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Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have endured five failed consecutive rainy seasons since October 2020, with aid groups labeling it 'the worst drought in 40 years'. "Climate change has made this drought exceptional," said Joyce Kimutai, a climate scientist with the Kenya Meteorological Department who worked with WWA to tease out climate change's role. Unlike with extreme heat and heavy rainfall, scientists have a harder time pinning down climate change's contribution to droughts around the world. Using computer models and climate observations, the WWA team determined climate change had made the Horn of Africa's long rains from March through May twice as likely to underdeliver, and the short rains from October through December wetter. In addition to less rain falling on the Horn, a warming climate means more water is evaporating from soil and transpiring from plants into the atmosphere.

☆ Now's probably not the best time to invest in Alibaba, says Kingston Securities
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNow's probably not the best time to invest in Alibaba, says Kingston SecuritiesDickie Wong of the securities brokerage and research services company discusses what Alibaba Group's "biggest goal" is likely to be in the wake of its decision to split into six units.

☆ Rising Antarctic ice melt will dramatically slow global ocean flows, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Natalie Thomas/SINGAPORE, March 29 (Reuters) - Rapidly melting Antarctic ice is dramatically slowing down the flow of water through the world's oceans, and could have a disastrous impact on global climate, the marine food chain and even the stability of ice shelves, new research has found. The "overturning circulation" of the oceans, driven by the movement of denser water towards the sea floor, helps deliver heat, carbon, oxygen and vital nutrients around the globe. But deep ocean water flows from the Antarctic could decline by 40% by 2050, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. Ocean overturning allows nutrients to rise up from the bottom, with the Southern Ocean supporting about three-quarters of global phytoplankton production, the base of the food chain, said a second study co-author, Steve Rintoul. Reporting by David Stanway; Additional reporting by Gloria Dickie in London; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alibaba's revamp puts renewed focus on Ant Group's suspended IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"I truly believe [Alibaba is] aiming for a bigger target," said Kingston Securities Executive Director Dickie Wong. "In terms of the bigger picture, obviously would be Ant Group [being] re-introduced into the equity market," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Wednesday. HANGZHOU, CHINA - OCTOBER 27: A logo of Ant Group is seen at the company's headquarters on October 27, 2020 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. To be clear, there was no mention of Ant in Alibaba's announcement for its overhaul overnight. KraneShares' CIO Brendan Ahern said investors it's likely investors will be focusing Ant's IPO.

The Arctic Council was created in 1996 to discuss issues affecting the polar region, ranging from pollution to local economic development to search-and-rescue missions. The Arctic Council comprises the eight Arctic states of Russia, the United States, Canada, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark. Russia's possible degree of involvement with the Council once Norway takes over is still unclear. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had earlier extended an invitation to Arctic officials to attend a transition ceremony in Salekhard, Siberia. Russian Arctic Ambassador Nikolay Korchunov, chair of the Senior Arctic Officials on the council, told Reuters the transition would "presuppose active and responsible participation of all Arctic Council member states in this preparatory process."

A team of scientists with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have conducted the first assessment of marine heatwaves along North America's continental shelves. Surface heatwaves can be picked up by satellites and can result in huge algal blooms. It found that while sometimes a marine heatwave can hit both the sea surface and ocean bottom at the same time, bottom heatwaves can also occur on their own. Marine heatwaves have become about 50% more frequent over the past decade. Past bottom marine heatwaves have decimated Pacific cod and snow crab populations.

Methane is the main component of natural gas, so captured emissions can be sold as fuel. The energy sector accounts for about 40% of all methane emissions from human activity, second to agriculture. Dozens of oil companies have also voluntarily committed to reduce emissions through the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership, and the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Altogether, the coal industry was responsible for about 40 million tonnes of methane emissions in 2022. Coal-related methane emissions in China are equivalent to total CO2 emissions from the whole of sub-Saharan Africa," Gould said.

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Chinese dealmaker Bao Fan, founder of investment bank China Renaissance Holdings Ltd (1911.HK), has gone missing in the latest disappearance of a top business executive, unnerving investors and sending its stock down as much as 50% on Friday. A China Renaissance spokesperson referred Reuters request for comment on Friday to the investment bank's public filing. The firm earned $20.6 million in Chinese related investment banking fees in 2022, down from $43.13 million a year earlier, the data showed. Bao started China Renaissance in 2005 as a two-person team, seeking to match capital-hungry startups with venture capitalist and private equity investors. China Renaissance is also an active investor in the tech sector.

☆ Glacial lake floods threaten communities in Asia, South America
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The risk comes when a lake overfills, bursting through its natural barrier and sending a torrent of water rushing down mountain valleys. In the high mountains of Asia, some 9 million people live near more than 2,000 glacial lakes. "The impacts are already visible as the glacier is thinning and retreating," said Farooq Azam, a glaciologist at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore who monitors Chhota Shigri. During the same time period, Himalayan glacial lakes increased by about 9% in number, and 14% in area. More than 200 lakes now pose a very high hazard to Himalayan communities, according to 2022 research.

☆ Explainer: Why was the Turkey-Syria earthquake so bad?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A damaged vehicle is seen on top the rubbles after an earthquake in Iskenderun, Turkey February 6, 2023. The epicentre was about 26 km east of the Turkish city of Nurdagi at a depth of about 18 km on the East Anatolian Fault. During the 20th century, the East Anatolian Fault yielded little major seismic activity. But in 1822, a 7.0 quake hit the region, killing an estimated 20,000 people. The East Anatolian Fault is a strike-slip fault.

☆ One year after volcanic blast, many of Tonga's reefs lay silent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Coral reefs were turned to rubble and many fish perished or migrated away. Following the eruption, the Tongan government said it would seek $240 million for recovery, including improving food security. SILENT REEFSThe vast majority of Tongan territory is ocean, with its exclusive economic zone extending across nearly 700,000 square kilometres (270,271 square miles) of water. It is likely volcanic ash smothered many reefs, depriving fish of feeding areas and spawning beds. While volcanic eruptions on land eject mostly ash and sulfur dioxide, underwater volcanos jettison far more water.

Adam Rich, the youngest member of the "Eight Is Enough" television ensemble, died at age 54 at his Los Angeles home Saturday. An official cause of death is pending a scheduled autopsy, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office said. "Eight Is Enough" actors Jimmy Van Patten, Connie Needham, Dianne Kay, Laurie Walters and Adam Rich at the Los Angeles premiere of the musical "Hello Dolly" on Jan. 30, 2019. The youngest member of the Bradford family, Rich endeared himself to viewers as a mop-topped child star. Rich's last credits are from 2003, when he played himself in "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," along with a guest spot portraying Crocodile Dundee in "Reel Comedy."

☆ 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.

Here are some of the key areas agreed on after two weeks of negotiations hosted in Montreal, Canada. CONSERVATION, PROTECTION AND RESTORATIONDelegates committed to protecting 30% of land and 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030, fulfilling the deal's highest-profile goal, known as 30-by-30. Wealthier countries should contribute at least $20 billion of this every year by 2025, and at least $30 billion a year by 2030. BIG COMPANIES REPORT IMPACTS ON BIODIVERSITYCompanies should analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues. This reporting is intended to progressively promote biodiversity, reduce the risks posed to business by the natural world, and encourage sustainable production.

☆ Congo says unable to support U.N. nature deal in current form
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MONTREAL, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo is unable to support the adoption of a proposed global deal to protect nature after two weeks of United Nations-backed negotiations, a representative from the country told a summit on Monday. Talks are likely to continue Monday morning. The summit is due to conclude on Dec. 19. Reporting by Gloria Dickie and Isla BinnieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the joint leadership of China and Canada, is the culmination of four years of work toward creating an agreement to guide global conservation efforts through 2030. A Congolese representative argued that developed nations should provide more resources to nature conservation efforts in developing countries. [1/6] The leadership of the U.N.-backed COP15 biodiversity conference applaud after passing the The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in Montreal, Quebec, Canada December 19, 2022. Developed countries will provide $25 billion in annual funding starting in 2025 and $30 billion per year by 2030. The agreement, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020.

MONTREAL, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A United Nations summit approved on Monday a landmark global deal to protect nature and direct billions of dollars toward conservation but objections from key African nations, home to large tracts of tropical rainforest, marred the final passage. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the joint leadership of China and Canada, is the culmination of four years of work toward creating an agreement to guide global conservation efforts through 2030. "The parties which are developed nations should provide resources to parties which are developing," the Congolese representative said through a translator. The deal, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the failed 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020. Investment firms focused on a target in the deal recommending that companies analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues.

Policymakers hope an ambitious deal can spur nature conservation in the same way that an international pact in Paris in 2015 helped mobilize efforts to limit planet-warming carbon emissions. However, the text mentions only that $20 billion to $30 billion per year comes from developed countries by 2030. "Probably we will have to reach an agreement between $30 billion and $100 billion," Colombia's Muhamad told reporters. The draft deal does not mention setting up a separate facility. Lastly, risks from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals would be reduced by at least half, but the text does not address slashing their overall use.

The presidency of the Montreal summit is held by China, which is responsible for releasing the draft text, based on the last two weeks of negotiations, as the best compromise for parties to discuss going forward. However, the 30-by-30 target does not contain a global goal and makes limited mention of the ocean, which could leave international waters unprotected. Financial mobilization has remained another key sticking point at the talks, and the draft puts forward allocating $200 billion per year for conservation initiatives - a target seen as critical for the successful implementation of any deal. The draft does not mention setting up a new facility. Lastly, the text does not address slashing the use of pesticides but does say that the risks from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals should be reduced by at least half.

☆ Explainer: What the world's nature-rich nations want out of a global conservation deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File PhotoMONTREAL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Tangled expanses of Amazon rainforest, high mountains of the Himalayas, and cloud-shrouded forests are just some of the unique landscapes contained within the world's most nature-rich nations. Governments are trying to work out a new global agreement to guide conservation and wildlife protection through 2030 at a U.N. summit in Montreal this week. Of the nearly 200 countries assembled, five are considered to be among the world's most biodiverse nations — measured in the number of unique species. That's more than a third of all the world’s flowering plants, and more than half of all bird and mammal species on Earth. Here's what some of the world's most nature-rich nations want to happen at the talks.

☆ Analysis: Protecting 30% of the planet to save nature is not as simple as it sounds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

More than 110 countries have come out in support of the 30-by-30 goal, including Canada, the United States and France. But as is often the case with science-based policy, the details matter to whether a 30% global conservation goal can truly save the world's imperiled species and places. "They would like to be able to leave Montreal and say we're going to protect 30% of the planet. "If we do things the right way, we protect most biodiversity by being smart — by protecting the areas that matter." Were such countries to protect only 30% of their territories, that could actually result in a significant loss of nature.

REUTERS/Amanda PerobelliSAO PAULO/MONTREAL, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Cerrado savanna rose to a seven-year high, government data showed on Wednesday, destroying a vital habitat for threatened species and releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases that drive climate change. Destruction of native vegetation rose 25% to 10,689 square kilometers (4,127 square miles) – an area larger than Lebanon. Brazil's official deforestation statistics run from August to July to minimize clouds obscuring the destruction. The Cerrado, the world's most species-rich savanna, has given way to Brazil's expanding agricultural frontier for decades. "We need COP15 negotiators to prioritise ending deforestation and conversion in areas where the yearly rate of ecosystem losses prove alarming, like the Cerrado."

☆ Activists dressed as birds and trees rally for nature at COP15 in Montreal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] People take part in a march during the opening of COP15, the two-week U.N. Biodiversity summit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Christinne MuschiMONTREAL, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people on Saturday braved sub-zero temperatures to march the streets of Montreal, the host city of this year's U.N. biodiversity summit, demanding a strong new deal to protect nature worldwide. Wearing costumes to look like birds, trees and caribou, activists said the COP15 summit could fail to meet the urgency of the issue, with about 1 million plant, insect and other animal species now threatened with extinction. Arkilaus Kladit, a member of the Knasaimos-Tehit tribe, traveled to Montreal from West Papua, Indonesia. Countries' ministers join the negotiations next week in Montreal with the hope of adopting a deal to guide conservation through 2030 and beyond.

For decades, searching for such hard-to-reach plants and collecting samples was carried out by intrepid botanists who rappelled by rope down dangerous cliffs to hunt for what was lost. Now, we may have a little more time before extinction.”DIRE SITUATIONToday, two in five plant species globally are threatened with extinction. Kauai has 250 plant species that can be found only on the island. To protect species in the long run, botanists need to collect samples — seeds and genetic material — which they can cultivate in greenhouse nurseries. They might even use drones to bomb down collected seeds, packing them into sticky fertilizer balls that can adhere to steep cliffs.

☆ Factbox: Conservation targets proposed for halting nature loss
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

REUTERS/Dan Koeck/File PhotoMONTREAL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Countries negotiating a global deal to halt nature loss are considering 24 potential conservation targets during this month's U.N. biodiversity summit in Montreal. TARGET 3 - PROTECTED AREASUnder this central goal known as the "30-by-30" target, countries would agree to protect at least 30% of their land and sea territories by 2030. TARGET 14 - POLICYThis target proposes including biodiversity and conservation in national policies, regulations, planning, and poverty eradication strategies, as well in environmental impact assessments. TARGET 16 - SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTIONHere, negotiators seek to suggest or require national policies, laws or regulations that would encourage consumers to make sustainable choices. TARGET 21 - EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION AND INCLUSIONThis settled target aims to make sure that conservation strategies represent all genders and indigenous communities.

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