global warming - The African Mirror

May

2021

U.S. envoy wants pope to attend climate conference, sway debate

POPE Francis has the moral authority to sway public opinion over global warming and might attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland, U.S. President Joe Biden's climate envoy John Kerry said on Saturday. COP26 is being held in Glasgow in November and could accelerate measures by the world's biggest polluters to tackle climate change, a challenge that activists, scientists and world leaders say could ultimately endanger the planet. "I think that his voice will be a very important voice leading up to and through the Glasgow conference, which I believe he intends to attend," Kerry told the…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Climate change risk is complex: here is a way to assess it

ENVIRONMENT

A key feature of climate change is that it doesn’t pose one single risk. Rather, it presents multiple, interacting risks that can compound and cascade. Importantly, responses to climate change can also affect risk. NICHOLAS P. SIMPSON, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Africa Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, University of Cape Town CHRISTOPHER TRISOS, Senior Research Fellow, University of Cape Town In our highly connected world, climate risks and our responses to them can be transmitted from one system or sector to another, creating new risks and making existing ones more or less severe. In many cases risks cannot…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

World leaders commit to gas emissions target

WORLD

JEFF MASON and VALERIE VOLCOVICI THE United States yesterday pledged at a global climate summit hosted by President Joe Biden to slash greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, a target it hopes will spark other big countries to raise their ambition to combat global warming. The United States, the world's second-leading emitter after China, seeks to reclaim global leadership in the fight against global warming after former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from international efforts to cut emissions. Biden unveiled the goal to cut emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels at the start of a two-day climate summit…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

World is on “verge of the abyss” – UN chief

WORLD

EMMA FARGE and KATE ABNETT THE year 2020 was one of the three hottest years on record, marked by wildfires, droughts, floods and melting glaciers, a United Nations report said yesterday, prompting the U.N. Secretary-General to say the world stands "on the verge of the abyss". In a "double blow" to millions hit by the extreme climate events, lockdown restrictions linked to the global coronavirus pandemic also delayed crucial assistance in some regions, said the report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The 'State of the Global Climate' report confirms its preliminary findings, including on land and ocean temperatures, and…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Air pollution: How to create an ‘air quality’ garden

ENVIRONMENT

RACHEL BROWN WHY is air pollution a concern? Air pollution is a global problem that affects us all, causing harm to our health, vegetation and ecosystems in both urban and rural areas. It occurs when clean air is polluted by particulate matter (PM). This is made up of solid or liquid particles from natural sources such as pollen and desert sand, or from man-made sources, such as dust, soot and smoke. Man-made PM mainly comes from wood-burning stoves, solid-fuel stoves, and open fires in homes; industrial combustion and processes; and road transport. Air pollution also come from gases that have…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

We need a green recovery after COVID-19, but banning wildlife trade could do more harm than good

ENVIRONMENT

AFTER several early cases of COVID-19 were linked to a wet market in China, wildlife trade became central to discussions about links between public health and nature. HOLLIE BOOTH, PhD Candidate, Conservation Science, University of Oxford Some groups called for a complete ban on the consumption and trade of wildlife, with governments such as China and Vietnam acting decisively to introduce large-scale prohibitions. The pandemic has brought humanity’s strained relationship with nature into sharp focus. It’s drawn public attention to links between environmental and human health, and led to calls for a “green recovery” that puts the environment at the…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Move into government, U.N. official urges young climate activists

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION, ENVIRONMENT

LAURIE GOERING A generation of young activists eager to set the agenda on global warming and clean energy should seek government jobs as a way to get lagging climate and energy goals back on track, a top U.N. energy official said on Tuesday. "We can't keep doing things from outside," Damilola Ogunbiyi, co-chair of U.N. Energy and chief executive of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll), told an online youth summit on achieving universal clean energy access. With the world falling behind on goals to bring clean, affordable energy to billions more people by 2030, "changing the minds of leaders has to happen…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Planet-warming emissions from buildings put climate goals at risk

ENVIRONMENT

THIN LEI WIN PLANET-warming carbon dioxide emissions from buildings and construction are jeopardising global goals to keep devastating climate change at bay, a U.N.-backed coalition warned on Wednesday, after data showed they hit an all-time high in 2019. The use of coal, oil and natural gas for heating, lighting and cooking fuelled a rise in emissions from the operation of buildings to about 10 gigatons last year, including direct emissions and indirect emissions from power generation, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) said. Another key factor is growing energy demand for cooling as air-conditioner ownership rises with worsening…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

World in denial on climate action 5 years after Paris accord, says Thunberg

WORLD

FIVE years on from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the world remains in denial over the actions needed to prevent catastrophic warming, Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg said on Friday. The deal was adopted on December 12, 2015 by 196 countries but, so far, global leaders have failed to deliver on its promises, she said in a video that urged her 10.5 million Instagram followers to #FightFor1point5. That was a reference to the ambition set out in the accord to hold the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The video showed images of politicians…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

The loss of vegetation is creating a dangerous heat island over Nairobi

AFRICITIES

KENYA'S capital city, Nairobi, used to be known as the “Green City in the Sun” for its lush environment. There have been however recently been a lot of changes to Nairobi’s land cover – what’s on the ground’s surface. Most recently, there was uproar over the felling of hundreds of trees to make way for the construction of the Nairobi Expressway. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Victor Ongoma and Patricia Mwangi to share their insights into how changes in land cover affect the city and its environment. VICTOR ONGOMA, Lecturer in Physical Geography, The University of the South…