DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

BERLIN, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The Earth's life-support systems are facing greater risks and uncertainties than ever before, with most major safety limits already crossed as a result of planet-wide human interventions, according to a scientific study released on Wednesday. The authors said crossing the boundaries did not represent a tipping point where human civilisation would just crash, but could bring irreversible shifts in the Earth's support systems. "We can think of Earth as a human body, and the planetary boundaries as blood pressure. Over 120/80 does not indicate a certain heart attack but it does raise the risk," Richardson said. "It is a complete failure ...and it's a large risk... We're still following a pathway that takes us unequivocally to disaster."

Persons: Katherine Richardson, Richardson, Ueslei Marcelino, We're, Johan Rockström, I've, Rockström, Riham, David Stanway, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: University of Copenhagen, REUTERS, Potsdam Institute, Climate Impact, United Nations Global, Thomson Locations: Seca, Uruara, Para State, Brazil, Dubai

The report, culminating a two-year evaluation of the 2015 Paris climate agreement goals, distils thousands of submissions from experts, governments and campaigners. "The Paris Agreement has driven near-universal climate action by setting goals and sending signals to the world regarding the urgency of responding to the climate crisis," it said. "While action is proceeding, much more is needed now on all fronts." More than 20 gigatonnes of further CO2 reductions were needed this decade - and global net zero by 2050 - in order to meet the goals, the U.N. assessment said. Commitment was needed to phase out fossil fuels, set 2030 targets for renewable energy expansion, ensure the financial system funds climate action, and raise funds for adaptation and damage, he said.

Persons: Tom Evans, Sultan Al Jaber, U.N, Antonio Guterres, David Stanway, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: United Nations, United Arab Emirates, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Dubai, Paris, UAE, Singapore, Berlin

☆ Nearly all world's population exposed to global warming over June-Sept - study
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Nearly all of the world's population experienced higher temperatures from June to August as a result of human-induced climate change, according to a peer-reviewed research report published late on Thursday. A study by Climate Central, a U.S.-based research group, looked at temperatures in 180 countries and 22 territories and found that 98% of the world's population were exposed to higher temperatures made at least twice more likely by carbon dioxide pollution. "Virtually no one on Earth escaped the influence of global warming during the past three months," said Andrew Pershing, Climate Central's vice president for science. The heatwaves in North America and southern Europe would have been impossible without climate change, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. They have been made infinitely more likely because they would not have occurred without climate change."

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Andrew Pershing, Friederike Otto, David Stanway, Ali Withers, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Firefighters, REUTERS, Rights, Climate Central, Climate, Grantham Institute, Thomson Locations: Sesklo, Greece, Rights SINGAPORE, North America, Europe, U.S, Singapore, Copenhagen

☆ Climate change adds workplace costs and hazards
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The 57-year-old's death in hospital was announced in late August - just as his trade union was ratifying a deal with UPS on improved heat protections. In a statement to local media, UPS (UPS.N) said it was cooperating with the authorities as they investigated the cause of death. "We train our people to recognize the symptoms of heat stress, and we respond immediately to any request for help," it said. Many European and other usually temperate countries still have no laws establishing maximum work temperatures. "Climate change is such a paradigm shift that all of us need to rethink these legacy economic assumptions," said NELP's Christman.

Persons: patchily, Chris Begley, Halshka Graczyk, Graczyk, Chaya, Anastasia Christman, Owen Tudor, Tudor, Jerome Volle, NELP's, David Stanway, Catherine Evans Organizations: UPS, Teamsters, International Labour Organization, Chiang Mai University, . Occupational Health, Safety Authority, Employment Law, International Trade Union Confederation, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Texas, Paris, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Singapore

☆ Singapore to expand ocean CO2 removal project as scientists call for more research
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A view shows the interior of Equatic's pilot ocean carbon removal project at the Tuas Desalination Plant in western Singapore, August 30, 2023. As scientists call for more research into ocean carbon dioxide removal (OCDR), Singapore's Public Utilities Board (PUB) has built a plant that uses electricity to extract CO2 from seawater, allowing it to absorb more greenhouse gas from the atmosphere when it is pumped back out into the ocean. At the plant, seawater is run through an electrolyser, which converts dissolved CO2 into calcium carbonate and produces hydrogen. On Tuesday, more than 200 scientists said in an open letter that OCDR research should be prioritised not only to maximise its potential, but also head off potential risks. But billions of tons of CO2 need to be removed from the atmosphere, and more investment in OCDR research was needed urgently, he said.

Persons: David Stanway, Equatic, Gurdev Singh, OCDR, Gaurav Sant, Sir David King, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Singapore's Public Utilities Board, U.S, University of California, UCLA, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Singapore, Rights SINGAPORE, Los Angeles

☆ Asia, Africa bear brunt of pollution health burden - research
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Despite improvements in China, air pollution across the globe continues to pose the greatest external risk to human health, with countries in Asia and Africa suffering most of the impact, new research showed on Tuesday. PM2.5 in South Asia has risen by nearly 10% since 2013, she said, cutting average life expectancy in the region by around five years. Virtually all of Southeast Asia is also now considered to have "unsafe levels of pollution", with average life expectancy cut by 2-3 years. China's average PM2.5 concentrations stood at 29 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022, but it still remains significantly higher than the WHO recommendation of 5 micrograms. "We haven't turned the corner on air pollution yet, though China's example shows us that the issue is a tractable one," Hasenkopf said.

Persons: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Christa Hasenkopf, haven't, Hasenkopf, David Stanway, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute, EPIC, World Health Organization, WHO, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Asia, Africa, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Indonesia, South Asia, Southeast Asia

☆ BRICS nations to meet in South Africa seeking to blunt Western dominance
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Tim Cocks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An attendant is stands next to South African, Indian, Russian, Brazilian and Chinese flags during a plenary session of BRICS Summit, in Xiamen, China September 4, 2017. South Africa will host Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BRICS summit from August 22 to 24. Russia needs friends to counter its diplomatic isolation over Ukraine, and so is keen to bring in new members, as is its most important African ally, South Africa. BRICS nations are keen to project themselves as alternative development partners to the West. Officials in Brazil, China and South Africa said climate change may come up but indicated it wouldn't be a priority.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, S.Africa, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Narendra Modi, Naledi Pandor, BRICS, Breton Woods, disbursing, Laurie Chen, Lisandra, David Stanway, Carien Du Plessis, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: BRICS, REUTERS, Tyrone, Global, Indian, New Development Bank, World Bank, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Xiamen, China, India, Brazil, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Ukraine, . South Africa, United States, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, AFRICA, BRICS, Russia, Africa, Beijing, Brasilia, Singapore, Johannesburg

A Baidu search for the question "should China be more responsible for climate change? ", or variations of it, did not produce any articles critical of China's climate policy in the first few dozen results. Instead, the results, many from state media outlets, focused on China's leadership in the fight against climate change and calls for developed countries to take more responsibility. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story, but government spokespeople have long defended China's record on climate change and press freedom. Despite the extreme weather, China has reinforced its message about energy security rather than climate change in recent months, said CREA's lead analyst, Lauri Myllyvirta.

Persons: Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Li Shuo, We're, Su, Fang Kecheng, Pan Zhongdang, Xi Jinping, Li, Lauri Myllyvirta, David Stanway, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Greenpeace, Weibo, Baidu, Chinese University of Hong, Communications, University of Wisconsin, Environmental Studies, New, Centre for Research, Energy, Clean, Thomson Locations: Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China, BEIJING, Beijing, Hebei, Chinese University of Hong Kong, United States, Madison, New York, Shanghai Campus, Shanghai

☆ What are China's 'sponge cities' and why aren't they stopping the floods?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The "sponge city" initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact "nature-based solutions" to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016. By last year, only 64 of China's 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January. Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year's disasters. This year's heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.

Persons: David Stanway Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Poyang county, Jiangxi province, China, Zhengzhou, Henan province, Beijing

☆ No quick fix to reverse Antarctic sea ice loss as warming intensifies, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Penguins are seen on an iceberg as scientists investigate the impact of climate change on Antarctica's penguin colonies, on the northern side of the Antarctic peninsula, Antarctica January 15, 2022. There's no quick fix to replacing this ice," said Caroline Holmes, polar climate scientist at British Antarctic Survey and one of the study's co-authors. The precise impact of climate change on Antarctica and the surrounding ocean has been uncertain and scientists have struggled to measure how much global warming is affecting the thickness of Antarctic ice. "Antarctica is fragile as an environment, but extreme events test that fragility," he said. "What we're deeply concerned about is the increase in intensity and frequency of extreme events and the cascading influences that they have in other areas."

Persons: Natalie Thomas, Caroline Holmes, Tim Naish, " Naish, Martin Siegert, Siegert, David Stanway, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Penguins, REUTERS, Environmental, Antarctic Survey, Antarctic Research, Australia's Victoria University of Wellington, Global, University of Exeter, Thomson Locations: Antarctica, SINGAPORE, New Zealand, Australia

☆ China's energy security push drives up fossil fuel approvals - research
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"China's government has put energy security and energy transition at odds with one another," said Greenpeace's Gao Yuhe, who led the research published on Thursday. "Beijing has clearly stated that coal power will still grow at a 'reasonable pace' into 2030," she said. China's National Energy Administration (NEA) did not immediately reply to a fax sent requesting a comment on the coal plants and their power generation policies. The increase in China's coal usage reflects a worldwide pattern. The International Energy Agency said last week that global coal consumption reached a record 8.3 billion tons in 2022, with strong growth in Asia offsetting declines elsewhere.

Persons: David Gray, Gao Yuhe, Xi Jinping, Gao, Jorrit Gosens, David Stanway, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Mongolia Autonomous, REUTERS, Companies Greenpeace, Greenpeace, National Energy Administration, International Energy Agency, National Development, Reform Commission, European, Global Energy Monitor, Australian National University, NEA, Thomson Locations: Baotou, China's, Mongolia, Mongolia Autonomous Region, SINGAPORE, China, Beijing, Asia, European Union

REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File PhotoSummaryCompanies Breaks previous record set in July 2019, by 0.2CHeatwaves searing Europe, North America and ChinaEarth may not have been this hot in 120,000 years - studyJuly 27 (Reuters) - July 2023 is set to upend previous heat benchmarks, U.N. Secretary-general António Guterres said on Thursday after scientists said it was on track to be the world's hottest month on record. Short of a mini-Ice Age over the next days, July 2023 will shatter records across the board," Guterres said in New York. It is statistically robust," said Piers Forster, a climate scientist at Leeds University in Britain. July is traditionally the hottest month of the year, and the EU said it did not project August would surpass the record set this month. However, scientists expect 2023 or 2024 will end up as the hottest year in the record books, surpassing 2016.

Persons: Guglielmo Mangiapane, 0.2C, António Guterres, Guterres, Karsten Haustein, Michael Mann, Haustein, Piers Forster, Friederike Otto, El Nino, “, Gloria Dickie, Ali Withers, David Stanway, Mark Heinrich, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Meteorological Organization, WMO, Germany's Leipzig University, University of Pennsylvania, Southern, Leeds University, Grantham Institute, El Nino, El, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, Europe, North America, China, New York, Rhodes, U.S, Leipzig, Britain, U.S ., California, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Sicily, Florida, Australia, South Korea, Japan, India, Pakistan, London, Pacific, EU, London , Ontario, Copenhagen, Singapore

☆ Wildfires bring death and destruction to Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Fedja Grulovic And Lamine Chikhi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Without human-induced climate change, the events this month would have been "extremely rare", according to a study by World Weather Attribution, a global team of scientists that examines the role played by climate change in extreme weather. The heat, with temperatures topping 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), is well in excess of what usually attracts tourists who flock to southern European beaches. Neighbouring Algeria deployed some 8,000 firefighters to bring its deadly fires under control, authorities said. Malta, another major Mediterranean holiday destination, suffered a raft of power cuts across the country, affecting its largest hospital, after a week-long heatwave. "I have been through 65 summers in my lifetime... and what I am seeing now is not normal, we can no longer deny it, climate change is changing our lives," Mayor Giuseppe Sala said on social media.

Persons: Rhodes Blaze, RHODES, Ramzi Boudina, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Rhodes, Lanai Karpataki, Europe's sweltering, Giuseppe Sala, Angeliki Koutantou, Renee Maltezou, Federico Maccioni, Alvise, Lamine Chikhi, Jana Choukeir, Nayera Abdalla, David Stanway, Keith Weir, Janet Lawrence Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Algeria, Rhodes, Palermo, Tunisia, Malta, ALGIERS, Sicily, China, United States, Europe, North Africa, Bejaia, Kiotari, Europe's, Milan

☆ Climate change role in July heatwaves 'overwhelming', scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Guglielmo... Read moreSINGAPORE, July 25 (Reuters) - Human-induced climate change has played an "absolutely overwhelming" role in the extreme heatwaves that have swept across North America, Europe and China this month, according to an assessment by scientists published on Tuesday. Without human-induced climate change, the events this month would have been "extremely rare", according to a study by World Weather Attribution, a global team of scientists that examines the role played by climate change in extreme weather. "European and North American temperatures would have been virtually impossible without the effects of climate change," said Izidine Pinto of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, one of the study's authors, during a briefing with journalists. They also drove up the North American heatwave by 2C and the one in China by 1C. "The events we have looked at are not rare in today's climate," said Friederike Otto, a scientist with the Grantham Institute for Climate Change in London, speaking at the briefing.

Persons: Roberto Klarich, Guglielmo, Izidine Pinto, El Nino, Friederike Otto, It's, David Stanway, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Read, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, Grantham Institute, Thomson Locations: Canada, Italy, Rome, SINGAPORE, North America, Europe, China, United States, Rhodes, London

[1/2] U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua before a meeting in Beijing, China July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Valerie Volcovici/File PhotoBEIJING/SINGAPORE, July 20 (Reuters) - Climate talks this week between China and the United States were buoyed by goodwill, but the world's two biggest carbon polluters achieved more on righting their diplomatic relationship than battling climate change. Kerry said China agreed that a target to keep global temperatures rises within 1.5 Celsius of pre-industrial levels should remain "alive". Kerry and Xie focussed on progress headed toward COP28, the annual U.N. climate summit in November. Questions remain about the longer term, should political winds shift in the United States or the two diplomats leave their posts.

Persons: John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Valerie Volcovici, Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Li Shuo, Li, Xie, Ma Jun, Ma, Premier Li Qiang, Wang Yi, David Stanway, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, Democratic, GOOD AS IT, China, Greenpeace, Institute of Environment, Public Affairs, Communist Party, Daily, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, SINGAPORE, United States, Washington, U.S, Taiwan, Kerry, Paris, COP28, America, Premier, Dubai

[1/2] U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, at right walks next to U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns as they arrive for meetings at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Ng Han Guan/Pool via REUTERSBEIJING, July 19 (Reuters) - Climate change is a "universal threat" that should be handled separately from broader diplomatic issues, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on Wednesday after two days of what he called constructive but complex talks. Acknowledging the diplomatic difficulties between the two sides in recent years, Kerry said climate should be treated as a "free-standing" challenge that requires the collective efforts of the world's largest economies to resolve. Kerry told reporters earlier that his talks with Chinese officials this week have been constructive but complicated, with the two sides still dealing with political "externalities", including Taiwan.

Persons: John Kerry, China Nicholas Burns, Ng Han Guan, Han Zheng, Kerry, Wang Yi, Premier Li Qiang, Xie Zhenhua, Han, Nancy Pelosi, It's, Valerie Volcovici, David Stanway, Stephen Coates Organizations: of, People, REUTERS, Premier, . House, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Beijing, REUTERS BEIJING, Europe, Asia, United States, Dubai, Paris, Taiwan

[1/5] U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi shake hands before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China July 18, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/PoolBEIJING, July 18 (Reuters) - China and the United States could use climate cooperation to redefine their troubled diplomatic relationship and lead the way in tackling global warming, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Tuesday. Kerry told Wang at Beijing's Great Hall of the People that talks could provide a fresh start for the world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, which have been mired in disputes over Taiwan and trade. Kerry's third visit to China as U.S. climate envoy marks the formal resumption in top-level climate diplomacy between the two countries. The former Secretary of State is the third top U.S. official to visit Beijing in the past month.

Persons: John Kerry, Wang Yi, Florence Lo, China's, Kerry, Wang, Xie Zhenhua, Xie, Valerie Volcovici, Ryan Woo, David Stanway, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: of, People, REUTERS, . State, State, U.S, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, United States, U.S, Taiwan, Iran

Earlier this month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said contributions from Beijing could boost U.N. climate funds. It has, however, signalled a willingness to offer climate finance to developing countries through different instruments, like a South-South Climate Cooperation fund it launched in 2015. And the United States hopes that China will unveil its domestic plans to tackle the issue before the next U.N. climate conference in December. Global emissions levels have only risen since. The United States tends to look at overall national emissions, ignoring both historical emissions and the per-capita breakdown.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Donald Trump's, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Kerry, Xie, David Stanway, Katy Daigle, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: European Union, Treasury, Climate Cooperation, Technological, Biden, Kerry, Microvast Holdings, Global, European, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, United, Beijing, U.S, U.N, Rio de Janeiro, United States, Xinjiang, Paris, Glasgow, 1.5C, European Union, COP28, Dubai, Singapore

During those COP27 climate talks last year in Egypt, China's top climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua, made an unexpected appearance at a meeting of the Global Methane Partnership, a U.S.-EU led initiative aimed at slashing 2020-level methane emissions by 30% by the end of this decade. Xie said China had drafted a plan with concrete measures to curb methane emissions from energy, agriculture and waste. COAL GASTwo big sources of methane emissions growth in China are livestock and rice production, neither of which are included in the country's climate plans. China is the world's largest source of methane from coal mines, with 28% of the world's biggest methane emissions points, according to Antoine Halff, co-founder of the environmental research group Karryos. "When you look around at the sources of coal mine methane worldwide, China is three or four times bigger than the next country's coal mine methane emissions," Banks said.

Persons: John Kerry, Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Xie, Jonathan Banks, Joe Biden, Biden, Banks, Antoine Halff, Halff, Valerie Volcovici, David Stanway, Dominique Patton, Timothy Gardner, Katy Daigle, Will Dunham Organizations: Sunday, Methane Partnership, EU, Air Task Force, Program, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Task Force, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, U.S, China, Beijing, United States, Washington ., Glasgow, Sharm el, Egypt, Dubai, Shanxi, Boston, Singapore, Washington

He also urged China to partner with the United States to cut methane emissions and reduce the climate impact of coal-fired power, with the two sides aiming to rebuild trust following a suspension in talks last year. Kerry praised the "incredible job" China has been doing in building up renewable energy capacity but said it had been undercut by the construction of new coal power plants. China has pledged to start reducing coal consumption, but not until 2026, and new coal power project approvals have accelerated since last year. Kerry's third visit to China as U.S. climate envoy marks the formal resumption in top-level climate diplomacy between the two countries. Kerry and Xie met on Sunday night for a one-on-one dinner.

Persons: John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Xie, Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Valerie Volcovici, Andrew Hayley, David Stanway, Sonali Paul, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: State, U.S, . House, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, United States, Dubai, U.S, Beijing, Taiwan

Washington is seeking to protect U.S. manufacturers from low-cost competitors in China, including those it suspects of using forced labor, which Beijing denies. Both countries say they should be able to collaborate on climate change regardless of other disagreements. After Pelosi's August trip to Taiwan, a democratically-governed island that China claims as part of its territory, Beijing said it would halt all dialogue with Washington on climate change. The two countries only resumed informal climate talks in November at the COP27 summit in Egypt. During Yellen's visit last month, she made a public push to get China to participate in the UN-run funds to help poorer nations address climate change.

Persons: Kerry, John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, David Sandalow, Biden, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Li Shuo, Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi's, Alden Meyer, Yellen's, Fang Li, Valerie Volcovici, David Stanway, John Stonestreet Organizations: Observers, UN, U.S, Center, Global Energy, Greenpeace, Trump, ., Centre for Research, Energy, Clean, Global Energy Monitor, World Resources Institute, Thomson Locations: COP28 WASHINGTON, United States, China, Beijing, Washington, Paris, Taiwan, U.S, Xinjiang, Egypt, Singapore

☆ Canadian lake sediments reveal start of Earth's Anthropocene age, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Presence of plutonium and other evidence was found in core samples of the Crawford Lake sediments. The Anthropocene epoch is proposed as a chapter in Earth's history reflecting the transformation of the planet's climate and ecology as a result of human activity. The Anthropocene epoch has not yet been formally recognised by a scientific body called the International Commission on Stratigraphy. The scientists obtained core samples of sediment at Crawford Lake and sediments, soils, corals and ice samples at the other 11 sites. Crawford Lake sediments provided a record of accelerating changes that have unfolded in the past few decades, including traces of fly ash produced by burning fossil fuels.

Persons: Crawford, Colin Waters, we've, Waters, Francine McCarthy, Andrew Cundy, Bill Laurance, David Stanway, Will Dunham Organizations: University of Leicester, International, Crawford Lake, Brock University, Industrial, University of Southampton, James Cook University, Thomson Locations: Crawford, Canada's Ontario, Toronto, Britain, Canada, Australia, Singapore

☆ Deep-sea metal rush in doubt as regulatory body meets
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Environmental groups expect next week's meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston, Jamaica, to rule out any immediate permission for mining to begin. Mining companies say the ocean floor is potentially rich in metals like nickel and cobalt used in batteries for electric vehicles, so their extraction will support the global energy transition. Any permitting delay will hurt the prospects of Canada's The Metals Company (TMC.O) (TMC), which has led efforts to exploit seabed minerals in the Pacific. TMC says that while deep-sea mining will have some ecological impact, it would be less damaging than land-based extraction. "The fact is no one has ever mined the sea floor in any major commercial capacity," said Victor Vescovo, an investor and deep-sea explorer who will attend the meeting.

Persons: Sian Owen, Victor Vescovo, David Stanway, Melanie Burton, Clara Denina, Robert Birsel Organizations: Authority, Mining, The Metals Company, TMC, Conservation Coalition, ISA, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Kingston , Jamaica, Pacific, Nauru, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, France, Norway, Melbourne, London

☆ Explainer: How is extreme weather testing China's climate resilience?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BEIJING, July 5 (Reuters) - Dramatic swings between extreme heat and intense rainfall are testing China's ability to cope with increasingly wild weather, as high temperatures challenge power grids and water security while floods ruin crops and threaten urban populations. The average number of high-temperature days stood at 4.1 in January-June, already higher than the full-year average of 2.2 days. Heatwaves spur demand for electricity to cool homes, malls and offices, taxing power supply and even triggering blackouts. Factories also shut when power demand exceeds supply to meet demand from residential and non-industrial users. The southern province of Hunan, which produces around 13% of China's rice, has been hit by continuous rain since late June.

Persons: Qiaoyi Li, Ethan Wang, Qin, Ryan Woo, Andrew Hayley, David Stanway, Sonali Paul Organizations: Factories, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing, Yunnan province, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhengzhou, Guangxi, CHINA

☆ Climate nears point of no return as land, sea temperatures break records, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Sea temperatures also broke April and May records. Global average sea surface temperatures hit 21C in late March and have remained at record levels for the time of year throughout April and May. Australia's weather agency warned that Pacific and Indian ocean sea temperatures could be 3C warmer than normal by October. Though this year's high sea temperatures are caused by a "perfect combination" of circumstances, the ecological impact could endure, she said. The Worldwide Fund for Nature, however, warned of a "worrying lack of momentum" during climate talks in Bonn this month, with little progress made on key issues like fossil fuels and finance ahead of November's COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

Persons: Kerry, Sarah Perkins, Kirkpatrick, Piers Forster, El Nino, Annalisa Bracco, Li Shuo, John Kerry, Li, David Stanway, Ali Withers, Gloria Dickie, Jamie Freed Organizations: EU, Australia's University of New, U.S ., World Meteorological Organization, El Nino, University of Leeds, Georgia Institute of Technology, DUBAI, The, Nature, Thomson Locations: Beijing, SINGAPORE, Bonn, Australia's University of New South Wales, United States, North America, Canada, U.S . East Coast, India, Spain, Iran, Vietnam, Paris, 1.5C, California, Africa, November's, Dubai, China, Copenhagen, London

Search resuls for: "David Stanway"

25 mentions found