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Harvested News

Published on 9 June 2015 Philippines
In Vanuatu, a Climate Change and Human Rights workshop was held onboard the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, where Vanuatu President Baldwin Londsdale welcomed close to 40 delegates and civil society groups from Pacific Island nations. They were joined by representatives from the Philippines including former national climate negotiator Naderev “Yeb” Saño and Dolores, Samar Mayor Emiliana Villacarillo, who showed their solidarity with…
Published on 9 June 2015 Philippines
There are 17 coal-fired power plants currently operating in the country. But, according to the group, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), this number is about to change significantly very soon. Fifty-nine coal plants have already been approved by the government for construction and 15 more are in the pipeline. While coal is sold cheaply, environmental group Greenpeace says, the adverse effects of carbon…
Published on 9 June 2015 Singapore
The scheme, which was launched at the Engineers and Sustainable Development Forum 2015 at the NTUC Centre Auditorium, has three tiers: one for engineers who have just joined the workforce; an Advance Engineering Leadership programme for professional and chartered engineers; and the Global Engineering Leadership programme which grooms senior engineers to take leadership positions within the industry. IES president Chong Kee Sen said that…
Published on 9 June 2015 Global
In December, international representatives will meet in Paris to discuss an international agreement that some think could be humanity's last chance to limit the terrible effects climate change could have on the world and its population. But much of the US and the UK don't want their governments to do anything at all. In the US, 17 per cent of people "do not agree…
Published on 9 June 2015 Global
Next week, they will be put to climate negotiators meeting in Bonn, Germany ahead of a year-end United Nations conference in Paris, where nations have undertaken to sign a new world pact to curb global warming. Responses to a multiple-choice questionnaire showed that 71 per cent of the 10,000-odd participants believe the UN negotiations process has not done enough to tackle climate change. Nineteen…
Published on 3 June 2015 Global
A study covering 850 typhoons in the region found the intensity of the damaging storms has increased by about 10 per cent since the 1970s, said Wei Mei, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and a co-author of the study published in the journal Science Advances. Using 20 models and a mid-range projection of…
Published on 3 June 2015 Global
Achieving the 2C (3.6 Fahrenheit) target has been the driving force for climate negotiators and scientists, who say it is the limit beyond which the world will suffer ever worsening floods, droughts, storms and rising seas. But six months before world leaders convene in Paris, prospects are fading for a deal that would keep average temperatures below the ceiling. Greenhouse gas emissions have reached…
Published on 3 June 2015 Malaysia
Within the security arena, climate change is viewed as “a threat to global peace and stability” or “a catalyst for conflict in vulnerable parts of the world”. But although climate change is well recognized as a global problem that requires a global solution, it does not receive the same level of prioritization or resources as other policy issues, such as nuclear non-proliferation. Questions abound…
Published on 3 June 2015 Vietnam
The German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) will offer technical support for integrating ecosystem-based adaptation into Viet Nam's policies on climate change adaptation. The project, which will be implemented by 2019, is expected to improve the understanding of stakeholders, as well as enhance their capacity for developing adaptation measures. Effective adaptation models will be piloted and expanded. Germany…
Published on 3 June 2015 Thailand
Four years ago, this was not the case. But like a flip of a switch, the catastrophic floods of 2011 in Thailand’s Central Plain inundated Nakhon Pathom along with most of its pomelo orchards. Weeks of flooding killed most of the trees, and there were insufficient local saplings to replant. “The floods nearly rendered extinct our province’s unique pomelo gene pool,” recalls Chutima Noinat…
Published on 3 June 2015 Thailand
Twarath Sutabutr, deputy permanent secretary of the Energy Ministry, said the target was achievable with the advanced technology available today and in the future. Energy intensity is in focus as the authorities seek to achieve a more balanced strategy. While supply will be boosted by new investment locally and overseas, the demand side will have to be lowered to ensure long-term national energy security…
Published on 28 May 2015 Cambodia
One of the key results of the project has been the preparation of maps which indicate the vulnerability of the Cambodian roads to the impacts of climate change, most notably hazardous floods. The MRD now has in place a GIS-based system to assess the vulnerability through very detailed information including hydrological models scaled to local use. The project has also helped to improve the…
Published on 28 May 2015 Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is home to poor small-scale farmers like her who, despite hardship, prop up the region's agriculture sector. Agriculture contributes significantly to the gross domestic product and provides employment to the labor force of several countries in the region. However, Oxfam's new report, Harmless Harvest, argues that climate change is undermining the viability of agriculture in the region and putting many small-scale farmers'…
Published on 28 May 2015 Southeast Asia
"By scaling up sustainable agriculture practices across the region, ASEAN can help feed its peoples and prop up the livelihoods of small-scale food producers – and help curb greenhouse gas emissions," Oxfam said in a policy paper. In 2010, agriculture accounted for about a third of the GDP in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, and employed more than 60 percent of the labor force in…
Published on 19 May 2015 Feature
MEANINGFUL INTERVENTION The study by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) warns reforestation that ignores the adaptation benefits of replanted forests, using a variety of different practices and tree species, could make local communities and ecosystems more vulnerable to the future impacts of climate change, thereby undermining their effectiveness. “We cannot assume that a reforestation project for climate change mitigation will automatically benefit…
Published on 19 May 2015 Feature
Here in the Philippines, we are definitely no strangers to the devastating effects of climate change. The record-breaking super typhoons that we have recently experienced, such as Typhoon Bopha (Pablo) and Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which occurred around the time that the 18th and 19th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) were in session, prompted Vice…
Published on 19 May 2015 Global
The minister has concluded that developing economies in the Asia-Pacific region continue to farewell in comparison to the rest of the world, he warned in a statement released here on Sunday. “But increased frequency in climate change-induced hydrological and geological disasters are most likely to scuttle Asia-Pacific economic growth trajectory as long as disaster preparedness is not strengthened in the region and public infrastructure…
Published on 13 May 2015 Thailand
“What we try to promote here is to warn [Thailand] not to repeat the same mistakes as Germany,” said Roland Treitler, project director of improved management of extreme events through ecosystem-based adaptation in watersheds (ECOSWat) of GIZ. He was addressing Thai officials at a forum on German flood protection at the Eastin Grand Hotel in Bangkok. Treitler said green irrigation projects in Germany had…
Published on 13 May 2015 Indonesia
But Indonesia, like many fast-developing countries, is subject to widespread deforestation, releasing carbon pollution back into the atmosphere. Deforestation and land use change drives about 80% of Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions, which according to some estimates makes it the world’s fifth biggest emitter. This year, Indonesia’s leaders have the opportunity to limit these emissions by protecting some of its vast forests under its national…
Published on 13 May 2015 Singapore
Biomass waste is created when palm fruits are processed for their oil and the leftover fibers, known as empty bunches, are discarded. Other biomasses are created in the plantations when old palm trees are felled for replanting and when palm leaves are pruned, usually during harvesting of the palm fruits. Malaysia's palm industry has some 83 million tons of biomass waste available. The palm…
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