The western Balkans are hoping to join the European Union one day, but governments across the region are investing in new coal-fired power plants at a time when the EU is championing renewables and energy efficiency.
The EU has committed to slash emissions by 40 percent, to increase the share of renewables by at least 27 percent as well as to boost energy efficiency by at least 27 percent by 2030. The bloc is taking the lead in tackling global warming during the upcoming Paris global climate talks and countries like Germany have made the very expensive shift away from nuclear and fossil fuels a core part of their energy programs.
But the view in the much poorer Balkans is very different.
For the complete article, please see Politico.
Although water is an essential input for agriculture and industrial production, it is also scarce in many regions. When it crosses international borders via shared rivers, lakes and aquifers, it can become a source of conflict and contention. Yet while water can be a source of instability, especially in the face of climate change, it can also be a source or catalyst for cooperation and even peace.
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s grid operator is studying the feasibility of a cable to Ethiopia, which would run through currently war-torn Yemen.
Small Island States will be facing dramatically higher adaptation costs to build resilience against the kind of impacts the IPCC projects in its most recent Special Report. Thoriq Imbrahim, former Environment and Energy Minister of the Maldives, urges the international community to attend to the political demands of countries particularly exposed to the impacts of climate change and also confront loss and damage with renewed urgency.
Three years after the talks that delivered the Paris Agreement, the world is gathering in Poland to take stock of the progress that has been made and to raise its ambitions. But as new nationalist leaders take power, has the world lost its appetite for climate action?