3 November 2017, Climate Home: Australian state premier promises to veto funding for giant Adani coal mine. Prospects of massive Indian-owned coal development take a dip after Queensland Labor leader makes surprise announcement. The future of the giant Adani Carmichael coal mine in northern Australian – considered a “carbon timebomb” by opponents – may be decided by a state election this month after the local premier shocked observers by pledging to block a A$900 million loan considered vital for it to go ahead. At a snap media conference late on Friday, Queensland Labor premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reversed her previous support for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s application for a concessional Australian government loan to pay for rail line from the outback mine site to a coastal port. She said she would exercise the state government’s power of veto over any loan after learning of rumours circulating about the role her partner had played in the proposed mine’s approval. The announcement comes amid heated political debate in Australia and the Pacific region over the proposal to create one of the world’s biggest coal mines in the Queensland outback. Adani says the fully developed Carmichael mine, to be developed in the state’s north about 340 kilometres south-west of Townsville, would produce up to 60 million tonnes of coal annually for 60 years. It plans to export the coal to burn in its Indian power plants. It would increase Australia’s coal exports by up to 30%. Read More here
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3 November 2017, Climate Home: Australian state premier promises to veto funding for giant Adani coal mine. Prospects of massive Indian-owned coal development take a dip after Queensland Labor leader makes surprise announcement. The future of the giant Adani Carmichael coal mine in northern Australian – considered a “carbon timebomb” by opponents – may be decided by a state election this month after the local premier shocked observers by pledging to block a A$900 million loan considered vital for it to go ahead. At a snap media conference late on Friday, Queensland Labor premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reversed her previous support for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s application for a concessional Australian government loan to pay for rail line from the outback mine site to a coastal port. She said she would exercise the state government’s power of veto over any loan after learning of rumours circulating about the role her partner had played in the proposed mine’s approval. The announcement comes amid heated political debate in Australia and the Pacific region over the proposal to create one of the world’s biggest coal mines in the Queensland outback. Adani says the fully developed Carmichael mine, to be developed in the state’s north about 340 kilometres south-west of Townsville, would produce up to 60 million tonnes of coal annually for 60 years. It plans to export the coal to burn in its Indian power plants. It would increase Australia’s coal exports by up to 30%. Read More here
2 November 2017, The Conversation, Extreme weather leads to public health crises – so health and climate experts must work together. This year has seen a number of extreme weather events around the globe, from hurricanes in the Americas to devastating flooding in South Asia. The loss of lives, homes and livelihoods are made worse by subsequent disease outbreaks: after the South Asian floods, more than 12,000 cases of watery diarrhoea were reported in Bangladesh. Presumably, many more cases are unreported. As our climate changes, severe weather events (especially intense rainfall) will become the “new normal”. The connection between climate and disease is well established, even in less extreme situations.This makes it vital that our meteorologists, climate scientists and health systems work closely together. Particularly, health professionals should make better use of weather forecasts to proactively manage disease risk. Climate outlooks – with a longer-term perspective than weather forecasts – can also help with long-range tactical and strategic planning. The link between climate change and disease. Climate change projections consistently indicate increased climate variability. A more variable climate creates conditions for the spread and control of infectious disease. In particular, changes in the intensity and duration of rain can help spread pathogens through water. Both floods and droughts can increase waterborne infections, either when clean and dirty water mix during floods, or through inadequate storage and concentration of toxic organisms when water is scarce. Read More here
1 November 2017, The Guardian, Fossil fuel companies undermining Paris agreement negotiations – report. Global negotiations seeking to implement the Paris agreement have been captured by corporate interests and are being undermined by powerful forces that benefit from exacerbating climate change, according to a report released ahead of the second meeting of parties to the Paris agreement – COP23 – next week. The report, co-authored by Corporate Accountability, uncovers a litany of ways in which fossil fuel companies have gained high-level access to negotiations and manipulated outcomes. It highlights a string of examples, including that of a negotiator for Panama who is also on the board of a corporate peak body that represents carbon traders such as banks, polluters and brokers. It also questions the role of the world’s biggest polluters in sponsoring the meetings in return for access to high-level events. The report argues that as a result of the corporate influence, outcomes of negotiations so far have been skewed to favour the interests of the world’s biggest corporate polluters over those of the majority of the world’s population that live in the developing world. It finds that influence has skewed outcomes on finance, agriculture and technology. Read more here