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☆ Scientists discover hidden ancient forest on treeless island
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —No trees have grown on the windswept Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean for tens of thousands of years — just shrubs and other low-lying vegetation. “It’s very sort of windswept and barren.”The Falkland Islands are a British-ruled overseas territory over which Great Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982. But the story of this hidden forest goes back even further in time than the researchers initially thought. “The Falkland Islands are currently covered by grasslands and lack native trees,” Donovan added. However, the islands are unlikely to see a return to a forest landscape anytime soon, Thomas said.

Persons: Zoë Thomas, “, ”, Thomas, Michael Donovan, wasn’t, ” Donovan, Haidee, Chris Turney, what’s, Donovan Organizations: CNN, UK’s University of Southampton, Britain, Falklands, Antarctic, University of Southampton, Chicago’s, Australia’s University of New, Southern Locations: Falkland Islands, Stanley, Falkland, British, Great Britain, Argentina, Australia’s University of New South Wales, Patagonia, Antarctica, Westerly, Islas, South America

Despite the fact that food is a big climate problem, very little has been done so far to address it. Here are some details about the sources of emissions from the food and agriculture sector:HOW MUCH DOES OUR FOOD EMIT? Global food systems accounted for 17 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent or 31% of human-made greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). That wasted food - including the energy used to produce and transport it, spoilage along the way and the food thrown out after rotting in household fridges - generates half of all global food system emissions, according to a March study published in the journal Nature Food. Food waste makes up about 25% of municipal solid waste in landfills in the United States, according to a recent study by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Persons: Brittany Hosea, Leah Douglas, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, mets, United Nations, Food, Agriculture Organization, FAO, Environmental Protection Agency, Thomson Locations: Vernalis , California, U.S, Dubai, Brazil, United States

☆ Southeast Asia haze returns as peatland fires fan global warming fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

watch now"The issue is that currently, most governments haven't really looked at the haze and climate change as a unified issue, yet. Something seasonal, that comes and goes, while climate change is something constant and developing," she added. United Nations Environment ProgramMalaysian officials are undoubtedly haunted by the memory of the 2015 and 2019 transboundary haze episodes. School closures were effected in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore — affecting nearly four million students in Malaysia alone. Vicious cycle in the peatlandsThe haze in southern Southeast Asia is emitted mostly from massive peatland fires in Sumatra and Borneo.

Persons: Al Zulkifli, Helena Varkkey, haven't, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Jusuf Kalla, El Nino, El, Vicious, Varkkey, Sharon Seah, Ulet Ifansasti Organizations: Afp, Getty, El Nino, Universiti, CNBC, ASEAN, Jakarta Globe, United Nations Environment Program Malaysian, World Bank, Kuala, Airport, Nurphoto, ASEAN Specialized Meteorological, Asia, Yusof, Institute, United Nations Environment Program, UNEP, Malaysian, Anadolu Agency, Global, Greenpeace, Oil Locations: Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Al, Southeast Asia, Asia, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Malaysia, Indonesian, Jakarta, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Sumatra, El Nino, Borneo, Palem Raya, Borneo . Forest, Anadolu, Eco

An upcoming study from researchers at Stanford University offers a new way to trace far-flung smoke and pollution back to individual wildfires of origin. What’s burning in a wildfire determines what kind of pollution is in the smoke. Dr. Ford and others have studied wildfire smoke patterns, as well as the resulting exposure to particulate matter pollution. But the Stanford researchers have pulled off something new by putting the two together, she said, especially over so many years and so much land area. Aside from that, Dr. Lin thought the Stanford study would be very useful in figuring out the real human toll of wildfire smoke.

Persons: ”, Jeff Wen, Mr, Wen, Bonne Ford, it’s, Ford, John Lin, Lin, Stanford Organizations: Stanford University, Stanford, . Canadian Forces, Reuters, Seaboard, Colorado State University, University of Utah Locations: United States, U.S, Mistissini, Quebec, Georgia, Florida

☆ Countries back weakened EU nature law, seek more biodiversity funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Germany, Lithuania and Romania were among countries that had raised concerns over funding. POLITICAL PUSHBACKEU climate chief Frans Timmermans told reporters he was not worried by countries' tweaks to make the law more flexible. But he criticised lawmakers in the European Parliament who are trying to block the law and are refusing to negotiate. EU countries and the European Parliament must both approve the final bill. A motion by EU lawmakers to reject the entire proposal last week failed by a razor-thin margin, ahead of a full EU Parliament vote in July.

Persons: Eamon Ryan, Christianne van der Wal, Frans Timmermans, Timmermans, Kate Abnett, Jonathan Oatis, Gareth Jones Organizations: Sierra, EU, Union, European Commission, Reuters, EU Parliament's, Thomson Locations: Andalusia, Nieves, Brussels, LUXEMBOURG, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Ireland, Netherlands

☆ EU countries weaken nature law in hunt for deal -document
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 2 (Reuters) - European Union countries want to water down parts of the bloc's flagship nature law by adding loopholes to dodge certain targets, as they attempt to find a deal on the contested proposal, a draft document showed. The EU's proposed law would set binding targets for countries to restore damaged natural environments. A draft negotiating document, seen by Reuters, showed countries plan to weaken proposed targets to revive drained peatlands used in agriculture, and insert a loophole so countries can avoid these targets in certain circumstances. "Ireland supports the ambition of the Nature Restoration Law and is working with colleagues across Europe to ensure appropriate flexibilities that enable implementation," the spokesperson said. EU countries and the European Parliament must both approve the nature law.

Persons: Ireland, Kate Abnett, Susan Fenton Organizations: Union, Reuters, European Commission, Restoration, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, France, Belgium, Ireland, peatlands, Irish, Europe

☆ Indonesia pushes tourism to boost mangrove restoration
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, June 2 (Reuters) - Tourists in Indonesia are discovering the benefits of mangroves as the archipelago pushes to replant or conserve carbon-rich coastal areas that have been decimated by human activity. Last year alone, the country lost 700,000 hectares of mangroves, according to Indonesia's Mangrove and Peatlands Restoration Agency (BRGM). "A lot of people and businesses have these mangrove forests levelled down and then build a tourist spot above it by piling sand to make artificial beaches. That contradicts nature preservation," said Muhammad Saleh Alatas, owner of The Mangrove Paddling Centre, which organises tours in the mangroves of Jakarta. Reporting by Tommy Ardiansyah, Johan Purnomo, Zahra Matarani; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Connie Sihombing, I've, Muhammad Saleh Alatas, Muhammad Ilman, Tommy Ardiansyah, Johan Purnomo, Zahra Matarani, Kanupriya Kapoor, Emelia Organizations: Restoration Agency, Nusantara Nature Conservation Agency, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, Jakarta

☆ The steps that could help address biodiversity loss could also help fix the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Biodiversity loss doesn't always get as much attention as the climate but the crises are linked. The animal, named Sudan, was the last male northern white rhino. The loss of biodiversity doesn't always get as much attention as the climate crisis but the two challenges are linked. "Anybody who's working with these issues — biodiversity, climate change, and the underlying drivers of it — realize the interconnectedness of it," Chomba said. Nachmany said some parts of the financial world are recognizing that biodiversity loss and the climate crisis are two parts of the same problem.

☆ Analysis: U.N. nature deal can help wildlife as long as countries deliver
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Conservationists praised the deal's ambition, saying it amounted to a Paris Agreement for nature in setting out 23 specific targets against which countries can measure their progress. "This is equivalent to the 1.5 degrees Celsius global goal for climate," said Marco Lambertini, director-general of World Wildlife Fund International. "Otherwise, there is a big risk that the cheapest areas are protected rather than those that matter most for biodiversity." During the talks, delegates discussed whether protected areas should be entirely off-limits to human settlement and development, or if some resource extraction should be allowed if managed sustainably. Canada, one of the world's largest nations, is expanding protected land and marine areas in the Arctic.

☆ World leaders want to protect a third of the Earth's land and water to save wildlife from extinction. There's a climate connection, too.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nearly 200 countries agreed to protect 30% of Earth's land and water at a UN biodiversity meeting. The meeting, known as COP15, also underscored the link between nature and the climate crisis. Indigenous peoplesFor the first time, the biodiversity framework acknowledged the role of Indigenous people in protecting and restoring land and water. But world leaders didn't designate their land and territory as a separate category of conservation, which groups including Amnesty International and Greenpeace called for. Countries didn't achieve any of the targets to slow biodiversity loss by 2020 included in a previous framework, known as the Aichi targets.

The pledge was praised widely at last year's COP26 climate summit, particularly as Brazil, Indonesia and Congo all signed on. To fulfill the pledge, the world would need to ensure 10% less area is deforested on average each year from 2021 to 2030. Most countries under the pledge have yet to detail plans for passing stronger forest protections or implementing them. BRAZILThe biggest rainforest country also leads the world in deforestation, as the Amazon falls rapidly to illegal logging, agriculture and land speculation. Deforestation driven by land-clearing for palm oil plantations continued to slow in the first seven months of the year - even as palm oil prices soared.

☆ Palm oil is in almost everything, and it's devastating rainforests. This Bill Gates-backed company used microbes to create an alternative
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Palm oil grows best in the regions right around the equator, so palm oil producers chop down rainforest and clear that felled vegetation by burning it, making it a prime target of conservation organizations like the Rainforest Rescue and the World Wildlife Fund. Palm oil trees grow at the Cikasungka palm oil plantation, operated by PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII, in Bogor Regency in West Java, Indonesia, on Monday, June 20, 2022. To make its palm oil alternative, C16 Biosciences uses a wild yeast microbe that makes a functional equivalent to palm oil with a kind of fermentation process. Photo courtesy: Cat Clifford, CNBCChemically, the palm oil that C16 Biosciences makes is not identical to the palm oil that is grown in industrial agriculture farms. However, "it contains the same fatty acids, which are the molecular fingerprints of fats and oils, that palm oil does," Heller told CNBC.

☆ Factbox: COP26 a year later: Where do last year's climate pledges stand?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - A year ago at the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, countries, banks and business leaders announced a slew of climate plans and pledges. METHANE PLEDGETo date, 119 countries and blocs including the United States and the European Union have joined the COP26 pledge to slash methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. And China could also give an update on its plan to begin monitoring methane emissions - a promise made under the U.S.-China agreement announced in Glasgow. The group now counts more than 550 members, including most of the world's leading banks, insurers and asset managers, with collective assets of more than $150 trillion. read more And last week, climate activists criticized GFANZ for dropping a requirement that its members sign onto a U.N. emissions reduction campaign.

☆ Congolese NGOs decry mining in main refuge of 'Africa's unicorn'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Erikas Mwisi Kambale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Industrial activities are supposed to be banned in the 13,000 square kilometers of the reserve in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo. Aerial photo evidence shows mining has persisted, the civil society groups said at a joint news conference to mark the international day of the okapi. The NGOs blamed a Chinese company called Kimia Mining, which has previously been accused of flouting a ban on river-dredging in Ituri province and other mining regulations, according to a 2016 report by a UN Group of Experts. There was no available contact information to reach Kimia Mining for comment. Congo is currently at loggerheads with conservationists and scientists over its plan to open other parts of its rainforest and peatlands to oil and gas drilling.

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