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Amnesty
International has called for the Host Country
Agreement (HCA) for the COP29 climate summit in
Azerbaijan to include human rights safeguards
and be made publicly accessible immediately
after signing. This follows concerns over the
inadequacies in the HCA for last year's COP in
the UAE, which lacked comprehensive rights
protections. Amnesty emphasizes the importance
of transparency and the protection of freedom of
expression and peaceful assembly, given
Azerbaijan's history of human rights violations
and the recent crackdown on dissent.
During
the June UN Climate Meetings in Bonn, the Kazakh
Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources
discussed key topics such as climate financing,
greenhouse gas mitigation, Kazakhstan's role in
the Global Methane Pledge, and the loss and
damage fund. The meetings highlighted the
urgency of increased climate finance, with UN
Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell
emphasizing the need to limit global temperature
rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Kazakhstan also
outlined its efforts to reduce CO2 and methane
emissions, highlighting regional cooperation and
international partnerships to achieve climate
goals.
Farmers
in three Central Asian countries who rely on the
Ferghana Valley watershed have been forced to
cut irrigation to a minimum and many have
abandoned thirsty crops as they struggle to keep
fruit trees alive. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and
Uzbekistan all count on the same threatened
water source for agriculture and their
economies. They are now forced to compete and
adapt to the chronic water shortages.
Bishkek,
despite its manageable size and grid layout,
faces significant transportation issues, with
traffic jams causing severe delays and
contributing to pollution. The city's reliance
on minibuses (marshrutkas) is declining due to
financial difficulties and policy changes, with
the city shifting focus to buses, though the
transition has faced challenges such as a lack
of air conditioning in the new vehicles. Despite
efforts to improve public transportation, the
city's "transportation collapse" continues to
impact residents' daily lives and environmental
health.
The
EU-funded project ‘Enhancing the Resilience of
Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership’
(ERICS-EaP) has announced a call for proposals
for individual travel grants to support
networking and cooperation among civil society
representatives from the six Eastern Partnership
countries. Led by the Transatlantic Foundation
and in collaboration with the Black Sea Trust
for Regional Cooperation, the project will
provide 50 travel grants, each up to €1,500,
over the next two and a half years. The grants
are open to CSO representatives, civic
activists, and informal group representatives,
with proposals accepted continuously without a
specific deadline.
Kazakhstan
will present its program to reduce methane
emissions at the UN climate conference in Baku
in November, following its commitment to the
Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions by at
least 30% by 2030. The plan includes measures
across various industries, with significant
investment expected, including $1.4 billion by
2030 for the oil and gas sector and additional
funds for coalbed infrastructure and methane
management. Recent events, such as a major
methane leak in the Mangystau region, have
underscored the urgency of these
efforts
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France
implemented a ban on domestic short-haul flights
over a year ago, aiming to reduce carbon
emissions, despite initial criticisms regarding
its limited scope and effectiveness. While exact
emission reductions directly attributable to the
ban remain unspecified, overall domestic flight
emissions decreased by 3.4% in 2023 compared to
2022, suggesting a partial influence from the
ban. The measure, seen as a symbolic political
move, has sparked broader discussions in Europe
about the feasibility and impact of similar
regulations, with Spain considering a comparable
ban on short-haul flights with viable rail
alternatives.
Japan's
promotion of a fossil fuel-based energy strategy
in Asia, under the guise of the "Asia Zero
Emission Community," prioritizes corporate
profits over environmental and public health.
This strategy, involving technologies like LNG,
CCS/CCUS, and ammonia-hydrogen co-firing,
prolongs dependence on fossil fuels and delays
the transition to renewable energy. By pushing
these costly and unproven technologies, Japan's
initiative threatens to exacerbate climate
change and economic burdens, hindering Asia's
progress toward sustainable energy
solutions.
Northvolt’s
research facility in Västerås, Sweden, is
Europe's largest battery research campus and
recently achieved a breakthrough by developing
sodium-based batteries, which replace critical
minerals like lithium and cobalt with more
abundant elements such as sodium, iron,
nitrogen, and carbon. This innovation, which was
expected closer to 2030, aims to reduce
dependence on China for battery materials and
build a European supply chain for cleaner tech.
Northvolt’s sodium batteries are designed to
store renewable energy efficiently and could
play a significant role in meeting the global
energy storage capacity needed to triple
renewable capacity by 2030.
The
World Resources Institute (WRI) emphasizes the
urgent need for reflective and green
infrastructure to counteract rising temperatures
and drought, particularly affecting millions in
urban areas, especially those in developing
countries. Transitioning urban landscapes from
heat-absorbing surfaces to cooling greenery like
trees can significantly reduce temperatures by
as much as 5.5°C, as observed in Mumbai. These
efforts are crucial for mitigating the urban
heat island effect and improving living
conditions, especially in low-income
neighborhoods and informal settlements where
residents are most vulnerable.
Young
farmers across Europe, represented by Jean
Matthieu Thévenot of European Coordination Via
Campesina (ECVC), are advocating for systemic
change in agriculture to combat climate change.
They emphasize the need for fair revenue for
farmers, challenging agribusiness influence and
pushing for environmental policies that
prioritize ecological standards. Thévenot argues
against lowering standards to compete globally,
advocating instead for import regulations
aligned with European norms and fair pricing
mechanisms to support local agriculture and
combat the impacts of climate change.
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Sent: Monday, July 08,
2024 4:00 PM
Subject: CAN EECCA
Newsletter: Concerns over COP29, water shortages in Central Asia and
innovation in battery storage
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