Director of the Climate Policy Institute is Barbara Buchner. Current fields of research Renewable energy & energy efficiency Policy & institutions Carbon finance Climate & development (for the scientific journal see Climate and Development) Forestry & land use Publications CPI has published about 200 studies on the previously listed fields of research, mainly in English, with some in Portuguese and Bahasa Indonesia (Malay). The studies are freely downloadable in its publications web page. See also Climate Finance Global warming External links Climate Policy Initiative official website == References ==

ann e. carlson

Ann E. Carlson (born 1960) is an American attorney and legal scholar who has served as the acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since September 2022. Before joining the Biden administration, Carlson was the Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law at the UCLA School of Law, where she also served as faculty co-director of the Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment. She is an expert on U.S. environmental law and policy with a particular focus on climate change and environmental federalism. Biden administration withdrew her from nomination in May 2023. Education Carlson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1982 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1989. Career Carlson joined the faculty of UCLA in 1994. She previously practiced law with the Los Angeles public interest law firm Hall and Phillips (now Phillips and Cohen), where she represented Stephanie Nordlinger in a challenge to California's Proposition 13 in a case that reached the Supreme Court of the United States. Her work representing Emil Stache and Almon Muelhausen in a case under the False Claims Act against Teledyne Industries was featured in the book The Giantkillers.At UCLA, Carlson has served as Academic Associate Dean and currently serves as Vice Dean for Faculty Recruitment and Intellectual Life. Carlson's scholarship examines unusual arrangements of federalism, evaluation of domestic environmental law and policy, and climate change. Carlson is the recipient of UCLA's highest teaching honor, the Eby Award for the Art of Teaching, and the Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching.Carlson served as a panelist for the influential National Academy of Sciences committee on Limiting the Magnitude of Climate Change. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Alternative Energy Future project. Carlson is a frequent commentator on environmental issues and a founder of and frequent blogger at Legal Planet. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) On January 21, 2021, the Department of Transportation announced Carlson as the incoming chief counsel to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the Biden administration. In September 2022, Carlson became acting administrator of NHTSA, and on February 13, 2023, President Joe Biden nominated her to a term as administrator of the agency. Her nomination was later withdrawn on May 30, 2023.During her tenure, the NHTSA has accelerated its probe into Tesla's Autopilot technology to ensure that drivers are paying adequate attention to the road. Works Carlson, Ann E. (2006). Cases and Materials on Environmental Law. West Publishing. (Roger W. Findley, Daniel A. Farber and Jody Freeman) == References ==

marcel theroux

Marcel Raymond Theroux (born 13 June 1968) is a British-American novelist and broadcaster. He wrote A Stranger in The Earth and The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes: A Paper Chase, for which he won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2002. His third novel, A Blow to the Heart, was published by Faber in 2006. His fourth, Far North, was published in June 2009. His fifth, Strange Bodies, was published in May 2013. He has also worked in television news in New York City and in Boston. He is the elder son of the American travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux and his then-wife Anne Castle. His younger brother, Louis Theroux, is a journalist, documentarian, and television presenter. Early life Marcel Theroux was born in 1968 in Kampala, Uganda, where his American father, Paul Theroux, was teaching at Makerere University. His mother is Anne Castle, an Englishwoman. The family spent the next two years in Singapore, where his father taught at the National University of Singapore. After their move to England, Theroux was brought up in Wandsworth, London. After attending a state primary school, he boarded at Westminster School where his best friend was Nick Clegg. He went on to study English literature at Clare College, Cambridge. He won a fellowship to study International Relations with a specialisation in Soviet and East European Studies at Yale University. He lives in Tooting, London, and is married. His paternal French surname originates from the region around Sarthe and Yonne in France. It is quite common in francophone countries and is originally spelled Théroux. His father, born and raised in the United States, is of half French Canadian and half Italian descent. Career From 2000 to 2002, Theroux presented a series of documentaries for Unreported World. In 2004 he presented The End of the World as We Know It, part of the War on Terra television series about climate change on Channel 4. He was chosen as presenter because he originally knew nothing about the subject. He initially believed that all environmentalists were opposed to technological progress. But during his research, he became convinced that the world faced a global problem on a scale so serious that an expansion of nuclear energy is probably the best solution (choosing the lesser evil). He reached this conclusion partly in response to his interviews with several experts, such as Gerhard Bertz of the insurance agency Munich Re, who said that during the past 20 years, payments for natural disasters have increased by 500 percent. He also interviewed Royal Dutch Shell chairman Lord Ron Oxburgh. A PR assistant interrupted them. Oxburgh's negative views on the consequences of current oil consumption were likely considered detrimental to the corporation's image. In March 2006 Theroux presented Death of a Nation on More4, as part of The State of Russia series. In the programme he explored the country's post-Soviet problems, including population decline, the growing AIDS epidemic, and the persecution of the Meskhetian Turks. During interviews in the programme, he spoke simple Russian. On 28 September 2008 he presented Oligart: The Great Russian Art Boom on Channel 4, exploring the role of Russia's rich in keeping Russia's art history alive by buying and exhibiting domestic art. In March 2009, Faber and Faber published Theroux's Far North, a future epic set in the Siberian taiga. On 16 March 2009, Theroux presented In Search of Wabi-sabi on BBC Four, as part of the channel's 'Hidden Japan' season of programming. Theroux travelled and reported from Japan to explore the aesthetic tastes of Japan and its people. In 2012, he presented a documentary for Unreported World Series 23, on the subject of street children in Ukraine. His novel Strange Bodies won the 2014 John W. Campbell Memorial Award. In 2017, he presented a documentary for Unreported World which explored the social and economic consequences of the recent rise in Orthodoxy and Russian nationalism under Vladimir Putin. In 2020, he presented a documentary for Unreported World which explored middle-aged, single Japanese men's obsession with 'Junior Idols' and whether it was a quirk in Japanese culture or something more sinister. Bibliography Theroux, Marcel (2002). The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes. Harvest Books. ISBN 978-0156007436. Theroux, Marcel (2009). Far North: A Novel. Picador. ISBN 978-0312429720. Theroux, Marcel (2013). Strange Bodies: A Novel. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0571297894. Theroux, Marcel (2022). The Sorcerer of Pyongyang. Corsair. ISBN 978-1668002667. References External links Official website Interview on Meet The Writers, Monocle 24 with Georgina Godwin "Russia's rise in conservative family values - Unreported World 2017

climate crisis advisory group

The Climate Crisis Advisory Group (CCAG) is an independent group of scientists which advises on climate change and biodiversity, headed by Sir David King.The group is funded by the Centre for Climate Repair.Its goal is to "provide the global public with regular analysis about efforts to tackle the global heating and biodiversity crises".CCAG's launch statement and first report state that the Earth may have already passed several dangerous tipping points, including melting ice sheets, the slowdown of Atlantic circulation and the dieback of the Amazon rainforest, which highlight the need for speed. Members Members of the CCAG are scientists from multiple disciplines that are all advocates for the environment. The group was formed so that every continent (besides Antarctica) was represented. All members volunteer their time to the group. Members include: Nerilie Abram Ade Adepitan - Presenter Laura Diaz Anadon Dr. Fatih Birol Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Mercedes Bustamante Dr. Robert W. Corell Dr. Arunabha Ghosh Sir David King - Chair Dr. Klaus Lackner Mark Maslin Dr. Tero Mustonen Lavanya Rajamani Johan Rockström Dr. Tara Shirvani - Associate Lorraine Whitmarsh Qi Ye References External links List of CCAG Reports CCAG press releases CCAG Youtube channel where they stream their monthly meetings

tara shine

Tara Shine is an Irish environmental scientist, policy advisor and science communicator. Her work considers climate change negotiations and capacity building. She is a former member of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Group of Experts. In 2020 Shine was announced as one of the speakers for the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Early life and education Shine is from the Republic of Ireland. She earned her bachelor's degree in environmental science at Ulster University. She remained there for her graduate studies, joining the Department of Geography. Her doctoral research considered the wetlands of Mauritania. Career Shine took part in Homeward Bound, a global leadership programme for women scientists. She served as an advisor to the Mary Robinson Foundation and on the Board of Trustees of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Shine has presented several television shows for the BBC, including Expedition Borneo, Lost crocodiles of the pharaohs and A Wild Irish Year.She is the founder of the social enterprise Change by Degrees, which looks to teach people how to engage individuals on how to live and work sustainably. The enterprise inspired her first book, How to Save Your Planet One Object At A Time, which looks to advise people in making more sustainable decisions.In 2020 Shine was elected to the Board of Trustees of IIED and in September 2020 she took over the role as chair. She was selected as one of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures speakers in 2020, joining Helen Czerski and Christopher Jackson to discuss the impact of human activity on the planet. Select publications Books Shine, Tara (16 April 2020). How to save your planet one object at a time. London. ISBN 978-1-4711-8410-9. OCLC 1140153195.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Journal articles Robinson, Mary; Shine, Tara (2018). "Achieving a climate justice pathway to 1.5 °C". Nature Climate Change. 8 (7): 564–569. Bibcode:2018NatCC...8..564R. doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0189-7. ISSN 1758-6798. S2CID 90453499. Shine, Tara (2013). "Climate justice: Equity and justice informing a new climate agreement" (PDF). WRI. Retrieved 30 August 2020. Shine, Tara; Campillo, Gisela (22 December 2016). "The Role of Development Finance in Climate Action Post-2015". OECD Development Co-operation Working Papers. doi:10.1787/18a859bf-en. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) == References ==

citizens' climate lobby

Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) is an international grassroots environmental group that trains and supports volunteers to build relationships with their elected representatives in order to influence climate policy. The CCL is a registered 501(c)(4) with approximately $680,000 in revenue in the United States in 2018. Operating since 2007, the goal of CCL is to build political support across party lines to put a price on carbon, specifically a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend (CF&D) at the national level. CCL is supported by notable climate scientists James Hansen, Katharine Hayhoe, and Daniel Kammen. CCL's advisory board also includes former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former US Representative Bob Inglis, actor Don Cheadle, and RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris. Founded in the United States, the CCL has chapters in over 70 countries. Introduction The Citizens' Climate Lobby is a non-partisan organization with members throughout the United States, Canada and other countries, which advocates for effective climate legislation. Its stated mission is to create the political will for a sustainable climate, while empowering individuals to exercise their personal and political power. With the international/US headquarters in Coronado, California, and a Canadian national office in Sudbury, Ontario, Citizens' Climate Lobby is composed of local volunteer groups who lobby their elected representatives and work through local outreach and media. Their goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote a transition to a renewable energy economy through a market-based approach: a revenue-neutral 'carbon fee and dividend' approach to pricing carbon pollution from fossil fuels, and simultaneously ending subsidies to fossil fuel companies. In the United States, using a market-based approach by putting a price on carbon is gaining support from both Republicans and Democrats. CCL believes that a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend is a bipartisan solution that would effectively address carbon emissions without relying on a complex regulatory approach. History The Citizens' Climate lobby originated in the United States in 2007 after founder Marshall L. Saunders recognized the need for progressive climate legislation. Saunders, a successful businessman turned philanthropist, internationally recognized for his work in microcredit, became increasingly concerned about climate change. Saunders increasingly recognized that while it was necessary for individuals to change their own behavior in the face of climate change, it would never be enough; the time had come for Congress to discontinue subsidizing the fossil fuel industry. With ever-rising energy production and increased use Saunders believed effective legislation was necessary to cut carbon emissions, by putting a price on carbon.Saunders coordinated his efforts to establish Citizens' Climate Lobby with RESULTS, an organization committed to helping volunteer organizations seeking legislative changes to become more effective. Groups of volunteers organized by electoral districts could work through local media and elected officials to build public support and political will for change. Citizens' Climate Lobby established its primary, interconnected goals – to achieve legislation at the federal level that would effectively mitigate climate change, to create widespread political will for a sustainable climate, and to empower citizens to better exercise their own political and personal will. United States leadership is widely seen as critical in international emissions reduction efforts, and particularly in carbon pricing, as this would encourage other countries to follow suit with similar legislation.The Citizens' Climate Lobby held its first annual conference in 2009 in Washington, D.C., bringing together representatives from around the United States as well as several Canadians. These Canadians subsequently led the establishment of the organization within Canada in 2011, with the first chapter emerging in Sudbury, Ontario.Since the initial development of Citizens' Climate Lobby, the group has rapidly grown and spread, from 3 local groups in 2007 to 327 groups in May 2016. They are located throughout the United States and Canada, and more recently branching out to other countries including Sweden, Bangladesh (both starting in 2013), Australia, Germany, India, Nepal, Panama, United Kingdom, Burundi, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, France, Kenya, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Qatar, Poland, Romania, Portugal, Serbia, Scotland, Switzerland and the Ukraine.Volunteers in local chapters meet monthly for teleconference lectures by climate experts and communication with other groups, to discuss coordinated actions to be undertaken by members, to practice skills involved in lobbying politicians and dealing with media, and to plan local outreach. These activities support the ongoing goals of the organization and contribute to progress toward effective carbon pricing legislation. Proposed US legislation Citizens' Climate Lobby proposes national legislation that would reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by placing a fee on carbon dioxide (CO2) or equivalent gases. The fee would be levied against all fossil fuels at their point of entry into the economy. The revenue that would be collected would be 100% returned as a monthly or annual payment to every American household. This would protect low and middle class Americans from the rising consumer costs associated with the carbon fee. This idea is known as a carbon fee and dividend (CF&D). CCL's proposal would start the fee at US$15 per ton of CO2 equivalent (3⁄4 cent per pound) and rise $10 per ton each year (1⁄2 cent per pound). The fee would continue to rise until total US CO2 equivalent emissions have been reduced to 10% of US CO2 equivalent emissions in 1990. To protect US businesses from competition from other countries that do not have carbon pricing mechanisms, a border adjustment would be enacted. Similar to the Montreal Protocol, goods coming from countries without a carbon price would be subjected to a fee at the border. Goods leaving the US for sale in a country without a carbon price would be reimbursed that fee at the border. In addition, all existing subsidies of fossil fuels, including tax credits, would be phased out over the five years following enactment.On September 1, 2016, the California State Legislature passed a measure that urges the United States Congress to enact a tax on carbon-based fossil fuels. The proposal is revenue-neutral, with all money collected going to the bottom two-thirds of American households. So while the resolution is framed as a tax, it is in fact a carbon fee and dividend scheme.Emeritus professor Henry Jacoby again argued for the CF&D concept in a Guardian article in early 2021. Model policy in Canada The Canadian province of British Columbia enacted a revenue-neutral carbon tax in 2008. The British Columbia carbon tax enabled so called "carbon funded tax cuts" because the revenue, instead of being returned as a dividend, is used to offset corporate and personal income taxes. In 2015, a review of British Columbia's emissions found that they had fallen 16% since 2008, while economic activity outperformed the rest of Canada. The policy has been called "popular across the political spectrum" and been considered a model for policies in other states and countries. Proposed measure in Washington In 2016, a group called CarbonWA, allied but unaffiliated with the Citizens Climate Lobby, submitted a carbon pricing measure to the ballot in the state of Washington. The initiative, known as Washington Initiative 732, would impose a steadily rising fee on emissions of carbon dioxide, and use that revenue to offset the state's sales tax, business tax, and to expand the state's version of the earned income tax credit. Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act On November 27, 2018, Climate Solutions Caucus members Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL), Francis Rooney (R-FL), Charlie Crist (D-FL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and John Delaney (D-MD) introduced the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (HR 7173). A few days later, a companion Senate bill was introduced by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). The bill was reintroduced into the 116th Congress under the same name as HR 763. In 2021, it was reintroduced into the 117th United States Congress as H.R.2307. If passed, a national carbon fee and dividend would be implemented similar to that described above. Economic basis for action Shultz was former secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan. Gary Becker is a Nobel laureate economist and economics professor at the University of Chicago. Greg Mankiw was Mitt Romney's former economic adviser. Nicholas Stern is chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and also chair of the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) at Leeds University and LSE. Shi-Ling Hsu is the D'Alemberte Professor and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs, Florida State University College of Law.Economist and law professor Shi-Ling Hsu also supports a revenue-neutral carbon tax. In his book The Case for a Carbon Tax, Getting Past our Hangups to Effective Climate Policy and in his talks, he explains the economics of carbon pricing and why he believes that putting a price on carbon in the form of a carbon tax is more effective and efficient than cap and trade or command and control style legislation. Stern Review 2006 Economist Nicholas Stern also supports putting a price on carbon as explained in his Stern Review. The Stern Review is significant in that it is the largest and most widely known and discussed economic report on climate change of its kind. Entitled Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, this 700-page report was released for the British government on October 30, 2006. In it, Stern discusses the effect of global warming on the world economy, and states that climate change is the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen, presenting a unique challenge for economics. According to the Stern Review, without action, the overall costs of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global gross domestic product (GDP) each year, now and forever. The Review provides prescriptions including environmental taxes to minimize the economic and social disruptions. The Stern Review's main conclusion is that the benefits of strong, early action on climate change far outweigh the costs of not acting. Some of the report's main conclusions are: The benefits of strong, early action on climate change outweigh the costs. The scientific evidence points to increasing risks of serious, irreversible impacts from climate change associated with business-as-usual (BAU) paths for emissions. Climate change threatens the basic elements of life for people around the world – access to water, food production, health, use of land and the environment. The impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed – the poorest countries and people will suffer earliest and most. And if and when the damages appear it will be too late to reverse the process. Thus we are forced to look a long way ahead. Emissions have been, and continue to be, driven by economic growth; yet stabilization of greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere is feasible and consistent with continued growth. Establishing a carbon price, through tax, trading or regulation, is an essential foundation for climate change policy. There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change if strong collective action starts now. Energy Modeling Forum study 2012 In late 2012 the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF), coordinated by Stanford University, released its EMF 29 study titled "The role of border carbon adjustment in unilateral climate policy". It is well understood that unilateral climate policy can lead to emissions leakage. As one example, trade-exposed emissions-intensive industries may simply relocate to regions with laxer climate protection. A border carbon adjustment (BCA) program can help counter this and related effects. Under such a policy, tariffs are levied on the carbon embodied in imported goods from unregulated trading partners while the original climate protection payments for exported goods are rebated. The study finds that the BCA programs evaluated can reduce emissions leakage, can yield modest gains in global economic efficiency, and will shift substantial costs from abating OECD countries to non-abating non-OECD countries. This last finding is regressive and counter to the equity principles contained in the UNFCCC. Regional Economic Models study 2014 A private economic modeling company, Regional Economic Models, Inc (REMI), was commissioned by Citizens' Climate Lobby to conduct an objective analysis of the economic impacts of a revenue neutral carbon fee and dividend in the US. The study found that, if enacted in 2016, by 2036: US CO2 emissions would be reduced 50% below 1990 levels; because of the economic stimulus of recycling carbon fee revenue back to households 2.8 million jobs would be added to the American economy; improved air quality would result in 230,000 premature deaths avoided over that time period. Organizational structure Citizens' Climate Lobby is a network involving its US, international and Canadian head offices, and the dedicated volunteers that comprise the various chapters throughout the United States and Canada and other countries. Until his death in December 2019, Marshall Saunders remained the organization's president alongside his wife, Pamela Saunders. Mark Reynolds is the group's executive director. Cathy Orlando serves as the program director for Citizens' Climate International.Regional coordinators in the US regularly communicate with the local group leaders in their geographical region. Aside from the few paid staff members, the organization is run by thousands of volunteers. Often volunteers will initiate a new group by themselves, or with just one or two others, until they find enough other people nearby to formally start a new group. When a new group is started, orientation and training is provided through the respective national office.Citizens' Climate Lobby is coordinated through regular email communication at all levels, monthly international teleconferences and group meetings, weekly international, national or regional group leader calls; national websites; social media communication at different levels.The largest focal point each year is the Annual International Conference in June, which includes meeting with and lobbying as many members of Congress as possible in Washington, D.C. Canada's Citizens' Climate Lobby has in the past coordinated its annual meeting and lobbying activities in Ottawa with other organizations but held its first Annual Conference and Lobbying Days in November 2013. Citizens' Climate Lobby additionally holds a smaller, secondary conference known as the Congressional Education day each November. Priorities and influence The work of Citizens' Climate Lobby has an influence at the local and the national scale. At the local scale, Citizens' Climate Lobby brings concerned citizens together as a community to educate themselves and others, including through the media, and to create a voice on climate change to present to locally elected representatives of the federal government. This includes Members of the House of Representatives and Senators in the United States and Members of Parliament and Senators (appointed) in Canada.Citizens' Climate Lobby believes it is important for members to meet and create a relationship with local representatives as a means of "putting a face" on local chapters and to provide information and state their concerns regarding climate change legislation. When there is an important climate bill being considered in the nation's capital, members of Citizens' Climate Lobby bring it to the attention of their elected representatives and lobby for their support as appropriate. The chapters also act to keep citizens informed about climate legislation and timely actions to take. Monthly local chapter meetings allow members to share information about climate change issues, to plan for upcoming events related to climate change and to provide mutual support.At the national level Citizens' Climate Lobby chapters can directly influence federal legislation via the work completed at the local level. These chapters contribute to a growing network of people across the country who share the same initiative. Together these individuals and groups become a powerful voice that can capture the attention of other citizens and of municipal and federal representatives alike. Initiatives Citizens' Climate Lobbyists create political will for a sustainable climate and empower others in many ways, including by: Educating themselves, their friends and people of influence about the science, economics, sociology, business, denial machine, politics, communication, and many other aspects of climate change. They sponsor weekly educational webinars, which are nicknamed Citizens' Climate University (CCU). Writing handwritten letters to politicians, especially Members of Congress, Parliament and National Assemblies, and recruiting others to do so. Lobbying politicians directly in their constituency offices and in the capital cities. Participating in community events where they engage the public in climate change awareness and actions. Creating awareness in the media by writing stories, blogs, media releases, letters to the editor, opinion editorials, tweets, status updates, etc., and submitting them to traditional (radio, TV, and newspapers) and 21st century sources (blogs, online magazine and social media). Developing partnerships, alliances and relationships with a range of groups towards building a broad and diverse base support which will create political will for a sustainable climate. Accomplishments The number of local groups has grown significantly, from 3 in 2007, 74 in 2012, and 568 in August 2022. Citizens' Climate Lobby has written a legislative proposal, The Carbon Fee and Dividend Act, introduced by Dr. James Hansen at an Earth Day rally on the National Mall in Washington. Published Letters to the Editor have grown from 646 in 2012 to 2,583 in 2014, to 3,574 in 2015, to 4,293 in 2020. Letters to Members of Congress have grown from 6,991 in 2014, to 40,990 in 2016, to 74,851 in 2017, to 98,886 in 2020 . Editorial Board meetings have grown from 24 in 2012 to 52 in 2014. Published Opinion Editorials (Op Eds) have grown from 87 in 2012 to 291 in 2014. Congressional Meetings have grown from 534 in 2012, to 1,086 in 2014, to 1387 in 2016. The annual international conference in Washington, D.C., has grown from 175 attendees in 2012, to 367 attendees in 2013, to over 1,300 attendees in 2017. In 2015, over 800 volunteers participated in 487 meetings with Congressional offices. Citizen Climate Lobby published an economic report, Building a Green Economy (September 2010) written by CCL member Joseph Robertson. The report is now used as a source with the media and Members of Congress. CCL International Australia Citizens' Climate Lobby Australia has helped create a Parliamentary Friends of Climate Action Group and trained hundreds of people who have gone on to meet with federal politicians and advisors. It has produced a guide for members and others regarding effective lobbying. Canada Canada's Citizens' Climate Lobby participates in many climate related projects and actions. Some of the initiatives to date include: Joining US volunteers at the Annual Conference/Lobbying in Washington, D.C., to meeting with Members of Congress. Meeting with Members of Parliament (Canada) and Members of provincial legislative assemblies (MLAs/MPPs/MHAs/MNAs) to discuss carbon fee and dividend policy and other climate issues. Working in collaboration with the Climate Action Network Canada to encourage Canada's government to remove fossil fuel subsidies and put a fair price on carbon pollution. Pushing for a Pan Canada Energy Strategy Participating in the Parliamentary Petition Project for a sustainable climate. Developing relationships and strategic partnerships with like-minded groups locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. Germany In Germany, CCL is known as Bürgerlobby Klimaschutz and abbreviated CCL-D. Like other CCL groups, CCL-D seek a steadily rising and socially equitable price on carbon. However their first focus is on overhauling the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) as follows: extend the EU ETS so that all emissions are covered and modify the annual cap so that 2030 emissions sink by at least 50% relative to 1990 levels introduce a continuously increasing floor price for CO2 allowances introduce a WTO compliant border adjustment system to level the playing field between European companies and their global competitorsAs long as there is no effective price signal at the EU level, CCL-D call for a national carbon tax for Germany on all CO2 emissions as a transitional measure. A central theme for CCL-D is that, for an equitable and socially-compatible carbon price, all revenues must be redistributed back to the population on a per-capita basis. Sweden In Sweden, CCL is known as Klimatsvaret - CCL Sverige. As all CCL chapters, Klimatsvaret advocates a rising carbon fee with dividend, but emphasizes the need to include non-fossils sources of carbon dioxide in the fee. On the national level, Klimatsvaret proposes a carbon fee on all fuels used in domestic transport. The revenues are to be recycled as direct monthly dividends. The reason for the restriction to the transport sector is that most other significant emission sources are covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System. Connections Citizens' Climate Lobby is a non-partisan group that develops and maintains relationships with and may coordinate some activities with a broad base of organizations that share similar goals. In 2013, Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, endorsed CCL by saying "I love working with Citizens' Climate Lobby—their relentless focus on the need for a fee-and-dividend solution is helping drive the debate in precisely the right direction. I'm enormously grateful for their persistence and creativity." See also References External links Citizens' Climate Lobby sites and groups Official website Citizens' Climate Lobby list of chapters worldwide Citizens' Climate Lobby Australia Citizens' Climate Lobby Canada Citizens' Climate Lobby Germany – known in Germany as Bürgerlobby Klimaschutz Citizens' Climate Lobby Poland – known in Poland as Citizens' Climate Lobby Polska Citizens' Climate Lobby Sweden – known in Sweden as Klimatsvaret - CCL SverigeVideos Citizens' Climate Lobby fee and dividend proposal video Citizens' Climate Lobby local groups video

climate hustle

Climate Hustle is a 2016 film rejecting the existence and cause of climate change, narrated by climate change denialist Marc Morano, produced and directed by Christopher Rogers, co-written by Morano and Mick Curran, and funded by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), a free market pressure group funded by the fossil fuel lobby. According to Ars Technica, the film offers "a fast-paced, uninterrupted delivery of superficial and false claims about climate science". Synopsis Climate Hustle challenges the scientific consensus on climate change, arguing that the consensus is overstated and part of an "environmental con job being used to push for increased government regulations and a new 'Green' energy agenda". It offers a series of segments which present arguments that function to cast doubt on aspects of the consensus, pointing to perceived inconsistencies, errors, and political hypotheses. Sections include interviews and commentary by Morano.It begins with an explanation of three-card Monte, a confidence game scam offered as a metaphor for climate change arguments. Production Climate Hustle was directed and produced by Christopher Rogers, president of Washington, D.C.-based media production company CDR Communications.The conservative group Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) provided funding. The film is billed as a "CFACT Presents" production, and the organization's president and executive director, David Rothbard and Craig Rucker, are credited as executive producers. CFACT also sponsors Morano's blog, Climate Depot. Release Climate Hustle premiered in Paris, France, on 7 December 2015, coinciding with the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Its U.S. premiere was held on 14 April 2016 at the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and was followed by a discussion panel that included former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and David Legates, a climatologist and geology professor at the University of Delaware whose work is funded by Koch Industries and other fossil-fuel sponsors. It was moderated by conservative writer Brent Bozell. U.S. Representative Lamar S. Smith, Republican of Texas, was set to attend but instead prepared opening remarks which included an accusation that U.S. government agencies had tampered with climate data.It was shown for one day in 400 theaters across the United States on 2 May 2016. In an interview with Variety about the film, Palin explained her passion for the issue, offering an anecdote about her 2008 lawsuit against the U.S. government, challenging the polar bear's placement on the threatened species list under the Endangered Species Act. Palin took issue with the forecasting data produced by biologists and environmental groups that showed a threat due to declining Arctic sea ice, although a federal judge backed the scientists' original findings.The film's cinema engagement is managed by Fathom Events and SpectiCast. Reception Writing for The New York Times, Randy Olson, who had previously interviewed Morano for his own mockumentary film, Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (2008), called Climate Hustle "boring", with "the light-hearted and entertaining feel of a Michael Moore film, but [not] in the same league." Olson did not comment on the scientific or pseudoscientific content, instead evaluating the film from a cinematic perspective. While he found the editing to be "decent", he criticized quality of the visuals, lighting, and explained the narrative structure as a series of sequences which all come to the same conclusion: "climate scientists have it all wrong and are conspiring to deceive the public." Ars Technica likewise panned the film, saying its "sections all run together, with topics appearing multiple times and with no real thread to follow."For The Guardian's Suzanne Goldberg, "the real mission for Palin and the makers of the movie – in addition to airing various conspiracy theories – was to register the continued existence of a small but still powerful fringe, even as the rest of the world accelerates its efforts to fight climate change."Several reviewers have drawn comparisons to Al Gore's 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Criticism of scientific content The film's basis is in a rejection of the overwhelming scientific consensus about climate change and the impact of human activities on it.The Guardian was critical of the film's "[dismissing] global warming as an excuse for government takeover and [making] the outrageously false claim that rising carbon emissions are beneficial." The Washington Post called it a "tour through the arguments that some holdout scientists do still make to undermine mainstream climate concerns." The Post challenges the validity of several of the film's claims directly, which it characterizes as "the same things they've been arguing for many years, albeit with regular touch-ups."Ars Technica likened the film's style to a "Gish Gallop", calling it "a fast-paced, uninterrupted delivery of superficial and false claims about climate science" which forms "an 80-minute-long list of all the climate 'skeptic' blogosphere's favorite claims."The film features a number of expert testimonies in support of its claims. According to Scott K. Johnson of Ars Technica, those who "could fairly call themselves climate scientists [are] drawn from the small stable of familiar contrarians that cycle through Congressional hearing when contrarian witnesses are in demand" while others are "straight out of the Rolodex of the Heartland Institute". References External links Official website Climate Hustle at IMDb Climate Hustle at Rotten Tomatoes

carnivore diet

The carnivore diet (also called a zero carb diet) is a fad diet in which only animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy are consumed. The carnivore diet is associated with pseudoscientific health claims. Such a diet can lead to deficiencies of vitamins and dietary fiber, and increase the risk of chronic diseases. The lion diet is a highly restrictive form of the carnivore diet where only beef is eaten. History The idea of an exclusive meat diet can be traced to the German writer Bernard Moncriff, author of The Philosophy of the Stomach: Or, An Exclusively Animal Diet in 1856, who spent a year living on only beef and milk. In the 1870s, Italian physician Arnaldo Cantani prescribed his diabetic patients an exclusive animal-based diet. In the 1880s, James H. Salisbury advocated a meat diet consisting of 2 to 4 pounds of lean beef and 3 to 5 pints of hot water daily for 4 to 12 weeks. It became known as the meat and hot water diet, or Salisbury diet. In 2018, the carnivore diet was promoted on social media by former orthopaedic surgeon Shawn Baker, who wrote the book The Carnivore Diet. Jordan Peterson and his daughter Mikhaila Peterson were also vocal adherents of this diet. Peterson and his daughter follow a strict type of carnivore diet termed the lion diet, in which only beef, salt, and water are consumed. The 'Lion diet', which became a viral fad on TikTok, is described by experts as "being potentially very unhealthy, is difficult to follow and unsustainable in the long term".In April 2023, skeptic and neurologist Steven Novella described the carnivore diet as the latest fad diet to have achieved popularity. Because of its high cost Novella described the diet as one for "select elites", adding what he said was a further unsavory aspect to its harmful and pseudoscientific basis. Diet People following a carnivore diet consume animal-based products, such as beef, pork, poultry, and seafood. Some may eat dairy products and eggs. All fruits, legumes, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds are strictly excluded.The carnivore diet is often confused with Inuit cuisine. Primary differences include a high proportion of organs in the Inuit diet, high seafood content, and consumption of raw meat, all of which are not typical for the fad carnivore diet. Health concerns There is no clinical evidence that the carnivore diet provides any health benefits. Dietitians dismiss the carnivore diet as an extreme fad diet, which has attracted criticism from dietitians and physicians as being potentially dangerous to health (see Meat § Health).It also raises levels of LDL cholesterol, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. While carnivore diets exclude fruits and vegetables which supply micronutrients, they are also low in dietary fiber, possibly causing constipation. A carnivore diet high in red meat increases the risks of colon cancer and gout. Environmental impact Criticism also derives from concerns about greenhouse gas emissions associated with large-scale livestock farming required to produce meats commercially, and the potential for such emissions to worsen climate change (see environmental impact of meat production). See also Carnivore Lectin-free diet Monotrophic diet Paleo diet == References ==

antarctica cooling controversy

The Antarctica cooling controversy was the result of an apparent contradiction in the observed cooling behavior of Antarctica between 1966 and 2000, which became part of the public debate in the global warming controversy, particularly between advocacy groups of both sides in the public arena including politicians, as well as the popular media. In contrast to the popular press, there is no similar controversy within the scientific community, as the small observed changes in Antarctica are consistent with the small changes predicted by climate models, and because the overall trend since comprehensive observations began is now known to be one of warming. Observations unambiguously show the Antarctic Peninsula to be warming. The trends elsewhere show both warming and cooling but are smaller and dependent on season and the timespan over which the trend is computed.A study released in 2009, combined historical weather station data with satellite measurements to deduce past temperatures over large regions of the continent, and these temperatures indicate an overall warming trend. One of the paper's authors stated, "We now see warming is taking place on all seven of the earth's continents in accord with what models predict as a response to greenhouse gases." According to 2011 paper by Ding, et al., "The Pacific sector of Antarctica, including both the Antarctic Peninsula and continental West Antarctica, has experienced substantial warming in the past 30 years."This controversy began with the misinterpretation of the results of a 2002 paper by Doran et al., which found "Although previous reports suggest slight recent continental warming, our spatial analysis of Antarctic meteorological data demonstrates a net cooling on the Antarctic continent between 1966 and 2000, particularly during summer and autumn." In his novel State of Fear, Michael Crichton asserted that the Antarctic data contradicted global warming. The few scientists who have commented on the supposed controversy state that there is no contradiction, while the author of the paper whose work inspired Crichton's remarks has said that Crichton misused his results. Background Changes in the average temperature of the Antarctic continent have been the subject of various measurements. The trend differs at different locations on the continent. These trends have been labelled as "contradictory" in some accounts. Observations unambiguously show the Antarctic Peninsula to be warming. Some trends elsewhere on the continent have shown cooling, while others show warming over the entire continent, but overall trends are smaller and dependent on season and the timespan over which the trend is computed. Climate models predict that temperature trends due to global warming will be much smaller in Antarctica than in the Arctic, mainly because heat uptake by the Southern Ocean acts to moderate the radiative forcing by greenhouse gases. In a study released in 2009, historical weather station data was combined with satellite measurements to deduce past temperatures over large regions of the continent, and these temperatures indicate an overall warming trend. One of the paper's authors, Eric Steig of the University of Washington, stated "We now see warming is taking place on all seven of the earth’s continents in accord with what models predict as a response to greenhouse gases." A follow-up study by O'Donnell and others that strongly criticized the Steig et al. work, finding significant warming in West Antarctica but general cooling over the bulk of the continent. O'Donnell et al. also confirmed that Antarctica overall has been warming since the 1950s, but disagreed with Steig et al. about the strength of that warming. Subsequent measurements of temperatures in a borehole at the center of the West Antarctic ice sheet, by Orsi and others, found even larger positive trends than Steig et al. UAH satellite data of temperatures of the lower troposphere since 1979 shows a slight warming over the Antarctic continent (0.4 degrees C, 1979 to 2021), and a very slight cooling over the Southern ocean to the 60th latitude. The region covered for Antarctic land and ocean combined (60S to 85S) shows a very slight warming. RSS satellite data for lower tropospheric temperatures only covers 60S to 70S for Antarctica, and shows a very slight warming (0.24 degrees C, 1979 to 2021) for this smaller region. Over a longer time period, work by Stenni et al. (2017) used isotope records from ice cores to compute a cooling trend in all major regions of the continent over the past 2000 years. This long term trend, however, is as expected from Milankovitch cycles and has no particular relevance to anthropogenic global warming. For example, Jones et al. used high-resolution measurements from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core to show that Milankovitch forcing, with the additional of minor changes in elevation, explain the observed variations through the Holocene period. Origin of the controversy Michael Crichton, in his 2004 novel State of Fear, asserted that cooling observed in the interior of Antarctica shows the lack of reliability of the models used for global warming predictions, and thus of climate theory in general. This novel has a docudrama plot based upon the idea that there is a deliberately alarmist conspiracy behind global warming activism. As presented in page 193 of the novel: "The data show that one relatively small area called the Antarctic Peninsula is melting and calving huge icebergs. That's what gets reported year after year. But the continent as a whole is getting colder, and the ice is getting thicker." Other sources then picked up the argument, labeling it the "Antarctic Cooling Controversy", despite the fact that the small and variable observed trends are broadly consistent with the small magnitude of model-predicted temperature trends for Antarctica. Crichton footnoted his assertion of Antarctic cooling as originating from the paper Doran et al., 2002, although the paper referenced did not directly state that their measurements was evidence against global warming. The work stated: "Although previous reports suggest slight recent continental warming our spatial analysis of Antarctic meteorological data demonstrates a net cooling on the Antarctic continent between 1966 and 2000, particularly during summer and autumn. The McMurdo Dry Valleys have cooled by 0.7 °C per decade between 1986 and 2000, with similar pronounced seasonal trends.... Continental Antarctic cooling, especially the seasonality of cooling, poses challenges to models of climate and ecosystem change." In response to Crichton, the lead author of the research paper, Peter Doran, published a statement in The New York Times stating, "... our results have been misused as 'evidence' against global warming by Michael Crichton in his novel State of Fear.... Our study did find that 58 percent of Antarctica cooled from 1966 to 2000. But during that period, the rest of the continent was warming. And climate models created since our paper was published have suggested a link between the lack of significant warming in Antarctica and the ozone hole over that continent. These models, conspicuously missing from the climate change denial literature, suggest that as the ozone hole heals — thanks to worldwide bans on ozone-destroying chemicals — all of Antarctica is likely to warm with the rest of the planet. An inconvenient truth?" He also emphasized the need for more stations in the Antarctic continent in order to obtain more robust results. A rebuttal to Crichton's claims was presented by the group Real Climate: Long term temperature data from the Southern Hemisphere are hard to find, and by the time you get to the Antarctic continent, the data are extremely sparse. Nonetheless, some patterns do emerge from the limited data available. The Antarctic Peninsula, site of the now-defunct Larsen-B ice shelf, has warmed substantially. On the other hand, the few stations on the continent and in the interior appear to have cooled slightly (Doran et al., 2002; GISTEMP).At first glance this seems to contradict the idea of "global" warming, but one needs to be careful before jumping to this conclusion. A rise in the global mean temperature does not imply universal warming. Dynamical effects (changes in the winds and ocean circulation) can have just as large an impact, locally as the radiative forcing from greenhouse gases. The temperature change in any particular region will in fact be a combination of radiation-related changes (through greenhouse gases, aerosols, ozone and the like) and dynamical effects. Since the winds tend to only move heat from one place to another, their impact will tend to cancel out in the global mean.It is common to find statements that "climate models generally predict amplified warming in polar regions" (e.g., Doran et al.), a phenomenon called polar amplification. In fact, however, Arctic and Antarctic climates are out of phase with each other (the "polar see-saw" effect), and climate models predict amplified warming primarily for the Arctic and not for Antarctica. Observations of trends There are few long term weather observations for Antarctica. There are less than twenty permanent stations in all and only two in the interior. More recently AWSs supplement this, but their records are relatively brief. Hence calculation of a trend for the entire continent is difficult. Satellite observations only exist since 1981 and provide surface temperature measurements only in cloud-free conditions. The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report states, "Observational studies have presented evidence of pronounced warming over the Antarctic Peninsula, but little change over the rest of the continent during the last half of the 20th century." Chapman and Walsh note that "Trends calculated for the 1958–2002 period suggest modest warming over much of the 60°–90°S domain. All seasons show warming, with winter trends being the largest at +0.172 °C per decade while summer warming rates are only +0.045 °C per decade. The 45-year temperature trend for the annual means is +0.082 °C per decade corresponding to a +0.371 °C temperature change over the 1958–2002 period of record. Trends computed using these analyses show considerable sensitivity to start and end dates, with trends calculated using start dates prior to 1965 showing overall warming, while those using start dates from 1966 to 1982 show net cooling over the region." Several scientific sources have reported that there is a cooling trend observed in the interior of the continent for the last two decades of the 20th century, while the Antarctic Peninsula shows a warming trend. In early 2013, David Bromwich, a professor of polar meteorology at Ohio State University, and a team including Antarctic weather station experts from the University of Wisconsin, published a paper in Nature Geoscience showing that the warming in central West Antarctica was unambiguous—and likely about twice the magnitude estimated by Steig et al. The key to Bromwich et al.'s work was the correction for errors in the temperature sensors used in various incarnations of the Byrd Station record (the only long record in this part of Antarctica); miscalibration had previously caused the magnitude of the 1990s warmth to be underestimated, and the magnitude of the 2000s to be overestimated. The revised Byrd Station record is in very good agreement with the borehole temperature data from nearby WAIS Divide. A new statistical reconstruction shows significant warming over all of West Antarctic in the annual mean, driven by significant warming over most of the region in winter and spring. Summer and fall trends, are insignificant except over the Antarctic Peninsula where they are widespread only in fall. These finding are in good agreement with the 2009 study in Nature, though in general the new results show greater warming in West Antarctica and less warming over East Antarctica as a whole. Nicholas and Bromwich argue that while the warming in East Antarctica is not statistically significant, it would be greater in magnitude if not for the ozone hole. There is no evidence that any significant region of Antarctic has been cooling over the long term, except in fall. In a 2016 paper, Turner and others point out that if one considers just the last ~18 years, the trend on the Antarctic Peninsula has been cooling. This is likely connected with tropical variability, perhaps associated with the phase of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation. Scientific sources and interpretations According to a NASA press release: "Across most of the continent and the surrounding Southern Ocean, temperatures climbed... The temperature increases were greater and more widespread in West Antarctica than in East Antarctica, where some areas showed little change or even a cooling trend. This variability in temperature patterns across Antarctica complicates the work of scientists who are trying to understand the relative influence of natural cycles and human-caused climate change in Antarctica."As a complement to NASA's findings, the British Antarctic Survey, which has undertaken the majority of Britain's scientific research in the area, has the following positions: Ice makes polar climate sensitive by introducing a strong positive feedback loop. Melting of continental Antarctic ice could contribute to global sea level rise. Climate models predict more snowfall than ice melting during the next 50 years, but models are not good enough for them to be confident about the prediction. Antarctica seems to be both warming around the edges and cooling at the center at the same time. Sea ice extent surrounding Antarctica has trended higher since satellite measurements began in 1979. The central and southern parts of the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula have warmed by nearly 3 °C. The cause is not known.Research by Thompson and Solomon (2002) and by Shindell and Schmidt (2004) provide explanations for the observed cooling trend during the 1970s through 2000. An updated paper by Thompson et al. (2012) emphasized that this explanation only applies to austral summer; during the fall, winter and spring seasons, the mean trend is warming, and this is believed to be largely due to changes in atmospheric circulation related to warming trends in the tropical Pacific region. See also Climate of Antarctica == References ==

mumbai climate action plan

Mumbai Climate Action Plan, a state-government initiative was established in 2021 to tackle and solve the increasing challenges of climate change. This Planning process was unveiled by the former Environment Minister of Maharashtra, Aaditya Thackeray in September 2021 after Mumbai joined the C40 Cities Network in December 2020. This climate action plan is being drafted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (MCGM) in assistance with World Resources Institute (WRI), a knowledge partner. This plan will serve as a 30-year roadmap and systematic framework to guide the city, Mumbai, and look climate resilience with mitigation and adaptation strategies through low-carbon, resilient, and inclusive development pathways. Being India's first climate action plan, it is aiming to set net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and green targets for 2050, twenty years before the target set by the Central Government of India at the Glasgow COP summit in 2021. The six key action areas and strategies laid out in this plan are: Sustainable Waste Management, Urban greening & biodiversity, Urban flooding & water resource management, Energy & buildings, Air quality and Sustainable Mobility. Timeline The process of finalizing this plan was ready by November 2021 before the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).On 13 March 2022, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Uddhav Thackeray, launched and released the Mumbai Climate Action Plan virtually at the launch event in which the Environment Minister, Aditya Thackeray, Minister Sanjay Bansode, Mayor of Mumbai Kishori Pednekar, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal were among those present. Motivation As per a research carried out by the WRI on Mumbai's vulnerability assessment, the metropolitan city will face 2 major climate challenges - a rise in temperature and extreme rain events which can result in massive flooding. Mumbai being one of the world's most high risk cities to climate change, as it is a densely populated city with minimal green cover and open spaces is becoming warmer. A study noted that between 1980 and 2018, Mumbai lost 40% of green cover, 81% of open land, and estimated 30% of water bodies, while on the contrary a 66% rise has been observed in built-up areas where development have been done.Also, due to rising sea levels and Mumbai surrounded by the sea from three sides, and prone to frequent cyclonic events and storms, South Mumbai is on the verge of submerging by 2050 as warned by experts. Six key action areas Sustainable Waste Management A solid waste management plan is being developed to decentralize garbage at ward level. Currently there are three dumpsites in Mumbai - in Deonar, Mulund and Kanjurmarg. A study shows that estimated, Mumbai alone generates one-third of Maharashtra's total waste. As open dumpsites pose various hazards such as release of greenhouse gases, accidental hazard caused by fire, air and water contamination, pest and rodent issues etc. Therefore this centralized method has to be gone away with and decentralized methods are needful for future waste generation in which waste generation can be minimized and value can be created out of waste in the form of composting, recycling, energy recovery to meet the city's demand for sustainable waste management. This plan will come up with a strategy to decentralize Mumbai's waste management system with unit-level processing of organic waste to create valuable compost, appointing committed ward-level waste officers and coordination of relevant stakeholders with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai's (MCGM) Waste management department and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). The BMC has also mandated wet waste process and solid waste process mandatory to the bulk generators to provide treatment at source if it has area greater than 5,000 sq. m. Urban Greening and Biodiversity A study presented that low income areas in Mumbai are found to be with less green cover. Areas like Dongri, Bhuleshwar which comes in Ward B and C, are warmer than other areas. The Mumbai Climate Action Plan will emphasize the need to increase the green cover and biodiversity of the city in a planned and inclusive manner. The 4 plans suggested are Heat resilience and carbon sequestration, Flood mitigation, Access to open spaces, Improved Biodiversity. Urban Flooding and Water Resource Management The MCAP will focus on how to prevent or reduce flooding and waterlogging while also dealing with the lack of safe and affordable drinking water. Mumbai is highly prone to coastal risks due to storms, cyclones and also faces extreme rainfall during monsoons, leading to frequent flooding in low-lying areas. The climate action plan is aiming at building flood-resilient infrastructure in the city by improving early warning systems, and drainage lines. It also promotes on framing policies that will promote the reuse of water through measures like increased percolation and rainwater harvesting. Energy and Buildings The key priorities include incorporating 50% Renewables in Mumbai’s electricity generation mix, assessing the potential for rooftop solar on buildings and promoting it, 100% energy efficient street and public lightings and energy-efficient or low-carbon technology for utility energy consumption like WTPs, STPs etc. An additional focus is on prioritizing energy- efficient materials for building construction, transition to energy efficient building lightings and cooling equipment, to use clean fuel in cooking and promoting electric stove, to promote thermal comfort design and climate resilient affordable housing. Air Quality As key priority action areas for the next 10-20 years for efficient air quality management in Mumbai, emphasis has been laid to shift towards cleaner fuels, fuel efficiency and adoption of electric vehicles to reduce vehicular and industrial emissions, indoor air pollution and emissions from bakeries and crematoriums. Strict regulation and appropriate enforcement mechanism of policies and rules have also been prioritized to minimize the indiscriminate burning of waste, burning at landfill sites and release of suspension dust due to construction and demolition activities. Sustainable Mobility Building upon Mumbai’s extensive public transport network, multimodal integration and equitable access and affordability for women, children and low income groups were identified are key priorities. With Mumbai being the 2nd most congested city in the world, parking management and safer intersections need to be prioritized along with inclusive pedestrian and cycling infrastructure for reduced congestion, commuter safety and better air quality. With less than 1% electric vehicles in the mix, incentives and policies to shift towards 100% zero emission vehicles by 2050 for passenger and freight modes is a key priority for reducing GHG emissions as well as improving air quality. Execution of Climate Action Plan After introducing the plan, thousands of hectares of mangroves under protected status are being brought to Mumbai, thousands more trees are being planted, and the government continues to introduce nature-based solutions to help tackle air pollution, reduce landslides, and cool down the city in the face of extreme heat. == References ==

timeline of extinction rebellion actions

Extinction Rebellion (XR) is an international "non-violent civil disobedience" movement carrying out demonstrations worldwide to highlight governments' inaction on climate change. Since 2018, Extinction Rebellion has taken a variety of actions in Europe, the US, and rapidly elsewhere in the world, to urge political and economic forces to take action amid the climate crisis. Although, their non-violent disobedience protests are an effort to generate attention around environmental issues, XR activists have become known for civil disobedience and disruptive tactics. UK actions 2018 On 17 October 2018, activists from Extinction Rebellion held a sit-in at the UK headquarters of Greenpeace, "to encourage their members to participate in mass civil disobedience as the only remaining alternative to avert the worst of the catastrophe" and join in future activities of Extinction Rebellion. 'Declaration of Rebellion' An assembly took place at Parliament Square, London on 31 October 2018, and drew more than a thousand people to hear the "Declaration of Rebellion" against the UK government and speeches by Donnachadh McCarthy, 15-year-old Greta Thunberg, the Swedish schoolgirl "on strike" from school over her own government's climate inaction, Julia Bradbury, and Green MEP Molly Scott Cato in the square. After a motion was proposed and agreed, the assembly moved to occupy the road, where Green MP Caroline Lucas, environmentalist George Monbiot, and other speakers and singers, including Seize the Day, continued from the reclaimed street directly in front of the Houses of Parliament. Following this, 15 campaigners were arrested for deliberately continuing the sit-in in the roadway.In the first two weeks of the movement in November 2018, more than 60 people were arrested for taking part in acts of civil disobedience organised by Extinction Rebellion. On 12 November 2018, activists blockaded the UK's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and some glued their hands to the department's doors. Activists unveiled a "Climate Change... We're Fucked" banner over Westminster Bridge and glued themselves to the gates of Downing Street, near the Prime Minister's official residence, on 14 November. In the evening of 15 November a large group closed the access road to Trafalgar Square outside the Brazilian Embassy in an joint action with Brazilian Women against Fascism UK. 'Rebellion Day' On 17 November 2018, in what was called "Rebellion Day", about 6,000 people took part in a coordinated action to block the five main bridges over the River Thames in London (Southwark, Blackfriars, Waterloo, Westminster, and Lambeth) for several hours, causing major traffic disruption; 70 arrests were made. The Guardian described it as "one of the biggest acts of peaceful civil disobedience in the UK in decades". YBA artist Gavin Turk was one of the activists arrested for obstructing the public highway. Elsewhere in the UK there was a rally in Belfast. From 21 November 2018, beginning a campaign known as 'swarming' roadblocks (repeated roadblocks of approximately 7 minutes each), small groups of Extinction Rebellion activists carried out protests by occupying road junctions at Lambeth and Vauxhall Bridges, Elephant and Castle, Tower Bridge and Earl's Court, causing serious disruption to rush-hour traffic and continuing throughout the day. Similar actions continued for the next two days in London, with one group moving to Oxford Street on the afternoon of the discount shopping day Black Friday.On 23 November, in a first action outside London, an Extinction Rebellion group in York stopped traffic on Coppergate, Clifford Street, Pavement and Ouse Bridge, as well as holding a demo outside West Offices of the City of York Council. An Oxford XR group blocked traffic on Botley Road on the same day. 'Rebellion Day 2' On "Rebellion Day 2", a week after the first, Extinction Rebellion blocked the roads around Parliament Square, before a mock funeral march to Downing Street and then onto Buckingham Palace. XR co-founder Gail Bradbrook read out a letter to the Queen, and one activist glued herself to the gates of the Palace, before the procession returned to Parliament Square. On 24 November there were actions outside London by XR groups in Manchester, Sheffield, Machynlleth and Edinburgh.On 15 December 2018, a professor of psychology was arrested for a "climate change graffiti attack" on the Bristol Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) building, and a "die-in" was held at a local shopping center.On 21 December 2018, actions were staged at BBC locations across the UK by Extinction Rebellion calling for a change in editorial policy, perceiving a "failure to report" on the "climate emergency." BBC headquarters in London was placed on lockdown. 2019 January – council actions On 25 January 2019, about 40 members of Extinction Rebellion staged a peaceful one-hour occupation of the Scottish Parliament's debating chamber in Holyrood, Edinburgh. Council chambers were also occupied by XR groups in Norwich on 11 February, and Gloucestershire, on 13 February, which included a mock trial of the council's "criminal negligence". February – London Fashion Week During London Fashion Week in February, Extinction Rebellion organised actions to disrupt events, calling on the British Fashion Council organisers to declare a 'climate emergency' and for the industry to take a leading role in tackling climate change. 'Swarming' roadblocks were held outside several venues; a couple of rebels wore living grass coats. Later in the week, designer and XR co-founder Clare Farrell, was barred from a fashion show by a label in which she had been involved with production. March On 9 March 2019, around 400 protesters staged a "Blood of Our Children" demonstration outside Downing Street, in which they poured buckets of fake blood on the road to represent the threatened lives of children. As Portsmouth City Council passed a climate emergency motion, the 49th in the UK, protestors confronted leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson outside Portsmouth Guildhall. April – House of Commons naked demonstration On 1 April 2019, around 12 protesters were arrested after undressing and gluing themselves to the glass in the House of Commons viewing gallery during a debate on Britain's intended departure from the European Union, with two of the protesters wearing grey body paint and elephant masks to draw attention to "the elephant in the room". XR activists attributed inspiration for the direct action to a suffragette protest in Parliament in 1909, when (non-nude) protesters chained themselves to statues. April – occupations in London Starting from Monday 15 April 2019, Extinction Rebellion organised demonstrations in London, focusing their attention on Oxford Circus, Marble Arch, Waterloo Bridge and the area around Parliament Square. Activists fixed a pink boat named after murdered Honduran environmental activist Berta Cáceres in the middle of the busy intersection of Oxford Street and Regent Street (Oxford Circus) and glued themselves to it, and also set up several gazebos, potted plants and trees, a mobile stage and a skate ramp whilst also occupying Waterloo Bridge. Five activists, including XR co-founder Simon Bramwell, were arrested for criminal damage when they targeted Shell's headquarters, near Waterloo. After the police imposed a 24-hour Section 14 condition at 18:55 requiring activists to move to Marble Arch the police tried to clear Waterloo Bridge arresting 113 people, without gaining control of the bridge.On the second day of actions on Waterloo Bridge police began making arrests of the activists at 12.40 pm, but stopped a few hours later, after running out of holding cells. By the end of Tuesday 16 April an estimated 500,000 people had been affected by the disruptions and 290 activists had been arrested in London. In Scotland, more than 1,000 protesters occupied the North Bridge for seven hours in Edinburgh, bringing one of the main routes into the city centre to a standstill. Police said they made 29 arrests.On the morning of Wednesday 17 April two activists climbed onto the roof of a Docklands Light Railway train at Canary Wharf station whilst another glued himself to the side, spreading disruption to railway services. The following day the three activists were charged with obstructing trains and after pleading not guilty sent to jail for four weeks, with no bail, whilst awaiting their next hearing. In response to the protests, the British Transport Police suspended access to public Wi-Fi at London Underground stations the same day. Towards the end of Wednesday a large force of police marched on the camp at Parliament Square, arresting people and partially removing roadblocks before it was retaken later the same night by protesters who arrived with a samba band and re-established the roadblocks.At the start of Thursday 18 April, the fourth day of continuous occupations at four locations, the arrest figure had risen to 428, the majority for breaching public order laws and obstructing a highway. During the morning of 18 April about 20 XR activists spread traffic disruption wider with a series of swarming (short duration) roadblocks on Vauxhall Bridge. On the morning of 19 April, after significant media speculation about a threat to Heathrow Airport, around a dozen teenagers, some aged 13 and 14, approached the access road holding a banner which read “Are we the last generation?” Some of the teenagers wept and hugged each other, as they were surrounded by a far larger squad of police. In the middle of the day police moved in force to surround the pink boat as Emma Thompson read poetry from the deck, eventually removing the people who were either locked-on or glued to it. After seven hours police had moved the boat without clearing Oxford Circus. By late evening police said that 682 people had thus far been arrested in London.On 25 April thirteen protesters blockaded the London Stock Exchange by gluing themselves across its entrances, wearing LED signs. Despite this, the operation of the market was not affected. Another 4 protesters climbed on to a Docklands Light Railway train at Canary Wharf, and held the banners, which resulted in a short delay between Bank and Monument station and Stratford/Lewisham station. 26 people were arrested. In the afternoon, the activists gathered at Hyde Park as the "closing ceremony" of the movement, which ended the 11-day demonstrations in London. A total of 1,130 people were arrested during the demonstrations. As of June 2019, one protester, Angie Zelter, has been convicted of a public order offence for taking part in the occupations. July – "Summer Uprising" On 13 and 14 July a weekend of protest was held in East London, with a series of seven-minute Dalston traffic blockades, a mass bike ride through the A10, Olympic park traffic blocks, a people's assembly outside Hackney Town Hall, and all-day talks and panels in London Fields. This was the predecessor to a "Summer Uprising" from 08:00 on 15 July to 11:00 on 20 July, in Bristol, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow and London. Protests in the different cities focused on different threats: rising sea levels, floods, wildfires, crop failures and extreme weather, with a different coloured boat marked "Act Now" and other messages in each location. There was significant disruption to traffic in protest locations. September – London Fashion Week Extinction Rebellion targeted London Fashion Week (LFW) in September 2019 with a number of actions in order to raise awareness about the environmental damage caused by the fashion industry—"the United Nations has said it uses more energy than the aviation and shipping industry combined". XR held a die-in outside LFW's official venue on 13 September. On 15 September it targeted Victoria Beckham's show with a swarm and protestors holding placards. On 17 September, about 200 people held a funeral march from Trafalgar Square to a H&M store and to an LFW venue on The Strand; and people gave speeches about the unsustainability of the fashion industry and fast fashion. September – Port of Dover blockade On 21 September Extinction Rebellion Dover tried to blockade the Port of Dover by holding a legal protest on the westbound carriageway of the A20, which police had temporarily designated for that purpose. Vehicles were diverted onto the A2, but activists also superglued themselves to that road, blocking traffic in one direction. Giant banners were hung from Dover Castle and from the White Cliffs of Dover. The "No Food on a Dying Planet" action, which was concerned with the potential for food shortages resulting from climate change, was specifically held at Britain's busiest port because of the UK's "dependency" on food imports. Ten, mostly elderly people, were arrested. October On 3 October 2019 XR protesters used a fire engine to spray fake blood onto and around HM Treasury in central London. On 6 October XR held an 'opening ceremony' at Marble Arch attended by more than a thousand demonstrators. On 7 October, several thousand people had blocked locations across Westminster district—135 demonstrators were arrested.Two days prior to a plan to shut down parts of central London for at least two weeks, police raided a former court building in Lambeth partially being used as a preparation area, arresting ten people and removing solar panels, toilets and other equipment. The police were criticised for the use of pre-emptive arrests who countered that Extinction Rebellion were being irresponsible in their action of attempting to overwhelm police resources and that officers were being taken away from their core responsibilities. International Rebellion As part of a two-week series of XR actions which they called "International Rebellion", to take place in more than 60 cities worldwide, events were planned around London from 7 to 19 October to demand the UK government take urgent action to tackle the climate crisis. Despite much, and sometimes heavy, rain throughout this period, the protests went ahead. On 6 October an 'opening ceremony' at Marble Arch was attended by more than a thousand people. On 7 October, several thousand people shut down parts of Westminster in central London, blocking Whitehall, the Mall, Westminster Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Downing Street and Victoria Embankment.On 10 October at London City Airport, a sit-in was held at the exit of its DLR railway station, with activists supergluing themselves to the floor. Two flights were delayed by activists who had purchased tickets. Other activists climbed onto the terminal roof while former paralympian cyclist James Brown climbed atop a British Airways aircraft, livestreaming the event online. On 11 October, XR activists obstructed access to the BBC's Broadcasting House main doors. Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium demonstrated with XR in London in April 2019, and was arrested, and later released, on 10 October after joining a sit-in protest at Trafalgar Square. She said "The more people from all sections of society protest, the greater the impact will be", and that, having the ear of high-ranking people, she raised climate issues whenever possible. Over 1000 arrests had been made by 11 October.On 12 October, XR held a "funeral procession" along Oxford Street which it claimed had 20,000 participants. The same day, animal rights activists of the group Animal Rebellion (affiliated with XR) said 28 of their supporters were arrested while attempting to block access to Billingsgate Fish Market.Beginning early on Monday 14 October, hundreds of XR activists occupied Bank junction, outside the Bank of England in the City of London, London's financial district, focussing on the financial institutions "funding environmental destruction". That night police, controversially, banned all the Extinction Rebellion protests from the whole of London, starting at 9 pm. Around the same time, police began clearing people and tents that remained at the camp on Trafalgar Square, cutting free and arresting people who had locked themselves in place; police had until then allowed the Square to be occupied.XR continued with a protest at the Department for Transport at 8 am on 15 October, during which Gail Bradbrook stood on top of the building's entrance until she was arrested. Bradbrook "called on ministers to explain how their continued expansion of roads and airports fitted with a net-zero emissions target." There was much criticism of the police ban, described as "chilling and unlawful", by individuals and organisations. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who would normally expect to work with the police, appeared to distance himself from the ban. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said the ban was a "huge over-reach of police power"; Liberty said it was "a grossly disproportionate move by the Met and an assault on the right to protest". XR applied for urgent judicial review of the ban.On 16 October, mothers of infants held a sit-in outside Google's London headquarters in King's Cross, in protest at the company's funding of climate deniers. At the same building, XR Youth climbed on top of the entrance to YouTube, with a banner reading "YouTube, stop climate denial", relating to its hosting of climate change denial videos. George Monbiot and Jonathan Bartley were arrested on Whitehall.On 17 October, XR activists targeted rail and underground services near to the Canary Wharf financial district by climbing onto or gluing themselves to trains at Shadwell, Stratford and Canning Town stations. At Canning Town, a largely working-class neighbourhood, an activist was dragged from the top of a tube train and beaten by angry commuters. XR's lack of class and race awareness, and the confused message in blockading public transport, was highlighted by many in the media. In a statement, XR apologised; elsewhere, one XR spokesman said the protest was "a huge own goal" while others in XR appreciated the significant media attention that it generated. More than 3,700 people took part in an online poll in advance of the action with 72% against it "no matter how it is done". In response, some in the affinity groups planning the action pulled out while others continued. The group's decentralised structure allows individual groups to act on their own.On the morning of 18 October, the final day of the "International Rebellion", Oxford Circus was blocked using a pyramid structure made of wooden poles, to which some people locked themselves on to and others climbed up. Later, a protester free solo climbed halfway up Big Ben using the scaffolding currently surrounding it, and unfurled two large banners, reading: "No pride on a dead planet" and "Citizens Assembly".On 20 October, a protest performance piece was made in the National Portrait Gallery against its sponsorship by BP, who XR claims is "funding extinction". Three protestors lay on the gallery floor wearing only underwear while others poured fake oil over them; a monologue was given and information handed out. The protest was on the final day of the BP Portrait Award exhibition and in a room in which pieces sponsored by BP were on display. Hunger strike Some XR activists took part in a global hunger strike that began on 18 November, involving 526 people in 28 countries, 263 of whom were in the UK. The hunger strike was "intended to show how the climate crisis is already urgently affecting people in many parts of the world." Although most ended their strike around 23/24 November, by 27 November a handful from Extinction Rebellion continued, stationed outside Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat party headquarters in London. Their request was for all political party leaders to agree to meet them and pledge support for XR's Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. "Election Rebellion: Twelve Days Of Crisis" On 4 December about half a dozen activists dressed in yellow-and-black bee outfits held an action during Liberal Democrats' campaigning for the 2019 UK general election in Streatham, south London. One such activist glued himself to the windscreen of the Liberal Democrats' battle bus.On 9 December activists blockaded a central London road to demand the next government tackles air pollution in London. They wore gas masks and glued their hands to breeze blocks in the middle of Cranbourn Street, outside Leicester Square tube station. Activists also blockaded Great Ancoats Street in Manchester, a major route for commuters, during rush hour with a wooden construction and banners. 2020 February 2020 On 17 February, Extinction Rebellion members of the University of Cambridge assembled to dig up a patch of lawn outside of Trinity College, as a protest against the college continuing to invest its endowments in oil and gas companies. The mud dug up was later taken to a local branch of Barclays Bank. September 2020 On 1 September 2020, Extinction Rebellion began 10 days of action called Autumn Rebellion, with activities in Cardiff, Manchester and London. Protesters successfully blocked Parliament Square on the first day and demanded that Parliament support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, a private member's bill tabled by Caroline Lucas.On 2 September, activists in Cardiff held a socially distanced beach party outside the Welsh Parliament, to highlight the impact of rising sea levels. Others glued themselves to the BBC Wales building.On 5 September 2020, XR blocked access to several printing presses owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, disrupting the distribution of the company's newspapers The Sun, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Distribution of The Daily Mail and London Evening Standard, which are printed by News Corp, was also affected. In a statement, XR said the action was designed to disrupt and expose what it called a failure to adequately report on the climate emergency: "Our free press, society and democracy is under attack – from a failing government that lies to us consistently … Our leaders have allowed the majority of our media to be amassed in the hands of five people with powerful vested interests and deep connections to fossil fuel industries. We need a free press but we do not have it." 72 arrests were made. In a statement on Twitter, Home Secretary Priti Patel called the actions "an attack on our free press, society and democracy". After government officials considered reclassifying XR as an organised crime group, a number of public figures such as Stephen Fry and Mark Rylance criticised the government's move in an open letter, describing XR as "a group of people who hold the government to account".Also on 5 September, Police seized the "Lightship Greta", a mock lightvessel bearing the slogan "sound the alarm, climate emergency", in Kennington, South London. It had been pushed for six days from Brighton and was headed to Stratford, East London.The Metropolitan Police confirmed that they had made over 600 arrests over the period. November 2020 On 11 November, a member of Extinction Rebellion laid a poppy wreath at the Cenotaph in London reading "Act Now", referencing climate change, and displayed a banner reading "Honour their sacrifice / Climate change means war". The wreath was removed from the Cenotaph by the police. 2021 2021 G7 Summit During the 47th G7 summit in June 2021, hundreds of protesters related to the group gathered on the beaches of St Ives, Cornwall, where the summit is taking place to protest to world leaders and demand urgent action to address climate crisis. The group chose the slogan "Sound the Alarm" and used noise as way of protesting. Impossible Rebellion A two-week series of protests based in London began on 23 August 2021, under the name "Impossible Rebellion". Demonstrations have variously focused on banks' continued investment in fossil fuels, new road infrastructure such as HS2, the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, treatment of animals on Crown Estate land and the fashion and fast food industry. Some days of protest have been themed around highlighting women and indigenous voices. The protests specifically aim to halt new investment in fossil fuels by the UK government, in addition to Extinction Rebellion's other goals. COP26 protests Extinction Rebellion members were among the protesters at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), held in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November 2021. Black Friday blockades Members of Extinction Rebellion blockaded the UK distribution centers of Amazon, protesting the company's environmental impact and treatment of workers. The blockades happened on Black Friday as it was deemed one of the most profitable days for Amazon. Members chained themselves together and erected bamboo structures to disrupt deliveries from the centers across the UK. 2022 We Will Not Be Bystanders - April Rebellion 2022 In April 2022, activists from Extinction Rebellion, among them two Olympic athletes, blocked key bridges across London. Protestors had been arrested after climbing oil tankers, anchoring themselves to structures, or blocking roads at oil depots. House of Commons - Speakers Chair On 2 September 2022, a group of around 50 activists took nonviolent direct action at the House of Commons to kick of the first phase of XRs September plans and point to the need for a Citizens' Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. 4 activists glued themselves in a chain around the Speakers Chair inside the Parliamentary Chamber, 2 activists held two large banners in the great hall that read "Citizens' Assemblies Now" and "Let The People Decide" whilst outside the building 2 activists chained themselves to the railings and one climbed the scaffolding around Big Ben with another giant banner reading "Let The People Decide - Citizens' Assemblies Now". A speech read out in the chamber said "We are in a crisis, and what goes on in this chamber every day makes a joke out of us all. We cannot afford to carry on like this" 2023 Extinction Rebellion, working with other organisations such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and unions staged four day of protest in central London from 20 April to 24 April. United States New York City actions On 17 November 2018, in what was called "Rebellion Day", there was a rally in New York City.On January 26, 2019, the newly formed Extinction Rebellion NYC conducted its first action, with activists forming the Extinction Symbol with their bodies on the ice at the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink. An activist climbed and hung a banner on the large gold Prometheus statue reading "Climate Change = Mass Murder, Rebel for Life, Intl Rebellion Week April 15, 2019". Nine people were arrested. On April 17, 2019, over 60 activists were arrested at a die-in in the streets around New York City Hall. Two activists climbed light posts and hung a banner reading "Declare Climate Emergency" along with the Extinction Symbol. In addition to Extinction Rebellion's general demands, a specific demand of the action was that New York City formally declare a climate emergency and call for an emergency mobilization to ensure a safe climate. In this regard, the action was successful, in that on June 26, 2019, the New York City Council unanimously passed Resolution No. 0864–2019, declaring a climate emergency and calling for an emergency mobilization, becoming the first large US city to do so.On June 22, 2019, 70 activists with Extinction Rebellion NYC were arrested for blocking traffic outside of The New York Times headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Protesters formed the Extinction Symbol with their bodies on Eighth Avenue, rappelled from the roof of the Port Authority Bus Terminal with a banner that read "Climate Emergency" and climbed on top of the large glass awning of The New York Times Building with sound equipment and signage. The protest called for more urgent climate coverage by the New York Times and other media outlets, including through adherence to the group's publicly available media standards.Extinction Rebellion NYC continued to protest the quality of The New York Times' climate coverage through smaller actions outside the newspaper's headquarters, with particular focus on the Times' proposed sponsorship of an oil industry conference, Oil and Money 2019, scheduled for fall 2019 in London. In response, on September 3, 2019, the New York Times dropped its sponsorship of this conference, on the basis that the subject matter "gives us cause for concern." Beginning in the summer of 2019, Extinction Rebellion NYC members began a campaign of raising awareness of the climate crisis by making speeches and circulating information in subway cars.On August 10, 2019, over 100 people were arrested at a protest demanding that RXR Realty evict the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) from the Starrett–Lehigh Building due to the human rights abuses occurring at the US-Mexico border and ICE's role in mass deportations. This action, which involved protesters shutting down the West Side Highway, was co-sponsored by Extinction Rebellion NYC, Movimiento Cosecha, the NYC DSA Immigration Justice Working Group, and the Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Council.On September 5, 2019, members of Extinction Rebellion blocked traffic at multiple intersections in midtown Manhattan and performed dance routines to bring attention to the ongoing fires in Amazonia.On September 6, 2019, an activist with Extinction Rebellion became the first person in over 40 years to climb the Unisphere, a 140-foot-high (43m) stainless steel globe in Queens, New York. He hung a banner saying “ZERO CO2 2025, CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW”, along with the Extinction Symbol, over South America to draw attention to the fires ravaging Amazonia.On October 7, 2019, Extinction Rebellion activists threw fake blood over Wall Street's Charging Bull sculpture.On 10 October 2019, XR activists dropped a sailboat in a Times Square intersection, with some protesters gluing their hands to the boat, snarling traffic in the process.Three protestors interrupted a match between Karolina Muchova and Coco Gauff at the 2023 US Open tennis tournament for 40 minutes on September 7, 2023 by yelling "end fossil fuels," with one protester gluing their feet to the concrete floor of the stands. Pacific Northwest On 28 April 2019, non-violent activists blocked a railroad track bringing Canadian tar sands oil to Portland, Oregon, where Zenith Energy, Ltd., a Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based multinational operates a marine export terminal. Eleven protesters were arrested for planting a garden atop the tracks. Five, including Ken Ward Jr., were tried February 2020 in the Multnomah County, Oregon courthouse, for their civil disobedience. Their jury hung on the verdict with five of the six jurors voted for acquittal but the majority were unable to convince the sixth juror to dispose of the case. Massachusetts Extinction Rebellion Massachusetts started in Spring 2019 and eventually split to XR Boston, XR Cape Cod, and XR Western Mass. On September 28, 2021, seven activists were arrested after blocking the street in front of the home of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker with a pink sailboat bearing the Extinction Rebellion flag and the slogan "CLIMATE EMERGENCY".On June 15, 2023, eight activists were arrested after mooning the Massachusetts State Senate with the message "STOP PASSING GAS" written on their butts adorned in pink XR branded thongs. The disruption happened during a formal senate session. This action was in support of the demand of no new fossil fuels in the state of Massachusetts and called on the Senate to pass legislation in line with that demand. The action received more than 400 online articles in the US and internationally, making it the most publicized Extinction Rebellion action in the United States. Australian actions Extinction Rebellion Australia held a 'Declaration Day' on 22 March 2019 in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, and Brisbane. Demonstrators assembled and protested to demand that governments and media declare a state of climate emergency. On the eve of international Rebellion Day, 15 April, an XR group occupied the Parliament of Australia's lower house, the House of Representatives. On 19 April XR activists disrupted a railway line in Brisbane. In Australia, from 23 March to 28 March 2021 - a week of mass disruption (autumn rebellion) was held in Melbourne, Victoria with smaller numbers compared to their earlier actions.Other targeted campaigns in Australia include the Don't NAB Our Future campaign, which is targeting the National Australia Bank over its financial support for fossil fuel projects and has involved the targeting of several NAB branches throughout Australia with chalking as well as occupations, and the Duty of Care campaign targeting the federal government for it appealing a Federal Court ruling stating that the government has a duty of care to protect future generations from climate harm. Actions have included targeting federal government departments as well as Members of Parliament in Canberra during sitting weeks through acts of civil disobedience. An action also took place at the electorate office of Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in Melbourne. Two Extinction Rebellion activists climbed onto the roof while several others glued themselves to the front entrance.On 9 October 2022 two protesters glued their hands to Picasso's ‘Massacre in Korea’ at the National Gallery of Victoria as part of their Spring Rebellion action in the Australian state of Victoria. Actions elsewhere On 17 November 2018 there was a "Rebellion Day" action by the XR group in Stockholm, as well as rallies in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Madrid.On 15 April 2019, XR activists occupied part of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, forming human chains before being arrested. Similar actions were organised by XR groups in Berlin, Heidelberg, Brussels, Lausanne, Madrid, and Denver.On 11 September 2019, the Zurich wing of Extinction Rebellion dyed the Limmat river, the main river that flows through the centre of the Swiss city, luminous green. XR activists floated face up and motionless in the river, and floated downstream in imitation of dead bodies. The action was done to highlight the various ways global warming threatens water.On 23 September 2019, at least 8 people were arrested during a Denver XR protest at the intersection of Speer Blvd. and Broadway for disrupting traffic to raise awareness of the group. On the same day, an XR protest in Los Angeles closed Sunset Boulevard for evening rush hour, with no arrests reported.On 7 October 2019, XR held a global day of “civil disobedience” with disruptive actions causing chaos and outrage in major cities around the world. Protesters in Berlin gathered at the Victory Column near the Brandenburg Gate Monday morning. The action continued into the evening with Potsdamer Platz, which was at some point occupied by some 3,000 protesters, according to the local media. Protesters blocked roads across Australia and New Zealand, with police in Sydney arresting at least 30 people. Activists in Wellington, New Zealand, staged a "die-in" at an ANZ Bank branch, demanding that it “divest away from fossil fuels,” with some protesters gluing their hands to the windows. Others occupied the lobby of the Ministry of Business and Innovation. In Amsterdam more than 100 protesters were arrested after they erected a tent camp on the main road outside the national museum Rijksmuseum. In Paris, about 1,000 protesters backed by the yellow vests movement occupied a shopping centre. In Vienna, protesters also blocked traffic in the city. On 10 October 2019 five activists, one woman and four men were arrested after chaining themselves to the gates of the Irish parliament, the Dail Eireann.On 21 October 2019 on the British island of Jersey, XR activists caused disruption during morning rush hour, blocking the road while cycling slowly into St Helier. They then staged a 'die-in' in the town centre.On 29 November 2019, on a pseudo-holiday known as "Black Friday, traffic outside the Cherry Creek Mall in Denver was brought to a standstill at the hands of protesters. Extinction Rebellion Colorado blocked traffic by positioning a sleigh in the middle of East 1st Avenue, and locking people to the sleigh by their necks. The protest was aimed at showing the correlation between consumerism and environmental impact. The protest blocked traffic for three hours, as police and firefighters worked to safely detach the protesters from the sleigh they were locked to. Instead of cutting the locks around their necks, firefighters sawed off the poles to the sleigh, freeing the protesters from their position. Four people were arrested and cited for impeding a roadway and disobedience to a lawful officer.On 6 December 2019, Extinction Rebellion activists blocked streets for 7 hours in Washington, D.C., calling for an end to World Bank funding of fossil fuels.On 24 January 2020, 25 Extinction Rebellion activists chained themselves to handrails in the Kastrup airport in Denmark, in protest against plans for its future expansion. They played fake announcements for more than half an hour in the arrivals area of the airport announcing that the airport expansion needs to be cancelled immediately to reach climate neutrality by 2025.On 4 December 2021, eight Extinction Rebellion activists chained themselves to a train and railway line in Dunedin, New Zealand to protest against the use of coal by dairy company Fonterra.In October 2022 a group of members glued themselves to Ferrari supercar models at the 2022 Parris Auto Show.Extinction Rebellion has blockaded the A12 in The Hague, Netherlands, irregularly since 6 July 2022 and daily since 9 September 2023. Notes References External links Official website XR Declaration – The Extinction Rebellion "Declaration of Rebellion" live from Parliament Square with Greta Thunberg, Donnachadh McCarthy, George Monbiot, Molly Scott and Dr Gail Bradbrook – 31 October 2018

climate disclosure standards board

The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) is a non-profit organization working to provide material information for investors and financial markets through the integration of climate change-related information into mainstream financial reporting. CDSB operates on the premise that investors and financial institutions can make better and informed decisions if companies are open, transparent and analyse the risks and opportunities associated with climate change-related information. To this end, CDSB acts as a forum for collaboration on how existing standards and practices can be used to link financial and climate change-related information using its Framework for reporting environmental information, natural capital and associated business impacts.The Framework is a standards-ready tool for companies to disclose climate change-related information in mainstream financial reports. Updated in April 2018, the Framework for reporting environmental information, natural capital and associated business impacts adopts and relies on relevant provisions of existing standards and practices, including the TCFD recommendations and International Financial Reporting Standards as well as reflecting regulatory and voluntary reporting and carbon trading rules. The distinctiveness of the Framework is that it references standards instead of creating a new one. The Framework also adopts relevant principles and objectives of financial reporting to complement mainstream financial reporting models. In November 2021, the IFRS Foundation announced it would consolidate the CDSB with its newly formed International Sustainability Standards Board by June 2022, together with the London-based Value Reporting Foundation. Background A number of frameworks have been developed to account for and report greenhouse gas emissions and natural capital. However, the lack of harmonization has resulted in inconsistent data and an increased reporting burden on companies. The resulting information is provided in a multiplicity of formats; making analysis and comparison harder for investors and other stakeholders. This has been substantiated by CDSB's research that was commissioned to prepare for the UK Government's Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). During the 2007 World Economic Forum in Davos, CDSB was formed to bridge the gap between the current uncoordinated approaches of reporting by having developed and promoting the Framework for reporting environmental information, natural capital and associated business impacts. CDP acts as a secretariat to CDSB. Governance While CDP acts as a secretariat to CDSB, the board members provide strategic direction. CDSB is also supported by its Technical Working Group (TWG), a group of large global accounting firms and their professional advisors, and academics who make recommendations and lead the work on the development and uptake of the Framework for reporting environmental information, natural capital and associated business impacts. The objectives in developing the global Framework are: Elicit information of value to reporting organisations in devising and implementing their business strategies and to users of climate change-related disclosures made in mainstream reports. Enhance the efficiency of capital allocation by investors, enabling them to integrate climate change-related costs, risks and opportunities into their analyses. Provide corporations with greater certainty on disclosure requirements and encourage the consistency of approach that is necessary for effective benchmarking. Provide conceptual and practical input into deliberations by regulatory agencies contemplating the introduction or development of requirements on corporate climate change-related disclosures. CDSB's programmes Framework for reporting environmental information, natural capital and associated business impacts The Framework for reporting environmental information, natural capital and associated business impacts sets out an approach for reporting environmental information and natural capital in mainstream reports, such as the annual report, 10-K filing or integrated report. The Framework has been developed by the CDSB Technical Working Group and the Secretariat. Edition 1.0 of the Framework, focusing solely on climate change-related information, was officially launched for public comments in 2009 at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Framework was published in September 2010, after four years of consultation. CDSB has developed its Climate Change Reporting Framework and guidance based on existing standards, research and analysis, and good practice working with leading professional organisations. The Framework has since undergone revisions] to Edition 1.1 – released in October 2012, to reflect the changes to global accounting principles. The latest edition of the Framework, focusing on environmental and climate change-related information was launched on 9 April 2018. Consistency Report During the last few decades, a number of organizations and governments have developed methodologies and frameworks for corporations to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. However, there are no internationally agreed standards for reporting corporate climate change-related information. This leads to variations in methodologies, scope and boundaries of reported information, which in turn limits comparability and usefulness, leading to doubts about its quality and reliability. It also increases the cost of climate change reporting for enterprises, especially for those operating in multiple jurisdictions, and may deter smaller, resource-constrained companies from preparing emission inventories. To address these concerns, CDSB, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (collectively referred to here as the "project partners") are calling for and are taking actions to encourage consistency of approach to the demand and supply of climate change-related information. The working paper "The case for consistency in corporate climate change disclosure", written by CDSB highlights the numerous issues resulting from the large amount of standards and requirements that international companies need to adhere to. XBRL CDP and CDSB are currently working with a group of global experts, including representatives from the Fujitsu Research Institute, to develop an independent XBRL climate change reporting taxonomy in order to encourage the adoption of the Climate Change Reporting Framework as the standard for climate change reporting. XBRL is an important tool in allowing all stakeholders to more efficiently share and analyze information. These subsequently affect the quality and quantity of corporate reporting data. IIRC and CDSB Integrated Reporting not only consolidates an organization's strategy, governance and financial performance, but also its responsibility and contribution towards the environmental, social and economic factors and the context within which it operates. Integrated Reporting can help businesses to evaluate possibilities, advantages and profits of sustainable choices and enable investors and other stakeholders to understand how an organization is really performing. Many CDSB and CDP members contributed to the development of the International Integrated Reporting Committee's (IIRC) discussion paper, "Towards Integrated Reporting: Communicating Value in the 21st Century", released on 12 September 2011, and to IIRC's wider work program.CDSB, in partnership with Promethium Carbon, have produced a report titled 'Climate Change-Your Journey to Integrated Reporting'. The report is relevant for companies preparing for, or undertaking Integrated Reporting and shows that climate change affects all capitals of a business, affecting its ability to preserve and create value. As such, it is integral that climate change-related disclosures are included in mainstream financial reports. Rio+20 sustainability and U.K. Directive on GHGs At the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development conference in Rio de Janeiro, 20 years after the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that UK quoted companies will have to disclose and account for greenhouse gas emissions in their Director's Reports from April 2013. The announcement was made to meet the requirements of Section 85 of the Climate Change Act 2008 under which the Secretary of State is obliged to make regulations requiring director's report to contain information about greenhouse gas emissions. The announcement was a result of a public consultation held by Defra during the summer of 2011 in which the government sought views to understand whether or not mandatory reporting should be introduced in the UK. The results favored mandatory reporting a draft regulation was released on July 25, 2012. CDSB's Climate Change Reporting Framework is listed as a method for compliance in the guidance document accompanying the proposed regulation. Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures The CDSB helps companies and policymakers implement recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures which develops voluntary disclosures.The first USA company to join this program was Hannon Armstrong in December 2017.The number of companies reporting using the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures recommendations has grown quickly. Two thirds of companies on the FTSE 100 mentioned TCFD in their 2019 annual reports, according to a study. Recognition and adaptation CDSB has been named as one of 50 stars in seriously long term innovation in the new Future Quotient report. The report, co-authored by Volans and JWT, is based on a survey of 500 public, private and NGO leaders about who's leading the charge in sustainability, innovation and social enterprise to create value in the long-term. The outcome of the survey identifies the most future ready companies, groups, individuals and initiatives in the world and CDSB sits alongside Google, China's 5-Year Plan, TED, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. See also Climate risk Fossil fuel divestment Socially responsible investing References External links Climate Disclosure Standards Board website The International Integrated Reporting Council website Carbon reporting key to company fortunes, Financial Times Climate Disclosure, Harmonization And Challenges In The Reporting World, Forbes SASB's Chair Jean Rogers joins CDSB'S board The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB): A framework for reporting environmental and climate change information in corporate reports

climate change and energy transition act

The Climate Change and Energy Transition Act, officially Law 7/2021, of 20 May, on climate change and energy transition (in Spanish: Ley 7/2021, de 20 de mayo, de cambio climático y transición energética) is a Spanish law which received Royal Assent on 20 May 2021, and came into force on 22 May 2021. Its aim is to ensure Spain's compliance with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The law was passed by both chambers of the Cortes Generales (Spain's parliament) and enacted by King Felipe VI. Main provisions Some of the measures contemplated in this law are: It is prohibited to grant new exploration authorisations, research permits and hydrocarbon exploitation concessions throughout the national territory. Nor will new permits be granted for resources extracted for their radioactive, fissionable or fertile properties, such as uranium. In addition, new authorisations for coal production projects at national level will be banned, and (hydraulic fracturing) will come to an end. By 2040 at the latest, all new cars must be zero-emission. This means that from that year onwards, no new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (not intended for commercial use) emitting CO₂, the main greenhouse gas contributing to global warming, may be sold. The aim is to have a fleet of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with no direct CO₂ emissions by 2050. Municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants are obliged to establish low-emission zones, in the style of Madrid Central, to reduce air pollution. There are 149 towns and cities with more than 25 million people. Petrol stations are obliged to install charging points for electric cars. From 2023, all non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spaces must have charging infrastructure. Approval The law was initially approved by the Congress of Deputies on 8 April 2021 and was sent to the Senate for its final approval. The Senate approved the law on 28 April 2021 with some amendments.On 13 May 2021, the Congress of Deputies made a final vote on the text. The law was approved by the absolute majority of the chamber, with the support of all the groups except Vox, which voted against, and PP and Más País-Verdes Equo, which abstained. Criticisms Some experts in the field have criticised the lack of ambition of the law and its risk of being "born old". Greenpeace considers that the objectives are insufficient to fight decisively against the climate emergency. See also Climate of Spain References External links Full text of the law (in Spanish)

energy policy of finland

Energy policy of Finland describes the politics of Finland related to energy. Energy in Finland describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Finland. Electricity sector in Finland is the main article of electricity in Finland. Climate policy Finland is member of the EU. The EU sets the minimum climate policy targets for Finland. According to Heikki Simola of the Finnish Association of Nature Conservation, Finnish forest management has made Finnish forest and mire ecosystems as a considerable net source of carbon into the atmosphere for decades. Peat 10–15% of European peat lands are in Finland. Finland uses over 50% of the world's peat as energy. The annual emissions of Finnish energy peat are equal to all car emissions in Finland. According to IPCC peat is fossil energy. In some estimates, it takes 2000–3000 years to build up. Some parties e.g. Center claim peat to be bioenergy. The definition of bioenergy in Finnish individual statistics may be good to confirm in general. The business annual turnover of energy peat in Finland is €300 million- Annual state support is €200 million. This support was increased after European price on coal to compensate the extra cost to industry. €200 million is equal to mission funds for elderly care in 2019 in Finland.In electricity production, peat's share of CO2 emissions is 20% while it produces 6% of electricity in Finland. Finland is appraised of its high knowledge of using bioenergy. Finland burn wood with peat and processes are developed to use peat (ref voima 9.9.2019) According to Stern report it is cheaper to stop the global warming emissions than pay the climate change costs. Polluter pays principle allocate a big share of climate change-related agriculture losses compensations in Finland to the peat producers to pay for long time in future. According to the environmental law in Europe businesses must be aware of their environmental impacts. Ignorance does not remove the responsibility. Carbon tax Finland was the first country in the 1990s to introduce a carbon tax, initially with exemptions for specific fuels or sectors. Energy taxation was changed many times. These changes were related to the opening of the Nordic electricity market. Other Nordic countries exempted energy-intensive industries, and Finnish industries felt disadvantaged by this. Finland placed a border tax on imported electricity, but this was found to be out of line with EU single market legislation. Changes were then made to the carbon tax to partially exclude energy-intensive firms. This had the effect of increasing the costs of reducing CO2 emissions.: 16 Scholars suggested that carbon tax revenues in Finland could be used to reduce labour taxes, which would favour non-energy-intensive industries.: 17 Electricity The annual net import of electricity has varied between 5-20% of consumption. Lighting In EU politics Finnish government supported the delay in the banning of incandescent lightbulbs. According to the national state-owned energy center Motiva banning of incandescent lightbulbs will save 5.8% of households electricity (1.1 TWh) in Finland. The lightbulbs banning is not restricted in households but concern also other sectors lighting, like industry, service, agriculture and public lighting, making the total national percentage lower and total energy savings higher than the above-given numbers 5.8% of electricity 1.1 TWh. Motiva calculation may have used average year consumption instead of the specific year e.g. 2006. According to the statistics of Finland, in 2006 the electricity used in households was 10.6 TWh excluding the electricity warming that was 9.1 TWh. Thus 1.1/19.7 would be ca 5.6% in 2006. Excluding electric warming it would be 10.4% of household electricity. Nuclear power In 2019 In Finland the nuclear power owners responsibility of major accident is 700 million euros that state can rise by €70 million in maximum. Fukushima accident cost $167 million. Many major nuclear plant accidents have taken place: Chernobyl disaster 1986, Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant Japan 1995, Rocky Flats Plant USA 1957 and UK Sellafield 1955. Heat loss from nuclear power plants is released in oceans. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature scientist warned in 2019 that oxygen in the oceans is decreasing. Many vital ecosystems in danger of collapse. Major part of nuclear power energy is released in oceans as heat.In the 1980s the nuclear accident costs for the nuclear plant in Finland were limited to 1.6 mrd markka (0.26 mrd €). The estimated cost of Chernobyl disaster 1986 is hundreds of bn dollars. Also the EU has kept supporting Russia in the expenses of the Tšernobyl disaster still in 2010. The general environmental policy of EU is that the polluter pays. This does not apply the external costs of nuclear power that are in Finland diluted to all national tax payers and in the case of nuclear disaster probably further to all tax payers of the European Union. Greenpeace calculated in 2009 that any additional nuclear energy would be for electricity import not for domestic use since the electricity demand will decline from the year 2020. Climate and energy strategy 2008 did not give the reduction of CO2 emissions in 1990-2020. After environmental committee inquiry the target was told to be 5%. Only 10% of the Finnish climate emissions are from electricity. According to Pöyry Energy (2008) addition of nuclear energy would reduce Finnish climate emissions 4% (2,8 Mt) and majority of the electricity would be for export. In addition, the major nuclear companies Fortum and PVO plan new coal companies. Transmission Fingrid Oyj is a Finnish national electricity transmission grid operator. In Finland the electricity transmission costs were informed in September 2010 to rise for everybody in 2012 at least 10% based on the needed transmission line investments demanded by the new Olkiluoto nuclear plant under construction in 2005-2013. The transmission lines are owned by Fingrid. The nuclear companies Fortum and PVO were 50% shareholders of Fingrid. Both of them are shareholders of the nuclear power plant under construction in 2005-2013. According to the EU decisions the power companies should not own the grid. Representatives of the social democrat party supported in 2008 the 100% state ownership and control of Fingrid including acquisitions from the nuclear and insurance companies. Finnish state and the insurance company Ilmarinen will take over a 50% share of Fingrid from the nuclear companies Fortum and PVO as announced in January 2011. Electricity costs The industry electricity tariffs are lower than other users. In Finland the electricity pricing of households promotes electricity use with high fixed prices and increasing price reductions for higher consumption. The annual transmission costs for at least a moderate energy user (less than 2 MWh a year, a typical German consumption) can be higher than the actual electricity cost. With this consumption level the fixed costs may be around 0.25-0.3 % of total electricity costs. According to the newspaper discussions in some contracts the fixed cost can be substantial also when there is no electricity use and the power lines are old. The fixed costs may be a significant cost factor in the evaluation of own renewable electricity production. This applies also alternatives to fossil heating if connection to old system is in place. Most often only the remote summer cottages have no connection in the transmission power lines with annual fixed costs. At least until the end of 2010 there was no compensation of extra electricity fed in the power lines. This is also valid in 2011 for small-scale domestic or agricultural farm production. The electricity feed in policy of government have mainly supported the large energy companies economical interests. The shift in the charge of electricity consumption instead of the present trend to increase of the fixed prices would promote economically the energy savings and renewable energy investments. This could be politically controlled since the business interest is to promote high energy consumption. Energy security and domestic energy Energy security measures center on reducing dependence on any one source of imported energy or supplier, exploiting renewable energy resources, and reducing demand by energy conservation. Finland is highly dependent on energy import from Russia: 71% of total energy in 2007: Hard coal 92%, raw oil 75% and natural gas 100%. The support of domestic energy has been mainly based on traditional bioenergy and highly disputed fossil peat energy alternatives. The new renewable energy alternatives have not been effectively promoted by the end of 2010. This strategy was criticised by the IEA in its country evaluation in 2007. According to the renewable energy statistics of EU countries Finland has low capacities of wind power (19/27), solar power (17/27) and solar heating (23/27) in 2010. Wind power is repeatedly the most favoured power source in Finland with over 90% of support according to the public opinion tests. In this respect the official energy policy of Finland has promoted the market control of traditional energy sources and companies. Renewable energy Renewable energy target of electricity was 35% in 2005 from 1997 to 2010. In 2006 the target was dropped in 31.5% from 1997 to 2010. The RE electricity share was about the same in 1997 as in 2009. Since the consumption of electricity increased, the use of fossil fuel electricity increased as well. Since the energy statistics of Finland have rather high annual variations, for more accurate energy trend evaluations one may want to calculate also e.g. five year averages. Hydro electricity Most hydroelectricity capacity was built before year 1997. Fortum owns the majority of water power. Fortum received most of its hydroelectricity power capacity in the disputed acquisition of the same size national company and mainly renewable electricity company Imatran Voima. Fortum was until then mainly a nuclear company. Finnish competition authorities approved the deal. Wind power The wind power target of Finland was 494 MW wind power by 2010. Only 40%, 197 MW of the target, was achieved in 2010. Solar energy Solar heating Solar heating is the usage of solar energy to provide space or water heating. Solar heating per capita in Finland was among the lowest in the EU in 2010, with high unused domestic energy opportunities (W/capita): Finland 4, Latvia 3, Estonia 1 and Lithuania 1. Corresponding capacity was in other Scandinavian countries Denmark 68 and Sweden 33.During 1995–2010 Finland's target was 50 GWh solar heating According to ESTIF estimation in end 2010 solar heating capacity was 23 MW in Finland, 379 MW in Denmark and 312 MW in Sweden. During 2010, the European solar heating yield was 17.3 TWh with capacity 24,114 MW, saving 12 million tons of CO2. In Europe the solar heating average yield was about 0.7 GWh per MW (17.3 TWh/24,114 MW). With this average ratio Finland's estimated capacity in 2010 would equal 23 *0.717= 16 GWh. This was 32% of the national target by 2010. Solar power During 1995–2010 Finland's target was 40 MW solar power capacity addition producing 50 GWh solar power. In 2010 Finland's total solar power capacity was 10 MW. This was 25% of the national target by 2010. Space heating In 2006 the energy for space heating was 19.5% of total end energy consumption in Finland divided in 44% by fuels, 39% by district heating and 17% by electricity. The district heating systems are mainly monopolies controlled by local politicians or private companies. In practice the owners of the houses with district heating system have no influence in the choice of energy sources or prices. For example, the politicians of Espoo sold the public district heating system for the big energy company Fortum in 2006. Since then the district heating prices in Espoo have kept rising and Espoo city has lost tens of millions of euros annually in the energy business compared to nearby cities Helsinki and Vantaa. Further the tax payers have higher district heating costs. Fortum uses 100% fossil energy of natural gas from Russia for district heating. In 2010 Fortum lobbied for the total restriction by law of all renewable energy alternatives within the district heating areas. This has not been realised, but the renewable alternatives have more control by the public permission system since 2010. The total energy company deal from Espoo to Fortum was worth of 365 million euros for Espoo. The investment of these funds have not given the claimed 5-6% return. In fact, 15 million € was invested in Kaupthing that was in bankruptcy on 9.10.2008. Further Espoo lent a sum of 82 million euros to the state for a motor way project (Kehä 1) with no interest at all during 2008-2013. Even though the commercial investors have received large compensations for their work from Espoo city energy gains, the media have given the impression that the return of funds have not compensated the tax payers costs. In short, the deal can be considers successful for the nuclear company Fortum, but unsuccessful for the Espoo tax payers. There is no effective free competition for district heating in place. Further, one hardly can avoid the impression that the energy and construction companies have mutual interests to promote the dependency on Russian energy. Neither Finnish construction nor energy companies have at least until end 2010 actively promoted higher energy efficiency standards and alternative energy source obligations. Low energy houses Among the supporters of solar heating in Finland is architect Bruno Erat who successfully applied solar heating in Finland in the 1970s. Bruno Erat built in 1978 the first low energy building in Finland. In 2010 a new low energy house in Heinola Finland saved 70% in warming expenses compared to the equal average warming expenses. According to Mikko Saari (VTT 2004) a low energy block of flats in Finland would save 400 000–1 000 000 € in warming costs in 50 years with 3-6% annual energy price increase. There is an ongoing significant construction boom in Finland based on old and high energy demand construction standards since the energy cost payment is paid by the users and future generations but not the construction industry nor its leaders early retirement payrolls. The government strategy (published in 2008) had no aim to reduce the total energy use of buildings by 2020. Many construction companies operating in Finland have also business in Russia. According to Mr Lauri Myllyvirta Greenpeace (2008) the potential energy savings in the buildings correspond the electricity of three nuclear plants. In 2011 Finland has four nuclear plants and one under construction with an original scheduled start in 2009. Climate and energy strategy 2008 The government of Finland made the climate and energy strategy in October 2008. It considers energy in 2005, 2020 and 2050. According to this plan the primary energy use in Finland will increase 13% from 2005 to 2020. The use of electricity will grow more 15.4% that energy in average. The same period 2005-2020 the energy use of industry and building is allowed to increase 26.7%. According to the government plan RE of end use will increase 9.5% from 2005 to 2020 but only 4.9% RE of the primary energy use. This shows the importance of definitions.The governmental plan 2008 does not address with a clear message the European Union obligation for 20% energy saving by 2020. In Finnish government target 2008 both the electricity and energy use will increase by 2020. Energy efficiency has a key role in the European climate and energy strategy since March 2007. The European Council has target of 20% energy saving by 2020. The national plans that should include 9% energy saving until 2016 and 20% saving until 2020, were to be delivered to the EU commission in 2007. Some countries set higher targets than the EU obligation. E.g. German target was 30% saving in the public energy use during 1990-2012. British target was carbon neutral state buildings by 2012. Finnish strategy includes to move energy intensive companies abroad. Sectors Forest industry Finnish forest companies are significant players in the global forest industry policy. See e.g. UPM, Stora Enso and M real Metsäliitto. In 2007 the forest industry electricity use was 30.7% of total electricity use in Finland and 53% of all industry electricity use in Finland. In the government target the industry energy use will increase 26.7% from 2005 to 2020. The big issue here is that if the industry is allowed to continue its business as usual and increase the energy use, the politicians are obliged to shift the burden of needed energy revolution demand double higher for all the rest of the society. The Russian timber tax policy has been part of the energy politics in Finland. In 2010 ca 20% of Finnish forest industry was based on Russian timber. However, the Russian timber export was highest in China. The Russian timber tax policy was also part of WTO negotiations in 2008. The Finnish ministers discussed the timber tax with the Russian leaders several times e.g. in 2008.The increase of energy demand during 2005-2020 is somewhat in conflict with the daily news of the forest industry. During 2000-2010 several forest industry plants have been sold or shut down in Finland and started new forest plants in the Asia and South America. According to industry there were ca 50 forest industry plants in Finland in 2010. According to Helsingin Sanomat (Mr. Jyrki Iivonen) the employment reduced in the Finnish paper and cell industry by 3,786 persons during 2006-2010. In October 2010 under negotiations were additional 850 jobs in plants of Kouvola (Myllykoski / UPM) and Kotka Sunila (Stora Enso).For prevention of the global warming the emissions of the industry plant in Finland, Russia, China or Brazil are equal. The overall global carbon emission and energy use change may be small or negative when the international Finnish company move its production from Finland e.g. in Brazil or China. This information is not specified in the national emission statistics. The company specific data do not always include total worldwide company emissions. According to Worldwatch Institute the emissions have no national labels in respect to global warming. Among others Friends of the Earth have criticized Stora Enso policy in 2009 of the shift in the Eucalyptus monoculture plantations in Brazil endangering the rain forests and local farmers land ownerships. Traffic The number of cars was in 31.12.2011 ca 3,494,400 which includes 2,978,700passenger cars. The number of vehicles increased 3.9% in 2011.Minister of Transport / in Finland Merja Kyllönen assigned in 2013 a team led by Jorma Ollila from Royal Dutch Shell to study the future transport economics and car taxation. Working group suggested a kilometre-based car taxation. At least Greenpeace had criticized the assignment of the major oil company representative in the group leader. The group suggested decline the car investment tax which is more effective to decline the number of cars on roads than the tax of use. According to UITP higher forefront cost of the use of car reduce the oil consumption more than the higher running costs. The group also suggested the decline of petrol tax which would be more unfavorable for petrol cars compared to electric car. Electric cars are less noisy, polluting (with wind power) and have cheaper fuel than the petrol cars. Present vehicle tax gives opportunity to promote the low emission compared to high emission cars investments. (HS 18.12.2013 A16 Tiainen) Personal car take 90 times the space compared to metro. See also Energy in Finland == References ==

brigitte knopf

Brigitte Knopf (born 28 August 1973, in Bonn) is a German climatologist. Since February 2015 she has been Secretary General of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change and since 1 September 2020 has been a member of the Expert Council on Climate Issues (Expertenrat für Klimafragen). Career In 1993 Knopf passed her abitur as the best of her class at the Albert-Einstein Gymnasium in Sankt Augustin. In 1993 she began studying physics with a specialization in solar energy at the University of Marburg. Knopf earned a diplom in 1999.From 1999 to 2001 Brigitte Knopf worked in the research and development department of PHÖNIX SonnenWärme AG in Berlin. From 2001 to 2006, Knopf was a doctoral candidate at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). In 2006 Brigitte Knopf received her doctorate from the University of Potsdam. From 2007 to 2014 she worked as a scientist at PIK. In 2014 she began working for the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC). Work Most recently, Knopf's work has been concerned with, among other subjects, implementation of the Paris Agreement. She also studies carbon pricing and how it can protect the climate while financing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the public debate about solutions to the climate crisis, Knopf advocates for a price on carbon emissions. She calls for sustainable financial reform in Germany and internationally:"In addition to reducing fossil subsidies, such a reform must include an effective carbon price." She argues that revenues from carbon pricing could be used to lower other taxes.Knopf was one of the authors of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (2014). She was also one of the authors of the Emissions Gap Report of 2018. Selected publications On intrinsic uncertainties in earth system modelling (PDF). 2006. p. 120. Ottmar Edenhofer, Brigitte Knopf u. a.: The economics of low stabilization: model comparison of mitigation strategies and costs. In: The Energy Journal. 2010, S. 11–48, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41323490 Der Einstieg in den Ausstieg (PDF). Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e. V. (FES). 2011. ISBN 978-3-86872-820-0. Knopf, Brigitte; Kejun, Jiang (2 November 2017). "Germany and China take the lead". Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 358 (6363): 569. Bibcode:2017Sci...358..569K. doi:10.1126/science.aar2525. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 29097522. S2CID 206665463. Fuss, Sabine; Flachsland, Christian; Koch, Nicolas; Kornek, Ulrike; Knopf, Brigitte; Edenhofer, Ottmar (1 July 2018). "A Framework for Assessing the Performance of Cap-and-Trade Systems: Insights from the European Union Emissions Trading System". Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. University of Chicago Press. 12 (2): 220–241. doi:10.1093/reep/rey010. ISSN 1750-6816. External links Literature by and about Brigitte Knopf in the German National Library catalogue Works by and about Brigitte Knopf in the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (German Digital Library) == References ==

stratospheric aerosol injection

Stratospheric aerosol injection is a proposed method of solar geoengineering (or solar radiation modification) to reduce global warming. This would introduce aerosols into the stratosphere to create a cooling effect via global dimming and increased albedo, which occurs naturally from volcanic winter. It appears that stratospheric aerosol injection, at a moderate intensity, could counter most changes to temperature and precipitation, take effect rapidly, have low direct implementation costs, and be reversible in its direct climatic effects. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that it "is the most-researched [solar geoengineering] method, with high agreement that it could limit warming to below 1.5 °C (2.7 °F)." However, like other solar geoengineering approaches, stratospheric aerosol injection would do so imperfectly and other effects are possible, particularly if used in a suboptimal manner.Various forms of sulfur have been shown to cool the planet after large volcanic eruptions. However, as of 2021, there has been little research and existing natural aerosols in the stratosphere are not well understood. so there is no leading candidate material. Alumina, calcite and salt are also under consideration. The leading proposed method of delivery is custom aircraft. Scientific basis Natural and anthropogenic sulfates There is a wide range of particulate matter suspended in the atmosphere at various height and in various sizes. By far the best-studied are the various sulfur compounds collectively referred to sulfate aerosols. This group includes inorganic sulfates (SO42-),HSO4- and H2SO4-: organic sulfur compounds are sometimes included as well, but are of lower importance. Sulfate aerosols can be anthropogenic (through the combustion of fossil fuels with a high sulfur content, primarily coal and certain less-refined fuels, like aviation and bunker fuel), biogenic from hydrosphere and biosphere, geological via volcanoes or weather-driven from wildfires and other natural combustion events.Inorganic aerosols are mainly produced when sulfur dioxide reacts with water vapor to form gaseous sulfuric acid and various salts (often through an oxidation reaction in the clouds), which are then thought to experience hygroscopic growth and coagulation and then shrink through evaporation. as microscopic liquid droplets or fine (diameter of about 0.1 to 1.0 micrometre) sulfate solid particles in a colloidal suspension, with smaller particles at times coagulating into larger ones.The other major source are chemical reactions with dimethyl sulfide (DMS), predominantly sourced from marine plankton, with a smaller contribution from swamps and other such wetlands. And sometimes, aerosols are produced from photochemical decomposition of COS (carbonyl sulfide), or when solid sulfates in the sea salt spray can react with gypsum dust particles). Pollution controls and the discovery of radiative effects The discovery of these negative effects spurred the rush to reduce atmospheric sulfate pollution, typically through flue-gas desulfurization installations at power plants, such as wet scrubbers or fluidized bed combustion. In the United States, this began with the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, which was strengthened in 1977 and 1990. According to the EPA, from 1970 to 2005, total emissions of the six principal air pollutants, including sulfates, dropped by 53% in the US. By 2010, it valued the healthcare savings from these reductions at $50 billion annually. In Europe, it was estimated in 2021 that the 18 coal-fired power plants in the western Balkans which lack controls on sulfur dioxide pollution have emitted two-and-half times more of it than all 221 coal plants in the European Union which are fitted with these technologies. Globally, the uptake of treaties such as the 1985 Helsinki Protocol on the Reduction of Sulfur Emissions and its successors had gradually spread from the developed to the developing countries. While China and India have seen decades in rapid growth of sulfur emissions while they declined in the U.S. and Europe, they have also peaked in the recent years. In 2005, China was the largest polluter, with its estimated 25,490,000 short tons (23.1 Mt) emissions increasing by 27% since 2000 alone and roughly matching the U.S. emissions in 1980. That year was also the peak, and a consistent decline was recorded since then. Similarly, India's sulfur dioxide emissions appear to have been largely flat in the 2010s, as more coal-fired power plants were fitted with pollution controls even as the newer ones were still coming online. Yet, around the time these treaties and technology improvements were taking place, evidence was coming in that sulfate aerosols were affecting both the visible light received by the Earth and its surface temperature. On one hand, the study of volcanic eruptions, notably 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, had shown that the mass formation of sulfate aerosols by these eruptions formed a subtle whitish haze in the sky, reducing the amount of Sun's radiation reaching the Earth's surface and rapidly losing the heat they absorb back to space, as well increasing clouds' albedo (i.e. making them more reflective) by changing their consistency to a larger amount of smaller droplets, which was the principal reason for a clear drop in global temperatures for several years in their wake. On the other hand, multiple studies have shown that between 1950s and 1980s, the amount of sunlight reaching the surface declined by around 4–5% per decade, even though the changes in solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere were never more than 0.1-0.3%. Yet, this trend (commonly described as global dimming) began to reverse in the 1990s, consistent with the reductions in anthropogenic sulfate pollution, while at the same time, climate change accelerated. Areas like eastern United States went from seeing cooling in contrast to the global trend to becoming global warming hotspots as their enormous levels of air pollution were reduced, even as sulfate particles still accounted for around 25% of all particulates. As the real world had shown the importance of sulfate aerosol concentrations to the global climate, research into the subject accelerated. Formation of the aerosols and their effects on the atmosphere can be studied in the lab, with methods like ion-chromatography and mass spectrometry Samples of actual particles can be recovered from the stratosphere using balloons or aircraft, and remote satellites were also used for observation. This data is fed into the climate models, as the necessity of accounting for aerosol cooling to truly understand the rate and evolution of warming had long been apparent, with the IPCC Second Assessment Report being the first to include an estimate of their impact on climate, and every major model able to simulate them by the time IPCC Fourth Assessment Report was published in 2007. Many scientists also see the other side of this research, which is learning how to cause the same effect artificially. While discussed around the 1990s, if not earlier, stratospheric aerosol injection as a solar geoengineering method is best associated with Paul Crutzen's detailed 2006 proposal. Deploying in the stratosphere ensures that the aerosols are at their most effective, and that the progress of clean air measures would not be reversed: more recent research estimated that even under the highest-emission scenario RCP 8.5, the addition of stratospheric sulfur required to avoid 4 °C (7.2 °F) relative to now (and 5 °C (9.0 °F) relative to the preindustrial) would be effectively offset by the future controls on tropospheric sulfate pollution, and the amount required would be even less for less drastic warming scenarios. This spurred a detailed look at its costs and benefits, but even with hundreds of studies into the subject completed by the early 2020s, some notable uncertainties remain. Methods Materials Various forms of sulfur were proposed as the injected substance, as this is in part how volcanic eruptions cool the planet. Precursor gases such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide have been considered. According to estimates, "one kilogram of well placed sulfur in the stratosphere would roughly offset the warming effect of several hundred thousand kilograms of carbon dioxide." One study calculated the impact of injecting sulfate particles, or aerosols, every one to four years into the stratosphere in amounts equal to those lofted by the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, but did not address the many technical and political challenges involved in potential solar geoengineering efforts. Use of gaseous sulfuric acid appears to reduce the problem of aerosol growth. Materials such as photophoretic particles, titanium dioxide, and diamond are also under consideration. Delivery Various techniques have been proposed for delivering the aerosol or precursor gases. The required altitude to enter the stratosphere is the height of the tropopause, which varies from 11 kilometres (6.8 mi/36,000 ft) at the poles to 17 kilometers (11 mi/58,000 ft) at the equator. Civilian aircraft including the Boeing 747–400 and Gulfstream G550/650, C-37A could be modified at relatively low cost to deliver sufficient amounts of required material according to one study, but a later metastudy suggests a new aircraft would be needed but easy to develop. Military aircraft such as the F15-C variant of the F-15 Eagle have the necessary flight ceiling, but limited payload. Military tanker aircraft such as the KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-10 Extender also have the necessary ceiling and have greater payload capacity. Modified artillery might have the necessary capability, but requires a polluting and expensive propellant charge to loft the payload. Railgun artillery could be a non-polluting alternative. High-altitude balloons can be used to lift precursor gases, in tanks, bladders or in the balloons' envelope. Injection system The latitude and distribution of injection locations has been discussed by various authors. Whilst a near-equatorial injection regime will allow particles to enter the rising leg of the Brewer-Dobson circulation, several studies have concluded that a broader, and higher-latitude, injection regime will reduce injection mass flow rates and/or yield climatic benefits. Concentration of precursor injection in a single longitude appears to be beneficial, with condensation onto existing particles reduced, giving better control of the size distribution of aerosols resulting. The long residence time of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may require a millennium-timescale commitment to aerosol injection if aggressive emissions abatement is not pursued simultaneously. Advantages of the technique The advantages of this approach in comparison to other possible means of solar geoengineering are: Mimics a natural process: Stratospheric sulfur aerosols are created by existing natural processes (especially volcanoes), whose impacts have been studied via observations. This contrasts with other, more speculative solar geoengineering techniques which do not have natural analogs (e.g., space sunshade). Technological feasibility: In contrast to other proposed solar geoengineering techniques, such as marine cloud brightening, much of the required technology is pre-existing: chemical manufacturing, artillery shells, high-altitude aircraft, weather balloons, etc. Unsolved technical challenges include methods to deliver the material in controlled diameter with good scattering properties. Scalability: Some solar geoengineering techniques, such as cool roofs and ice protection, can only provide a limited intervention in the climate due to insufficient scale—one cannot reduce the temperature by more than a certain amount with each technique. Research has suggested that this technique may have a high radiative 'forcing potential'., yet can be finely tuned according to how much cooling is needed. Speed: A common argument is that stratospheric aerosol injection can take place quickly, and would be able to buy time for carbon sequestration projects such as carbon dioxide air capture to be implemented and start acting over decades and centuries. Uncertainties It is uncertain how effective any solar geoengineering technique would be, due to the difficulties modeling their impacts and the complex nature of the global climate system. Certain efficacy issues are specific to stratospheric aerosols. Lifespan of aerosols: Tropospheric sulfur aerosols are short-lived. Delivery of particles into the lower stratosphere in the arctic will typically ensure that they remain aloft only for a few weeks or months, as air in this region is predominantly descending. To ensure endurance, higher-altitude delivery is needed, ensuring a typical endurance of several years by enabling injection into the rising leg of the Brewer-Dobson circulation above the tropical tropopause. Further, sizing of particles is crucial to their endurance. Aerosol delivery: There are two proposals for how to create a stratospheric sulfate aerosol cloud, either through the release of a precursor gas (SO2) or the direct release of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and these face different challenges. If SO2 gas is released it will oxidize to form H2SO4 and then condense to form droplets far from the injection site. Releasing SO2 would not allow control over the size of the particles that are formed but would not require a sophisticated release mechanism. Simulations suggest that as the SO2 release rate is increased there would be diminishing returns on the cooling effect, as larger particles would be formed which have a shorter lifetime and are less effective scatterers of light. If H2SO4 is released directly then the aerosol particles would form very quickly and in principle the particle size could be controlled although the engineering requirements for this are uncertain. Assuming a technology for direct H2SO4 release could be conceived and developed, it would allow control over the particle size to possibly alleviate some of the inefficiencies associated with SO2 release. Strength of cooling: The magnitude of the effect of forcing from aerosols by decreasing insolation received at the surface is not completely certain, as its scientific modelling involves complex calculations due to different confounding factors and parameters such as optical properties, spatial and temporal distribution of emission or injection, albedo, geography, loading, rate of transport of sulfate, global burden, atmospheric chemistry, mixing and reactions with other compounds and aerosols, particle size, relative humidity, and clouds. Along with others, aerosol size distribution and hygroscopicity have particularly high uncertainty due to being closely related to sulfate aerosol interactions with other aerosols which affects the amount of radiation reflected. As of 2021, state-of-the-art CMIP6 models estimate that total cooling from the currently present aerosols is between 0.1 °C (0.18 °F) to 0.7 °C (1.3 °F); the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report uses the best estimate of 0.5 °C (0.90 °F), but there's still a lot of contradictory research on the impacts of aerosols of clouds which can alter this estimate of aerosol cooling, and consequently, our knowledge of how many millions of tons must be deployed annually to achieve the desired effect.Hydrological cycle: Since the historical global dimming from tropospheric sulfate pollution is already well-known to have reduced rainfall in certain areas, and is likely to have weakened Monsoon of South Asia and contributed to or even outright caused the 1984 Ethiopian famine, the impact on the hydrological cycle and patterns is one of the most-discussed uncertainties of the different stratospheric aerosol injection proposals. It has been suggested that while changes in precipitation from stratospheric aerosol injection are likely to be more manageable than the changes expected under future warming, one of the main impacts it would have on mortality is by shifting the habitat of mosquitoes and thus substantially affecting the distribution and spread of vector-borne diseases. Considering the already-extensive present-day mosquito habitat, it is currently unclear whether those changes are likely to be positive or negative. Cost Early studies suggest that stratospheric aerosol injection might have a relatively low direct cost. The annual cost of delivering 5 million tons of an albedo enhancing aerosol (sufficient to offset the expected warming over the next century) to an altitude of 20 to 30 km is estimated at US$2 billion to 8 billion. In comparison, the annual cost estimates for climate damage or emission mitigation range from US$200 billion to 2 trillion.A 2016 study finds the cost per 1 W/m2 of cooling to be between 5–50 billion USD/yr. Because larger particles are less efficient at cooling and drop out of the sky faster, the unit-cooling cost is expected to increase over time as increased dose leads to larger, but less efficient, particles by mechanism such as coalescence and Ostwald ripening. Assume RCP8.5, -5.5 W/m2 of cooling would be required by 2100 to maintain 2020 climate. At the dose level required to provide this cooling, the net efficiency per mass of injected aerosols would reduce to below 50% compared to low-level deployment (below 1W/m2). At a total dose of -5.5 W/m2, the cost would be between 55-550 billion USD/yr when efficiency reduction is also taken into account, bringing annual expenditure to levels comparable to other mitigation alternatives. Other possible side effects Solar geoengineering in general poses various problems and risks. However, certain problems are specific to or more pronounced with stratospheric sulfide injection. Ozone depletion: a potential side effect of sulfur aerosols; and these concerns have been supported by modelling. However, this may only occur if high enough quantities of aerosols drift to, or are deposited in, polar stratospheric clouds before the levels of CFCs and other ozone destroying gases fall naturally to safe levels because stratospheric aerosols, together with the ozone destroying gases, are responsible for ozone depletion. The injection of other aerosols that may be safer such as calcite has therefore been proposed. The injection of non-sulfide aerosols like calcite (limestone) would also have a cooling effect while counteracting ozone depletion and would be expected to reduce other side effects. Whitening of the sky: Volcanic eruptions are known to affect the appearance of sunsets significantly, and a change in sky appearance after the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1816 "The Year Without A Summer" was the inspiration for the paintings of J. M. W. Turner. Since stratospheric aerosol injection would involve smaller quantities of aerosols, it is expected to cause a subtler change to sunsets and a slight hazing of blue skies. How stratospheric aerosol injection may affect clouds remains uncertain. Stratospheric temperature change: Aerosols can also absorb some radiation from the Sun, the Earth, and the surrounding atmosphere. This changes the surrounding air temperature and could potentially impact the stratospheric circulation, which in turn may impact the surface circulation. Deposition and acid rain: The surface deposition of sulfate injected into the stratosphere may also have an impact on ecosystems. However, the amount and wide dispersal of injected aerosols means that their impact on particulate concentrations and acidity of precipitation would be very small. Ecological consequences: The consequences of stratospheric aerosol injection on ecological systems are unknown and potentially vary by ecosystem with differing impacts on marine versus terrestrial biomes. Mixed effects on agriculture: A historical study in 2018 found that stratospheric sulfate aerosols injected by the volcanic eruptions of Chicón (1982) and Mount Pinatubo (1991) had mixed effects on global crop yields of certain major crops. Based on several studies, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report suggests that crop yields and carbon sinks would be largely unaffected or may even increase slightly, because reduced photosynthesis due to lower sunlight would be offset by CO2 fertilization effect and the reduction in thermal stress, but there's less confidence about how the specific ecosystems may be affected. Inhibition of Solar Energy Technologies: Uniformly reduced net shortwave radiation would hurt solar photovoltaics by the same 2-5% as for plants. the increased scattering of collimated incoming sunlight would more drastically reduce the efficiencies (by 11% for RCP8.5) of concentrating solar thermal power for both electricity production and chemical reactions, such as solar cement production. Outdoors research Almost all work to date on stratospheric sulfate injection has been limited to modeling and laboratory work. In 2009, a Russian team tested aerosol formation in the lower troposphere using helicopters. In 2015, David Keith and Gernot Wagner described a potential field experiment, the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx), using stratospheric calcium carbonate injection, but as of October 2020 the time and place had not yet been determined. SCoPEx is in part funded by Bill Gates. Sir David King, a former chief scientific adviser to the government of the United Kingdom, stated that SCoPEX and Gates' plans to dim the sun with calcium carbonate could have disastrous effects.In 2012, the Bristol University-led Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) project planned on a limited field test in order to evaluate a potential delivery system. The group received support from the EPSRC, NERC and STFC to the tune of £2.1 million and was one of the first UK projects aimed at providing evidence-based knowledge about solar radiation management. Although the field testing was cancelled, the project panel decided to continue the lab-based elements of the project. Furthermore, a consultation exercise was undertaken with members of the public in a parallel project by Cardiff University, with specific exploration of attitudes to the SPICE test. This research found that almost all of the participants in the poll were willing to allow the field trial to proceed, but very few were comfortable with the actual use of stratospheric aerosols. A campaign opposing geoengineering led by the ETC Group drafted an open letter calling for the project to be suspended until international agreement is reached, specifically pointing to the upcoming convention of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2012. Governance Most of the existing governance of stratospheric sulfate aerosols is from that which is applicable to solar radiation management more broadly. However, some existing legal instruments would be relevant to stratospheric sulfate aerosols specifically. At the international level, the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP Convention) obligates those countries which have ratified it to reduce their emissions of particular transboundary air pollutants. Notably, both solar radiation management and climate change (as well as greenhouse gases) could satisfy the definition of "air pollution" which the signatories commit to reduce, depending on their actual negative effects. Commitments to specific values of the pollutants, including sulfates, are made through protocols to the CLRTAP Convention. Full implementation or large scale climate response field tests of stratospheric sulfate aerosols could cause countries to exceed their limits. However, because stratospheric injections would be spread across the globe instead of concentrated in a few nearby countries, and could lead to net reductions in the "air pollution" which the CLRTAP Convention is to reduce. The stratospheric injection of sulfate aerosols would cause the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer to be applicable due to their possible deleterious effects on stratospheric ozone. That treaty generally obligates its Parties to enact policies to control activities which "have or are likely to have adverse effects resulting from modification or likely modification of the ozone layer." The Montreal Protocol to the Vienna Convention prohibits the production of certain ozone depleting substances, via phase outs. Sulfates are presently not among the prohibited substances. In the United States, the Clean Air Act might give the United States Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate stratospheric sulfate aerosols. Welsbach seeding Welsbach seeding is a patented climate engineering method, involving seeding the stratosphere with small (10 to 100 micron) metal oxide particles (thorium dioxide, aluminium oxide). The purpose of the Welsbach seeding would be to "(reduce) atmospheric warming due to the greenhouse effect resulting from a greenhouse gases layer," by converting radiative energy at near-infrared wavelengths into radiation at far-infrared wavelengths, permitting some of the converted radiation to escape into space, thus cooling the atmosphere. The seeding as described would be performed by airplanes at altitudes between 7 and 13 kilometres. Patent The method was patented by Hughes Aircraft Company in 1991, US patent 5003186. Quote from the patent: "Global warming has been a great concern of many environmental scientists. Scientists believe that the greenhouse effect is responsible for global warming. Greatly increased amounts of heat-trapping gases have been generated since the Industrial Revolution. These gases, such as CO2, CFC, and methane, accumulate in the atmosphere and allow sunlight to stream in freely but block heat from escaping (greenhouse effect). These gases are relatively transparent to sunshine but absorb strongly the long-wavelength infrared radiation released by the earth." "This invention relates to a method for the reduction of global warming resulting from the greenhouse effect, and in particular to a method which involves the seeding of the earth's stratosphere with Welsbach-like materials." Feasibility The method has never been implemented, and is not considered to be a viable option by current geoengineering experts; in fact the proposed mechanism is considered to violate the second law of thermodynamics. Currently proposed atmospheric geoengineering methods would instead use other aerosols, at considerably higher altitudes. History Mikhail Budyko is believed to have been the first, in 1974, to put forth the concept of artificial solar radiation management with stratospheric sulfate aerosols if global warming ever became a pressing issue. Such controversial climate engineering proposals for global dimming have sometimes been called a "Budyko Blanket". In popular-culture In the film Snowpiercer, as well as in the television spin-off, an apocalyptic global ice-age is caused by the introduction of a fictional substance, dubbed, CW-7 into the atmosphere, with the intention of preventing global-warming by blocking out the light of the sun. In the Novel The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, stratospheric aerosol injection is used by the Indian Government as a climate mitigation measure following a catastrophic and deadly heatwave. See also References External links What can we do about climate change?, Oceanography magazine Global Warming and Ice Ages: Prospects for Physics-Based Modulation of Global Change, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory The Geoengineering Option:A Last Resort Against Global Warming?, Council on Foreign Relations Geo-Engineering Climate Change with Sulfate Aerosols, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Geo-Engineering Research, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Geo-engineering Options for Mitigating Climate Change, Department of Energy and Climate Change Unilateral Geoengineering, Council on Foreign Relations Rasch, Philip J; Tilmes, Simone; Turco, Richard P; Robock, Alan; Oman, Luke; Chen, Chih-Chieh (Jack); Stenchikov, Georgiy L; Garcia, Rolando R (13 November 2008). "An overview of geoengineering of climate using stratospheric sulphate aerosols". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 366 (1882): 4007–4037. Bibcode:2008RSPTA.366.4007R. doi:10.1098/rsta.2008.0131. PMID 18757276. S2CID 9869660. US 5003186 "Stratospheric Welsbach seeding for reduction of global warming" As planet warms, scientists explore 'far out' ways to reduce atmospheric CO2 on YouTube PBS NewsHour published on March 27, 2019 animation of SCoPEx

ken caldeira

Kenneth Caldeira (born 1960) is an American atmospheric scientist. His areas of research include ocean acidification, climate effects of trees, intentional climate modification, interactions in the global carbon cycle/climate system, and sustainable energy.As of 2021, Caldeira is Senior Scientist in the energy research company Breakthrough Energy, Senior Staff Scientist (emeritus) in the Carnegie Institution for Science's Department of Global Ecology, and Professor (by courtesy) in the Stanford University Department of Earth System Sciences. Early life and education In the 1980s, Caldeira worked as a software developer. He received his Ph.D in Atmospheric Sciences in 1991 from the New York University Department of Applied Science. From 1991 to 1993, Caldeira worked at Penn State University as a post-doctoral researcher. He then worked as an Environmental Scientist and Physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory until 2005. Climate change research In 2005, Caldeira joined the Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Global Ecology as a senior scientist, where his job is "to make important scientific discoveries." He also serves as a Professor (by courtesy) in the Stanford University Department of Earth System Science.Caldeira served as a member of the committee producing the 2015 U.S. National Academy of Sciences report Geoengineering Climate: Technical Evaluation and Discussion of Impacts.He was a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR5 report Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. In 2010, he was a co-author of the 2010 US National Academy America's Climate Choices report He participated in the UK Royal Society geoengineering panel in 2009 and ocean acidification panel in 2005. Caldeira was coordinating lead author of the oceans chapter for the 2005 IPCC report on Carbon Capture and Storage.In 2007, Caldeira began advising Bill Gates on climate change and energy issues. In his 2016 end-of-year blog post, Gates referred to Caldeira as "my amazing teacher". In 2021, Caldeira began working for the energy research company Breakthrough Energy, which was founded by Gates. Press Caldeira's work was featured in a 14 May 2012 article in The New Yorker, entitled "The Climate Fixers" and in a 20 November 2006 article in The New Yorker, entitled "The Darkening Sea." In 2007, he contributed two op-ed pieces on the subject of global warming to The New York Times.In response to the controversy caused by the book SuperFreakonomics over Caldeira's view on climate engineering, Caldeira rejected the suggestion that he had said, "Carbon dioxide is not the right villain". He responded by posting on his website, "Carbon dioxide is the right villain...insofar as inanimate objects can be villains." He said that while the other statements attributed to him by authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner are "based in fact", the casual reader could come up with a misimpression of what he [Caldeira] believes. Views In 2011, Caldeira resigned as a lead author of an IPCC AR5 chapter, stating "Again, I think the IPCC has been extremely useful in the past, and I believe the IPCC could be extremely useful in the future. [...] My resignation was made possible because I believe that the chapter team that I was part of was on the right track and doing an excellent job without my contribution. Had I had a scientific criticism of my chapter team, you can be assured that I would have stayed involved. So, my resignation was a vote of confidence in my scientific peers, not a critique."Caldeira has argued for a policy goal of zero carbon dioxide emissions. In 2005, he said, "If you're talking about mugging little old ladies, you don't say, 'What's our target for the rate of mugging little old ladies?' You say, 'Mugging little old ladies is bad, and we're going to try to eliminate it.' You recognize you might not be a hundred per cent successful, but your goal is to eliminate the mugging of little old ladies. And I think we need to eventually come around to looking at carbon dioxide emissions the same way.". In 2014, he said, "It is time to stop building things with tailpipes and smokestacks. It is time to stop using the sky as a waste dump for our carbon dioxide pollution."In 2013, with other leading experts, he was co-author of an open letter to policy makers, which stated that "continued opposition to nuclear power threatens humanity's ability to avoid dangerous climate change." Awards and recognition 2008 – Hero Scientist of 2008 list, New Scientist magazine2009 – Number 36 out of 100 Agents of Change in Rolling Stone magazine2010 – Fellow of the American Geophysical Union References External links Ken Caldeira publications indexed by Google Scholar

pamposh bhat

Pamposh Bhat (born 19 September 1958) is a New Delhi-based environmentalist and award-winning writer. Bhat has been awarded the prestigious Rajbhasha Award for Poetry in 1995 for her work "Kshitij Ki Khoj Mein" (In search of the Horizon). Active in public life, she serves as the chairperson of the board of trustees for Jwala, a civil society group that seeks to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency in India. She is a former member of the governing council of the Solar Energy Society of India. At present she is a member of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission advisory committee. Education and career Bhat studied at St. Joseph's Convent at Bhopal and attended the University of Bhopal (now Barkatullah University) where she studied Science as an undergraduate student and was awarded an MSc in Chemistry by the University. She began her career at the University of Kashmir as a research scholar engaged by the University Grants Commission on a Phytochemistry research Project. She developed a strong interest in environmental policy during her tenure as a researcher and joined the United Nations Asia and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (UN-APCTT) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. At UN-APCTT she worked to promote the use of renewable energy and environmentally sound technologies in the country. During her time at UN-APCTT she also edited VATIS Update a journal of technological developments and events in the field of Non-conventional Energy. She is married to a prominent IAS officer of J&K S.L Bhat who is currently the chief of JK Public Service Commission. Bhat joined GTZ-India, a German bilateral development agency in 2003. Her mandate at GTZ-India was to promote the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in the country and help build a sustainable carbon market in India.An expert on climate change and renewable energy policy, she also held position of the country manager of the BMU CMD/JI Initiative in India. As an expert on the CDM, she has been retained as a climate policy advisor by the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal.She is currently working as an advisor, climate change adaptation program, International Finance Corporation, world bank group and is a member of International advisory board of Abengoa, a company in the energy and environment sectors, generating energy from the sun, producing biofuels, desalinating sea water and recycling industrial waste. Bhat headed DFID Indo-British Climate Change Innovation Program and supported states of Maharashtra, Kerala, Odisha, Bihar, Assam and Chhattisgarh in developing state action plans for climate change and introduce concept of climate financing and prepare projects for national and International climate financing. She is at present heading India-EU clean energy and climate change partnership project which aims to cooperate on clean energy, sustainable development and climate related initiatives and support India in the implementation of the NDC's under Paris Agreement. Creative writing Bhat has penned two collections of poems, Trishna (1995) and Kshitij Ki Khoj Mein (1993). Kshitij Ki Khoj Mein was adjudged the winner of the Rajbhasha Award as the best entry by a vernacular author writing in Hindi. In 2000, her short story Bub was made into an eponymous feature film Bub, only the third feature film in the language and the first in 38 years. The Film was awarded the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration in the 2002 National Film Awards by the President of India. Awards The Rajbhasha Award for Poetry, Government of India, 1995 Publications Academic writing Pamposh Bhat "Carbon Markets: The Post Copenhagen Scenario" PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd and Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd's Commodity Insights Yearbook 2010 Pamposh Bhat and Moksha Bhat, "Climate change: The way forward" in Reality Check on Environmental Change: A Multidimensional Study on its Impacts, Times Foundation/[Times of India Group], India. May 2010 Mikael Henzler, Peter Siegenthaler and Pamposh Bhat, Bamboo as a Resource for Sustainable Development in Asia: Concept Paper on behalf of UNDP, UNDP, New Delhi, 1999 Mikael Henzler and Pamposh Bhat, Impacts of Vegetable Dyes on Indian Textile Industries: Market Assessment on behalf of UNDP, UNDP, New Delhi, 1999 Pamposh Bhat and Dr. M. L. Raina, Annual Report of the Research Project 1989 titled 'Chemical investigation of Aquatic Plants in Kashmir', University Grants Commission, New Delhi, 1989 Pamposh Bhat and Dr. M. L. Raina, Chemical investigation of Aquatic Plants in Kashmir, Indian Chemical Society Journal, August 1989; Pamposh Bhat and Dr. M. L. Raina, Further Chemical Studies of Polygonum Linn, Planta Medica, July 1989 Poetry Trishna, Limited Circulation, Self Published, New Delhi, 1995 Kshitij Ki Khoj Mein (In Search of the Horizon), Limited Circulation, Self Published, New Delhi, 1993 References External links Jwala India "India enjoys low-cost edge in carbon market" Business Standard, Sunday, 28 June 2009 "Media rap to hit carbon credits" Business Standard Newswire18 / Mumbai 6 July 2007 "Interview with Pamposh Bhat" Interview Pamposh Bhat, Director, Climate Change, GTZ India "India's CDM potential represents a significant component of the global CDM market"

will steffen

William Lee Steffen (25 June 1947 – 29 January 2023) was an American-born Australian chemist. He was the executive director of the Australian National University (ANU) Climate Change Institute and a member of the Australian Climate Commission until its dissolution in September 2013. From 1998 to 2004, he was the executive director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, a coordinating body of national environmental change organisations based in Stockholm. Steffen was one of the founding climate councillors of the Climate Council, with whom he frequently co-authored reports, and spoke in the media on issues relating to climate change and renewable energy. Life and career Will Steffen was born in Norfolk, Nebraska, on 25 June 1947. Steffen completed a BSc in industrial chemistry from the University of Missouri in 1970. The University of Florida awarded him an MSc in education in 1972 and a PhD in chemistry in 1975. He is widely published on climate science. His research interests ranged over climate change and Earth system science, with a focus on sustainability. He wrote on adapting land use to climate change, bringing human processes into the modelling and analysis of the Earth system, and the history of and future prospects for the relationship between the natural world and humans. Steffen was also prominent advocating along with Paul Crutzen the concept of the Anthropocene, and initiating along with Johan Rockström an international debate on planetary boundaries and the "safe operating space" for humanity and in 2018 on the possibility of uncontrolled climate evolution, which stirred considerable scientific debate (Hothouse Earth).Steffen served as science adviser to the Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. He was a member of the advisory board of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and worked with the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council. He was also on an advisory panel in Colorado with the National Center for Atmospheric Research.Steffen was on the Science Advisory Committee of the APEC Climate Centre in Korea. He was honorary professor at the Copenhagen University's Department of Geography and Geology and visiting researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. He was the chair of the Federal Government's Antarctic Science Advisory Committee, and advised the Australian Government in further roles as scientific adviser to the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and as expert adviser to the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee. Steffen also sat on the Australian Climate Commission.In 2011, he was the principal author of a government climate report, The Critical Decade, which advocated that a tax should be placed on carbon.The Australian Climate Commission was dissolved in 2013. Steffen reflected, "I think we were the first definitive action of the Abbott government. They got rid of us and you could probably measure it in hours rather than days." Steffen, along with other dismissed commissioners such as professor Tim Flannery, professor Lesley Ann Hughes, and CEO Amanda McKenzie, launched a new independent organisation — the Climate Council — in Australia's largest crowdfunding, raising over $1 million in one week. Steffen remained a climate councillor with the Climate Council.In 2018, he was an author of the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C published by the IPCC.Steffen died from pancreatic cancer in Canberra on 29 January 2023, at age 75. He was married to Carrie for 51 years, and they had a daughter named Sonja. Some publications Notes External links Professor Will Steffen Australian Climate Commission Dr William Steffen Australian National University Profile: Will Steffen Sydney Morning Herald, 6 July 2011. Whiteboard seminar with Will Steffen: Planetary boundaries on climate change and land change Stockholm Resilience Centre. Updated 23 September 2009. Nature as a model for economic systems Beyond the Line . Professor Will Steffen joins Lateline Lateline. 11 March 2009 Will Steffen — The Anthropocene TED video. Will Steffen — Shaping Ideas on YouTube video.

earth 300

Earth 300 is an organization that aspires to both inspire and support oceanographic research and awareness of the climate crisis. It has released speculative designs for a scientific research vessel which, if built, would be the largest ever superyacht, 300 m (980 ft) long. It intends to host experts in diverse fields, enabling interdisciplinary research into climate change, oceanography, and sustainability issues. The vessel's distinctive appearance also aims to draw attention to the health of the climate and oceans. Earth 300 has assembled individuals from a variety of backgrounds and formed partnerships with companies to provide different aspects of the vessel's technology. The organization aims to launch the vessel in 2025. Goals and purpose Earth 300 is the idea of Aaron Olivera. Olivera previously organised finance for the Porsche-designed Royal Falcon One superyacht. He was inspired to found the organization after seeing coral dying from ocean acidification while on a trip to the Maldives. Olivera describes the goal as "to build the Olympic torch of global science:" a vessel whose design will "capture peoples' attention but also their hearts and imaginations" and focus them on the problem of climate change.The vessel was designed by Ivan Salas Jefferson whose firm, Iddes Yachts, worked with the Polish naval architecture firm NED. It is intended to support scientific research into global climate change and other major challenges while also raising public awareness. The design provides for 22 on-board laboratories and the first commercial ocean-going quantum computer. As well as inspiring the general public, the modernist design is intended to attract eco-tourists who would subsidise the voyages, allowing scientists and students to travel for free. There will be ten luxury suites for these passengers, and ten additional suites for people whose expertise or experience will help the voyage but who could not otherwise afford the voyage. Olivera has stated that the research conducted on Earth 300 will be open source, shared in real time with the rest of the scientific community. Proposed design The design is for a vessel 300 m (980 ft) long and 60 m (200 ft) high. If built, it would be the largest superyacht to date. Designs include a helipad and a cantilevered observation deck. It is intended to accommodate more than 400 people, including 160 scientists, 20 experts-in-residence, and a crew of 165. The design places the vessel's science laboratories in a Science Sphere, a thirteen-storey-high structure whose shape is inspired by the Earth. Propulsion The vessel is intended to be eventually driven by a sustainable propulsion system with zero carbon emissions. The design proposes that it would be powered by a molten salt reactor, a kind of nuclear fission reactor that operates near atmospheric pressure rather than the high pressure of water-cooled reactors. The Earth 300 research vessel would be the first ship to use this type of reactor. Approval for the reactor would take five to seven years, so the designers are seeking a propulsion system based on green fuels to use in the interim. Partners and personnel Earth 300's partners include Iddes Yachts, NED, Triton Submarines, and the Italian shipping company RINA. Technology firm IBM has joined the initiative to provide high performance computing. Earth 300 has an advisory group which includes Michael J. Silah, formerly of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, and film producer Mario Kassar. Olivera, who is now Earth 300's CEO, envisages that the vessel will host scientists from marine-, earth- and climate science as well as experts from other fields including economics, art and engineering. Construction The organization estimates construction will cost $700 million and has considered shipyards in Europe and South Korea. It expects to launch the vessel in 2025. Responses and coverage The project has attracted media attention from publications including BBC Science Focus, Forbes, and Bloomberg News. Simon Redfern, dean of the college of science at Nanyang Technological University, described as "exciting" the prospect that Earth 300 would fill gaps in humanity's knowledge of the oceans. Martin Yates, a CTO at Dell Technologies, supports the project and has expressed hope that the vessel will be like "a space-station on Earth" equipped with the most advanced computing technologies.Dawn Stover, writing for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, referred to the project as "overhyped". Stover noted both the molten salt nuclear reactor and quantum computer touted by Earth 300 as crucial to the project have not been constructed. Stover has referred to Olivera's intended guests, which include Elon Musk and Michelle Obama, and the broader project as "[...] more aspirational than realistic". See also SeaOrbiter References External links Official website The Earth 300 Impact Talks: how Multidisciplinary Initiatives impact Sustainability and Climate Change, Summer 2021, YouTube

special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate

The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) is a report about the effects of climate change on the world's seas, sea ice, icecaps and glaciers. It was approved at the IPCC's 51st Session (IPCC-51) in September 2019 in Monaco. The SROCC's approved Summary for Policymakers (SPM) was released on 25 September 2019. The 1,300-page report by 104 authors and editors representing 36 countries referred to 6,981 publications. The report is the third in the series of three Special Reports in the current Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) cycle, which began in 2015 and will be completed in 2022. The first was the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C, while the second was the Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL), also known as the "Special Report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems", which was released on 7 August 2019. Main statements SROCC summary for policymakers In its Summary for Policymakers (SPM), the report said that, since 1970, the "global ocean has warmed unabated" and "has taken up more than 90% of the excess heat in the climate system." The rate of ocean warming has "more than doubled" since 1993. Marine heatwaves are increasing in intensity and since 1982, they have "very likely doubled in frequency". Surface acidification has increased as the oceans absorb more CO2. Ocean deoxygenation "has occurred from the surface to 1,000 m (3,300 ft)." Rising sea levels Global mean sea levels (GMSL) rose by 3.66 mm (0.144 in) per year which is "2.5 times faster than the rate from 1900 to 1990".: 2  At the rate of acceleration, it "could reach around 30 cm (12 in) to 60 cm (24 in) by 2100 even if greenhouse gas emissions are sharply reduced and global warming is limited to well below 2 °C, but around 60 cm (24 in) to 110 cm (43 in) if emissions continue to increase strongly. In their summary of the SROCC, Carbon Brief said that rate of rising sea levels is "unprecedented" over the past century. Worst-case projections are higher than thought and a 2 metres (6.6 ft) rise by 2100 "cannot be ruled out", if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase strongly.": 2 Ocean deoxygenation The viability of species is being disrupted throughout the ocean food web due to changes in ocean chemistry. As the ocean warms, mixing between water layers decreases, resulting in less oxygen and nutrients being available for marine life.: 3 Meridional overturning circulation in the Atlantic Chapter 6 which deals with ..., Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) "will very likely weaken over the 21st century" but it is unlikely that AMOC will collapse. A weakening of AMOC would result in "a decrease in marine productivity in the North Atlantic, more winter storms in Europe, a reduction in Sahelian and South Asian summer rainfall, a decrease in the number of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, and an increase in regional sea-level around the Atlantic especially along the northeast coast of North America." Carbon Brief described AMOC as "the system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean that brings warm water up to Europe from the tropics. It is driven by the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water – the sinking of cold, salty water in the high latitudes of the North Atlantic." Melting glaciers There has been an acceleration of glaciers melting in Greenland and Antarctica as well as in mountain glaciers around the world, from 2006 to 2015. This now represents a loss of 720 billion tons (653 billion metric tons) of ice a year. Ice sheets Carbon Brief said that the melting of Greenland's ice sheets is "unprecedented in at least 350 years." The combined melting of Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets has contributed "700% more to sea levels" than in the 1990s. Arctic sea ice decline The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in September "one year in three" if global warming continues to rise to 2 °C. Prior to industrialization, it was only "once in every hundred years".: 4 Global marine animal biomass and fish catch decline In "Chapter 5: Changing Ocean, Marine Ecosystems, and Dependent Communities", the authors warn that marine organisms are being affected by ocean warming with direct impacts on human communities, fisheries, and food production.: 5–6  The Times said that it is likely that there will be a 15% decrease in the number of marine animals and a decrease of 21% to 24% in the "catches by fisheries in general" by the end of the 21st century because of climate change. Decline of snow and lake ice cover In "Chapter 3: Polar Regions", the authors reported that there has been a decline of snow and lake ice cover. From 1967 to 2018, the extent of snow in June decreased at a rate of "13.4 ± 5.4% per decade".: 3–4 Thawing permafrost Future climate-induced changes to permafrost "will drive habitat and biome shifts, with associated changes in the ranges and abundance of ecologically-important species." As permafrost soil melts, there is a possibility that carbon will be unleashed. The permafrost soil carbon pool is much "larger than carbon stored in plant biomass".: 98  "Expert assessment and laboratory soil incubation studies suggest that substantial quantities of C (tens to hundreds Pg C) could potentially be transferred from the permafrost carbon pool into the atmosphere under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5" projection.: 98 Low-lying islands and coasts In the final section on low-lying islands and coasts (LLIC), the report says that cities and megacities—including New York City, Tokyo, Jakarta, Mumbai, Shanghai, Lagos And Cairo—are "at serious risk from climate-related ocean and cryosphere changes." If emissions remain high, some low-lying islands are likely to become "uninhabitable" by the end of the 21st century. Reactions The New York Times headlined their 25 September article with "We're All in Big Trouble". According to the Times, "Sea levels are rising at an ever-faster rate as ice and snow shrink, and oceans are getting more acidic and losing oxygen." The article cited Princeton University's Michael Oppenheimer, who was one of the report's lead authors who said that, "The oceans and the icy parts of the world are in big trouble, and that means we're all in big trouble, too. The changes are accelerating." IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, was quoted as saying in Monaco, that "Climate change is already irreversible. Due to the heat uptake in the ocean, we can't go back."The BBC headline referred to a red alert on the Blue Planet.The Economist said that the "world's oceans are getting warmer, stormier and more acidic. They are becoming less productive as the ecosystems within them collapse. Melting glaciers and ice sheets are causing sea levels to rise, increasing the risk of inundation and devastation to hundreds of millions of people living in coastal areas."PBS NewsHour cited National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Ko Barrett, who is also a vice chair of IPCC, saying, "Taken together, these changes show that the world's ocean and cryosphere have been taking the heat for climate change for decades. The consequences for nature are sweeping and severe."The Atlantic called it a blockbuster report.National Geographic said that according to the report, "These challenges are only going to get worse unless countries make lightning-fast moves to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions... But strong, decisive action could still forestall or evade some of the worst impacts." See also Effects of climate change on oceans References Further reading Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). IPCC (Report). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. Summary for Policymakers (SPM) (PDF). IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. Headline Statements. IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. Press Release (PDF). IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. "Working Group I — IPCC". Retrieved 2019-09-25. "Working Group II — IPCC". Retrieved 2019-09-25. Chapter 1: Framing and Context of the Report. IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. Chapter 2: High Mountain Areas. IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. Chapter 3: Polar Regions. IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. Chapter 4: Sea Level Rise and Implications for Low Lying Islands, Coasts and Communities. IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. Chapter 5: Changing Ocean, Marine Ecosystems, and Dependent Communities. IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. Chapter 6: Extremes, Abrupt Changes and Managing Risks. IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25. Integrative Cross-Chapter Box: Low Lying Islands and Coasts. IPCC (Report). Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25.

environmental assessment institute

The Environmental Assessment Institute (EAI) (Danish: Institut for Miljøvurdering – IMV) was an independent body under the Danish Ministry of the Environment. It was established in February 2002 by the Liberal/Conservative Danish Government with the task of making environmental and economic cost/benefit analyses. The EAI's first Director was political scientist Bjørn Lomborg. The EAI was seen by some as a vehicle created for Lomborg, whose book The Skeptical Environmentalist argues that many perceived environmental problems are vastly exaggerated by environmental lobby and that policy responses based on such exaggerated claims are often misguided. The Government appointed Ole P. Kristensen, an ex-professor at the institute where Lomborg worked, as the first Director of the Board. His job was to find the director and the other board members. Lomborg was soon announced as the director. The EAI began operating on 1 June 2002. The EAI published a series of reports on environmental issues, from the value of a deposit/return system for drink cans to global warming. Most of them are in Danish. A report from October 2002 made an economic cost-benefit analysis of deposits on disposable bottles and cans. It concluded that it would be better to abandon the deposit system and to let the bottles and cans be burned together with other household garbage. However, it turned out afterwards that many of the Danish incineration plants operate at temperatures at which aluminum cans will not burn, but only melt, and that the cans would pose a great economic problem for them.A committee was formed in March 2003 to evaluate the reports issued by the EAI during the second half of 2002. This committee was composed of one Danish member and four experts from Sweden and Norway. The committee adjudged the first three reports published in 2002 as superficial attempts to focus attention on the EAI. The other reports were adjudged appealing to the public, but the committee was not confident in the conclusions of two reports and in general criticized the cost-benefit analyses.In November 2003, five out of the seven board members resigned on the same day. Three of them did so because of disagreement about the Institute's involvement in the Copenhagen Consensus project, the others did so because of lack of time and conflicts of interest. In mid-June 2004, there was some stir in the Danish printed media because it was revealed that criticism of Lomborg’s book from Danish climate experts had been repressed for years by the head of the EAI (Lomborg). Lomborg resigned as director on 1 August 2004.From 1 July 2007 the Environmental Assessment Institute was changed into a department of the Danish Economic Council, and thus no longer exists as a separate institute. References External links Copenhagen Consensus

green gross domestic product

The green gross domestic product (green GDP or GGDP) is an index of economic growth with the environmental consequences of that growth factored into a country's conventional GDP. Green GDP monetizes the loss of biodiversity, and accounts for costs caused by climate change. Some environmental experts prefer physical indicators (such as "waste per capita" or "carbon dioxide emissions per year"), which may be aggregated to indices such as the "Sustainable Development Index". Calculation Formula The environmental and related social costs to develop the economy are taken into consideration when calculating the green GDP, which can be expressed as: Green GDP = GDP – Environmental Costs – Social Costswhere the environmental cost typically qualifies: Depletion value of natural resources, e.g. oil, coal, natural gas, wood, and metals; Degradation cost of ecological environment, e.g. underground water pollution, topsoil erosion, and extinction of wildlife; Restoration cost of natural resources, e.g. waste recycling, wetland restoration, and afforestation;and the social costs typically include: Poverty caused by degradation of environment, e.g. shortage of natural resources after exploitation; Extra healthcare expenditure coming with the degradation of ecological environment;Above calculations can also be applied to net domestic product (NDP), which deducts the depreciation of produced capital from GDP. Valuation Methodology It should be noticed that since the indicators of environment are generally expressed in national accounts, the conversion of the resource activity into a monetary value is necessary. A common procedure to evaluate, proposed by United Nations in its System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting handbook, applies following steps: If current values of resources are non-existent or non-explicit, the next option is to value the resource based upon the present value of expected net returns from future commercial use. That is, the sum of present values for future expected income minus expected future expenditures (the cash flow CF), for each future time point (t), is termed the net present value (NPV). Rationale The motivation for creating a green GDP originates from the inherent limitations of GDP as an indicator of economic performance and social progress. GDP assesses gross output alone, without identifying the wealth and assets that underlie output. GDP does not account for significant or permanent depletion, or replenishment, of these assets. Ultimately, GDP has no capacity to identify whether the level of income generated in a country is sustainable. Richard Stone, one of the creators of the original GDP index, suggested that, while "the three pillars on which an analysis of society ought to rest are studies of economic, socio-demographic, and environmental phenomenon", he had done little work in the area of environmental issues.Natural capital is poorly represented in GDP. Resources are not adequately considered as economic assets. Relative to their costs, companies and policymakers also do not give sufficient weight to the future benefits generated by restorative or protective environmental projects. As well, the important positive externalities that arise from forests, wetlands, and agriculture are unaccounted for, or otherwise hidden, because of practical difficulties around measuring and pricing these assets. Similarly, the impact that the depletion of natural resources or increases in pollution can and do have on the future productive capacity of a nation are unaccounted for in traditional GDP estimates.The need for a more comprehensive macroeconomic indicator is consistent with the conception of sustainable development as a desirable phenomenon. GDP is mistakenly appropriated as a primary indicator of well-being, and as a result, it is used heavily in the analysis of political and economic policy. Green GDP would arguably be a more accurate indicator or measure of societal well-being. Therefore, the integration of environmental statistics into national accounts, and by extension, the generation of a green GDP figure, would improve countries' abilities to manage their economies and resources. History Many economists, scientists, and other scholars have theorized about adjusting macroeconomic indicators to account for environmental change. The idea was developed early on through the work of Nordhaus and Tobin (1972), Ahmad et al. (1989), Repetto et al. (1989), and Hartwick (1990).In 1972, William Nordhaus and James Tobin introduced the first model to measure the annual real consumption of households, called the Measure of Economic Welfare (MEW). MEW adjusts GDP to include the value of leisure time, unpaid work, and environmental damages. They also defined a sustainable MEW (MEW-S) value, and their work was the precursor to more sophisticated measures of sustainable development. Repetto further explored the impact that the failure of resource-based economies to account for the depreciation of their natural capital could have, especially by distorting evaluations of macroeconomic relationships and performance. He and his colleagues developed the concept of depreciation accounting, which factors environmental depreciation into "aggregate measures of economic performance".In their seminal report, "Economic Accounting for Sustainable Development", Yusuf Ahmad, Salah El Serafy, and Ernst Lutz compiled papers from several UNEP-World Bank sponsored workshops, convened after 1983, on how to develop environmental accounting as a public policy tool. The central theme of all of the authors' arguments is that the system of national accounts (SNA), as it traditionally calculates income, omits important aspects of economic development that ought to be included. One important disagreement on environmentally adjusted indicators is presented by Anne Harrison and Salah El Serafy, in their respective chapters. Harrison argues that appropriate adjustments ought to be made within the existing SNA framework, while El Serafy suggests a redefinition of what constitutes intermediate and final demand. In his view, the SNA should not consider the sale of natural capital as generating value added, while at least part of the income generated from this sale should be excluded from GDP and net product. This would effectively allow GDP to continue to be used extensively.In "Natural Resources, National Accounting and Economic Depreciation", John Hartwick presents an accounting methodology to find NNP, inclusive of the depletion of natural resource stock, by representing the use of natural resources as "economic depreciation magnitudes".This method of accounting, which makes adjustments to the existing national account indicators, found traction in the System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA), published by the United Nations as an appendix to the 1993 SNA. The report offered five approaches, or versions, to developing environmental accounts. Over the years, the SEEA has been expanded and revised in view of the increased sophistication of accounting methodologies and technology. This revision will be explored in greater detail in the "Global Initiatives" section. Ultimately, the importance of the SEEA with respect to the green GDP is that it is possible to create full-sequence accounts from which aggregates, such as green GDP, can be derived and compared internationally, and many countries have begun this process.Several reports and initiatives after the SEEA-1993 have explored the possibility of expanding or changing the scope of environmentally-adjusted macroeconomic indicators. As the popularity of green GDP and other environmentally adjusted macroeconomic indicators grows, their construction will increasingly draw on this continuously developing body of research, especially with respect to the methodology associated with valuing non-market capital (e.g., services from natural capital which exist outside of traditional market settings). In 1993, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the official bookkeeper of the U.S. economy, began responding to concerns that the GDP needed retooling. The agency began working on a green accounting system called Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounts. These initial results, released in 1994, showed that GDP numbers were overstating the impact of mining companies to the nation's economic wealth. Mining companies didn't like those results, and in 1995, Alan B. Mollohan, a Democratic House Representative from West Virginia's coal country, sponsored an amendment to the 1995 Appropriations Bill that stopped the Bureau of Economic Analysis from working on revising the GDP and that's where things stand today.Costanza et al. (1997) estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes. The value of the entire biosphere, most of which exists outside of the market, is estimated conservatively to be between $16–54 trillion per year. By comparison, global GNP is approximately $18 trillion per year. The size of this figure demonstrates the significance of ecosystem services on human welfare and income generation, and the importance of identifying and recognizing this value. The valuation techniques used by the authors were often based on estimations of individuals' "willingness-to-pay" for ecosystem services.Kunte et al. (1998) use their paper "Estimating National Wealth: Methodology and Results" to demonstrate that expanding the national accounts to include natural capital is a "practical [and necessary] exercise". They estimate the total wealth of nations by including different components of wealth in their calculations, including natural capital. They place values on natural capital by using the concept of economic rent. "Economic rent is the return on a commodity in excess of the minimum required to bring forth its services. Rental value is therefore the difference between the market price and cost of production / extraction." Following this, and by adjusting calculations for (un)sustainable use patterns, they are able to determine the stock of natural capital in a country that more accurately reflects its wealth."Nature's Numbers: Expanding the National Economic Accounts to Include the Environment," written by William Nordhaus and Edward Kokkelenberg and published in 1999, examined whether or not to broaden the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) to include natural resources and the environment. The panel, which addressed this question, concluded that extending the NIPA and developing supplemental environmental accounts should be a high-priority goal for the U.S., because these would provide useful data on a variety of economic issues and government trends, which entailed both replenishing and extractive activities. One of the major findings of the report is that it is fundamentally necessary for green adjustments to account for instances when natural capital is discovered or replenished, along with general depletive activities. Green GDP in China As one of the fastest-growing countries in the world, China noticed the Green GDP as early as 1997. City authorities had conducted a survey based on Beijing’s GDP, and the result showed that around 75% of the total GDP was constituted by Green GDP, and the rest of the 25% flowed away as pollution. Other cities also started the same calculation. For example, green GDP in Yaan reported 80% of the total GDP, while Datong reported only 60%. In 2004, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, announced that the green GDP index would replace the Chinese GDP index itself as a performance measure for government and party officials at the highest levels. China’s State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), together with the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning(CAEP), and units from Renmin University, investigated the nationwide Green GDP. The major environmental impacts in China were from air, water, and solid waste pollution. The first green GDP accounting report, for 2004, was published in September 2006. It showed that the financial loss caused by pollution was 511.8 billion yuan ($66.3 billion), or 3.05 percent of the nation's economy.As an experiment in national accounting, the Green GDP effort collapsed in failure in 2007, when it became clear that the adjustment for environmental damage had reduced the growth rate to politically unacceptable levels, nearly zero in some provinces. In the face of mounting evidence that environmental damage and resource depletion was far more costly than anticipated, the government withdrew its support for the Green GDP methodology and suppressed the 2005 report, which had been due out in March, 2007. The failure of Green GDP in China is connected to the incongruity between central authorities and local government. Beijing was aware of the environmental costs of fast-growing GDP, and encouraged for cleaner or more efficient production. However, many local officials had direct connections with local businesses, and focused more on economic growth than damage by pollution. Another reason for the failure was due to the cost of data collection. It took both money and time to collect data and set them into databases. The Chinese government had a hard time collecting comprehensive environmental cost data. Only pollution and emission costs (air emissions, surface water pollution discards to land, and environmental accidents) were counted in, while social costs and natural resources depletion were missing.Lang and Li (2009) use their paper “China's “Green GDP” Experiment and the Struggle for Ecological Modernisation” to conclude that the attempt to implement Green GDP was a signal that the Chinese government paid attention to environmental impacts. Unfortunately, the fast-growing economy was more prioritized than environmental accounting, and the failure of the experiment was inevitable.Independent estimates of the cost to China of environmental degradation and resource depletion have, for the last decade, ranged from 8 to 12 percentage points of GDP growth. These estimates support the idea that, by this measure at least, the growth of the Chinese economy is close to zero. The most promising national activity on the Green GDP has been from India. The country's environmental minister, Jairam Ramesh, stated in 2009 that "It is possible for scientists to estimate green GDP. An exercise has started under the country's chief statistician Pronab Sen and by 2015, India's GDP numbers will be adjusted with economic costs of environmental degradation." Organizations The Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) core goals include the mainstreaming of disclosure on environmental, social, and governance performance. Although the GRI is independent, it remains a collaborating centre of UNEP and works in cooperation with the United Nations Global Compact. It produces one of the world's most prevalent standards for sustainability reporting—also known as ecological footprint reporting, environmental social governance (ESG) reporting, triple bottom line (TBL) reporting, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. It is working on a green GDP to be implemented worldwide. Current debate Some critics of environmentally adjusted aggregates, including GDP, point out that it may be difficult to assign values to some of the outputs that are quantified. This is a particular difficulty in cases where the environmental asset does not exist in a traditional market and is therefore non-tradable. Ecosystem services are one example of this type of resource. In the case that valuation is undertaken indirectly, there is a possibility that calculations may rely on speculation or hypothetical assumptions. Supporters of adjusted aggregates may reply to this objection in one of two ways. First, that as our technological capabilities increase, more accurate methods of valuation have been and will continue to develop. Second, that while measurements may not be perfect in the cases of non-market natural assets, the adjustments they entail are still a preferable alternative to traditional GDP. A second objection may be found in the Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, when Stiglitz, Sen, and Fitoussi remark that: "there is a more fundamental problem with green GDP, which also applies to Nordhaus and Tobin's SMEW and to the ISEW/GNI indices. None of these measures characterize sustainability per se. Green GDP just charges GDP for the depletion of or damage to environmental resources. This is only one part of the answer to the question of sustainability." See also Environment of China Genuine progress indicator (GPI) Green national product Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) References Further reading Green GDP Accounting Study Report 2004 issued Archived 2015-04-06 at the Wayback Machine. A brief explanation of Green GDP. China issues first 'green GDP' report – article from China Dialogue Environmental pollution costs China 64 billion dollars in 2004 – article from Terra Daily NYTimes documentary on China's Green GDP effort

new york city panel on climate change

The New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), was convened by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in August 2008 as part of PlaNYC. The panel Many leading Earth scientists from the region and researchers from Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) were part of the panel's work since its beginning. Among them Cynthia Rosenzweig, who helped pioneer the study of climate change and agriculture. Additionally, legal, insurance, and risk management experts are part of the NPCC. Reports The first report NPCC1 was published in 2010, about adaptation and risk management response. The second report NPCC2 was published in 2013, about climate risk, based on observations, climate change projections, and maps. The third report NPCC3 was published in 2015, and provides climate projections until 2100. The fourth report, NPCC 2019, was published in March 2019 and provides an updated analysis of the projections made with data collected in 2015, as well as an exposition of particular at-risk communities in New York City. See also IPCC References External links PlaNY homepage

penny whetton

Penelope Whetton (5 January 1958 – 11 September 2019) was a climatologist and an expert in regional climate change projections due to global warming and in the impacts of those changes. Her primary scientific focus was Australia. Early life Whetton was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 5 January 1958. She held a Bachelor of Science (Honours), majoring in physics, and an honours year in meteorology, from the University of Melbourne. She received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the same university in 1986. Career Whetton started her career in the late 1980s as a researcher in the Department of Geography at Monash University in Clayton, Victoria.In 1989, she joined the Atmospheric Research division of CSIRO (later becoming CMAR CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research). Whetton became a research leader in 1999 and a research program leader in 2009. Whetton was a Lead Author on the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Assessment Reports of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The Fourth Assessment Report of which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.Whetton was an invited speaker at various climate change conferences such as the Aspen Global Change Institute, Four Degrees Or More? Australia in a Hot World at the University of Melbourne in 2011, and the Greenhouse 2011: The Science of Climate Change conference.Whetton published numerous scientific journal articles on climate change as well as a contribution to more popular publications. Personal life Whetton lived in Footscray, Victoria, with her wife Janet Rice, a Greens Senator and former Mayor of Maribyrnong, and their two sons. In 2003, Whetton underwent gender-affirming surgery.Whetton died on 11 September 2019 in Sisters Beach, Tasmania. References External links Penny Whetton publications indexed by Google Scholar

adaptive capacity

Adaptive capacity relates to the capacity of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences. In the context of ecosystems, adaptive capacity is determined by genetic diversity of species, biodiversity of particular ecosystems in specific landscapes or biome regions. In the context of coupled socio-ecological social systems, adaptive capacity is commonly associated with the following characteristics: Firstly, the ability of institutions and networks to learn, and store knowledge and experience. Secondly, the creative flexibility in decision making, transitioning and problem solving. And thirdly, the existence of power structures that are responsive and consider the needs of all stakeholders. In the context of climate change adaptation, adaptive capacity depends on the inter-relationship of social, political, economic, technological and institutional factors operating at a variety of scales. Some of these are generic, and others are exposure-specific. Benefits Adaptive capacity confers resilience to perturbation, giving ecological and human social systems the ability to reconfigure themselves with minimum loss of function. In ecological systems, this resilience shows as net primary productivity and maintenance of biomass and biodiversity, and the stability of hydrological cycles. In human social systems it is demonstrated by the stability of social relations, the maintenance of social capital and economic prosperity.Building adaptive capacity is particular important in the context of climate change, where it refers to a latent capacity - in terms of resources and assets - from which adaptations can be made as required depending on future circumstances. Since future climate is likely to be different from the present climate, developing adaptive capacity is a prerequisite for the adaptation that can reduce the potential negative effects of exposure to climate change. In climate change, adaptive capacity, along with hazard, exposure and vulnerability, is a key component that contributes to risk, or the potential for harm or impact. Characteristics Adaptive capacity can be enhanced in a number of different ways. A report by the Overseas Development Institute introduces the local adaptive capacity framework (LAC), featuring five core characteristics of adaptive capacity. These include: Asset base: the availability of a diverse range of key livelihood assets that allow households or communities to respond to evolving circumstancesInstitutions and entitlements: the existence of an appropriate and evolving institutional environment that allows for access and entitlement to key assets and capitalsKnowledge and information: the ability households and communities have to generate, receive, assess and disseminate knowledge and information in support of appropriate adaptation optionsInnovation: the system creates an enabling environment to foster innovation, experimentation and the ability to explore niche solutions in order to take advantage of new opportunitiesFlexible forward-looking decision-making and governance: the system is able to anticipate, incorporate and respond to changes with regards to its governance structures and future planning.Many development interventions - such as social protection programmes and efforts to promote social safety nets - can play important roles in promoting aspects of adaptive capacity. Relationship between adaptive capacity, states and strategies Adaptive capacity is associated with r and K selection strategies in ecology and with a movement from explosive positive feedback to sustainable negative feedback loops in social systems and technologies. The Resilience Alliance shows how the logistic curve of the r phase positive feedback, becoming replaced by the K negative feedback strategy is an important part of adaptive capacity. The r strategy is associated with situations of low complexity, high resilience, and growing potential. K strategies are associated with situations of high complexity, high potential and high resilience, but if the perturbations exceed certain limits, adaptive capacity may be exceeded and the system collapses into another so-called Omega state, of low potential, low complexity and low resilience. In the context of climate change See also Adaptability == References ==

cool it: the skeptical environmentalist's guide to global warming

Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming is a book by Danish statistician Bjørn Lomborg. It is a sequel to The Skeptical Environmentalist (first published in Danish in 1998), which in English translation brought the author to international attention. In Cool It, Lomborg argues his view that many negative impacts of climate change are overstated, and mitigation approaches are expensive and have poor return on investment; he instead proposes alternative solutions. The book was adapted into a 2010 documentary film of the same name. Released amid a period of public debate over global warming, reception for the book was mixed. Howard Friel wrote a book-length response called The Lomborg Deception which challenges its veracity. Content In Cool It, Lomborg argues his view that many of the elaborate and expensive actions being considered to stop global warming will cost hundreds of billions of dollars without the same return on investment, often are based on emotional rather than strictly scientific assumptions, and may have very little impact on the world's temperature for centuries. He attempts to dispel what he views as climate change "myths", arguing that it is too soon to say if Greenland's ice is melting, and that the impacts of sea level rise, extreme weather, droughts and floods are overhyped. He argues that rising temperatures could save more than 1.3 million lives per year, as more cold-related deaths than would be prevented than heat-related respiratory fatalities. Lomborg concludes that reducing carbon emissions is not an effective solution, and that the Kyoto Protocol would only delay the impacts of climate change. He instead proposes a limited carbon tax is needed in the First World as well as subsidies from the First World to the Third World to help fight ongoing humanitarian crises. Reception and critique In a review in The New York Times, Andrew Revkin says that Lomborg uses the book to reprise "his earlier argument with a tighter focus. He tries to puncture more of what he says are environmental myths, like the imminent demise of polar bears." According to The Guardian, academics rejected Lomborg's view that warming temperatures would save lives. A profile in The Guardian also suggested that Lomborg's statements on the effects of climate change contradicted each other within a few pages.Economist Frank Ackerman of Tufts University and the Stockholm Environment Institute, wrote a review of Lomborg's book. In it, Ackerman criticised Lomborg for his views on the economics of climate change, including the costs of the Kyoto Protocol and the use of cost-benefit analysis. IPCC lead author Brian O'Neill wrote a mixed review of Cool It, concluding: [...] Bjorn Lomborg is like the Oliver Stone of climate change. He has written a book that sets out to support a certain point of view, and, unless you are an expert, you will never know which facts are correct and appropriately used and which are not. You might not be aware that large (and crucial) chunks of the story are skipped altogether. But like a Stone movie, it is a well-told tale and raises some questions that are worth thinking about. So if you are going to read only one book on climate, don’t read this one. But if you are going to read ten, reading Lomborg may be worthwhile. The Lomborg Deception In 2010, Howard Friel wrote The Lomborg Deception, a book-length critique of Cool It, which fact-checks all of Lomborg's claims against the book's references and tests their authority and substance. Friel has said he found "misrepresentation of academic research, misquotation of data, reliance on studies irrelevant to the author’s claims and citation of sources that seem not to exist" and characterised Lomborg as "a performance artist disguised as an academic". Friel's conclusion, as per his book's title, is that Lomborg is "a performance artist disguised as an academic." I don't want to be as trusting as the reviewers who praised Lomborg's scholarship without (it seems) bothering to check his references, so rather than taking Friel at his word just as they took Lomborg at his, I've done my best to do that checking. Although Friel engages in some bothersome overkill, overall his analysis is compelling. Documentary film A feature-length documentary film adaptation of Cool It was released in 2010, which features Lomborg. Literature Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming, Knopf Publishing Group (2007-09-04), ISBN 978-0-307-26692-7 (Hardcover, 253 pages) See also Global warming controversy References External links Cool it official page on lomborg.com

climate of italy

The climate of Italy is the long-term weather pattern in the territory of the Italian Republic. The climate of Italy is influenced by the large body of water of the Mediterranean Seas that surrounds Italy on every side except the north. These seas constitute a reservoir of heat and humidity for Italy. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a particular climate called Mediterranean climate with local differences due to the geomorphology of the territory, which tends to make its mitigating effects felt, especially in high pressure conditions. Because of the length of the peninsula and the mostly mountainous hinterland, the climate of Italy is highly diverse. In most of the inland northern and central regions, the climate ranges from humid subtropical to humid continental and oceanic. The climate of the Po valley geographical region is mostly humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot summers. The coastal areas of Liguria, Tuscany and most of the South generally fit the Mediterranean climate stereotype according to the Köppen climate classification. Between the north and south there can be a considerable difference in temperature, above all during the winter: on some winter days it can be −2 °C (28 °F) and snowing in Milan, while it is 8 °C (46.4 °F) in Rome and 20 °C (68 °F) in Palermo. Temperature differences are less extreme in the summer. On 11 August 2021, an agricultural monitoring station near Syracuse recorded 48.8 °C (119.8 °F) which constitutes the official record of the highest temperature in Europe according to the World Meteorological Organization. Generality The Italian climate is influenced by the large body of water of the Mediterranean Seas that surrounds Italy on every side except the north. These seas constitute a reservoir of heat and humidity for Italy. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a Mediterranean climate with local differences due to the geomorphology of the territory, which tends to make its mitigating effects felt, especially in high pressure conditions.In addition to Mediterranean influences, the Italian climate is partly affected by the western currents, especially in the intermediate seasons, also by the dynamics in the Atlantic Ocean, with its cyclones that travel from west to east, driven by the zonal circulation and more generally by the reciprocal position, on a synoptic level, of the Azores anticyclone and the African subtropical anticyclone. The cold winter airs, are in part influenced by the mountain ranges of the Alps and the Apennines. The mitigating effect of the Mediterranean is added to this condition with a tendency to reinvigorate, due to the transfer of sensible heat and humidity, the weakened perturbations from the west or with the formation of Mediterranean Low or Mediterranean cyclogenesis. Description Conditions on the coast are different from those in the interior, particularly during winter months when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters and warm and generally dry summers, although lowland valleys can be quite hot in summer. Average winter temperatures vary from 0 °C (32 °F) on the Alps to 12 °C (54 °F) in Sicily, so average summer temperatures range from 20 °C (68 °F) to over 25 °C (77 °F). Winters can vary widely across the country with lingering cold, foggy and snowy periods in the north and milder, sunnier conditions in the south. Summers can be hot and humid across the country, particularly in the south while northern and central areas can experience occasional strong thunderstorms from spring to autumn. The east coast of the Italian peninsula is not as wet as the west coast, but is usually colder in the winter. The east coast north of Pescara is occasionally affected by the cold bora winds in winter and spring, but the wind is less strong here than around Trieste. During these frosty spells from E–NE cities like Rimini, Ancona, Pescara and the entire eastern hillside of the Apennines can be affected by true "blizzards". The town of Fabriano, located just around 300 m (984 ft) in elevation, can often see 0.5–0.6 m (1 ft 7.7 in – 1 ft 11.6 in) of fresh snow fall in 24 hours during these episodes. On the coast from Ravenna to Venice and Trieste, snow falls more rarely: during cold spells from the east, the cold wind can be harsh but with bright skies. During the snowfalls that affect Northern Italy, the Adriatic coast can see a milder Sirocco wind which makes snow turn to rain. The mild effects of this wind often disappear just a few kilometres inside the plain, and sometimes the coast from Venice to Jesolo sees snow while it is raining in Trieste and surroundings, the Po River mouths and Ravenna. Rarely, the city of Trieste has seen snow blizzards with north-eastern winds. In the colder winters, the Venice Lagoon may freeze, and in the coldest ones even enough to walk on the ice sheet (December 1788). Further south, snow may occur inland but it rarely happens at sea level. However, snow at sea level has been recorded as far south as Sicily. Winters are generally milder in the coastal areas of the south, Sicily and Sardinia. The west coast of Italy has rainier winters while the east is more exposed to the cold Bora winds. Summer is usually more stable, although the northern regions often have thunderstorms in the afternoon/night hours and some grey and rainy days. So, while south of Florence the summer is typically dry and sunny, in the north it tends to be more humid and cloudy. Even if the temperatures are similar throughout the country, the humidity can make the northern plains particularly uncomfortable. Hot weather can occur practically anywhere in Italy during the summer months. Spring and autumn weather can be very changeable, with sunny and warm weeks (sometimes with summer-like temperatures) suddenly broken off by cold spells or followed by rainy and cloudy weeks. Sunshine duration, solar irradiance and cloud cover Based on the maps on sunshine duration and on global solar irradiance in Italy, the areas with the highest values are the coasts of Sardinia, the western and southern coastal strip of Sicily, the whole of Apulia south of Bari, and the coastal strips of the southern Tuscan Archipelago. All these areas have values of more than 2,600 hours of sunshine per year, with an average of more than seven hours per day. On average, the northern and eastern coastal strip of Sicily, the innermost areas of Sardinia, the entire western peninsular coast to the south of Livorno, including the flat and hilly areas of the hinterland, the Ionian coast between Calabria and Basilicata, the inland areas of Lucania, the Adriatic coasts of Molise and the whole of northern Apulia, receive between 2,400 and 2,600 hours of sunshine per year (between 6.5 and seven hours per day). Values between 2,200 and 2,400 hours of sunshine per year (between 6 and 6.5 hours per day) are recorded in the innermost areas of Sicily, in some sections of the Calabrian Ionian coast and in the corresponding inland areas, along the Adriatic coast of Abruzzo, in Liguria, Versilia, inland areas of northern and eastern Tuscany, in Umbria and in the hinterland of southern Lazio and Campania. All the other areas north of the imaginary oblique transversal line, drawn between the area immediately north of the city of Genoa and the border between Marche and Abruzzo, record annual average values that do not reach 2,200 hours, or less than six hours per day. The highest annual average values in the network of pyranometric stations relating to global solar irradiance are higher than 18 MJ/m2 (0.46 kWh/sq ft) and concern the southern and south-eastern extremities of Sicily. Average annual values between 16 MJ/m2 (0.41 kWh/sq ft) and 18 MJ/m2 (0.46 kWh/sq ft) are recorded over a large part of the Aosta Valley, on the western alpine extremity of Piedmont, on the island of Pianosa, on the coastal and sublittoral areas of the middle and southern Lazio, in the south-central Apulia, Calabria, Sardinia and most of Sicily (including the islands of Ustica, Pantelleria and Lampedusa). Average annual values between 14 MJ/m2 (0.36 kWh/sq ft) and 16 MJ/m2 (0.41 kWh/sq ft) affect western Liguria, a large part of Tuscany and central-northern Lazio, a large part of the Marche, Abruzzo and Molise, Campania, Basilicata, northern Puglia and north-eastern Sardinia. Average annual values between 12 MJ/m2 (0.31 kWh/sq ft) and 14 MJ/m2 (0.36 kWh/sq ft) occur in central-eastern Piedmont, eastern Liguria, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, most of Emilia-Romagna and on the Apennine ridge between Emilia, Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Lazio. Average annual values of less than 12 MJ/m2 (0.31 kWh/sq ft) are recorded in an area of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines which includes the highest peaks. Cloud cover generally tends to reach the lowest average values in the month of July, while the highest average values, according to the different climatic zones, can affect several months between late autumn and the first part of spring, with the highest average values in most of the territory recorded in November. Precipitation In the south, summer marks a distinct dry season, characteristic of Mediterranean climates. This includes cities such as Naples, Rome, Bari, and Palermo. In the north, precipitation is more evenly distributed during the year, although the summer is usually slightly wetter. Between November and March the Po valley is often covered by fog, especially in the central zone (Pavia, Piacenza, Cremona and Mantua), while the number of days with lows below 0 °C (32 °F) is usually from 60 to 90 a year, with peaks of 100–110 days in the mainly rural zones.Snow is quite common between early December and early March in cities like Turin, Milan and Bologna, but sometimes it appears in late November or late March and even April. In the winter of 2005–2006, Milan received around 0.75–0.8 m (2 ft 5.53 in – 2 ft 7.50 in) or 75–80 cm (29.5–31.5 in) of fresh snow, Como around 1 m (3 ft 3.37 in) or 100 cm (39.4 in), Brescia 0.5 m (1 ft 7.69 in) or 50 cm (19.7 in), Trento 1.6 m (5 ft 2.99 in) or 160 cm (63.0 in), Vicenza around 0.45 m (1 ft 5.72 in) or 45 cm (17.7 in), Bologna around 0.3 m (11.81 in) or 30 cm (11.8 in), and Piacenza around 0.8 m (2 ft 7.50 in) or 80 cm (31.5 in) Often, the largest snowfalls happen in February, sometime in January or March. In the Alps, snow falls more in autumn and spring over 1,500 m (4,921 ft), because winter is usually marked by cold and dry periods; while the Apennines see many more snow falls during winter, but they are warmer and less wet in the other seasons. Both mountain chains can see up to 5–10 m (16 ft 4.85 in – 32 ft 9.70 in) or 500–1,000 cm (196.9–393.7 in) of snow in a year at 2,000 m (6,562 ft). On the highest peaks of the Alps, snow may fall even during mid summer, and glaciers are present. Temperatures Summer temperatures are often similar north to south. July temperatures are 22–24 °C (71.6–75.2 °F) north of river Po, like in Milan or Venice, and south of river Po can reach 24–25 °C (75.2–77.0 °F) like in Bologna, with fewer thunderstorms; on the coasts of Central and Southern Italy, and in the near plains, mean temperatures goes from 23 °C to 27 °C (80.6 °F). Generally, the hottest month is August in the south and July in the north; during these months the thermometer can reach 38–42 °C (100.4–107.6 °F) in the south and 32–35 °C (89.6–95.0 °F) in the north; Sometimes the country can be split as during winter, with rain and 20–22 °C (68.0–71.6 °F) during the day in the north, and 30–40 °C (86–104 °F) in the south; but, having a hot and dry summer does not mean that Southern Italy will not see rain from June to August. Thunderstorms, while much more common in the humid north, occasionally also occur in the south. High humidity may keep nighttime temperatures high in Italy's cities during the summer months. The coldest month is January: the Po valley's mean temperature is between −1–1 °C (30.2–33.8 °F), Venice 2–3 °C (35.6–37.4 °F), Trieste 6–7 °C (42.8–44.6 °F), Florence 5–6 °C (41.0–42.8 °F), Rome 7–8 °C (44.6–46.4 °F), Naples 9 °C (48.2 °F), and Cagliari 12 °C (53.6 °F). Winter morning lows can occasionally reach −30 to −20 °C (−22.0 to −4.0 °F) in the Alps, −14 to −8 °C (6.8 to 17.6 °F) in the Po valley, −7 °C (19.4 °F) in Florence, −4 °C (24.8 °F) in Rome, −2 °C (28.4 °F) in Naples and 2 °C (35.6 °F) in Palermo. In cities like Rome and Milan, strong heat islands can exist, so that inside the urban area, winters can be milder and summers more sultry. On some winter mornings it can be just −3 °C (26.6 °F) in Milan's Piazza del Duomo while −8 to −9 °C (17.6 to 15.8 °F) in the metropolitan outskirts, in Turin can be just −5 °C (23.0 °F) in the city centre and −10 to −12 °C (14.0 to 10.4 °F) in the metropolitan outskirts. Climates found in Italy Hot semi-arid climate (BSh) It is found in some areas of Sicily, Sardinia and the Pelagie Islands, for example in Lampedusa. Cold semi-arid climate (BSk) It is found in some areas of Alps, for example in Bardonecchia. Hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) It is found in all the coastal areas, excluding the north-eastern area and the area of Liguria from Genoa to Savona, which have a Humid subtropical climate. The winter average varies from 6 °C (42.8 °F), in the northern areas, to 11–14 °C (51.8–57.2 °F) in the southern islands. During the summer, averages are near 23 °C (73.4 °F) in the north (Liguria) and sometimes reach 26–28 °C (78.8–82.4 °F) in the south. Precipitation mostly occurs during the winter. Snowfalls are rare and usually very light in the north, and almost never happen in the south. Summers are dry and hot. Main cities: Cagliari, Palermo, Naples, Rome, Pescara. Warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) This climate is found inland and at medium and high elevations in southern Italy, around 1,000 meters (3,281 ft). It is similar to the usual Mediterranean climate: the summers are dry and the winters wetter, but the temperatures are lower in both seasons – around 3 or 5 °C (37.4 or 41.0 °F) in the winter, and between 17 and 21 °C (62.6 and 69.8 °F) in the summer. Snowfalls are more common. Main cities and towns: Ariano Irpino, Potenza, San Giovanni in Fiore, Prizzi. Humid subtropical climate (Cfa) A relatively "continental" and "four-season" version of the humid subtropical Cfa climate can be found in the Po and Adige valleys in the North, and sometime in low inland Central and Southern Italy. It is marked by hot and wet summers, while winters are moderately cold. The precipitation is higher and there is no dry season. Average temperatures are around 1 °C to 3 °C in January, and more than 22 °C in July and August. Main cities: Milan, Genoa, Venice, Verona, Turin, Trieste, Bologna. Transition between Cfa and Csa climates Some parts of Italy have a climate which cannot be precisely defined as either Cfa or Csa, presenting elements from both. This indeed allows cultivations not seen in the Padana Plain, like olive trees, while keeping those characteristics which are not typical of Mediterranean climates (like more frequent appearances of frost during winters or more frequent summer thunderstorms). This can be found both in some lake and hill resorts of Northern Italy (usually with wetter summers) and in some area like inner Tuscany (usually with drier summers). Florence is a good example of this transition climate: Oceanic climate (Cfb) It can be found in altitude in the Apennines and in the alpine foothills. Summers are between 17 and 21 °C (62.6 and 69.8 °F) Main cities and towns: Aosta, Biella, Campobasso, L'Aquila, Cuneo, Sondrio, Amatrice – mild. Belluno, Breno, Feltre – severe. Subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) It can be found mainly in the valleys of the Alps and to a lesser extent in the Apennines. Main cities and towns: Tarvisio, Bormio, Cortina d'Ampezzo. Humid continental climate (Dfb) This climate is found in the Alps, around 1,200 meters (3,937 ft) in the western side, or around 1,000 m (3,281 ft) in the eastern side. It is marked by low winter averages (between −7 and −3 °C or 19.4 and 26.6 °F) and mild summers, with temperatures averaging from 13 to 18 °C (55.4 to 64.4 °F). Snow is usual from early November until March or early April. Main towns: Brusson, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Aprica, Vermiglio, Mazzin, Santo Stefano di Cadore, Asiago, Claut, Resia. Warm-summer mediterranean continental climate (Dsb) It is found at lower altitudes on the slopes of Mount Etna, Sicily, for example in Zafferana Etnea. Dry-summer subarctic climate (Dsc) It is found at higher altitudes on the slopes of Mount Etna, Sicily, for example in Nicolosi. Subarctic climate (Dfc) In the alpine valley around 1,600–1,800 meters (5,249–5,906 ft). The winters are very cold, averages between −12 and −5 °C (10.4 and 23.0 °F), and summers are cool, usually around 12 °C (53.6 °F). Main towns and villages in this area: Livigno, Chamois, Misurina, Predoi, Rhêmes-Notre-Dame. Tundra climate (ET) Above the tree line in the Alps. All the months with average below 10 °C (50 °F). Villages with this climate: Cervinia, Sestriere, Trepalle. Ice cap climate (EF) This type of climate is found at the highest points in the Alps, like Plateau Rosa, a glacier located at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) and which is located in the municipalities of Valtournanche (Italy) and Zermatt (Switzerland). On Plateau Rosa there is a meteorological station managed by the Italian Air Force. Extremes The record low temperature in Italy is −49.6 °C (−57.3 °F), recorded on 10 February 2013 in the Alps on the Pale di San Martino plateau, in Trentino-Alto Adige, while near sea level is −24.8 °C (−12.6 °F), recorded on 12 January 1985 at San Pietro Capofiume, frazione of Molinella, in Emilia-Romagna. The lowest temperature record for an inhabited place is −37.4 °C (−35.3 °F), recorded on 15 February 2012 in Rocca di Mezzo, Abruzzo, in the Apennines.The maximum snow depth was recorded in March 1951 in the Alps at the meteorological station of Lake D'Avino, in Piedmont, with a value of 1,125 cm (443 in). The maximum snowfall in 24 hours is 181 cm (71 in), recorded in the Apennines in the village of Roccacaramanico, frazione of Sant'Eufemia a Maiella (Majella massif), Abruzzo, on 15 January 1951.The village of Musi, frazione of the municipality of Lusevera, Friuli Venezia Giulia, with an annual average precipitation of 3,313 mm (130.4 in) (with a record of 5,406 mm (212.8 in) in 2014) is the wettest place in Italy. The maximum rainfall in 24 hours was recorded in Bolzaneto, a quarter of Genoa, Liguria, on 10 September 1970 with a value of 948 mm (37.3 in). However, there are many daily rainfall records around Italy exceeding 500 mm (20 in).In the south, Sicily has experienced highs of 46 °C (114.8 °F) in some hot summers. On 25 June 2007 47.0 °C (116.6 °F) were recorded in Foggia, Apulia , and on 10 August 1999, 48.5 °C (119.3 °F) were recorded in Catenanuova in Sicily. The latter is not official, and generally considered dubious. On 11 August 2021, an agricultural monitoring station near Syracuse, Sicily recorded 48.8 °C (119.8 °F) which constitutes the official record of the highest temperature in Europe according to the World Meteorological Organization. Historical climate change in Italy Italy, like other parts of the globe, has been subject in the past to climate changes on a planetary scale (for example glaciations and interglacial periods, Little Ice Age). The current climate changes (global warming) have also involved Italy. In particular, compared to the 1960s and 1970s, in which even on a global level there was a slight cooling of the climate (dominated in Europe by the Azores anticyclone and the Russian-Siberian anticyclone), from the mid-1980s onwards there was a recorded increase in the average temperature with increasing influence of the African subtropical anticyclone starting from the 2000s and an increase in extreme phenomena such as heat waves, alluviums and retreat of alpine glaciers. Global warming Italy is particularly at risk in the current climate change as it is in a transition area between North Africa and Continental Europe. Experts have highlighted the risk of desertification in the southern regions and tropicalization of the climate in the remaining areas of the country partial confirmation was obtained starting from the 2010s with an acceleration of the water cycle and an increase in alluvial phenomena and the tropicalization of the Mediterranean Sea. See also Climate of Ancient Rome Geography of Italy References External links Average climatic data of cities in Italy

expert elicitation

In science, engineering, and research, expert elicitation is the synthesis of opinions of authorities of a subject where there is uncertainty due to insufficient data or when such data is unattainable because of physical constraints or lack of resources. Expert elicitation is essentially a scientific consensus methodology. It is often used in the study of rare events. Expert elicitation allows for parametrization, an "educated guess", for the respective topic under study. Expert elicitation generally quantifies uncertainty. Expert elicitation tends to be multidisciplinary as well as interdisciplinary, with practically universal applicability, and is used in a broad range of fields. Prominent recent expert elicitation applications include climate change, modeling seismic hazard and damage, association of tornado damage to wind speed in developing the Enhanced Fujita scale, risk analysis for nuclear waste storage. In performing expert elicitation certain factors need to be taken into consideration. The topic must be one for which there are people who have predictive expertise. Furthermore, the objective should be to obtain an experts' carefully considered judgment based on a systematic consideration of all relevant evidence. For this reason one should take care to adopt strategies designed to help the expert being interviewed to avoid overlooking relevant evidence. Additionally, vocabulary used should face intense scrutiny; qualitative uncertainty words such as "likely" and "unlikely" are not sufficient and can lead to confusion. Such words can mean very different things to different people, or to the same people in different situations. See also Applied science Bayesian probability References Bibliography Apostolakis, G., 7 December 1990: The concept of probability in safety assessments of technological systems. Science, 250 (4986): 1359–1364. doi:10.1126/science.2255906 Arkes, Hal R., Jeryl L. Mumpower, and Thomas R. Stewart, 24 January 1997: Combining Expert Opinions. Science, 275: 461–465. doi:10.1126/science.275.5299.461e Boissonnade, A., Hossain, Q., Kimbell, J., Mensing, R., and Savy, J., 2000: Development of a probabilistic tornado wind hazard model for the Continental United States, UCRL-ID-140922 Vol. I, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, 131pp. Booker, Jane M.; Meyer, Mary A. (2001), Eliciting and Analyzing Expert Judgment: A Practical Guide, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Kerr, Richard A., 8 November 1996: Risk Assessment: A New Way to Ask the Experts: Rating Radioactive Waste Risks. Science, 274 (5289): 913–914. doi:10.1126/science.274.5289.913 SSHAC, 1997: Recommendations for probabilistic seismic hazard analysis: guidelines on uncertainty and use of experts, NUREG/CR-6372, UCRL-ID-122160, Vol. I, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, 131 pp.

implicit carbon prices

Implicit carbon prices arise from measures which impact on the marginal cost of emitting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions without targeting GHG emissions or the carbon content of fuel directly. As such, they contribute to climate change mitigation. Examples of these instruments include fuel taxes applied to reduce local pollution and the removal of subsidies for fossil fuel consumption.In contrast to implicit carbon prices, explicit carbon prices are measures designed specifically to target GHG emissions or the carbon content of fuel. Measures such as carbon taxes or emissions trading schemes put an explicit price on GHG emissions.The sum of implicit and explicit carbon prices is referred to as the effective carbon price. Considering both the implicit and explicit carbon prices can contribute to a better understanding of a country's progress on tackling emissions. It can also lead to better policy alignment and reduce inconsistencies in the fiscal system—such as when subsidies for fossil fuel consumption are combined with carbon taxes. What policies put an implicit price on carbon? Depending on the instrument, implicit carbon prices can be either positive or negative. Fuel taxes, which increase the costs of fossil fuels, can be considered as positive carbon pricing measures as they make it more expensive to emit GHGs. On the other hand, subsidies for fossil fuel consumption incentivize the use of fossil fuels by decreasing their cost, and therefore result in a negative carbon price. The removal of these subsidies through reform are a positive implicit carbon price. Opinions differ on what policies can be considered implicit carbon prices. Many agree that energy taxes and (the withdrawal of) fossil fuel subsidies can be seen as pricing carbon implicitly because they alter the price of fossil fuels. Other policies could also be seen as implicitly pricing carbon, such as tradable performance standards or traffic congestion taxes that are not applicable to cleaner vehicles. Other instruments could be included as well as long as they affect the price of emitting GHGs. Implicit carbon prices are more common than explicit ones at a global level. While almost all countries will have a gasoline tax, only 39 have explicit carbon pricing policies. There are a number of reasons for implicit carbon pricing being more widespread. Policies that implicitly price carbon often target problems at the local level (e.g., air pollution, traffic congestion, or the need for fiscal revenues). In addition, they often do not require as much technical or administrative capacity as explicit carbon pricing policies, which must measure and monitor GHG emissions levels. Implicit carbon prices can also face less political opposition as they can be less polarising than measures which explicitly reference the climate or carbon. Relevance for designing border carbon adjustment mechanisms Considering both implicit and explicit carbon pricing measures can result in a very different understanding of a country’s actions on GHG emissions reductions than if only explicit carbon pricing is examined. Some countries may have a carbon tax or emissions allowance trading scheme in place, while others may have implemented other policies that, overall, put a much higher price on domestic GHG emissions. Whether to take explicit or effective carbon prices into account has policy implications for the design of border carbon adjustment (BCA) mechanisms. BCA mechanisms attempt to prevent carbon leakage by putting a price on the GHG emissions embedded in goods imported from countries whose GHG policies are not at a comparably stringent level as those of the importing country. The European Union’s proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism defines ‘carbon price’ as a “tax or emission allowances under a greenhouse gas emissions trading system” and so is looking at the explicit carbon tax applied. In contrast, a proposed BCA in the United States includes a wider range of policies that includes implicit carbon pricing. It has been argued that using effective carbon pricing instead of explicit carbon pricing for BCA mechanisms could result in greater reductions in GHG emissions while also being more politically feasible and compatible with international trade agreements. == References ==

john englander

John Englander is an American author, oceanographer, and widely-recognized expert on rising sea level and climate change . From 1972-97 he created and operated a large pioneering scuba diving operation, based in Grand Bahama, "UNEXSO." He was the CEO of the Cousteau Society beginning in 1997 after meeting Jacques Cousteau until Cousteau's death. In 2022 Englander received considerable attention for the role he played in changing the position of New York Times columnist Bret Stephens about the severity and risks related to global warming and rising sea level. Books Moving to Higher Ground: Rising Sea Level and the Path Forward (Science Bookshelf, 2021) High Tide on Main Street: Rising Sea Level and the Coming Coastal Crisis (Science Bookshelf, 2012) References External links Official site

ancient apocalypse

Ancient Apocalypse is a 2022 Netflix documentary series, where the British writer Graham Hancock presents his pseudoarchaeological theories about the alleged existence of an advanced civilization active during the last ice age. Synopsis In the series, Hancock argues that an advanced ice age civilization was destroyed in a cataclysm, but that its survivors introduced agriculture, monumental architecture and astronomy to hunter-gatherers around the world. He attempts to show how several ancient monuments are evidence of this, and claims that archaeologists are ignoring or covering up this alleged evidence. It incorporates ideas from the Comet Research Group, including the controversial Younger Dryas impact hypothesis, which has been comprehensively refuted, and which attributes climate change at the end of the Pleistocene to a massive meteor bombardment. Production and release The series was produced by ITN Productions, and released by Netflix on 10 November 2022. Hancock's son Sean Hancock is "senior manager of unscripted originals" at Netflix.It was the second most-watched series on Netflix in its week of release. Episodes Reception Archaeologists and other experts have described the theories presented in the series as lacking in evidence and easily disproven. The Society for American Archaeology objected to the classification of the series as a documentary and requested that Netflix reclassify it as science fiction, stating that it:"repeatedly and vigorously dismisses archaeologists and the practice of archaeology with aggressive rhetoric, willfully seeking to cause harm to our membership and our profession in the public eye; ... the theory it presents has a long-standing association with racist, white supremacist ideologies; does injustice to Indigenous peoples; and emboldens extremists." Andreas Grünschloß describes Hancock as misinterpreting sources to support his own ideas, for example repeating a post-conquest fiction of Quetzalcoatl as a “white” and “bearded” cultural hero (not supported by any pre-Hispanic sources); Hancock is a fiction writer who presents his fiction as a ‘science-like’ publication.Archaeologist Flint Dibble said the show is "lacking in evidence to support Hancock's theory", while there is "a plethora of evidence" which contradicts the dates Hancock gives. John Hoopes, an archaeologist who has written about pseudoarcheology, said the series fails to present alternative interpretations or evidence contradicting Hancock. In the same vein, archaeologist Julien Riel-Salvatore argues that it is rather simple, from a scientific point of view, to demonstrate that the main theses of Ancient Apocalypse are false. He also believes that the series impairs the ability to discern the true from the biased, the credible from the false. David Connolly, an archaeologist and founder of the website British Archaeological Jobs & Resources, said that Hancock's work relied on cherry-picked evidence for his claims, noting, "So what he'll do is take a piece of real research [by others], insert a piece of 'why not?' and then finish it off with a bit of real research [by others]".Answering Hancock's claims of a coverup, an article in Slate noted that archaeologists would be thrilled to uncover an ice age civilization, if the evidence really existed. Courrier international calls it dubious that Hancock's assertions are never questioned on screen: in Ancient Apocalypse, he calls the archaeologists "pseudo-experts" and repeats that they treat him patronizingly, but he never quotes their names nor their arguments. Writing in the Guardian, Stuart Heritage suggested that Netflix had "gone out of its way to court the conspiracy theorists" with the series, speculating that Hancock's son's role as head of unscripted originals at the company may explain why it was commissioned.In one episode, Hancock says the Megalithic Temples of Malta, built in 3600–2500 BC, were actually built during the last ice age. Maltese archaeologists dismissed these claims. Experts in Pacific geography and archaeology have characterised Hancock's claims about Nan Madol as "incredibly insulting to the ancestors of the Pohnpeian [islanders] that did create these structures", linking them to 19th century "racist" and "white supremacist" ideologies. Two archaeologists who were featured in the series, Katya Stroud, a senior curator at Heritage Malta, and Necmi Karul, the director of excavations at Göbekli Tepe, said that their interviews were manipulated and presented out of context.Writing in The Spectator, conservative commentator James Delingpole described himself as a "huge fan of Hancock" who finds his ideas plausible, but criticised the series' production for "continually reminding [the viewer] that this is niche, crazy stuff that respectable 'experts' shun" and for portraying Hancock as "slippery and unreliable". Author Jason Colavito said that the series was "not the worst show in its genre, not by a mile", and that it is "an argument against professional scholarship, specialization, and expertise—and the fear that academia is promoting the wrong kind of social change. ... It's no wonder conservatives like [Hancock]." See also Archaeology and racism Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox, 2018 docu-series References External links Ancient Apocalypse at IMDb

german climate action plan 2050

The German Climate Action Plan 2050 (German: Klimaschutzplan 2050) is a climate protection policy document approved by the German government on 14 November 2016. The plan outlines measures by which Germany can meet its various national greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals through to 2050 (see table) and service its international commitments under the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), under minister Barbara Hendricks, led the development of the plan. The plan was progressively watered down since a draft was first leaked in early May 2016. Projections from the environment ministry in September 2016 indicate that Germany will likely miss its 2020 climate target.The Climate Action Plan 2050 should not be confused with an earlier document, the Climate Action Programme 2020 (Aktionsprogramm Klimaschutz 2020), approved in December 2014 and which only covers the period until 2020. In early 2017 it was agreed that the 2020 Programme would be scrapped. Climate targets Germany announced the following official greenhouse gas emissions targets on 28 September 2010.: 4–5  Regarding European Union policy, in October 2009 the Council of the European Union agreed that the appropriate abatement objective for Europe and other developed economies was 80–95% below 1990 levels by 2050 (consistent with Germany).: 3  In October 2014 the European Council endorsed a binding European Union target of an at least 40% reduction in domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 relative to 1990 (less stringent than Germany).: 2 Climate Action Programme 2020 The Climate Action Programme 2020 (Aktionsprogramm Klimaschutz 2020) is an attempt by Germany to help meet its official 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reductions target after a 'climate gap' had been identified. Projections from 2013 show Germany may miss its 40% reductions target by about 7%-points without additional measures. The first draft of the programme was released in mid-November 2014. How best to control the contribution from coal-fired generation remained controversial, but economy and energy minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) dismissed plans aired in his ministry in October 2014 to retire 10 GW of coal capacity.The Climate Action Programme 2020 was approved on 3 December 2014. The official document is available in English.The most significant part of the new package is a pledge to cut electricity sector emissions substantially by 2020. To do so, the government proposes to cap emissions from the sector at 22 million tonnes between 2016 and 2020 or 4.4 million tonnes each year. Once the cap is in place, energy companies will be allocated allowances based on their current emissions. If they cut their emissions by a greater amount, they may be able to sell their surplus to other companies. The package also contains measures to improve energy efficiency and the transport sector. Environmental groups criticized the package for not going far enough in reducing the reliance on coal-fired generation.In December 2015, the government remained confident that its 2020 emissions target will be met through the measures contained in the programme and elsewhere. However, a government report, released on 30 September 2016, shows that Germany will meet its 2020 greenhouse gas commitments only under "a best case scenario". The report, prepared for the European Union, is available in German. The analysis projects Germany's greenhouse gas emissions forward for the next 20 years. A PwC report from November 2016 evaluates the economic and ecological effects of the Climate Action Programme 2020 and finds that the economic benefits outweigh the costs of the proposed measures. Based on the report, environment minister Barbara Hendricks said in a press release that "the programme will create 430000 additional jobs and a GDP increase of 1% by 2020".In early 2017, the government agreed to scrap the 2020 plan entirely. Development of the Climate Action Plan 2050 The history of the Climate Action Plan 2050 is quite involved. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) is the lead agency for the plan, under the direction of environment minister Barbara Hendricks (SPD). A novel public consultation process was utilized to collect ideas from state and city governments, advocacy groups, and citizens and these ideas were then used to help create the first version. Internal drafts of the plan were leaked three times to the media in 2016, the first in early May, the second in late June, and the third in early November. Coalition agreement: 2013 The notion of a climate action plan arose from the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU, and SPD parties in 2013. The agreement stated: [I]n Germany we want to define an emissions reduction pathway with a final target of 80 to 95 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 by 2050. We will augment this target with concrete measures, drawn up through a broad dialogue (Climate Action Plan).: 1 Public consultation: 25 June 2015 – 19 March 2016 A public consultation with stakeholders began on 25–26 June 2015 with a Kick-off Conference in Berlin. A discussion paper for this exercise was dated 9 June 2015 and is available in English. The consultation process involved a series of meetings with states (Länder), municipalities, associations, and citizens, with delegates selected to represent these various groupings in subsequent forums. The process was organized by the Wuppertal Institute and the dialog agency IFOK. The resulting proposals for action were collated and presented at a meeting at the environment ministry (BMUB) on 18–19 March 2016. The final report is available in German. This input was used to help create the first draft of the Climate Action Plan 2050. The German government also explained its public participation process at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) on 9 December 2015. The design of the consultation process was novel for Germany. An explanatory video from the BMUB is available. First leaked draft: early May 2016 A draft of the plan was leaked to media for the first time in early May 2016. It was the result of consolidating a long catalog of measures from the consultation process. The leaked plan included proposals for: ecological tax reform and the internalization of environmental costs climate friendly investment reducing emissions from coal and a phase-out of coal (Kohleausstieg) well before 2050 making both old and new buildings climate-neutral the digitalisation and electrification of the transport sector a floor price for carbon and climate-aware investment a reduction in the numbers of ruminant animals and for the public to eat less meat the use forests as carbon sinks and the renaturalisation of moorlands for the same purpose the investigation of a new national welfare index the embedding of climate protection in local and regional public servicesThe plan also suggested a "pluralistic" (meaning diverse groups are represented) commission be established, tasked with developing a coal phase-out plan by mid-2017.Following the leaked document, state governments became increasingly concerned that they were being railroaded into climate change goals that could damage their regional economies. Second leaked draft: 21 June 2016 A draft of the plan was leaked to media for the second time in late June 2016. The draft was dated 21 June 2016 and is available for download in German. Unlike the first leak, this draft was compiled after consultation with the economics and energy ministry (BMWi).The new draft shows that individual sectors may escape specific emissions targets and that an end date for coal-fired generation has been omitted. Earlier versions had contained sector-specific targets for energy, transport, industry, buildings, and agriculture. The energy sector which was previously slated to make a "considerable" contribution is now required to make an "adequate" contribution. Rather than saying that coal-fired generation must "end well before 2050" the new draft emphasizes that "the importance of power production from coal will decrease" and that there will be a "step-by-step reduction". The previous draft stated that the transport sector would need to deliver "disproportionately high" emissions reductions (on account of the poor performance of the sector to date), that has now diminished to an "ambitious" contribution. Other proposals remain, including the development of ecological tax reform. The plan also includes targets for modernizing the heating and cooling systems in buildings, including no new fossil-fueled heating systems in houses after 2030.The proposal for a Commission on Climate Protection, Growth, Structural Change, and the Completion of the Energiewende (Kommission "Klimaschutz, Wachstum, Strukturwandel und Vollendung der Energiewende") remains, but now without the specific task of developing a roadmap for the phase-out of coal.The weakening of the plan is also a result of industry associations repeatedly criticizing sector targets and itemized measures, which they fear would harm Germany's economic performance and international competitiveness. Official draft: 6 September 2016 An official draft was released on 6 September 2016 and is available in German. This draft retains a provision for the establishment of a Commission on Climate Protection, Growth, Structural Change, and the Completion of the Energiewende. The content however has been watered down considerably. Concrete emissions reductions targets were removed altogether. The previously leaked June 2016 draft stated that by 2030 "a large majority of newly registered cars" would need to be powered by either electricity or biofuels. However, the new draft merely states that "the government aims to significantly lower car emissions by 2030" and that electric cars can contribute to that goal.Environmental groups have become increasingly critical of the plan as each iteration led to a watering down of its climate protection provisions. The NGOs were particularly concerned about the lack of detail concerning a coal phase-out. On 24 September 2016, Greenpeace Germany issued a report critical of the watering down of the results of the consultation process. Cabinet deliberations: late 2016 In late 2016, the plan went to the Chancellery (Bundeskanzleramt) to coordinate the final version to be agreed by the German cabinet (Bundeskabinett). Media reports in late October 2016 suggest a deepening rift between the economics and energy ministry (BMWi) and the environment ministry (BMUB) over the plan and the exit process for coal-fired generation (Kohleausstieg). Economy and energy minister Sigmar Gabriel opposes the setting of a coal exit date before job alternatives for lignite workers have been determined.A revised draft plan, circulated by the environment ministry on 4 November 2016, was obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung. The plan has become more stringent and now includes passages that had earlier been removed during the negotiations between ministries. The new plan also precludes new coal-fired generation and the expansion of existing open-pit mines and calls on the government to lobby for an EU-wide floor price for auctioned EU ETS emissions allowances.On 7 November 2016, over 40 German companies, including energy suppliers EnBW and MVV Energie and network operator 50Hertz, together with Commerzbank, Deutsche Telekom, IKEA, and Hochtief, are lobbying for a more ambitious program, one which ensures that Germany's Paris Agreement commitments are met. The companies want sector-specific emissions targets for 2030 and state that "only in this way can new business models and concrete plans for decarbonisation be developed". They want the goal to be the "rapid switch to 100% renewable energy". British economist Nicholas Stern also backs a more ambitious plan. The original statement from the companies is available.On 8 November 2016, economy and energy minister Gabriel vetoed the plan amid concerns by trade union IG BCE and supported by the BDI industry group. The draft does not timetable a phase-out for brown coal, notwithstanding Gabriel said he expected brown coal to remain in use past 2040. On 11 November 2016, Reuters news agency reported that chancellor Angela Merkel and ministers Gabriel and Hendricks had agreed on a new draft. Approval: 14 November 2016 On 14 November 2016, the cabinet officially adopted and released the new plan. It was overseen by a CDU/CSU/SPD grand coalition government, led by Angela Merkel. The timing allowed environment minister Barbara Hendricks to present the German plan at the COP 22 climate talks held in Marrakesh, Morocco. Canada, Mexico, and the US also presented climate action plans. Climate Action Plan 2050 The official Climate Action Plan 2050 is available in German and runs to 91 pages. An official summary of the principles and goals underpinning the plan is available in English.The plan is to be supplemented by a program of policy measures, developed by the German parliament (Bundestag), with the first such program to be in place in 2018. Annual reporting will track progress and should facilitate specific policy adjustments where needed.: 6 Preamble The plan begins with a preamble that states that the document is an evolving work in progress and "cannot and does not want to be a detailed masterplan". It adds that there will be "no rigid provisions" and that the plan is technology neutral and open to innovation. The preamble stresses that the government will simultaneously maintain German competitiveness: We want to advance the upcoming changes without structural ruptures. It's about using the strength and creativity of the German market economy, as well as the forces of competition to reach existing national, European and international climate protection targets. The preamble also reiterates Germany's 2010 climate targets (see table) and its 2016 Paris Agreement commitment. Sector targets Sector targets remained controversial during the development of the plan. Notwithstanding, the official document now specifies sector targets for the first time under a national climate protection policy. The initial sector targets will be subject to a comprehensive impact assessment and consultation and may well be adjusted as a result in 2018. For comparison, the Paris Agreement nationally determined contribution (NDC) for Germany is −55% relative to 1990 (which accords with the final cell in the table). Commission for growth, structural change, and regional development The plan establishes a commission for growth, structural change, and regional development. Unlike earlier versions, the commission will not be tasked with setting a date for an exit from coal. Instead, the commission will "support the structural changes" resulting from transformation and will "develop a mix of instruments that will bring together economic development, structural change, social acceptability and climate protection". The commission will be based at the economics and energy ministry, but will consult with other ministries, federal states, municipalities, and unions, as well as with representatives of "affected" companies and regions. The commission is scheduled to start work at the beginning of 2018 and to report at the end of 2018.: 4–5 EU Emissions Trading System The plan stresses to role of the European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS) as the primary climate protection instrument covering the energy sector and parts of industry in central Europe. The government wants to strengthen price signaling and will campaign to make the EU ETS "effective" at a European level. Earlier provisions to set a floor price for emissions allowances were removed. Energy sector The energy sector GHG target for 2030 is 175–183 million tonnes CO2eq or a reduction of 61–62% relative to 1990. The energy supply must be "almost completely decarbonised" by 2050, with renewables as its main source. For the electricity sector, "in the long-term, electricity generation must be based almost entirely on renewable energies" and "the share of wind and solar power in total electricity production will rise significantly".If "possible and economically sensible", renewable energy will be used directly in all sectors, and electricity from renewable sources will be used efficiently for heating, transport, and industry. The utilization of biomass will be limited and sourced mostly from waste. The plan states that transitioning to a power supply based on renewables while ensuring supply security is "technically feasible". During the transition, "less carbon-intensive natural gas power plants and the existing most modern coal power plants play an important role as interim technologies".The plan states that "the climate targets can only be reached if coal-fired power generation is reduced step-by-step". Moreover, the German government "in its development cooperation does not lend support to new coal power plants". Regions which depend on coal, like the Lausitz, need special consideration: "we must succeed in establishing concrete perspectives for the future of the affected regions, before concrete decisions on the step-by-step withdrawal from the lignite industry can be taken".Notwithstanding, a coal phase-out for Germany is implied in the plan, environment minister Barbara Hendricks said in an interview on 21 November 2016. "If you read the Climate Action Plan carefully, you will find that the exit from coal-fired power generation is the immanent consequence of the energy sector target. ... By 2030 ... half of the coal-fired power production must have ended, compared to 2014", Hendricks said.The plan also establishes a regional fund to foster new businesses in lignite mining regions. The government will need to ensure that EU competition law does not inhibit the operation of the fund. Building sector The building sector GHG target for 2030 is 70–72 million tonnes CO2eq or a reduction of 66–67% relative to 1990. Under the plan, Germany's building stock will be largely carbon-neutral by 2050 and their limited energy needs will be met through renewables. Due to the slow turnover of buildings, the groundwork for this goal must be laid by 2030. The government will invest heavily in programs to implement high energy standards for buildings. Heating, cooling, and electricity supply will be progressively switched to renewables. The government will terminate support programs that rely on fossil fuels by 2020 and switch instead to support programs using renewable systems. The aim is to "make renewables-based systems much more attractive than fossil-fuel-based ones". Transport sector The transport sector GHG target for 2030 is 95–98 million tonnes CO2eq or a reduction of 40–42% relative to 1990. Unlike earlier drafts, the plan does not now set a deadline for all new cars to be emissions free. Rather the plan states that stricter emissions limits for new cars will be set by the European Union and that "the government will advocate [an] ambitious development of the targets" so that its 2030-goal can be met. These cuts will derive from improved efficiencies and increasingly GHG-neutral energy. Such cuts will require "a significant contribution by the electrification of new cars and should have priority". The plan emphasizes the contribution that biofuels can make, stating that "in the target scenario, the energy supply of street and rail traffic, as well as parts of air and maritime traffic and inland shipping is switched to biofuels – if ecologically compatible – and otherwise largely to renewable electricity as well as other GHG-neutral fuels". The need to support public transport, rail transport, and cycling is stressed in the plan. The plan states a next step is to determine the framework needed to ensure that new powertrain technologies and energy forms will be adopted at scale. This then "involves the question of when, at the latest, they should be introduced into the market, and what penetration rate they should achieve by what date". Industry The industry GHG target for 2030 is 140–143 million tonnes CO2eq or a reduction of 49–51% relative to 1990. Good progress has been made and, as of 2016, the sector must reduce its emissions by about another 20%. Notwithstanding, the plan emphasizes the need to maintain international competitiveness: With our modernizing strategy for the economy, the correct political framework, and active regional and structural policy that supports structural change, we want to create dependable framework conditions for the German economy, to adjust to this transformational process early, and use the possibilities connected to it. The plan continues that, despite the costs and challenges, climate protection could become an "innovation motor" for a modern high-tech economy. The plan acknowledges that some industrial emissions cannot be avoided – for instance, those from steel production or chemical plants. Such emissions should be reduced as far as possible by developing new processes and replacing old ones – or through the use of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) or carbon capture and storage (CCS). The government will launch a research and development program to advance these and other low-carbon processes.: 5 Agricultural sector The agricultural sector GHG target for 2030 is 58–61 million tonnes CO2eq or a reduction of 31–34% relative to 1990. The plan acknowledges that agriculture cannot reach zero emissions, due to the biological processes inherent in plant cultivation and livestock farming. Instead the plan will focus on reducing emissions as much as possible and on the more efficient use of resources. About one third of agricultural emissions are due to nitrous oxide from fertilizer use. The government wants to reduce these emissions through better management and through research and development. Another one third of emissions derive from ruminant animals. The government will develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions from livestock farming by 2021. The plan states that 20% of agricultural land by 2030 "should be used for organic farming", compared with 6.3% in 2014. The government also advocates the use of financial instruments under a reformed EU Common Agricultural Policy to reduce GHG emissions from the sector." Land use and forestry sector The land use and forestry sector offers opportunities for carbon sequestration. The government will prioritize improving the performance of forests as carbon sinks. Sustainable forest management will also be promoted and permanent grasslands and marshes are to be preserved. The expansion of settlements and transport infrastructure is to be reduced to 30 ha per day by 2020 and to zero by 2050. Financial matters Under the plan, the government will consider how to incrementally revise taxation through to 2050, on the understanding that "environmental taxes and levies can create incentives for ecological economic activity" and that "environmentally related taxes and levies can cost-efficiently trigger climate-friendly economic behavior". The government also intends to reduce environmentally harmful subsidies. In addition, the government will support efforts to reconcile global finance flows with climate protection goals, for instance through its role on the G20 Financial Stability Board. Implementation and revision of the plan The plan is predicated on a gradual transformation, achieved through a learning process involving the scientific community and accompanied by public dialogue.: 6  It is therefore intended that the plan can and should respond to changing technological, political, and social conditions. The plan will be reviewed every five years to align it with the evolution of Germany's nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. The first update is therefore slated for late 2019 or early 2020. As early as 2018, the government intends to strengthen the plan by quantifying the various emission reduction efforts and their associated ecological, social, and economic impacts. The sector targets may be modified as a result. Annual reporting should help the government to evaluate and adjust its specific climate protection measures in the short-term. Reactions Thilo Schaefer, climate and energy expert at the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW), comments that "it looks like the government forgot that the energy sector and industry already participate in the European emissions trading system ... in the end, it will simply become more expensive for the affected sectors, but they won't save a single extra ton of CO2 ... because the emissions saved by German sectors can be emitted by other states".Simone Peter, co-chair of the Green Party, said "this is not a good plan anymore, it has become an empty shell, because the ministerial colleagues of [environment minister] Hendricks have removed anything that could be of relevance – be it the coal exit, the end of the combustion engine, or a transition in agriculture".Klaus Töpfer, founding director of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), said "this plan is certainly not yet capable of securing the German contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement. This will require more work".Regine Günther, director of policy and climate at WWF Germany, said "today's climate action plan is only a fraction of what is needed. The only plus point: all sectors get precise reduction targets, which WWF welcomes. However, the list of negatives is much longer: there are no appropriate measures to reach those targets. There is also a blank on the issue of coal. The plan completely dropped the urgently needed ban on further extension of open cast mining. The commission on coal will not start until 2018, after the federal elections. A minimum price on carbon is also missing completely. With this plan, the industry and energy lobbies have proven how well placed they are in the economy ministry. With such a plan there can be no ambitious climate protection."Ottmar Edenhofer, a German climate economist and director of the MCC, criticized the plan. He said economy and energy minister "Sigmar Gabriel yielded to lobbyists and sadly put short-term interests before long-term interests". See also Barbara Hendricks (SPD) – the environment minister during the development of the plan Climate change mitigation – actions to limit climate change Energiewende in Germany – the German energy system transition German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) Notes References External links Climate Action Programme 2020 – approved version dated 3 December 2014 (this initiative preceded the Climate Action Plan 2050) Klimaschutzplan 2050 — approved version dated 14 November 2016 (in German) Climate Action Plan 2050 website (in German) German 2050 Climate Action Plan (full document in English) Climate Action Plan 2050 Executive Summary in English Explanatory Film - The Climate Action Plan: Step-by-step to a liveable future. BMU. 11.12.2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSJTKyDuI6I Explanatory Film - The Climate Action Plan: Successful climate action has to be a cooperative undertaking. BMU. 11.12.2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZX4BXhmjMk Explanatory Film - The Climate Action Plan: Moving together towards a bright future. BMU. 11.12.2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79FzzI920xg

michael gove

Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since October 2022, having previously held both offices from September 2021 to July 2022. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Surrey Heath since 2005. A member of the Conservative Party, he has also served in various Cabinet positions under Prime Ministers Cameron, May, Johnson and Sunak. Gove has twice run to become Leader of the Conservative Party, in 2016 and 2019, finishing in third place on both occasions. Apart from a period of just over one year, he has served continuously in the Cabinet since 2010. Born in Aberdeen, Gove was in care until being adopted aged four months old, after which he was raised in the Kittybrewster area of the city. He attended the independent Robert Gordon's College and studied English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He then began a career as a journalist at The Press and Journal before having a long tenure as a leader writer at The Times. Elected for Surrey Heath at the 2005 general election, he was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet by Cameron in 2007 as Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. Appointed Secretary of State for Education in the Cameron–Clegg coalition, Gove terminated the previous Labour government's Building Schools for the Future programme, reformed A-Level and GCSE qualifications in favour of final examinations, and responded to the Trojan Horse scandal. The National Association of Head Teachers, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the National Union of Teachers and the NASUWT passed motions of no confidence in his policies at their conferences in 2013. In the 2014 cabinet reshuffle he was moved to the post of chief whip. Following the 2015 general election and the formation of the majority Cameron government, Gove was promoted to Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. As the co-convenor of Vote Leave, Gove was seen, along with Johnson, a fellow Conservative MP, as one of the most prominent figures of the 2016 referendum on EU membership. He was campaign manager for Johnson in the 2016 Conservative Party leadership election but withdrew his support on the morning Johnson was due to declare and announced his own candidacy, finishing third behind May and Andrea Leadsom. Following May's appointment as Prime Minister, Gove was dismissed from the Cabinet but was appointed to the second May government as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs following the 2017 general election. He launched a second Conservative leadership bid in 2019, coming third behind Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. Upon appointment of Johnson as Prime Minister, Gove was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with responsibilities including preparations for a no-deal Brexit. He took on the additional role of minister for the Cabinet Office in the 2020 cabinet reshuffle. After the 2021 cabinet reshuffle he served as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations until Gove told Johnson to resign during the July 2022 Government crisis and was dismissed by Johnson. Under Rishi Sunak, Gove was reinstated to his previous roles of Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations. Early life and education (1967–1988) Gove was born as Graeme Andrew Logan on 26 August 1967. His biological mother, whom he originally understood to have been an unmarried Edinburgh student, was in fact a 23-year-old cookery demonstrator. Gove regarded his birthplace as Edinburgh until it was revealed in a biography in 2019 that he was born in a maternity hospital in Fonthill Road, Aberdeen. Logan was put into care soon after he was born. At the age of four months he was adopted by a Labour-supporting couple in Aberdeen, Ernest Gove (died 2023) and Christine Gove, by whom he was brought up. After he joined the Gove family, Logan's name was changed to Michael Andrew Gove. His adoptive father, Ernest, ran a fish processing business and his adoptive mother, Christine, was a lab assistant at the University of Aberdeen, before working at the Aberdeen School for the Deaf.Gove, his parents, and his adoptive sister Angela Christine lived in a small property in the Kittybrewster area of Aberdeen, before relocating to Rosehill Drive. He was educated at two state schools (Sunnybank Primary School and Kittybrewster Primary School), and later, on the recommendation of his primary school teacher, he sat and passed the entrance exam for the independent Robert Gordon's College. In October 2012, he wrote an apology letter to his former French teacher for misbehaving in class. Gove joined the Labour Party in 1983 and campaigned on behalf of the party for the 1983 general election. Outside of school, he spent time as a Sunday school teacher at Causewayend Church. As he entered sixth year he had to apply for a scholarship as his family fell on difficult economic circumstances. He passed the scholarship exam and served as a school prefect in his final two years.From 1985 to 1988 he read English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, during which time he joined the Conservative Party. He became a member of the Oxford University Conservative Association and was secretary of Aberdeen South Young Conservatives. He helped write speeches for Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet ministers, including Peter Lilley and Michael Howard. During his first year, he met future Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ran his campaign to be President of the Oxford Union. In an interview with Andrew Gimson, Gove remarked that at Oxford, Johnson was "quite the most brilliant extempore speaker of his generation". Gove was elected as Oxford Union President a year after Johnson. He graduated with an upper second. Career Journalism (1988–2005) After university, when applying for a job at the Conservative Research Department, Gove was told he was "insufficiently political" and "insufficiently Conservative", so he turned to journalism. He first found employment on the Peterborough column of The Daily Telegraph, after passing an interview with Max Hastings. Struggling to maintain his career in London, he moved back to Aberdeen and became a trainee reporter at The Press and Journal, where he spent several months on strike in the 1989–1990 dispute over union recognition and representation. From 1990 to 1991, he worked as a reporter for Scottish Television, with a brief interlude at Grampian Television in Aberdeen.After moving to national television in 1991, Gove worked for the BBC's On the Record, and the Channel 4 current affairs programme A Stab in the Dark, alongside David Baddiel and Tracey MacLeod. In 1994 he began working for the BBC's Today programme. In 1995 he was identified by The Guardian as part of a group of "a new breed of 21st-century Tories". He broke the news of the 1995 Conservative Party leadership election thanks to his connections with the upper echelons of the party. Gove was a member of the winning team in Grampian Television's quiz show Top Club, and played the school chaplain in the 1994 family comedy A Feast at Midnight.He joined The Times in 1996 as a leader writer and assumed posts as its comment editor, news editor, Saturday editor and assistant editor. He also wrote a weekly column on politics and current affairs for the paper and contributed to The Times Literary Supplement, Prospect magazine and The Spectator. He was on good terms with the owner of the paper, Rupert Murdoch, whom Gove described in evidence before the Leveson Inquiry as "one of the most impressive and significant figures of the last 50 years". He wrote a sympathetic biography of Michael Portillo, Michael Portillo: The Future of the Right, and a highly critical study of the Northern Ireland peace process, The Price of Peace, where he compared the Good Friday Agreement to appeasement of the Nazis in the 1930s. He was a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze and Newsnight Review on BBC Two. He met Sarah Vine in 1998, when he was comment editor and she was arts editor at The Times. They married in October 2001 and have two children—a daughter born in 2003 and a son born in 2004. Gove has lived in Earl's Court, Notting Hill, North Kensington, Mayfair and St James's.Gove co-founded Policy Exchange, a conservative think tank launched in 2002. He chaired it for three years. He was also involved in founding the right-leaning magazine Standpoint, to which he occasionally contributed. Early parliamentary career (2005–2010) Gove won the Conservative candidacy for Surrey Heath on 5 July 2004, after the sitting MP Nick Hawkins was deselected by the local Conservative association. He first entered the House of Commons after being elected in the 2005 general election. In 2005 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning. He made his maiden speech on 7 June 2005, focusing on national security. Gove was seen as part of an influential set of Conservatives referred to as the Notting Hill Set, which included Conservative leader David Cameron, future Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Ed Vaizey, Nick Boles and Rachel Whetstone.Over a five-month period between December 2005 and April 2006, Gove claimed more than £7,000 on a house bought with his wife Sarah Vine, in 2002. Around a third of the money was spent at OKA, an upmarket interior design company established by Viscountess Astor, Cameron's mother-in-law. Shortly afterwards he reportedly 'flipped' his designated second home, a property for which he claimed around £13,000 to cover stamp duty. Gove also claimed for a cot mattress, despite children's items being banned under updated Commons rules. Gove said he would repay the claim for the cot mattress, but maintained that his other claims were "below the acceptable threshold costs for furniture" and that moving house was necessary "to effectively discharge my parliamentary duties". While he was moving between homes, on one occasion he stayed at the Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, following a constituency engagement, charging the taxpayer more than £500 per night's stay.Gove won the "Rising Star Award" at the February 2006 Channel 4 political awards. On 2 July 2007, he was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (a newly created department set up by Gordon Brown), shadowing Ed Balls. In the role he advocated the introduction of a Swedish-style education voucher system, whereby parents would choose where their child would be educated, with the state paying what they would have cost in a state school. He also advocated Swedish-style free schools, to be managed by parents and funded by the state, with the possibility that such schools would be allowed to be run on a for-profit model. Gove contracted H1N1 swine flu during the 2009 influenza pandemic. Prior to the 2010 general election, most of his questions in Commons debates concerned children, schools and families, education, local government, Council Tax, foreign affairs and the environment. Education secretary (2010–2014) With the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government following the hung parliament after the 2010 general election, Gove became Secretary of State for Education. His first moves included reorganising his department, announcing plans to allow schools rated as Outstanding by Ofsted to become academies, and cutting the previous government's school-building programme. He apologised, however, when the list of terminated school-building projects he had released was found to be inaccurate; the list was reannounced several times before it was finally accurately published.In July 2010, Gove said that Labour had failed in their attempt to break the link between social class and school achievement despite spending billions of pounds: quoting research, he indicated that by the age of six years, children of low ability from affluent homes were still out-performing brighter children from poorer backgrounds. At a House of Commons Education Select Committee he said that this separation of achievement grew larger throughout pupils' school careers, stating, "In effect, rich thick kids do better than poor clever children when they arrive at school [and] the situation as they go through gets worse".Gove's second home was not in his constituency, but in Elstead, in the South West Surrey constituency. Gove sold the house and began to commute to his constituency.During the 2010 Conservative Party Conference, Gove announced that the primary and secondary-school national curricula for England would be restructured, and that study of authors such as Byron, Keats, Jane Austen, Dickens and Thomas Hardy would be reinstated in English lessons as part of a plan to improve children's grasp of English literature and language. Academies were not required to follow the national curriculum, and so weren't affected by the reforms. Children who failed to write coherently and grammatically, or who were weak in spelling, were penalised in the new examinations. Standards in mathematics and science were also strengthened. Gove won the "Minister of the Year" award at the 2011 Spectator awards,In March 2011, Gove was criticised for not understanding the importance of school architecture and accused of having misrepresented the cost. In February 2011, he had told Parliament that one individual had made £1,000,000 in one year when the true figure was £700,000 for five advisers at different times over a four-year period.During the Cameron–Clegg ministry, Gove was the subject of repeated criticism for alleged attempts to avoid the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. The criticism surrounded Gove's use of various private email accounts to send emails that allegedly related to his departmental responsibilities. The allegations suggested that Gove and his advisers believed they could avoid their correspondence being subject to freedom of information requests, as they believed that their private email accounts were not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. In September 2011, the Financial Times reported that Gove had used an undisclosed private email account – called "Mrs Blurt" – to discuss government business with advisers. In March 2012 the Information Commissioner ruled that because emails the Financial Times had requested contained public information they could be the subject of a freedom of information request and ordered the information requested by the paper to be disclosed. It was also alleged by the Financial Times that Gove and his advisors had destroyed email correspondence in order to avoid freedom of information requests. The allegation was denied by Gove's department, which stated that deleting email was simply part of good computer housekeeping.In June 2012, Michael Portillo backed Gove to be a serious contender in a future race for the Conservative Party leadership, though Gove had said in an interview a few months before that "I'm constitutionally incapable of it. There's a special extra quality you need that is indefinable, and I know I don't have it. There's an equanimity, an impermeability and a courage that you need. There are some things in life you know it's better not to try."Gove was criticised by teachers unions for his attempts to overhaul English education. At the Association of Teachers and Lecturers Annual Conference in March 2013 a motion of no-confidence in Gove was passed. The next month the National Union of Teachers passed a vote of no confidence in Gove at their annual conference and called for his resignation. The National Association of Head Teachers and NASUWT also passed motions of no confidence at their conferences that year. Chief whip (2014–2015) On 15 July 2014, Gove's four-year stint in charge of the Department for Education came to an end when he was dismissed as Secretary of State for Education and replaced by former Treasury Minister Nicky Morgan in a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle. Gove was moved to the post of Government chief whip, which was portrayed as a demotion by his detractors; Prime Minister Cameron denied this was the case. Gove told BBC News that he had mixed emotions about starting the new role, saying it was a privilege to become Chief Whip but that leaving the Department for Education was "a wrench".The position came with a £30,000 pay cut, and a specific media role saw Gove on television and radio "more than a traditional Chief Whip would be". He missed his first House of Commons vote in the new role, as explained by Shadow Commons Leader Angela Eagle; "Gove not only lost his first vote but managed to get stuck in the toilet in the wrong lobby". Gove remained in the post of chief whip until May 2015, when the role was taken over by Mark Harper. Justice secretary (2015–2016) Following the 2015 general election, Cameron promoted Gove as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor in his newly formed cabinet. He was praised in December 2015 for scrapping the courts fee introduced by his predecessor, Chris Grayling. The fee had been heavily criticised for, among other things, causing innocent people to plead guilty out of financial concerns. Gove removed the 12-book limit on prison books introduced by Grayling, arguing that books increased literacy and numeracy, skills needed for making prisoners a "potential asset to society". The move, effective from September 2015, was welcomed by Frances Cook of the Howard League for Penal Reform. Gove was also praised for his prominent role in scrapping a British bid for a Saudi prison contract.Within three months of his taking office, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) voted to stop taking new work in protest at Gove's insistence that they work for lower fees. The CBA subsequently praised his "courage" in reversing the proposed cuts. On 14 July 2016 Gove was removed from the position of justice secretary by the new prime minister, Theresa May. EU referendum (2016) Gove was a prominent figure in the campaign for Britain to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum and described his decision to take that side as "the most difficult decision of my political life". He and his family spent Christmas with the Camerons at Chequers where, according to Craig Oliver, Cameron was under the impression that Gove would support remaining in the EU. Despite this, Gove decided to support the Leave campaign. At the beginning of March 2016, he was appointed co-convenor of Vote Leave, with Labour MP Gisela Stuart, and given responsibility for chairing the campaign committee.He argued Britain would be "freer, fairer and better off" for leaving, and that "[t]he day after we vote to leave, we hold all the cards and we can choose the path we want." When in an interview it was claimed that there was no expert opinion to support this, Gove remarked that "the people of this country have had enough of experts from organisations with acronyms saying they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong." However, interviewer Faisal Islam interrupted Gove after the word "experts", causing some sources to report that he had made a general statement that "the people... have had enough of experts". In 2021, Louise Richardson, the vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, said she was "embarrassed" that Gove was an alumnus, on account of these comments.In his memoir For the Record, Cameron described Gove during this period as "mendacious", adding: "One quality shone through, disloyalty. Disloyalty to me and, later, disloyalty to Boris [Johnson]". Leadership election (2016) After Cameron announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister, with his successor now likely to be in office by September 2016, Gove was not a candidate, having said in the past that he had no interest in becoming Prime Minister. Instead, he was seen as a strong, highly influential supporter of Johnson for that role. In a move that surprised most political analysts, Gove withdrew his support for Johnson on 30 June 2016, hours before the deadline, without any previous notice to Johnson and announced his own candidacy in the leadership election. Subsequently, Johnson declined to run.The Telegraph opined that Gove's actions in undermining Johnson's leadership aspirations constituted "the most spectacular political assassination in a generation" while The Guardian labelled it as a "Machiavellian move".Gove said: "I wanted to help build a team behind Boris Johnson so that a politician who argued for leaving the European Union could lead us to a better future. But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead. I have, therefore, decided to put my name forward for the leadership. I want there to be an open and positive debate about the path the country will now take. Whatever the verdict of that debate I will respect it. In the next few days I will lay out my plan for the United Kingdom which I hope can provide unity and change."By 5 July 2016, Gove was in third place in the leadership election, behind May and Andrea Leadsom; the latter had gained an endorsement from Johnson. Some political analysts predicted that Gove might quit the race if he was unable to beat Leadsom in the first round of voting. Later that day, it was announced that May had won the first round of voting, with support from 165 MPs, while Andrea Leadsom received 66 votes and Gove trailed with 48. Gove was eliminated in the second ballot after receiving 46 votes, compared to 199 for May and 84 for Leadsom. He subsequently told the media that he was "naturally disappointed" and described his two opponents as "formidable politicians", welcoming the fact that the next PM would be female. He also encouraged a "civilised, inclusive, positive and optimistic debate". Backbencher (2016–2017) On 14 July 2016, Gove was dismissed by the prime minister, Theresa May. According to Jon Craig of Sky News, Gove was told to "go and learn about loyalty on the backbenches" in a two-minute meeting with May.In the aftermath of the EU referendum, Gove was accused by Nick Clegg of being the source of a claim by The Sun that Queen Elizabeth II made comments supportive of Brexit in a private lunch at Windsor Castle. Clegg told a BBC documentary that Gove "obviously communicated it – well, I know he did". Gove declined to deny leaking the Queen's comments. The Sun said it had "multiple sources" and was confident its report was true.In October 2016, Gove was elected to the Exiting the European Union Select Committee. That month, he was re-hired by The Times as a weekly columnist and book reviewer. As well as attending meetings of the newspaper's politics team, Gove was dispatched to the United States to report on campaign rallies in the upcoming presidential election.In December 2016, Gove defended a Vote Leave claim that an additional £350 million a week could be spent on the NHS when Britain left the EU. Gove said the figure was robust and it was up to the Government to decide how to spend it.In his capacity as a writer for The Times, Gove gave the first British post-election interview to Donald Trump in January 2017, along with Kai Diekmann from Bild, making him the second British politician to meet Trump as President-elect of the United States after Nigel Farage. Despite preferring Hillary Clinton to Trump as President of the United States, Gove's interview and consequent defence of it was seen by some as praising the President-elect unduly. Environment secretary (2017–2019) Following the 2017 general election, Gove was promoted to Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by May during a reshuffle. Gove said he "was quite surprised" to be asked to join the cabinet after May dismissed him in 2016 after she became Prime Minister.Following his appointment, Gove announced that a microbead ban would be put into place by the end of 2017. The ban arrived in early 2018. It meant that manufacturers could no longer produce the tiny beads used in cosmetics and care products. Another ban came in June 2018 which stopped shops from selling products that contained the beads. The reasoning behind the ban was to stop the beads harming marine life.In July 2017, Gove announced that a fuel combustion vehicle ban will be put into place due to air pollution. He said that the ban would take effect by 2040 and end the sales of new fuel combustion cars, trucks, vans, and buses that have petrol and diesel engines in the UK. The ban does not include plug-in hybrid vehicles.Gove introduced a ban on bee-harming pesticides like neonicotinoids. He was praised by Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven for his strong stance on issues like bee-harming pesticides, single-use plastic bottles and the future of the internal combustion engine", adding "Gove has defied many people's expectations on the environment".In October 2017, Gove issued an apology for a joke which compared tough interviews on the Today programme to a sexual encounter with Harvey Weinstein. He was criticised by political opponents who felt allegations of sexual abuse were not a suitable subject for jokes.Other policies Gove had announced by December 2017 were that CCTV would be used in all slaughterhouses and beavers would be reintroduced into the UK.Gove faced criticism over the appointment of Ben Goldsmith to the role of non-executive director at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as Goldsmith had previously donated cash to Gove's Surrey Heath constituency. Concerns were also raised about the selection process for the job, which was overseen by Sir Ian Cheshire, the chairman of Goldsmith's investment firm, Menhaden Capital Management.An important aspect of Gove's tenure was the introduction of laws concerning animal welfare. Maximum sentences for the crime of animal cruelty increased, as did protection for animals used by Government services, such as police dogs and horses. One of the "toughest worldwide bans" on ivory trade was also introduced in 2018.May offered Gove the post of secretary of state for exiting the European Union after Dominic Raab's resignation over the Brexit withdrawal agreement in November 2018. Gove rejected the offer after May told him that there was "no chance" of trying to renegotiate the agreement.Gove was portrayed by actor Oliver Maltman in the 2019 HBO and Channel 4 drama Brexit: The Uncivil War. In January 2019, May survived a vote of no confidence in her government, after a "barnstorming" speech from Gove directed towards the Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn. The speech, which gained significant media attention, attacked Corbyn for his foreign policy record, with Tom Rogan of the Washington Examiner describing it as "A tour de force. It was angry but not fanatical, passionate but not somber, and intellectual but simply put".In March 2019, Gove argued that "we didn't vote to leave without a deal. That wasn't the message of the campaign I helped lead. During that campaign, we said we should do a deal with the EU and be part of the network of free trade deals that covers all Europe, from Iceland to Turkey".In April 2019, after having a meeting with Extinction Rebellion, Gove said he agreed with the activists that there needed to be a deeper level of public understanding over climate change, but he declined to declare a climate emergency in the United Kingdom. Despite Gove's position, Parliament passed a motion to declare a climate emergency.In May 2019, Gove introduced the Wild Animals in Circuses Bill, banning the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in England. Leadership election (2019) On 26 May 2019, Gove announced he would stand for the Conservative leadership following May's resignation, becoming the eighth candidate to enter the contest. He promised to remove the charge for UK citizenship applications from EU nationals if elected, and to replace VAT with a "simpler sales tax". He also planned to scrap the High Speed 2 rail project and increase school funding by £1 billion.By 5 June 2019, Johnson became the clear frontrunner with the bookmakers, with Gove second favourite, followed closely by Jeremy Hunt. In June, reports emerged that Gove had taken cocaine as a journalist in his twenties. Gove stated that he regretted having done so, and regarded it as having been a mistake. In an article for The Times in December 1999, Gove had argued against the legalisation of drugs and criticised members of the middle classes for their hypocrisy in doing so. This was a key component of his bid to be leader. In reaction, Craig Oliver said it would have a negative impact on his run whereas fellow candidate for leadership Dominic Raab said he "admires [Gove's] honesty".Gove progressed following the first ballot, having received 37 votes. He received 41 votes in the second ballot, and by the third ballot had 51 MPs backing him. The fourth ballot saw him gain 61 votes, moving him into second position. In the last ballot, he had 75 votes and was voted out – losing by only two to Hunt, the eventual runner-up. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (2019–2021) Upon the election of Johnson as Prime Minister, Gove was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, legally representing the Crown as Duke of Lancaster. His otherwise non-portfolio role included responsibility for no-deal Brexit preparations, overseeing constitutional affairs, maintaining the integrity of the Union and having oversight over all Cabinet Office policy. Gove was excluded from a place on the National Security Council committee as Johnson pursued a slimming down of Cabinet operations. He became a central figure in the conduction of Operation Yellowhammer, the civil contingency planning for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.Writing in The Sunday Times on 28 July 2019, Gove said that a no-deal Brexit was "a very real prospect" and one that the Government was "working on the assumption of". He said in August that it was "wrong and sad" that the EU was "refusing to negotiate" over a new withdrawal agreement. That month, an official Cabinet Yellowhammer document leaked, predicting that a no-deal Brexit would lead to food, medicine and petrol shortages. Gove said the leaked dossier outlined a "worst-case scenario". Interviewed in September 2019, Gove declined to say whether the Government would abide by legislation designed to stop a no-deal Brexit.In 2019, LBC's Iain Dale and a "panel of experts" placed Gove third in a list of that year's "Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives". During the 2019 Speaker of the House of Commons election, Gove nominated Labour MP Chris Bryant to replace John Bercow. Gove helped to prepare Johnson for the 2019 general election debates by playing the role of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. He offered to stand in for Johnson during a Channel 4 debate on environmental issues but the editor of Channel 4 News said the debate was only open to party leaders.Gove won the "Minister to watch" award at the January 2020 Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year awards. On 13 February 2020, he took on additional responsibilities as Minister for the Cabinet Office, succeeding Oliver Dowden, who had been appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in Johnson's first large reshuffle of his government.During the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Gove generated confusion after saying on ITV's Good Morning Britain that children with separated parents were not allowed to move between their parents' homes. He later apologised and clarified that what he had said was not the case. When Johnson was self-isolating after having been tested positive for COVID-19, Gove stood in for Johnson briefly from 27 March 2020 at the daily briefings of the pandemic, until Gove self-isolated himself after a family member developed COVID-19 symptoms.In May 2020, Gove was criticised after his wife Sarah Vine shared a bookcase picture "as a very special treat for my trolls" which featured a book by the Holocaust denier David Irving, and a copy of The Bell Curve, which controversially claims that intelligence is highly heritable and that median IQ varies among races. Another book in the photograph was The Strange Death of Europe by Douglas Murray, which, according to The Guardian, cites Enoch Powell and argues for protecting white Christian Europe from "outsiders".After Johnson said that the UK had ended trade talks with the EU in October 2020, Gove said that the door was "still ajar" if the EU made changes over issues including fishing access and that "We hope the EU will change their position and we are certainly not saying if they do change their position we can't talk to them".Gove was part of a committee of Cabinet ministers, comprising Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock, that made decisions on the COVID-19 pandemic. He was chair of the COVID-19 operations subcommittee. In a COBR meeting he chaired on 24 November 2020, he agreed, with the leaders of the UK's devolved governments, to a set of rules governing social mixing for the whole of the country over the Christmas period. It allowed for up to three households to form a "bubble" from 23 to 27 December, but was cancelled for London and South East England, while being limited to a single day for the rest of England, after the discovery of a mutant COVID-19 strain.Under the terms of England's all-tier COVID-19 restrictions in December 2020, pubs were only legally allowed to serve alcoholic beverages with a substantial meal. Gove initially said that this did not include Scotch eggs, which he defined as a "starter" on multiple occasions (although he said it "would count as a substantial meal if there were table service"); however, he later backtracked and said: "I do recognise that it is a substantial meal."Gove was co-chair of the EU–UK Partnership Council with European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič. On 8 December 2020, after 10 months of talks with Šefčovič, he helped reach an agreement that included post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border. As a consequence the Government decided to abandon parts of the Internal Market Bill that could have seen the UK break international law. David Frost succeeded Gove as the UK chair of the Partnership Council on 1 March 2021.In the 2020 revival of Spitting Image, Gove's puppet was given "beady eyes, large ears and bulging cheeks" and was voiced by Lewis MacLeod. In May 2021, Gove attended the 2021 Champions League Final in Porto with his son, supporting Chelsea; following his visit he was alerted by the NHS Test and Trace system of his potential exposure to the disease, and that he would need to self-isolate. Rather than isolating for the normal ten-day period, Gove was able to take part in a pilot scheme designed to investigate the efficacy of testing, which required him to self-isolate for only one day and undergo testing every day for a week.In a case brought to the High Court of Justice by the Good Law Project in June 2021, Gove was found to have acted unlawfully when the Government awarded a COVID-19 contract without a tender to a polling company owned by long-term associates of his and Dominic Cummings, then Johnson's chief adviser.In July 2021, Gove worked part-time in Glasgow as part of the Government strategy to strengthen the Union. That month, a joint statement on behalf of Gove and Vine said that they had agreed to separate and were in the process of finalising their divorce. The next month, Gove was filmed dancing "merrily" at Bohemia nightclub in Aberdeen. He had allegedly tried to avoid a £5 entrance fee by stating he was the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Friends of Gove denied he had attempted to avoid paying. In January 2022, a divorce was granted on the grounds of Gove's unreasonable behaviour. Levelling up secretary (2021–2022) In a cabinet reshuffle on 15 September 2021, Gove was appointed Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. He was given responsibilities for the Government's levelling up agenda, the Union and elections, the last two of which he retained from his previous post. Within days his department was renamed the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and his title changed to Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. He was given the additional title of Minister for Intergovernmental Relations. Following his appointment, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss let Gove move in to her grace-and-favour flat at 1 Carlton Gardens, despite him being a lower ranked minister.In October 2021, while walking on Horseferry Road in Westminster, Gove was accosted by COVID-19 anti-lockdown protesters. As the protesters attempted to surround him, he was protected by police officers and escorted to a nearby building.In December 2021, Gove was part of a trio of Cabinet ministers that self-isolated after meeting Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who was later diagnosed with COVID-19.Gove launched a white paper on levelling up on 2 February 2022. The paper included plans to increase public investment across the UK and expand devolution in England. It was reported that parts of it had been copied from Wikipedia.During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gove announced his intention to draft plans to allow Ukrainian refugees to be housed in Russian oligarchs' homes in the UK. He later announced the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which would arrange for British households to take in Ukrainian refugees.Gove attended the 2022 Bilderberg meeting in Washington, D.C.The Telegraph journalist Matthew Lynn attacked Gove's record in government, describing him as the "driving force behind a whole series of terrible policy mistakes". In particular, Lynn identified Gove's resistance to new skyscrapers in London, his changes to the rules concerning the rental sector to make it harder for landlords to evict tenants, and his opposition to a fracking trial as damaging the economic growth prospects for the UK.On 6 July 2022, Gove was dismissed by Johnson for alleged disloyalty, after visiting Downing Street to tell him to resign, during the July 2022 Government crisis. A Downing Street source described him as a "snake" following the sacking. Backbencher (2022) Gove declined to run in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. He endorsed Kemi Badenoch's leadership bid and, after her defeat, announced his support for Rishi Sunak.Following the election of Liz Truss, Gove variously backed and criticised the prime minister on Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng's controversial reforms to taxation. According to journalist Harry Cole, Truss offered Gove the posts of British Ambassador to Israel and British Ambassador to China.Gove declined to run in the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. He endorsed Sunak's leadership bid. Levelling up secretary (2022–present) On 25 October 2022, following the accession of Rishi Sunak to the prime ministership, Gove was reinstated to his previous roles of Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations. Gove had previously said that he did not expect to serve in government again.According to The Times, in the February 2023 cabinet reshuffle, Sunak wanted Gove to become Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, but Gove asked to stay at the levelling up department.In February 2023, following the death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year old child living in a mould-hit flat, the Government announced that it would implement "Awaab's Law", which will require social housing providers to remedy reported damp and mould within certain time limits. Gove made the announcement as he met with Awaab's family in Rochdale. Political positions Gove is generally considered as combining socially liberal views—for example, on gay marriage—with a harder Eurosceptic and neoconservative position on foreign affairs. He has expressed his view that the state should generally not interfere in domestic affairs and attests to have campaigned for economic freedom in certain matters. Gove has argued that "the only sustainable ethical foundation for society is a belief in the innate worth and dignity of every individual."Giving evidence before the Leveson Inquiry in May 2012, Gove said he was "unashamedly on the side of those who say that we should think very carefully before legislation and regulation because the cry 'Something must be done' often leads to people doing something which isn't always wise."During the 2008 Conservative Party Conference, Gove argued that Edmund Burke, an 18th-century philosopher who commented on organic society and the French Revolution, was the greatest conservative ever. When asked about those who believe "Marx was right all along", he responded that they were guilty of ignoring the systematic abuses and poverty of centrally planned economies, and criticised the historian Eric Hobsbawm, saying that "only when Hobsbawm weeps hot tears for a life spent serving an ideology of wickedness will he ever be worth listening to."In remarks prepared for the 2020 Ditchley Lecture, Gove portrayed what he saw as the malaise of modern society as leading to populism, because the non-intellectual classes "chose to opt for polarised identity politics rather than stay with broad-based national political movements" instead of choosing to follow the politics of diversity, inclusion and identity politics they were force-fed by the elites. He praised Franklin D. Roosevelt as a model for his renewal of capitalism and he imagined the construction of inclusive societies with the deconstruction of Whitehall. Gove stressed "basic writing, meeting chairing and time management skills" for all policy civil servants. He ended with a paean to his purpose in public service: "to tackle inequality". Capital punishment In 1997, Gove wrote of capital punishment, which was abolished in the UK in 1965, arguing in The Times that, "Were I ever alone in the dock I would not want to be arraigned before our flawed tribunals, knowing my freedom could be forfeited as a result of political pressures. I would prefer a fair trial, under the shadow of the noose." The Independent reported in 2015 that Gove had not appeared to repeat his backing for the death penalty since he made the remarks in the late 1990s. Foreign policy The Financial Times describes Gove as having "strong neoconservative convictions".In 2003, he stated that he did not believe the United States' "current position in the world [was] analogous to that of an Imperial power, as we have come to understand imperial powers".William Dalrymple, reviewing Gove's book Celsius 7/7 on the roots of Islamic terrorism in The Times, dismissed Gove's knowledge of the Middle East as being derivative and based on the views of Bernard Lewis. Iraq In February 2003, Gove expressed admiration for New Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair because of the way he was handling the crisis in Iraq: "As a right-wing polemicist, all I can say looking at Mr Blair now is, what's not to like?" Blair, he thought, was "behaving like a true Thatcherite". In December 2008, Gove wrote that declarations of either victory or defeat in Iraq in 2003 were premature, and that the "liberation" of Iraq was a foreign policy success. The liberation of Iraq has actually been that rarest of things—a proper British foreign policy success. Next year, while the world goes into recession, Iraq is likely to enjoy 10% GDP growth. Alone in the Arab Middle East, it is now a fully functioning democracy with a free press, properly contested elections and an independent judiciary... Sunni and Shia contend for power in parliament, not in street battles. The ingenuity, idealism and intelligence of the Iraqi people can now find an outlet in a free society rather than being deployed, as they were for decades, simply to ensure survival in a fascist republic that stank of fear. Tariq Ali once recalled how, at the time of the Iraq War, he "debat[ed] the ghastly Gove on television [... and found him] worse than most Bush apologists in the United States." Intervention in Syria Gove had to be calmed by parliamentary colleagues in August 2013 after shouting, "A disgrace, you're a disgrace!" at various Conservative and Liberal Democrat rebels who contributed to defeating the coalition government's motion to attack Syria in retaliation for the 2013 Ghouta attacks. He later stated he was reacting to the manner in which Labour MPs celebrated the outcome of the vote. Saudi Arabian prisons In 2015, Gove cancelled a £5.9 million contract to provide services for prisons in Saudi Arabia, according to The Guardian, because it was thought "the British government should not be assisting a regime that uses beheadings, stoning, crucifixions and lashings as forms of punishment." Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond accused Gove of being naive. Health Gove is one of several Conservative MPs who co-authored Direct Democracy: An Agenda for a New Model Party (2005). The book says the NHS "fails to meet public expectations" and calls for it to be dismantled and replaced with personal health accounts. Gove fractured his foot in July 2015. His wife Sarah Vine (somewhat inaccurately) complained in her Daily Mail column that he could not have his foot X-rayed by the NHS because the minor injuries unit the couple visited did not provide the facility at weekends. Scottish independence Gove believes that Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom, arguing that Scotland's strengths complement those of other parts of the UK. He has expressed interest in the idea of letting Scottish people living in the other regions of the UK vote in a second Scottish independence referendum. Israel and Jewish people Gove has described himself as "a proud Zionist", and supports the United Jewish Israel Appeal's fundraising activities. In 2019, he reiterated "One thing I have always been since I was a boy is a Zionist" and spoke of his desire to "celebrate everything that Israel and the Jewish people have brought to the life of this world and hold it dear to our hearts" and that "For as long as I have breath in my body and a platform on which to argue I shall be on your side, by your side and delighted and honoured to argue, powerfully I hope, on behalf of people who have contributed so powerfully to the life of this nation".Gove is, like the great majority of UK Conservative Party MPs, a member of Conservative Friends of Israel. He has said that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel is anti-Semitic. Gove said that jihadist terrorists "hate Israel, and they wish to wipe out the Jewish people's home, not because of what Israel does but because of what Israel is – free, democratic, liberal and western." First World War In an article about the First World War centenary in January 2014, Gove criticised academic and television interpretations of World War I as "left-wing versions of the past designed to belittle Britain and its leaders."Some of Gove's key points were rebuffed by the academics that Gove had used to support his thesis. Gove had criticised Cambridge professor Sir Richard Evans saying his views were more like that of an undergraduate cynic in a Footlights review. Instead he urged people to listen to Margaret MacMillan of Oxford University. MacMillan responded, saying: "I agree with some of what Mr Gove says, but he is mistaking myths for rival interpretations of history. I did not say, as Mr Gove suggests, that British soldiers in the First World War were consciously fighting for a western liberal order. They were just defending their homeland and fighting what they saw as German militarism." Evans said Gove's attack was "ignorant" and asked how anyone could possibly say Britons were fighting for freedom given their country's main ally was Tsarist Russia. Jeremy Paxman said Gove had "wilfully misquoted" Evans on the subject of the First World War. Religion In 2012, Gove was behind plans to provide schools throughout England and Wales with a copy of the King James Bible (inscribed "presented by the Secretary of State for Education") to celebrate the 400th anniversary of its translation into English, though he said he backed the scheme because of the historical and cultural significance of that translation rather than on purely religious grounds.In 2013, Gove credited Cardinal Keith O'Brien with using his intellect to protect the vulnerable in Scotland whilst regretting the absence of a similar figure in the Kirk.In April 2015, he described his faith in an article for The Spectator. In widely reported remarks, he complained that "to call yourself a Christian in contemporary Britain is to invite pity, condescension or cool dismissal."In 2016, he credited his Christian faith for his focus as Justice Secretary on redemption and rehabilitation. Other views Gove's proposal for a new Royal Yacht costing £60 million was made public in January 2012. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg criticised the idea, calling it "a case of the haves and the have yachts".In March 2014, he described the concentration of Old Etonians at the top of the Conservative coalition as "ridiculous. I don't know where you can find a similar situation in any other developed economy." Notes and references Notes References Sources Books and journals News Websites and others External links Official website Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom Contributions in Parliament at Hansard Voting record at Public Whip Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou Appearances on C-SPAN Michael Gove on the Muck Rack journalist listing site

insulate britain protests

A series of protests by the group Insulate Britain involving traffic obstruction began on 13 September 2021. The group blockaded the M25 and other motorways in the United Kingdom, as well as roads in London and the Port of Dover. The protesters demand that the government improve the insulation of all social housing in the UK by 2025 and retrofit all homes with improved insulation by 2030. Improved insulation of homes would likely reduce the use of fuel, such as natural gases and oil, to adjust the internal temperature, thus improving energy efficiency in British housing and mitigating climate change. The group has drawn support from some, but condemnation from others, including from individuals within the government. On 17 November 2021, nine protesters were imprisoned for breaching an injunction against road blockade protests. On 2 February 2022, five protesters were imprisoned for the same reason, with eleven others receiving suspended sentences. Background Insulate Britain is an environmental activist group, founded by six members of the global environmental movement Extinction Rebellion. Their methods slightly differ from that of Extinction Rebellion, but they share the same overall target: to reduce the rate of climate change. The group began hosting both online and in-person events in July 2021, also raising money for direct action. They use civil disobedience as a tactic.Founded with the aim of demanding insulation across the United Kingdom, the group laid out two specific demands for its September 2021 protests. The first is that the British government fund insulation of all social housing by 2025, and the second is that, by the end of 2021, the government must create a plan to fund retrofitting of insulation of all homes in Britain by 2030. Insulate Britain created a Parliament petition for the first demand. According to The Guardian, the group's demands are in line with consensus among climate scientists and policy experts that home insulation—including when retrofitted—is an environmental priority, saves money to occupants and is beneficial to the economy. Protests The protests began on 13 September 2021, when protesters sat in roads at five junctions (Junctions 3, 6, 14, 20 and 31) on the M25 motorway, followed by further protests on 15, 17, 20, 21 and 23 September. In an escalation of the protests, activists blocked the main carriageway of the M25 in both directions between junctions 9 and 10 on 21 September. Protesters walked out onto both sides of the motorway from junction 10. Thirty-eight protesters were arrested for various offenses, such as criminal damage, causing danger to road users, willful obstruction of the highway and causing a public nuisance.On 24 September, the group blockaded the Port of Dover. Several protesters were arrested.On 29 September, protesters blocked the M25 again near junction 3. The protest started around 7:30am but by 8:53am the police had put out a tweet stating that the section of the M25 had been reopened. During the protests, activists glued themselves to the slip roads of targeted motorway exits or to live lanes of the motorway, making them inaccessible to vehicles. The protesters also poured paint onto sections of the carriageway.Further protests took place on 1 October with disruption to the M1 and M4 motorways. Thirty-nine protesters were arrested.On 4 October, Insulate Britain protesters blocked the Blackwall Tunnel, on the A102 which connects the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Greenwich in London. Thirty-eight protesters were arrested. The group suspended its protests on 14 October, saying that Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the UK, had 11 days to make "a meaningful or trustworthy statement" or else the protests would resume.The protests resumed on 25 October, with 61 activists blocking roads at the London locations Upper Thames Street, Bishopsgate and Limehouse Causeway.During morning rush hour of 2 November, the group blocked the M56 and A538 near Manchester Airport and the A4400 in Birmingham.The group's last road protest to date took place on 4 November, when sixty-two protesters blocked roads around Parliament Square. Aftermath On 7 February 2022 the group self-declared "with a heavy heart" that the series of protests had failed in their aim to force the government into taking action.Since November 2021 a number of those arrested have been sentenced to prison; including nine in November 2021 and five in February 2022. In March 2023, an further Insulate Britain protester was jailed for five weeks for causing a nuisance to the public.In response to actions by Insulate Britain and other groups such as Just Stop Oil the UK government has announced its aim to pass through a series of new measures to restrict the ability for groups to disrupt national infrastructure as a form of protest. Reaction An injunction effective on 22 September 2021 and lasting to 21 March 2022 was granted to National Highways. The injunction prohibited demonstrators from "causing damage to the surface of or to any apparatus on or around the M25 including but not limited to painting, damaging by fire, or affixing any item or structure thereto". Protesters who break the injunction will be in contempt of court, which could result in a prison sentence of up to two years or an unlimited fine. However, Insulate Britain figures told The Guardian that they believed an injunction, prosecutions and other legal actions were being delayed by the government until after 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). A spokesperson said: "We know that our government and institutions purport that we live in a democracy, so they don't want to have 50–100 climate protesters on remand when [the conference] starts". On 17 November 2021, nine protesters were imprisoned: one for six months, six for four months and one for three months. Emma Smart, one of the protestors imprisoned, started a hunger strike after sentencing and was moved to the hospital wing of HMP Bronzefield on the 13th day of her strike.Figures within the British government, including the Home Secretary Priti Patel, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the protesters' actions. The protests are supported by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, and House of Lords members Natalie Bennett and Jenny Jones. On 4 October, Johnson said that Insulate Britain, who were not "legitimate protesters", were "irresponsible crusties". At the 2021 Conservative Party Conference, Patel announced increased penalties for motorway disruptions, criminalisation of infrastructure disruption and "stop and search" powers for the police. Patel named Insulate Britain specifically in her announcement. The Guardian opposed this policy as it would "remove even more rights from political protesters". In an interview, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, stated he totally understood the frustration shown by the Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain protesters, but added that it should be directed "in a way that is more constructive rather than destructive", as their current methods are not "helpful" and only alienate people.Politics academics Oscar Berglund and Graeme Hayes supported the protests in The Conversation, agreeing with Insulate Britain's aims as "an essential part of lowering Britain's emissions". They quoted research that concluded that protesters who "inconvenience others" are more likely to achieve change, arguing that "broad popularity isn't all that relevant". Providing counterarguments against criticism, the writers said that motorway traffic and disruption that "hurts vulnerable people" is an everyday phenomenon, and that "it is unlikely that people will be against insulating homes just because they get annoyed at protesters".Opinion polling conducted by YouGov from 5–6 October 2021 found that 72% of those surveyed opposed the protesters' actions, with 18% supporting the actions and 10% that did not know. See also Energy efficiency in British housing References External links Insulate Britain website

mohan munasinghe

Mohan Munasinghe is a Sri Lankan physicist, engineer and economist with a focus on energy, water resources, sustainable development and climate change. He was the 2021 Blue Planet Prize Laureate, and Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice-President of the United States Al Gore. Munasinghe is the Founder Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development. He has also served as an honorary senior advisor to the government of Sri Lanka since 1980. Education Born in Sri Lanka, Prof. Munasinghe was educated at Royal College, Colombo. He received a BA (Hons.) in Engineering in 1967 and a MA later from the University of Cambridge. Thereafter he gained a SM and PE in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970; a PhD in Solid State Physics from McGill University in 1973 and a MA in Development Economics from Concordia University in 1975. He has received several honorary doctorates, honoris causa. Career From 1982 to 1987, he was the Senior Advisor (Energy and Information Technology) to the President of Sri Lanka, helping to formulate and implement the national energy strategy and computer policy. He was founder chairman, Computer and Information Technology Council (CINTEC), and served on the Presidential Commission that determined national telecommunications policy. During this period, he also served as board member, Natural Resources, Energy and Science Authority of Sri Lanka; Governor, Arthur Clarke Centre for Modern Technology, Sri Lanka; and founder-President of the Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association. He was involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since its inception in 1988 and had served as Chancellor of the International Water Academy in Oslo. From 1990 to 1992 Munasinghe was Advisor to the US President's Council on Environmental Quality (PCEQ). Until 2002 he was a Senior Manager/Advisor at the World Bank. As an academic, he serves as distinguished guest professor at the University of Peking, and visiting professor at the United Nations University in Tokyo. Formerly, he was Director-General and Professor of Sustainable Development at the Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester, and Institute Professor at the Vale Sustainable Development Institute, Federal University of Para, Brazil. He also served on the board of directors of Green Cross International and was a member of the Club of Rome. He has authored or co-authored over 120 books and 400 journal articles. He is widely recognised for having first proposed the Sustainomics framework for making development more sustainable at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and more recently for proposing the Millennium Consumption Goals at the United Nations. He was visiting professor at the Technische Universität Darmstadt. Awards and honours Listed are some key awards and honours Prof. Munasinghe has received; Blue Planet Prize Laureate (2021) Officer of the French Legion of Honour (2017) Eminence in Engineering Award 2014 - highest prize bestowed by the Institute of Engineers, apex Engineering body in Sri Lanka, for exceptional contributions to the profession of engineering and to sustainable development in Sri Lanka and worldwide. Anita Garibaldi Gold Medal for meritorious services to humanity (Brazilian government, 2007) Sarvodaya Award for Humanity, Peace and Development (2007) Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize (2007) Zayed International Prize for Environment (jointly with other authors) for contributions to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2006) Order of Fellowship (honoris causa) of the Independent University of Bangladesh for exceptional contributions to energy, economics and environment (Bangladesh, 2005) Outstanding lifetime achievements award from 16 major professional bodies (Sri Lanka, 2003) Adelman-Frankel prize for unique and innovative contributions to energy research from the USAEE (US, 2003) Green award for exceptional contributions to sustainable development from the Int. Federation of Environmental Journalists (1998) International best treatise award and medal for sustainable water resource management presented at the 1994 World Water Congress (Abu Dhabi, 1994). Award for outstanding contributions to energy economics from the Int. Assoc. of Energy Economists (US, 1986) Sinha Gold Medal for outstanding scientific achievement from the Lions Clubs International (Sri Lanka, 1985) Albert M. Grass Prize (MIT, US, 1968) J. W. Beauchamp Prize (IET, UK, 1966) Bibliography Prof. Munasinghe has authored over 120 academic books and 400 technical papers; [1]. Publications include: Munasinghe, Mohan (2019). Sustainability in the 21st Century: applying Sustainomics to implement the sustainable development goals. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-40415-0. Munasinghe, Mohan (2010). Making development more sustainable: sustainomics framework and practical applications. MIND Press. ISBN 978-1-108-40415-0. Munasinghe, Mohan (2009). Sustainable development in practice: sustainomics methodology and applications. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89540-8. Munasinghe, Mohan (2006). Macroeconomic policies for sustainable growth: analytical framework and policy studies of Brazil and Chile. Edward Elgar. ISBN 1-84542-494-8. Rosa, Luiz Pinguelli; Mohan Munasinghe (2002). Ethics, equity, and international negotiations on climate change. Edward Elgar. ISBN 1-84376-048-7. Munasinghe, Mohan; Osvaldo Sunkel; Carlos de Miguel (2001). The sustainability of long-term growth: socioeconomic and ecological perspectives. Edward Elgar. ISBN 1-84064-515-6. Jepma, C. J.; Mohan Munasinghe, Netherlands, Stockholm Environment Institute, Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics (1998). Climate change policy: facts, issues and analyses. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-59688-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) References External links MIND – Munasinghe Institute for Development – private, nonprofit organisation, established to play a key role in nurturing communities of scholars and practitioners who will address sustainable development issues worldwide and explore viable means of achieving this goal in Sri Lanka and elsewhere without compromising economic, environmental and socio-cultural integrity. IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Personal website

united states house select committee on the climate crisis

The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis was a select committee established in the 116th United States Congress in 2019 when Democrats regained a majority in the United States House of Representatives. Its chair was Congresswoman Kathy Castor of Florida. The committee had no mandate or subpoena power to compel witnesses to testify.Its predecessor was the United States House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which existed from 2007 to 2011, and was not renewed when Republicans gained control of the House for the 112th Congress.Nancy Pelosi, in her role as House Minority Leader, called for the Select Committee a week prior to the 2018 House elections, telling The New York Times she wanted it to "prepare the way with evidence" for legislation to mitigate climate change. In November and December of 2018, youth climate activists with the Sunrise Movement pushed House Democrats to form a select committee with the mandate to draft "Green New Deal" legislation, working with incoming freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who proposed language for the committee's authorization. The activists staged a series of sit-ins in the offices of Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Jim McGovern, the incoming Speaker, Majority Leader, and Rules Committee chair. About two dozen Democratic members of Congress supported their proposal, but the incoming chairs of the Energy & Commerce and Natural Resources Committees, Reps. Frank Pallone and Raúl Grijalva, opposed it.The committee held its first field hearing on August 1, 2019, at the University of Colorado Boulder. The witnesses started with Colorado governor Jared Polis, followed by a panel that included the mayors of Boulder and Fort Collins, an expert in rural agricultural energy issues from Colorado State University, a representative of the oil and gas industry, and the director of the university's chief sustainability officer. Following the November 2022 elections, the Republican Party obtained a majority in the House of Representatives. Garret Graves, the committee's ranking Republican, expressed an intent to end the committee. On December 14, 2022, the committee released its final report. The committee ceased to exist at the beginning of the 118th Congress on January 3, 2023. Historical committee rosters 116th Congress 117th Congress See also Climate change policy of the United States Climate crisis Effects of climate change Efficient energy use Climate change Energy resilience Climate Change Science Program Notes References External links Archived version of now-defunct official website

the global warming policy foundation

The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom whose aims are to challenge what it calls "extremely damaging and harmful policies" envisaged by governments to mitigate anthropogenic global warming. The GWPF, and some of its prominent members individually, have been characterized as practising and promoting climate change denial.In 2014, when the Charity Commission ruled that the GWPF had breached rules on impartiality, a non-charitable organisation called the "Global Warming Policy Forum" was created to do lobbying that a charity could not. The GWPF website carries an array of articles sceptical of the scientific consensus of anthropogenic global warming and its impacts. History The foundation was established in November 2009, a week after the start of the Climatic Research Unit email controversy, with its headquarters in a room of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining at 1 Carlton House Terrace, London, and subsequently moved to 55 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3QL. Its director is Benny Peiser, an expert on the social and economic aspects of physical exercise, and it is chaired by Terence Mordaunt, co-owner of the cargo handling business Bristol Port Company. It was previously chaired by the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson. GWPF states that it is "deeply concerned about the costs and other implications of many of the policies currently being advocated" to address climate change and that it aims to "bring reason, integrity and balance to a debate that has become seriously unbalanced, irrationally alarmist, and all too often depressingly intolerant". Funding sources Because it is registered as a charity, the GWPF is not legally required to report its sources of funding, and Peiser has declined to reveal its funding sources, citing privacy concerns. Peiser said GWPF does not receive funding "from people with links to energy companies or from the companies themselves." The foundation has rejected freedom of information (FoI) requests to disclose its funding sources on at least four occasions. The judge ruling on the latest FoI request, Alison McKenna, said that the GWPF was not sufficiently influential to merit forcing them to disclose the source of the £50,000 that was originally provided to establish the organization.In May 2022, OpenDemocracy reported that tax filings in the US revealed that GWPF had taken money from US 'dark money' sources, including $620,259 from the Donors Trust between 2016 and 2020. The Donors Trust has in turn received significant funding from the Koch brothers. The group also received funding from the Sarah Scaife foundation, set up by the heir to an oil and banking dynasty. Charitable status In June 2013 Bob Ward filed a formal complaint to the Charity Commission, alleging that the GWPF had "persistently disseminated inaccurate and misleading information about climate change as part of its campaign against climate policies in the UK and overseas", and that this was an abuse of their charitable status. In 2014 the Charity Commission ruled that the GWPF had breached rules on impartiality in its climate change coverage, blurred fact and comment and demonstrated a clear bias. In response, the GWPF agreed to establish a non-charitable organisation to do the lobbying, alongside the existing organisation, to be called the "Global Warming Policy Forum". In October 2021, Global Warming Policy Forum rebranded itself as Net Zero Watch.In October 2022 a complaint was made to the Charity Commission by Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green Party MPs that The Global Warming Policy Foundation is a lobbying organisation, and misuses charitable funds by passing them to Net Zero Watch, which uses the funds for non-charitable purposes. In November 2022, the Charity Commission confirmed that it is reviewing the complaint. Three months later, the GWPF reported a "serious incident" to the Charity Commission. Climate change denial The GWPF's first act was to call for a high-level, independent inquiry into the hacked e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit. Nigel Lawson suggested that the e-mails from the University of East Anglia "called into question" the integrity of the scientific evidence.Subsequent investigations did not support this view. GWPF Director Benny Peiser said that the organisation did not doubt the science and was not going to discuss it, but want an open, frank debate about what policies should be adopted. A spokesman for the Met Office, a government agency which works with the Climate Research Unit in providing global temperature information, dismissed this call. "If you look at the emails, there isn't any evidence that the data was falsified and there's no evidence that climate change is a hoax. It's a shame that some of the sceptics have had to take this rather shallow attempt to discredit robust science undertaken by some of the world's most respected scientists. The bottom line is that temperatures continue to rise and humans are responsible for it. We have every confidence in the science and the various datasets we use. The peer-review process is as robust as it could possibly be."David Aaronovitch noted the GWPF's launch in The Times, writing "Lord Lawson’s acceptance of the science turns out, on close scrutiny, to be considerably less than half-hearted. Thus he speaks of 'the (present) majority scientific view', hinting rather slyly at the near possibility of a future, entirely different scientific view. (...) 'Sceptic' (...) is simply a misnomer. People such as Lord Lawson are not sceptical, for if one major peer-reviewed piece of scientific research were ever to be published casting doubt on climate change theory, you just know they’d have it up in neon at Piccadilly Circus. They are only sceptical about what they don’t want to be true."The Guardian quoted Bob Ward, the policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, as saying "some of those names are straight from the Who's Who of current climate change sceptics ... It's just going to be a way of pumping material into the debate that hasn't been through scrutiny". The Guardian article cast doubt on the idea that an upsurge in scepticism was underway, noting that "in (the US) Congress, even the most determined opponents of climate change legislation now frame their arguments in economic terms rather than on the science".When the GWPF's website was launched in November 2009, a graph used in the logo graphic on each page of the website of '21st Century global mean temperatures' showed a slow decline over the selected period from 2001 to 2008. Hannah Devlin of The Times found an error for 2003 and noted that if the period from 2000 to 2009 had been chosen, then a rise in temperature would have been shown rather than a fall. Bob Ward said that the graph was contrary to the true measurements, and that by leaving out the temperature trend during the 20th century, the graph obscured the fact that 8 of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred this century. The GWPF blamed a "small error by our graphic designer" for the mistake which would now be changed, but said that starting the graph earlier would be equally arbitrary.Fred Pearce wrote in The Guardian that the three inquiries GWPF looked into were all badly flawed, and that The Climategate Inquiries report ably dissects their failures. He writes that "for all its sharp—and in many cases justified—rejoinders to the official inquiries its report is likely to be ignored in some quarters for its brazen hypocrisy." Pearce argues that one of the criticisms of the three inquiries was that no climate sceptics were on the inquiry teams, and now the critics themselves have produced a review of the reviews that included no one not already supportive of the sceptical position. But, Pearce wrote, Montford "has landed some good blows here."In 2014 The Independent described the foundation as "the UK's most prominent source of climate-change denial".In 2011, Chris Huhne, former UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change attacked GWPF, describing it as "misinformed", "wrong", and "perverse".The Skeptic awarded the foundation its 2022 Rusty Razor award as part of its annual presentation of Ockham Awards, naming the foundation as "the year’s worst promoters of pseudoscience" for its "prolific attempts to weaken and undermine public and political will to tackle climate change". Personnel In May 2014, the GWPF listed Benny Peiser, a social anthropologist, as the director, and a board of trustees consisting of Lord Lawson (chairman), Lord Donoughue, Lord Fellowes, Peter R. Forster (the former Bishop of Chester), Martin Jacomb, Baroness Nicholson, Sir James Spooner and Lord Turnbull.In 2015, Baron Moore was made a trustee of the organisation. In November 2022, Lord David Frost was listed as a Director of the GWPF on Companies House.Andrew William Montford has been appointed to run an inquiry into the three British Climategate-inquiries for the Global Warming Policy Foundation. His report The Climategate Inquiries was published in September 2010.One of the Foundation's trustees, Graham Stringer MP, a Labour party politician, sits on the House of Commons' Science and Technology Committee, a Parliamentary select committee which scrutinises government actions in relation to topics including climate change. Another trustee, Steve Baker MP, sat on the House of Commons' Treasury Select Committee for many years.In February 2023, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott joined the board of the Foundation.In October 2023, it was reported in Computer Weekly that John Constable of the GWPF was a member of the "Covid Hunters", a group of Brexit lobbyists who conducted a secret two-year-long attack on the prestigious science journal Nature. See also Global warming controversy Lobbying in the United Kingdom Climate change in the United Kingdom References External links Official website "The Global Warming Policy Foundation, registered charity no. 1131448". Charity Commission for England and Wales.

department for environment, food and rural affairs

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the entire United Kingdom. Concordats set out agreed frameworks for co operation, between it and the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, which have devolved responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations. Defra also leads for the United Kingdom on agricultural, fisheries and environmental matters in international negotiations on sustainable development and climate change, although a new Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 to take over the last responsibility; later transferred to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy following Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister in July 2016. Creation The department was formed in June 2001, under the leadership of Margaret Beckett, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was merged with part of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and with a small part of the Home Office. It was created after the perceived failure of MAFF to deal adequately with an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease. The department had about 9,000 core personnel, as of January 2008.In October 2008, the climate team at Defra was merged with the energy team from the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), to create the Department of Energy and Climate Change, then headed by Ed Miliband. Ministers The Defra Ministers are as follows in October 2022: The Permanent Secretary is Tamara Finkelstein, who replaced Clare Moriarty in 2019. Responsibilities Defra is responsible for British Government policy in the following areas Some policies apply to England alone due to devolution, while others are not devolved and therefore apply to the United Kingdom as a whole. Executive agencies The department's executive agencies are: Animal and Plant Health Agency (formerly the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, formed by a merger of Animal Health and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, and later parts of the Food and Environment Research Agency. Animal Health had launched on 2 April 2007 and was formerly the State Veterinary Service) Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Rural Payments Agency Veterinary Medicines Directorate Key delivery partners The department's key delivery partners are: Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Consumer Council for Water Environment Agency Fera Science (formerly the Food and Environment Research Agency, now a company in which Defra holds a 25% stake) Forestry Commission (a non-ministerial government department including Forest Enterprise and Forest Research) Joint Nature Conservation Committee Marine Management Organisation (launched on 1 April 2010, incorporates the former Marine and Fisheries Agency) National Forest Company Natural England (launched on 11 October 2006, formerly English Nature and elements of the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service) Ofwat (a non-ministerial government department formally known as the Water Services Regulation Authority) Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Sea Fish Industry AuthorityA full list of departmental delivery and public bodies may be found on the Defra website. Defra in the English regions Policies for environment, food and rural affairs are delivered in the regions by Defra's executive agencies and delivery bodies, in particular Natural England, the Rural Payments Agency, Animal Health and the Marine Management Organisation. Defra provides grant aid to the following flood and coastal erosion risk management operating authorities: Environment Agency Internal drainage boards Local authorities Aim and strategic priorities Defra's overarching aim is sustainable development, which is defined as "development which enables all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life without compromising the quality of life of future generations." The Secretary of State wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister that he saw Defra's mission as enabling a move toward what the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has called "one planet living".Under this overarching aim, Defra has five strategic priorities: Climate change and energy. Sustainable consumption and production, including responsibility for the National Waste Strategy. Protecting the countryside and natural resource protection. Sustainable rural communities. A sustainable farming and food sector including animal health and welfare.Defra Headquarters are at 2, Marsham Street, London. It is also located at Nobel House, 17, Smith Square, London. See also Agriculture in the United Kingdom Air Quality Expert Group Badger culling in the United Kingdom Cattle Health Initiative Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland) Energy policy in the United Kingdom Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom Environmental contract List of atmospheric dispersion models National Bee Unit National Collection of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria New Technologies Demonstrator Programme Nicola Spence Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department UK Dispersion Modelling Bureau United Kingdom budget Waste Implementation Programme References External links Defra's official website Fera - Executive agency of DEFRA National Collection of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria - Fera English Nature's website JNCC's website Defra's wiki for formulating an environmental contract Air Quality Expert Group Archived 6 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine Video clips DEFRA YouTube channel

united states withdrawal from the paris agreement

On June 1, 2017, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, contending that the agreement would "undermine" the U.S. economy, and put the U.S. "at a permanent disadvantage."In accordance with Article 28 of the Paris Agreement, a country cannot give notice of withdrawal from the agreement within the first three years of its start date in the relevant country, which was on November 4, 2016, in the case of the United States. The White House later clarified that the U.S. will abide by the four-year exit process. On November 4, 2019, the administration gave a formal notice of intention to withdraw, which takes 12 months to take effect. Until the withdrawal took effect, the United States was obligated to maintain its commitments under the Agreement, such as the requirement to continue reporting its emissions to the United Nations. The withdrawal took effect on November 4, 2020, one day after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. was backed by many Republicans but was strongly opposed by Democrats. Trump's decision to withdraw was strongly criticized in the U.S. and abroad by environmentalists, religious organizations, business leaders, and scientists. A majority of Americans opposed withdrawal.Following Trump's announcement, the governors of several U.S. states formed the U.S. Climate Alliance to continue to advance the objectives of the Paris Agreement at the state level despite the federal withdrawal. As of July 1, 2019, 24 states, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico have joined the alliance, and similar commitments have also been expressed by other state governors, mayors, and businesses.Trump's withdrawal from the Paris agreement impacted other countries by reducing its financial aid to the Green Climate fund. The termination of the $3 billion U.S. funding ultimately impacted climate change research and decreased society's chance of reaching the Paris Agreement goals, as well as omitted U.S. contributions to the future IPCC reports. Trump's decision also affected the carbon emission space as well as the carbon price. The U.S.'s withdrawal also meant that the spot to take over the global climate regime was obtainable for China and the EU.Following the 2020 presidential election, President-elect Joe Biden vowed to rejoin the Paris Agreement on his first day in office. On January 20, 2021, shortly after his inauguration, Biden signed an executive order to rejoin the agreement. The United States formally rejoined the Paris Agreement on February 19, 2021, 107 days after the withdrawal took effect. Background The Paris Agreement was an addition to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), initially agreed to by all 195 countries present at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in December of that year, including the United States then under the presidency of Barack Obama. Due to the status of the United States and China as the greatest emitters of carbon dioxide, Obama's support and his cooperation with China were seen as major factors leading to the convention's early success.The main aim of the Agreement is to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels", predominantly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Agreement differs from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the last widely adopted amendment to the UNFCCC, in that no annexes are established to lessen responsibility of developing nations. Rather, emissions targets for each nation were separately negotiated and are to be voluntarily enforced, leading United States officials to regard the Paris Agreement as an executive agreement rather than a legally binding treaty. This removed the requirement for the United States Congress to ratify the agreement. In April 2016, the United States became a signatory to the Paris Agreement, and accepted it by executive order in September 2016. President Obama committed the United States to contributing US$3 billion to the Green Climate Fund. The Fund has set itself a goal of raising $100 billion a year by 2020. Article 28 of the agreement enables parties to withdraw from the agreement after sending a withdrawal notification to the depositary, but notice can be given no earlier than three years after the agreement goes into force for the country. Withdrawal is effective one year after the depositary is notified. Alternatively, the Agreement stipulates that withdrawal from the UNFCCC, under which the Paris Agreement was adopted, would also withdraw the state from the Paris Agreement. The conditions for withdrawal from the UNFCCC are the same as for the Paris Agreement. On November 8, 2016, four days after the Paris Agreement entered into force in the United States, Donald Trump of the Republican Party was elected President of the United States. Many conservative Republicans dispute the level of human involvement in climate change. Trump rejects the scientific consensus on climate change and tweeted in 2012 that he believed the concept of global warming was created by China in order to impair American competitiveness. During Trump's 2016 election campaign, Trump promised to revitalize the coal industry, which he claimed has been hampered by environmental regulations. It has been argued that this contributed to the support he enjoyed from crucial swing states. His opposition to climate change mitigation was unchanged in the first months of his presidency, in which he issued an executive order to reverse Obama's Clean Power Plan and other environmental regulations. In April 2017, a group of 20 members of the European Parliament from the right-wing Alternative for Germany, UK Independence Party, and other parties sent a letter to Trump on urging him to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. On May 25, 2017, 22 Republican Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, sent a two-page letter to Trump urging him to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement. The letter was drafted by Senator John Barrasso, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Senator Jim Inhofe, known for his longtime climate change denial. Most of signatories to the letter were elected from states reliant on the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas); the group of 22 senators had collectively received more than $10 million in campaign contributions from fossil-fuels companies in the previous three election cycles. Earlier the same week, a group of 40 Democratic Senators sent Trump a letter urging him to keep America in the Paris Agreement, writing that "a withdrawal would hurt America's credibility and influence on the world stage."Both support for the move and opposition to it were reported among Trump's cabinet and advisers: Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, economic advisor Gary Cohn, and advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly wanted the United States to remain committed to the agreement, while White House Advisor Steve Bannon, White House Counsel Don McGahn, and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wanted the United States to abandon it.During the G7 summit in late May 2017, Trump was the only G7 member not to reconfirm commitment to the Paris Agreement. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the other leaders present, was publicly unimpressed with Trump's refusal to cooperate on climate change mitigation, which was seen to damage Germany–United States relations. The communique issued at the conclusion of the summit stated that the United States "is not in a position to join the consensus" of the other G7 countries on policies regarding climate change and the Paris Agreement. Announcement In a televised announcement from the White House Rose Garden on June 1, 2017, Trump said, "In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect the United States and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord," adding "The bottom line is that the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States." He claimed that the agreement, if implemented, would cost the United States $3 trillion in lost GDP and 6.5 million jobs. He added that it would "undermine our economy, hamstring our workers," and "effectively decapitate our coal industry". He said he was open to renegotiating the arrangement or negotiating a new one, but European and UN leaders said the pact "cannot be renegotiated at the request of a single party". Trump also criticized the Green Climate Fund, calling it a scheme to redistribute wealth from rich to poor countries.The White House said that Trump would end the implementation of carbon reduction targets set by former President Barack Obama and that the withdrawal would be done in accordance with the years-long exit process spelled out in the accord. On September 16, 2017, a European official said the Trump administration had appeared to soften its stance on withdrawing the agreement. The White House told the press that it had not changed its position on the agreement.Examinations of Trump's speech by The Washington Post and The New York Times pointed to numerous fallacies, including, but not limited to, claims that the U.S., under the Paris Agreement, was forbidden to build coal power plants; that a difference of 0.2 degrees Celsius is insignificant in climatology; that U.S. contributions to the Green Climate Fund were paid out of the U.S. defense budget; projections that the U.S. is on course to become the "cleanest" nation on earth; and Trump's reiterated claim of personal support for environmental causes. Process In accordance with Article 28 of the Paris Agreement, the United States could only file its notice of intent to withdraw no earlier than November 4, 2019, three years after the Agreement had come into effect, which would be effective one year later. Until the withdrawal took effect, the United States was obligated to maintain its commitments under the Agreement, including the requirement to continue reporting its emissions to the United Nations. According to a memo obtained by HuffPost believed to be written by US State Department legal office, any "attempts to withdraw from the Paris Agreement outside of the above-described withdrawal provisions would be inconsistent with international law and would not be accepted internationally."On August 4, 2017, the Trump administration formally outlined its intention of the withdrawal in an official notice delivered to the United Nations as depositary. In a separate statement, the State Department said it will continue participating in international climate change negotiations, including talks aimed at implementing the climate deal.The United States filed its intent to withdraw at the earliest possible date, on November 4, 2019. After the one-year period, on November 4, 2020, the U.S. formally withdrew from the Agreement, on the day following the 2020 U.S. presidential election but rejoined the agreement when President Biden took office. Effects The Obama administration was responsible for funding $3 billion U.S. dollars to the Green Climate Fund, that will no longer be available to be used towards climate change research. Therefore, a decrease in funds by the US will lessen the chances of being able to reach the Paris Agreement goals. In addition, the U.S. was responsible for more than 50% of the papers references for climate change in 2015, so a cut in funding will impact U.S's contribution to any further IPCC reports. Trump's termination of its funding to the Green Climate Fund can also have an impact on underdeveloped countries that are in need of that aid for their climate change projects.The US withdrawal decision leaves a large gap in the climate aid that the developed countries have promised to the developing countries (Kemp, 2017, as cited in Hai-Bing Zhan 2017). However, President Trump's decision to withdraw did not necessarily mean that it affected US emissions since there was no direct link, but instead meant that the U.S. was no longer regulated by the Paris Agreement once officially withdrawn. On the other hand, since the U.S. was not regulated this influenced a change to the carbon emission space. For example, "[u]nder the NDC target, the withdrawal of the U.S. led to it increasing its own emission space by 14%, 28%, and 54% in the 20, 13, and 00 scenarios, respectively." This meant that the U.S. would obtain more room to emit carbon while other countries would have to cut down on their emissions in order to be able to reach their goal of only 2 °C. Trump's withdrawal increased the carbon price for other countries while reducing its own carbon price.When the withdrawal took effect, the U.S. was the only UNFCCC member states who was not a signatory to the Paris Agreement. At the time of the original withdrawal announcement, Syria and Nicaragua were also not participants; however, both Syria and Nicaragua later ratified the agreement which left the U.S. the only UNFCCC member state that wasn’t intending to be a party to the Paris Agreement.Luke Kemp of the Australian National University's Fenner School of Environment and Society wrote in a commentary for Nature that "withdrawal is unlikely to change US emissions" since "the greenhouse gas emissions of the US are divorced from international legal obligations." However, he added that it could hamper climate change mitigation efforts if the U.S. stopped contributing to the Green Climate Fund. Kemp said the effect of a US withdrawal could be either good or bad for the Paris agreement, since "a rogue US can cause more damage inside rather than outside of the agreement." Finally, "A withdrawal could also make the US into a climate pariah and provide a unique opportunity for China and the EU to take control of the climate regime and significantly boost their international reputations and soft power." On the other hand there is belief that China is not capable of taking control of the climate regime and instead should, "help rebuild global shared leadership by replacing the Sino–U.S. G2 partnership with a Climate 5 (C5) partnership that comprises China, the EU, India, Brazil, and South Africa." Potential economic impact The German car industry expressed concerns about its ability to remain competitive in light of the United States decision to withdraw. The president of the German auto industry lobby group VDA, Matthias Wissmann said, "The regrettable announcement by the USA makes it inevitable that Europe must facilitate a cost efficient and economically feasible climate policy to remain internationally competitive."Many of the larger auto and aviation companies had already invested billions into reducing emissions and were unlikely to change course. General Motors, the largest automobile manufacturer in the United States, immediately pointed out: "Our position on climate change has not changed ... we publicly advocate for climate action," and reiterated its support for various climate pledges. Analyst Rebecca Lindland also pointed out that manufacturers of automobiles were under no specific restrictions under the Accord and that nothing had changed. Even if Trump loosened other restrictions on the car industry that allowed for the production of less environmental cars, such cars still needed to conform to standards before they could be exported to other continents or even certain states. Jason Bordoff, energy-policy expert at Columbia University, agreed that withdrawing would make no difference to the economy, arguing that it would be determined by market conditions like the price of oil and gas. At the same time, airlines have been spending billions on seeking more fuel efficient ways to fly anyway –fuel is an airline's second-biggest expense after labor and so using less fuel (which means less emissions) is in their financial interest. Kabir Nanda and Varad Pande, senior consultant and partner at Dahlberg, respectively, argued that despite the US withdrawal the American private sector was still committed to renewable energy and technology. Also noted was the fact that solar energy had become cheaper than coal in an increasing number of countries. Reactions Petitions Petitions were launched across states in order to persuade state governors to join the Paris Agreement or have Trump reverse the planned withdrawal, which included a "ParisMyState" and a MoveOn petition that has received over 535,000 signatures. Scientists and environmentalists Piers Forster, the director of the University of Leeds' Priestley International Centre for Climate, called the decision to withdraw "a sad day for evidence-based policy" and expressed hope that individual Americans, businesses and states would nevertheless choose to decarbonize. Climate scientist Dave Reay of the University of Edinburgh said that "The United States will come to rue this day." The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), in a statement by its president Antonio Busalacchi Jr., said that the decision to withdraw "does not mean that climate change will go away" and warned that "the heightened potential for increased greenhouse gas emissions poses a substantial threat to our communities, businesses, and military." The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation called the decision to withdraw "very discouraging" and said that it would diminish confidence in international climate change efforts; the technology think tank called for federal efforts on "the smart grid, energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, and advanced nuclear and solar power" and warned that "Without a smart, aggressive clean-energy innovation strategy, the world will not avert the worst effects of climate change."Canadian academic and environmental activist David Suzuki stated, "Trump just passed on the best deal the planet has ever seen". Navroz Dubash of the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi expressed bafflement at Trump's move, citing the declining costs of renewable energy sources and the increasing difficulty of obtaining investment for fossil-fuel projects. Environmental scientist and risk assessor Dana Nuccitelli stated that it "now seems inevitable that the history books will view Trump as America's worst-ever president". Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute also described Trump's speech as "confused nonsense". Stephen Hawking criticized Trump, saying that he "will cause avoidable environmental damage to our beautiful planet, endangering the natural world, for us and our children."Multiple environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council, condemned Trump's decision. American environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben, the founder of the climate change action group 350.org, called the move "a stupid and reckless decision—our nation's dumbest act since launching the war in Iraq." McKibben wrote that Trump's decision to withdraw amounted "to a thorough repudiation of two of the civilizing forces on our planet: diplomacy and science." He called upon U.S. states and cities to "double down" on commitments to renewable energy. Domestic political response Republicans Republicans gave mixed reviews of Trump's decision to withdraw. Vice president Mike Pence stated that Trump administration "demonstrated real leadership" by pulling the United States out of the international accords which he called "a transfer of wealth from the most powerful economy in the world to other countries around the planet". He also stated that he doesn't understand why Democrats and liberals in the United States and the left around the world care about climate change. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt praised the decision as a victory for America's middle class, workers, businesses and coal miners. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton described Trump's decision as "courageous" and said that it lifted a burden from the American taxpayer. However, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine was critical of the decision, stating that she was disappointed. Former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a video address describing Trump's decision as a retrograde step. Democrats Former President Bill Clinton wrote: "Walking away from Paris treaty is a mistake. Climate change is real. We owe our children more. Protecting our future also creates more jobs." Former President Barack Obama said of Trump's decision: "Even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future, I'm confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we've got." Former vice-president Joe Biden said he believes the move imperils American security.In his withdrawal speech, President Trump stated: "I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris." The incumbent Mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, immediately acknowledged on Twitter with a reminder that 80% of his city's voters favored Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, and wrote: "As the Mayor of Pittsburgh, I can assure you that we will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy and future." Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the withdrawal. U.S. states Responding the following week to the withdrawal, the governors of California, New York, and Washington founded the United States Climate Alliance, pledging to uphold the Paris Agreement within their borders. By the evening of June 1, 2017, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Oregon, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia declared their intention to join with United States Climate Alliance members in reaching Paris Agreement goals. Governors of other states also expressed interest in upholding the Agreement. As of November 2020 the alliance included 24 states plus Puerto Rico and American Samoa. International response African Union – A joint statement with the European Union reaffirmed the commitment of the 55 African nations to the Paris Agreement. Argentina – President Mauricio Macri was "deeply disappointed" by the withdrawal, and ratified the Argentine support to the treaty. Australia – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that the decision was "disappointing" and that "we would prefer the United States to remain part of the agreement". The opposition Australian Labor Party expressed similar sentiments. Austria – President Alexander Van der Bellen said that US President Donald Trump's decision to leave the Paris accord only challenges Europe to double its efforts in order to do everything possible to protect the planet and save it for future generations. Bahamas – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed concern regarding the announced withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Belgium – Prime Minister Charles Michel called the decision "a brutal act". Bangladesh – The foreign ministry stated they are disappointed in Trump's decision. Brazil – The federal ministries for foreign affairs and for the environment issued a joint statement describing their "profound concern and disappointment". Bolivia – President Evo Morales called the US one of the world's "main polluters" and at The United Nations Ocean Conference said Trump's decision is akin to "denying science, turning your backs on multilateralism and attempting to deny a future to upcoming generations", making the US the main threat to mother Earth and life itself. Bulgaria – Minister Neno Dimov issued Bulgaria will honour the commitments under the Paris Agreement. Cambodia – A Cambodian official said US President Donald Trump's decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement is "unethical" and "irresponsible". Canada – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "deeply disappointed" and that "Canada is unwavering in our commitment to fight climate change and support clean economic growth". Canada will "continue to work with the U.S. at the state level" and will reach out to the U.S. federal government to "discuss this matter of critical importance for all humankind". Chile – The minister pointed out the deep disappointment about the withdrawal in a joint statement. China – Premier Li Keqiang reaffirmed his country's commitment to the Agreement. Colombia – President Juan Manuel Santos lamented the exit of the United States from the COP21 stating that "the survival of the world and humanity is at stake". Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Luis Gilberto Murillo expressed that Colombia was "saddened" by Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, stating that "Trump's decision increased Colombia's vulnerability to climate change and will make it more difficult to advance toward an international goal to avoid an increase in global temperatures". Cook Islands – Prime Minister Henry Puna said the US has isolated itself in the Pacific region in its actions on climate change. Costa Rica – The Government said the withdraw could cause a setback on climate issues, because of President Trump's lack of understanding of U.S. responsibilities as one of the globe's leading sources of emissions. Croatia – The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy stated that achieving the Paris Agreement goals would become a bigger challenge. Czech Republic – The Prime Minister said "This wrong decision by President Trump will weaken the Paris Agreement, but it will not destroy it. It is a shame that the US is isolating itself in a matter so important to the whole planet." Denmark – Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen described it as "a sad day for the world". Dominica – The Minister for Foreign Affairs and CARICOM Affairs urged the United States of America to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, saying it is a major concern to small states. Estonia – Prime Minister Jüri Ratas reaffirmed his nation's commitment to the Agreement. Ethiopia – Diplomat Gebru Jember Endalew said it would be a "betrayal" for the US to abandon the agreement. European Union – The European Commission has stated that it "deeply regrets" the decision. Fiji – President Frank Bainimarama described the "loss of America's leadership" as "unfortunate". Finland – Prime Minister Juha Sipilä urged Trump to show global leadership, stating that "we need the USA on the team". Minister of Environment Kimmo Tiilikainen stated that the USA had never been "so small" and that the world does not need the kind of leadership that Donald Trump represents. France – In a telephone conversation with Trump, President Emmanuel Macron described the agreement as non-negotiable. In a televised speech, Macron reiterated his invitation to American climate change and renewable energy scientists to relocate their work to France, concluding his assessment with the phrase: "Make our planet great again." Prior to the withdrawal, former President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a tariff on all US exports to Europe if Trump went through with the promised withdrawal. National Front leader Marine Le Pen appreciated Trump's commitment to his campaign pledge, but described his decision as "extremely regrettable." Germany – Angela Merkel heavily criticized Trump's decision. Ghana – Former President John Dramani Mahama has lashed out at Donald Trump over his decision. Grenada – The minister pointed out the deep disappointment about the withdrawal in a joint statement. Hungary – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that he was "in a state of shock" after hearing Trump's decision, and that it opposes the view of Hungary's right wing. Iceland – The government 'condemned' the move. Ireland – Sinn Féin's environment spokesman Brian Stanley described the move as "deeply disappointing". Former President Mary Robinson called it "truly shocking". India – Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India's support for the climate accord, and pledged to go 'above and beyond' its aims. Indonesia – Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Armanatha Nasir, said that "America's decision is not in line with international commitments. Indonesia believes that climate change requires cooperation and contribution of all parties, both developed and developing countries." Iran – First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri criticized Washington for pulling out of the Paris agreement, stressing that the US is the main culprit behind producing greenhouse gases. "Trump has forgotten that the gases produced in the past few decades have endangered the life of not only the Americans but also all humankind," he added. Israel – Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz criticized Trump for rejecting "a rare occurrence in which the world united". Italy – Paolo Gentiloni expressed "regret" and sorrow for America's action. Jamaica – The Government and the Opposition expressed disappointment with the decision. Japan – In a statement, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said that Trump's choice was "regrettable" and that "Japan believes the leadership of the developed countries to be of great importance (on climate issues), and the steady implementation of the Paris Agreement is critical in this regard." The Minister of the Environment stated that he was "greatly disappointed, both as Minister and as an individual", and that withdrawal from the Paris Agreement was an act that "turned its back on the wisdom of the human race". The Deputy Prime Minister said "The U.S. created the League of Nations, but this country did not join the League. The U.S. is just that kind of country." Kazakhstan – The Minister of Foreign Affairs pledged to carry forward the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030. The Astana Expo 2017's theme was "Future Energy". Kiribati – Anote Tong, the former president and one of the prominent Pacific voices during the Paris agreement negotiations, said Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement is a selfish move that ignores the plight of low-lying island nations. Latvia – The Environmental Protection and Regional Development Ministry issued a statement confirming Latvia's commitment to the Paris Agreement and describing the negative impact Trump's decision may have on investment in clean energy among developing nations. Liechtenstein – The Minister of Foreign Affairs regrets Trump's decision and decided to ratify the Paris Agreement. Luxembourg – Wants to increase contributions to climate change body. Malaysia – The Ministry is confident that the Paris Agreement on Climate Change will not fail despite the United States having announced its withdrawal from the treaty. Maldives – Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), defended the agreement as "designed for maximum flexibility and universal participation", adding that Trump's proposed renegotiation was "not practical" and that it could represent "a setback from which we would never recover". Marshall Islands – President Hilda Heine described the move as "highly concerning for those of us that live on the frontline of climate change". Micronesia – President Peter Christian emphasized that nations must work together to achieve the goals set out by the Paris agreement. Mexico – President Enrique Peña Nieto responded with a reiteration of Mexico's unconditional support for the Paris agreement. Monaco – Prince Albert calls President Trump's retreat from Paris Agreement a 'Historic Mistake'. Morocco – COP22's president and former Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Salaheddine Mezouar has expressed his "deep disappointment" but noted that collective efforts to fight climate change will continue. Namibia – Environment and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta says Namibia is saddened by the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Change Agreement, describing the move as a major blow to the efforts to tackle global warming. Nepal – Nepali Youth and Mountain Community Dwellers appealed to US President Donald Trump to take back his decision. New Zealand – Prime Minister Bill English released a statement confirming that he will register his 'disappointment' with Rex Tillerson during an upcoming visit by the US Secretary of State. Netherlands – Foreign minister Bert Koenders released the statement "It represents a cardinal mistake that is damaging to citizens around the world, including those of the United States." Nigeria – The Government has expressed disappointment over the decision of the United States. North Korea – The foreign ministry has condemned President Donald Trump for pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, describing the decision as "the height of egotism" and an example of the "moral vacuum" in the US leadership. Norway – The government condemned Trump's decision. Papua New Guinea – Climate Change & Development Authority managing director, Ruel Yamuna, said "Climate change is real and already affecting the livelihood of communities in Papua New Guinea" and "The Paris Agreement is stronger than Donald Trump". Philippines – In a statement, the climate body said the Philippines is "deeply troubled" by the withdrawal of the US from the agreement and urged Trump to reconsider his decision. Poland – Deputy Energy Minister Grzegorz Tobiszowski praised Trump's decision, while signing an agreement for a new coal power station in Jaworzno. Portugal – President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that "climate change is a problem and denying, for political reasons, that that problem exists won't make it go away"; he also reiterated that Europe should remain a champion of the fight against climate change, "a just and real" cause. During a visit to an elementary school, Prime Minister António Costa commented "it is a shame that President Trump did not attend this school and does not know what these children already know... that we only have one planet and that our first duty is to preserve it for future generations". Romania – The Foreign Affairs Minister ratified the Paris Agreement the same day. Russia – In advance of Trump's expected withdrawal announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia's support for the Paris agreement. After the withdrawal, when questioned by media sources about his views of the decision Putin stated "don't worry, be happy". He noted that since the non-binding agreement is not set to take effect until 2021, he believes there is plenty of time to create a working solution to global warming. Singapore – The government reaffirmed the commitment to Paris climate agreement. Slovenia – The government regretted the withdrawal of the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. South Africa – The South African government stated that it "expresses its profound regret over the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris Agreement." South Korea – The Foreign Ministry for South Korea described Trump's move as 'regrettable'. South Sudan – Lutana, South Sudan's climate change director said 'He should know that his pulling out won't stop people from continuing to work on it.' St. Lucia – The minister pointed out the deep disappointment about the withdrawal in a joint statement. Spain – Rajoy assures EU of Spain's commitment to fighting climate change after Trump pulls USA out of Paris deal. Sweden – Foreign Minister Margot Wallström described it as "a decision to leave humanity's last chance of securing our children's future on this planet". Switzerland – President Doris Leuthard said the decision was "regrettable". Taiwan – The Presidential Office efforts to continue the Paris agreement despite Trump's climate decision. Tanzania – The Vice President said Tanzania will continue supporting the agreement. Turkey – Mehmet Emin Birpınar, Turkey's chief climate negotiator, expressed hope that other countries will not follow Trump, and affirmed Turkey's commitment despite the agreement's "unfairness". Tuvalu – Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said that the US had "abandoned" them. Uganda – Nicholas Ssenyonjo said "the US is the biggest contributor to pollution globally. Pulling out of the Paris agreement means that they do not care about the effects of their pollution to third world countries like Uganda." United Arab Emirates – Marashi, the chairperson of the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), said that Trump's decision is "unfortunate". United Nations – A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres described Trump's decision as "a major disappointment". United Kingdom – Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her disappointment during a telephone call with Trump, and reaffirmed the United Kingdom's commitment to the agreement. She said on live TV, "I have spoken to Donald Trump and told him that the UK believes in the Paris agreement" Scotland Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saw it as an "appalling abdication of leadership" that May's signature was lacking from a joint declaration by the leaders of Germany, France and Italy. Uruguay – The Minister for Housing, Land Planning & Environment pointed out the deep disappointment about the withdrawal in a joint statement. Vatican – Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, described the withdrawal as a "huge slap in the face" to the world. Zambia – The Zambian minister for Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, Lloyd Kaziya, described the withdrawal as "a serious tragedy" to developing countries. Zimbabwe – Zhakata said Zimbabwe remained committed to the treaty, but the US withdrawal will make it more difficult for the country. Business and industry The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and Peabody Energy, the largest listed coal producer in the United States, applauded the decision, claiming the result will be lower energy prices and greater reliability of supply.On the day of Trump's predicted withdrawal, 25 companies placed a full-page open letter to President Trump in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, encouraging the administration to keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement. The companies were: Following Trump's announcement, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and General Motors reaffirmed their support for the Paris Agreement and for measures to tackle climate change.Michael Bloomberg pledged $15 million to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretariat, explaining: "Americans will honor and fulfill the Paris Agreement by leading from the bottom up—and there isn't anything Washington can do to stop us". Shortly following Trump's announcement, thirty city mayors, three state governors, more than eighty university presidents and the leaders of more than a hundred businesses joined Bloomberg in opening negotiations with the United Nations to submit a plan for limiting American climate-change emissions in accord with the Paris Agreement guidelines.Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein described Trump's decision as "a setback for the environment and for the U.S.'s leadership position in the world". General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt stated that "climate change is real".Multiple tech company executives—including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt—condemned the decision. Microsoft's Satya Nadella said Microsoft believes that "climate change is an urgent issue that demands global action." Google's Sundar Pichai tweeted "Disappointed with today's decision. Google will keep working hard for a cleaner, more prosperous future for all". Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg said "Withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement is bad for the environment, bad for the economy, and it puts our children's future at risk." Resignations from presidential advisory boards in protest Two business leaders resigned from Trump advisory boards in protest to his decision to withdraw. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Inc. and SpaceX, resigned from the two presidential advisory councils on which he had sat. Musk stated: "Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world." Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, also resigned, saying "As a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the Paris Agreement withdrawal." U.S. public opinion The Paris Agreement is broadly popular among Americans. A national poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs conducted in June 2016 found that 71 percent of American adults favored U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement. Similar, a November 2016 poll conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that 69 percent of U.S. registered voters favored U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement, while just 13 percent were opposed. Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the accord was seen as an attempt to appeal to his base, even at the risk of alienating Democrats and independent voters. This strategy diverged from the typical approach taken by most U.S. presidents, who historically have sought to appeal to the center. A New York Times analysis described the move as "a daring and risky strategy" taken by "the first president in the history of polling to govern without the support of a majority of the public from the start of his tenure," adding: "In effect, Mr. Trump is doubling down on presiding as a minority president, betting that when the time comes, his fervent supporters will matter more, especially clustered in key Midwest states."A Washington Post/ABC News public opinion survey of American adults, conducted from June 2–4, 2017, found that 59 percent opposed Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, and just 28 percent supported it. Asked about the effect of withdrawal on the U.S. economy, 42 percent said it would hurt the economy; 32 percent believed it would help the economy; and 20 percent believed that it would make no difference. The poll showed a sharp division among partisan lines: 67 percent of Republicans supported Trump's decision, but just 22 percent of independents and 8 percent of Democrats supported it. Media Domestic USA Today, in an editorial, stated that "There was no greatness in the decision he rendered Thursday, just the heightened prospect of a climate-stricken globe left behind for future generations." The New York Times called it "disgraceful" and stated that Trump "knows nothing or cares little about the science underlying the stark warnings of environmental disruption."For their edition of June 2, 2017, the New York Daily News revived their famous 1975 "Ford to City: Drop Dead" cover with a photo of Trump and the words "Trump to World: Drop Dead".The Tampa Bay Times criticized the move, writing that it would especially endanger coastal states such as Florida, which are already suffering from rising sea levels, which damage property and infrastructure and harm the drinking water supply. The Detroit Free Press stated that "President Donald Trump has betrayed the future of our children, our grandchildren, and our planet".Bloomberg stated that "Under Trump, the U.S. has already become an irresponsible role model." The San Diego Union-Tribune stated that "President Trump is ushering in the Chinese Century" and called it the worst decision of Trump's life.A piece by commentator Erick Erickson published by Fox News described the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement as the correct move, for the reason that "climate change is [not] an issue worth caring much about". Douglas E. Schoen, also writing for Fox, contrarily said that a withdrawal from the Paris Agreement "only hastens America's retreat from global political and economic leadership". Foreign Foreign coverage of Trump's announcement was overwhelmingly unfavorable. A lead in the British newspaper The Guardian said that the decision would be unlikely to stunt the growth of renewable energy, and suggested that "a much more likely casualty of Trump's choice is the US economy he claims to be protecting". The British newspaper The Independent noted the "tension between myth and reality" in Trump's withdrawal speech. The German tabloid Berliner Kurier ran a headline "Erde an Trump: Fuck You!" ("Earth to Trump: Fuck You!").China's Xinhua state news agency called the withdrawal a "global setback."The Toronto Star said that In the long catalogue of destructive things that Donald Trump has inflicted on the United States and the world, pulling out of the most important global attempt to slow the impact of climate change must go down as the worst. Protests Protesters gathered at the White House gates on the day of the announcement. Bill Nye, a science communicator and television personality known for making scientific concepts more accessible to the general public, was one of the protesters in attendance. The John A. Wilson Building in D.C. was lit in green in protest of the decision, as were One World Trade Center and the Kosciuszko Bridge in New York City; the city halls of New York, Boston and Montreal; the Hôtel de Ville in Paris; and the Monumento a la Revolución and the Angel of Independence in Mexico City. Protests also occurred in New York City, Miami, San Diego, and Syracuse. Rejoining Joe Biden became the president-elect following the November 2020 election, defeating Trump. As part of his transition plan, Biden announced that one of his first actions on his first day in office would be to return the United States to the Paris Agreement via an executive order. He also stated plans to further the United States' commitment towards mitigating climate change in line with the Paris Agreement.Under terms of the Agreement, the United States would only need to wait a month after submitting their intent to rejoin before formally rejoining, though they would lose some of the privileges from the short time the country was out of the Agreement; they would not have been able to participate in any key meetings while they were not a member, for example.President Biden signed an executive order to rejoin the Paris Agreement on January 20, 2021, his first day in office; the US rejoined on February 19, 2021. See also Canada and the Kyoto Protocol Environmental policy of the Donald Trump administration Neo-nationalism Politics of global warming United States Climate Alliance United States withdrawal from the United Nations United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Trumpism Right-wing antiscience References External links ParisMyState petition Archived April 27, 2018, at the Wayback Machine (a petition for one's state to join the United States Climate Alliance) White House video about Paris accord edited by the French foreign ministry - Aljazeera.com (News site with edited version) Trump's Doctrine and Climate Change: New Challenges for Global Governance (Journal Article)

commission on growth, structural change and employment

Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment (German: Kommission für Wachstum, Strukturwandel und Beschäftigung (WSB), originally Kommission für Wachstum, Strukturwandel und Regionalentwicklung, commonly just called Kohlekommission, that is coal commission, in Germany) is a commission created by the German federal government on 6 June 2018, after the governing coalition of the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) with the Social Democrats (SPD) in February 2018.The committee was supposed to submit its final report to the federal government on 1 February 2019. Submission of the recommended measures on social and structural development and financing of States, in which brown coal is extracted, was expected by the end of October 2018. These measures should include climate change mitigation policy measures, especially a fossil fuel phase-out plan with a target phase-out date and measures to achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction goal by 2020 Germany has committed to.The commission's report was published in January 2019 recommending Germany to entirely phase out and shut down the 84 remaining coal-fired plants on its territory by 2038. While this was applauded as a success by some, others, including scientists and climate experts, argued that this still would not be fast enough, and that to prevent the climate from reaching an irreversible tipping point, the phase out must have happened by 2030 already. See also Hambach Forest Ende Gelände 2018 Ende Gelände 2019 Rhenish lignite mining area Lusatian lignite mining area Middle German lignite mining area School strike for climate / Fridays for Future (FFF) September 2019 climate strikes References Further reading https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/hambacher-forst-kohleausstieg-rettung-1.4304442 http://www.taz.de/!5568305/

world wide views on global warming

World Wide Views on Global Warming: A global project initiated by The Danish Board of Technology on the occasion of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) held in Copenhagen December 2009. World Wide Views on Global Warming (or just WWViews) was an international citizens involvement project based on methods developed by The Danish Board of Technology for the purpose of involving citizens in the political decision-making processes. The WWViews method The World Wide Views project meetings were carried through on September 26, 2009 simultaneously in all the participating countries and on this day the citizens debated the same topics issued at the actual December 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. On the basis of an informed and structured dialogue and expert presentations the citizens – 100 in each country – made up their minds about a range of questions and dilemmas concerning different aspects of the climate debate. The results were uploaded throughout the day and are publicly available on the projects website (se link below). Some answers are quantifiable, permitting statistical comparison, but contrary to regular surveys the methods used for WWViews also gave the participants the option of discussing questions externally and further qualifying the answers. World Wide Views on Global Warming gave citizens across the globe the possibility of influencing political decisions in regard to Earth’s climate, because the meetings presented citizens with the opportunity to express how far they were willing to let politicians go in the struggle to reduce CO2 emission. The WWViews partners More than 4000 citizens representing 38 countries across the world joined the World Wide Views on Global Warming, who take a significant role in expanding the growth of the WWViews project. The roles of the partners is to hold national and regional meetings on behalf of the WWviews. Without the help of these partners from around the world, WWViews would not succeed. WWViews on biodiversity Leading up to the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties (COP 11) meeting on biodiversity in India 2012, 34 citizen meetings in 25 countries across the world was held on September 15, 2012, involving 42 old and new partners and building on the experiences from the World Wide View on Global Warming as part of the newest World Wide Views project, World Wide Views on Biodiversity. Learn more about the project on the official homepage. References "Bangladesh citizens join policy opinion on global warming". The Financial Express. September 26, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2011. "World Wide Views on Global Warming". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. October 22, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2011. External links Official website Video documentary about World Wide Views on Biodiversity, October 17 2012

oeschger centre for climate change research

The Oeschger Centre for Climate and Climate Change Research (OCCR) is the interdisciplinary centre of excellence for climate research of the University of Bern. History The centre was established in 2007 and was named after Hans Oeschger (1927-1998), a pioneer of modern climate research, who worked in Bern. The OCCR brings together researchers from nine institutes and four faculties. It has more than 200 members working in 26 research groups. The OCCR is at the forefront of international research in a number of different fields. Researchers from the University of Bern have participated as co-chair, coordinating lead authors or lead authors in all the assessment reports so far published by the IPCC. Many of them are still working today at the OCCR. In addition to research within disciplines, the OCCR puts special emphasis on interdisciplinary projects. Regionally rooted and globally linked, the OCCR hopes to find ways to meet the challenge of global climate change at many different levels through the collaboration of experts in the natural, human and social sciences, in economics and law. The OCCR is active not only in research; it is also involved in teaching and runs the Graduate School of Climate Sciences. Overview Research The Oeschger Centre (OCCR) conducts research on the one hand into the long-term development and dynamics of the climate system and the climate of the present and the future. On the other hand, it investigates the impact of climate change on important land ecosystems as well as on the economy and society. In particular it works on strategies to adapt to the changing climate and to slow down climate change. At the centre of the OCCR's research is the climate system and its interaction with society and the economy. Specific areas of research include: the climate system with its different interactive components in the oceans, continents (especially vegetation, the cryosphere, aquatic systems, etc.) and in the atmosphere energy and material cycles (e.g. water, carbon and greenhouse gases) from the global to the local level. the dynamics of the climate and environment over long periods of time (palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology) from the late Pleistocene, Holocene and the present day to the near future the interaction of changes in the climate and environment with the economy and society, in particular the economics of climate change and the consequences of extreme events on the economy and societyThe Oeschger Centre uses models of varying kinds and complexity, and also takes measurements and carries out reconstructions of important climate variables (e.g. natural and man-made radiative forcing). Teaching The Oeschger Centre runs the University of Bern's Graduate School of Climate Sciences and offers academic training to MSc and PhD level. For the specialist "MSc in Climate Sciences" (120 ECTS), applicants have to pass through a selection process. Students put together their own curriculum by selecting courses from a range of topics offered by several different faculties. The selection can lead to any one of five specialisations. The OCCR's main areas of research are reflected in the curriculum of the courses offered by the Graduate School of Climate Sciences. The Oeschger Centre has a decidedly international outlook in its teaching, and works closely with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich. More than a third of its students come from abroad, and all teaching is conducted in English. The PhD programme is strongly research-orientated, and lasts for three to four years. Students with a degree from the Graduate School of Climate Sciences may take up academic careers, work in the private sector – for example in banks or in insurance – or in the environmental sector for the government or with non-governmental organisations. Structure Organisation The Oeschger Centre for Climate Research (OCCR) is an interdisciplinary centre at the University of Bern, made up of research groups from the participating institutes. Administratively it is part of the Faculty of Science. The OCCR received its mandate from the university's governing body. The president, director and a scientific committee made up of representatives of the participating faculties and institutes are responsible for the strategic management of the OCCR. The OCCR is run by a management centre which encourages collaboration between the research groups, provides services for the researchers and publicises the work of the OCCR. Research groups The Oeschger Centre includes the following research groups: Analytical Chemistry Research (Margit Schwikowski) Aquatic Paleoecology (Oliver Heiri) Atmospheric Radiometry and Processes (Niklaus Kämpfer) Dendroclimatology (David Frank) Earth System Modeling – Bio-Geo-Chemical Cycles (Fortunat Joos) Earth System Modeling – Atmosphere Ocean Dynamics (Thomas Stocker) Hydrology (Rolf Weingartner) Environmental Isotopes and Gases (Markus Leuenberger) Climatology (Stefan Brönnimann) Climate Change, Trade and Environmental Economy (Thomas Cottier) Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA) (Sönke Szidat) Air Pollution/Climate (Jürg Fuhrer) Mobiliar Group for Climate Change Impact Research (Olivia Romppainen-Martius) Past Climate and Biogeochemical Studies on Ice Cores (Hubertus Fischer) Plant Nutrition and Ecophysiology (Urs Feller) Plant Ecology (Markus Fischer) Environmental Policy Analysis (Karin Ingold) Lake Sediments and Paleolimnology (Martin Grosjean) Terrestrial Paleoecology (Willy Tinner) Environmental and Climate Economics (Ralph Winkler) Environmental and Climate Economics (Gunter Stephan) Environmental History and Historical Climatology (Christian Rohr) Climate and Society (Heli Huhtamaa) References External links Webpage of the Oeschger Centre National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Climate Graduate School of Climate Sciences, University of Bern Past Global Changes PAGES

vanessa kerry

Vanessa Bradford Kerry (born December 31, 1976) is an American physician, public health expert, and doctor. She is a founder of the non-profit Seed Global Health. Her father is John Kerry, who is the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. Early life and education Kerry was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 31, 1976. She is the younger daughter of politician John Forbes Kerry and writer Julia Stimson Thorne. Her older sister Alexandra is an actress, filmmaker, director and producer. After her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to Bozeman, Montana. She attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts for high school.Kerry graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover and summa cum laude from Yale University with a major in biology. While a student at Yale, she played for the varsity lacrosse team for four years. After graduating with her bachelor's degree, she went to Harvard Medical School where she graduated with honors. She took a year from Harvard to attend the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, earning her master's of science in health policy, planning and financing. While in London, she was a Fulbright Scholar.While in medical school, she interned with the Vaccine Fund of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; she conducted a study on immunization in Ghana. She later studied and advised on government relations for health and development in Rwanda in partnership with Partners in Health. Career Kerry completed her internal medicine residency and critical care fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She is now a physician specializing in critical care. Kerry has continued work in global health and has collaborated on projects in Haiti and Rwanda through the Harvard Medical School Department of Global Health and Social Medicine. She is also actively working on public sector partnerships in Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and Sierra Leone through Seed Global Health and supports education and public policy at the MGH Center for Global Health. Seed Global Health Active in global health for many years, in 2011 Kerry started the non-profit Seed Global Health. Seed's flagship program was the Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP), a partnership with the Peace Corps. The Partnership sent health professionals abroad to work as medical and nursing educators and to help build capacity. With the Peace Corps through GHSP, Seed helped send over 191 physician and nurse educators to train more than 16,000 health professionals in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, Seed launched a new strategy, Sharing Knowledge, Saving Lives. The program is currently active in Malawi, Uganda, Sierra-Leone, and Zambia and has trained almost 40,000 health workers in seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in total.In 2010, Kerry wrote an op-ed on the idea of sending American health professionals to teach for The New York Times. She has also published in the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet on the topic. The program also partners with academic medical centers such as the Massachusetts General Hospital and the MGH Center for Global Health. In 2013, Kerry, as CEO was named a Draper Richards Kaplan Social Entrepreneur. In 2014, she was featured in Boston Magazine's Power of Ideas for her work with the organization. In 2015, she earned an Honorary Degree from Northeastern University and in 2016, she was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Seed's work has promoted the need for a strong workforce and health systems for better health, economic growth, security and wellbeing. In 2021, Seed started promoting the connection between and health and climate change at the Conference of the parties 26.Kerry is the Director of the Program in Global Public Policy at the Mass General Center for Global Health and spearheads the program in Global Public Policy and Social Change at the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and serves on its faculty. Personal life On October 10, 2009, in Boston, Kerry married neurosurgeon Dr. Brian Vala Nahed, who specializes in brain tumors and spinal disorders. As a surgeon and scientist, Dr. Brian Nahed leads a research lab, which aims to develop the first blood test for brain tumors. They have a son born in 2012 and a daughter born in 2015. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of Young Democrats of America and is a term member to the Council on Foreign Relations. Advocacy Kerry took a leave from her medical studies in order to campaign for her father's, then Senator John Kerry, presidential bid in 2004, even introducing him at that year's Democratic National Convention. She campaigned by herself and with her sister, mostly focusing on campaign stops at university campuses. She made speeches in support of her father and focused on health care issues and tuition costs for students, two Democratic campaign issues she felt personally attached to. She also appeared with Alexandra on the MTV Music Video Awards show in Miami where she joined George W. Bush's daughters Barbara and Jenna, who were campaigning for their father George W. Bush, to encourage youth and citizen voting. Jenna later confirmed that Barbara and Jenna also developed a friendship with John Kerry's daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa. Through her work with her father and her public health policy education, she has not ruled out running for political office in the future.She has also spoken at a number of venues around the globe including World Health Assembly, United Nations, Aspen Ideas Festival, Millennium Campus Network Conferences, TedX Boston, San Diego State University, UCLA, APHA and other venues. Notes External links "Brian Vala Nahed". Vanessa Kerry at IMDb Vanessa Kerry at Harvard University Andrea Mitchell (November 20, 2012). "Sen. Kerry's daughter tackles global health". MSNBC. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2013. "Brian Nahed". Vanessa Kerry on C-SPAN

2007 nobel peace prize

The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared, in two equal parts, between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (founded in 1988) and United States former vice president, Al Gore (b. 1948) "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change". Announcement The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on 12 October 2007. It stated that responses to indications of future climate changes must follow the precautionary principle, and that extensive changes would damage living standards, leading to likelihood of wars and violent conflicts. It paid tribute to the work of the IPCC: Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades, the IPCC has created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and officials from over one hundred countries have collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the warming. It said that "Al Gore has for a long time been one of the world's leading environmentalist politicians", and described him as "probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted." In conclusion, it said the Nobel Committee was "seeking to contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind. Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man’s control."The award was given immediate publicity: an Associated Press article published by USA Today on 12 October 2007 and headlined "Gore, scientists share Nobel Peace Prize" quoted Pachauri as saying "All the scientists that have contributed to the work of the IPCC are the Nobel laureates who have been recognized and acknowledged by the Nobel Prize Committee". He added that "they should feel deeply encouraged and inspired. It is their contribution which has been recognized", and said "I only happen to be a functionary that essentially oversees the process." On the same day, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory listed its scientists who had contributed to the IPCC's work, and said that Pachauri had sent a letter to lead authors of the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report saying that he had "been stunned in a pleasant way with the news of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for the IPCC. This makes each of you a Nobel Laureate and it is my privilege to acknowledge this honour on your behalf". The letter went on to say that "The fact that the IPCC has earned the recognition that this award embodies, is really a tribute to your knowledge, hard work and application." Presentation In Oslo on 10 December 2007, the presentation was made with a speech by Ole Danbolt Mjøs as Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and followed by Nobel Lectures given by Rajendra K. Pachauri, representing the IPCC, and Al Gore. In his lecture, Pachauri thanked those contributing to the IPCC: I pay tribute to the thousands of experts and scientists who have contributed to the work of the Panel over almost two decades of exciting evolution and service to humanity. IPCC certificates The IPCC presented scientists who had "contributed substantially to the preparation of IPCC reports" with personalized certificates for "contributing to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC". The certificates, which name the individual and feature a reproduction of the Nobel Peace Prize diploma, were sent to "coordinating lead authors, lead authors, review editors, bureau members, staff of the technical support units and staff of the secretariat from the IPCC's inception in 1988 until the award of the prize in 2007."In a statement of 29 October 2012 the IPCC clarified that the "prize was awarded to the IPCC as an organisation, and not to any individual involved with the IPCC. Thus it is incorrect to refer to any IPCC official, or scientist who worked on IPCC reports, as a Nobel laureate or Nobel Prize winner. It would be correct to describe a scientist who was involved with AR4 or earlier IPCC reports in this way: 'X contributed to the reports of the IPCC, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.'" It stated that it had not sent the certificates to "contributing authors, expert reviewers and focal points." == References ==

asghar leghari vs. federation of pakistan

Asghar Leghari vs. Federation of Pakistan was a 2015 Lahore High Court case that ruled that the government was violating the National Climate Change Policy of 2012 and the Framework for Implementation of Climate Change Policy (2014-2030) by failing to meet goals set by the policies. In response, a Climate Change Commission was required to be formed in order to help Pakistan meet its climate goals. Background A law student in the Punjab region of Pakistan, Asghar Leghari had his and his neighbors' crops threatened by water scarcity and storms that were intensified by climate change. He filed a petition saying that his fundamental rights were violated through the neglection of climate change policy.He wrote that the government had shown "inaction, delay and lack of seriousness" in the face of the challenges posed by climate change. Leghari thought that this inaction threatened the food, water and energy security of the nation.Previously climate change policy was left up to individual provinces. However a study by Lahore University of Management Sciences and the WWF found that no provinces had a policy in place. Decision It was ruled that the government needed to enforce the 2012 policy. Judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah from the High Court said that climate change “appears the most serious threat faced by Pakistan”. The judge required every department to nominate a person to ensure that the policies were implemented and to create a list of "action points" by December 31, 2015.The decision also created a Climate Change Commission, made up of NGOs, technical experts and representatives of ministries in order to keep track of the government's progress. == References ==

gateway belief model

The gateway belief model (GBM) suggests that public perception of the degree of expert or scientific consensus on an issue functions as a so-called "gateway" cognition. Perception of scientific agreement is suggested to be a key step towards acceptance of related beliefs. Increasing the perception that there is normative agreement within the scientific community can increase individual support for an issue. A perception of disagreement may decrease support for an issue.Public opinion research has shown a "consensus gap" between the beliefs of the general public and the scientific community on a number of issues including climate change, vaccines, evolution, gun control, and GMO's. The general public is assumed to underestimate the degree of agreement among scientists on established facts relating to these issues.According to the gateway belief model, views can be influenced by presenting information about the scientific consensus on a subject. Communicating accurate information about the scientific consensus on a topic reduces perceptions that there is disagreement within the scientific community. Some studies show a causal connection between changes in perceived consensus and subsequent attitudes on issues. In the case of climate change, perceptions of expert agreement are considered a precursor to related beliefs about whether and why climate change is happening.: 130  In the case of COVID-19, perception of scientific consensus predicted personal attitudes and support for mitigation policies.The gateway belief model also implies that organized disinformation campaigns may be able to deliberately undermine public support for an issue by suggesting a lack of scientific consensus or amplifying opinions that disagree with the scientific consensus. Undermining scientific consensus is therefore a frequent disinformation tactic. History Theoretical background The gateway belief model is a dual process theory in psychology and the communication sciences. Specifically, the GBM postulates a two-step process of opinion change, where (mis)perceptions of normative agreement influence "key" personal beliefs that people hold about an issue (step 1), which in turn, shape public attitudes and support (step 2). Although the basic process of debiasing judgment can be viewed as a form of knowledge deficit, development of the gateway belief model is based on research in cognitive and social psychology, mainly drawing on theories of heuristic information-processing, social norms, decision-making, and motivated cognition. Consensus-heuristic In the face of uncertainty, people often look to others for guidance, including experts. Prior research shows that people heuristically rely on consensus cues in the absence of motivation to cognitively elaborate, because consensus typically implies correctness. Research also indicates that people desire to conform to the expert consensus and generally prefer to rely on the combined judgment of multiple experts rather than on individual expert opinions. Relying on consensus cues is often considered socially adaptive because it harnesses the wisdom of the crowd effect. Consensus is therefore an example of a descriptive norm, i.e., the collective judgment of a group of individuals, such as experts.Public opinion research shows that the views of the general public often diverge sharply from experts on a number of important societal issues, especially in the United States. This is known as the "consensus gap". The main premise of the gateway belief model is that this gap can be reduced by highlighting or communicating the actual degree of social or scientific consensus on an issue. Norm perception as a vehicle for social change The basic mechanism of the gateway belief model involves realigning people's (mis)perception of the degree of group consensus with the factual degree of consensus. This parallels research in social psychology on leveraging norm-perception as a vehicle for social change.For example, early research showed that college students frequently misperceive the social consensus on campus binge drinking. Through a method known as "estimate and reveal", social psychologists have attempted to reveal the discrepancy between students' subjective perceptions of the drinking norm among their peers and the actual norm (which is typically much lower). Social norm communication campaigns indeed evidence that increasing awareness of the actual drinking norm has positive subsequent impacts on students' own attitudes and behavior towards binge drinking.While excessive binge drinking is often harmful to the individual, large-scale societal misperceptions of scientific agreement on social dilemmas such as climate change or vaccines can be collectively harmful. When the consensus intervention involves experts rather than peers, the social influence process is referred to as obedience. Role of misinformation The "sticky" nature of myths and the spread of misinformation is often cited as a major cause of public confusion over the nature of scientific consensus. Prominent examples include autism-vaccine controversies, the causal link between smoking and lung cancer and the role of carbon dioxide emissions in driving global warming.People's perception of expert consensus has generally shown to be sensitive to anecdotal evidence and misinformation. Vested-interest groups, sometimes referred to as "merchants of doubt", deliberately try to undermine public understanding of the scientific consensus on these topics through organized disinformation campaigns. Related concepts Other related concepts include the false-consensus effect and pluralistic ignorance. Other theories The "cultural cognition of scientific consensus" thesis advocated by Dan Kahan stands in contrast to the gateway belief model (GBM) but has not been supported by empirical results. The cultural cognition thesis suggests that people will credit or dismiss empirical evidence based on whether it coheres or conflicts with their cultural or political values, a process known as "identity-protective cognition". Because people are committed to the types of beliefs that define their everyday socio-political relations, the cultural cognition thesis predicts that exposing people to consensus information on contested issues will therefore increase attitude polarization.The empirical results of the gateway belief model contradict the prediction of the "cultural cognition of scientific consensus". Notably, an emphasis on scientific consensus does not backfire, and can reduce or neutralize belief polarization between (political) groups. Related research has also shown that conveying scientific agreement can reduce directional motivated reasoning, although other research on this topic has revealed more mixed results.One explanation for these findings is that changing beliefs about what other groups think (so-called "meta-beliefs") does not require a full and immediate adjustment of one's own worldview. Perceived consensus can therefore be seen as a "non-identity threatening" cognition, especially when a norm is described among a neutral out-group (scientists). Kahan has a notable on-going scholarly debate in the literature with van der Linden and Lewandowsky on the role of perceived consensus and cultural cognition. == References ==

sophia kianni

Sophia Kianni (born December 13, 2001) is an Iranian-American social entrepreneur and activist. She is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals and youngest United Nations advisor in U.S history. Activism Kianni became interested in climate activism while in Middle School in Tehran when one night the stars were obscured by smog. Kianni described it as "a signal that our world is heating up at a terrifying pace." She later joined Greta Thunberg's group, Fridays for Future, and took time off from school to support action on climate change. She also helped organize the 2019 Black Friday climate strike. In 2019 she became a national strategist for Fridays for Future and national partnerships coordinator for Zero Hour. In November 2019, Kianni skipped school to join a group of protesters organized by Extinction Rebellion who intended to stage a week-long hunger strike and sit-in at the Washington, D.C., office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, demanding that she speak with them for an hour on camera about climate change. Locally, there were roughly a dozen participants; at 17 years old, Kianni was the youngest, and one of two women. Kianni was not a member of XR, and only participated in the first day of the sit-in, but gave a prepared speech and interviews to the press, and continued the hunger strike remotely. Kianni wrote about her participation in the protest for Teen Vogue, and in 2020 acted as an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson.In 2020, Kianni's physical activism was curtailed by the school closing and social distancing requirements of the COVID-19 pandemic, and her scheduled speaking engagements at colleges including Stanford University, Princeton University and Duke University were delayed. Kianni was able to continue her activism remotely with her talk at Michigan Technological University. In addition, Kianni decided to accelerate development of a planned website, Climate Cardinals, that would translate climate change information into different languages.In July 2020, Kianni was named by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to his new Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, a group of seven young climate leaders to advise him on action for the climate crisis. Kianni was the youngest in the group, which ranged from 18 to 28 years old. She was the only one representing the United States, and also the only one representing the Middle East and Iran.In September 2021, Kianni was one of 4 co-chairs of the Youth4Climate event in Milan, preliminary to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP26. Climate Cardinals translated the resulting Youth4Climate manifesto into the 6 official languages of the United Nations. At COP26 itself, in November 2021 in Glasgow, Kianni spoke at several panels, and met with António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. In October 2022, Kianni was covered by Vogue Arabia for representing the UN and speaking at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. In 2023 she joined the board of directors of the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live. Recognition In December 2020, Kianni was named one of Vice magazine's Motherboard 20 Humans of 2020, for being the U.S. representative for United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change and starting Climate Cardinals. In December 2021, Kianni was named one of Teen Vogue's "21 under 21" for her climate activism. In November 2022, she was named one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 for Climate Activism for 2023. Business Insider named her one of the "Climate Action 30" global leaders working toward climate solutions. Public Speaking Kianni has spoken at several conferences around the world, including Web Summit, the 2022 Arch Summit, Washington Post Live, BBYO Insider, Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, New York Times Events' Climate Hub, and TED Countdown. Climate Cardinals Climate Cardinals is an international youth-led non-profit organization founded by Kianni in 2020 to offer information about climate change in every language. It was named for the northern cardinal, the state bird of Virginia, and a metaphor for information flying around the world. Kianni was inspired by the years she spent translating English-language climate change articles into Persian for her Iranian relatives, as Iranian media barely covered the subject. She says she noticed informational content about climate change is either available only in English, or at best in Chinese and Spanish, making them inaccessible to speakers of other languages.Climate Cardinals was launched in May 2020, and had 1100 volunteers sign up to become translators on its first day. They also partnered with Radio Javan, an Iranian language radio with over 10 million followers, to share graphics and translations with Iranians. Climate Cardinals is sponsored by the International Student Environmental Coalition as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which allows students who participate in its translations to earn community service hours for their work, either fulfilling school requirements or improving college applications. By August 2020, the group had over 5,000 volunteers, with an average age of 16. By December 2020, it had 8,000 volunteers and partnerships with UNICEF and Translators Without Borders. The organization has reached over 350,000 people with over 750,000 words of climate information translated.In 2023, Climate Cardinals partnered with the Google Cloud AI powered Translation Hub to translate 800,000 words into 40 languages, which Kianni says is as much output in three months as in the previous two years. Journalism Kianni wrote a 2019 article for Teen Vogue about the Pelosi office hunger strike. In 2020, she wrote two articles about the effects of the coronavirus, for the Middle East edition of Cosmopolitan magazine about the effects on her extended family's celebration of Nowruz, and another for Refinery29 about the effects on her daily schedule as a climate activist, which was widely syndicated. She wrote an article for MTV News for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which she helped coordinate, and another in 2022 for The Washington Post about how she lives sustainably in college.In 2021, Kianni began hosting a podcast for The New Fashion Initiative, interviewing experts involved in the fashion industry about addressing climate change. In 2023, she partnered with Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate to write a CNN editorial calling US President Joe Biden's endorsement of the Alaskan oil drilling Willow project a betrayal. Personal life Kianni lives with her mother, father, younger sister, and two pet lovebirds, in McLean, Virginia. She studied at Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Middle School, where her team won the statewide Science Olympiad, and at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where she was a National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalist. After graduating from high school in 2020, she attended Indiana University. She transferred to Stanford University in 2021, where she is majoring in Science, Technology, & Society and studies climate science and health policy.Kianni received extensive media attention as an example of a teenager reacting to the social distancing measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic: CNN, Time magazine, and The Washington Post wrote about how she and her friends were moving personal interaction and even their physically cancelled senior prom to Zoom video chats, and TikTok videos. References External links Climate Cardinals

juliana v. united states

Juliana, et al. v. United States of America, et al. is a climate-related lawsuit filed in 2015 by 21 youth plaintiffs against the United States and several executive branch officials. Filing their case in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, the plaintiffs, represented by the non-profit organization Our Children's Trust, include Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, the members of Martinez's organization Earth Guardians, and climatologist James Hansen as a "guardian for future generations". Some fossil fuel and industry groups initially intervened as defendants but later requested to be dropped following the 2016 presidential election, stating that the case would be well defended under the new administration. The plaintiffs assert that the government has knowingly violated their due process rights of life, liberty, and property as well as the government's sovereign duty to protect public grounds by encouraging and permitting the combustion of fossil fuels. They call for the government to offer “both declaratory and injunctive relief for their claim—specifically, a declaration of the federal government's fiduciary role in preserving the atmosphere and an injunction of its actions which contravene that role.” The case is an example of an area of environmental law referred to as "atmospheric trust litigation", a concept based on the public trust doctrine and international responsibility related to natural resources. In January 2020, a Ninth Circuit panel dismissed the case on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue for an injunction. On February 10, 2021, the en banc Ninth Circuit issued an order without written dissents denying the appeal. In July 2021, the plaintiffs moved for leave to amend their complaint. Ongoing settlement talks broke down in November 2021. In June 2023, the District Court granted the plaintiffs' motion for leave to amend the complaint. Case history Background Legal actions to affect climate change by federal and state-level governments have been attempted since the 1990s; one of the first known cases was led by Antonio Oposa, a Philippine lawyer that represented a class-action suit of 43 students against the Philippine government to protect a forest surrounding their village. Oposa had won the suit, which led to numerous other lawsuits around the world. As of July 2018, there were over 1,000 such lawsuits filed across 24 countries, with 888 of those within the United States. Such cases typically involve youth and children and other future generations, as they help to broaden the appeal of the action, and represent the class that would be most affected by government action or inaction.The Oregon non-profit organization, Our Children's Trust, was created by attorney Julia Olson to help formulate legal cases that could be taken against states and the federal government that would charge them with mitigating climate change under the public trust doctrine. Olson established the non-profit with advice and assistance from Mary Christina Wood, director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program at the University of Oregon, who had been studying the concept of the public trust doctrine and established the idea of "Atmospheric Trust Litigation" to take legal action to make governments responsible for actions related to climate change. Part of Our Children's Trust's inspiration was from Oposa's work in the Philippines. Since 2011, Our Children's Trust has been filing various state and federal lawsuits on behalf of youth, though most of these have been dismissed by courts, as courts generally have not ruled that access to a clean environment is a right that can be litigated against. Such cases are also generally dismissed as lawsuits cannot be initiated by "generalized grievances", and require plaintiffs with standing to sue and can demonstrate concrete harm that the government has done, and that the courts can at least partially redress the harm by order of the court. Further, cases cannot be brought to court if they deal with a "political question" which can only be resolved by actions of Congress and the President.A few related cases on climate change have made it to the Supreme Court. The first, which opened the way for the others, was Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, 549 U.S. 497 (2007). In that suit, twelve states sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases and sought relief. The Court agreed with the states by a 5–4 vote on each of three issues: that the states had standing to sue the EPA for not issuing regulations, that greenhouse gases were air pollutants, and that the EPA was authorized to regulate them. The majority opinion stated that, while any regulation made by the EPA would be unlikely to stop global warming, the agency should be required to regulate such emissions to reduce the extent of global warming. Further, Massachusetts v. EPA modified standing precedent by ruling that only one plaintiff had to demonstrate a particularized harm. Subsequent cases were less successful. For example, an attempt to sue public utilities for greenhouse gas emissions under a "public nuisance" theory invoking the federal common law of nuisance was unanimously rejected by the Court in 2011 in American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, 564 U.S. 410 (2011), reversing a lower court decision in a case that also found an evenly divided court with regard to standing (as Justice Sotomayor did not participate). Also, a challenge to the EPA's subsequent regulations on greenhouse gases was upheld in part and denied in part in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, 573 U.S. ___ (2014), a ruling which rejected the EPA's expansive reading of its powers by a 5–4 vote but permitted EPA to implement greenhouse gas regulation on existing monitored power plants by a 7–2 vote. Initial hearings The present case was filed in August 2015 with the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, and was assigned to judge Ann Aiken, who was then the chief judge of the court. The 21 youths, ranging from 8 to 19 at the time of filing, received pro bono representation from Our Children's Trust, and had support of climatologist James Hansen, acting as a "guardian for future generations" in the case filings. (Hansen's granddaughter Sophie Kivlehan was one of the named plaintiffs.) The youths were selected by Our Children's Trust as they all were able to demonstrate immediate "concrete injury" due to climate change, such as having their homes wiped out by excessive flooding, rising sea levels, and desertification which were tied to climate change.The case was filed against President Barack Obama and several agencies within the executive branch, and sought confirmation that their constitutional and public trust rights had been violated by the government's actions, and sought an order to enjoin the defendants from continued violation of their rights and to develop a plan to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions. Among their arguments, the youths' attorneys asserted that the lack of governmental action on climate change discriminated against the youths' generation, since they would be most impacted by climate change but have no voting rights to influence that.Three fossil fuel industry groups, the American Petroleum Institute, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, and the National Association of Manufacturers, initially intervened in the case as defendants, joining the U.S. government in trying to have the case dismissed. Pre-trial hearings were held in March 2016 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin. The U.S. Department of Justice argued that there was "no constitutional right to a pollution-free environment", and that the court system was not the proper venue to effect such changes. Coffin ruled in April 2016 recommending that both motions to dismiss were denied; Coffin found that while the case was "unprecedented", it had sufficient merit to continue. Coffin's decision was upheld by Judge Aiken, who ruled in November 2016 that the right to "a climate system capable of sustaining human life" was a fundamental right similar to gay marriage as decided by the recent Supreme Court case, Obergefell v Hodges. According to Michael Gerrard, the director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, "this decision goes further than any other court ever has in declaring a fundamental obligation of government to prevent dangerous climate change", and Judge Aiken's decision that there might be a constitutional right to a sound environment was the first such ruling ever from a federal court. Preliminary trial dates were set for 2017.Following the 2016 election, the federal defendants filed a response to the plaintiff's complaint on January 13, 2017, one week before President Obama left office. In their response, the federal defendants denied that they had caused climate change or specific climate change impacts such as increased temperatures, drought conditions, warmer water temperatures, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification. About a month later, the complaint was amended to make the lead defendant newly elected President Donald Trump. In the months that followed, the fossil fuel industry groups requested that they be removed from the case, believing that the Department of Justice under the Trump Administration would vigorously defend the case, unlike the Obama Administration. The National Association of Manufacturers, one of the fossil fuel groups, said that "as the dynamics have changed over the last several months, we no longer feel that our participation in this case is needed to safeguard industry and our workers". In late June 2017, Judge Coffin released the fossil fuel industry defendants from the case, as well as establishing a trial date on February 5, 2018, before Judge Aiken. Government objections In early June 2017, the Department of Justice filed a motion requesting that Judge Aiken rule on its prior motion for an interlocutory appeal to the Ninth Circuit of Judge Aiken's November 2016 decision on the justiciability of the plaintiffs' claims, by June 9 or the department would directly seek a writ of mandamus regarding the issue in the Ninth Circuit. Judge Aiken denied the motion requesting the interlocutory appeal on June 8, leading the government to petition the Ninth Circuit for a writ of mandamus on June 11. The government's petition argued that the Ninth Circuit needed to act to correct "multiple and clear errors of law in refusing to dismiss an action that seeks wholesale changes in federal government policy based on utterly unprecedented legal theories". The government also argued that the pre-trial discovery phase would cause the government harm due to the volume of data and evidence they would need to provide.After receiving responses from the plaintiffs, the Ninth Circuit opted in November 2017 to hear oral arguments before making their decision. These arguments were held on December 11, 2017, in front of Judges Sidney Thomas, Alex Kozinski, and Marsha Berzon. A few days later, Judge Kozinski stepped down from the Ninth Circuit. On December 21, 2017, Judge Michelle Friedland was appointed to replace Kozinski. Due to the Ninth Circuit's hearing, the planned trial date at District Court was put on hold. On March 7, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the requested writ of mandamus in a decision by Judge Thomas. The District Court trial was then rescheduled to start October 29, 2018.The government then petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States requesting a stay to delay the trial. On July 30, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a brief order, denying the government's request for a stay as premature but expressing skepticism about the lawsuit, as well as noting that the breadth of the plaintiffs' claims was "striking" and requesting that the District Court issue a prompt ruling on the government's motions challenging the overall justiciability of those claims.Following the Supreme Court's order, the government again presented two motions to dismiss the case to Judge Aiken in July 2018. One motion stated that the case, in addressing multiple government agencies, violated the Administrative Procedure Act, while the other motion challenged the youths' standing in the case. While Judge Aiken said she would rule promptly on the motions, she had not issued her decision by October 5, causing the government again to request an emergency stay from the Ninth Circuit via a second writ of mandamus, asking them to delay the case until Aiken ruled on the two motions. On October 15, Judge Aiken ruled on the two motions, denying both. Aiken also removed President Trump as a defendant in the case without prejudice, meaning that he could be re-added to the case at a later stage, and reaffirmed the trial start date of October 29.In response, on October 18, 2018, the U.S. government submitted an emergency motion to the Supreme Court, again requesting to stay the trial. The government claimed that, "Absent relief from this court, the government imminently will be forced to participate in a 50-day trial that would violate bedrock requirements for agency decision making and judicial review imposed by the [Administrative Procedure Act] and the separation of powers." Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court granted the stay the next day, pending receipt of a response to the government's brief from the plaintiffs. An environmental law professor at UCLA opined, with regard to this stay, "It's certainly a signal that the court is uncomfortable with the underlying legal theory of the Juliana case." On October 24, 2018, Judge Aiken filed an order vacating the trial start date of October 29 and placing a hold on the rest of the trial schedule.On November 2, the Supreme Court (by a 7–2 vote) denied the government's request for a writ of mandamus and vacated the stay, holding that the government could still be granted pretrial relief from the Ninth Circuit. In its order, the court noted that, even though the Ninth Circuit had already denied the government's request for relief twice, the reasons supporting its denials on the prior occasions "are, to a large extent, no longer pertinent". The order was issued without prejudice, leaving open the possibility that the case could return to the Supreme Court again prior to trial, depending upon the actions taken by the Ninth Circuit. Interlocutory appeal On November 8, 2018, consistent with the Supreme Court's order of November 2, 2018, the Ninth Circuit granted an indefinite stay on the trial pending its ruling on the government's request for a writ of mandamus, as well as requesting briefs from both the plaintiffs and the trial court on the writ and requiring the trial court to rule on the government's renewed motion for an interlocutory appeal. On November 21, 2018, Judge Aiken reversed her position and granted the government's request for an interlocutory appeal, putting the entire case on hold until the higher courts have ruled on this appeal.U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken issued an order certifying the case for interlocutory appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and staying the case pending this decision. Judge Aiken declared that she did not “make this decision lightly,” emphasizing that, while she stood by her prior rulings recommending that the case should go to trial, she believed the case was better suited for appeal after trial, not before. Experts in the fields of constitutional law, climate change, and public health, and several leading women's, children's, environmental, and human rights organizations filing ten amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the plaintiffs, urging the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to grant the en banc petition. On permission granted, the government filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit on November 30, 2018, for interlocutory review of the order on motions to dismiss and the order on motions for judgment on the pleadings and summary judgment. An answer was filed with the Court by the plaintiffs on December 10, 2018.On December 26, 2018, the Ninth Circuit denied the requested writ of mandamus as moot but granted the interlocutory appeal by a 2–1 vote. Subsequently, as requested by plaintiffs, the Ninth Circuit set an expedited schedule for the appeal, requiring the government's opening appeal brief by February 1, 2019, the plaintiff's response brief by February 22, 2019, and all briefing to be completed by March 8, 2019. The government's appeal brief again challenged the unique constitutional and statutory rulings on standing, fundamental rights, and the public trust doctrine made by the district court. On February 7, 2019, the plaintiffs filed an "extraordinary motion" asking the Ninth Circuit to issue a preliminary injunction by March 19, 2019, blocking the federal government from approving any fossil fuel production activities either on federal land or needing federal approval, such as coal mining on federal land, oil or natural gas drilling offshore, or pipelines that need federal approval. In opposition, the federal government noted that the case was filed over 3.5 years before the plaintiff's initial request for an emergency injunction. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs argued in part that the appeal was improvidently granted and that the case should be returned to Judge Aiken. The Ninth Circuit scheduled oral argument on the appeal for the week of June 3, 2019 in Portland, and the appeal was ultimately heard on June 4 in front of a different three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit consisting of Mary H. Murguia, Andrew D. Hurwitz, and Josephine Staton (sitting by designation), all of whom were appointed to the bench by President Obama.Some legal experts believed that the interlocutory appeal "could (and, indeed, likely will) bring this litigation to an end" due to the Supreme Court's already-expressed skepticism. Other experts, such as the director of Columbia University's climate change center, noted that any decision in favor of the plaintiffs likely would be reversed by the Supreme Court, which has been reluctant to declare new rights and which unanimously held in American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut that it was not for the courts to decide appropriate levels of pollution.On January 17, 2020, on a 2–1 vote, the Ninth Circuit panel dismissed the case for lack of Article III standing. Writing for the majority, Judge Hurwitz wrote that "it is beyond the power of an Article III court to order, design, supervise, or implement the plaintiffs' requested remedial plan. As the opinions of their experts make plain, any effective plan would necessarily require a host of complex policy decisions entrusted, for better or worse, to the wisdom and discretion of the executive and legislative branches." In dissent, Judge Staton characterized the majority as shirking its judicial responsibility to rectify a grave constitutional wrong in the manner the U.S. Supreme Court laudably did in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, stating, "My colleagues throw up their hands, concluding that this case presents nothing fit for the Judiciary." She further argued, "No case can singlehandedly prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change predicted by the government and scientists. But a federal court need not manage all of the delicate foreign relations and regulatory minutiae implicated by climate change to offer real relief, and the mere fact that this suit cannot alone halt climate change does not mean that it presents no claim suitable for judicial resolution."Lawyers for the plaintiffs stated their intent to appeal this dismissal to the full Ninth Circuit sitting en banc, and subsequently filed such a petition. On February 10, 2021, the en banc Ninth Circuit issued an order without written dissents denying this appeal, although the plaintiffs discussed filing a further appeal to the Supreme Court. During the gap before that possible appeal, and despite the Ninth Circuit's order to dismiss the case, Judge Aiken ordered the parties to meet with Magistrate Judge Coffin to discuss a possible settlement, which the government agreed to do. Amended complaint In July 2021, the plaintiffs moved for leave to amend their complaint. Ongoing settlement talks broke down in November 2021. On June 1, 2023, Judge Aiken granted the plaintiffs' motion for leave to amend the complaint, clearing the way for the case to go to trial. The plaintiffs had previously sought injunctive relief pushing for a change in federal policy. The amended complaint seeks a declaratory judgment that the nation's fossil-fuel-based energy system is unconstitutional. Involved parties Plaintiffs The plaintiffs in the case are: Kelsey Cascadia Rose Juliana Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (through his guardian when he was a minor) Jacob Lebel Zealand Bell (through his guardian) Avery McRae (through her guardian) Sahara Valentine (through her guardian) Tia Hatton Isaac Vergun (through his guardian) Miko Vergun (through her guardian) Hazel Van Ummersen (through her guardian) Jamie Lynn Butler (through her guardian) Journey Zephier (through his guardian) Vic Barrett Nathan Baring Aji Piper (through his guardian) Levi Draheim (through his guardian) Jayden Foytlin (through her guardian) Nic Venner (through their guardian) Kiran Oommen Alex Loznak Sophie Kivlehan The organization Earth Guardians Future generations, represented by James Hansen Defendants The United States of America Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Chair of the Office of Science and Technology Policy United States Department of Energy Rick Perry, United States Secretary of Energy United States Department of the Interior Ryan Zinke, United States Secretary of the Interior United States Department of Transportation Elaine Chao, United States Secretary of Transportation United States Department of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, United States Secretary of Agriculture United States Department of Commerce Wilbur Ross, United States Secretary of Commerce United States Department of Defense Jim Mattis, United States Secretary of Defense United States Department of State Mike Pompeo, United States Secretary of State United States Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Influence The Juliana lawsuit has been the focus of two segments on the American television news program 60 Minutes. The case's plaintiffs were featured on the show on March 3, 2019, and an update that included a broad overview of the case aired on June 23, 2019.In a case modeled on Juliana, the Philadelphia-based Clean Air Council filed a lawsuit in 2017 on behalf of two minors as the plaintiffs against the federal government's efforts to roll back the Clean Power Plan in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The case was assigned to Judge Paul S. Diamond, who dismissed it for the plaintiffs' lack of standing on February 19, 2019. In so holding, Judge Diamond noted that Judge Aiken's rulings in the Juliana case "certainly contravened or ignored longstanding authority", and stated that the requested rulings would "make the Executive a subsidiary of the Judiciary".Similarly, a 2012 lawsuit brought by six Alaskan youths against the state of Alaska that took the public trust doctrine approach (that the state has an affirmative duty to protect public trust assets from harm) was rejected by the Alaska Supreme Court in 2014 on the grounds that this issue was too general and one for the political branches to decide, not the judiciary. In a revised attempt, a 2017 lawsuit (Sinnok v. Alaska) involving 16 Alaskan youths (and coordinated by the same group, Our Children's Trust) was filed against the state of Alaska seeking to declare unconstitutional Alaskan laws promoting fossil fuel development. This lawsuit was also dismissed in 2018 by a trial judge, who wrote, "[The youths'] general claims allege that the state has permitted oil and gas drilling, coal mining, and fossil fuel use, but [the youths] do not allege how this is evidence of the state breaching any legal duty." This dismissal has been appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court.On September 23, 2019, Greta Thunberg, who had inspired the school strikes for climate movement, and 15 other children filed a legal complaint under the optional "Human Rights" protocol to the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child against the five signatory nations with the most carbon emissions: Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey (who combined account for just over 6.1% of global emissions). The complaint argues that these children's rights and those of future children are being violated by the countries' unregulated emissions and would force these countries to enter into agreements with other nations to set binding emission limits (although the countries could instead withdraw from the protocol). Thunberg has previously joined the plaintiffs in Juliana in various speaking appearances before lawmakers in the United States and elsewhere.Nationwide gatherings in solidarity with the case took place in 2018, originally intending to coincide with the start of the trial.In October 2019, a group of 15 youths filed a lawsuit against the government of Canada, claiming that the government's lack of climate change action was a violation of their rights to life, liberty and equality. The lawsuit was dismissed in November 2020.The lawsuit was the subject of a documentary, entitled Youth v Gov, that started streaming on Netflix in April 2022.A court case in the mold of Juliana and also brought by Our Children's Trust, Held v. Montana alleges harm under Montana's state constitution. Held went to trial in Montana state court on June 12, 2023, becoming first constitutional climate lawsuit in United States history to reach trial. On August 14, 2023 Judge Kathy Seeley of Montana's Lewis and Clark County District Court ruled that the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) that prohibited the state from considering greenhouse gas emissionss was a violation of the "Plaintiffs' right to a clean and healthful environment and is facially unconstitutional". The Office of the Attorney General of Montana will appeal the decision. See also Climate justice Climate change litigation Held v. Montana Regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act References External links District Court docket

global climate action partnership

The Global Climate Action Partnership (GCAP), formerly the Low Emissions Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP), aims to advance climate-resilient low emission development and support transitions to a low-carbon economy through coordination, information exchange and cooperation among countries and programs working to advance low-emission economic growth. The partnership was launched in 2011 and brings together more than 160 governmental and international institutions. The implementation, knowledge management, and outreach of LEDS GP is coordinated by a co-secretariat of the Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).LEDS GP delivers support through its three regional platforms, the Africa LEDS Partnership (AfLP), the Latin America and the Caribbean Partnership (LEDS LAC) and Asia Partnership (ALP). It aims to: Strengthen support for low-emission climate-resilient development in all regions, Mobilize capacity and advance peer-to-peer learning and collaboration on low emission climate-resilient development across countries, international institutions and practitioners, and Improve and support coordination of low-emission climate-resilient development LEDS activities at the country, regional and global level. Working groups LEDS GP delivers support through six technical working groups on the following topics. Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU) Benefits Assessment of LEDS Energy Finance Subnational Integration of LEDS Transport Technical assistance Through its Remote Expert Assistance on LEDS (REAL) service, the LEDS GP provides virtual technical assistance to developing country government agencies or initiatives—as well as their consultants, technical institutions, and non-government organizations—working on LEDS plans and implementation. Fellowship program In May 2016, LEDS GP announced the launch of its Fellowship Program, which aims to embed individuals or teams of practitioners in leading institutions to learn practical lessons that they can apply to low emission development strategies (LEDS) and/or Intended Nationally Determined Contributions in their home countries. References External links Official website .

climate-alliance germany

Climate-Alliance Germany (German: Klima-Allianz Deutschland) is a network of about 150 civil society organizations, including environment groups, development groups, churches, organisations from the fields of youth, education, culture, social welfare and health, as well as trade unions, and consumer associations. Founded in 2007, the aim of the Alliance is to provide a common front to apply pressure to German decision-makers to adopt socially just climate action measures. Prominent members include WWF, BUND (or Friends of the Earth Germany), and the trade union ver.di. A key issue for the Alliance is the prevention of new coal-fired power plants (the Anti-Coal Campaign). The Alliance wants the German government to phase-out coal (Kohleausstieg) and promote renewable energy. Activities Coordination of Climate Protection Plan 2050 and Programme of Measures 2030 Coordinated by Climate Alliance Germany, more than 50 organisations published the "Climate Protection Plan 2050 of German Civil Society" in November 2016 as a result of a broad participation process. In it, they call for more ambitious climate protection targets and legal binding force. As a national response to the Paris Climate Agreement, the German government had previously published its Climate Protection Plan 2050, which was criticised by Climate Alliance Germany as insufficient. Climate Alliance Germany then coordinated the "Climate Protection 2030 Action Programme of German Civil Society". More than sixty organisations from across the spectrum of civil society describe in the extensive demands paper the measures they see as necessary in all fields of climate policy in order for Germany to achieve its climate target of 2030. The central demands are an early exit from coal, the rapid implementation of changes in the transport and agricultural sectors, and an ambitious price for CO2. Both projects were funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. Berlin Climate Talks Since November 2015, Climate Alliance Germany has hosted the Berlin Climate Talks on changing topics several times a year. The events take place in cooperation with its member organisations. The panel guests have already included several federal ministers, state secretaries and party leaders. The first event was dedicated to civil society proposals for a more climate-friendly air transport concept for Germany. Anti-Coal Campaign Climate Alliance Germany advocates an ambitious coal phase-out. The reduction of coal generation and coal mining is a key element in meeting German and international climate targets and achieving the necessary decarbonisation in terms of effective climate protection. For this reason, the Alliance demands that no new opencast mines be approved. Existing opencast mines in the Rhineland lignite mining area, in Lusatia and in Central Germany are not to be expanded but reduced in size. The structural change in the lignite regions must be actively shaped politically and financially secured, for example through a structural change fund. In cooperation with local and regional groups, Climate Alliance Germany is also committed to the preservation of villages and landscapes threatened by opencast mining. In order to achieve these goals, the Alliance has made the legal, economic and social aspects of the commercial use of coal a priority issue. In political talks, demand papers, expert reports and studies, Climate Alliance Germany points out the dangers of coal-fired power generation for the climate, environment and health. In addition, it creates public attention through media reports, events, actions and demonstrations. From 2008 to 2013, Climate Alliance Germany organized an anti-coal campaign to prevent new coal-fired power plants in Germany. The Alliance coordinated and supported civil society activities. As a result of the campaign in cooperation with citizens' initiatives, environmental associations and activists from various sectors of society, 17 climate-damaging coal-fired power plant projects were stopped during this period. Following a Greenpeace protest against lignite mining in the Lausitz in September 2013, a petition of 112,157 signatures in support was handed to the Lausitz authorities. Daniela Setton, an energy policy speaker from the Alliance, commented that it was the most successful collection of signatures against a new German opencast mine ever.In July 2014 the Alliance co-authored and co-published a report on the top 30 most polluting coal-fired power plants in Europe and called for their decommissioning.In July 2016, the Alliance, together with BUND, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation released a report on the aftermath of lignite mining in Germany. The report, co-authored by IASS Potsdam, argues that the financial resources needed to remedy the damage caused by lignite mining are not adequately backed up by the existing mining operators Vattenfall (who later sold its lignite-fired plants and mines to EPH), RWE, and MIBRAG. Climate Manifesto The Climate Manifesto is a manifesto initiated by Climate Alliance Germany in 2016 describing a vision of the climate movement. The text calls on politicians and society to work for a world that is oriented towards the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and the global goals for sustainable development. The member organisations of Climate Alliance Germany were involved in its creation. The manifesto identifies climate change and the high consumption of natural resources as global and urgent challenges that can only be met through joint efforts. It emphasises that the problems of a globalised world with extreme injustice and inequality can only be solved through global cooperation and solidarity. The industrialised countries, which have built up their prosperity on the basis of fossil fuels and have thus significantly caused climate change, have a special responsibility in this respect. The climate manifesto was presented in September 2016 at a festive event on the meadow in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin. Ahead of the Bundestag elections in the following year, leaders of the parties represented in the Bundestag were also invited. Networking and training In addition to activist activities, the Alliance mediates and maintains the substantive and tactical networks of its member organizations and with other civil society actors. In addition, Climate Alliance Germany offers its members opportunities for further development, for example through specific seminars. Global Climate Day of Action From 2007 to 2015, Climate Alliance Germany organised nationwide demonstrations for the annual Global Climate Day of Action. The goal was to protest at the lack of environmental awareness in politics and the economy and to encourage climate protection measures. Alliance spokesperson Katharina Reuter, in an interview with Deutschlandfunk in December 2011, criticized the exit by Canada from the Kyoto Protocol. Alternative Energy Summit The Alliance organized an Alternative Energy Summit annually from 2010 to 2015 where energy and climate policy issues were discussed. In an April 2016 media report about the future of RWE, an Alliance expert stated that the power company had become completely unprofitable after failing to adapt to the German Energiewende. Organization Fundamental political decisions are made in a plenum that meets at least twice a year. The secretariat is responsible for implementing the resolutions in coordination with a "speakers' council" made up of up to ten representatives from member organizations, who are elected in a plenary session. The "speakers' council" makes decisions between the plena and determines the annual plan.Climate Alliance Germany has been a non-profit, registered association since 2022. Previously, from 2014 to 2021, its legal entity was the Forum Ecological-Social Market Economy. The budget (2022: around 956,000 euros) is covered by income from project funds and membership fees. Since January 2023, Climate Alliance Germany receives institutional funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. Projects are currently (2023) funded the Mercator Foundation, the Allianz Foundation and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. About 15 per cent of the budget is achieved through membership fees, plus donations of a small amount. Past projects have also been funded by the European Climate Foundation, the Children's Investment Fund, the DBU, the Federal Project Management Jülich and other foundations. See also Climate Action Network – an umbrella group for environmental NGOs active on climate change List of environmental organizations § Germany The Climate Reality Project – a non-profit organization involved in climate change education and advocacy VENRO (Association of German Development and Humanitarian Aid NGOs) References External links Climate-Alliance Germany website

agriculture in the gambia

Agriculture makes up a significant proportion of the Gambia's economy, comprising 25% of its GDP. About 75% of workers in the Gambia are employed within the agricultural industry. The main cash crops produced in the country are groundnuts (also known as peanuts), millet, sorghum, mangoes, corn, sesame, palm kernel, and cashews. The main staple crop produced is rice.Though agriculture is a major part of the Gambia’s economy, food insecurity is still an issue for the population. Crop outputs only supply about 50% of the population’s food needs due to low crop yields. The population heavily relies on rice, needing 398,364 metric tons each year. The Gambia only produces about 22,706 metric tons of rice each year. As a result, it needs to import around 80-90% of its rice each year. Although around 45% of land in the Gambia is used for groundnut farming, a majority of groundnuts produced are exported, further contributing to food insecurity.Climate change is also impacting agriculture in the Gambia. Crop yields are impacted by rising temperatures and seasonal drought. Salt water is mixing with freshwater in the River Gambia due to rising sea levels, causing salt erosion in rice crop fields. Land development is also not abundant. Some experts have proposed addressing these issues with crop yields by developing strong irrigation systems, which they note could be supplied through rainwater, the River Gambia, and underground water. Major agricultural products Cash crops The Gambia’s economy primarily relies on the export of groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, and millet. The Gambia also produces mangoes, corn, sesame, palm kernel, and cashews. Nevertheless, the groundnut trade has historically been prioritized by the Gambian government over time, having many implications for the country’s economic growth, development, and stability. Groundnut In the country’s economy, the main export or cash crop is the groundnut (also known as the peanut). In 2002, the crop made up 6% of The Gambia’s GDP. Around 60% of the groundnut production is exported while the remaining 30% is domestically consumed. The country has used about 45% of its land to grow the crop. Although the Portuguese initially brought groundnuts to The Gambia in the 1700s, its trade was started by the British in 1820 with increasing demand for groundnuts in North America and Europe, notably in Britain and France, being used to make such products as industrial oil, candles, and soap.The groundnut trade expanded in the late 1870s as a large portion of its new primary commodities trade which was a result of the transatlantic slave trade’s collapse. Groundnuts turned into the only agricultural asset to the Gambian economy by 1904, the lack of diversity in the sector concerning the government. When the groundnut sub-sector was reformed in the midst of labor shortages, the country employed foreign farmers from neighboring countries to increase groundnut exports. These foreign farmers were recruited during the time when it was raining. There were 32,220 foreign farmers in 1915, making up an average of ⅓ contributions to groundnut exports per year. This led to population growth, the 1924 establishment of the Department of Agriculture, and the groundnut trade’s expansion as the number of local farmers grew and foreign farmers established themselves in The Gambia. The long term result of prioritizing groundnut exports was that The Gambia was producing more for export and less for domestic consumption because of increasing demand for the groundnut and because of incentives from the British colonial power. The prioritizing of producing more for international trade and less to support domestic demand continued after independence. Even before independence in 1965, two methods were employed to make for more fertile land to increase the production of groundnut exports. The fallow system was one in which a given piece of land was not grown on for 15 to 30 years. The second system was where farmers also interchanged or grew different crops in one piece of land. Both of them were dependent on enough arable land being available. As the population gradually increased, the duration of uncultivated land decreased which made for more land being grown on per year with more labor. Growing on more land gave farmers hardly anything in return which led to a decrease in groundnut yields as well as in farm incomes used to buy food. In response, in 1940, the Gambian government subsidized food imports and mechanized agricultural work usually done with human labor. The above did not address food insecurity and the food import subsidy was costly for the government. The government did not have an option but to start importing rice at which point it became the most important crop for ordinary Gambians’ diet. Rice Fast-paced urbanization coupled with increased demand for rice has been a common trend within many African countries, including in The Gambia. For many African families and workers that have lifestyles outside of the agricultural sector, it is more time efficient to prepare milled rice than other locally grown cereals for food. Thus, in The Gambia, rice is the single most critical food source, more for the urban than rural population. As of the country’s independence in 1965, about 15% of the population lived in cities. This number has grown to 57% in 2009, further heightening the country’s reliance on rice. Rice is also highly relied on for food in urban centers because a lot of governments on the continent subsidize rice to keep the urban population satisfied while feeding them. Initially, during the colonial period and by independence, native Asian rice surpassed the African variety in domestic production. During this period, locally-grown rice was abundant in The Gambia. Groundnut production increased due to foreign farmers coming to the country to work, further pushing The Gambia into the global economy. The above eventually made the production of groundnuts for export surpass that of rice within The Gambia. Rice’s domestic production further decreased as seasonal droughts started to impact rice crop yields. Economic reforms passed in the 1980s that exchanged producer-protection subsidies with more market-based solutions and cheap imports also reduced local rice production. At the same time, rice farmers, most of them being women, could not keep up with increasing urban demand for rice as seasonal famine increased in severity. The Gambia ultimately started to heavily rely on rice imports because it did not prioritize rice production. Currently, imports make up around 80-90% of rice consumed per year. Food insecurity The Gambia deals with high levels of food insecurity. About two thirds of The Gambian population lives in inland rural areas where they produce just enough rice for themselves, but not enough for the rest of the population that lives along the western urban coast. Because the country does not produce enough rice to meet domestic food needs, it imports about 80-90% of its rice, most of the rice coming from Southeast Asia. A significant amount of this imported rice is diverted away from food security efforts toward re-exportation to neighboring Senegal and Guinea. This decline in domestically grown rice for the population’s consumption began in the mid-1980s. From 1983-1989, rice imports increased from 16,200 to 52,800 tons while local production decreased from 33,700 to 29,500 tons and the presence of domestic rice in the national market decreased from 50% to 15%. Since 2000, domestic share has stayed at about 20,000 tons of paddy.Locally grown millet as an alternative cereal to imported rice is growing in prevalence. Some argue that increased millet production might help reduce food insecurity in The Gambia and that millet is also a healthier option because it is not refined in the same way as rice. There was a millet production growth rate of 7% from 1992 to 2007, but one largely due to an increase in the amount of land used to produce millet instead of an increase in yield. Thus, some find it unclear how soon or successfully millet production will increase to the level needed to greatly impact food security. Government First Republic reforms The First Republic started in 1965 when The Gambia gained independence from Britain. The government was run by President Dawda Jawara and lasted until 1994, when a coup overthrew Jawara. During Jawara’s term, the government started developing the agricultural sector by taking such steps as increasing extension programs. For example, The Gambia Central Co-operative Banking and Marketing Union was turned into an independent agency, and began buying farmer crops in cash and providing farmer credit in exchange for better production. The government also decided to excuse all loan repayments issued in 1979 and 1980 in an effort to support agricultural sector development.In the midst of food security and government budget crises in the 1970s, the government instituted an Economic Recovery Program in 1985 that focused on market-based approaches to supporting agriculture. Institutions such as The Gambia Commercial and Development Bank were privatized. In 1993, The Gambia Produce Marketing Board was privatized into the Gambia Groundnut Corporation. These changes eliminated credit and government-funded subsidies while reducing spending on agricultural extension programs. This was done to incentivize innovation and competition in the agricultural industry, and promote self-sufficiency by making producer prices more predictable. Second Republic reforms In 1994, a coup displaced Jawara from power and put Yahya Jammeh in charge. This lasted until 1996, when the Second Republic officially began. Jammeh remained the president of The Gambia until 2017 when Adama Barrow took over.The Vision 2020, initially proposed in 1996 and officially passed in 2006, was an agricultural policy plan initiated under Jammeh. It focused on increasing production for domestic consumption and foreign export as well as expanding the range of crops produced in The Gambia. The plan emphasized the importance of developing more sustainable irrigation practices and increasing mechanization technology. The plan was also meant to help create more jobs and reduce income inequality between rural and urban areas. Finally, the plan aimed to use agriculture to develop other industries such as tourism.Within the Vision 2020 plan, Jammeh especially focused on the mechanization of farming practices as his main goal for revitalizing the agricultural sector. He hoped that by increasing mechanization he could increase cereal, rice, and groundnut production, and ultimately reduce food insecurity. To help increase mechanization, The Gambia brought 20 four wheeler tractors in 1996. By 2001, more than 70 tractors were circulating in the country and currently, more than 500 tractors are circulating.While cultivated land and crop yields have somewhat increased, mechanization was not quite achieved. Many farmers still choose to use animals instead of the tractors, claiming that the tractors are poorly designed for the soil and cause erosion. Recent policies and plans The Gambia still deals with food security as the price of rice has continued to rise. The National Development Plan, initiated in 2018 as a follow-up to the government’s The Vision 2020 plan, is being introduced as the government’s solution to these issues.The effectiveness of the market-based approach to agricultural policies introduced by Jawara and continued under Jammeh is contested. Some experts claim that this shift toward privatization worsened the structural impediments to agricultural growth, such as the expensive transportation of crops. Others contend that the market-based approach will be effective in the long run.The National Development Plan intends to keep the market-based approach as the framework for agricultural development, by supporting agribusiness and modernizing farming technologies. It also includes plans for implementing more sustainable farming practices including water collection and land development. Important to the plan is support for the diversification of crop production and a stop to the reliance on groundnuts as the main cash crop and rice as the main staple crop. Finally, the government plans on developing the fishing industry as a way to address food insecurity, generate jobs, and relieve some of the pressure to cultivate high crop yields. Foreign involvement Aid programs The Gambia is provided with a significant amount of foreign aid. According to the World Bank, Official Development Assistance (ODA) provides just under 200 million USD to The Gambia each year. In addition to ODA, many international organizations, NGOs, and other charitable organizations and individuals provide assistance to The Gambia. In 2018, total foreign aid from international benefactors reached as high as $1.7 billion, as that was the year The Gambia initiated the National Development Plan.Several foreign aid programs are dedicated to specifically developing agriculture within The Gambia. The Gambia Inclusive and Resilient Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (GIRAV) began in 2021. GIRAV will provide $40 million to The Gambia via the International Development Association, housed within The World Bank. GIRAV’s main objective is to use grant matching to support agri-business and sustainable farming practices. It will also prioritize women, who will receive at least half of the funds provided through the project.The Resilience of Organizations for Transformative Smallholder Agriculture was also started in 2021 and pledges just over 80 million USD toward developing agriculture to help with food insecurity and health. It is funded by the International Fund for Agriculture Development and the French Development Agency.The Food and Agriculture Sector Development Project (FASDEP) is organized by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program in collaboration with The Gambian government. FASDEP’s main focus is on small-scale farms which often lack the technology needed to successfully develop land and prevent negative impacts from climate change. This program has focused on assistance for women, who tend to work on the small farms aided by FASDEP. Taiwan/China rice irrigation project The Gambia developed diplomatic relations with Taiwan starting in the mid-1960s. The relationship was bilateral, with The Gambia wanting to support Taiwan’s independence and Taiwan trying to help The Gambia improve its rice production. Taiwan attempted to mechanize rice production in The Gambia through technical missions between 1966 and 1974. The goal was for rice production in The Gambia to be year-round instead of seasonal, resulting in two harvests per year instead of one. One harvest was to serve for local consumption while the other was to serve as a cash crop that would help farmers increase their incomes. There were about 20,000 hectares of rice grown and 1,200 hectares of rice irrigation scheme constructed by Taiwan in 1966 that ran on pumps dependent on diesel. During the project’s initial year, farmers received free seeds, fertilizers, and fuel to encourage them to sustain themselves by the next few years. These inputs were then offered at low cost. Domestically, between 1966 and 1971, there was an increase in rice cultivation from 20,400 tons to 32,000 tons. Production then decreased throughout the 1970s when China replaced Taiwan as the project’s foreign manager from 1974 until 1979. Under Taiwan, the project had some technical issues, but experts note that under China's leadership, not even half of the project’s land Taiwan established was used. Additionally, farmers had to pay high amounts of credit since the project took place during declining groundnut production and the Sahelian droughts that started in 1970 and lasted until 1977. Furthermore, a majority of rice growers in The Gambia are women and the new year-round harvesting schedule forced women to work more while not receiving profit off the extra effort. Lastly, there was no priority in oversight and funding for the construction of a mill to increase the rice paddy production. Rice irrigation projects completely ended in the mid-1980s. No current relationship between The Gambia and Taiwan or China exists as The Gambia has shifted focus towards reforming its domestic market and importing its rice from Southeast Asia. Employment 75% of laborers in The Gambia work in agriculture. About 70% of those employed in agriculture are women, who tend to do more manual field work. In contrast, men more often serve as agricultural land managers or owners. Rice cultivation primarily employs women, who have served as the main rice farmers since the pre-colonial era. While women manage the staple crops, men are more involved in cash crop, especially groundnut, production.Experts assert that migration, both from rural to urban areas within The Gambia and out of The Gambia altogether, has positive and negative effects on employment. Money sent back to families and communities from those who have migrated helps finance experiences and resources that stimulate employment. For example, this extra money can be spent toward education, training, and better farming resources and technology. Experts argue that there are negative impacts as well, such as a reduction in available labor. Land ownership The Gambian Constitution includes several anti-discrimination protections. Article 17[2] states that all people regardless of identity (such as race, gender, religion, etc.) will be provided certain fundamental human rights. Article 22[1] guarantees that property will not be taken away from someone unless it is done to promote the public good. Section 28[2] guarantees that men and women will be treated equally and be given equal access to participation in society.Section 33[5] holds that anti-discrimination stipulations in the Constitution do not apply to personal law situations such as marriage and divorce, burial practices, and property transfer. Because 95% of The Gambia’s population follows Shari’a law, many experts contend that Section 33[5] allows unequal access to land ownership for women. Under Shari’a law, women must borrow land from their husbands. If they are unwed or divorced, they must work on their family’s land. Women are also restricted from harvesting certain crops. For example, in The Gambia, trees belong to those who plant them, so women are often not allowed to plant trees because land owners do not want women to have permanent claim to the land.Experts, including those from the International Fund for Agricultural Development, agree that complex structural barriers to women gaining land ownership also exist. Some argue that the process of registering through title deeds and certifications is not always possible or even fully understood by women or local officials. They also hold that taxes levied on land registration can also create a financial barrier to land ownership.A few policies have been passed to help mitigate land ownership inequality. The National Policy for the Advancement of Women was passed by the National Assembly in 1999 to help with a myriad of gender inequality issues, including land ownership. The Lowlands Agricultural Development Programme, lasting from 1997 to 2005, disbursed lowland property, originally owned by colonizers, to 22,000 women who helped develop the land. More recently, The Women’s Act was passed in 2010 to bring The Gambia into compliance with CEDAW. It reaffirmed the rights to land ownership guaranteed in the Constitution, including the right to inherit and manage land. Some experts say personal law still regulates much of the land inheritance and distribution in the Gambia, making it difficult for women to achieve land ownership equality. Environment Climate change effects The agriculture sector in The Gambia is impacted by rising temperatures, increasing sea levels, and droughts. There was a long and significant drought in the Sahel in 2012, and droughts have become increasingly common since. Because rice cultivation is largely sustained through rainwater, versus a manufactured irrigation system, rice crops are impacted by a lack of freshwater. This issue is compounded by seawater overflowing into rice fields, causing soil contamination and salt erosion. Because The Gambia is a coastal country, it will also need to deal with receding land along the coast. As more saltwater travels upstream within The River Gambia, the saltwater can also be destructive to fish populations, gradually curbing The Gambia’s plan to develop the fishing industry. Resilience efforts Some international organizations, coupled with The Gambian government, are helping fund efforts toward reversing climate change effects on land and agriculture. For example, The Large-scale Ecosystem-based Adaptation Project in The Gambia was started in 2018. It is funded primarily by the Green Climate Fund (20.5 million USD) with The Gambian government providing another 5 million USD. This project is dedicated to both the restoration of forests and agricultural land and the implementation of sustainable technologies and practices moving forward. Another project addressing climate change is Scaling up Climate Resilient Rice Production in West Africa initiated in 2021. The Ministry of Agriculture is being provided with 14 million USD to support climate resilience efforts among rice farmers. In addition to international monetary support toward land development and climate change mitigations, local Gambian farmers are taking steps to address the impacts of climate change. They have been working to implement contour bunds, lines of rock that allow farmers to help control irrigation, as well as gabions, buildup of rock and wire mesh that help reduce water runoff and subsequent salt erosion. Local farmers are also working to develop their livestock supplies as well as food reserves to deal with failing crops in the immediate term. == References ==

michael e. mann

Michael Evan Mann (born 1965) is an American climatologist and geophysicist. He is the director of the Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. Mann has contributed to the scientific understanding of historic climate change based on the temperature record of the past thousand years. He has pioneered techniques to find patterns in past climate change and to isolate climate signals from noisy data.As lead author of a paper produced in 1998 with co-authors Raymond S. Bradley and Malcolm K. Hughes, Mann used advanced statistical techniques to find regional variations in a hemispherical climate reconstruction covering the past 600 years. In 1999 the same team used these techniques to produce a reconstruction over the past 1,000 years (MBH99), which was dubbed the "hockey stick graph" because of its shape. He was one of eight lead authors of the "Observed Climate Variability and Change" chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Scientific Assessment Report published in 2001. A graph based on the MBH99 paper was highlighted in several parts of the report and was given wide publicity. The IPCC acknowledged that his work, along with that of the many other lead authors and review editors, contributed to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which was won jointly by the IPCC and Al Gore. Mann was organizing committee chair for the National Academy of Sciences Frontiers of Science in 2003 and has received a number of honors and awards including selection by Scientific American as one of the fifty leading visionaries in science and technology in 2002. In 2012 he was inducted as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and was awarded the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union. In 2013, he was elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and awarded the status of distinguished professor in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. In 2017, he was elected a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.Mann is author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications. He has also published four books: Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming (2008), The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars (2012), together with co-author Tom Toles, The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy (2016) with Megan Herbert, The Tantrum That Saved the World (2018), and The New Climate War (2021). In 2012, the European Geosciences Union described his publication record as "outstanding for a scientist of his relatively young age". Mann is a co-founder and contributor to the climatology blog RealClimate. Early life, undergraduate studies Mann was born in 1965, and brought up in Amherst, Massachusetts, where his father was a professor of mathematics at the University of Massachusetts. He is of Jewish ancestry. At school he was interested in math, science, and computing. In August 1984 he went to the University of California, Berkeley, to major in physics with a second major in applied math. His second-year research in the theoretical behaviour of liquid crystals used the Monte Carlo method applying randomness in computer simulations. Late in 1987, he joined a research team under Didier de Fontaine which was using similar Monte Carlo methodology to investigate the superconducting properties of yttrium barium copper oxide, modelling transitions between ordered and disordered phases. He graduated with honors in 1989 with an A.B. in applied mathematics and physics. Doctoral and postgraduate studies Mann then attended Yale University, intending to obtain a PhD in physics, and received both an MS and an MPhil in physics in 1991. His interest was in theoretical condensed matter physics but he found himself being pushed towards detailed semiconductor work. He looked at course options with a wider topic area and was enthused by PhD adviser Barry Saltzman about climate modelling and research. To try this out he spent the summer of 1991 assisting a postdoctoral researcher in simulating the period of peak Cretaceous warmth when carbon dioxide levels were high, but fossils indicated most warming at the poles, with little warming in the tropics. Mann then joined the Yale Department of Geology and Geophysics, obtaining an MPhil in geology and geophysics in 1993. His research focused on natural variability and climate oscillations. He worked with the seismologist Jeffrey Park, and their joint research adapted a statistical method developed for identifying seismological oscillations to find various periodicities in the instrumental temperature record, the longest being about 60 to 80 years. The paper Mann and Park published in December 1994 came to conclusions similar to those from a study developed in parallel using different methodology and published in January of that year, which found what was later called the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation.In 1994, Mann participated as a graduate student in the inaugural workshop of the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Geophysical Statistics Project aimed at encouraging active collaboration between statisticians, climatologists and atmospheric scientists. Leading statisticians participated, including Grace Wahba and Arthur P. Dempster.While still finishing his PhD research, Mann met UMass climate science professor Raymond S. Bradley and began research in collaboration with him and Park. Their research used paleoclimate proxy data from Bradley's previous work and methods Mann had developed with Park, to find oscillations in the longer proxy records. "Global Interdecadal and Century-Scale Climate Oscillations During the Past Five Centuries" was published by Nature in November 1995.Another study by Mann and Park raised a minor technical issue with a climate model about human influence on climate change: this was published in 1996. In the context of the controversy over the IPCC Second Assessment Report the paper was praised by those opposed to action on climate change, and the conservative organization Accuracy in Media claimed that it had not been publicized due to media bias. Mann defended his PhD thesis on A study of ocean-atmosphere interaction and low-frequency variability of the climate system in the spring of 1996, and was awarded the Phillip M. Orville Prize for outstanding dissertation in the earth sciences in the following year. He was granted his PhD in geology and geophysics in 1998. Postdoctoral research: the hockey stick graph From 1996 to 1998, after defending his PhD thesis at Yale, Mann carried out paleoclimatology research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst funded by a United States Department of Energy postdoctoral fellowship. He collaborated with Raymond S. Bradley and Bradley's colleague Malcolm K. Hughes, a Professor of Dendrochronology at the University of Arizona, with the aim of developing and applying an improved statistical approach to climate proxy reconstructions. He taught a course in Data Analysis and Climate Change in 1997 and became a research assistant professor the following year.The first truly quantitative reconstruction of Northern Hemisphere temperatures had been published in 1993 by Bradley and Phil Jones, but it and subsequent reconstructions compiled averages for decades, covering the whole hemisphere. Mann wanted temperatures of individual years showing differences between regions, to find spatial patterns showing natural oscillations and the effect of events such as volcanic eruptions. Sophisticated statistical methods had already been applied to dendroclimatology, but to get wider geographical coverage these tree ring records had to be related to sparser proxies such as ice cores, corals and lake sediments. To avoid giving too much weight to the more numerous tree data, Mann, Bradley and Hughes used the statistical procedure of principal component analysis to represent these larger datasets in terms of a small number of representative series and compare them to the sparser proxy records. The same procedure was also used to represent key information in the instrumental temperature record for comparison with the proxy series, enabling validation of the reconstruction. They chose the period 1902–1980 for calibration, leaving the previous 50 years of instrumental data for validation. This showed that the statistical reconstructions were only skillful (statistically meaningful) back to 1400.Their study highlighted interesting findings, such as confirming anecdotal evidence that there had been a strong El Niño in 1791, and finding that in 1816 the "Year Without a Summer" in Eurasia and much of North America had been offset by warmer than usual temperatures in Labrador and the Middle East. It was also an advance on earlier reconstructions in that it went back further, showed individual years, and showed uncertainty with error bars. "Global-scale temperature patterns and climate forcing over the past six centuries" (MBH98) was published on April 23, 1998, in the journal Nature. In it, "Spatially resolved global reconstructions of annual surface temperature patterns" were related to "changes in greenhouse-gas concentrations, solar irradiance, and volcanic aerosols" leading to the conclusion that "each of these factors has contributed to the climate variability of the past 400 years, with greenhouse gases emerging as the dominant forcing during the twentieth century. Northern Hemisphere mean annual temperatures for three of the past eight years are warmer than any other year since (at least) AD 1400. The last point received most media attention. Mann was surprised by the extent of coverage which may have been due to the chance release of the paper on Earth Day in an unusually warm year. In a CNN interview, John Roberts repeatedly asked him if it proved that humans were responsible for global warming, to which he would go no further than that it was "highly suggestive" of that inference.In May 1998, Jones, Briffa and colleagues published a reconstruction going back a thousand years, but not specifically estimating uncertainties. As Bradley recalls, Mann's initial reaction to the paper was "Look at this. This is rubbish. You can't do this. There isn't enough information. There's too much uncertainty." Bradley suggested using the MBH98 methodology to go further back. Within a few weeks, Mann responded that to his surprise, "There is a certain amount of skill. We can actually say something, although there are large uncertainties." Mann carried out a series of statistical sensitivity tests on 24 long term datasets, in which he statistically "censored" each proxy in turn to see the effect its removal had on the result. He found that a dataset which would otherwise have been reliable diverged from 1800 until around 1900, suggesting that it had been affected for that time by the CO2 "fertilisation effect". Using this dataset corrected in comparisons with other tree series, their reconstruction passed the validation tests for the extended period, but they were cautious about the increased uncertainties involved.The Mann, Bradley and Hughes reconstruction covering 1,000 years (MBH99) was published by Geophysical Research Letters in March 1999 with the cautious title Northern Hemisphere temperatures during the past millennium: inferences, uncertainties, and limitations. Mann said that "As you go back farther in time, the data becomes sketchier. One can't quite pin things down as well, but, our results do reveal that significant changes have occurred, and temperatures in the latter 20th century have been exceptionally warm compared to the preceding 900 years. Though substantial uncertainties exist in the estimates, these are nonetheless startling revelations." When Mann gave a talk about the study to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, climatologist Jerry D. Mahlman nicknamed the graph the "hockey stick". Career University positions In 1999, Mann secured a position as a tenure-track assistant professor in the department of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia. He left Virginia in 2005 to become an associate professor in the department of meteorology (with joint appointments in department of geosciences and Earth and Environmental Systems Institute) at Pennsylvania State University, where he was also appointed the director of its Earth System Science Center. He was promoted to full professor in 2009 and to "Distinguished Professor of Meteorology" in 2013. IPCC Third Assessment Report Before the publication of MBH98, Mann had been nominated to be an author on the IPCC Third Assessment Report. Late in 1998 he heard that he had been selected as a lead author for the "observations" chapter of the Working Group I report. He was to work with the numerous contributing authors in preparing an assessment of the state of knowledge of the paleoclimate record, starting by soliciting input from the leading experts in that field.Mann was one of eight lead authors of the "Observed Climate Variability and Change" chapter of the report, working under the two co-ordinating lead authors for the chapter. The report was published in 2001. Research Mann continued his interest in improving methodology to find patterns in high-resolution paleoclimate reconstructions: he was the lead author with Bradley and Hughes on a study of long term variability in the El Niño southern oscillations and related teleconnections, published in 2000. His areas of research have included climate signal detection, attribution of climate change and coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling, developing and assessing methods of statistical and time series analysis and comparing the results of modelling against data.The original MBH98 and MBH99 papers avoided undue representation of large numbers of tree ring proxies by using a principal component analysis step to summarise these proxy networks, but from 2001 Mann stopped using this method and introduced a multivariate Climate Field Reconstruction (CFR) technique using a regularized expectation–maximization (RegEM) method which did not require this PCA step. In May 2002 Mann and Scott Rutherford published a paper on testing methods of climate reconstruction which discussed this technique. By adding artificial noise to actual temperature records or to model simulations they produced synthetic datasets which they called "pseudo proxies". When the reconstruction procedure was used with these pseudoproxies, the result was then compared with the original record or simulation to see how closely it had been reconstructed.In August 2003 Mann with Phil Jones published reconstructions using various high-resolution proxies including tree rings, ice cores and sediments. This study indicated that that Northern Hemisphere late 20th century warmth had no precedent for roughly 2,000 years, dwarfing Medieval warmth, but proxy data was still too sparse to evaluate the Southern Hemisphere.More recently, Mann's areas of research have included hurricanes and climate change, and climate modelling. His work using comparisons with the results of climate models indicated that cooling from large volcanoes was not fully shown by tree ring reconstructions, and suggested that in extreme cases cooling caused by eruptions could result in trees showing no growth, and hence no tree ring for that year. The result would be that tree ring reconstructions could understate climate variability, and there has been scientific debate about the methodology and validity of these findings.A paper published in April 2014 by Mann and co-authors set out a new method of defining the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) in place of a problematic method based on detrending the climate signal. They found that in recent decades the AMO had been in a cooling phase, rather than a warming phase as researchers had thought. This cooling had contributed towards the recent Global warming hiatus in surface temperatures, and would change to enhanced surface warming in the next phase of the oscillation.In 2018, Mann explained that the west Antarctic ice sheet may lose twice as much ice by the end of the century as previously thought, which also doubles the projected rise in sea level from three feet to more than six feet.In 2020, Mann raised the hypothesis that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), hitherto regarded as internal oscillations of the climate system, are due to noise and anthropogenic sulfate aerosols. Controversy over hockey stick graph Figures based on the northern hemisphere mean temperatures graph from MBH99 were prominently featured in the IPCC Third Assessment Report of 2001, and became the focus of controversy when some individuals and groups disputed the data and methodology of this reconstruction.The 2006 North Report published by the United States National Academy of Sciences endorsed the MBH studies with a few reservations. The principal component analysis methodology had a small tendency to bias results so was not recommended, but it had little influence on the final reconstructions, and other methods produced similar results. Mann has said his findings have been "independently verified by independent teams using alternative methods and alternative data sources." More than two dozen reconstructions, using various statistical methods and combinations of proxy records, support the broad consensus shown in the original hockey stick graph, with variations in how flat the pre-20th century "shaft" appears. CRU email controversy In November 2009, hackers obtained a large number of emails exchanged among researchers at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia and with other scientists, including Mann. The release of their correspondence on the Internet sparked the Climatic Research Unit email controversy, commonly known as "Climategate", in which extracts from emails were publicized to raise accusations against the scientists. A series of investigations cleared the scientists of wrongdoing. Detailed analysis by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the critics made unsupported accusations of falsification and manipulation or destruction of data and were commonly mistaken about the scientific issues.Mann was specifically cleared by several inquiries. Pennsylvania State University (PSU) commissioned two reviews related to the emails and his research, which reported in February and July 2010. They cleared Mann of misconduct, stating there was no substance to the allegations, but criticized him for sharing unpublished manuscripts with third parties.The EPA gave detailed consideration to petitions with allegations against Mann from lobbyists including the Southeastern Legal Foundation, Peabody Energy, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Ohio Coal Association: the EPA found their claims were not supported by the evidence.At the request of Senator Jim Inhofe, who has called the science of man-made climate change a hoax, the Inspector General of the United States Department of Commerce investigated the emails in relation to NOAA, and concluded that there was no evidence of inappropriate manipulation of data. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the National Science Foundation also carried out a detailed investigation, which it closed on August 15, 2011. It agreed with the conclusions of the university inquiries, and exonerated Mann of charges of scientific misconduct. Attorney General of Virginia's investigative demand Based on the CRU email leak, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli initiated a Civil Investigative Demand against the University of Virginia to obtain documentation relating to Mann's work at the university. The demand sparked widespread academic condemnation as a "blatantly political" attempt to intimidate and silence Mann, and was denied in August 2010 by a judge for failure to state sufficient cause. Cuccinelli tried to re-open his case by issuing a revised subpoena, and appealed the case to the Virginia Supreme Court. The case was defended by the university, and the court ruled that Cuccinelli did not have the authority to make these demands. The decision, seen as supporting academic freedom, was welcomed by the Union of Concerned Scientists.In October 2010, Mann wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he described several past, present and projected attacks on climate science and scientists by politicians, drawing a link between them and "the pseudo-science that questioned the link between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer, and the false claims questioning the science of acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer." Saying they were "not good-faith questioning of scientific research [but] anti-science", he called for all his fellow scientists to stand against the attacks.Mann was a supporter of Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe's successful 2013 campaign for governor of Virginia; in that election, Cuccinelli was the Republican candidate. On the campaign trail, Mann promoted the role of scientific research and technology in job creation and highlighted the costs of the Cuccinelli's Civil Investigative Demand case, and the threat it had presented to the scientific community. Defamation lawsuits Lawsuit against Tim Ball, the Frontier Centre and interviewerIn 2011, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy think tank interviewed Tim Ball and published his allegations about Mann and the CRU email controversy. Mann promptly sued for defamation against Ball, the Frontier Centre and its interviewer. In June 2019, the Frontier Centre apologized for publishing, on its website and in letters, "untrue and disparaging accusations which impugned the character of Dr. Mann". It said that Mann had "graciously accepted our apology and retraction". This did not settle Mann's claims against Ball, who remained a defendant. On March 21, 2019, Ball applied to the court to dismiss the action for delay; this request was granted at a hearing on August 22, 2019, and court costs were awarded to Ball. The actual defamation claims were not judged, but instead, the case was dismissed due to delay, for which Mann and his legal team were held responsible. Lawsuit against National Review, the CEI, Mark Steyn and Rand SimbergAs attacks on the work and reputation of climatologists continued, Mann discussed with colleagues the need for a strong response when they were slandered or libeled. In July 2012, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) blogger Rand Simberg accused Mann of "deception" and "engaging in data manipulation" and alleged that the Penn State investigation that had cleared Mann was a "cover-up and whitewash" comparable to the recent Jerry Sandusky sex scandal, "except that instead of molesting children, he has molested and tortured data". The CEI blog editor then removed the sentence as "inappropriate", but a National Review blog post by Mark Steyn cited it and alleged that Mann's hockey stick graph was "fraudulent".Mann asked CEI and National Review to remove the allegations and apologize, or he would take action. The CEI published further insults, and National Review editor Rich Lowry responded in an article headed "Get Lost" with a declaration that, should Mann sue, the discovery process would be used to reveal and publish Mann's emails. Mann's lawyer filed the defamation lawsuit with the DC Superior Court in October 2012. Defendants were the National Review, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Mark Steyn and Rand Simberg.Before the case could go to discovery, CEI and National Review filed a court motion to dismiss it under anti-SLAPP legislation, with the claim that they had merely been using exaggerated language which was acceptable against a public figure. In July 2013, the judge ruled against this motion, and when the defendants took this to appeal a new judge also denied their motion to dismiss, in January 2014. National Review changed its lawyers, and Steyn decided to represent himself in court. Journalist Seth Shulman, at the Union of Concerned Scientists, welcomed the judge's statement that accusations of fraud "go to the heart of scientific integrity. They can be proven true or false. If false, they are defamatory. If made with actual malice, they are actionable."The defendants again appealed the decision. In August 2014, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press with 26 other organizations filed an amicus brief in the D.C. appeals court, arguing that the comments at issue were constitutionally protected under the First Amendment as opinion. Steyn chose to be represented by attorney Daniel J. Kornstein. On December 22, 2016, the D.C. appeals court ruled that Mann's case against Simberg and Steyn could go ahead. A "reasonable jury" could find against the defendants, and though the context should be considered, "if the statements assert or imply false facts that defame the individual, they do not find shelter under the First Amendment simply because they are embedded in a larger policy debate". A counterclaim Steyn filed through his attorneys on March 17, 2014, was dismissed with prejudice by the D.C. court on August 29, 2019, leaving Steyn to pay litigation costs.The defendants filed for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in the hope it would hear their appeal. In November 2019, it denied the petition without comment. In a dissenting opinion, justice Samuel Alito had favored hearing the case on the basis that, even though the defendants might yet prevail in the case, or the outcome itself come before the Court for review, the expense of litigating the case this far might itself deter speakers.On March 19, 2021, the DC Superior Court ruled that "Steyn’s actual malice cannot be imputed" to National Review, when the post was not reviewed by them before publication and was posted by someone who was not their employee. It therefore granted National Review summary judgment dismissing Mann's case against them. Awards and honors Mann's dissertation was awarded the Phillip M. Orville Prize in 1997 as an "outstanding dissertation in the earth sciences" at Yale University. His co-authorship of a scientific paper published by Nature won him an award from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) in 2002, and another co-authored paper published in the same year won the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's outstanding scientific publication award. In 2002 he was named by Scientific American as one of fifty "leading visionaries in science and technology”. The Association of American Geographers awarded him the John Russell Mather Paper of the Year award in 2005 for a co-authored paper published in the Journal of Climate. The American Geophysical Union awarded him its Editors' Citation for Excellence in Refereeing in 2006 to recognize his contributions in reviewing manuscripts for its Geophysical Research Letters journal.The IPCC presented Mann, along with all other "scientists that had contributed substantially to the preparation of IPCC reports", with a personalized certificate "for contributing to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC", celebrating the joint award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC and to Al Gore.In 2012, he was elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and awarded the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union for "his significant contributions to understanding decadal-centennial scale climate change over the last two millennia and for pioneering techniques to synthesize patterns and northern hemispheric time series of past climate using proxy data reconstructions."Following election by the American Meteorological Society he became a new Fellow of the society in 2013. In January 2013 he was designated with the status of distinguished professor in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.In September 2013, Mann was named by Bloomberg Markets in its third annual list of the "50 Most Influential" people, included in a group of "thinkers" with reference to his work with other scientists on the hockey stick graph, his responses on the RealClimate blog "to climate change deniers", and his book publications. Later that month, he received the National Wildlife Federation's National Conservation Achievement Award for Science.On April 28, 2014, the National Center for Science Education announced that its first annual Friend of the Planet award had been presented to Mann and Richard Alley. In the same year, Mann was named as a Highly Cited Researcher by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). In 2015 he was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2016 he was elected Vice Chair of the Topical Group on Physics of Climate (GPC) at the American Physical Society (APS).On June 19, 2017, Climate One at the Commonwealth Club of California said that he would be honored with the 7th annual Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Science Communication.He received the James H. Shea Award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers for his "exceptional contribution in writing or editing Earth science materials for the general public or teachers of Earth science."On February 8, 2018, the Center for Inquiry announced that Mann had been elected as a 2017 Fellow of its Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.On February 14, 2018, the American Association for the Advancement of Science announced that Mann was chosen to receive the 2018 Public Engagement with Science award.On September 4, 2018, the American Geophysical Union announced Mann as the 2018 recipient of its Climate Communication Prize.On February 12, 2019, Mann and Warren Washington were named to receive the 2019 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.In April 2020, he was elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. Along with Antonella Santuccione Chadha, he also received the World Sustainability Award from the MDPI Sustainability Foundation.In 2022, the American Physical Society recognized Mann with the Leo Szilard Lectureship Award "for distinguished contributions to the public's understanding of climate science controversies, and to how our individual and collective actions can mitigate climate change."In 2023 the American Humanist Association gave Mann their 2023 Humanist of the Year award. Public outreach Mann, along with Gavin Schmidt, Stefan Rahmstorf, and others, co-founded the RealClimate website, launched in December 2004. The website's purpose is to provide a site for commentaries by working climate scientists, "for interested public and journalists".After repeated attacks against his and his colleagues' academic work and being "hounded by elected officials, threatened with violence, and more", Mann decided to "enter the fray" and "speak out about the very real implications of our research." Mann has engaged with the public through film, television, radio, the press, and talks. The Patriot-News reported in 2014, "The professor operates active Twitter and Facebook accounts. In several weeks, he'll take part in an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit. For him, it's about engaging with the community."Mann serves on the advisory board of The Climate Mobilization, an American grassroots advocacy group calling for a national economic mobilization against climate change on the scale of the home front during World War II, with the goal of 100% clean energy and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Mann has often called for WWII-scale climate mobilization as a means of rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In June 2015, Mann criticized the G7 nations' goal of full decarbonization by 2100 as not very meaningful considering greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced dramatically within the next decade, well ahead of the G7's timeline. "In my view, the science makes clear that 2050 or 2100 is way too far down the road," he told Climate Central. We will need near-term limits if we are going to avoid dangerous warming of the planet."Since 2013, Mann has been listed on the Advisory Council of the National Center for Science Education.In July 2018, Mann commented on recent extreme weather events striking across Europe, from the Arctic Circle to Greece, and on the other side of the world, from North American to Japan. He said, “This is the face of climate change", “We literally would not have seen these extremes in the absence of climate change". “The impacts of climate change are no longer subtle", “We are seeing them play out in real-time and what is happening this summer is a perfect example of that". “We are seeing our predictions come true", “As a scientist that is reassuring, but as a citizen of planet Earth, it is very distressing to see that as it means we have not taken the necessary action". Publications Mann has been organizing committee chair for the National Academy of Sciences 'Frontiers of Science' and has served as a committee member or advisor for other National Academy of Sciences panels. He served as editor for the Journal of Climate and has been a member of numerous international and U.S. scientific advisory panels and steering groups. By 2010 he was the lead author or co-author of over 90 scientific publications, the majority of which had appeared in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals: as of 2016, his biographical sketch stated that he was author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications. Between 1999 and 2010 he served as principal or co-principal investigator on five research projects funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and four more funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). He was also co-investigator on other projects funded by the NOAA, NSF, Department of Energy, United States Agency for International Development, and the Office of Naval Research. Selected publications See also Extreme weather References Sources Mann, Michael (2012). The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-15254-9. External links Mann's home page, Pennsylvania State University Michael E. Mann at IMDb Michael E. Mann on the Muck Rack journalist listing site "EPA Climate Lecture with Professor Michael Mann (on 15th November 2021)". YouTube. EPA Ireland. November 18, 2021. "Michael E. Mann: The New Climate War". YouTube. UH Better Tomorrow Speaker Series. January 13, 2022.

tim flannery

Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator, activist and public scientist. He was awarded Australian of the Year in 2007 for his work and advocacy on environmental issues. Flannery grew up in Sandringham, and studied English at La Trobe University in 1977. He then switched disciplines to pursue paleontology. As a researcher, Flannery had roles at several universities and museums in Australia, specialising in fossil marsupials and mammal evolution. He made notable contributions to the palaeontology of Australia and New Guinea during the 1980s, including reviewing the evolution and fossil records of Phalangeridae and Macropodidae. While mammal curator at the Australian Museum, he undertook a survey of the mammals of Melanesia, where he identified 17 previously undescribed species including several tree kangaroos.In 1994, Flannery published his first popular science book, The Future Eaters, on the natural history of Australasia. It became a bestseller and was adapted for television. He has since written more than 27 books on natural history and environmental topics, including Throwim Way Leg and Chasing Kangaroos, and has appeared on television and in the media. After becoming increasingly concerned about climate change, Flannery later became prominent for his role in communication, research and advocacy around the issue, particularly in his native Australia. He spent five years writing The Weather Makers (2005) on the topic. In 2011, he was appointed the Chief Commissioner of the Climate Commission, a federal government body providing information on climate change to the Australian public, until its abolition by the Abbott government in 2013. Flannery and other sacked commissioners later formed the independent Climate Council, which continues to communicate independent climate science to the Australian public. An environmentalist and conservationist, Flannery is a supporter of climate change mitigation, renewable energy transition, phasing out coal power and rewilding. Life Early life Flannery was raised in a Catholic family along with his two sisters in the Melbourne suburb of Sandringham, close to Port Phillip Bay. He described himself as a "solitary" child, spending time looking for fossils and learning to fish and scuba dive. He said he first became aware of marine pollution and its effects on living organisms during this period. He attended Catholic school, and later said that he did not enjoy it and became an atheist. He was expelled in year 12 for suggesting a prominent abortion activist be invited to speak to counter the anti-abortionist views at the school, but was later allowed to return after an intervention from his father. Academic career After failing to achieve the required school marks to study science, Flannery completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at La Trobe University in 1977. After being impressed by Flannery's knowledge of natural history, palaeontologist Tom Rich and his wife encouraged him to pursue the subject, and Flannery went on to complete a Master of Science degree in Earth Science at Monash University in 1981. He then left Melbourne for Sydney, enjoying its subtropical climate and species diversity. In 1984, Flannery earned a PhD at the University of New South Wales in Palaeontology for his work on the evolution and fossils of macropods under palaeontologist Mike Archer.At age 26, he was hired by the mammalogy department of the Australian Museum, and took his first trips to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and elsewhere, later becoming mammal curator at the museum. He took 15 trips in total to New Guinea (both Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya) starting in 1981 and into the 1990s, working closely with local tribes to undertake fieldwork, which he later recounted in Throwin Way Leg (1998). A tapeworm he sent to a parasitologist following one trip was revealed to be a new species, and was later named Burtiela flanneryi after him. Flannery has held various academic positions throughout his career. He spent many years in Adelaide, including a spell as professor at the University of Adelaide, and 7 years as director of the South Australian Museum. He was also principal research scientist at the Australian Museum, during which time he worked to save the bandicoot population on North Head. In 1999 he held the year-long visiting chair of Australian studies at Harvard University.In 2007, Flannery became professor in the Climate Risk Concentration of Research Excellence at Macquarie University. He left Macquarie University in mid-2013. Flannery is also a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, and a Governor of WWF-Australia. He was also for a time director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. He has contributed to over 143 scientific papers.Flannery is a professorial fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne. Until mid-2013 he was a professor at Macquarie University and held the Panasonic Chair in Environmental Sustainability. Personal life and family Flannery rarely discusses his personal life publicly. He met his first wife Paula Kendall while at La Trobe in the 1970s. Flannery and Kendall's house south of Sydney was destroyed in a bushfire in 1994. He has two children with Kendall; the couple separated in 1996. He owns a house with a solar hot water system at Coba Point on the Hawkesbury River, 40 km (25 mi) north of Sydney, accessible only by boat; after this living location was revealed by broadcaster Ray Hadley he received threats and was given police protection. His second wife is anthropologist Alexandra Szalay. He has a third child with his partner Kate Holden, an author. He moved to Victoria to be with her in 2014.In addition to writing non-fiction, he has also written unpublished works of fiction. He has described himself as a non-political person, and a humanist, rather than atheist. Scientific contributions Palaeontology In 1980, Flannery discovered an Allosaurid dinosaur fossil on the southern coast of Victoria, the first from the family known from Australia. In 1985, he had a role in the ground-breaking discovery of Cretaceous fossil monotreme Steropodon, the first Mesozoic mammal fossil discovered in Australia. This find extended the Australian mammal fossil record back 80 million years. During the 1980s, Flannery described most of the known Pleistocene megafaunal species in New Guinea as well as the fossil record of the phalangerids, a family of possums. As part of his doctoral studies, he reviewed the evolution of Macropodidae and described 29 new fossil species, including 11 new genera and three new subfamilies. Mammalogy Through the 1990s, Flannery surveyed the mammals of Melanesia—identifying more than 30 species—and took a leading role in conservation efforts in the region. He also identified at least 17 previously undescribed species during his 15 trips, includes the Dingiso, Sir David's long-beaked echidna and the Telefomin cuscus. He also found living specimens of the Bulmer's fruit bat, which were previously thought extinct. In the 1990s, Flannery published The Mammals of New Guinea (Cornell Press) and Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea (Johns Hopkins Press), the most comprehensive reference works on the subjects.The specific name of the greater monkey-faced bat (Pteralopex flanneryi), described in 2005, honours Flannery.Flannery's work prompted Sir David Attenborough to describe him as being "in the league of the all-time great explorers like Dr David Livingstone".In 2022, Flannery was a co-author on new research on the origins of monotremes. Climate change communication In the 1990s, Flannery observed a change in the elevational range of trees while doing fieldwork in New Guinea, and realised it was likely to be a climate change impact. He subsequently began working on climate change more seriously and shifted to campaigning and publicly communicating about climate change from the 2000s.Flannery's prominence in raising awareness around the subject, and efforts to oppose climate change denial, have occasionally attracted hostility from the media. Some of Flannery's academic peers were also initially critical of Flannery for speaking outside of his primary area of expertise. When discussing this in 2009, Flannery said that climate change science was a less established field earlier in his career and experts from multiple fields had shifted to respond to the issue, and said he feels publicly funded scientists are obliged to communicate their work and be vocal on important issues. In 2015, the Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue recognized Flannery for using dialogue and authentic engagement to build global consensus for action around climate change. As of 2021, he had attended six United Nations Climate Change conferences in official government roles and as an observer.In 2002, Flannery was appointed as chair of South Australia's Environmental Sustainability Board and was an advisor on climate change to South Australian Premier Mike Rann. He was a member of the Queensland Climate Change Council established by the Queensland Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation Andrew McNamara.He was chairman of the Copenhagen Climate Council, an international group of business and other leaders that coordinated a business response to climate change and assisted the Danish government in the lead up to COP15.Flannery has frequently discussed the effects of climate change, particularly on Australia, and advocated for its mitigation. During the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019–20, Flannery frequently appeared in the media to discuss the links between climate change and the unprecedented bushfires, stating, "I am absolutely certain that [the bushfires are] climate change caused." Climate Commission In February 2011, it was announced that Flannery had been appointed to head the Climate Commission established by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to explain climate change and the need for a carbon price to the public. The commission was a panel of leading scientists and business experts whose mandate was to provide an "independent and reliable" source of information for all Australians.Following the election of the Abbott government in the 2013 Australian federal election, on 19 September 2013 Flannery was sacked from his position as head of the Climate Commission in a phone call from new Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt. "It was a short and courteous conversation," Flannery recalls. "I'm pretty sure that cabinet hadn't been convened when they did it. My very strong recollection is that it was [the Abbott Government's] very first act in government... The website that we'd spent a lot of time building was taken down with absolutely no justification as far as I could see. It was giving basic information that was being used by many, many people—teachers and others—just to gain a better understanding of what climate science was actually about." It was also announced that the commission would be dismantled and its remit handled by the Department of Environment. Climate Council By 6 October 2013, Flannery and the other commissioners had launched a new body called the Climate Council. Flannery told ABC News that the organisation stated that it had the same goals as the former Climate Commission, to provide independent information on the science of climate change. Amanda McKenzie was appointed as CEO. Between 24 September and 6 October the new Climate Council had raised $1 million in funding from a public appeal, sufficient to keep the organisation operating for 12 months. The Climate Council continues to exist based on donations from the general public. Books and other media The Future Eaters In 1994, Flannery published The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People, which became a bestseller. The synopsis of the work regards three waves of human migration in these regions. These waves of people Flannery describes as "future eaters". The first wave was the migration to Australia and New Guinea from Southeast Asia approximately 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. The second was Polynesian migration to New Zealand and surrounding islands 800 to 3,500 years ago. The third and final wave Flannery describes is European colonisation at the end of the 18th century. Flannery describes the evolution of the first wave of future-eaters: Sixty thousand or more years ago human technology was developing at what we would consider to be an imperceptible pace. Yet it was fast enough to give the first Australasians complete mastery over the 'new lands'. Freed from the ecological constraints of their homeland and armed with weapons honed in the relentless arms race of Eurasia, the colonisers of the 'new lands' were poised to become the world’s first future eaters. In contrast with other hypotheses that climate variability and change had shaped the evolutionary history of Australia, he instead attributed the continent's nutrient-poor soil as a driver. He also proposed that Aboriginal Australians had shaped the continent's ecosystems through their fire-stick farming and unique practices. It also advocates for modern societies of the Australasian region adapt to its unique ecological conditions, including managing the environment, consuming local rather than imported species, and limiting human population growth.The Future Eaters enjoyed strong sales and critical acclaim. Redmond O'Hanlon, a Times Literary Supplement correspondent said that "Flannery tells his beautiful story in plain language, science popularising at its antipodean best". Fellow activist David Suzuki praised Flannery's "powerful insight into our current destructive path". Some experts disagreed with Flannery's thesis, however, concerned that his broad-based approach, ranging across multiple disciplines, ignored counter-evidence and was overly simplistic.The Future Eaters was adapted into a documentary series for ABC Television. The Weather Makers While reading scientific journals more widely during his tenure at South Australian Museum, Flannery became increasingly alarmed by anthropogenic climate change. He spent five years writing a book on the topic. This culminated in The Weather Makers: The History & Future Impact of Climate Change published in 2005, in which he outlined the science behind climate change for a general audience. "With great scientific advances being made every month, this book is necessarily incomplete," Flannery writes, but "That should not, however, be used as an excuse for inaction. We know enough to act wisely." The book broadly discussed longer-term patterns of climatic change and its influence on evolution. It also discussed contemporary greenhouse gas emissions and effects of climate change, such as sea level rise, impacts on large storms and species extinction. Flannery also provided guidance on mitigation, such as reducing emissions and increasing solar and wind power. Other points include: that a failure to act on climate change may eventually force the creation of a global carbon dictatorship, which he calls the "Earth Commission for Thermostatic Control", to regulate carbon use across all industries and nations—a level of governmental intrusion that Flannery describes as "very undesirable"; and the establishment of "Geothermia"—a new city at the NSW-South Australia-Queensland border—to take advantage of the location's abundance of natural gas reserves, geothermal and solar energy. Flannery argues that such a city could be completely energy self-sufficient, and would be a model for future city development worldwide. Of the city project, Flannery told The Bulletin that "I know it's radical but we have no choice".The book won international acclaim. Bill Bryson concluded that "It would be hard to imagine a better or more important book." The Weather Makers was honoured in 2006 as 'Book of the Year' at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. James Hansen reviewed the book positively. Released not long before An Inconvenient Truth, the book came at a time when climate change was becoming more prominent topic in public opinion and increased Flannery's profile. A review in NPR outlined how Flannery had sought to settle debate and controversy about climate change that was prominent at the time. Other works Flannery has published more than 27 books. He recounted his scientific fieldwork and experiences with local tribal people in New Guinea in Throwim Way Leg (1999). He later released an account of his work in Australia in Chasing Kangaroos (2007).In 2010's Here on Earth, Flannery criticises elements of Darwinism while endorsing James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis. In 2015, Flannery published Atmosphere of Hope, which discussed climate change mitigation, carbon sequestration and technological solutions and acts as a follow-up to The Weather Makers. He published another work about climate change in 2020, The Climate Cure, which calls for the Australian government to address the issue and argues its response to the COVID-19 pandemic could be used as a model for this.Following The Future Eaters on Australasia, he has published popular science books recounting the natural histories of North America in The Eternal Frontier (2001) and Europe in Europe: A Natural History (2018). Television and film Flannery has appeared in several series for ABC Television, including several travel documentary collaborations with comedian John Doyle. Two Men In A Tinnie focused on the pair travelling down the Murray River, and Two in the Top End in the Kimberley.In August 2017 Flannery hosted an episode of ABC Catalyst investigating how carefully managed seaweed growth could contribute to combating climate change via the sequestration of atmospheric carbon to the ocean floor. This explored the details of the book he published in July 2017, Sunlight and Seaweed: An Argument for How to Feed, Power and Clean Up the World. In January 2018, Flannery appeared on the ABC's Science program exploring whether humans are becoming a new 'Mass Extinction Event', in addition to outlining the '5 Things You Need to Know About Climate Change'. Flannery also appeared in the 2021 documentary film Burning, about the Black Summer bushfires. Views and advocacy Flannery's work in raising the profile of environmental issues was key to his being named Australian of the Year in 2007. Awarding the prize, former Prime Minister John Howard said that the scientist "has encouraged Australians into new ways of thinking about our environmental history and future ecological challenges." That said, Howard—who was a climate denier at the time—was unconvinced as to some of Flannery's views. Climate change Flannery has long spoken out about the impacts of climate change in Australia and internationally.In May 2004, Flannery said in light of the city's water crisis that "I think there is a fair chance Perth will be the 21st century's first ghost metropolis", a warning reiterated in 2007. In 2005, he issued several warnings about water issues in Australia, saying "water is going to be in short supply across the eastern states". In June 2005 warning that "the ongoing drought could leave Sydney's dams dry in just two years".In October 2006 Flannery quoted a US Navy study stating that, there may be, "no Arctic icecap in Summer in the next five to 15 years. He also quoted NASA's Professor James Hansen, "arguably the world authority on climate change" who said, "we have just a decade to avert a 25-metre rise of the sea". In February 2007, as he explained how increased soil evaporation impacts on runoff, he said "even the [existing amount of] rain that falls isn't actually going to fill our dams and our river systems" and in June 2007, he said that, "Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane, water supplies are so low they need desalinated water urgently, possibly in as little as 18 months".In May 2008, Flannery suggested that sulphur could be dispersed into the atmosphere to help block the sun leading to global dimming, in order to counteract the effects of global warming.In 2019, Flannery said, "Sadly, I've been aware of [the urgency to act] for a long time. We have to reduce emissions as hard and fast as possible... The speed and scale of impacts have been something that is really shocking." He continued to warn people that, "People are shocked, but they should be angry...The consequences will grow year by year, and stuff we were warning people about 20 years ago is now coming to fruition and is impossible to deny, unless you are wilfully blind." He also said that climate activism during the previous two decades had been a "colossal failure", but praised Greta Thunberg, school strikes for climate and Extinction Rebellion for their impact on the climate movement during the 2010s. Energy In response to the introduction of proposed clean coal technology, Flannery has stated: "Globally there has got to be some areas where clean coal will work out, so I think there will always be a coal export industry [for Australia] ... Locally in Australia because of particular geological issues and because of the competition from cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives, I'm not 100 per cent sure clean coal is going to work out for our domestic market."Flannery has advocated for a renewable energy transition in Australia. He joined calls for the cessation or reduction of conventional coal-fired power generation in Australia in the medium term, at a time when it was the source of most of the nation's electricity. Flannery's view is that conventional coal burning will lose its social license to operate, comparing it to asbestos.In 2006 Flannery was in support of nuclear power as a possible solution for reducing Australia's carbon emissions; however, in 2007 changed his position against it. In May 2007 he told a business gathering in Sydney that while nuclear energy does have a role elsewhere in the world, Australia's abundance of renewable resources rule out the need for nuclear power in the near term. He does, however, feel that Australia should and will have to supply its uranium to those other countries that do not have access to renewables like Australia does. Geothermia In September 2005 Flannery said, "There are hot rocks in South Australia that potentially have enough embedded energy in them to run Australia's economy for the best part of a century". For the Cooper Basin, he proposed the establishment of a fully sustainable city where, "hundreds of thousands of people would live", utilising these geothermal energy reserves. He named the hypothetical city "Geothermia". Subsequently, in 2007, an exploration company was established. The company expected to raise at least $11.5m on the Australian Stock Exchange. Flannery took up shares in the company. In 2010, the Federal Government provided the company with another $90m for the development work. In August 2016, the geothermal energy project closed as it was not financially viable. Hunting and whaling When, in the concluding chapters of The Future Eaters (1994), Flannery discusses how to "utilise our few renewable resources in the least destructive way", he remarks that A far better situation for conservation in Australia would result from a policy which allows exploitation of all of our biotic heritage, provided that it all be done in a sustainable manner. ... [I]f it is possible to harvest for example, 10 mountain pygmy-possums (Burramys parvus) or 10 southern right whales (Balaena glacialis) per year, why should we not do it? ... Is it more moral to kill and consume a whale, without cost to the environment, than to live as a vegetarian in Australia, destroying seven kilograms of irreplaceable soil, ... for each kilogram of bread we consume? In late 2007, Flannery suggested that the Japanese whaling involving the relatively common minke whale may be sustainable: In terms of sustainability, you can't be sure that the Japanese whaling is entirely unsustainable... It's hard to imagine that the whaling would lead to a new decline in population [...] This raised concerns among some environmental groups such as Greenpeace, fearing it could add fuel to the Japanese wish of continuing its annual cull. In contrast to his stance on the minke whale quota, Flannery has expressed relief over the dumping of the quota of the rarer humpback whale, and further was worried how whales were slaughtered, wishing them to be "killed as humanely as possible". Flannery suggested that krill and other small crustaceans, the primary food source for many large whales and an essential part of the marine food chain, were of greater concern than the Japanese whaling. Species introduction In The Future Eaters, Flannery was critical of the European settlers introducing non-native wild animals into Australia's ecosystem. At the same time, he suggested that if one wanted to reproduce, in some parts of Australia, the ecosystems that existed there around 60,000 years ago (before the arrival of the humans on the continent), it may be necessary to introduce into Australia, in a thoughtful and careful way, some non-native species that would be the closest substitutes to the continent's lost megafauna. In particular, he proposed the Komodo dragon be brought into Australia as a replacement for its extinct relative, Megalania, "the largest goanna of all time". He also suggested the Tasmanian devil could be allowed to re-settle the mainland Australia from its Tasmanian refuge area.In The Eternal Frontier, Flannery made a proposal for what later became nicknamed "Pleistocene rewilding": restoring the ecosystems that existed in North America before the arrival of the Clovis people and the concomitant disappearance of the North American Pleistocene megafauna 13,000 years ago. He proposed if, in addition to the wolves that have been already re-introduced to Yellowstone National Park, ambush predators, such as jaguars and lions should be reintroduced as well, in order to bring the number of elk under control. Furthermore, the closest extant relatives of the species that became extinct around the Clovis period could be introduced to North America's nature reserves as well. In particular, the Indian and African elephants could substitute, respectively, for the mammoth and the mastodon; the Chacoan peccary, for its extinct cousin the flat-headed peccary (Platygonus compressus). Llamas and panthers, which still survive outside of the US, should too be brought back to that country. Human population Flannery advocated for human population planning in Australia in the 1990s. He has been a patron of Sustainable Population Australia since 2000. He said in 2007 that he had stopped discussing population issues, as he said he did not think curbing population growth was a solution to climate change. In 2009, Flannery called for an inquiry into population growth in Australia, to better elucidate the potential environmental impacts of the country's growing population. Humanitarian issues In 2009, Flannery joined the project "Soldiers of Peace", a move against all wars and for a global peace.In July 2018 he played a role in the Kwaio Reconciliation programme in the Solomon Islands, which put an end to a 91-year-old cycle of killings that stemmed from the murders in 1927 of British Colonial officers Bell and Gillies by Kwaio leader Basiana and his followers. Awards Edgeworth David Medal for outstanding research in zoology Centenary of Federation Medal for his services to Australian science Colin Roderick Award, Foundation for Australian Literary Studies for Tree Kangaroos (1996) First environmental scientist to deliver the Australia Day address to the nation (2002). Australian Humanist of the Year (2005) NSW Australian of the Year (2006) Australian of the Year (2007) NSW Premier's Literary Prizes for Best Critical Writing and Book of the Year (The Weather Makers, 2006) US Lannan Award for Non-fiction works (2006). The New York Times Best Seller list (The Weather Makers) Order of Saint-Charles, Monaco Leidy Award (2010) Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (2012) Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue (2015–2016). Bibliography Books Flannery, Timothy (1990). Mammals of New Guinea. Carina, Qld.: Robert Brown & Associates. Flannery, Tim Fridtjof (1994). The Future Eaters: an ecological history of the Australasian lands and people. Reed Books. Tim Flannery (1994), Possums of the World : Monograph of the Phalangeroidea (ISBN 0-646-14389-1). Flannery, Timothy (1995). Mammals of New Guinea (New ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Reed/Australian Museum. Tim Flannery (1995), Mammals of the South-West Pacific & Moluccan Islands (ISBN 0-7301-0417-6). Tim Flannery, Roger Martin and Alexandra Szalay. (1996) Tree Kangaroos: A Curious Natural History. Tim Flannery (1998), Throwim Way Leg: An Adventure (ISBN 1-876485-19-1). Tim Flannery (2001), The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and its Peoples (ISBN 0-8021-3888-8). John A. Long, Michael Archer, Tim Flannery and Suzanne Hand (2002), Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution, Johns Hopkins Press (ISBN 978-0-801872-23-5). Tim Flannery & Peter Schouten (2001), A Gap in Nature (ISBN 1-876485-77-9). Tim Flannery & Peter Schouten (2004), Astonishing Animals (ISBN 1-920885-21-8). Tim Flannery (2005), Country: A Continent, a Scientist & a Kangaroo (ISBN 1-920885-76-5). Tim Flannery (2005), The Weather Makers: The History & Future Impact of Climate Change (ISBN 1-920885-84-6). Tim Flannery (2007), Chasing Kangaroos: A Continent, a Scientist, and a Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Creature (ISBN 978-0-8021-1852-3). Tim Flannery (2009), Now or Never: A sustainable future for Australia? (ISBN 978-1-86395-429-7). Tim Flannery (2009), Now or Never: Why we need to act now for a sustainable future (ISBN 978-1-55468-604-9). Tim Flannery (2010), Here on Earth, ISBN 978-1-921656-66-8 Tim Flannery (2011), Among the Islands: Adventures in the Pacific (ISBN 978-1-921758-75-1). Tim Flannery (2015), Atmosphere of Hope: Searching for Solutions to the Climate Crisis, Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press (ISBN 978-0802124067). Published in the United Kingdom with the title Atmosphere of Hope: Solutions to the Climate Crisis, Penguin Books (ISBN 9780141981048). Tim Flannery (2017), Sunlight and Seaweed: An Argument for How to Feed, Power and Clean Up the World Tim Flannery (2018), Europe: A Natural History, Text Publishing, ISBN 9781925603941 Tim Flannery (2019), Life: Selected Writings, Text Publishing, ISBN 9781922268297 Tim Flannery (2020), The Climate Cure: Solving the Climate Emergency in the Era of COVID-19, Text Publishing, ISBN 9781922330352As editorThe Birth of Melbourne (ISBN 1-877008-89-3). The Birth of Sydney (ISBN 1-876485-45-0). The Explorers (ISBN 1-876485-22-1). Watkin Tench, Watkin Tench's 1788 (ISBN 1-875847-27-8). Terra Australis: Matthew Flinders' Great Adventures in the Circumnavigation of Australia (ISBN 1-876485-92-2). John Morgan, The Life and Adventures of William Buckley (ISBN 1-877008-20-6). John Nicol, Life and Adventures: 1776–1801 (ISBN 1-875847-41-3). Joshua Slocum, Sailing Alone Around the World (ISBN 1-877008-57-5). Book reviews Tim Flannery, "In the Soup" (review of Michael Marshall, The Genesis Quest: The Geniuses and Eccentrics on a Journey to Uncover the Origins of Life on Earth, University of Chicago Press, 360 pp.), The New York Review of Books, vol. LXVII, no. 19 (3 December 2020), pp. 37–38. Filmography Television The Future Eaters (1998) Two Men in a Tinnie (2006) with John Doyle Two in the Top End (2008) with John Doyle Two on the Great Divide (2012) with John Doyle Coast Australia (2013–2017) Two Men in China (2014) with John Doyle Australia: The Story of Us (2015) Film Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story (2017) Burning (2021) References External links Climate Commission The Weather Makers book website Tim Flannery lecture online, RMIT School of Applied Communication Public Lecture series The Story of Tim Flannery by Our World in Balance Flannery author page and article archive from The New York Review of Books, accessed 6/3/2018 Video Tim Flannery on SlowTV Address from Professor Tim Flannery at University of Technology, Sydney, recording of live speech, 22 May 2008 Tim Flannery interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos Tim Flannery interview on Democracy Now! program, 25 October 2007 APEC Singapore 2009 The business of climate: A look to technology Councillor at World Future Council Keynote address at Alfred Deakin Lecture series "Innovation in Changing Climate" Tim Flannery: Here on Earth (ABC Radio National), 23 September 2010

the day after tomorrow

The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science fiction disaster film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Roland Emmerich and starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sela Ward, Emmy Rossum, and Ian Holm. Based on the 1999 book The Coming Global Superstorm by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber, the film depicts catastrophic climatic effects following the disruption of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation, in which a series of extreme weather events usher in climate change and lead to a new ice age.Originally slated for release in the summer of 2003, it premiered in Mexico City on May 17, 2004, and was released in the US on May 28, 2004. A major commercial success, it was the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2004. Filmed in Montreal, it was the highest-grossing Hollywood film made in Canada at its time of release. It received mixed reviews, with critics praising its special effects but criticizing its writing and numerous scientific inaccuracies. Plot Jack Hall, an American paleoclimatologist, and his colleagues Frank and Jason, drill for ice-core samples in the Larsen Ice Shelf for the NOAA, when the ice shelf splits away. At a UN conference in New Delhi, Jack discusses his research showing that climate change could cause an ice age, but US Vice President Raymond Becker dismisses his concerns. Professor Terry Rapson, an oceanographer of the Hedland Centre in Scotland, befriends Jack over his views of an inevitable climate shift. When several buoys in the Atlantic Ocean show a severe temperature drop, Rapson concludes Jack's theories are correct. Jack's and Rapson's teams, along with NASA meteorologist Janet Tokada, build a forecast model based on Jack's research. Jack tries to get Becker to consider evacuations in the northern states, but Becker refuses. A massive tropical depression develops in the Northern Hemisphere. This splits into three gigantic superstorms above Canada, Europe, and Siberia, that siphon frozen air from the upper troposphere into their center, flash-freezing anything caught in their eyes with temperatures below −150 degrees Fahrenheit (−101 degrees Celsius). The storms' magnitude is so severe that they will cause a reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, entering a new ice age. Tokyo is struck by a giant hail storm, Los Angeles is devastated by a tornado outbreak, and three helicopters sent to rescue the British royal family from Balmoral Castle crash in Scotland after they fly into their superstorm's eye. In New York City, Jack's son Sam, along with his friends Brian and Laura, participate in an academic decathlon, where they make a new friend, J.D. The North American superstorm creates strong winds and rain that flood Manhattan in knee-deep water. All transportation halts, stranding the city population. A massive storm surge inundates the city, forcing Sam's group to seek shelter at the New York Public Library, but not before Laura, in an attempt to help rescuing two French speaking tourists in distress from a cab with a police officer, cuts her leg between two taxis. Sam is able to contact Jack and his mother Lucy, a pediatrician, through a working payphone. Jack advises Sam to stay inside and warm, as the storm will only get worse, and promises to rescue him. Rapson and his team succumb to the European storm. Lucy remains in her hospital caring for bedridden patients, where the authorities eventually rescue them. Upon Jack's suggestion, President Blake orders the southern states to be evacuated into Mexico, while the northern ones are warned by the government to seek shelter and stay warm. Jack, Jason, and Frank make their way to New York. In Pennsylvania, Frank falls through the skylight of a mall covered in snow and sacrifices himself by cutting his rope to prevent his friends from falling in with him. In the library, most survivors decide to head south once the floodwater freezes, despite Sam's warnings. In Mexico, Becker learns that Blake's motorcade perished in the superstorm. Laura develops sepsis from her injury, whereupon Sam, Brian, and J.D. scour an abandoned Russian cargo ship that drifted into the city before the water froze for penicillin and supplies. Although they find them, they also encounter a pack of escaped wolves from the Central Park Zoo. The boys fend off the wolves and make it back to the library as the eye of the North American superstorm passes over and freezes Manhattan. Jack and Jason take shelter in an abandoned restaurant. Days later, the superstorms dissipate. After finding people outside frozen to death including the Public Library survivors who tried to escape, Jack and Jason reach the library, finding Sam's group alive. Jack sends a radio message to US forces in Mexico. In his first address as the new president from the US embassy in Mexico, Becker apologizes on The Weather Channel for his ignorance and sends helicopters to rescue survivors including Jack and Sam's group in the northern states. On the International Space Station, astronauts look down in awe at Earth's transformed surface, now with ice sheets extending across much of the Northern Hemisphere, remarking that the air never looked so clear. Cast Production Development The Day After Tomorrow was inspired by Coast to Coast AM talk-radio host Art Bell and Whitley Strieber's book, The Coming Global Superstorm, and Strieber wrote the film's novelization. To choose a studio, writer Michael Wimer created an auction, with a copy of the script being sent to all major studios along with a term sheet. They had a 24-hour window to decide whether to produce the movie with Roland Emmerich directing, and Fox Studios was the only studio to accept the terms. Filming The Day After Tomorrow was filmed predominantly in Montreal and Toronto, with some footage also shot in New York City and Chiyoda, Tokyo. Filming ran from November 7, 2002, until October 18, 2003. Special effects The Day After Tomorrow features 416 visual effects shots, with nine effects houses, notably Industrial Light & Magic and Digital Domain, and over 1,000 artists, working on the film for over a year.Although a miniature set was initially considered according to the behind-the-scenes documentary, for the destruction of New York, effects artists instead utilized a 13-block-sized, LIDAR-scanned 3D model of Manhattan, with over 50,000 scanned photographs used for building textures. Due to its overall complexity and a tight schedule, the storm surge scene required as many as three special effects vendors for certain shots, with the digital water created by either Digital Domain or small effects house Tweak Films, depending on the shot. Miniatures were employed for a later underwater scene in which a city bus is crushed under the bulb stern of an abandoned Russian tanker ship that had drifted inland.Similarly, the opening flyover of Antarctica was also computer-generated, created by digitally scanning miniature iceberg models created out of sculpted styrofoam; the falling pieces of ice as the shelf cracks were entirely hand-animated. Created by the effects company Hydraulx and running for approximately two and a half minutes in length, the scene was at the time the longest continuous all-CG shot in film history, surpassing the space zoom-out from the opening of Contact (1997). Music The score soundtrack for the film was composed by Harald Kloser and released by Varèse Sarabande and Fox Music. Reception Box office The film came in second at the US box office behind Shrek 2 over its four-day Memorial Day opening and grossed $85,807,341. It led the per-theater average, with a four-day average of $25,053 (compared to Shrek 2's four-day average of $22,633). At the end of its theatrical run, the film had grossed $186,740,799 domestically and $552,639,571 worldwide. It was the second-highest opening-weekend film not to lead at the box office; Inside Out surpassed it in June 2015. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, 45% of 220 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.30/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Day After Tomorrow is a ludicrous popcorn thriller filled with clunky dialogue, but spectacular visuals save it from being a total disaster." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade "B" on an A+ to F scale.Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times described the film as "profoundly silly", but nonetheless said the film was effective and praised the special effects. He gave it three stars out of four. Accolades Political and scientific criticism Emmerich did not deny that his casting of a weak president and the resemblance of Kenneth Welsh to Vice President Dick Cheney were intended to criticize the climate change policy of the George W. Bush administration. Responding to claims of insensitivity in his inclusion of scenes of a devastated New York City less than three years after the September 11 attacks, Emmerich said that it was necessary to showcase the increased unity of people in the face of disaster because of the attacks.Some scientists criticized the film's scientific aspects. Paleoclimatologist and professor of earth and planetary science at Harvard University Daniel P. Schrag said, "On the one hand, I'm glad that there's a big-budget movie about something as critical as climate change. On the other, I'm concerned that people will see these over-the-top effects and think the whole thing is a joke ... We are indeed experimenting with the Earth in a way that hasn't been done for millions of years. But you're not going to see another ice age – at least not like that." J. Marshall Shepherd, a research meteorologist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, expressed a similar sentiment: "I'm heartened that there's a movie addressing real climate issues. But as for the science of the movie, I'd give it a D minus or an F. And I'd be concerned if the movie was made to advance a political agenda." According to University of Victoria climatologist Andrew Weaver, "It's The Towering Inferno of climate science movies, but I'm not losing any sleep over a new ice age, because it's impossible."Patrick J. Michaels, a former research professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia and fellow at the Cato Institute who rejected the scientific consensus on global warming, called the film "propaganda" in a USA Today editorial: "As a scientist, I bristle when lies dressed up as 'science' are used to influence political discourse." College instructor and retired NASA Office of Inspector General senior special agent Joseph Gutheinz called The Day After Tomorrow "a cheap thrill ride, which many weak-minded people will jump on and stay on for the rest of their lives" in a Space Daily editorial.Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, an expert on thermohaline circulation and its effect on climate, said after a talk with scriptwriter Jeffrey Nachmanoff at the film's Berlin preview: Clearly this is a disaster movie and not a scientific documentary, [and] the film makers have taken a lot of artistic license. But the film presents an opportunity to explain that some of the basic background is right: humans are indeed increasingly changing the climate and this is quite a dangerous experiment, including some risk of abrupt and unforeseen changes ... Luckily it is extremely unlikely that we will see major ocean circulation changes in the next couple of decades (I'd be just as surprised as Jack Hall if they did occur); at least most scientists think this will only become a more serious risk towards the end of the century. And the consequences would certainly not be as dramatic as the 'superstorm' depicted in the movie. Nevertheless, a major change in ocean circulation is a risk with serious and partly unpredictable consequences, which we should avoid. And even without events like ocean circulation changes, climate change is serious enough to demand decisive action. Environmental activist and Guardian columnist George Monbiot called The Day After Tomorrow "a great movie and lousy science".In 2008, Yahoo! Movies listed The Day After Tomorrow as one of its top-10 scientifically inaccurate films. It was criticized for depicting meteorological phenomena as occurring over the course of hours, instead of decades or centuries. A 2015 Washington Post article reported on a paper published in Scientific Reports which indicated that global temperatures could drop relatively rapidly (one degree Fahrenheit change or 0.5 degrees Celsius change over an 11-year period) due to a temporary shutdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation caused by global warming. Home media The film was released on VHS and DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on October 12, 2004, and was released in high-definition video on Blu-ray in North America on October 2, 2007, and in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2008, in 1080p with a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio track and few bonus features. DVD sales were $110 million, bringing the film's gross to $652,771,772. See also Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet – a 2007 non-fiction book The Coming Global Superstorm – a book on which the movie is based Fifty Degrees Below – a Kim Stanley Robinson novel in which greenhouse warming similarly disrupts the Gulf Stream Time of the Great Freeze – a novel by Robert Silverberg about a second Ice Age The World in Winter – a 1962 book by John Christopher about the beginning of a new ice age Geostorm – a 2017 film with a similar premise from Emmerich’s longtime collaborator Dean Devlin Ice – a 1998 film with a similar premise starring Grant Show, Udo Kier, and Eva La Rue Snowpiercer (2013) — a 2013 film about the remnants of humanity following a new global ice age Snowpiercer (TV) — a TV series based on the aforementioned movie of the same name Strange World — a 2022 animated film that stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid in the same familiar dynamic their characters played as. Survival film References External links Official website The Day After Tomorrow at IMDb The Day After Tomorrow at AllMovie The Day After Tomorrow at the TCM Movie Database The Day After Tomorrow at the American Film Institute Catalog The Day After Tomorrow at Box Office Mojo The Day After Tomorrow: A Scientific Critique

list of open letters by academics

This article lists notable open letters that were initiated by scientists or other academics or have a substantial share of academic signees. Open letters that are not open for signing by other academics or the public in general and have not received both a large number of signatures – in specific no less than 10 before 2000 and no less than 40 after 2010 – and substantial media attention are not included, nor are petitions. With the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web, such open letters may have become far more frequent. Open letters targeting or defending individual academics or small groups of scholars as well as letters calling for retractions of specific studies are not included. See also Collective action Collective intelligence Scientific consensus Scientific controversyPolicy2023 in the environment#Open policy proposals Timeline of computing 2020–present#Open policy proposals Policy § Induction of policiesIn the media and public awarenessReality § Media Science communication Science journalism Solutions journalismSimilar documentsLetter of three hundred, only made public retrospectively World Scientists' Warning to Humanity == References ==

mariam almheiri

Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri (Arabic: مريم بنت محمد سعيد حارب المهيري) is an Emirati politician who currently serves as Minister of Climate Change and Environment in the United Arab Emirates. Early life and education Almheiri was born in 1979 to an Emirati father and a German mother. She attended the Latifa School for Girls in Dubai and RWTH Aachen University in Germany, where she received bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering specialising in development and design engineering. Career After graduation, Almheiri joined the Emirati Ministry of Environment and Water, where she was involved in the Khalifa Bin Zayed Centre for Marine Research, the UAE Integrated Waste Management Project, and the construction of a number of facilities. In 2014, she was appointed Director of the Education and Awareness Department in the ministry, where she was responsible for formulating a national strategy to raise environmental awareness in the UAE.In 2015, Almheiri was appointed Assistant Undersecretary for Water Resources and Nature Conservation Affairs at the Ministry of Climate Change, after a period as Acting Assistant Undersecretary.Since October 2017, Almheiri has been Minister of State for Food Security. In September 2018, she announced plans for 'Food Valley,' a food technology hub in the UAE, named after Silicon Valley. In January 2019, she was made an overseer of the Security and Foreign Affairs sector of the UAE's National Expert Programme. In the same month, she launched the UAE Food Security Strategy, consisting of five pillars: diversification of sources of food imports, research and development to increase domestic food production, reduction of food waste, maintenance of food safety standards, and increasing the UAE's ability to respond to crises. The goal of the strategy is to see UAE's place on the Global food security index advance from 31 to first place by 2051.Almheiri has also been a member of the board of the Emirates Equestrian Federation since 2016. References External links "Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri". UAE Cabinet Official Website. Retrieved 20 March 2019.

climate positive development program

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group’s Climate Positive Development Program (Climate Positive) was launched in May 2009 in partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative and the U.S. Green Building Council. The program brings together leading district-scale new-build and regeneration projects working to achieve "Climate Positive"—or net carbon negative—outcomes in cities around the world. As part of the C40’s Sustainable Communities Initiative, it aims to create a model for large-scale urban communities and to support projects that serve as urban laboratories for cities seeking to grow in ways that are environmentally sustainable, climate resilient, and economically viable.Climate Positive is an exclusive program, with a competitive application process, and currently comprises 17 global projects that will collectively reduce the emissions impact of more than one million people. The cities in which the Climate Positive projects are located support the implementation process locally and share best practices globally through participation in the C40 Climate Positive Network, The projects are in different stages of development, but share key characteristics like high densities, highly efficient buildings, mixed-use zoning and transit accessibility. History Climate Positive was developed in partnership by the C40, the Clinton Climate Initiative, and the U.S. Green Building Council and was launched at the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group summit in Seoul, South Korea in May 2009. At the time of its launch, Climate Positive had 16 founding projects on six continents, supported by local governments and property developers. In October 2012, the City of Copenhagen’s Nordhaven project was accepted to join the Program, and in Sao Paulo, Obdebrecht’s Parque da Cidade (Park of the City) formally launched with a big kick-off event bringing the total number of projects to 17.The current projects are located in Melbourne, Australia; Sydney, Australia; Palhoça, Brazil; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Copenhagen, Denmark; Ahmedabad, India; Jaipur, India; Pretoria, South Africa; Seoul, South Korea; Stockholm, Sweden; London, UK; Oberlin, USA; Portland, USA; and San Francisco, USA. Objectives With the primary objective to build Climate Positive (operational net carbon negative) districts in cities, the Climate Positive Development Program attempts to change the paradigm of district scale development through three main activities: Recognizing exemplary achievement Sharing best practices and challenges experienced amongst development partners Facilitating the broader implementation in cities of scalable projects, policies, and programs with low carbon emissions Leadership In April 2013, it was announced that the Mayor of São Paulo, Fernando Haddad, and the Mayor of Stockholm, Sten Nordin would share the chairmanship of Climate Positive and together lead the network due to their leadership and commitment to finding replicable city-scale solutions to address climate change. How it Works Each Climate Positive Development project has a unique profile determined by its distinct economic, political, and climate challenges; however, every project aims to lower their operational greenhouse gas emissions to below zero. Moreover, development partners across the 18 projects are expected to focus on reducing operational carbon emissions at the district scale from transportation, energy, and waste sectors, and are required to share the solutions they come up with., The Program also provides technical and logistical support to Development Partners by hosting learning programs and webinars, convening private sector firms to produce tools and templates for project use, increasing project visibility through various media channels, and granting access to technical experts and other partners within the Climate Positive and C40 network.In order to become Climate Positive and achieve net carbon negative outcomes, development partners earn Climate Positive Credits by sequestering emissions on-site and abating emissions from surrounding communities. There are many different paths to the Climate Positive outcome of net-negative operational GHG emissions; each project will use a different set of strategies and technologies according to its local opportunities, guided by the Climate Positive Development Framework, which lays out the four stages of Climate Positive. As projects move through the four recognition stages, from Climate Positive Candidate, to Climate Positive Participant, to Progress Site, and ultimately at project completion and Climate Positive certification, development partners submit documentation to the Program to ensure that they remain on track, and receive feedback from program staff and affiliated technical experts. The Projects Victoria Harbour, Melbourne, Australia Barangaroo, Sydney, Australia Parque da Cidade, São Paulo, Brazil Pedra Branca Sustainable Urbanism, Palhoça, Greater Florianópolis, Brazil Dockside Green, Victoria, BC, Canada Waterfront Toronto, Lower Don Lands, Toronto, ON, Canada Nordhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark ProjectZero, Sonderborg, Denmark Godrej Garden City, Ahmedabad, India Mahindra World City, Jaipur, India Menlyn Maine, Pretoria, South Africa Magok Urban Development Project, Seoul, South Korea Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm, Sweden Elephant & Castle, London, UK Treasure Island Development Project, San Francisco, CA, USA The Oberlin Project, Oberlin, OH, USA Southwaterfront EcoDistricts, Portland, OR, USA The Shinagawa Project, Tokyo, Japan See also C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Adaptation to global warming Climate change mitigation Covenant of Mayors Energy conservation Global Energy Basel ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability Individual and political action on climate change London Climate Change Agency PlaNYC Renewable energy World energy resources and consumption World's largest cities References External links climatepositivedevelopment.org Cities Go Climate Positive C40 cities official web site Clinton Climate Initiative

dave lowe (atmospheric scientist)

David Charles Lowe (born 1946) is a New Zealand atmospheric scientist who was instrumental in setting up the Baring Head atmospheric CO2 programme in 1972. A researcher and educator, Lowe was one of the lead authors of a 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which was recognised with a Nobel Peace Prize. Lowe has worked with others such as Charles David Keeling, to measure the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and how this is contributing to climate change, in particular global warming. He is an adjunct professor of atmospheric chemistry at the Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington. Lowe's memoir was published in 2021 and received favourable reviews in the New Zealand media. Early life and education Lowe had a rural upbringing in Bell Block, Taranaki, New Zealand. He attended New Plymouth Boys High School but was "bullied and unhappy", so after three years and having gained School Certificate (New Zealand), left and worked in a telephone exchange. He became a keen surfer which heightened his awareness of the environment, noting that when he was out on the waves he "saw the atmosphere directly, going down into the ocean, mixing the sounds, the smells". This convinced him that he needed to understand more about the environment. Although he had no interest in furthering his education at this time, a local teacher Ray Jackson, noting his passion for the environment, suggested that he visit the local library and read around this topic. Lowe knew that to follow this interest, more education was necessary, so he returned to New Plymouth Boys High School for one year and gained The New Zealand University Entrance qualification, the minimum requirement for tertiary education. He completed a Master's degree in Physics at Victoria University, Wellington (1969) and moved to Germany where he lived and studied from 1978 to 1983. While in Germany he applied for a government scholarship to do a PhD in atmospheric chemistry at the University of Cologne and noted "that my wife and I had four wonderful years in Jülich, and at the end of my scholarship I had gained not only a PhD but also two children born in Germany – as well as an enduring affinity with the country, its language and people". Career After graduating from Victoria University with a heightened interest in atmospheric science, Lowe accepted a position at the former Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Wellington, later to become the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand), a forerunner of Crown Research Institutes. While there, he worked with Athol Rafter, a scientist who was the first person to tell him about the effects of CO2 on the atmosphere. Lowe became aware of the work of Charles Keeling that was alerting the world to the possibility of anthropogenic contribution to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Keeling discussed the possibility of setting up a measuring station in New Zealand with Rafter and in 1970 Lowe was asked to coordinate this, culminating eventually in the establishment of what would be known as the Baring Head Clean Air Monitoring Station. From the beginning of the programme in 1972, this site has continued to record the rise of CO2 in the atmosphere.In 1975 Lowe took a sabbatical and joined a group of scientists who went to California for the first conference of greenhouse gas experts. He stayed in California and worked with Keeling at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography for six months before returning to New Zealand to continue the work at Baring Head. For five years from 1978, while living in Germany and completing his PhD in atmospheric chemistry at University of Cologne, Lowe worked at several scientific institutes investigating the sources of atmospheric CO2 and methane.Back in New Zealand, Lowe worked as a research scientist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), until the end of 2007, when he left to form a small company specialising in climate change education and promoting renewable energy. The same company contracts to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) where Lowe served as the NZ / Germany science coordinator from 2012 – 2018. Until it concluded in 2016, Lowe coordinated funding support with an initiative known as FRIENZ that had the goal of facilitating research and innovation co-operation between Europe and New Zealand. He remains an adjunct professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington. Significant achievements Baring Head Clean Air Monitoring Station Lowe had a key role in establishing this station that since 1972 has been measuring CO2 in the atmosphere, with the longest continuous record of atmospheric CO2 in the Southern Hemisphere. His part in setting up the station began when he met Keeling – the inventor of the upward-climbing chart of atmospheric CO2 known as the Keeling Curve – who wanted somebody to start measuring in the Southern Hemisphere to see if CO2 growth matched what he was seeing in the north. Lowe found a windy, barren headland – Baring Head near the entrance to Wellington Harbour – and built an automatic air-sampling machine using parts from a telephone exchange. During a southerly, the Antarctic winds came straight over the ocean, and Lowe needed to know at Baring Head that there were no obstructions likely to change or affect that movement of air. After gathering data, Lowe and Keeling concluded that "the planet was breathing – in during the Northern Hemisphere growing season as plants sucked up more CO2, out during the northern winter, when the deciduous trees dropped their leaves – but the amount of CO2 left in the atmosphere after each breath was rising". Scientists would later "fingerprint" the carbon to prove it was coming from people burning fossil fuels, and the Baring Head measuring station would expand to chart rising methane and other greenhouse gases. This data was used when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2007 that it was very likely – 90 per cent certain – that rising greenhouse gases were to blame for most warming in global average temperatures since the mid 20th century. After eight years, the project was considered important enough to be handed over to another respected climate scientist, Martin Manning when Lowe won a scholarship to study in Germany.Carbon Watch New Zealand, established in 2019, is a collaborative project to measure greenhouse gases and draws on the work done at Baring Point. In a podcast in 2020 related to this project Lowe recalled the early days at Baring Head. He also reiterated the importance of measuring CO2 and methane gases but explained that as the temperature of the atmosphere heats up, these gases drive an increase in water vapour which Lowe contended was a major cause of the temperature of the earth rising, making water vapour "by far the strongest greenhouse gas". Nobel Peace Prize In 2007, Lowe was one of several New Zealand scientists who contributed toward the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), set up jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, to provide an authoritative international statement of scientific understanding of climate change. As a result of this work, the Nobel Peace Prize 2007 was awarded jointly to the IPCC and Al Gore "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change". Lowe was a lead author for the section Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing', Working Group 1 (The Physical Science Basis). The Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi published a full list of the team of New Zealand researchers who contributed to this work, acknowledging the influence the group had on the project. Controversies Rebuttal of climate change denial In 2003, Chris de Freitas, then of Auckland University, challenged the scientific consensus that global warming caused by human activity was abruptly changing Earth's climate. Lowe, along with other National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) scientists David Wratt and Brett Mullan all of whom had worked together on the 2001 Climate Change report, rebutted De Freitas's viewpoint. De Freitas had claimed that "atmospheric carbon dioxide levels [were] being stabilised by increased plant growth and other feedback mechanisms", but Lowe, Wratt and Mullan presented a graph depicting "steadily rising carbon dioxide levels measured at Baring Head between 1971 and 2002...[which showed]...that atmospheric levels of the gas are increasing steadily...[ and that]...worldwide surface temperature rises are real...and not due to urban effects, as de Freitas argued". Collaboration on a popular book In March 2008, Gareth Morgan, asked Lowe to assist him in evaluating the research on climate change for his book Poles Apart. Lowe, recently retired, was asked to led a small group of scientists, including marine geologist Lionel Carter, a colleague of Lowe's from the Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University, to cover what was considered as the 'mainstream view' about climate change. Morgan's plan was to canvas the opinions of well-known climate denialists around the world and get Lowe and his team to provide commentaries on their seminal works. These critiques would be sent back to the denialists to get their responses. A significant work by climate change deniers critiqued by Lowe's team was Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate: Summary for Policymakers of the Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, edited by Fred Singer. This document, produced shortly after the publication of the IPCC Fourth Assessment (2007), took the stance that the position of the IPCC did not provide a balanced view in the debate about Climate change. Lowe noted that it took his team "weeks to get to grips with the many inconsistencies, faulty citations and straw man arguments" in the Stringer document.After the publication of the book, some mainstream scientists expressed concerns about the book and the involvement of Lowe in its production. Dr Andy Reisinger, who assisted with the book, noted that while it was impressive the authors engaged "directly with scientific literature, rather than following only second-hand arguments", it was problematic that their stated goal was to "settle as independent judge and jury". John McCrystal who co-authored the book, responded to Resinger's comments and stated that he and Morgan "didn't claim any special legal or scientific knowledge, just a willingness to apply ourselves, to the limits of our ability, to the expert testimony being presented".Lowe, Adjunct Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry, Carter, Professor of Marine Geology and Barrett, Professor of Geology, later reflected on their experiences as the expert panel tasked with trying to convince economist Gareth Morgan that global warming is the result of human activity and concluded that "the book will have a huge impact with the New Zealand public". Publication of memoir The Alarmist (2021) is Lowe's memoir that was originally to be called Atmosphere until he accepted the advice of his publishers to change it to Alarmist because he realised that was what he had become -"an alarmist in the sense of sounding the alarm about a very real threat to the Earth's biosphere, to the Earth's atmosphere". The book received many favourable reviews that backgrounded Lowe's life and struggles and eventual triumphs. Joel MacManus explored his difficult upbringing, the "brutally demanding work" under Charles Keeling, the breakdown in his marriage and the ongoing conflicts with climate change deniers, quoting Lowe as saying his story is one of "elation and despair", but that he is "optimistic because of his work as a mentor for youth-change climate action groups such as Fridays for Future". Jim Eagles said the book gives examples of Lowe's creativity and resilience as a scientist, "using what we like to think of as typical Kiwi ingenuity to conduct innovative experiments on the cheap: something well-illustrated by the cover photo of a young Lowe standing on the exposed edge of Wellington's Baring Head in the teeth of a howling gale to collect samples of air fresh from the Southern Ocean...[with]... a fascinating cast of characters, too: a few narrow-minded administrators and colleagues with their own agendas who considered climate research unimportant and a lot of dedicated scientists around the world seeking to find out what is happening to Earth's climate".A review in The Spinoff by Clarrie Macklin, himself a glaciologist who had dealt with the harsh realities of climate change daily and the challenges of working with glaciers, said that Lowe's book was beginning to "thaw out the emotional stress...[and took him back]...to a time before flash computers and health and safety standards for research fieldwork – a mystical era known as the 1970s". Macklin continued that the book is "more than a piece of science history: it's a memoir, full of humour and enthusiasm, elation and despair...[revealing]... moments of scientific inspiration, yet usually with a beer, chippie bowl, or coffee at hand...[and]...the science Lowe describes is a monumental achievement; the ordeals he faced as one of the first witnesses of climate change are impressive". Another reviewer noted that the book is credible because Lowe is honest about the situation of climate change and explains the science without using jargon or scientific language. The reviewer said that "his style will really appeal to an audience that may not have considered reading up on climate change before, or wanted to but were just intimidated by the subject matter". Lowe himself contributed an edited extract from the book as an essay in The Guardian, concluding: "The challenges ahead are formidable but I truly believe that, given the will and with concerted action, human beings are more than capable of building a sustainable future." The New Zealand Listener headlined their review of the memoir with: "A Kiwi scientist's climate warning is lucid, persuasive and entertaining." Awards Lowe was awarded the 2020 Wellingtonian of the Year Environmental Award.In 2022, Lowe's book The Alarmist won the EH McCormick Prize for the best first work of general non-fiction in the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. It was noted the book had "a rich texture of family and a clear awareness that members of the scientific community are not always in harmony. It is enlightening as well as very readable". References External links Review of Poles Apart Carbon Watch & 50 years of CO2 measurements in NZ Good news for clean air Confronting Climate Change Impact of humans on climate change Seminar 2007 Action Day 2015

istanbul

Istanbul ( IST-an-BUUL, US also IST-an-buul; Turkish: İstanbul [isˈtanbuɫ] ), formerly known as Constantinople, is the largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, cultural and historic hub. The city straddles the Bosporus Strait, lying in both Europe and Asia, and has a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is the most populous European city and the world's 15th-largest city. The city was founded as Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον, Byzantion) in the 7th century BCE by Greek settlers from Megara. In 330 CE, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great made it his imperial capital, renaming it first as New Rome (Greek: Νέα Ῥώμη, Nea Rhomē; Latin: Nova Roma) and then as Constantinople (Constantinopolis) after himself. In 1930, the city's name was officially changed to Istanbul, the Turkish rendering of εἰς τὴν Πόλιν (romanized: eis tḕn Pólin; 'to the City'), the appellation Greek speakers used since the 11th century to colloquially refer to the city.The city served as an imperial capital for almost 1600 years: during the Roman/Byzantine (330–1204), Latin (1204–1261), late Byzantine (1261–1453), and Ottoman (1453–1922) empires. The city grew in size and influence, eventually becoming a beacon of the Silk Road and one of the most important cities in history. The city played a key role in the advancement of Christianity during Roman/Byzantine times, hosting four of the first seven ecumenical councils before its transformation to an Islamic stronghold following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE—especially after becoming the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1517. In 1923, after the Turkish War of Independence, Ankara replaced the city as the capital of the newly formed Republic of Turkey. Over 13.4 million foreign visitors came to Istanbul in 2018, eight years after it was named a European Capital of Culture, making it the world's eighth most visited city. The historic centre of Istanbul is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city hosts the headquarters of numerous Turkish companies, accounting for more than thirty percent of the country's economy. Toponymy The first known name of the city is Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον, Byzántion), the name given to it at its foundation by Megarian colonists around 657 BCE. Megarian colonists claimed a direct line back to the founders of the city, Byzas, the son of the god Poseidon and the nymph Ceroëssa. Modern excavations have raised the possibility that the name Byzantium might reflect the sites of native Thracian settlements that preceded the fully-fledged town. Constantinople comes from the Latin name Constantinus, after Constantine the Great, the Roman emperor who refounded the city in 324 CE. Constantinople remained the most common name for the city in the West until the 1930s, when Turkish authorities began to press for the use of "Istanbul" in foreign languages. Ḳosṭanṭīnīye (Ottoman Turkish: قسطنطينيه) and İstanbul were the names used alternatively by the Ottomans during their rule.The name İstanbul (Turkish pronunciation: [isˈtanbuɫ] , colloquial Turkish pronunciation: [ɯsˈtambuɫ]) is commonly held to derive from the Medieval Greek phrase "εἰς τὴν Πόλιν" (pronounced Greek pronunciation: [is tim ˈbolin]), which means "to the city" and is how Constantinople was referred to by the local Greeks. This reflected its status as the only major city in the vicinity. The importance of Constantinople in the Ottoman world was also reflected by its nickname Der Saadet meaning the 'Gate to Prosperity' in Ottoman Turkish. An alternative view is that the name evolved directly from the name Constantinople, with the first and third syllables dropped. Some Ottoman sources of the 17th century, such as Evliya Çelebi, describe it as the common Turkish name of the time; between the late 17th and late 18th centuries, it was also in official use. The first use of the word Islambol (Ottoman Turkish: اسلامبول) on coinage was in 1730 during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I. In modern Turkish, the name is written as İstanbul, with a dotted İ, as the Turkish alphabet distinguishes between a dotted and dotless I. In English the stress is on the first or last syllable, but in Turkish it is on the second syllable (-tan-). A person from the city is an İstanbullu (plural: İstanbullular); Istanbulite is used in English. History Neolithic artifacts, uncovered by archeologists at the beginning of the 21st century, indicate that Istanbul's historic peninsula was settled as far back as the 6th millennium BCE. That early settlement, important in the spread of the Neolithic Revolution from the Near East to Europe, lasted for almost a millennium before being inundated by rising water levels. The first human settlement on the Asian side, the Fikirtepe mound, is from the Copper Age period, with artifacts dating from 5500 to 3500 BCE, On the European side, near the point of the peninsula (Sarayburnu), there was a Thracian settlement during the early 1st millennium BCE. Modern authors have linked it to the Thracian toponym Lygos, mentioned by Pliny the Elder as an earlier name for the site of Byzantium.The history of the city proper begins around 660 BCE, when Greek settlers from Megara established Byzantium on the European side of the Bosporus. The settlers built an acropolis adjacent to the Golden Horn on the site of the early Thracian settlements, fueling the nascent city's economy. The city experienced a brief period of Persian rule at the turn of the 5th century BCE, but the Greeks recaptured it during the Greco-Persian Wars. Byzantium then continued as part of the Athenian League and its successor, the Second Athenian League, before gaining independence in 355 BCE. Long allied with the Romans, Byzantium officially became a part of the Roman Empire in 73 CE. Byzantium's decision to side with the Roman usurper Pescennius Niger against Emperor Septimius Severus cost it dearly; by the time it surrendered at the end of 195 CE, two years of siege had left the city devastated. Five years later, Severus began to rebuild Byzantium, and the city regained—and, by some accounts, surpassed—its previous prosperity. Rise and fall of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire Constantine the Great effectively became the emperor of the whole of the Roman Empire in September 324. Two months later, he laid out the plans for a new, Christian city to replace Byzantium. As the eastern capital of the empire, the city was named Nova Roma; most called it Constantinople, a name that persisted into the 20th century. On 11 May 330, Constantinople was proclaimed the capital of the Roman Empire, which was later permanently divided between the two sons of Theodosius I upon his death on 17 January 395, when the city became the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.The establishment of Constantinople was one of Constantine's most lasting accomplishments, shifting Roman power eastward as the city became a center of Greek culture and Christianity. Numerous churches were built across the city, including Hagia Sophia which was built during the reign of Justinian the Great and remained the world's largest cathedral for a thousand years. Constantine also undertook a major renovation and expansion of the Hippodrome of Constantinople; accommodating tens of thousands of spectators, the hippodrome became central to civic life and, in the 5th and 6th centuries, the center of episodes of unrest, including the Nika riots. Constantinople's location also ensured its existence would stand the test of time; for many centuries, its walls and seafront protected Europe against invaders from the east and the advance of Islam. During most of the Middle Ages, the latter part of the Byzantine era, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city on the European continent and at times the largest in the world. Constantinople is generally considered to be the center and the "cradle of Orthodox Christian civilization".Constantinople began to decline continuously after the end of the reign of Basil II in 1025. The Fourth Crusade was diverted from its purpose in 1204, and the city was sacked and pillaged by the crusaders. They established the Latin Empire in place of the Orthodox Byzantine Empire. Hagia Sophia was converted to a Catholic church in 1204. The Byzantine Empire was restored, albeit weakened, in 1261. Constantinople's churches, defenses, and basic services were in disrepair, and its population had dwindled to a hundred thousand from half a million during the 8th century. After the reconquest of 1261, however, some of the city's monuments were restored, and some, like the two Deesis mosaics in Hagia Sophia and Kariye, were created. Various economic and military policies instituted by Andronikos II, such as the reduction of military forces, weakened the empire and left it vulnerable to attack. In the mid-14th-century, the Ottoman Turks began a strategy of gradually taking smaller towns and cities, cutting off Constantinople's supply routes and strangling it slowly. On 29 May 1453, after an eight-week siege (during which the last Roman emperor, Constantine XI, was killed), Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" captured Constantinople and declared it the new capital of the Ottoman Empire. Hours later, the sultan rode to the Hagia Sophia and summoned an imam to proclaim the Islamic creed, converting the grand cathedral into an imperial mosque due to the city's refusal to surrender peacefully. Mehmed declared himself as the new Kayser-i Rûm (the Ottoman Turkish equivalent of the Caesar of Rome) and the Ottoman state was reorganized into an empire. Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic eras Following the conquest of Constantinople, Mehmed II immediately set out to revitalize the city. Cognizant that revitalization would fail without the repopulation of the city, Mehmed II welcomed everyone–foreigners, criminals, and runaways– showing extraordinary openness and willingness to incorporate outsiders that came to define Ottoman political culture. He also invited people from all over Europe to his capital, creating a cosmopolitan society that persisted through much of the Ottoman period. Revitalizing Istanbul also required a massive program of restorations, of everything from roads to aqueducts. Like many monarchs before and since, Mehmed II transformed Istanbul's urban landscape with wholesale redevelopment of the city center. There was a huge new palace to rival, if not overshadow, the old one, a new covered market (still standing as the Grand Bazaar), porticoes, pavilions, walkways, as well as more than a dozen new mosques. Mehmed II turned the ramshackle old town into something that looked like an imperial capital.Social hierarchy was ignored by the rampant plague, which killed the rich and the poor alike in the 16th century. Money could not protect the rich from all the discomforts and harsher sides of Istanbul. Although the Sultan lived at a safe remove from the masses, and the wealthy and poor tended to live side by side, for the most part Istanbul was not zoned as modern cities are. Opulent houses shared the same streets and districts with tiny hovels. Those rich enough to have secluded country properties had a chance of escaping the periodic epidemics of sickness that blighted Istanbul. The Ottoman Dynasty claimed the status of caliphate in 1517, with Constantinople remaining the capital of this last caliphate for four centuries. Suleiman the Magnificent's reign from 1520 to 1566 was a period of especially great artistic and architectural achievement; chief architect Mimar Sinan designed several iconic buildings in the city, while Ottoman arts of ceramics, stained glass, calligraphy, and miniature flourished. The population of Constantinople was 570,000 by the end of the 18th century.A period of rebellion at the start of the 19th century led to the rise of the progressive Sultan Mahmud II and eventually to the Tanzimat period, which produced political reforms and allowed new technology to be introduced to the city. Bridges across the Golden Horn were constructed during this period, and Constantinople was connected to the rest of the European railway network in the 1880s. Modern facilities, such as a water supply network, electricity, telephones, and trams, were gradually introduced to Constantinople over the following decades, although later than to other European cities. The modernization efforts were not enough to forestall the decline of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Abdul Hamid II was deposed with the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 and the Ottoman Parliament, closed since 14 February 1878, was reopened 30 years later on 23 July 1908, which marked the beginning of the Second Constitutional Era. A series of wars in the early 20th century, such as the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912) and the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), plagued the ailing empire's capital and resulted in the 1913 Ottoman coup d'état, which brought the regime of the Three Pashas.The Ottoman Empire joined World War I (1914–1918) on the side of the Central Powers and was ultimately defeated. The deportation of Armenian intellectuals on 24 April 1915 was among the major events which marked the start of the Armenian genocide during WWI. Due to Ottoman and Turkish policies of Turkification and ethnic cleansing, the city's Christian population declined from 450,000 to 240,000 between 1914 and 1927. The Armistice of Mudros was signed on 30 October 1918 and the Allies occupied Constantinople on 13 November 1918. The Ottoman Parliament was dissolved by the Allies on 11 April 1920 and the Ottoman delegation led by Damat Ferid Pasha was forced to sign the Treaty of Sèvres on 10 August 1920. Following the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922), the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara abolished the Sultanate on 1 November 1922, and the last Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed VI, was declared persona non grata. Leaving aboard the British warship HMS Malaya on 17 November 1922, he went into exile and died in Sanremo, Italy, on 16 May 1926. The Treaty of Lausanne was signed on 24 July 1923, and the occupation of Constantinople ended with the departure of the last forces of the Allies from the city on 4 October 1923. Turkish forces of the Ankara government, commanded by Şükrü Naili Pasha (3rd Corps), entered the city with a ceremony on 6 October 1923, which has been marked as the Liberation Day of Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul'un Kurtuluşu) and is commemorated every year on its anniversary. On 29 October 1923 the Grand National Assembly of Turkey declared the establishment of the Turkish Republic, with Ankara as its capital. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the Republic's first President.A 1942 wealth tax assessed mainly on non-Muslims led to the transfer or liquidation of many businesses owned by religious minorities. From the late 1940s and early 1950s, Istanbul underwent great structural change, as new public squares, boulevards, and avenues were constructed throughout the city, sometimes at the expense of historical buildings. The population of Istanbul began to rapidly increase in the 1970s, as people from Anatolia migrated to the city to find employment in the many new factories that were built on the outskirts of the sprawling metropolis. This sudden, sharp rise in the city's population caused a large demand for housing, and many previously outlying villages and forests became engulfed into the metropolitan area of Istanbul. Geography Istanbul is located in north-western Turkey and straddles the Bosporus Strait, which provides the only passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the Sea of Marmara. Historically, the city has been ideally situated for trade and defense: The confluence of the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Golden Horn provide both ideal defense against enemy attack and a natural toll-gate. Several picturesque islands—Büyükada, Heybeliada, Burgazada, Kınalıada, and five smaller islands—are part of the city. Istanbul's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Large sections of Caddebostan sit on areas of landfill, increasing the total area of the city to 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi).Despite the myth that seven hills make up the city, there are, in fact, more than 50 hills within the city limits. Istanbul's tallest hill, Aydos, is 537 meters (1,762 ft) high.The nearby North Anatolian Fault is responsible for much earthquake activity, although it does not physically pass through the city itself, and a quake of at least magnitude 7 is more likely than not before 2030 and very likely in the 21st century. The fault caused the earthquakes in 1766 and 1894. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development, with over 500,000 vulnerable buildings demolished and replaced since 2012. The city has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, most recently in 2018, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction. Climate Istanbul's climate is temperate, and is often described as transitional between the Mediterranean climate typical of the western and southern coasts of Turkey, and the oceanic climate of the northwestern coasts of the country. Much divergence exists in the terminology used to classify the city's climate, however. The city's summers are warm to hot and moderately dry, with an average daytime temperature of about 27 °C (81 °F), and less than 7 days of precipitation per month. Despite the generally acceptable temperature range, however, mid-summer in Istanbul is considered moderately uncomfortable, due to high dew points and relative humidity. Winters, meanwhile, are cool, quite rainy, and relatively snow-rich for a city with above-freezing average temperatures. Istanbul's precipitation is unevenly distributed, with winter months getting at least twice the level of precipitation of their summerly counterparts. The mode of precipitation also varies by season. Winter precipitation is generally light, persistent and often of mixed precipitation such as rain-snow mixes and graupel; while summer precipitation is generally abrupt and sporadic. Cloudiness, as with precipitation, varies greatly by season. Winters are quite cloudy, with around 20 percent of days being sunny or partly cloudy. Meanwhile, summers experience 60-70 percent of possible sunshine. Snowfall is sporadic, but accumulates every winter; and when it does, it is often persistent and disruptive. Sea-effect snowstorms with more than 30 centimetres (1 ft) of snowfall happen almost annually, most recently in 2022. Climate change As with virtually every part of the world, climate change is causing more heatwaves, droughts, storms, and flooding in Istanbul. Furthermore, as Istanbul is a large and rapidly expanding city, its urban heat island has been intensifying the effects of climate change. If trends continue, sea level rise is likely to affect city infrastructure, for example Kadıkoy metro station is threatened with flooding. Xeriscaping of green spaces has been suggested, and Istanbul has a climate-change action plan, but not a net zero target.: 51 Cityscape Districts and neighborhoods European side The Fatih district, which was named after Sultan Mehmed II (Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmed), corresponds to what was, until the Ottoman conquest in 1453, the whole of the city of Constantinople (today is the capital district and called the historic peninsula of Istanbul) on the southern shore of the Golden Horn, across the medieval Genoese citadel of Galata on the northern shore. The Genoese fortifications in Galata were largely demolished in the 19th century, leaving only the Galata Tower, to make way for the northward expansion of the city. Galata (Karaköy) is today a quarter within the Beyoğlu (Pera) district, which forms Istanbul's commercial and entertainment center and includes İstiklal Avenue and Taksim Square.Dolmabahçe Palace, the seat of government during the late Ottoman period, is in the Beşiktaş district on the European shore of the Bosporus strait, to the north of Beyoğlu. The former village of Ortaköy is within Beşiktaş and gives its name to the Ortaköy Mosque on the Bosporus, near the Bosporus Bridge. Lining both the European and Asian shores of the Bosporus are the historic yalıs, luxurious chalet mansions built by Ottoman aristocrats and elites as summer homes. Inland, north of Taksim Square is the Istanbul Central Business District, a set of corridors lined with office buildings, residential towers, shopping centers, and university campuses, and over 2,000,000 m2 (22,000,000 sq ft) of class-A office space in total. Maslak, Levent, and Bomonti are important nodes within the CBD.The Atatürk Airport corridor is another such edge city-style business, residential and shopping corridor with over 900,000 m2 (9,700,000 sq ft) of class-A office space. Asian side During the Ottoman period, Üsküdar (then Scutari) and Kadıköy were outside the scope of the urban area, serving as tranquil outposts with seaside yalıs and gardens. But in the second half of the 20th century, the Asian side experienced major urban growth; the late development of this part of the city led to better infrastructure and tidier urban planning when compared with most other residential areas in the city. Much of the Asian side of the Bosporus functions as a suburb of the economic and commercial centers in European Istanbul, accounting for a third of the city's population but only a quarter of its employment. However, Kozyatağı–Ataşehir, Altunizade, Kavacık and Ümraniye, all together having around 1.4 million sqm of class-A office space) are now important "edge cities", i.e. corridors and nodes of business and shopping centers and of tall residential buildings. Expansion As a result of Istanbul's exponential growth in the 20th century, a significant portion of the city is composed of gecekondus (literally "built overnight"), referring to illegally constructed squatter buildings. At present, some gecekondu areas are being gradually demolished and replaced by modern mass-housing compounds. Moreover, large scale gentrification and urban renewal projects have been taking place, such as the one in Tarlabaşı; some of these projects, like the one in Sulukule, have faced criticism. The Turkish government also has ambitious plans for an expansion of the city west and northwards on the European side in conjunction with the new Istanbul Airport, opened in 2019; the new parts of the city will include four different settlements with specified urban functions, housing 1.5 million people. Parks Istanbul does not have a primary urban park, but it has several green areas. Gülhane Park and Yıldız Park were originally included within the grounds of two of Istanbul's palaces — Topkapı Palace and Yıldız Palace—but they were repurposed as public parks in the early decades of the Turkish Republic. Another park, Fethi Paşa Korusu, is on a hillside adjacent to the Bosphorus Bridge in Anatolia, opposite Yıldız Palace in Europe. Along the European side, and close to the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, is Emirgan Park, which was known as the Kyparades (Cypress Forest) during the Byzantine period. In the Ottoman period, it was first granted to Nişancı Feridun Ahmed Bey in the 16th century, before being granted by Sultan Murad IV to the Safavid Emir Gûne Han in the 17th century, hence the name Emirgan. The 47-hectare (120-acre) park was later owned by Khedive Ismail Pasha of Ottoman Egypt and Sudan in the 19th century. Emirgan Park is known for its diversity of plants and an annual tulip festival is held there since 2005. The AKP government's decision to replace Taksim Gezi Park with a replica of the Ottoman era Taksim Military Barracks (which was transformed into the Taksim Stadium in 1921, before being demolished in 1940 for building Gezi Park) sparked a series of nationwide protests in 2013 covering a wide range of issues. Popular during the summer among Istanbulites is Belgrad Forest, spreading across 5,500 hectares (14,000 acres) at the northern edge of the city. The forest originally supplied water to the city and remnants of reservoirs used during Byzantine and Ottoman times survive. Architecture Istanbul is primarily known for its Byzantine and Ottoman architecture. Despite its development as a Turkish city since 1923, it contains many ancient, Roman, Byzantine, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish monuments. The Neolithic settlement in the Yenikapı quarter on the European side, which dates back to c. 6500 BCE and predates the formation of the Bosporus strait by approximately a millennium (when the Sea of Marmara was still a lake) was discovered during the construction of the Marmaray railway tunnel. It is the oldest known human settlement on the European side of the city. The oldest known human settlement on the Asian side is the Fikirtepe Mound near Kadıköy, with relics dating to c. 5500-3500 BCE (Chalcolithic period). There are numerous ancient monuments in the city. The most ancient is the Obelisk of Thutmose III (Obelisk of Theodosius). Built of red granite, 31 m (100 ft) high, it came from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, and was erected there by Pharaoh Thutmose III (r. 1479–1425 BCE) to the south of the seventh pylon. The Roman emperor Constantius II (r. 337–361 CE) had it and another obelisk transported along the River Nile to Alexandria for commemorating his ventennalia or 20 years on the throne in 357. The other obelisk was erected on the spina of the Circus Maximus in Rome in the autumn of that year, and is now known as the Lateran Obelisk. The obelisk that would become the Obelisk of Theodosius remained in Alexandria until 390 CE, when Theodosius I (r. 379–395 CE) had it transported to Constantinople and put up on the spina of the Hippodrome there. When re-erected at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, the obelisk was mounted on a decorative base, with reliefs that depict Theodosius I and his courtiers. The lower part of the obelisk was damaged in antiquity, probably during its transport to Alexandria in 357 CE or during its re-erection at the Hippodrome of Constantinople in 390 CE. As a result, the current height of the obelisk is only 18.54 meters, or 25.6 meters if the base is included. Between the four corners of the obelisk and the pedestal are four bronze cubes, used in its transportation and re-erection. Next in age is the Serpent Column, from 479 BCE. It was brought from Delphi in 324 CE, during the reign of Constantine the Great, and also erected at the spina of the Hippodrome. It was originally part of an ancient Greek sacrificial tripod in Delphi that was erected to commemorate the Greeks who fought and defeated the Persian Empire at the Battle of Plataea (479 BCE). The three serpent heads of the 8-meter (26 ft) high column remained intact until the end of the 17th century (one is on display at the nearby Istanbul Archaeology Museums).Built in porphyry and erected at the center of the Forum of Constantine in 330 CE to mark the founding of the new Roman capital, the Column of Constantine was originally adorned with a sculpture of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great depicted as the solar god Apollo on its top, which fell in 1106 and was later replaced by a cross during the reign of Byzantine emperor Manuel Komnenos (r. 1143–1180).There are traces of the Byzantine era throughout the city, from ancient churches that were built over early Christian meeting places like the Hagia Irene, the Chora Church, the Monastery of Stoudios, the Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos, the Monastery of the Pantocrator, the Monastery of Christ Pantepoptes, the Hagia Theodosia, the Church of Theotokos Kyriotissa, the Monastery of Constantine Lips, the Church of Myrelaion, the Hagios Theodoros, etc.; to palaces like the Great Palace of Constantinople and its Mosaic Museum, the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, Boukoleon Palace and Palace of Blachernae; and other public places and buildings like the Hippodrome, the Augustaion, the Basilica Cistern, Theodosius Cistern, Cistern of Philoxenos and Cistern of the Hebdomon, the Aqueduct of Valens, the Prison of Anemas, the Walls of Constantinople and the Porta Aurea (Golden Gate), among numerous others. The 4th century Harbor of Theodosius in Yenikapı, once the busiest port in Constantinople, was among the numerous archeological discoveries that took place during the excavations of the Marmaray tunnel.However, it is the Hagia Sophia that fully conveys the period of Constantinople as a city without parallel in Christendom. The Hagia Sophia, topped by a dome 31 meters (102 ft) in diameter over a square space defined by four arches, is the pinnacle of Byzantine architecture. The Hagia Sophia stood as the world's largest cathedral in the world until it was converted into a mosque in the 15th century. The minarets date from that period. Because of its historical significance, it was reopened as a museum in 1935. However, it was re-converted into a mosque in July 2020. Over the next four centuries, the Ottomans transformed Istanbul's urban landscape with a vast building scheme that included the construction of towering mosques and ornate palaces. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque), another landmark of the city, faces the Hagia Sophia at Sultanahmet Square (Hippodrome of Constantinople). The Süleymaniye Mosque, built by Suleiman the Magnificent, was designed by his chief architect Mimar Sinan, the most illustrious of all Ottoman architects, who designed many of the city's renowned mosques and other types of public buildings and monuments.Among the oldest surviving examples of Ottoman architecture in Istanbul are the Anadoluhisarı and Rumelihisarı fortresses, which assisted the Ottomans during their siege of the city. Over the next four centuries, the Ottomans made an indelible impression on the skyline of Istanbul, building towering mosques and ornate palaces. Topkapı Palace, dating back to 1465, is the oldest seat of government surviving in Istanbul. Mehmed II built the original palace as his main residence and the seat of government. The present palace grew over the centuries as a series of additions enfolding four courtyards and blending neoclassical, rococo, and baroque architectural forms. In 1639, Murad IV made some of the most lavish additions, including the Baghdad Kiosk, to commemorate his conquest of Baghdad the previous year. Government meetings took place here until 1786, when the seat of government was moved to the Sublime Porte. After several hundred years of royal residence, it was abandoned in 1853 in favor of the baroque Dolmabahçe Palace. Topkapı Palace became public property following the abolition of monarchy in 1922. After extensive renovation, it became one of Turkey's first national museums in 1924.The imperial mosques include Fatih Mosque, Bayezid Mosque, Yavuz Selim Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque, Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque), and Yeni Mosque, all of which were built at the peak of the Ottoman Empire, in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the following centuries, and especially after the Tanzimat reforms, Ottoman architecture was supplanted by European styles. An example of which is the imperial Nuruosmaniye Mosque. Areas around İstiklal Avenue were filled with grand European embassies and rows of buildings in Neoclassical, Renaissance Revival and Art Nouveau styles, which went on to influence the architecture of a variety of structures in Beyoğlu—including churches, stores, and theaters—and official buildings such as Dolmabahçe Palace. Administration Since 2004, the municipal boundaries of Istanbul have been coincident with the boundaries of its province. The city, considered capital of the larger Istanbul Province, is administered by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM, Turkish: İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi, IBB), which oversees the 39 districts of the city-province. The current city structure can be traced back to the Tanzimat period of reform in the 19th century, before which Islamic judges and imams led the city under the auspices of the Grand Vizier. Following the model of French cities, this religious system was replaced by a mayor and a citywide council composed of representatives of the confessional groups (millet) across the city. Pera (now Beyoğlu) was the first area of the city to have its own director and council, with members instead being longtime residents of the neighborhood. Laws enacted after the Ottoman constitution of 1876 aimed to expand this structure across the city, imitating the twenty arrondissements of Paris, but they were not fully implemented until 1908 when the city was declared a province with nine constituent districts. This system continued beyond the founding of the Turkish Republic, with the province renamed a belediye (municipality), but the municipality was disbanded in 1957. Small settlements adjacent to major population centers in Turkey, including Istanbul, were merged into their respective primary cities during the early 1980s, resulting in metropolitan municipalities. The main decision-making body of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is the Municipal Council, with members drawn from district councils. The Municipal Council of Istanbul is responsible for citywide issues, including managing the budget, maintaining civic infrastructure, and overseeing museums and major cultural centers. Since the government operates under a "powerful mayor, weak council" approach, the council's leader—the metropolitan mayor—has the authority to make swift decisions, often at the expense of transparency. The Municipal Council is advised by the Metropolitan Executive Committee, although the committee also has limited power to make decisions of its own. All representatives on the committee are appointed by the metropolitan mayor and the council, with the mayor—or someone of his or her choosing—serving as head.District councils are chiefly responsible for waste management and construction projects within their respective districts. They each maintain their own budgets, although the metropolitan mayor reserves the right to review district decisions. One-fifth of all district council members, including the district mayors, also represent their districts in the Municipal Council. All members of the district councils and the Municipal Council, including the metropolitan mayor, are elected to five-year terms. Representing the Republican People's Party, Ekrem İmamoğlu has been the Mayor of Istanbul since 27 June 2019.With the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Istanbul Province having equivalent jurisdictions, few responsibilities remain for the provincial government. Like the MMI, the Istanbul Special Provincial Administration has a governor, a democratically elected decision-making body—the Provincial Parliament—and an appointed Executive Committee. Mirroring the executive committee at the municipal level, the Provincial Executive Committee includes a secretary-general and leaders of departments that advise the Provincial Parliament. The Provincial Administration's duties are largely limited to the building and maintenance of schools, residences, government buildings, and roads, and the promotion of arts, culture, and nature conservation. Ali Yerlikaya has been the Governor of Istanbul Province since 26 October 2018. Demographics Throughout most of its history, Istanbul has ranked among the largest cities in the world. By 500 CE, Constantinople had somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 people, edging out its predecessor, Rome, for the world's largest city. Constantinople jostled with other major historical cities, such as Baghdad, Chang'an, Kaifeng and Merv for the position of the world's largest city until the 12th century. It never returned to being the world's largest, but remained the largest city in Europe from 1500 to 1750, when it was surpassed by London.The Turkish Statistical Institute estimates that the population of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality was 15,519,267 at the end of 2019, hosting 19 percent of the country's population. 64.4% of the residents live on the European side and 35.6% on the Asian side.Istanbul ranks as the seventh-largest city proper in the world, and the second-largest urban agglomeration in Europe, after Moscow. The city's annual population growth of 1.5 percent ranks as one of the highest among the seventy-eight largest metropolises in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The high population growth mirrors an urbanization trend across the country, as the second and third fastest-growing OECD metropolises are the Turkish cities of Izmir and Ankara.Istanbul experienced especially rapid growth during the second half of the 20th century, with its population increasing tenfold between 1950 and 2000. This growth was fueled by internal and international migration. Istanbul's foreign population with a residence permit increased dramatically, from 43,000 in 2007 to 856,377 in 2019.According to 2020 TÜİK data around 2.1 million people in a population of over 15.4 million have been registered in Istanbul, meanwhile the vast majority of the residents ultimately originate from Anatolian provinces, especially those in the Black Sea, Central and Eastern Anatolia regions due to internal migration since the 1950s. People registered in Kastamonu, Ordu, Giresun, Erzurum, Samsun, Malatya, Trabzon, Sinop and Rize provinces represent the biggest population groups in Istanbul, meanwhile people registered in Sivas has the highest percentage with more than 760 thousand residents in the city. A 2019 survey found that only 36% of the Istanbul's population was born in the province. Ethnic and religious groups Istanbul has been a cosmopolitan city throughout much of its history, but it has become more homogenized since the end of the Ottoman era. The dominant ethnic group in the city is Turkish people, which also forms the majority group in Turkey. According to survey data 78% of the voting-age Turkish citizens in Istanbul state "Turkish" as their ethnic identity.With estimates ranging from 2 to 4 million, Kurds form one of the largest ethnic minorities in Istanbul and are the biggest group after Turks among Turkish citizens. According to a 2019 KONDA study, Kurds constituted around 17% of Istanbul's adult total population who were Turkish citizens. Although the initial Kurdish presence in the city dates back to the early Ottoman period, the majority of Kurds in the city originate from villages in eastern and southeastern Turkey. Zazas are also present in the city and constitute around 1% of the total voting-age population.Arabs form the city's other largest ethnic minority, with an estimated population of more than 2 million. Following Turkey's support for the Arab Spring, Istanbul emerged as a hub for dissidents from across the Arab world, including former presidential candidates from Egypt, Kuwaiti MPs, and former ministers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia (including Jamal Khashoggi), Syria, and Yemen. As of August 2019, the number of refugees of the Syrian Civil War in Turkey residing in Istanbul was estimated to be around 1 million. Native Arab population in Turkey who are Turkish citizens are found to be making up less than 1% of city's total adult population. As of August 2023, there were more than 530,000 refugees of the Syrian civil war in Istanbul, the highest number in any Turkish city. 2019 survey study by KONDA that examined the religiosity of the voting-age adults in Istanbul showed that 57% of the surveyed had a religion and were trying to practise its requirements. This was followed by nonobservant people with 26% who identified with a religion but generally did not practise its requirements. 11% stated they were fully devoted to their religion, meanwhile 6% were non-believers who did not believe the rules and requirements of a religion. 24% of the surveyed also identified themselves as "religious conservatives". Around 90% of Istanbul's population are Sunni Muslims and Alevism forms the second biggest religious group.Into the 19th century, the Christians of Istanbul tended to be either Greek Orthodox, members of the Armenian Apostolic Church or Catholic Levantines. Greeks and Armenians form the largest Christian population in the city. While Istanbul's Greek population was exempted from the 1923 population exchange with Greece, changes in tax status and the 1955 anti-Greek pogrom prompted thousands to leave. Following Greek migration to the city for work in the 2010s, the Greek population rose to nearly 3,000 in 2019, still greatly diminished since 1919, when it stood at 350,000. There are today 50,000 to 70,000 Armenians in Istanbul down from a peak of 164,000 in 1913. As of 2019, an estimated 18,000 of the country's 25,000 Christian Assyrians live in Istanbul. The majority of the Catholic Levantines (Turkish: Levanten) in Istanbul and Izmir are the descendants of traders/colonists from the Italian maritime republics of the Mediterranean (especially Genoa and Venice) and France, who obtained special rights and privileges called the Capitulations from the Ottoman sultans in the 16th century. The community had more than 15,000 members during Atatürk's presidency in the 1920s and 1930s, but today is reduced to only a few hundreds, according to Italo-Levantine writer Giovanni Scognamillo. They continue to live in Istanbul (mostly in Karaköy, Beyoğlu and Nişantaşı), and Izmir (mostly in Karşıyaka, Bornova and Buca). Istanbul became one of the world's most important Jewish centers in the 16th and 17th century. Romaniote and Ashkenazi communities existed in Istanbul before the conquest of Istanbul, but it was the arrival of Sephardic Jews that ushered a period of cultural flourishing. Sephardic Jews settled in the city after their expulsion from Spain and Portugal in 1492 and 1497. Sympathetic to the plight of Sephardic Jews, Bayezid II sent out the Ottoman Navy under the command of admiral Kemal Reis to Spain in 1492 in order to evacuate them safely to Ottoman lands. In marked contrast to Jews in Europe, Ottoman Jews were allowed to work in any profession. Ottoman Jews in Istanbul excelled in commerce and came to particularly dominate the medical profession. By 1711, using the printing press, books came to be published in Spanish and Ladino, Yiddish, and Hebrew. In large part due to emigration to Israel, the Jewish population in the city dropped from 100,000 in 1950 to 15,000 in 2021. Politics Politically, Istanbul is seen as the most important administrative region in Turkey. In the run-up to local elections in 2019, Erdoğan claimed 'if we fail in Istanbul, we will fail in Turkey'. The contest in Istanbul carried deep political, economic and symbolic significance for Erdoğan, whose election of mayor of Istanbul in 1994 had served as his launchpad. For Ekrem İmamoğlu, winning the mayoralty of Istanbul was a huge moral victory, but for Erdoğan it had practical ramifications: His party, AKP, lost control of the $4.8 billion municipal budget, which had sustained patronage at the point of delivery of many public services for 25 years. More recently, Istanbul and many of Turkey's metropolitan cities are following a trend away from the government and their right-wing ideology. In 2013 and 2014, large-scale anti-AKP government protests began in İstanbul and spread throughout the nation. This trend first became evident electorally in the 2014 mayoral election where the center-left opposition candidate won an impressive 40% of the vote, despite not winning. The first government defeat in Istanbul occurred in the 2017 constitutional referendum, where Istanbul voted 'No' by 51.4% to 48.6%. The AKP government had supported a 'Yes' vote and won the vote nationally due to high support in rural parts of the country. The biggest defeat for the government came in the 2019 local elections, where their candidate for Mayor, former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, was defeated by a very narrow margin by the opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. İmamoğlu won the vote with 48.77% of the vote, against Yıldırım's 48.61%, but the elections were controversially annulled by the Supreme Electoral Council due to AKP's claim of electoral fraud. In the re-run İmamoğlu gathered 54.22% of the total vote and widened the defeat margin.Administratively, Istanbul is divided into 39 districts, more than any other province in Turkey. Istanbul Province sends 98 Members of Parliament to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which has a total of 600 seats. For the purpose of parliamentary elections, Istanbul is divided into three electoral districts; two on the European side and one on the Asian side, electing 28, 35 and 35 MPs respectively. Economy Istanbul had the eleventh-largest economy among the world's urban areas in 2018, and is responsible for 30 percent of Turkey's industrial output, 31 percent of GDP, and 47 percent of tax revenues. The city's gross domestic product adjusted by PPP stood at US$537.507 billion in 2018, with manufacturing and services accounting for 36 percent and 60 percent of the economic output respectively. Istanbul's productivity is 110 percent higher than the national average. Trade is economically important, accounting for 30 percent of the economic output in the city. In 2019, companies based in Istanbul produced exports worth $83.66 billion and received imports totaling $128.34 billion; these figures were equivalent to 47 percent and 61 percent, respectively, of the national totals.Istanbul, which straddles the Bosporus strait, houses international ports that link Europe and Asia. The Bosporus, providing the only passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, is the world's busiest and narrowest strait used for international navigation, with more than 200 million tons of oil passing through it each year. International conventions guarantee passage between the Black and the Mediterranean seas, even when tankers carry oil, LNG/LPG, chemicals, and other flammable or explosive materials as cargo. In 2011, as a workaround solution, the then Prime Minister Erdoğan presented Canal Istanbul, a project to open a new strait between the Black and Marmara seas. While the project was still on Turkey's agenda in 2020, there has not been a clear date set for it. Shipping is a significant part of the city's economy, with 73.9 percent of exports and 92.7 percent of imports in 2018 executed by sea. Istanbul has three major shipping ports – the Port of Haydarpaşa, the Port of Ambarlı, and the Port of Zeytinburnu – as well as several smaller ports and oil terminals along the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara.Haydarpaşa, at the southeastern end of the Bosporus, was Istanbul's largest port until the early 2000s. Since then operations were shifted to Ambarlı, with plans to convert Haydarpaşa into a tourism complex. In 2019, Ambarlı, on the western edge of the urban center, had an annual capacity of 3,104,882 TEUs, making it the third-largest cargo terminal in the Mediterranean basin.Istanbul has been an international banking hub since the 1980s, and is home to the only active stock exchange in Turkey, Borsa Istanbul, which was originally established as the Ottoman Stock Exchange in 1866. In 1995, keeping up with the financial trends, Borsa Istanbul moved its headquarters (which was originally located on Bankalar Caddesi, the financial center of the Ottoman Empire, and later at the 4th Vakıf Han building in Sirkeci) to İstinye, in the vicinity of Maslak, which hosts the headquarters of numerous Turkish banks.Since 2023, the Ataşehir district on the Asian side of the city is home to the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC), where the new headquarters of the state-owned Turkish banks, including the Turkish Central Bank, are located. As of 2023, the five tallest skyscrapers in Istanbul and Turkey are the 352 m (1,154 ft 10 in) tall Turkish Central Bank Tower in the Ataşehir district on the Asian side of the city; Metropol Istanbul Tower A (70 floors / 301 metres including its twin spires) also in the Ataşehir district; Skyland Istanbul Towers 1 and 2 (2 x 284 metres) located adjacent to Nef Stadium in the Huzur neighbourhood of the Sarıyer district, on the European side; and Istanbul Sapphire (54 floors / 238 metres; 261 metres including its spire) in Levent, on the European side of the city. 13.4 million foreign tourists visited the city in 2018, making Istanbul the world's fifth most-visited city in that year. Istanbul and Antalya are Turkey's two largest international gateways, receiving a quarter of the nation's foreign tourists. Istanbul has more than fifty museums, with the Topkapı Palace, the most visited museum in the city, bringing in more than $30 million in revenue each year.Istanbul expects 1 million tourists from cruise companies after the renovation of its cruise port, also known as Galataport in Karaköy district. Culture Istanbul was historically known as a cultural hub, but its cultural scene stagnated after the Turkish Republic shifted its focus toward Ankara. The new national government established programs that served to orient Turks toward musical traditions, especially those originating in Europe, but musical institutions and visits by foreign classical artists were primarily centered in the new capital.Much of Turkey's cultural scene had its roots in Istanbul, and by the 1980s and 1990s Istanbul reemerged globally as a city whose cultural significance is not solely based on its past glory.By the end of the 19th century, Istanbul had established itself as a regional artistic center, with Turkish, European, and Middle Eastern artists flocking to the city. Despite efforts to make Ankara Turkey's cultural heart, Istanbul had the country's primary institution of art until the 1970s. When additional universities and art journals were founded in Istanbul during the 1980s, artists formerly based in Ankara moved in. Beyoğlu has been transformed into the artistic center of the city, with young artists and older Turkish artists formerly residing abroad finding footing there. Modern art museums, including İstanbul State Art and Sculpture Museum, National Palaces Painting Museum, İstanbul Modern, the Pera Museum, Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Arter and SantralIstanbul, opened in the 2000s to complement the exhibition spaces and auction houses that have already contributed to the cosmopolitan nature of the city. These museums have yet to attain the popularity of older museums on the historic peninsula, including the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, which ushered in the era of modern museums in Turkey, and the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. The first film screening in Turkey was at Yıldız Palace in 1896, a year after the technology publicly debuted in Paris. Movie theaters rapidly cropped up in Beyoğlu, with the greatest concentration of theaters being along the street now known as İstiklal Avenue. Istanbul also became the heart of Turkey's nascent film industry, although Turkish films were not consistently developed until the 1950s. Since then, Istanbul has been the most popular location to film Turkish dramas and comedies. The Turkish film industry ramped up in the second half of the century, and with Uzak (2002) and My Father and My Son (2005), both filmed in Istanbul, the nation's movies began to see substantial international success. Istanbul and its picturesque skyline have also served as a backdrop for several foreign films, including From Russia with Love (1963), Topkapi (1964), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Mission Istaanbul (2008).Coinciding with this cultural reemergence was the establishment of the Istanbul Festival, which began showcasing a variety of art from Turkey and around the world in 1973. From this flagship festival came the International Istanbul Film Festival and the Istanbul Jazz Festival in the early 1980s. With its focus now solely on music and dance, the Istanbul Festival has been known as the Istanbul International Music Festival since 1994. The most prominent of the festivals that evolved from the original Istanbul Festival is the Istanbul Biennial, held every two years since 1987. Its early incarnations were aimed at showcasing Turkish visual art, and it has since opened to international artists and risen in prestige to join the elite biennales, alongside the Venice Biennale and the São Paulo Art Biennial. Leisure and entertainment Abdi İpekçi Street in Nişantaşı, Galataport Shopping Area in Karaköy and Bağdat Avenue on the Anatolian side of the city have evolved into high-end shopping districts. Other focal points for shopping, leisure and entertainment include Nişantaşı, Ortaköy, Bebek and Kadıköy. The city has numerous shopping centers, from the historic to the modern. Istanbul also has an active nightlife and historic taverns, a signature characteristic of the city for centuries, if not millennia. The Grand Bazaar, in operation since 1461, is among the world's oldest and largest covered markets. Mahmutpasha Bazaar is an open-air market extending between the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar, which has been Istanbul's major spice market since 1660. Galleria Ataköy ushered in the age of modern shopping malls in Turkey when it opened in 1987. Since then, malls have become major shopping centers outside the historic peninsula. Akmerkez was awarded the titles of "Europe's best" and "World's best" shopping mall by the International Council of Shopping Centers in 1995 and 1996; Istanbul Cevahir has been one of the continent's largest since opening in 2005; and Kanyon won the Cityscape Architectural Review Award in the Commercial Built category in 2006. Zorlu Center and İstinye Park are among the other upscale malls in Istanbul which include the stores of the world's top fashion brands. Along İstiklal Avenue is the Çiçek Pasajı (Flower Passage), a 19th-century shopping gallery which is today home to winehouses (known as meyhanes), pubs and restaurants. İstiklal Avenue, originally known for its taverns, has shifted toward shopping, but the nearby Nevizade Street is still lined with winehouses and pubs. Some other neighborhoods around İstiklal Avenue have been revamped to cater to Beyoğlu's nightlife, with formerly commercial streets now lined with pubs, cafes, and restaurants playing live music. Istanbul is known for its historic seafood restaurants. Many of the city's most popular and upscale seafood restaurants line the shores of the Bosporus (particularly in neighborhoods like Ortaköy, Bebek, Arnavutköy, Yeniköy, Beylerbeyi and Çengelköy). Kumkapı along the Sea of Marmara has a pedestrian zone that hosts around fifty fish restaurants.The Princes' Islands, 15 kilometers (9 mi) from the city center, are also popular for their seafood restaurants. Because of their restaurants, historic summer mansions, and tranquil, car-free streets, the Prince Islands are a popular vacation destination among Istanbulites and foreign tourists.Istanbul is also famous for its sophisticated and elaborately-cooked dishes of the Ottoman cuisine. Following the influx of immigrants from southeastern and eastern Turkey, which began in the 1960s, the city's foodscape has drastically changed by the end of the century; with influences of Middle Eastern cuisine such as kebab taking an important place in the food scene. Restaurants featuring foreign cuisines are mainly concentrated in the Beyoğlu, Beşiktaş, Şişli and Kadıköy districts. Apart from the city's numerous stadiums, sports halls and concert halls, there are several open-air venues for concerts and festivals, such as the Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre in Harbiye, Paraf Kuruçeşme Open-Air on the Bosphorus shore in Kuruçeşme, and Parkorman in the forest of Maslak. The annual Istanbul Jazz Festival has been held every year since 1994. Organized between 2003 and 2013, Rock'n Coke was the biggest open-air rock festival in Turkey, sponsored by Coca-Cola. It was traditionally held at the Hezarfen Airfield in Istanbul. The Istanbul International Music Festival has been held annually since 1973, and the International Istanbul Film Festival has been held annually since 1982. The Istanbul Biennial is a contemporary art exhibition that has been held biennially since 1987. The Istanbul Shopping Fest is an annual shopping festival held since 2011, and Teknofest is an annual festival of aviation, aerospace and technology, held since 2018. When it was held for the first time in 2003, the annual Istanbul Pride became the first gay pride event in a Muslim-majority country. Since 2015, all types of parades at Taksim Square and İstiklal Avenue (where, in 2013, the Gezi Park protests took place) have been denied permission by the AKP government, citing security concerns, but hundreds of people have defied the ban each year. Critics have claimed that the bans were in fact due to ideological reasons. Sports Istanbul is home to some of Turkey's oldest sports clubs. Beşiktaş JK, established in 1903, is considered the oldest of these sports clubs. Due to its initial status as Turkey's only club, Beşiktaş occasionally represented the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic in international sports competitions, earning the right to place the Turkish flag inside its team logo. Galatasaray SK and Fenerbahçe SK have fared better in international competitions and have won more Süper Lig titles, at 22 and 19 times, respectively. Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe have a long-standing rivalry, with Galatasaray based in the European part and Fenerbahçe based in the Anatolian part of the city. Istanbul has seven basketball teams—Anadolu Efes, Beşiktaş, Darüşşafaka, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor and Büyükçekmece—that play in the premier-level Turkish Basketball Super League.Many of Istanbul's sports facilities have been built or upgraded since 2000 to bolster the city's bids for the Summer Olympic Games. Atatürk Olympic Stadium, the largest multi-purpose stadium in Turkey, was completed in 2002 as an IAAF first-class venue for track and field. The stadium hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, and was selected by the UEFA to host the CL Final games of 2020 and 2021, which were relocated to Lisbon (2020) and Porto (2021) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Fenerbahçe's home field, hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup Final three years after its completion. Türk Telekom Arena opened in 2011 to replace Ali Sami Yen Stadium as Galatasaray's home turf, while Vodafone Park, opened in 2016 to replace BJK İnönü Stadium as the home turf of Beşiktaş, hosted the 2019 UEFA Super Cup game. All four stadiums are elite Category 4 (formerly five-star) UEFA stadiums.The Sinan Erdem Dome, among the largest indoor arenas in Europe, hosted the final of the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, as well as the 2011–12 Euroleague and 2016–17 EuroLeague Final Fours. Prior to the completion of the Sinan Erdem Dome in 2010, Abdi İpekçi Arena was Istanbul's primary indoor arena, having hosted the finals of EuroBasket 2001. Several other indoor arenas, including the Beşiktaş Akatlar Arena, have also been inaugurated since 2000, serving as the home courts of Istanbul's sports clubs. The most recent of these is the 13,800-seat Ülker Sports Arena, which opened in 2012 as the home court of Fenerbahçe's basketball teams. Despite the construction boom, five bids for the Summer Olympics—in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2020—and national bids for UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016 have ended unsuccessfully.The TVF Burhan Felek Sport Hall is one of the major volleyball arenas in the city and hosts clubs such as Eczacıbaşı VitrA, Vakıfbank SK, and Fenerbahçe who have won numerous European and World Championship titles.Between the 2005–2011 seasons, and in the 2020 season, Istanbul Park racing circuit hosted the Formula One Turkish Grand Prix. The 2021 F1 Turkish Grand Prix was initially cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but on 25 June 2021, it was announced that the 2021 F1 Turkish Grand Prix will take place on 3 October 2021. Istanbul Park was also a venue of the World Touring Car Championship and the European Le Mans Series in 2005 and 2006, but the track has not seen either of these competitions since then. It also hosted the Turkish Motorcycle Grand Prix between 2005 and 2007. Istanbul was occasionally a venue of the F1 Powerboat World Championship, with the last race on the Bosporus strait on 12–13 August 2000. The last race of the Powerboat P1 World Championship on the Bosporus took place on 19–21 June 2009. Istanbul Sailing Club, established in 1952, hosts races and other sailing events on the waterways in and around Istanbul each year. Media Most state-run radio and television stations are based in Ankara, but Istanbul is the primary hub of Turkish media. The industry has its roots in the former Ottoman capital, where the first Turkish newspaper, Takvim-i Vekayi (Calendar of Affairs), was published in 1831. The Cağaloğlu street on which the newspaper was printed, Bâb-ı Âli Street, rapidly became the center of Turkish print media, alongside Beyoğlu across the Golden Horn.Istanbul now has a wide variety of periodicals. Most nationwide newspapers are based in Istanbul, with simultaneous Ankara and İzmir editions. Hürriyet, Sabah, Posta and Sözcü, the country's top four papers, are all headquartered in Istanbul, boasting more than 275,000 weekly sales each. Hürriyet's English-language edition, Hürriyet Daily News, has been printed since 1961, but the English-language Daily Sabah, first published by Sabah in 2014, has overtaken it in circulation. Several smaller newspapers, including popular publications like Cumhuriyet, Milliyet and Habertürk are also based in Istanbul. Istanbul also has long-running Armenian language newspapers, notably the dailies Marmara and Jamanak and the bilingual weekly Agos in Armenian and Turkish.Radio broadcasts in Istanbul date back to 1927, when Turkey's first radio transmission came from atop the Central Post Office in Eminönü. Control of this transmission, and other radio stations established in the following decades, ultimately came under the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), which held a monopoly on radio and television broadcasts between its founding in 1964 and 1990. Today, TRT runs four national radio stations; these stations have transmitters across the country so each can reach over 90 percent of the country's population, but only Radio 2 is based in Istanbul. Offering a range of content from educational programming to coverage of sporting events, Radio 2 is the most popular radio station in Turkey. Istanbul's airwaves are the busiest in Turkey, primarily featuring either Turkish-language or English-language content. One of the exceptions, offering both, is Açık Radyo (94.9 FM). Among Turkey's first private stations, and the first featuring foreign popular music, was Istanbul's Metro FM (97.2 FM). The state-run Radio 3, although based in Ankara, also features English-language popular music, and English-language news programming is provided on NTV Radyo (102.8 FM).TRT-Children is the only TRT television station based in Istanbul. Istanbul is home to the headquarters of several Turkish stations and regional headquarters of international media outlets. Istanbul-based Star TV was the first private television network to be established following the end of the TRT monopoly; Star TV and Show TV (also based in Istanbul) remain highly popular throughout the country, airing Turkish and American series. Kanal D and ATV are other stations in Istanbul that offer a mix of news and series; NTV (partnered with U.S. media outlet MSNBC) and Sky Turk—both based in the city—are mainly just known for their news coverage in Turkish. The BBC has a regional office in Istanbul, assisting its Turkish-language news operations, and the American news channel CNN established the Turkish-language CNN Türk there in 1999. Education As of 2019, excluding universities more than 3.1 million students attended 7,437 schools in Istanbul, about half of the schools being private educational institutions. The average class size was 30 for primary education institutes, 27 for vocational schools and 23 for general high schools. Of the 842 public high schools, 263 are vocational schools, another 263 are Anatolian high schools, 207 are religiously oriented İmam Hatip schools, and 14 are STEM-oriented science high schools. Galatasaray High School was established in 1481 and is the oldest public high school in Turkey. Kabataş Erkek Lisesi, Istanbul Lisesi and Cağaloğlu Anadolu Lisesi are among other public high schools in the city. Istanbul also contains high schools established by the European and American expatriates and missionaries in the 19th century that currently offer secular, foreign-language education such as Robert College, Deutsche Schule Istanbul, Sankt Georgs-Kolleg, Lycée Saint-Joseph and Liceo Italiano di Istanbul. Furthermore Turkish citizens of Jewish, Armenian, Greek and Assyrian descent are allowed to establish and attend their respective schools as granted in the Treaty of Lausanne, Phanar Greek Orthodox College being an example. Most high schools are highly selective and demand high scores from the national standardized exam LGS for admission, with Galatasaray and Robert College only accepting the top 0.1% to 0.01% of the exam takers.Istanbul contains almost a third of all universities in Turkey. As of 2019 Istanbul has 61 colleges and universities, with more than 1.8 million students enrolled according to official figures. Of those 14 are state-owned, 44 are "foundation-owned" private universities and 3 are foundation-owned vocational universities of higher education. Additionally, there are military academies such as Air Force Academy and Naval Academy as well as 4 foundation-owned vocational universities of higher education which are not affiliated with any university. Some of the most renowned and highly ranked universities in Turkey are in Istanbul. Istanbul University, the nation's oldest institute of higher education, dates back to 1453 and its dental, law, medical schools were founded in the 19th century.The city's largest private universities include Sabancı University, with its main campus in Tuzla, Koç University in Sarıyer, Özyeğin Üniversitesi near Altunizade. Istanbul's first private university, Koç University, was founded as late as 1992, because private universities were not allowed in Turkey before the 1982 amendment to the constitution. Istanbul is also home to several conservatories and art schools, including Mimar Sinan Academy of Fine Arts, founded in 1882.Public universities with a major presence in the city, such as Istanbul University, Istanbul Technical University (the world's third-oldest university dedicated entirely to engineering, established in 1773), and Boğaziçi University (formerly the higher education section of Robert College until 1971) provide education in English as the primary foreign language, while the primary foreign language of education at Galatasaray University is French (as is the case at Galatasaray High School). Public services Istanbul's first water supply systems date back to the city's early history, when aqueducts (such as the Valens Aqueduct) deposited the water in the city's numerous cisterns. At the behest of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Kırkçeşme water supply network was constructed; by 1563, the network provided 4,200 cubic meters (150,000 cu ft) of water to 158 sites each day. In later years, in response to increasing public demand, water from various springs was channeled to public fountains, like the Fountain of Ahmed III, by means of supply lines. Today, Istanbul has a chlorinated and filtered water supply and a sewage treatment system managed by the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (İstanbul Su ve Kanalizasyon İdaresi, İSKİ). The Silahtarağa Power Station, a coal-fired power plant along the Golden Horn, was the sole source of Istanbul's electricity between 1914, when its first engine room was completed, and 1952. Following the founding of the Turkish Republic, the plant underwent renovations to accommodate the city's increasing demand; its capacity grew from 23 megawatts in 1923 to a peak of 120 megawatts in 1956. Capacity declined until the power station reached the end of its economic life and shut down in 1983. The state-run Turkish Electrical Authority (TEK) briefly—between its founding in 1970 and 1984—held a monopoly on the generation and distribution of electricity, but now the authority—since split between the Turkish Electricity Generation Transmission Company (TEAŞ) and the Turkish Electricity Distribution Company (TEDAŞ)—competes with private electric utilities.The Ottoman Ministry of Post and Telegraph was established in 1840 and the first post office, the Imperial Post Office, opened near the courtyard of Yeni Mosque. By 1876, the first international mailing network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the Ottoman Empire had been established. Sultan Abdülmecid I issued Samuel Morse his first official honor for the telegraph in 1847, and construction of the first telegraph line—between Istanbul and Edirne—finished in time to announce the end of the Crimean War in 1856. A nascent telephone system began to emerge in Istanbul in 1881 and after the first manual telephone exchange became operational in Istanbul in 1909, the Ministry of Post and Telegraph became the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone. GSM cellular networks arrived in Turkey in 1994, with Istanbul among the first cities to receive the service. Today, mobile and landline service is provided by private companies, after Türk Telekom, which split from the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone in 1995, was privatized in 2005. Postal services remain under the purview of what is now the Post and Telegraph Organization (retaining the acronym PTT).In 2000, Istanbul had 137 hospitals, of which 100 were private. Turkish citizens are entitled to subsidized healthcare in the nation's state-run hospitals. As public hospitals tend to be overcrowded or otherwise slow, private hospitals are preferable for those who can afford them. Their prevalence has increased significantly over the last decade, as the percentage of outpatients using private hospitals increased from 6 percent to 23 percent between 2005 and 2009. Many of these private hospitals, as well as some of the public hospitals, are equipped with high-tech equipment, including MRI machines, or associated with medical research centers. Turkey has more hospitals accredited by the U.S.-based Joint Commission than any other country in the world, with most concentrated in its big cities. The high quality of healthcare, especially in private hospitals, has contributed to a recent upsurge in medical tourism to Turkey (with a 40 percent increase between 2007 and 2008). Laser eye surgery and hair transplant surgery is particularly common among medical tourists, as Turkey is known for specializing in the procedure. Transportation Roads Istanbul's motorways network are the O-1, O-2, O-3, O-4 and O-7. The total length of Istanbul Province's toll motorways network (otoyollar) is 543 km (337 mi) (2021) and the state highways network (devlet yollari) is 353 km (219 mi) (2021), totaling 896 km (557 mi) of expressway roads (minimum 2x2 lanes), excluding secondary roads and urban streets. The density of expressway network is 16.8 km/100 km2. The O-1 forms the city's inner ring road, traversing the 15 July Martyrs (First Bosphorus) Bridge, and the O-2 is the city's outer ring road, crossing the Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosphorus) Bridge. The O-2 continues west to Edirne and the O-4 continues east to Ankara. The O-2, O-3, and O-4 are part of European route E80 (the Trans-European Motorway) between Portugal and the Iran–Turkey border. In 2011, the first and second bridges on the Bosphorus carried 400,000 vehicles each day. The O-7 or Kuzey Marmara Otoyolu, is a motorway that bypass Istanbul to the north. The O-7 motorway from Kinali Gişeleri to Istanbul Park Service has 139.2 km (86.5 mi), with 8 lanes (4x4), and from Odayeri-K10 to Istanbul Atatürk Airport has 30.4 km (18.9 mi). The completed section of highway crosses the Bosphorus Strait via the Yavuz Sultan Selim (Third Bosphorus) Bridge, entered service on 26 August 2016. The O-7 motorway connects Istanbul Atatürk Airport with Istanbul Airport. Environmentalist groups worry that the third bridge will endanger the remaining green areas to the north of Istanbul. Apart from the three Bosphorus Bridges, the dual-deck, 14.6-kilometer (9.1 mi) Eurasia Tunnel (which entered service on 20 December 2016) under the Bosphorus strait also provides road crossings for motor vehicles between the Asian and European sides of Turkey. Road transport emits significant carbon dioxide, estimated at 7 million tons in 2021. Public transportation Istanbul's local public transportation system is a network of commuter trains, trams, funiculars, metro lines, buses, bus rapid transit, and ferries. Fares across modes are integrated, using the contactless Istanbulkart, introduced in 2009, or the older Akbil electronic ticket device. Trams in Istanbul date back to 1872, when they were horse-drawn, but even the first electrified trams were decommissioned in the 1960s. Operated by Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnels General Management (İETT), trams slowly returned to the city in the 1990s with the introduction of a nostalgic route and a faster modern tram line, which now carries 265,000 passengers each day. The Tünel opened in 1875 as the world's second-oldest subterranean rail line (after London's Metropolitan Railway). It still carries passengers between Karaköy and İstiklal Avenue along a steep 573-meter (1,880 ft) track; a more modern funicular between Taksim Square and Kabataş began running in 2006. The Istanbul Metro comprises ten lines (the M1, M2, M3, M6, M7, M9 and M11 on the European side, and the M4, M5 and M8 on the Asian side) with several other lines (M12 and M14) and extensions under construction. The two sides of Istanbul's metro are connected under the Bosphorus by the Marmaray Tunnel, inaugurated in 2013 as the first rail connection between Thrace and Anatolia, having 13.5 km (8.4 mi) length. The Marmaray tunnel together with the suburban railways lines along the Sea of Marmara, form the intercontinental commuter rail line in Istanbul, named officially B1, from Halkalı on the European side to Gebze on the Asian side. This rail line has 76.6 km (47.6 mi), and the full line opened on 12 March 2019. Until then, buses provide transportation within and between the two-halves of the city, accommodating 2.2 million passenger trips each day. The Metrobus, a form of bus rapid transit, crosses the Bosphorus Bridge, with dedicated lanes leading to its termini. Ferries İDO (Istanbul Seabuses) runs a combination of all-passenger ferries and car-and-passenger ferries to ports on both sides of the Bosphorus, as far north as the Black Sea. With additional destinations around the Sea of Marmara, İDO runs the largest municipal ferry operation in the world. The city's main cruise ship terminal is the Port of Istanbul in Karaköy, with a capacity of 10,000 passengers per hour. Most visitors enter Istanbul by air, but about half a million foreign tourists enter the city by sea each year. Railroads International rail service from Istanbul launched in 1889, with a line between Bucharest and Istanbul's Sirkeci Terminal, which ultimately became famous as the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from Paris. Regular service to Bucharest and Thessaloniki continued until the early 2010s, when the former was interrupted for Marmaray construction but started running again in 2019 and the latter was halted due to economic problems in Greece. After Istanbul's Haydarpaşa Terminal opened in 1908, it served as the western terminus of the Baghdad Railway and an extension of the Hejaz Railway; today, neither service is offered directly from Istanbul. Service to Ankara and other points across Turkey is normally offered by Turkish State Railways, but the construction of Marmaray and the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed line forced the station to close in 2012. New stations to replace both the Haydarpaşa and Sirkeci terminals, and connect the city's disjointed railway networks, now the Marmaray second phase opened to the public. Private bus companies still operation to this day. Istanbul's main bus station is the largest in Europe, with a daily capacity of 15,000 buses and 600,000 passengers, serving destinations as distant as Frankfurt. Airports Istanbul had three large international airports, two of which currently serve commercial passenger flights. The largest is the new Istanbul Airport, opened in 2018 in the Arnavutköy district to the northwest of the city center, on the European side, near the Black Sea coast. All scheduled commercial passenger flights were transferred from Istanbul Atatürk Airport to Istanbul Airport on 6 April 2019, following the closure of Istanbul Atatürk Airport for scheduled passenger flights. The IATA airport code IST was also transferred to the new airport. Once all phases are completed in 2025, the airport will have six sets of runways (eight in total), 16 taxiways, and will be able to accommodate 200 million passengers a year. The transfer from the airport to the city is via the O-7, and it will eventually be linked by two lines of the Istanbul Metro. Sabiha Gökçen International, 45 kilometers (28 mi) southeast of the city center, on the Asian side, was opened in 2001 to relieve Atatürk. Dominated by low-cost carriers, Istanbul's second airport has rapidly become popular, especially since the opening of a new international terminal in 2009; the airport handled 14.7 million passengers in 2012, a year after Airports Council International named it the world's fastest-growing airport. Atatürk had also experienced rapid growth, as its 20.6 percent rise in passenger traffic between 2011 and 2012 was the highest among the world's top 30 airports.Istanbul Atatürk Airport, located 24 kilometers (15 mi) west of the city center, on the European side, near the Marmara Sea coast, was formerly the city's largest airport. After its closure to commercial flights in 2019, it was briefly used by cargo aircraft and the official state aircraft owned by the Turkish government, until the demolition of its runway began in 2020. It handled 61.3 million passengers in 2015, which made it the third-busiest airport in Europe and the 18th-busiest in the world in that year. Environment Flora and fauna The natural vegetation cover of the Bosporus region is made up of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and pseudo-maquis. Chestnut, oak, elm, linden, ash and locust comprises the most prominent tree genera. The most important species belonging to maquis formation are laurel, terebinth, Cercis siliquastrum, broom, red firethorn, and oak species such as Quercus cerris and Quercus coccifera. Apart from the natural flora Platanus orentalis, horse chestnut, cypress and stone pine make up the introduced species that got acclimatized to Istanbul. In a study that examined urban flora in Kartal, a total of 576 plant taxa were recorded; of those 477 were natural and 99 were exotic and cultivated. The most native taxa were in the Asteraceae family (50 species), while the most diverse exotic plant family was Rosaceae (16 species).Turkish Straits and Sea of Marmara play a vital role for migrating fish and other marine animals between Mediterranean, Marmara and Black Sea. Bosporus hosts pelagic, demersal and semipelagic fish species and more than 130 different taxa have been documented in the strait. Bluefish, bonito, sea bass, horse mackerel and anchovies composes the economically important species. Fish diversity in the waters of Istanbul has dwindled in the recent decades. From around 60 different fish species recorded in the 1970s only 20 of them still survive in the Bosporus.Common bottlenose dolphin (Turkish: afalina), short-beaked common dolphin (Turkish: tırtak) and harbor porpoise (Turkish: mutur) make up the marine mammals presently found in the Bosporus and surrounding waters, though since the 1950s the number of dolphin observations has become increasingly rare. Mediterranean monk seals were present in Bosporus, and Princes' Islands and Tuzla shores were seal breeding areas during summer, but they have not been observed in Istanbul since the 1960s and thought to be extinct in the region. Water pollution, overfishing and destruction of coastal habitats caused by urbanization are main threats to Istanbul's marine ecology. Wild land mammals are mainly concentrated in the northern forested areas of Istanbul. Roe deer, wild boars, foxes, coyotes, martens, badgers, wolves, weasels, wildcats, squirrels and reed cats have been documented to live inside the boundaries of Istanbul Province. Apart from the wild land mammals Istanbul hosts a sizeable stray animal population. The presence of feral cats in Istanbul (Turkish: sokak kedisi) is noted to be very prevalent, with estimates ranging from a hundred thousand to over a million stray cats. The feral cats in the city have gained widespread media and public attention and are considered to be symbols of the city. Rose-ringed parakeet colonies are present in urban areas, similar to other European cities as feral parrots, and considered as invasive species. Pollution Air pollution in Turkey is acute in İstanbul with cars, buses and taxis causing frequent urban smog, as it is one of the few European cities without a low-emission zone. As of 2019 the city's mean air quality remains of a level so as to affect the heart and lungs of healthy street bystanders during peak traffic hours, and almost 200 days of pollution were measured by the air pollution sensors at Sultangazi, Mecidiyeköy, Alibeyköy and Kağıthane. It is one of the 10 worst cities for NO2.Algal blooms and red tides were reported in Sea of Marmara and Bosporus (especially in Golden Horn), and regularly happen in urban lakes such as Lake Büyükçekmece and Küçükçekmece. In June 2021, a marine mucilage wave allegedly caused by water pollution spread to Sea of Marmara. International relations List of twin towns and sister cities of Istanbul See also List of people from Istanbul Outline of Istanbul 1766 Istanbul earthquake Caput Mundi List of cities with the most skyscrapers Notes References Bibliography External links Website of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Website of the Istanbul Governorship Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality: Interactive aerial photos from 1946, 1966, 1970, 1982, 2006, 2011 and 2013 Old maps of Istanbul Archived 18 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine – Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel – Historic Cities Research Project Archived 25 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine