Most recent 40 articles: SCMP
|
Opinion | We must start thinking about the drip-drip effects of climate change - SCMP  (Apr 16) |
|
Apr 16 · But this is to greatly misunderstand how climate change is happening. Big events make headlines but, for the next few years, lots of small events should be the main concern. These will bring difficult long-term problems which are mostly uninsurable. Think of it a bit like looking after your teeth. If someone consumes lots of sugar, the damaging impact on their teeth takes time to show up. At a certain point though, their teeth begin to fall apart and this affects their health in lots of ways. The pain of toothache and bad breath aside, their cardiovascular and respiratory systems might suffer. They could have gum disease and oral infections which are linked to higher ... Read more ... |
|
|
it's only fair to cut developing nations some slack - SCMP  (Feb 25) |
|
Feb 25 · For the Global South, these challenges build atop existing issues of poverty, inequality and the remnants of past exploitation. Consider the recent scrutiny faced by Mexico and India for expanding their fossil fuel operations. Mexico’s power emissions increased by 11 per cent last year to more than 175 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, the highest level in more than five years. Naturally, this surge has raised concerns among climate trackers. However, when viewed within the broader context, Mexico contributed just 1.4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. A substantial drop in hydropower output required it to increase fossil fuel-powered electricity ... Read more ... |
|
|
China will miss its climate goals unless it reins in coal power: report - SCMP  (Feb 22) |
|
Feb 22 · “Another year of rapidly rising emissions in 2023 leaves China way off track against its target of cutting carbon intensity by 18 per cent between 2021 and 2025,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). “As a result, carbon dioxide emissions would now need to fall by 4 to 6 per cent by 2025 to hit the goal.” 08:42 The surprising hurdle slowing China’s switch to green energy In April 2021, President Xi Jinping said China would “strictly control” coal-fired power generation projects, reach peak consumption next year and start phasing it down in 2026, as part of the nation’s goals for carbon emissions to peak ... Read more ... |
|
|
Painful cost of climate change for Sri Lankan women farmers: ‘I get beaten up’ - SCMP  (Feb 19) |
|
Feb 19 · After years of scant rainfall in a remote region of Sri Lanka, farmer Renuka Karunarathna’s crops failed and as the family’s income dwindled, her husband took his anger out on her, beating her so badly she had to go to hospital. “I have got beaten up so many times,” Karunarathna said in her village of Sapumal Thenna in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province. “I suffer a lot.” Domestic violence is a little-studied side effect of climate change, especially in poorer nations, where increasingly frequent heatwaves, droughts, floods and storms can exacerbate economic hardship, which in turn can fuel anger and violence. As families fall into penury because of failed harvests ... Read more ... |
|
|
leaders must deliver meaningful climate action or face public fury - SCMP  (Dec 10) |
|
Dec 10 · The mounting proof over the past eight years is that people worldwide are increasingly concerned, even alarmed, about the pace and impact of climate change, with surveys and polls bearing this out. Recent findings show that even in Saudi Arabia, 95 per cent of people acknowledge that a green transition is necessary. Yet there appears to be a growing chasm between people’s desire for climate action and the speed of any proposed changes. According to polling across all regions of the world, more than four in 10 people say they have been greatly affected by climate change, which suggests that, in future, people may be less likely to discount the issue given its increasing ... Read more ... |
|
|
Geothermal power: Indonesia eyes ‘phenomenal’ renewable energy potential - SCMP  (Dec 4) |
|
Dec 4 · Geothermal energy is a renewable resource captured by drilling holes that are many kilometres deep to tap heat radiating from the planet’s molten core. The best sites for the process are where tectonic plates meet and white-hot magma bubbles through the gaps, spawning hot springs and volcanoes. “The beauty of Indonesia is that all its islands sit on tectonic plates, so its geothermal energy potential is phenomenal,” said Marit Brommer, executive director of the International Geothermal Association. The Southeast Asian nation has the largest geothermal reserves in the world, concentrated on the islands of Sumatra and Java. Experts, however, are split over whether ... Read more ... |
|
|
Q&A: What does China’s new Paris Agreement pledge mean for climate change? - Carbon Brief - SCMP  (Nov 21) |
|
Nov 21 · Experts are more confident about China’s carbon reduction progress and outlook than last year, according to a joint survey published on Tuesday by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and the International Society for Energy Transition Studies. About 89 participants from various institutes and industries specialising in energy, the environment and climate change were interviewed for the survey. More than 70 per cent of the surveyed experts believe that China can achieve its goal of peak carbon emissions before 2030, while 21 per cent believe that China will hit peak emissions before 2025 or that they have already peaked, an increase from last year’s ... Read more ... |
|
|
food science breakthroughs can't come fast enough for a warming world - SCMP  (Oct 20, 2023) |
|
Oct 20, 2023 · Tutti’s story began more than 20 years ago, when a group of growers from Catalonia, Spain’s main apple-growing region, travelled to consult food scientists at New Zealand’s Plant and Food Research facility in Hawke’s Bay, one of the world’s best apple-growing regions. As Lisa Goddard, at Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society, said of foods drifting north as their ideal climate shifts: “Napa Valley pretty much ends up in Canada not too long from now.” The good news for the Catalan apple-growers is that Tutti – and a pipeline of other apple and pear varieties due to be released over the next decade – might provide an answer to their ... Read more ... |
|
|
Climate change: China, India to bear the brunt with half a million coal workers facing job cuts globally by 2035 due to mine closures and energy transition - SCMP  (Oct 05, 2023) |
|
Oct 05, 2023 · The core assertion of nations touting a just transition is that it is possible to have an energy shift that improves the position of the working class. This, however, is not true. The transition unfolds within capitalism, a system where shifts in the means of production often disadvantage workers instead of empowering them. 15:52 Middle class in China and US fear losing status Technological progress mustn’t equate to joblessness. It should, instead, elevate well-being by reducing workers’ hours for the same output. Yet within capitalism, workers find themselves entangled in cutthroat competition – a fight to maintain relevance – forcing a significant segment off ... Read more ... |
|
|
|
COP25 summit: fossil fuel groups accused of trying to influence climate talks - SCMP  (Dec 09, 2019) |
|
Dec 09, 2019 · COP25 summit: fossil fuel groups accused of trying to influence climate talks Harry's View Letters Cliff Buddle Bernice Chan Robert Delaney Cary Huang Yonden Lhatoo Alex Lo Tammy Tam Luisa Tam Wang Xiangwei Ian Young Politics Economics People Health & Environment Lifestyle & Culture Explained Fashion & Beauty Travel & Leisure Family & Relationships Food & Drink Health & Wellness Entertainment Arts & Culture Gadgets Long Reads Short Reads Design & Interiors Food & Drink Travel Books Arts & ... Read more ... |
|
|
China wrestles with international role as it vows to take lead in realising climate change accord - SCMP  (Nov 27, 2019) |
|
Nov 27, 2019 · China wrestles with international role as it vows to take lead in realising climate change accord Harry's View Letters Cliff Buddle Bernice Chan Robert Delaney Cary Huang Yonden Lhatoo Alex Lo Tammy Tam Luisa Tam Wang Xiangwei Ian Young Politics Economics People Health & Environment Lifestyle & Culture Explained Fashion & Beauty Travel & Leisure Family & Relationships Food & Drink Health & Wellness Entertainment Arts & Culture Gadgets Long Reads Short Reads Design & Interiors Food & ... Read more ... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What is permafrost and why might it be the climate change time bomb? - SCMP  (Feb 23, 2019) |
|
Feb 23, 2019 · February 19, 2019 MarcoHernandez PabloRobles Forget about carbon emissions and carbon neutrality – if permafrost continues to melt at current rates, it could be game over for humanity Permafrost is a layer of soil, rock or sediment that is frozen for more than two consecutive years. It is commonly found in snowy, high-altitude mountains. About a quarter of the entire northern hemisphere has permafrost, but it is especially prevalent in areas above the 50th parallel north Permafrost seals highly compressed carbon and methane gases created from decomposed organic and vegetal remains. Greenhouse gases are released when this frozen layer thaws. In areas not ... | By Marco Hernandez Read more ... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|