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November
COP27 climate talks seen as key to success at next month's U.N. nature summit
Written by Nur Yasmin
With the annual U.N. climate summit in its final week, many of the world's environment ministers assembled in Egypt have begun setting their sights on another high-stakes meeting for nature taking place next month.
But for those talks on protecting nature to be a success, experts say, governments must bring global warming in check.
"Climate change is one of the big drivers of biodiversity loss," said David Cooper, the deputy chief of U.N.'s Convention on Biological Diversity.
The U.N. agency will convene its next global summit on biodiversity next month in Montreal, after host country China postponed the event four times through the global COVID-19 pandemic.
At the COP15 talks scheduled for Dec. 7-19, national delegations will hash out a new global deal to protect plummeting wildlife populations worldwide and halt the continuing degradation of landscapes.
Campaigners are calling for a full-fledged "Paris Agreement for nature" under which countries set national conservation targets and then report routinely on their progress in meeting them.
But first, the world needs to see success made on tackling climate challenges in Egypt, experts say.
"If we don't have successful outcomes in the climate process, then we cannot halt biodiversity loss," Cooper said.
HEATED HABITATS
Earth has seen five mass extinction events, and scientists believe the planet's sixth is in progress now - with animal and plant species vanishing at a rate not seen in 10 million years.
The world's wildlife crisis is driven by habitat loss and pollution, with climate change posing an increasing threat as global temperatures climb.
Without steep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, as many as half of all species by century's end will be facing temperatures and conditions beyond their ability to survive, according to research published in 2018 in the journal Science.
Those that can't migrate or adapt will perish. The loss of forests and other ecosystems like coral reefs and seagrass beds will also leave the world with fewer natural forms of carbon sequestration. Already, these "carbon sinks" absorb about half of the excess emissions humans are pumping into the air from burning fossil fuels.
"We are also seeing that biodiversity provides solutions to climate change, and that's why they need to be looked at together," said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the CBD's executive secretary.
Scientists and campaigners are pushing for next month's COP15 conference to conclude with a "nature positive" agreement that commits countries to ensuring there are more wild spaces and creatures in seven years' time than there are now.
"You cannot have a dream of coping with climate change only through the emissions," Virginijus Sinkevičiu, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, told Reuters. "If ecosystems are not able to cope, you don't have a success story" in fighting climate change.
"This is the biggest danger," she said.
PARIS AGREEMENT FOR NATURE
With just weeks before the COP15 summit begins, the draft of a hoped-for biodiversity deal has yet to be finalized.
"Looking at COP15, we are worried," said Marco Lambertini, director general of World Wildlife Fund International.
On Wednesday, the architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to well under 2 degrees Celsius, issued a statement urging world leaders to secure a similar deal on nature.
"There is no pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5C without action on protecting and restoring nature," the statement said.
Campaigners and delegates told Reuters they want to see a strong cover statement on biodiversity come out of COP27 before they head to Montreal. While the talks are now being held in Canada, China remains the official host.
Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault also said he "would like to see a strong acknowledgement for the Convention of Biodiversity in the final COP27 outcome."
The Chinese delegation at COP27 did not respond to a request for comment. President Xi Jinping has not attended the climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh and is also not expected to attend COP15. (Reuters)
November
G20 agrees to pursue efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5C
Written by Nur Yasmin
Leaders at the G20 meeting in Bali on Wednesday agreed to pursue efforts to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius and recognized the need to speed up efforts to phase down coal use, in a potential boost to the COP27 climate talks.
Delegates at the U.N. climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where progress towards an agreement by the end of the week has been slow, have been watching the G20 summit closely for signs that developed nations are willing to make new commitments on climate.
"Mindful of our leadership role, we reaffirm our steadfast commitments, in pursuit of the objective of UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) to tackle climate change by strengthening the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and its temperature goal," a declaration issued at the end of the meeting said.
World governments agreed in 2015 during a U.N. summit in France to try to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, a deal dubbed the Paris Agreement that was seen as a breakthrough in international climate ambition.
"We resolve to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. This will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries," the G20 statement said.
U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry said on Saturday that a few countries had resisted mentioning the 1.5C goal in the official text of the COP27 summit
The G20 declaration urged delegates at COP27 to "urgently scale up" efforts at the summit on the issue of mitigating and adapting to climate change.
It also made reference to the need to accelerate "efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power, in line with national circumstances and recognising the need for support towards just transitions."
India, the world's second-biggest buyer of coal, wants countries to agree to phase down all fossil fuels rather than a narrower deal to phase down coal that was agreed at COP26 last year.
"We will play our part fully in implementing the (COP26) Glasgow Climate Pact," the G20 leaders said.
The statement also reaffirmed an international goal to phase out "inefficient fossil fuel subsidies" and urged developed nations to meet their commitments to provide $100 billion a year for climate mitigation. (Reuters)
November
Australia, China leaders looking to stabilise ties at meeting on Tuesday
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia will be looking to stabilise its relationship with China but does not expect a swift resolution to differences between the trade partners when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with President Xi Jinping on Tuesday.
Ties between Australia and China have deteriorated sharply in recent years, and Beijing in 2020 blocked a raft of Australian agricultural and mineral exports over Canberra's call for an inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June, Beijing's envoy called on Albanese's new Labor government - which came to power in a national election the previous month - to "take action" to reset ties.
Albanese on Monday said there were no preconditions for the meeting with Xi at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali.
The meeting is significant for ending China's long freeze on all high-level political dialogue, without Australia backtracking on any of its policies, said Richard Maude, executive director of the Asia Society Australia.
"In short, Australia has not bent to China's will," he said.
The meeting comes as China seeks to enter the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) free trade pact, which requires the approval of all 11 members, including Australia.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Tuesday not all differences will be solved in one meeting, although Australia wants to see trade restrictions worth A$20 billion a year lifted.
"Part of stabilising this relationship would mean ideally the removal of those restrictions," Chalmers told ABC Radio.
Scott Morrison's Liberal government had described the sanctions, mostly falling on commodity exports, as "economic coercion" by China.
Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong in a speech on Sunday, sought to differentiate Albanese's Labor government from its predecessor, which she said had tried to exploit differences with China for domestic political gain.
Australia under Labor would be "calm and consistent" on China, she said.
James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, said the meeting matters because Xi is the only person with the authority in China to address Australia's trade grievances.
"Xi might order the removal of sanctions, if not overnight, then gradually over time," Laurenceson said. The meeting also sends a "strong signal ... to the Chinese bureaucracy that Australia is no longer to be shunned," he said.
National Farmers Federation acting CEO Warwick Ragg said: "Farmers welcome any moves to revive and improve access to Chinese markets and are hopeful this week's meeting makes inroads towards that."
Tuesday's meeting will be the first between Xi and an Australian prime minister since 2016.
Australia's relation with China began to sour in 2017 when it introduced laws to deal with what it said was Chinese interference in Australian politics.
Beijing was also angered by Canberra's 2018 decision to ban Huawei from its 5G network on national security grounds, a decision followed by other Western nations.
Two Australian journalists, Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, are also in jail in China awaiting sentences after closed-door national security trials.
Chalmers said Australia is "deeply concerned at detention of those two people." (Reuters)
November
Most G20 members strongly condemn war in Ukraine, draft declaration says
Written by Nur Yasmin
A draft of a declaration by leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, said "most" members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy.
The G20 members also voiced deep concern over the challenges posed to global food security by escalating tensions, and called for the need for central bank independence to ensure they keep up efforts to rein in soaring inflation, the draft showed.
"Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy," the draft said, suggesting that Russia had opposed the language.
"There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions," said the draft declaration, which was confirmed by a European diplomat.
The 16-page document has yet to be adopted by G20 members.
In the first session of the summit held on Tuesday, many countries condemned Russia's invasion of Russia, said a delegation who was present at the meeting.
The summit, which host Indonesia and other countries have said should focus on risks to the global economy, has been overshadowed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"Recognising that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy," the draft declaration said.
Russia's foreign ministry said on Sunday the G20 was not the place where security issues and should instead prioritise the world's economic challenges.
The draft document also said G20 central banks were monitoring inflationary pressures and will calibrate the pace of monetary tightening to ensure inflation expectations remain well anchored.
"Central bank independence is crucial to achieving these goals and buttressing monetary policy credibility," it said.
Fiscal stimulus measures should be "temporary and targeted" to cushion the blow of rising commodity costs for the most vulnerable, to avoid adding to inflationary pressures, the draft declaration said.
On debt problems, the draft declaration stressed the importance of all creditors to share a fair burden, without mentioning China, which has been criticised by Western countries for delaying efforts to mitigate the burden for some emerging economies.
"We reaffirm the importance of joint efforts by all actors, including private creditors, to continue working toward enhancing debt transparency," it said.
Wrangling over how to describe the war in Ukraine has prevented G20 ministers earlier this year from issuing a joint communique.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged counterparts at the summit via video link to step up their leadership and stop Russia's war in his country under a peace plan he has proposed.
Russia, which was represented at the summit by the foreign minister rather than President Vladimir Putin, says it is conducting a special military operation in Ukraine. (Reuters)
November
Cambodia PM cancels G20 meetings after testing positive for COVID -statement
Written by Nur Yasmin
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has cancelled meetings he was due to have at the G20 summit in Bali after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page.
Hun Sen, who is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), had tested positive before he had held any meetings including those scheduled with French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jingping, the statement said.
Hun Sen also hosted a summit of ASEAN and global leaders that ended on Sunday in Cambodia. (Reuters)
November
North Korea sees more use of cell phones, WiFi networks - U.S. researchers
Written by Nur Yasmin
Up to 7 million North Koreans use cell phones daily, and WiFi networks have sharply expanded in recent years as the mobile devices increasingly became a key tool for market activity in the isolated country, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
Martyn Williams and Natalia Slavney of the Washington-based Stimson Center's 38 North programme say their latest study on digital communications in North Korea, which included an analysis of satellite imagery and a survey of about 40 defectors who fled the North between 2017 and 2021, shows a stable rise in cellular subscribers.
Since 3G network services began in 2008, the number of users has risen to 6.5 million to 7 million, more than a quarter of North Korea's 25 million population, the researchers said.
"More than 90% of the people who participated in the survey reported using the phone at least daily, and most of the calls were made to family members and traders," Slavney told a briefing.
They showed an estimated coverage map of North Korea's cellular network by identifying base stations, accompanying antennas and solar panels from satellite images, which Williams said suggested the service is available not only in cities but also "deep into the rural areas."
"The cellular coverage is still expanding, sometimes we're finding base stations where if you look at the same area two years ago, the antenna was not there," he said.
The country's antiquated 3G network and limits on foreign investment in upgrades because of sanctions over its weapons programmes has prompted the emergence of faster WiFi networks around the country, Williams said.
The WiFi networks do not offer any Internet access but provide connections to domestic services, especially scientific databases for the research community, he added.
Poor infrastructure means there are few landlines, the researchers said, so mobile phones fill gaps and serve as a critical tool for participating in a private market economy, which has become a key source of income for many.
The private sector has overtaken state-led agents to become North Korea's biggest economic actor in recent years, with its rationing system crumbling and leader Kim Jong Un allowing markets abhorred by his father.
"For the last five to 10 years, the rise of the private economy and private marketplaces was one of the biggest changes in the country," Williams said. "In a way, one of the pillars of the entire market economy is the wide availability of basic telephone and text messaging." (Reuters)
November
Australia recommends against fifth vaccine dose as fresh COVID wave builds
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australian health authorities have recommended against getting a fifth COVID-19 vaccine shot, even as they urged those eligible to sign up for their remaining booster doses as the country's latest COVID wave grows rapidly.
Average daily cases had been 47% higher last week than the week before, said Health Minister Mark Butler at a press conference on Tuesday, announcing new vaccination recommendations. But cases remain 85% below the previous peak, of late July.
Butler said the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations (ATAGI) had recommended against a fifth dose, or third booster, after evidence from Singapore's recent wave showed that severe illness and death were rare among the vaccinated and that a fifth shot had minimal impact on virus transmission.
"ATAGI has considered international evidence as well as the local data around vaccination numbers, as well as case numbers in the pandemic and decided not to recommend a fifth dose," said Butler.
"They noted that severe disease and death during that wave in Singapore was very rare for people who had had at least two doses of vaccine for COVID."
New booster recommendations will be made early next year ahead of the southern-hemisphere winter.
Butler urged those yet to get the recommended number of shots to do so, with 5.5 million Australians, roughly a fifth of the population, yet to receive a third dose despite being eligible.
Butler also accepted ATAGI recommendations that Pfizer's (PFE.N) Omicron-specific vaccine be approved as a booster dose for adults; 4.7 million doses will arrive ahead of a rollout due to begin on Dec 12.
The company's vaccine for children aged six months to five years will also be approved for use on the severely immunocompromised.
Speaking alongside Butler, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the Singaporean experience suggested the current wave would peak soon and that cases would then drop quickly. (Reuters)
November
Person who left bomb causing Istanbul explosion arrested - Anadolu citing minister
Written by Nur Yasmin
The person who left the bomb that caused Istanbul's explosion was arrested by the police, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday according to state-run Anadolu agency's English-language Twitter account.
Six people were killed and 81 others wounded on Sunday when an explosion rocked a busy pedestrian street in Istiklal Avenue in central Istanbul in what Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called a bomb attack that "smells like terrorism". (Reuters)
November
Germany warns its delegation of Egyptian spies at COP27
Written by Nur Yasmin
German federal police have warned their nation's delegation at the COP27 environmental summit in Egypt that its members may be subject to spying by Egyptian security agents, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
In an email sent on Saturday, the police, known in Germany as the BKA, warned delegates of "overt and covert surveillance through photography and videography" by Egyptian agents, said one of the people quoting from the email.
Comments last week by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about Egypt's human rights record provoked the threat of surveillance, that person said.
Reuters did not view the email sent by the police. Two other officials in Germany confirmed the existence of the warning, though they declined to elaborate on its specific wording.
There was no immediate response to requests for comment from Egypt's COP27 presidency or the state information service, which handles relations with foreign media.
A spokesperson for the German police declined to comment.
In the warning, the police said delegates may have their conversations recorded and that people close to the Egyptian state may try to disrupt events organised by the Germans "through provocative actions", the person quoted the email as saying.
Three German attendees at COP27, from non-governmental organizations and industry, said they had received verbal warnings from other attendees and delegations of possible surveillance.
Two NGO members told Reuters about what they viewed as suspicious activity that took place on occasions in recent days, including being photographed and followed. One was Susann Scherbarth of the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation. The other was with the Climate Action Network but wished to remain unnamed. Reuters was unable to independently confirm their accounts.
An official with Germany's foreign ministry said it expected participants to "be able to work and negotiate under secure conditions".
"To this end, we are in continuous exchange with the Egyptian side," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On Tuesday, Scholz said he had raised with the COP27 hosts the issue of the jailed hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a prominent activist and blogger sentenced to five years on charges of spreading false news.
"A decision needs to be taken, a release has to be made possible, so that it doesn't come to it that the hunger striker dies," Scholz told reporters.
Egypt's government has said prison authorities will provide Abd el-Fattah with healthcare. (Reuters)
November
With Biden and Xi to meet, China warns U.S. on Taiwan briefing
Written by Nur Yasmin
China on Friday condemned a White House plan to brief Taiwan on the results of a much-anticipated meeting between President Joe Biden and his counterpart, Xi Jinping, next week on the sidelines of a G20 gathering in Indonesia.
The two leaders will meet on Monday, the White House said, for their first face-to-face meeting since Biden became president, amid low expectations for significant breakthroughs. China confirmed the planned meeting but did not give a date.
Ties between China and the United States are at their worst in decades, strained over issues including trade and technology, human rights and Taiwan, the self-governed democratic island that Beijing claims as its territory. Taiwan rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced the plan to brief Taiwan about the talks on Thursday, telling reporters the United States aimed to make Taiwan feel "secure and comfortable" about U.S. support.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said any such briefing by the United States for Taiwan would violate a U.S. promise to maintain only non-official contacts with the island.
"It is egregious in nature. China is firmly opposed to it," Zhao told a regular briefing, shortly after the ministry announced that Xi would meet Biden and also attend the G20 meeting and a later APEC summit next week.
Several analysts have said that both sides may use the talks to seek clarification on each other's "red lines", identify areas for cooperation and to stabilise relations, but significant progress is unlikely.
"I don't think we can expect any breakthrough," Collin Koh, a research fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies told Reuters.
"They are able to finally get to meet face to face and convey each other's concerns to the other," he said.
Biden and Xi last met in person when Biden was vice president during the Obama administration.
"This face-to-face meeting will provide the Biden administration the best opportunity to test whether Xi recognises the importance of stable relations with the U.S. to China's own security and economy," said Susan Shirk, an author and professor at the University of California San Diego.
Xi's visit to Southeast Asia will be only his second foreign trip since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When he travelled to Uzbekistan for a meeting of regional leaders in September, he skipped a dinner with 11 other heads of state because of his delegation's COVID-19 policy.
The G20 summit is on the Indonesian island of Bali, where Xi will also meet with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, before travelling to Thailand for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the foreign ministry said. (Reuters)