Advance economies assemblage climate investment- by-Naseem Sheikh

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Biarritz, southwestern France is hosting the 45th meeting of seven of the world’s most advanced economies from August 24-26. The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal grouping of seven of the world’s unconventional economies, as well as the EU and European Commission. World’s advance economies include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States

The Green Climate Fund is the largest international fund dedicated to helping developing countries take action on climate change. Green Climate Fund helps developing countries limit or reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) releases and adjust to climate change. It was set up by the 194 countries who are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010, as part of the Convention’s financial mechanism. It aims to deliver equal amounts of funding to mitigation and adaptation, while being guided by the Convention’s principles and provisions.  It’s a perilous part of the Paris Agreement, but currently, the GCF experiences a crisis of confidence. In 2019, countries are due to obligate another round of pledges to the GCF, so the fund needs to get back into shape very quickly.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) pays precise dedication to the desires of civilizations that are highly susceptible to the effects of climate change, in particular Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and African States. Britain, Canada and France are the latest countries to announce donations to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), providing a vital indication that leading countries are stepping up climate finance. Such finance is vital to aid developing countries green their economies and build pliability to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.

The donations, amounting to Euro 1.44 billion, CAD 300 million and Euro 1.548 billion respectively, were proclaimed during the recent G7 summit of industrialized nations hosted by France. These new pledges follow those made by Germany and Norway, which were the initial countries to announce contributions to GCF at the end of 2018. So far, four countries –United Kingdom, France, Germany and Norway – have confirmed a doubling of their initial aids in national currency.

A G7 statement addressing climate, biodiversity and oceans released after the three-day gathering of world leaders indicated a number of countries which appeared the G7 are presently finalizing charities to GCF’s renewal and called on other countries to donate to GCF’s “substantive first replenishment” to improve GCF’s impact.

Canada will host GCF’s second consultation meeting in Ottawa on 29-30 August. This will be followed by a pledging conference in autumn this year. GCF replenishment is also high on the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit agenda on 23 September.

GCF’s first official replacement was thrown during the 21st GCF Board meeting in October 2018. The process includes session meetings with potential contributors, developing countries, GCF Board members and concerned shareholders on the intentional directions of the Fund to respond to the resolution of climate action in developing countries.

GCF has now allocated over USD 5.2 billion to 111 climate projects in 99 countries. In. addition to project funding, the Fund has also approved USD 160 million for capacity building activities (known as readiness support) helping 126 developing countries identify and address their most pressing climate finance challenges.

The Amazon rain forest is on fire since more than three weeks-By Naseem Sheikh

The Amazon rain forest is continuously rapidly burning at a record rate since more than three weeks- the highest on record since 2013 and an 83% increase from last year. Earlier this month, Brazil declared a state of emergency over the rising number of fires in the region. So far this year, almost 73,000 fires in the country have been detected by Brazil’s space research center, INPE.

The Amazon is regarded as vital in the fight against global warming due to its ability to absorb carbon from the air. It’s often referred to as the “lungs of the Earth,” as more than 20 per cent of the world’s oxygen is produced there. Brazil has the biggest share of the 670 million hectares of forest (60 per cent), which is home to more species than anywhere else on the planet. The region is home to 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2000 birds and mammals.

Satellite images show fires in the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Rondonia, Para and Mato Grosso. The state of Amazonas is most affected, according to Euronews.

The reason for the fires is disputed, but not that convincingly from this height. Natural fires in the Amazon are rare, and the majority of these fires were set by farmers preparing Amazon-adjacent farmland for next year’s crops and pasture. Much of the land that is burning was not old-growth rainforest, but land that had already been cleared of trees and set for agricultural use.

Deforestation more broadly is always a cause for concern. Last year, the world lost about 30 million acres of tree cover, including 8.9 million acres of primary rainforest, an area the size of Belgium, according to data from the University of Maryland.

Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE)’s figures represent a 79% increase in fires from the same period in 2018. There have been large numbers of fires in other recent years as well: According to a manager of Global Forest Watch, the number of fires in the Amazon this year is roughly comparable to 2016. NASA says the state has become one of the most deforested states in the Amazon. Brazil has 85% more fires burning than this time last year — up to 80,626 nationwide as of 25 august.

Other countries have also been affected by fires. A number of other countries in the Amazon basin – an area spanning 7.4m sq km (2.9m sq miles) – have also seen a high number of fires this year.

Venezuela has experienced the second-highest number, with more than 26,000 fires, with Bolivia coming in third, with more than 17,000.

 

Anthropogenic or natural, whatever reason behind this disaster is not a topic right now, need of hour is to control of this fire genie which is engulfing huge habitat and living organisms among forest.

 

 

 

Clean and Green Pakistan Index project-by- Naseem Sheikh

 

Afforestation is one of the best buffers in terms of negative impacts of climate change in the world. Prime Minister, Imran Khan, appeals to all Pakistanis, especially school children that everyone should plant two trees on 18th August to celebrate “Plant4Pakistan day” across Pakistan. more than 22 million plants will be planted across Pakistan today. 

According to the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) 2017 survey, only 5.7% of Pakistan’s land was covered by forest. The report added that Pakistan lost up to 43,000 hectares of forest every year from 2000 to 2010. This is the highest deforestation rate among Asian countries. The federal government has estimated a one per cent increase in forest area in the country from the Billion Tree Tsunami

The forestation project would require a funding of Rs. 125 billion for the first phase and will provide green cover to around 0.8 million hectares of land.

As per the proposal, around 4.5 billion saplings will be planted in the country during the first phase. The remaining target of 5.5 billion would be met in the second phase – which will be completed through a public-private partnership.

The forest department of every province, after an extensive search, has chosen different samples of trees for plantation, keeping environmental and ecological impacts in view. The sample cost varies accordingly.

Here are the details of the seedlings/saplings in each province and the estimated cost:

Balochistan: 0.25 billion saplings at Rs. 64 per sapling.

Punjab: 0.53 billion saplings at Rs. 58 per sapling.

Gilgit-Baltistan: 0.17 billion at the cost of Rs. 41 per sapling.

Azad Kashmir: 0.70 billion saplings at Rs. 29 per seedling.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: One billion saplings at Rs. 27 per sapling.

Sindh: 2 billion saplings at the cost of Rs. 5 per seedling.

Moreover, the National Highway Authority (NHA) would also plant 1.4 million plants at a cost of Rs. 1,675 per plant.

Environment saving agenda of Pakistan ; “Clean and Green Pakistan Index” project, include 10 billion tree project, ban on use of polythene bags in Islamabad, electric vehicles policy, rules and regulations about green buildings. Today 3.25 billion trees will be planted in Capital city;Islamabad, the first phase of the project, which will be reviewed after two years.

Under the Clean and Green Pakistan Index project with the participation of the federal, provincial and local governments, cities and the surrounding areas will be graded in respect of provision and drainage of water, solid waste management, cleanliness, and ratio of trees.
In the first phase, Clean and Green Index project will be initiated in twelve cities of Punjab and seven cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwan.

Pakistan already on right path for climatic saving and pollution reduction, in process of doing so ban on the use of polythene bags is already implemented from 14th August of this year in the federal capital at initial level, and the decision is being appreciated by all segments of the society. plastic ban will be implemented next in Karachi, the metropolitan city of Pakistan till October, 2019. Traffic pollution is another issue especially in a big and highly populated city like Karachi, Federal government is launching green transportation project in Karachi and Green Carbon Fund has given 50 million US dollar in this regard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Environmental Impact of Cigarette Butt Waste: Just the Facts by Naseem Sheikh

1. Trillions of cigarettes: 5 trillion cigarettes sold globally every year; 300 billion sold in the United States.
2. Butt waste is everywhere: 99% of the 300 billion cigarettes sold have cellulose acetate (plastic) filters; at least one-third of those – 100 billion – are discarded into the environment. Washed into rivers, lakes and the ocean, and eaten by birds, animals and fish, they are the most littered item in the U.S. and the world. Smoking-related debris is 1/3 or more of all U.S. debris items found on beaches, and in rivers and streams.
3. Butt waste is not biodegradable: Filters are non-biodegradable, and while ultraviolet rays from the sun will eventually break them into smaller pieces, the toxic material never disappears.
4. Butt waste is toxic: Cigarette butts leach chemicals and heavy metals into the environment that are toxic to fresh and salt-water fish. They are poisonous when ingested by children and other living organisms.
5. Cigarettes kill: Containing so many highly toxic, carcinogenic chemicals, pesticides and nicotine, tobacco use is the No.1 cause of preventable death globally, taking over 5 million lives a year, and likely to kill 1 billion people this century (ten
times the 20th century toll).
6. Cigarette butts are dangerous: Discarded cigarettes can ignite very destructive, deadly and injurious fires. More than 900 people in the United States die each year in fires started by cigarettes, and about 2,500 are injured. Nationally, annual human and property costs of fires caused by careless smoking total about $6 billion.
7. Butt waste cleanup is expensive: Cigarette butt waste cleanup is very costly, with a San Francisco litter audit study finding the cost to be more than $7 million annually. Taxpayers and local authorities currently bear the cost everywhere, but it needs to be paid for and managed by the tobacco industry.
8. Filters don’t make cigarettes safer: Many smokers believe filters provide some protection – that they’re “safer” – but National Cancer Institute studies, among others, show there have been no benefits to public health from filters. The tobacco industry knows that filters are a fraud.
9. The tobacco industry blames smokers: Tobacco companies oppose regulations compelling them to take responsibility for butt waste – despite the widely recognized environmental principle of Extended Producer Responsibility; instead, they say ‘the responsibility for proper disposal’ of cigarette waste belongs to the smoker.
Butt waste isn’t just litter:
Filters falsely reassure smokers, and cigarette waste damages habitat, landscapes and ecosystems; ignites destructive, deadly fires; poisons wildlife and children; consumes tax dollars for cleanup and disposal;
and lasts forever!
Sources: “The Environmental Burden of Cigarette Butts,” Tobacco Control, April 2011, (http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/20/Supp_1.toc); “The Impact of Tobacco on
the Environment,” Legacy Factsheet, April 2010 (www.LegacyforHealth.org); ”Tobacco and the environment,” ASH.fact sheet, 2009 (www.ash.org.uk); CA Dept of Public
Health’s Butt Waste “Toolkit Project,” (www.toxicbutts.com); “Tobacco Watch,” Framework Convention Alliance, 2010 (www.fctc.org )
http://www.cigwaste.org