Cincunri Sakia

Minggu, 13 Juni 2021

G7 summit: Sir David Attenborough presses leaders to show the 'global will' to tackle climate change - Sky News

Sir David Attenborough has told the Group of Seven leaders we already have the skills to tackle climate change, but what we need is the "global will to do so".

The 95-year-old environmentalist told the heads of the world's leading democracies that tackling climate change was now as much a political challenge as it was a scientific one.

"We know in detail what is happening to our planet, and we know many of the things we need to do during this decade," he said in a pre-recorded video address.

"Tackling climate change is now as much a political and communications challenge as it is a scientific or technological
one. We have the skills to address it in time, all we need is the global will to do so."

On the leaders' final day of discussions, Sir David called on them to take urgent action to avoid human-caused environmental catastrophe.

The broadcaster and naturalist said the scientific response to the COVID-19 pandemic had demonstrated "just how much we can achieve together when the goal is clear and urgent".

It comes after various climate groups staged protests across Cornwall to lobby G7 leaders on environmental issues this weekend.

In their conclusions from this weekend's summit, G7 leaders are expected to include a pledge to almost halve their emissions by 2030 relative to 2010.

This will also include promises to end almost all direct government support for fossil fuels and the phasing out of petrol and diesel cars.

And the G7 is also expected to commit to increasing their contributions to international climate finance, to help developing countries deal with the impact of climate change and to support sustainable growth.

But environmentalists have warned that previous climate finance targets have already been missed, and that aspirations to conserve 30% of our land and sea lack any form of plan as to how the areas will actually be protected.

Ahead of his address to world leaders, Sir David had said: "The natural world today is greatly diminished. That is undeniable.

"Our climate is warming fast. That is beyond doubt. Our societies and nations are unequal and that is sadly is plain to see.

"But the question science forces us to address specifically in 2021 is whether as a result of these intertwined facts we are on the verge of destabilising the entire planet?

"If that is so, then the decisions we make this decade - in particular the decisions made by the most economically advanced nations - are the most important in human history."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has used the summit to launch a £500m fund to support countries, including Ghana, Indonesia and Pacific island states, to tackle unsustainable fishing, protect and restore coastal ecosystems like mangroves and coral reefs, and reduce marine pollution.

"Protecting our planet is the most important thing we as leaders can do for our people," he said.

"There is a direct relationship between reducing emissions, restoring nature, creating jobs and ensuring long-term economic growth.

"As democratic nations we have a responsibility to help developing countries reap the benefits of clean growth through a fair and transparent system.

"The G7 has an unprecedented opportunity to drive a global Green Industrial Revolution, with the potential to transform the way we live."

Listen and follow ClimateCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Spreaker

For their final day of discussions on Sunday, G7 leaders will once again be joined by guest nations Australia, South Korea, South Africa and India.

On Saturday night, the leaders enjoyed a beach BBQ in Carbis Bay and witnessed a flypast by the Red Arrows.

Critics questioned the display by nine aerobatic jet aircraft amid the summit's focus on climate change.

Every day at 6.30pm, Sky News broadcasts the first daily prime time news show dedicated to climate change.

Hosted by Anna Jones, The Daily Climate Show follows Sky News correspondents as they investigate how global warming is changing our landscape and how we all live our lives.

The show also highlights solutions to the crisis and how small changes can make a big difference.

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2021-06-13 12:00:00Z
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G7 to agree tough measures on burning coal to tackle climate change - BBC News

Boris Johnson and David Attenborough talking in front of a projection of Earth

World leaders meeting in Cornwall are to adopt strict measures on coal-fired power stations as part of the battle against climate change.

The G7 group will promise to move away from coal plants, unless they have technology to capture carbon emissions.

It comes as Sir David Attenborough warned that humans could be "on the verge of destabilising the entire planet".

He said G7 leaders faced the most important decisions in human history.

The coal announcement came from the White House, which said it was the first time the leaders of wealthy nations had committed to keeping the projected global temperature rise to 1.5C.

That requires a range of urgent policies, chief among them being phasing out coal burning unless it includes carbon capture technology.

Coal is the world's dirtiest major fuel and ending its use is seen as a major step by environmentalists, but they also want guarantees rich countries will deliver on previous promises to help poorer nations cope with climate change.

The G7 will end the funding of new coal generation in developing countries and offer up to £2bn ($2.8bn)to stop using the fuel. Climate change has been one of the key themes at the three-day summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with other G7 leaders, 12 June

Leaders of the seven major industrialised nations - the UK, US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy - are expected to set out plans to reduce emissions from farming, transport, and the making of steel and cement.

They will commit to protecting 30% of global land and marine areas for nature by 2030. They are also expected to pledge to almost halve their emissions by 2030, relative to 2010 levels. The UK has already surpassed that commitment.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a news conference on Sunday afternoon, the final day of a summit where he has clashed with EU leaders over the Brexit deal's requirements for checks on goods from Britain to Northern Ireland.

Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden relax between sessions of the G7 summit in Cornwall, 12 June

'Plain to see'

A video message from Sir David Attenborough was played to world leaders in Cornwall on Sunday as they set out their plans for meeting emissions targets.

Speaking beforehand, Sir David said: "The natural world today is greatly diminished... Our climate is warming fast. That is beyond doubt. Our societies and nations are unequal and that is sadly plain to see.

"But the question science forces us to address specifically in 2021 is whether as a result of these intertwined facts we are on the verge of destabilising the entire planet."

He said the decisions facing the world's richest countries were "the most important in human history".

As well as the measures on coal and ending almost all direct government support for the fossil fuel sector overseas, the G7 is expected to phase out petrol and diesel cars.

BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said there had been "a crucial lack of detail on two questions so far: the proposed green masterplan to help developing countries get clean technology and the amount of cash richer [countries] will hand to the poorer to tackle the climate crisis".

China, which according to one report was responsible for 27% of the world's greenhouse gases in 2019 - the most of any country - is not part of the G7.

What is climate change?

The Earth's average temperature is about 15C (59F) but has been much higher and lower in the past.

There are natural fluctuations in the climate but scientists say temperatures are now rising faster than at many other times.

This is linked to the greenhouse effect, which describes how the Earth's atmosphere traps some of the Sun's energy.

Solar energy radiating back to space from the Earth's surface is absorbed by greenhouse gases and re-emitted in all directions.

This heats both the lower atmosphere and the surface of the planet. Without this effect, the Earth would be about 30C (86F) colder and hostile to life.

Scientists believe we are adding to the natural greenhouse effect, with gases released from industry and agriculture trapping more energy and increasing the temperature.

This is known as climate change or global warming. You can read our simple explainer here.

The G7 leaders are also expected to endorse a plan aimed at reversing the loss of biodiversity - a measure of how many different species live in ecosystems - by the end of the decade.

Mr Johnson is also launching a £500m fund to protect the world's oceans and marine life.

The "blue planet fund" will help countries including Ghana, Indonesia and Pacific Island states, tackle unsustainable fishing, protect and restore coastal ecosystems like mangroves and coral reefs, and reduce marine pollution.

A major UN report from 2019 said that global emissions of carbon dioxide must peak by 2020 to keep the planet from warming by more than 1.5C.

Graphic showing the faces of each leader

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2021-06-13 11:18:18Z
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Israel's Netanyahu poised to lose power to new government - BBC News

Israel's parliament is expected to approve the formation of a new government later on Sunday, ending 12 years of rule by PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

The prospective government - an unprecedented coalition of parties - has a razor-thin majority of one seat.

It would also end more than two years of political paralysis in which three elections resulted in stalemate.

Right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett is poised to become PM in a power-sharing deal with a centrist leader.

Under the coalition agreement, Mr Bennett, who heads the Yamina party, will hold office until September 2023, when he will hand over to Yair Lapid, leader of Yesh Atid, for a further two years.

Mr Netanyahu - Israel's longest-serving leader, who has dominated its political landscape for years - would remain head of the right-wing Likud party and become leader of the opposition.

He has railed against the likely new government, calling it a "dangerous coalition of fraud and surrender" and has vowed to "overthrow it very quickly".

Meanwhile, his trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - allegations he denies - continues.

Coalition seeks to maintain calm

Analysis box by Tom Bateman, Middle East correspondent

The new coalition is doing everything to avoid last-minute surprises here in the corridors of the Knesset. Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid are trying to keep the tone calm, despite the political convulsions their pact has unleashed.

On Saturday night, the Prime Minister-designate urged protesters who had gathered outside Mr Netanyahu's home to avoid "provocations".

And he's continuously held fire despite the flak from Mr Netanyahu, who accuses him of fraud and creating a government of surrender.

In return, as he prepares for the vote to finally push his old boss from power, Mr Bennett will reportedly thank Mr Netanyahu for his service. He has already done the deed, so now the words are less important.

Why has this happened?

Mr Netanyahu has served a record-breaking five terms, first from 1996 to 1999, then continuously from 2009 to 2021.

He called an election in April 2019 but failed to win enough support to form a new coalition government. Two more elections followed, each of which ended inconclusively.

The third election resulted in a government of national unity where Mr Netanyahu agreed to share power with the then-opposition leader Benny Gantz. But the arrangement collapsed in December, triggering a fourth election.

Israeli Arab woman votes in election, 2 March 2020

Although Likud emerged as the largest party in the 120-seat parliament, Mr Netanyahu was again unable to form a governing coalition and the task was handed to Mr Lapid, whose party had emerged as the second largest.

Opposition to Mr Netanyahu staying in power had grown, not just among the left and centre but also among right-wing parties that are ordinarily ideologically aligned to Likud, including Yamina.

Although Yamina came joint fifth in the election with only seven seats, its support was critical if any potential coalition government was to have a majority in parliament. After weeks of negotiations, Mr Lapid brought Yamina on board as part of a constellation of parties whose only common goal was to remove Mr Netanyahu from office.

The agreement involving eight factions with the 61 seats required for a majority was signed on 2 June, just half an hour before a deadline was due to expire, effectively sealing Mr Netanyahu's fate.

What would the new government be like?

In appearance, Mr Bennett's government would be unlike any which has preceded it in Israel's 73-year history. The alliance contains parties which have vast ideological differences, and perhaps most significantly includes the first independent Arab party to be part of a potential ruling coalition, Raam. It is also expected to have a record number of eight female ministers.

The inclusion of Raam and left-wing non-Arab Israeli parties means there could be friction on issues such as Israeli policies towards Palestinians - Yamina and another right-wing party, New Hope, are staunch supporters of Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, for instance.

There could also be difficulties over social policies - while some parties want to advance gay rights, such as recognising same sex marriages, Raam, an Islamist party, is against this.

In addition, some parties want to relax religious restrictions more extensively than Yamina - a national-religious party - will likely allow.

Mr Bennett has indicated his government would focus on areas where agreement was possible, like economic issues or the coronavirus pandemic, while avoiding more contentious matters.

"Nobody will have to give up their ideology," he recently said, "but all will have to postpone the realisation of some of their dreams... We'll focus on what can be achieved, rather than arguing about what cannot."

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2021-06-13 11:39:45Z
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G7 set to agree 'green belt and road' plan to counter China's influence - Financial Times

Leaders of the G7 countries will back a western rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative on Sunday, with a plan to mobilise billions of dollars to help developing countries tackle climate change.

US president Joe Biden has led calls to offer poor countries a new source of infrastructure finance, providing a “democratic” alternative to Chinese loans, which are seen in the west as a tool to spread Beijing’s influence.

Leaders at the G7 summit in Cornwall will agree what allies of UK prime minister Boris Johnson, the summit host, call a “green belt and road” plan, with richer countries helping to fund schemes that reduce carbon emissions.

Johnson wants to focus on supporting green initiatives and has been wary of presenting the initiative as an “anti-China” effort. British officials said they wanted the group of leading western economies to “show what we are for, not who we are against”.

But the White House favours a wider package of infrastructure support and has been explicit about wanting to provide a counterweight to China’s influence.

“We have a slightly narrower focus,” said one British official.

On Saturday, G7 leaders held talks to co-ordinate China strategy. “There was broad agreement that we should co-operate with Beijing on things like fighting climate change, compete in areas like global supply chains and contest on issues like human rights,” said one official briefed on the talks.

The “build back better for the world” plan will grant countries improved access to financing for low-carbon projects such as wind farms and railways.

The programme aims to boost climate funding from multilateral development banks as well as the private sector and was billed as a “green Marshall Plan” by some officials, but at a smaller scale.

G7 leaders are expected to commit to increasing their contributions to international climate finance. This will help them meet a pre-existing target of mobilising $100bn a year from rich countries to help poor countries support green growth.

However, one official watching the discussions said: “It was a short on detail on how this would be achieved.”

A senior US official said on Friday: “The United States and many of our partners and friends around the world have long been sceptical about China’s Belt and Road Initiative.”

“We’ve seen the Chinese government demonstrate a lack of transparency, poor environmental and labour standards, and a course of approach that’s left many countries worse off.

“But until now, we haven’t offered a positive alternative that reflects our values, our standards, and our way of doing business.”

China criticised the US and other G7 members, arguing that “genuine multilateralism” was based on the UN. “The days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone,” a spokesperson at the Chinese embassy in London said.

On Friday, Yang Jiechi, the top Chinese foreign policy official, also hit back at international condemnation over Beijing’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang and erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy.

A White House fact sheet released on Saturday outlined the Build Back Better plan’s guiding values, which included transparency, sustainability and consultation with local communities.

But environmental groups criticised the lack of detail on how the plan would be financed and operate, leading some to warn it was little more than empty promises.

Climate change is one of the top priorities for G7 leaders at the summit, but leaders are struggling to agree on finance. Only Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy are expected to announce new climate funding in Cornwall.

The G7 leaders will pledge to phase out petrol and diesel cars and to shut down all coal plants that do not use emissions-capturing technology as soon as possible. They will also pledge to protect 30 per cent of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030.

With the UK hosting the COP26 climate summit in November, this weekend’s summit in Cornwall is expected to offer a preview of how the world’s largest industrialised democracies will approach the climate crisis in the international arena.

Follow @ftclimate on Instagram

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2021-06-13 08:37:30Z
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G7 set to agree 'green belt and road' plan to counter China's influence - Financial Times

Leaders of the G7 countries will back a western rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative on Sunday, with a plan to mobilise billions of dollars to help developing countries tackle climate change.

Joe Biden has led calls to offer poor countries a new source of infrastructure finance, providing a “democratic” alternative to Chinese loans, which are seen in the west as a tool to spread Beijing’s influence.

Leaders at the G7 summit in Cornwall will agree what allies of Boris Johnson, the summit host, call a “green belt and road” plan, with richer countries helping fund schemes that reduce carbon emissions.

But the White House favours a wider package of infrastructure support and has been explicit about wanting to provide a counterweight to China’s influence.

“We have a slightly narrower focus,” said one British official.

The “Build Back Better for the World” plan will grant countries improved access to financing for low-carbon projects such as wind farms and railways.

The programme aims to boost climate funding from multilateral development banks as well as the private sector and was billed as a “Green Marshall plan” by some officials, but at a smaller scale.

However, one official watching the discussions said: “It was a short on detail on how this would be achieved.”

A senior US official said on Friday: “The United States and many of our partners and friends around the world have long been sceptical about China’s Belt and Road Initiative.”

“We’ve seen the Chinese government demonstrate a lack of transparency, poor environmental and labour standards, and a course of approach that’s left many countries worse off.”

“But until now, we haven’t offered a positive alternative that reflects our values, our standards, and our way of doing business.”

China criticised the announcement from the US and other G7 members, arguing that “genuine multilateralism” was based on the UN and not “so-called rules formulated by a small number of countries”.

“The days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone,” a spokesperson at the Chinese embassy in London said.

On Friday, Yang Jiechi, the top Chinese foreign policy official, also hit back at international condemnation over Beijing’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang and erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy.

“The US side has fabricated various lies about Xinjiang in an attempt to sabotage the stability and unity in Xinjiang, which confuse right and wrong and are extremely absurd,” Yang said, according to a statement.

A White House fact sheet released on Saturday outlined the Build Back Better plan’s guiding values, which included transparency, sustainability and consultation with local communities.

But environmental groups criticised the lack of details of how the plan would be financed and operate, leading some to warn it was little more than empty promises.

Johnson said: “The G7 has an unprecedented opportunity to drive a global green industrial revolution, with the potential to transform the way we live.”

But several climate groups were unimpressed, saying the Build Back Better plan appeared vague and weak.

“We still don’t know the timeline or the scale of these announcements, and without that, these are just empty promises,” said Catherine Pettengell, interim head of Climate Action Network UK.

People familiar with the process said the UK was relatively late in trying to pull together its green infrastructure plan. One official watching the G7 deliberations said Johnson on one occasion seemed to mix up the names of various schemes.

All G7 countries have committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, making climate policies an area of broad agreement. But differences over issues such as coal and climate finance donations have made for difficult negotiations over the final language of the leaders’ communiqué.

Follow @ftclimate on Instagram

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2021-06-13 03:00:00Z
52781664099140

Sabtu, 12 Juni 2021

G7 set to agree 'green belt and road' plan to counter China's influence - Financial Times

Leaders of the G7 leading western economies will back a western rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative on Sunday, with a plan to mobilise billions of dollars to help developing countries tackle climate change.

Johnson wants to focus on supporting green initiatives and has been wary of presenting the initiative as an “anti-China” effort. British officials said they wanted the G7 to “show what we are for, not who we are against”.