Ocean warming is affecting humans in direct ways and the impacts are already being felt, including effects on fish stocks and crop yields, more extreme weather events and increased risk from water-borne diseases, according to what has been called the most comprehensive review available on the issue, launched on Tuesday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawai‘i.
The World Ocean is by far the largest part of the climate system. Oceans hold 80% of all life. According to the IUCN, ocean warming is affecting humans in direct ways and the impacts are already being felt. Photo credit: www.climateemergencyinstitute.com
The report, titled “Explaining ocean warming: Causes, scale, effects and consequences”, reviews the effects of ocean warming on species, ecosystems and on the benefits oceans provide to humans. Compiled by 80 scientists from 12 countries, it highlights detectable scientific evidence of impacts on marine life, from microorganisms to mammals, which are likely to increase significantly even under a low emissions scenario.
“Ocean warming is one of this generation’s greatest hidden challenges – and one for which we are completely unprepared,” says IUCN Director General Inger Andersen. “The only way to preserve the rich diversity of marine life, and to safeguard the protection and resources the ocean provides us with, is to cut greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and substantially.”
Ocean warming is already affecting ecosystems from polar to tropical regions, driving entire groups of species such as plankton, jellyfish, turtles and seabirds up to 10 degrees of latitude towards the poles, causing the loss of breeding grounds for turtles and seabirds, and affecting the breeding success of marine mammals, according to the report.
By damaging fish habitats and causing fish species to move to cooler waters, warming oceans are affecting fish stocks in some areas and are expected to lead to reduced catches in tropical regions, the report states.
In East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean, for example, ocean warming has reduced the abundance of some fish species by killing parts of the coral reefs they depend on, adding to losses caused by overfishing and destructive fishing techniques. In South-East Asia, harvests from marine fisheries are expected to fall by between 10% and 30% by 2050 relative to 1970-2000, as the distributions of fish species shift, under a high “business as usual” greenhouse gas emission scenario, the report states.
“Most of the heat from human-induced warming since the 1970s – a staggering 93% – has been absorbed by the ocean, which acts as a buffer against climate change, but this comes at a price. We were astounded by the scale and extent of ocean warming effects on entire ecosystems made clear by this report,” says Dan Laffoley, Marine Vice Chair of the World Commission on Protected Areas at IUCN, and one of the lead authors.
The report also highlights evidence that ocean warming is causing increased disease in plant and animal populations, and impacting human health as pathogens spread more easily in warmer waters, including cholera-bearing bacteria and harmful algal blooms that cause neurological diseases like ciguatera.
Warming oceans are also affecting the weather, with a range of knock-on effects on humans. The number of severe hurricanes has increased at a rate of around 25-30% per degree of global warming, the report states.
Ocean warming has led to increased rainfall in mid-latitudes and monsoon areas, and less rain in various sub-tropical regions. These changes will have impacts on crop yields in important food-producing regions such as North America and India, according to the report.
The protection against climate change offered to us by oceans and their ecosystems – such as absorbing large amounts of CO2 and sheltering us from storms and erosion – is also likely to reduce as the ocean warms, according to the report.
The report’s recommendations include recognising the severity of ocean warming impacts on ocean ecosystems and the benefits they provide to humans, expanding marine protected areas, introducing legal protection for the high seas, better evaluating the social and economic risks associated with warming oceans and continuing to fill gaps in scientific knowledge, as well as cutting greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and substantially.
Ocean conservation is one of the major themes addressed by the ongoing IUCN Congress, where IUCN Members will vote on motions related to protecting the high seas and protected areas in Antarctica, among several others.
Visiting the southeastern city of Hangzhou in China on Saturday, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended the leaders of that country and the United States for formally joining the Paris Agreement on climate change.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon shakes hands with China’s President Xi Jinping and United States President Barack Obama at a climate pact ratification ceremony in Hangzhou, China, on 3 September 2016. China and the US deposited their legal instruments for formally joining the Paris Agreement. Photo credit: UN/Eskinder
“Now, by formally joining the Paris Agreement, you have added powerful momentum to the drive for the Agreement to enter into force this year,” the UN chief said in a ceremony, in which he received the legal instruments for joining the Paris Agreement from the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters.
“With China and the United States making this historic step, we now have 26 countries who have ratified and 39 per cent of global emissions accounted for, to be exact,” he added. China and the US together account for nearly 38 per cent.
In a related development, Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), on Saturday thanked the two countries for the ratification.
“I would like today to thank China and the United States for ratifying this landmark agreement – an agreement on which rests the opportunity for a sustainable future for every nation and every person,” she said, adding: “The earlier that Paris is ratified and implemented in full, the more secure that future will become.”
The UN climate chief went further: “Bringing the Paris Agreement into force underlines that the momentum and international solidarity witnessed in 2015 continues into 2016 among big and small nations and among rich and poorer countries.
“The UN Secretary General’s special event in New York on 21 September offers a further, focused opportunity for others to join this wave of ambition and optimism towards a better and sustainable world.”
The Paris Agreement, adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) last December in Paris, calls on countries to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future.
The agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Secretary-General.
During Saturday’s ceremony, which was also attended by China’s President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama, Mr. Ban noted: “We need another 29 countries representing 16 per cent of global emissions to bring this Paris Agreement into force.
“I am hopeful and optimistic that we can do it before the end of this year and before my term as Secretary-General of the United Nations ends.”
The UN chief will convene a special event on 21 September at the UN Headquarters in New York for the deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to the Paris Agreement on climate change. The event will also provide an opportunity to other countries to publicly commit to the agreement before the end of 2016. President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria is expected to sign the agreement at the event.
“I urge all leaders, particularly G20 countries, to accelerate their domestic ratification processes so we can turn the aspirations of Paris into the transformative climate action the world so urgently needs,” Mr. Ban said. He is scheduled to attend the G20 summit in China on Sunday.
With the Paris Agreement, the world has an equitable, durable yet flexible global framework for reducing emissions, strengthening climate resilience and providing support to developing countries to build low-carbon economies and adapt to inevitable climate impacts, the Secretary-General said.
This global climate agreement will accelerate the growth of clean energy and help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and will strengthen international stability and security, save lives and improve human well-being, he added.
“And now, with these two big countries joining the Paris Agreement, I am sure that we can really set a very ambitious dynamic step forward,” he concluded.
In a statement, Mogens Lykketoft, the President of the UN General Assembly, said that he was “pleased to hear this very good news coming out of Hangzhou just before the opening of the G20 meeting.”
China’s own ambitious action plan is now rolling with announcement of guidelines for establishing a Green Financial System and a goal for green projects of $600 billion each year, he noted.
“The China-US ratification and the great Chinese initiatives put useful pressure on those UN-members that have not yet ratified or made their own national action plans,” he said.
Nigerian architect, environmentalist and activist, Nnimmo Bassey, will be special guest at a webinar scheduled to hold this month at the instance of the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) and EnviroNews Nigeria.
Nnimmo Bassey will speak at the EJN/EnviroNews webinar
Titled: “Nigeria and Climate Change: Preparing for COP22 with Nnimmo Bassey”, the webinar will hold on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (WAT/BST).
During the session, Bassey will brief the media, civil society and other interested persons on some notable trending topics.
Indeed, he will be focusing on the missing issues in the Paris Agreement, as well as expected outcomes at COP22 in Morocco, such as:
The agreement generally – between commitment and voluntary pledges (INDCs)
Unrealistic targets (1.5 – 2 degrees)
The great omission: Fossil fuels, etc
False solutions post COP21 – Net Zero, techno-fixes – including possibilities of CCS and geo-engineering
Bassey, who chaired Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) from 2008 through 2012, was Executive Director, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) for two decades.
He is presently Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF). He was recently named by the Federal Government of Nigeria as a Member of the 12-member Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Ogoniland, Niger Delta region Clean-up Project.
Water pollution has risen across three continents, placing hundreds of millions of people at risk of contracting life-threatening diseases like cholera and typhoid, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warned last week.
Hundreds of millions face health risk as water pollution rises across Africa, Asia and Latin America
The worrying rise in the pollution of surface waters in Asia, Africa and Latin America also threatens to damage vital sources of food and harm the continents’ economies, says UNEP in its latest report titled: “Snapshot of the World’s Water Quality.”
By making access to quality water even more difficult, water pollution also threatens to breed further inequality, hitting the most vulnerable – women, children and the poor – the hardest.
Jacqueline McGlade, the UNEP Chief Scientist, said, “The increasing amount of wastewater being dumped into our surface waters is deeply troubling. Access to quality water is essential for human health and human development. Both are at risk if we fail to stop the pollution.
“Luckily it is possible to begin restoring rivers that have already been heavily polluted and there is clearly still time to prevent even more rivers from becoming contaminated. It is vital the world works together to combat this growing menace.”
Population growth, increased economic activity, the expansion and intensification of agriculture, and an increase in the amount of untreated sewage discharged into rivers and lakes are the main reasons behind the troubling rise in surface water pollution in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Pathogen pollution and organic pollution rose in more than 50 per cent of river stretches from 1990 2010 on all three continents, while salinity pollution has risen in nearly one third, the UN report finds.
Pathogen pollution
Severe pathogen pollution, the rise of which is largely down to the expansion of sewer systems that discharge untreated wastewater into surface waters, is estimated to affect around a quarter of Latin American river stretches, around 10 to 25 per cent of African river stretches and up to one-half of Asian river stretches.
In some countries, more than 90 per cent of the population relies on surface waters as their source of drinking water. These waters – which are also used to prepare food, to irrigate crops and for recreation – pose a major threat to human health when contaminated.
About 3.4 million people die each year from diseases associated with pathogens in water, like cholera, typhoid, infectious hepatitis, polio, cryptosporidiosis, ascariasis and diarrheal diseases. Many of these diseases are due to the presence of human waste in water.
UN Environment estimates that up to 25 million people are at risk of infection from these diseases in Latin America, up to 164 million in Africa and up to 134 million in Asia.
The solution is not only to build more sewers but to treat wastewater.
Organic pollution
Severe organic pollution, which is caused when large amounts of decomposable organic compounds are released into water bodies, now affects around one out of every seven kilometres of all river stretches in Latin America, Africa and Asia. This type of pollution can lead to the complete deoxygenation of water bodies, posing a major threat to freshwater fisheries that provide humans with the sixth most important source of animal protein and, in developing countries, employ 21 million fishermen and create 38.5 million related jobs.
Salinity
Severe and moderate salinity pollution already affects around one-tenth of all river stretches in Latin America, Africa and Asia. High salinity levels, which occur when humans dump salty wastewater from mines, irrigation systems and homes into rivers and lakes, make it even harder for the world’s poorest farmers to irrigate their crops. Salinity pollution has increased between 1990 and 2010 in almost one-third of all rivers on the three continents.
Eutrophication
Agriculture has intensified and expanded as the world seeks to meet the growing food demands of a booming population. This has led to an increase in the amount of phosphorus from fertilisers and pesticides that pollute waterbodies. The resulting eutrophication can lead to a boom in nuisance plants and algal blooms, as well as changes in ecosystem structure and fish species.
More than half of the total phosphorus loads in 23 out of 25 major lakes worldwide are from human sources – inorganic fertiliser, livestock waste, human sewage. Most of the major lakes in Latin America and Africa now have higher levels of phosphorus than in 1990.
Solutions to the water quality challenge
There is still time to tackle water pollution. Better water monitoring, especially in developing countries, is needed to understand the scale of the challenge around the world and to identify key hotspots. Once in-depth assessments have been done there are a raft of new and old methods that can help to reduce the pollution at source, treat polluted water before it enters waterbodies, recycle wastewater for irrigation and protect ecosystems by, for example, restoring wetlands to remove pollutants from urban or agricultural run-off.
“There is no doubt that we have the tools needed to tackle this growing problem,” said McGlade. “It is now time to use these tools to combat what is slowly becoming one of the greatest threats to human health and development around the world.”
The Eastern Gorilla – the largest living primate – has been listed as Critically Endangered due to illegal hunting, according to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species released on Sunday at the IUCN World Conservation Congress taking place in Hawaiʻi.
The Eastern Gorilla is included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Four out of six great ape species are now Critically Endangered – only one step away from going extinct – with the remaining two also under considerable threat of extinction.
The latest IUCN Red List update also reports the decline of the Plains Zebra due to illegal hunting, and the growing extinction threat to Hawaiian plants posed by invasive species.
Thirty-eight of the 415 endemic Hawaiian plant species assessed for this update are listed as Extinct and four other species have been listed as Extinct in the Wild, meaning they only occur in cultivation.
The IUCN Red List now includes 82,954 species of which 23,928 are threatened with extinction.
Mammals threatened by illegal hunting
The Eastern Gorilla (Gorilla beringei) – which is made up of two subspecies – has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered due to a devastating population decline of more than 70% in 20 years. Its population is now estimated to be fewer than 5,000. Grauer’s Gorilla (G. b. graueri), one subspecies of Eastern Gorilla – has lost 77% of its population since 1994, declining from 16,900 individuals to just 3,800 in 2015. Killing or capture of great apes is illegal; yet hunting represents the greatest threat to Grauer’s Gorillas.
The second subspecies of Eastern Gorilla – the Mountain Gorilla (G. b. beringei) – is faring better and has increased in number to around 880 individuals. Four of the six great apes – Eastern Gorilla, Western Gorilla, Bornean Orangutan and Sumatran Orangutan – are now listed as Critically Endangered, whilst the Chimpanzee and Bonobo are listed as Endangered.
“To see the Eastern gorilla – one of our closest cousins – slide towards extinction is truly distressing,” says Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. “We live in a time of tremendous change and each IUCN Red List update makes us realise just how quickly the global extinction crisis is escalating. Conservation action does work and we have increasing evidence of it. It is our responsibility to enhance our efforts to turn the tide and protect the future of our planet.”
The latest IUCN Red List update also reports the decline of the Plains Zebra
The once widespread and abundant Plains Zebra (Equus quagga) has moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. The population has reduced by 24% in the past 14 years from around 660,000 to a current estimate of just over 500,000 animals.
In many countries Plains Zebra are only found in protected areas, yet population reductions have been recorded in 10 out of the 17 range states since 1992. The Plains Zebra is threatened by hunting for bushmeat and skins, especially when they move out of protected areas.
Three species of antelope found in Africa – Bay Duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis), White-bellied Duiker (Cephalophus leucogaster) and Yellow-backed Duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor) – have moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. Whilst the populations of these species within protected areas are relatively stable, those found in other areas are decreasing due to continued illegal hunting and habitat loss.
“Illegal hunting and habitat loss are still major threats driving many mammal species towards extinction,” says Carlo Rondinini, Coordinator of the mammal assessment at Sapienza University of Rome “We have now reassessed nearly half of all mammals. While there are some successes to celebrate, this new data must act as a beacon to guide the conservation of those species which continue to be under threat.”
Hawaiian plants threatened by invasive species
Invasive species such as pigs, goats, rats, slugs, and non-native plants are destroying the native flora in Hawai’i. The latest results show that of the 415 endemic Hawaiian plant species assessed so far for The IUCN Red List (out of ca. 1,093 endemic plant species), 87% are threatened with extinction, including the Endangered ‘Ohe kiko’ola (Polyscias waimeae) – a beautiful flowering tree found only on the island of Kauaʻi. Thirtye-ight have been listed as Extinct, including the shrubs ‘Oha Wai (Cyanea eleeleensis) and Hibiscadelphus woodii.
Four species have been listed as Extinct in the Wild including the Haha (Cyanea superba) last seen in the wild in 2003. Invasive species are the main threat to all of these species, with many being threatened by more than one invasive species. The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Hawaiian Plant Specialist Group anticipates the remaining species to be assessed will also be highly threatened.
“Hawaiʻi is an example of nature at its best with spectacular examples of evolution, yet it is facing an uncertain future due to the impact of invasive species – showing how unwittingly, human actions can make nature turn against itself,” says Matt Keir, a member of the IUCN SSC Hawaiian Plant Specialist Group. “What we see happening in Hawaiʻi is foretelling what will happen in other island or contained ecological systems. Hawaiʻi and other nations must take urgent action to stop the spread of invasive species and to protect species with small population sizes”
The Critically Endangered flowering Haha plant Cyanea remyi, is one of the 105 extremely rare Hawai’ian plant species on the Red List with less than 50 mature individuals. Alula (Brighamia insignis) has moved from Critically Endangered to Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild), and is one of 38 Red Listed species with less than five individuals remaining.
The Alula has been so impacted by invasive species and landslides, that only one plant remained in the wild in 2014 and it has not been seen since.
This new data will be used to influence action such as listing species on the US Endangered Species Act which will assist in securing funding for conservation programs to target and control invasive species, and to fence wild areas to protect them from large mammals. Improved biosecurity to stop invasive species entering the country is essential, according to IUCN experts.
Good news for Giant Panda and Tibetan Antelope
This update of The IUCN Red List also brings some good news and shows that conservation action is delivering positive results.
Previously listed as Endangered, The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is now listed as Vulnerable, as its population has grown due to effective forest protection and reforestation. The improved status confirms that the Chinese government’s efforts to conserve this species are effective.
However, climate change is predicted to eliminate more than 35% of the Panda’s bamboo habitat in the next 80 years and thus Panda population is projected to decline, reversing the gains made during the last two decades. To protect this iconic species, it is critical that the effective forest protection measures are continued and that emerging threats are addressed.
The Chinese government’s plan to expand existing conservation policy for the species is a positive step and must be strongly supported to ensure its effective implementation.
Due to successful conservation actions, the Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) has moved from Endangered to Near Threatened. The population underwent a severe decline from around one million to an estimated 65,000-72,500 in the 1980s and early 1990s. This was the result of commercial poaching for the valuable underfur – shahtoosh – which is used to make shawls. It takes three to five hides to make a single shawl, and as the wool cannot be sheared or combed, the animals are killed. Rigorous protection has been enforced since then, and the population is currently likely to be between 100,000 and 150,000.
Other conservation successes include the Greater Stick-nest Rat (Leporillus conditor), endemic to Australia, which has improved status, moving from Vulnerable to Near Threatened. This is due to a successful species recovery plan, which has involved reintroductions and introductions to predator-free areas. This unique nest-building rodent is the last of its kind, with its smaller relative the Lesser Stick-nest Rat (Leporillus apicalis) having died out in the Twentieth Century. The resin created by the rats to build their nests is so strong that they can last for thousands of years if they are not exposed to water.
The Bridled Nailtail Wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata), has also improved in status, having moved from Endangered to Vulnerable. Endemic to Australia, this once common species had a dramatic population decline during the 19th and early 20thcenturies due to the impacts of invasive species and habitat loss. A successful translocation conservation programme establishing new populations within protected areas is enabling this species to commence the long road to recovery.
On Saturday, IUCN, its Species Survival Commission, and nine Red List partner institutions forged an exciting new commitment to support The IUCN Red List. These organisations will jointly commit more than $10 million over the next five years towards achieving an ambitious strategic plan that aims to double the number of species assessed on The IUCN Red List by the year 2020.
The institutions include: Arizona State University; BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation International; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas A&M University and the Zoological Society of London.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species contributes to the achievement of Target 12 of the 2011 to 2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity. Target 12: By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.
The IUCN Red List threat categories are as follows, in descending order of threat:
Extinct or Extinct in the Wild
Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable: species threatened with global extinction. Near Threatened: species close to the threatened thresholds or that would be threatened without ongoing conservation measures. Least Concern: species evaluated with a lower risk of extinction. Data Deficient: no assessment because of insufficient data. Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct): this is not a new IUCN Red List category, but is a flag developed to identify those Critically Endangered species that are in all probability already extinct but for which confirmation is required; for example, through more extensive surveys being carried out and failing to find any individuals.
Apart from formally accepting the Paris Agreement, the two countries also announce support for increased action on aviation and refrigerant emissions
President Barack Obama of the US (right) and President Xi Jinping of China
The ratification on Saturday of the Paris Climate Change Agreement by China and the United States – the world’s top two emitters of greenhouse gases – has brought its rapid entry into force a big step closer.
Observers also say that the two nations have set a model for other countries – both developed and developing – around the world to follow.
“I would like today to thank China and the United States for ratifying this landmark agreement – an agreement on which rests the opportunity for a sustainable future for every nation and every person,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“The earlier that Paris is ratified and implemented in full, the more secure that future will become,” she added.
The Paris Agreement enters into force on the 30th day after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55 % of total global emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the UN Depositary, in New York.
Saturday’s announcement by President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping, in which both countries have announced they have deposited their instruments of ratification with the UN Secretary-General, puts the balance at just over 39 percent of the global total, based on the information from countries provided to the UN in accordance with the decision related to entry into force of the Paris Agreement.
“Bringing the Paris Agreement into force underlines that the momentum and international solidarity witnessed in 2015 continues into 2016 among big and small nations and among rich and poorer countries,” said Ms Espinosa.
“The UN Secretary General’s special event in New York on 21 September offers a further, focused opportunity for others to join this wave of ambition and optimism towards a better and sustainable world,” she added.
A source said: “There’s still more work to be done, as both countries now have to translate their nationally determined commitments in the agreement into action, including legislation and regulation. But Saturday’s announcement is a big deal – and a big step forward for the planet. With the US and China accepting the agreement, signs are that other major economies will soon begin following suit.”
HFCs and Aviation
China and the United States also announced on Saturday that they were working together to secure a comprehensive and ambitious amendment of a sister treaty – the Montreal Protocol – when governments meet in Kigali, Rwanda in October.
The amendment is aimed at managing down the use of chemicals called Hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) that are now being used in refrigeration systems such as air conditioners and which are potent greenhouse gases in their own right.
The two countries said they wanted to secure not only an internationally-agreed phase-down of HFCs but an early “freeze” date so that the phase-down starts sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, the United States and Chinese leaders also announced backing for action on aviation emissions under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) at its meeting later this month.
Under ICAO, governments will decide whether to agree a market-based mechanism that can assist in encouraging aircraft operators to bring down greenhouse gases from planes.
China and the United States said today that they plan to be early participants in a voluntary pilot phase if the decision goes through at the ICAO conference.
“I would like to commend China and the US for these two additional announcements. While the Paris Agreement is the main vehicle for action on climate change, it is clear that all international agreements need to work in tandem in order to realize our shared goals and aims,” she said.
The new announcements by China and the United States come in advance of the G20 Summit and the next round of UN climate negotiations – known as COP22 – to be held in Marrakech, Morocco in November.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon invited leaders from all countries to New York to deposit their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. The event also provides an opportunity to any country to publicly commit to do so.
In his invitation, Mr Ban said: “The next step in our collective journey to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future is to ensure the rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement.”
The objective of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming well below 2°C and as close to 1.5°C as possible, to increase economic and social ability to adapt to extreme climate, and to direct the scale and speed of global financial flows to match the required path to very low-emission, climate-resilient development.
Along with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Paris forms part of a new and universal vision for a sustainable future around which the global community converged in 2015.
The unity of common purpose captured across these three agreements will now need to leverage an unprecedented scale and depth of national and international cooperative action involving all actors at all levels and in all regions of the world.
GMO supporters “have discarded rigorous science”, says the Union of Latin American Scientists Committed to Society and Nature (UCCSN-AL)
GMO rice
The Union of Latin American Scientists Committed to Society and Nature (UCCSN-AL) has issued a statement rejecting the letter signed by Nobel Prize laureates in favour of genetically modified crops and GMO golden rice.
About GM crop science in general, UCCSN-AL says: “(Transgenesis) cannot be considered an advanced science anymore because it is based on fallacious and anachronistic assumptions. Its defenders have oversimplified the scientific rationale behind GMOs to the point that the technology cannot be considered valid anymore: they have discarded rigorous science. The lack of scientific ground that justifies GMOs is also the reason why its promoters deny complex systems of knowledge, such as indigenous peoples’ cultures and livelihoods. Transgenic technology is the geopolitical instrument for colonial domination of our time.”
Feeding the world?
UCCSN-AL says it is not convinced that GM crops are needed to feed the growing population: “The four GM crops that are marketed massively are mainly intended for the production of biofuels and animal feed for poultry, pork and beef cattle industries: activities that consume more than 65% of the GM corn and soybean produced in the few countries that grow them, a very inefficient system from an energy point of view of agricultural production.
“Around these crops there is an oligopoly of transnational corporations that control the production of seeds and grains; the storage, transportation and marketing of genetically modified commodities; and the mass production of animals, which are increasingly concentrated in fewer hands. In this regard, it is clear that this model does not contribute to the goal of feeding the world, but instead competes with and overpowers traditional food production…
“The problem of lack of food is not caused by low production, but by the way the world food system is designed. It has undermined the traditional systems of food production, and therefore nutrition and food sovereignty of peoples.”
Under the heading, “GM crops do not produce higher yields”, UCCSN-AL says: “We question the promises made by GMOs proponents that these crops would have higher yields. Each of the countries in the Southern Cone where GM soybean is grown has different performance. The highest yields are registered in Brazil and Argentina, where the national agricultural research centres have dedicated many years to conventional breeding of this crop. On the other hand, in Ecuador, a GM free country, soybean yields are higher than in Bolivia and Paraguay.
“Another example is canola or rapeseed. In Canada (where they mainly use GM seeds), yield averages between 1986 and 2010 were 1,459 kg/ha, whereas in Western Europe, where conventional seeds are used, the average yield in the same period was 3,188 kg/ha.”
These data indicate, the group says, that GM does not increase yields and that any yield gains seen in crops are not due to GM but to other factors: “Ecosystems are complex and dynamic, involving the interaction of multiple factors.”
Health risks of GMOs
Regarding impacts on health, UCCSN-AL states: “Scientists who defend the safety of GM crops and food argue that it has been consistently found that GMOs are as safe (or more) than the crops obtained with any other breeding methods; that they do not produce environmental impacts and that even they increase global biodiversity. Despite these statements being repeatedly invoked by GM proponents, they are not backed by serious scientific research, and, moreover, the claims are never referenced. In contrast, in the last years, scientific evidence supported by independent researchers has grown, showing the environmental and human health problems related with cultivation and consumption of GMOs.”
The scientists comment that the health risks of GMOs inevitably include the risks posed by the herbicides that GM herbicide-tolerant crops are grown with: “In the analysis of GM crops we must consider the technological package to which these crops are inextricably associated. The majority of GM crops are resistant to herbicides, mainly the questioned glyphosate. In Latin America (the region with the fastest increase of GM crop acreage), the negative impacts on human communities settled in the areas where these crops are grown are undoubted.
“In the last decade, the health conditions of these populations has been depressed, there has been a significant increase of cancer, congenital malformations, genetic damage, autoimmune diseases and other health issues, associated with the pesticides and the practices that are part of the technological package of GM cultivation. It is clear that to evaluate the impacts of this technology it is impossible to analyse GM seeds individually when the main genetic modification is to make the plant resistant to an herbicide. In the environment it has been shown that water bodies are contaminated and that pollinators are declining, as well as other beneficial species that ensure the health of the soil and the local biodiversity.
“Furthermore, there are millions of hectares planted with GM seeds containing a gene that allows them to synthesise the Bt toxin, an insecticide that is produced in the GM plant, which has been incorporated to control Lepidoptera larvae. However, it has been shown that this toxin indiscriminately affects different species of insects, reducing their biodiversity and damaging human health of those who are in contact with the toxin.”
On GM crops in general, UCCSN-AL concludes: “Every day there is more medical, scientific and agronomic evidence showing the impacts, risks, and uncertainties of this irrational model of production, both for the health of rural workers, peasants and farmers, as well as for these rural residents and consumers of foods produced with this technology.”
On GMO golden rice
UCCSN-AL explains that “Golden rice was designed… as a generic drug for malnourished children in ‘poor countries’”, adding that “Several authors have criticised this technology, which, in fact, is not available due to the fact that its advocates have failed to reach a workable formulation for distribution.”
In fact, the rice is not even ready for commercial production, let alone distribution, as it has failed to give sufficiently high yields in the field, as the IRRI, the body responsible for rolling out the crop, has admitted.
UCCSN-AL has further concerns over the promotion of golden rice as a solution to hunger: “The nutritional problems of a population are not related with the lack of a specific nutrient (in this case… pro-vitamin A), but with the general conditions of poverty and the loss of food sovereignty that has forced thousands of farmers communities to leave their lands or to be subordinated to agribusiness, whose only priority is to meet their voracious need to increase profits through monoculture, agroindustry and agro-export by occupying lands that used to be devoted to safe and nutritious food production. To believe that malnutrition problems will be overcome through bio-fortified genetically modified food is to ignore this reality.
“In order to meet the golden rice demand, millions of hectares will need to be planted in tropical and subtropical areas, and will need to expand over territories that today are use to grow food sovereignty crops, which will face the typical problems associated with large-scale monoculture. In addition, hundreds of plant species rich in pro-vitamin A, known, gathered or cultivated for a long time by local communities in the entire world will be affected. Each community can and must choose, in a sovereign way, what to eat, according to their cultural preferences and traditions, and how to meet their nutritional needs.
“Who will benefit from golden rice? As with other GM crops, golden rice will also be controlled by large agribusiness companies. The nutritional scheme based in golden rice will involve the control of agribusiness over the whole value chain: from seed to distribution. Given the fact that it is a global trend to forbid farmers to save their seeds, even if golden rice will be patent-free, the seed will be corporately controlled. What would happen then with traditional rice producers and with the thousands of peasant traditional varieties of rice that they hold?
“Regarding trade, in many countries, rice producers do not have any influence in price fixation. Nationally, the price is set by local powerful groups that control both processing and distribution of rice. Internationally, the price is set at the Bangkok and Chicago Stock Exchange. The international trade of golden rice would be controlled by the same economic groups that control other GM commodities. Accordingly, golden rice will not generate food sovereignty and, on the contrary, it will increase dependence for both producers and consumers.
“All the funds that would be spent in the promotion and implementation of ‘golden rice’ crops around the world could be used in the promotion of diversified crops, to promote and strengthen local and regional nutrition and food sovereignty, as well as in the recovery and adoption of healthy eating habits.”
Nobel Prize rewards research that encourages corporate control
UCCSN-AL questions the authority and independence of the group of Nobel laureates that signed the letter: “The science that is promoted by the Nobel Prize Laureates that signed the letter has been developed in a context dominated by a reductionist techno-science, that is being developed without social control, generating environmental problems and health impacts, often with catastrophic and irreversible effects.
“Although formally the Nobel Prize aims to recognise and reward people who have done outstanding research, invented revolutionary techniques, or have made notable contributions to society in the areas of Medicine and Physiology (and in other fields), it has supported scientific research that encourages corporate control on productive processes, and has facilitated the privatization of knowledge and life. In the field of biotechnology, the Nobel Prize has recognised waves of scientific innovations that led to the development of genetic engineering, at the expense of technologies with wider application which are not controlled by oligopolies of transnational corporations. Several of them are signatories of the letter. Their activities have been the key to developing the biotechnology industry. Several still hold commercial interest in this area, or are involving in research funding by the industry. For example, one of the promoters of the letter, Phillip A. Sharp, is co-founder of Biogen (now Biogen Idec) Inc. and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a pharmaceutical company that develops drugs based on RNAi)” – which UCCSN-AL says represents a clear conflict of interest, given that the letter was submitted under the guise of “altruistic interests”.
Not the first Nobel laureates’ letter defending GMOs
UCCSN-AL points out that this is not the first statement defending GMOs issued by Nobel laureates: “Some years ago, a similar declaration was promoted by Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution (1970 Nobel Prize), who saw a second Green Revolution in agrobiotechnology, without making any critical analysis of the impacts caused by the first one.
“Previously, Paul Hermann Müller was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for the discovery of DDT as a contact poison of high efficiency against many arthropods. Ironically, due to the dramatic effects of DDT on the environment and on human health, the scientific work and citizen mobilisation against pesticides began, a struggle that still continues.
“Now the signatories of this letter in defence of GMOs and golden rice privilege the paradigm of corporations that genetic uniformity is needed to raise production. This is particularly serious because we know that the genetic diversity is essential to deal with hunger and is the only alternative to climate change.
“With this background we wonder if the opinion of Nobel Prize laureate scientists necessarily is an irrefutable, neutral and objective opinion. The background presented here, and the lack of robust and well-founded arguments of the letter, show that this is not the case.
“A(t) UCCSN-AL we believe that decision-making process on the adoption of new technologies, such as those that make possible GM crops, and others that are emerging (e.g. nanotechnology, synthetic biology and geo-engineering), should not only involve the so-called hard scientists, but it must incorporate the opinion of other fields of knowledge, as well as the opinion of social movements, civil society organisations, and of legitimate representatives of different social groups. Because scientific and technological knowledge is always part of a social process, it is crossed by tensions, conflicts and contradictory interests. Science is never neutral, absolute or definitive; it is always susceptible to changes and revisions, and must be subjectws to permanent debate.”
“Genocidal” role of industrial farming based on GM crops denounced
UCCSN-AL concludes, “Scientific work must be developed with ethical responsibility and it must be committed to nature and society, and because of that, we reject the concepts stated in the letter and denounce the genocidal role of industrial farming based on GM crops, and we stress the need to defend, promote, and multiply the modes of food production that were culturally developed by the peoples of our region, and therefore are vital to ensure autonomy, environmental sustainability, safety and food sovereignty.”
Participants at the Seoul Mayors Forum on Climate Change. The Forum gathered a select group of leaders from cities around the globe committed to the Compact of Mayors
The Forum featured discussions among local leaders as they shaped a message towards nations and international fora. Through the Seoul Communiqué, delivered by Mayor Park Won Soon at the closing session, 34 cities and towns stated their commitment to climate action and called on nations to raise their ambitions as part of an inclusive, coordinated implementation process to achieve global climate goals.
Through the Seoul Communiqué, these cities and towns came together to encourage:
Nations to work with all levels of government, including local governments, in implementing national climate action plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
The United Nations Climate Change Secretariat to recognise the Compact of Mayors as a key initiative that demonstrates, through hard data, how local governments are supporting progress towards national climate goals.
Global financial institutions to dramatically improve city access to climate finance, and to consider supporting transformative projects that are part of the ICLEI-managed Transformative Actions Program (TAP).
Habitat III negotiations enhance the engagement of the cities and local governments in the New Urban Agenda, which will shape the course for urbanisation in the coming decades, including steps toward mitigating and coping with climate change.
Through the communiqué, these cities and towns also encouraged national governments to ratify the Paris Agreement as quickly as possible, indicating their consent to be bound to the agreement so that it can have legal force.
These statements build on the fact that the Paris Agreement recognises the importance of engagement of all levels of governments in effective implementation, as well as the role of non-party stakeholders, including cities and subnational governments. These developments will have an impact on local governments, while it is also clear that no nation can successfully achieve its goals without the decisive contribution of cities and local governments – the implementers of the plans and policies.
With the title “Local Climate Commitments in Raising the Ambitions of the Paris Agreement,” the Forum gathered a select group of leaders from cities around the globe committed to the Compact of Mayors. The forum was organised by Seoul Metropolitan Government in collaboration with ICLEI.
Today more than 500 cities and local governments around the world are committed to the Compact of Mayors. Forty-nine cities are already fully compliant, tracking progress in a coherent framework, showing the global community the power of local climate action. The newly announced merger of the Compact of Mayors and the European Covenant of Mayors, forming the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy to be rolled out in 2017, will see enhanced support for local climate and energy action.
The event was an opportunity to present progress and explore what support is needed to help local governments respond to existing challenges, particularly in light of new relevant frameworks. It also enabled local governments to explore a pathway for further cooperation with a view to helping raise the global climate ambition.
World Water Week closed on Friday in Stockholm, Sweden, with participants concluding that water must be recognised as the enabler of successful implementation of the entire 2030 Agenda as well as the Paris Climate Agreement.
Karin Lexén, Director of World Water Week at Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
“Water – the lifeline of our planet – will be needed to achieve nearly every Sustainable Development Goal, and to face the challenges that climate change presents,” said Karin Lexén, Director of World Water Week at Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
World Water Week 2016, themed “Water for Sustainable Growth”, welcomed 3,100 participants from over 120 countries. Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including the goal on water (Goal 6) was one of the key issues discussed by high-level policy makers, development and water professionals, researchers, civil society and private sector representatives.
Throughout the Week, there was a focus on implementation and action, particularly on local and city level, marking a transition from the global discussions and negotiations that led to the adoption of the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.
“In order to achieve the SDGs; city and local leaderships are crucial; that is where we will find the drive. It is also important that civil society, businesses and social entrepreneurs are engaged, to learn from each other to create smart, viable and sustainable partnerships. Water is too important to keep inside the water community – water is a central part of the entire society,” said SIWI’s Executive Director Torgny Holmgren.
This was underlined by Sweden’s Environment Minister Karolina Skog: “Water is a shared resource and a shared responsibility. The private sector has an important part to play. It has the competence, the technology and the ability to invest. Responsible water usage is an economical advantage and will pay off both for sustainable business models and for new innovations.”
This year, World Water Week offered an opportunity for key actors to meet and take stock of progress towards the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement, from a water perspective. The Week will provide an annual update, tracking water in the global development agreements until 2030.
The Week also welcomed representatives of the High Level Panel on Water, which was established earlier this year by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Kim, with the aim of furthering the water-related SDGs. The Panel representatives used the Week to get input from the wider water and development community.
“We must continue to focus on water as a carrier to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and to push for better integration of water into the global climate agenda,” said Karin Lexén.
Abdeladim Lhafi, High Commissioner for the upcoming COP22 (the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention) and High Commissioner for Water, Forestry and Fight Against Desertification in Morocco, told the Closing session that COP21 in Paris was “a historical turning point, a diplomatic success, it was a COP of decisions. COP22 will be the conference of implementation.”
“Climate change is the challenge of our generation. There is a great need to identify risks and vulnerabilities. Preventive measures are much more cost-efficient than re-active ones. Smart water proofed climate investments will give payback in several ways,” said Swedish Environment Minister Karolina Skog.
During the Week, climate was also discussed in relation to alleviating hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. Professor Malin Falkenmark, SIWI, called Africa’s climate its “Achille’s Heel”, and said that rainwater harvesting and other green water management methods are necessary to alleviate hunger in sub-Saharan Africa and meeting the SDGs. Together with other water and climate experts, she called for a Green Water Initiative in Africa.
Two prizes were awarded during World Water Week. On Tuesday 30 August, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize was awarded to a student trio from Thailand by H.R.H. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden. On Wednesday 31 August, the Stockholm Water Prize was awarded to Professor Joan B. Rose, USA, for her tireless contributions to global public health. The prize was presented to Professor Rose by H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden.
World Water Week 2016 was the 26th edition. The 2017 World Water Week, to be held from 27 August to 1 September in Stockholm, will focus on water and waste under the theme “Water and waste – reduce and reuse.”
Sept. 1 marks the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and Pope utilised the occasion to call on faithful to save planet from ‘debris, desolation and filth’
Pope Francis. Photo credit: dailytimes.com.ng
Pope Francis called on Thursday for concerted action against environmental degradation and climate change, renewing a fierce attack on consumerism and financial greed which, he said, were threatening the planet.
A year after publishing the first papal document dedicated to the environment, the pope urged Christians to make the defense of nature a core part of their faith, adding it to the seven “works of mercy” they are meant to perform.
“God gave us a bountiful garden, but we have turned it into a polluted wasteland of debris, desolation and filth,” Francis said in a document released to coincide with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.
Born in Argentina, Francis is the first pope from a developing nation and has placed environmental causes at the heart of his papacy, denouncing what he sees as a throwaway consumer culture and rampant, market-driven economies.
“Economics and politics, society and culture cannot be dominated by thinking only of the short term and immediate financial or electoral gains,” Francis said, suggesting more ambitious action might be needed to curb climate change.
World leaders agreed in Paris last December to commit to limiting greenhouse-gas emissions in an effort to stabilise rising temperatures, while the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said in July the earth was warming faster than expected and on track for its hottest year ever.
Francis welcomed the Paris accord, but urged voters everywhere to make sure their governments did not backtrack.
“It is up to citizens to insist that this happen, and indeed to advocate for even more ambitious goals,” he said.
He asked the world’s one billion Roman Catholic to embrace a green agenda, saying defense of the environment should be added to the works of mercy, which provide believers with guiding principles and duties that they are meant to follow.
These include taking care of the hungry and sick, and teaching the ignorant. Six were spelled out in the New Testament; the seventh – burying the dead – was added in the Middle Ages.
“May the works of mercy also include care for our common home,” Francis said, adding that simple, daily gestures which broke with “the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness” would make a difference.
Even recycling rubbish, switching off lights and using a car pool or public transport would help, he said. “We must not think that these efforts are too small to improve our world.”
Bishop Brian Farrell, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said the pope’s words did not represent new Church rules, but thought his suggestions would be assimilated by congregations around the world.
“It is obviously a rare thing to add to the acts of mercy, but things change. This shows the movement of the church through time. We need new calls for responsibility,” he told Reuters.
By Crispian Balmer; Editing by Jon Boyle and John Stonestreet (Reuters)
