Where are we on the environment? #13

September’s global events in five headlines, for those interested in the environment, sustainability and ecological transition.

1.

Nine European countries in Southern Europe have signed an agreement to tackle the climate crisis together: the understanding commits the signatories to work more closely together in developing common policies on the most pressing climate change issues, and to strengthen their commitment to achieving the goals of the Paris agreement.

2.

Jesolo, Veneto has witnessed the hatching of Loggerhead turtle eggs for the first time ever. Although this species does lay its eggs in Italian waters, it has never been observed hatching so far north. Most scientific opinion attributes the cause of this extraordinary phenomenon to climate change, which has heated the waters of this part of the Adriatic.

3.

In the south-west of Iceland, the inauguration has taken place of the world's largest plant for the removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the gas most responsible for global warming. The plant will be able to absorb four thousand tons of carbon dioxide from the air every year, and although it will have a minimal impact in reducing the total amount of CO2, many scientists believe it will serve as a model for the development of other similar technologies that could in the future help combat the climate crisis.

4.

Madagascar is suffering from a serious famine, caused by the country’s worst drought in 40 years, itself the result of climate change. More than a million people are food insecure. Shelley Thakral, spokeswoman for the World Food Program, said: “It is an unprecedented situation: these people have done nothing to contribute to climate change. They don't use fossil fuels, and yet they are suffering the consequences of the changing climate.”

5.

The UN has announced that leaded petrol is officially off the market worldwide, after an almost twenty-year campaign to persuade the few remaining user countries to abandon it and switch to fuels that are less polluting and harmful to health: Algeria was the last country to sell it.