UN Climate Report Calls for Immediate Transition Away From Fossil Fuels
Renewable energy technologies that can replace fossil fuels and help avoid catastrophic global warming are widely available and cheaper than ever, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a new report. Still, the report said that political barriers are preventing the transition in many countries. The world is currently on track (Bloomberg) to warm by more than 3°C (5.4°F) this century.
The report calls for immediate, sweeping societal transformation and condemns the financial system’s “systemic underpricing” of climate risk. It calculated that up to $4 trillion worth of fossil fuels and related infrastructure will likely need to be abandoned (Grist) by 2050 to limit warming to 2°C (3.6°F). The report also highlighted developing countries’ immense need for financial support to transition away from fossil fuels and deal with the effects of climate change.
Analysis
“At the moment, national climate policies are essentially divorced from global financial flows. Changing that starts with governments, which must hold themselves and one another to account for regulating private financial institutions and greening their own public investments,” Tufts University’s Kelly Sims Gallagher writes in Foreign Affairs.
“Humanity has all the scientific knowledge and technological tools to achieve [a] safe and sustainable world in which all people have a good quality of life. Tackling climate change will be hard, but it is well within our capacity—if we choose to do it,” the Washington Post’s Sarah Kaplan tweets.
At the meeting today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to demand new sanctions (RFE/RL) on Moscow over reports that Russian forces committed atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
France/Germany: The countries’ governments will expel (Politico) some Russian envoys in the wake of the atrocities in Bucha.
CFR provides background and expert analysis on the war in Ukraine.
Pacific Rim
China Extends COVID-19 Lockdown to Entire City of Shanghai
With twenty-five million people now under lockdown (BBC), centralized isolation facilities are packed and local media are reporting that close contacts of infected people could be moved to neighboring provinces.
U.S./Singapore: U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai visited Singapore (Nikkei) to pitch Washington’s new Indo-Pacific economic framework as an alternative to the United States joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Sri Lanka’s Political Upheaval Continues Amid Economic Crisis
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition lost its majority (Indian Express) in Parliament, and a new finance minister resigned one day after taking office. Protesters have rejected (NYT) the government’s attempts to reshuffle the cabinet and called for Rajapaksa’s resignation.
India: The country’s largest oil refiner, Indian Oil Corporation, and two renewable energy firms agreed to jointly develop green hydrogen (Bloomberg), a fuel source that can be used to decarbonize heavy industries.
Middle East and North Africa
Kuwaiti Prime Minister Resigns Ahead of No-Confidence Vote
Saudi Arabia: Riyadh raised the price (Reuters) of the flagship crude oil it sells to Asia to an all-time high while also increasing prices for all other world regions.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Human Rights Watch Condemns ‘Worst Single Atrocity’ in Mali’s Ten-Year Conflict
The watchdog organization condemned the summary executions (HRW) of around three hundred people that occurred in the central town of Moura during a March operation conducted by Malian and foreign fighters.
South Africa: As reported COVID-19 cases decline, South Africa ended (News24) its pandemic-related national state of disaster two years after it began.
Americas
Peru Imposes Curfews Over Fuel, Fertilizer Price Protests
The government imposed curfews (BBC) in the capital, Lima, and the nearby port city of Callao after farmers and truck drivers blocked streets across the country yesterday.
Chile: A survey released yesterday showed that more Chileans reject the constitution (Reuters) currently being drafted than support it. The constitution must pass a nationwide referendum to take effect.
United States
Senate Deal on Pandemic Funding Excludes Global Aid
The deal would finance COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and drug treatments in the United States. About $5 billion in international aid was dropped (NPR) from the package, which still needs the House of Representatives’ approval.
