Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Cop29 climate summit live: raising funds to finance climate fight is feasible, economists say

admin — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 06:46:15 +0000

As day eight begins in Baku, leading economists say finding the required $1tn a year ‘is feasible’, even as negotiators run into a ‘valley of death’ amid deadlock in climate talks

Cop29 negotiations aren’t moving fast enough, according to one of the Pacific leaders attending the summit in Baku.

Surangel Whipps Jr, the president of the republic of Palau, has written an op-ed for the Guardian in which he describes the relentless invasion of his country’s coastlines by rising seawater and calls for bolder action by negotiators. He says:

‘It is feasible’: climate finance won’t burden rich countries, say economists

admin — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 06:00:30 +0000

Experts say mix of taxes with development bank and private funding can provide $1tn a year needed by 2030

Raising money needed to tackle the climate crisis need not be a burden on overstretched government budgets, leading economists have said.

The sums needed – approximately $1tn a year by 2030 – are achievable without disruption to the global economy, and would help to generate greener economic growth for the future.

I’m obsessed with a historic shipwreck: it’s murky and dangerous but diving in the Thames, I feel like a detective

admin — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 06:00:28 +0000

When exploring wrecked warship the London I can barely see six inches ahead, but I’ve dived 500 times to document and save the secrets of this vessel built by Oliver Cromwell

When I dive to the shipwreck of the London, a warship which was accidentally blown up in the murky waters of the Thames estuary in 1665, I dive in darkness. I can barely see six inches in front of me. And if I turn my torch off, I cannot see anything at all.

Cop29 negotiations aren’t moving fast enough. The Pacific is running out of time | Surangel Whipps Jr

admin — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 04:24:12 +0000

Small island states must continue to be protected by special circumstances and need access to sufficient climate-based finance, Palau’s president writes

A week into Cop29 negotiations, we’re not moving fast enough – or anywhere for that matter – on some key issues.

Climate finance, or more specifically the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) to replace the current $100bn a year goal, and the work to operationalise the loss and damage fund, are key expected outcomes here in Baku.

‘Graveyard of corals’ found after extreme heat and cyclones hit northern Great Barrier Reef

admin — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:13:34 +0000

Marine scientists say one area around Cooktown and Lizard Island had lost more than a third of its live hard coral after bleaching event

Let’s not waste another summer debating climate science – Australia’s energy transition can work for everyone | Peter Lewis

admin — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 23:45:13 +0000

When the heat is on, the onus should be on the Coalition to explain why they don’t support measures to ensure their newly discovered battlers have access to rooftop solar

Cop29: ‘We’re here for life and death reasons,’ says ex-climate minister of Pakistan

admin — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 18:00:15 +0000

Sherry Rehman says rich nations should pay ‘internationally determined contributions’ to help poorer and worst-affected countries

Amid the endless politicking and inscrutable arguments at the UN climate negotiations in Baku, Azerbaijan, this month, it can be hard to remember what is at stake. That’s why Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s former climate change minister, is calling on global leaders to “keep an eye on the big picture”.

“We’re here for life and death reasons,” Rehman said.

Tree islands restore nature in oil palm plantations

admin — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:57:19 +0000

Southeast Asia's tropical forests are renowned for their biodiversity, but at the same time face significant threats from the expansion of oil palm plantations. With global demand for palm oil rising, the urgency for effective restoration strategies in these landscapes has become critical. A long-running experiment has investigated how ecological restoration promotes biodiversity recovery in oil palm plantations in Sumatra. Their findings reveal that establishing islands of trees within large oil palm monocultures can promote the recovery of native tree diversity through natural regeneration.

Bee alert: Pesticides pose a real threat to over 70% of wild bees

admin — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:52:23 +0000

A new study reveals alarming risks that pesticides pose to ground-nesting bees, which are crucial for pollination and food production. As agriculture increasingly relies on pesticides to protect crops, the unintended consequences for these essential pollinators are becoming clearer.

Cop29 delegates told to ‘cut the theatrics’ and tackle climate crisis

admin — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:21:55 +0000

UN climate chief addresses climate summit with no agreement in sight on how to help developing countries

Countries meeting in Azerbaijan to discuss a new global financial settlement for tackling the climate crisis must “cut the theatrics” and get down to serious business, the UN has said.