Month: October 2021

The global consumer goods industry’s plans for dealing with the vast plastic waste it generates can be seen here in a landfill on the outskirts of Indonesia’s capital, where a swarm of excavators tears into stinking mountains of garbage. These machines are unearthing rubbish to provide fuel to power a nearby cement plant. Discarded bubble wrap, take-out containers and single-use shopping bags have become one of the fastest-growing sources of energy for the world’s cement industry. The Indonesian project, funded in part by Unilever PLC , maker of Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, is part of a worldwide effort by big multinationals to burn more plastic waste in cement kilns, Reuters has detailed for the first time. This “fuel” is not only cheap and abundant. It’s the centerpiece of a partnership between consumer products giants and cement companies aimed at burnishing their environmental credentials. They’re promoting this approach as a win-win for a planet choking on plastic waste. Converting plastic to energy, these companies contend, keeps it out of landfills and oceans while allowing cement plants to move away from burning coal, a major contributor to global warming. Reuters has identified nine collaborations launched over the last two years between various combinations of consumer goods giants and major cement makers. Four leading sources of plastic packaging are involved: The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Nestle S.A. and Colgate-Palmolive Company. On the cement side of the deals are four top producers: Switzerland’s Holcim Group, Mexico’s Cemex SAB de CV , PT Solusi Bangun …

The World Health Organization has kicked off a campaign to cut millions of road traffic deaths and injuries by at least half by 2030.This follows the August 2020 adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of a Decade of Action for Road Safety. More than 50 million people have died in road crashes since the automobile was invented by German entrepreneur Karl Benz in 1886. Now, the World Health Organization reports road accidents kill more than 3,500 people every day, adding up to nearly 1.3 million deaths and some 50 million injuries every year. The WHO cites road traffic injuries as the leading cause of death globally for children and young people aged 5 to 29 years. The director of the WHO’s Department for Social Determinants, Etienne Krug, said most of these deaths and injuries are preventable. He said a centerpiece of the U.N.’s Global Plan for reducing traffic accidents and saving lives is to get people out of their cars and have them shift to safer, healthier modes of transportation. “Move away from a car-based transportation system to more walking, cycling and public transport. And to do that, we have to make it safe. The plan also advocates for involving more young people. As I said, it is the leading cause of death for young people and giving them a bigger role in shaping the new wave of transportation. And a greater role for private sector,” he said. Krug said the private sector is important because of its responsibility …

G-20 leaders meeting in Rome have agreed to work to reach carbon neutrality “by around mid-century” and pledged to end financing for coal plants abroad by the end of this year. The final communique was issued Sunday at the end of a two-day summit, ahead of talks at ahead of a broader U.N. climate change summit, COP26, this week in Glasgow, Scotland. Leaders in Rome addressed efforts to reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with a global commitment made in 2015 at the Paris Climate Accord to keep global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5 degrees. “We recognize that the impacts of climate change at 1.5°C are much lower than at 2°C. Keeping 1.5°C within reach will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries,” the communique said, according to Reuters. The group of 19 countries and the European Union account for more than three-quarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Two dozen countries this month have joined a U.S.- and EU-led effort to slash methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. Coal, though, is a bigger point of contention. G-20 members China and India have resisted attempts to produce a declaration on phasing out domestic coal consumption. Briefing reporters ahead of the summit, a U.S. senior administration official said U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders are hoping to get a commitment to end overseas financing of coal-fired power generation.  …

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday that the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is less than 4,000 short of the 5 million mark. The 4 million tally was reached a little more than four months ago. India’s prime minister told world leaders at the G-20 summit in Rome that India will produce 5 million COVID-19 vaccines by the end of next year for use in his country and around the world. Narendra Modi said Saturday, however, that the 5 million doses would be easier to produce if the World Health Organization were to approve India’s Covaxin vaccine and place it on the WHO’s emergency use list. Covaxin is produced by India’s Bharat Biotech. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping, China’s leader, told the summit Saturday, via a video platform, that China has already produced more than 1.6 billion COVID-19 vaccines that have been distributed around the world. New York City municipal workers rushed last week to receive COVID-19 vaccines to fulfill the requirements of a mandate that they show proof of being inoculated with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Friday. One in six, or more than 26,000 workers, however, remain unvaccinated. The unvaccinated workers will be placed on unpaid leave.     …

The latest round of climate talks are getting under way Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland. They are billed as the most important since the Paris conference six years ago. Here are some of the main goals of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26. Keep 1.5 alive  Negotiators pledged in Paris that they would aim to keep the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Scientists have warned that the goal is slipping out of reach without drastic cuts in emissions of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse gases. The planet is already more than 1 degree warmer than it was in the late 1800s, producing more intense heat waves, stronger storms, deeper droughts, bigger wildfires, rising sea levels and more. The higher global temperatures go, the worse things will get, scientists say. The plans that countries have submitted will not keep the world below the 1.5-degree goal. According to the latest United Nations Emissions Gap Report,  current pledges put the world on a path to a disastrous 2.7-degree temperature increase. Some experts are cautiously optimistic, however. While 2.7 degrees of warming is dangerous, the world was headed for 3.7 degrees or more before the Paris conference, they note.  Plus, dozens of countries have pledged that by 2050 they will produce “net-zero” emissions. That means slashing carbon-generating sources and balancing the remaining emissions with carbon-absorbing measures such as planting trees. Following through on these pledges would limit warming to about 2.2 degrees, according to …

The G-20 heads of state from the world’s major economies will discuss climate change Sunday on day two of their meeting in Rome. Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi welcomed the heads of state, including U.S. President Joe Biden, to the Italian capital, where they discussed issues of mutual concern, including the pandemic recovery. The G-20 leaders supported a sweeping global tax deal agreed to by 136 finance ministers earlier this month, including a minimum 15% global corporate tax rate for companies with annual revenues of more than $870 million. It still needs to be implemented within each member country’s legal framework. On COVID-19, G-20 health and finance ministers announced the formation of a new panel to improve future pandemic preparedness, proposed by the United States and Indonesia, but did not specify funding for it. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met on the sidelines with Biden and said they support Biden’s pledge to return the United States to full compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, so long as Tehran does the same. Talks are scheduled for November. This year’s meeting is the the first face-to-face G-20 meeting in two years. Notably absent were Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who joined virtually, citing pandemic concerns at home. “Despite the G-20 decisions, not all countries that need them can have access to vaccines,” Putin said. “This happens partly because of dishonest competition, protectionism and because some states, especially those …

Parts of the planet that were once thought to be permanently frozen are starting to thaw – posing problems for countries like Russia where permafrost covers vast areas of its territory. The thaw is threatening Russia’s oil economy as Oleksandr Yanevskyy tells us in this report narrated by Amy Katz. Camera: Oleksandr Yanevskyy …

A fireworks show that has nothing to do with the Fourth of July and everything to do with the cosmos is poised to be visible across the northern United States and Europe just in time for Halloween. On Thursday, the sun launched what is called an “X-class solar flare” that was strong enough to spark a high-frequency radio blackout across parts of South America. The energy from that flare is trailed by a cluster of solar plasma and other material called a coronal mass ejection, or CME for short. That’s heading toward Earth, prompting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to issue a warning about a potentially strong geomagnetic storm. It might sound like something from a science fiction movie. But really, it just means that a good chunk of the northern part of the country may get treated to a light show this weekend called the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights. Geomagnetic storms as big as what might be coming can produce displays of the lights that can be seen at latitudes as low as Pennsylvania, Oregon and Iowa. It could also cause voltage irregularities on high-latitude power grids as the loss of radio contact on the sunlit side of the planet.    …

The World Health Organization has written an open letter to the heads of state gathered in Rome for the G-20 meeting, urging them to increase vaccine supplies for the world’s poorest, ensure access to vaccines for all people on the move and support low- and middle-income countries in combating COVID-19 with all available means. “The current vaccine equity gap between wealthier and low resource countries demonstrates a disregard for the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable,” the open letter said. “For every 100 people in high-income countries, 133 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, while in low-income countries, only 4 doses per 100 people have been administered.” The WHO letter also warned, “Vaccine inequity is costing lives every day, and continues to place everyone at risk. History and science make it clear: coordinated action with equitable access to public health resources is the only way to face down a global public health scourge like COVID-19. We need a strong, collective push to save lives, reduce suffering and ensure a sustainable global recovery.” Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, joined WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in signing another open letter to the G-20 leaders, urging them to make good on their promised vaccine donations to poor countries. “When the leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations met at the G-7 Summit in June, they collectively announced that 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines would be sent to low- and low-and-middle-income countries to help vaccinate the world. Pharmaceutical companies …

The G-20 Summit hosted by Italy kicked off Saturday in Rome, where leaders from the world’s major economies discussed issues of mutual concern, including pandemic recovery and climate change. The red carpet was rolled out at La Nuvola, Rome’s Convention Center, as Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders amid strict COVID-19 protocols. This summit is the leaders’ first face-to-face meeting in two years, following last year’s virtual summit hosted by Saudi Arabia. Notably absent are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. They will join virtually, citing pandemic concerns at home. Pandemic response and prevention On Friday, G-20 health and finance ministers released a communique committing to bringing the pandemic under control everywhere as soon as possible. They said the G-20 will take all necessary steps needed to advance on the global goals of vaccinating at least 40% of the population in all countries by the end of 2021 and 70% by mid-2022, as recommended by the World Health Organization. However, the ministers could not reach agreement on a separate financing and coordination mechanism to prepare for future pandemics proposed by the U.S. and Indonesia. “We’re looking for not the ultimate final product of a financing mechanism or the ultimate final product of a task force or a board that would operate as kind of a global coordinating body going forward,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told VOA aboard Air Force One en route to …

Before the pandemic effectively closed Thailand off to the rest of the world in March of last year, Bangkok’s Kin & Koff Café was perfectly placed to catch the throngs of tourists traipsing past the city’s gilded Grand Palace and its orbit of opulent temples. In the capital of one of the world’s most popular holiday getaways, the resplendent grounds of the former royal residence were a must-see for most first-time visitors. Then came COVID-19, lockdown and a hard freeze on foreign tourists, decimating a pillar of Thailand’s economy — and the core of Kin & Koff’s client base with it. So, like many in the business of catering to those tourists, owner Siripong Sanomaiwong welcomed the news that Thailand will start lifting lengthy quarantine mandates for some fully vaccinated foreigners on Nov. 1. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha announced the move Oct. 11 in a televised address. “I think the government is [acting] the right way to open up because we cannot hide from the virus,” Siripong said on another slow day in his café opposite the palace walls. “We must live together with the COVID; we must live together … in safety,” he added, reflecting the business community’s general mood of wary resolve. Risk and reward In his address, Prayut acknowledged the risks. He said daily COVID cases were “almost certain” to rise with new arrivals but insisted Thailand was prepared and had to cash in on the coming November-March high season having missed out on the last one. …

Some farmers and organizations in Africa are adopting smart and technology-based solutions as the continent seeks to prepare itself for the effects of climate change. Brenda Mulinya reports from Nairobi. Camera: Amos Wangwa Producer: Amos Wangwa …

Tongan Prime Minister Pohiva Tuionetoa warned Saturday that residents on the country’s main island Tongatapu faced a possible lockdown next week after recording its first case of COVID-19. The tiny Pacific kingdom had been among only a handful of countries to escape the virus so far, and the infection was detected in a person in managed isolation after returning to Tonga on a repatriation flight from New Zealand. “The reason the lockdown won’t happen this weekend is because I have been advised that the virus will take more than three days to develop in someone who catches it before they become contagious,” Tuionetoa said. “We should use this time to get ready in case more people are confirmed they have the virus.” Most of Tonga’s population of 106,000 live on Tongatapu, and fewer than a third have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Health officials said the person who tested positive had received their second jab in mid-October. The repatriation flight included members of Tonga’s Olympic team, who had been stranded in Christchurch since the Tokyo Games. The athletes were double vaccinated before they left for the Olympics. New Zealand’s health ministry confirmed the infected person had tested negative before the flight left Christchurch, where there are only four known cases of COVID-19, all of them in the same household    …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized on Friday the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children 5-11 years old.  The FDA approved for children doses that are one-third the amount that teens and adults receive. “With this vaccine kids can go back to something that’s better than being locked at home on remote schooling, not being able to see their friends,” Dr. Kawsar Talaat of Johns Hopkins University said, according to The Associated Press. “The vaccine will protect them and also protect our communities.”  On Tuesday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make detailed recommendations, and the CDC director will have the final say.  Approval by the regulatory agencies would make the vaccine available in the coming days to 28 million American children, many of whom are back in school for in-person learning. Only a few other countries, including China, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates, have so far cleared COVID-19 vaccines for children in this age group and younger.  Meanwhile, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe on Friday called for schools to stay open, provided appropriate prevention and response measures are in place.  The recommendation comes after WHO reported the European region has now seen four consecutive weeks of growing COVID-19 transmission, the only WHO region to do so. The agency said Europe’s rising numbers accounted for 57% of new cases worldwide in the third week of October.  In a statement from the agency’s website, WHO/Europe says instead of closing educational …

The World Food Program says that without consolidated global action to stop the acceleration of climate change, the world faces a crisis of acute hunger. The WFP says climate shocks are destroying lives, crops and livelihoods and  are undermining people’s ability to feed themselves. It cites Mozambique as an example of a country particularly vulnerable to climate change. It notes millions of people are suffering from food scarcity because of punishing cyclones, drought and pest infestations leading to agricultural losses. WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri said Friday that hunger would increase rapidly throughout vulnerable communities worldwide if global action is not taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are leading to climate change. It’s often stated by climate scientists and activists that humans must stop the planet from warming an additional 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avoid the most destructive effects of climate change. “Research shows that if global temperatures keep rising to hit the 2 degrees Celsius mark, an additional 189 million people could become food insecure,” Phiri said. “Now, in a 4 degree Celsius warmer world, this number could increase by as many as 1.8 billion people.” Trouble spots The WFP describes the devastating wide reach climate change is having on the livelihoods in communities in the “dry corridor” of Central America; in Afghanistan, where drought was officially declared in June; and in Yemen, where severe and frequent floods have damaged and destroyed infrastructure and homes. Phiri said the WFP is helping people in communities where food is in short supply …

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionally affected midcareer and older working women in the United States. About 40% have experienced at least one job interruption, and of those who remained unemployed, 70% were out of work for six months or more. Lesia Bakalets has more in this report narrated by Anna Rice. …

The U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) Friday issued a Strong Geomagnetic Storm Watch for Saturday, saying power and communications systems could be affected after a significant solar flare was observed on the sun. The U.S. space agency NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory reported observing a significant solar flare — or “coronal mass ejection” (CME) — Thursday. Flares or CMEs are powerful eruptions on the sun’s surface that send tons of superheated gas and radiation into space. The observatory, which constantly monitors solar activity, captured an image of Thursday’s event. The bursts of radiation often head toward Earth, and while harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans, if they are strong enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and other  communications signals travel. When solar activity could affect day-to-day activity on earth the SWPC, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), issues a watch or warning.   In this case, the center issued a strong, or G3, storm watch for Saturday, indicating the radiation could affect power systems, creating voltage irregularities, interference with communications systems or the operation of spacecraft, such as satellites. The watch is in effect from the North Pole south to the 50th parallel, roughly halfway to the equator. The prediction center said the aurora borealis — also known as the northern lights — may also be visible Saturday at unusually lower latitudes. It issued a G2 or moderate geomagnetic storm watch for Sunday. …

Desperate for work, Sabila Dafadar walks every morning from her poor neighborhood tucked behind tall glass and chrome buildings in the business hub of Gurugram, 32 kilometers from New Delhi, to a busy intersection where day laborers wait for contractors who come to pick up construction workers. After she migrated from her village 10 years ago, she easily found jobs both as household help and in an office as a cleaner. Like millions of other women, she lost her job last year during a stringent lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Indian businesses and factories have reopened, it has been tough for Dafadar to find work as the economy struggles to recover. “I have only managed to get work for 15 days during the last three months,” the 35-year-old said. While women around the world have been hit harder by job losses than have men during the pandemic, the impact on women in India has been particularly severe, experts say. Even before the pandemic, women made up only about 20% of India’s labor force – far below the global average and lower than is the case in such South Asian countries as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Many of them work in India’s vast informal sector. Now there are fears their space will shrink further, particularly for women from poorer households. “Women are in distress in terms of reentering the labor force, especially urban women who were the worst affected,” said Sona Mitra, principal economist at Initiative for What Works …

As world leaders gather in Glasgow, Scotland, for the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26), China on Thursday announced it has no new significant goals to reduce climate-changing emissions, despite being the world’s top emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that cause global warming.  “It’s not surprising, but it is disappointing that there wasn’t anything new” in terms of goals, said Joanna Lewis, an expert on China, climate and energy at Georgetown University, The Associated Press reported.  In the past, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is not expected to attend the summit, has said China aims to reduce peak emissions of carbon dioxide “before 2030” and to reach “carbon neutrality” before 2060.  Thursday’s announcement merely repeats those goals.  Lewis said the documents China released give details only about meeting previously set goals.  “The document gives no answers on the major open questions about the country’s emissions,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, the AP reported. “At what level will emissions peak and how fast should they fall after the peak?”  The document called climate change a “grim challenge facing all mankind” and said China “is also among countries most severely affected by climate change.”  China, which depends heavily on coal for electricity, is building new coal-fired power plants rapidly.  “New coal power and steel projects announced in China in the first half of 2021 alone will emit CO2 equal to Netherlands’ total emissions,” according to an August report from the Center …

NASA moves forward with its next moon mission. Plus, SpaceX readies its Halloween space launch, and Blue Origin offers an orbiting office park for the future. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. Producer: Arash Arabasadi. …

A new British research ship, named for British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, has arrived in London to call attention to climate change ahead of next week’s Glasgow climate summit. The 129-meter RSS Sir David Attenborough has completed sea trials and is ready for service. It sailed up the Thames River on Wednesday to be part of a three-day public celebration hosted by the British Antarctic Survey to raise awareness of the importance and relevance of polar science and why it matters to everyday life. In a launch event on the ship Thursday, Attenborough, known for his documentaries on nature and the planet, reminded people of the dangers caused by climate change and called for action from delegates attending the summit next week in Glasgow. Commissioned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and operated by the British Antarctic Survey, the new research platform will transform how U.K. teams conduct ship-borne science in polar regions. The vessel enjoys a bit of infamy as well. As it was being built in 2016, NERC decided to open the naming of the ship to the public through an internet vote. The winning name was Boaty McBoatface. The vote was overruled in favor of naming it for Attenborough, but an unmanned research submarine carried on the ship bears the name Boaty McBoatface, out of respect for the popular vote. The ship will embark on its first Antarctic mission later this year. It has a crew of about 30 and can accommodate up to 60 scientists.​ …