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by Paolo Cappelli
22 April 2021
The Independent
As world leaders set new targets to cut harmful emissions
It's time for Britain to take the lead in climate policy
Boris Johnson's interview with Manchester United boss
The prime minister met Ed Wooward in Downing Street just days before the Super League launch, the newspaper said. Woodward, who later resigned from the club after the failure of the project, would not have talked about the Super League with Johnson but now the Labor Party is asking for the minutes of the meeting. Speaks Ed Millibiand, minister of the shadow government: the recovery from the pandemic in the UK must not be driven by fossil fuels. The Independent's campaign is launched to ask for a relaunch of the eco-sustainable economy
Metro
It's time to move! Biden tells world leaders that we are facing a decisive decade for the future of planet earth, it is up to us all to act decisively to combat climate change. Greenpeace warns: the goals set alone will not lead to cutting harmful emissions
NYT
Biden Commits US to Cut Emissions, Allies Join Commitment.
Goals that will change Americans' lives
For Biden's commitment to climate change to be successful, America will need major changes, experts warn: rapid transition to electric-powered transportation, reforestation, reduction technologies of harmful emissions and much more.
Biden's goal, to cut harmful substances emitted into the atmosphere by 50% by 2030 is the most ambitious among developed countries, Europe started before the US to take action to contract harmful emissions
NYT
Paul Krugman: Let's be real about coal and climate
"Change is coming, whether we seek it or not." So says an extraordinary document entitled "Preserving Coal Country", defending the country of coal, published on Monday by the United Mine Workers of America, the union that at its peak represented half a million workers, in which one accepts the reality that coal will not return . Instead, it argues, the goal should be "a true energy transition that will increase opportunities for miners, their families and their communities." It's nice to see this kind of realism. Let us remember that in 2016 Donald Trump promised that he would restore coal to its former greatness by reopening closed mines - and voters in the country of coal believed him.Many of them probably still imagine that something like this is possible. The union, however, understands that it is not. What killed the mines was not a "war on coal"; it was technological progress, first in the extraction of natural gas, then in solar and wind power. Generating electricity from coal would be economically impractical even if we didn't have to worry about climate change.
Of course, we need to worry about climate change, which is an existential threat to civilization. The question is how to deal with this threat. The union document is in effect an endorsement, at least in principle, of the Biden administration's plans to make action against climate change a centerpiece of its increase in infrastructure spending. seem much easier now than a dozen years ago is that we have seen spectacular advances in renewable energy: a 70% drop since 2009 in the cost of wind energy, an 89% drop in the cost of solar energy. And this technological advance did not happen alone. At least in part it was the result of the investments made by the Obama administration.And this suggests that public investment, as well as a tax on harmful emissions, can be a way to combat climate change. Second, the idea that a carbon tax can gain bipartisan support is hopelessly naive. Only 14% of Republicans even accept the idea that climate change is an important issue. What might win over at least some of these voters is the kind of program United Mine Workers is calling for: targeted spending to help retrain former miners and support development in coal economy communities.the idea that a carbon tax can get bipartisan support is hopelessly naive. Only 14% of Republicans even accept the idea that climate change is an important issue. What might win over at least some of these voters is the kind of program United Mine Workers is calling for: targeted spending to help retrain former miners and support development in coal economy communities.the idea that a carbon tax can get bipartisan support is hopelessly naive. Only 14% of Republicans even accept the idea that climate change is an important issue. What might win over at least some of these voters is the kind of program United Mine Workers is calling for: targeted spending to help retrain former miners and support development in coal economy communities.targeted spending to help retrain former miners and support community development of the coal economy.targeted spending to help retrain former miners and support community development of the coal economy.
WSJ
The promise of world leaders for greater efforts to reduce harmful emissions. Biden sought to assert US leadership in global climate talks at a summit that saw other world leaders pledge to act and call on richer nations to take on more responsibility. China and India complicate Biden's climate ambitions
published: Biden's ten-year climate plan
Was President Biden trying to impress China's Xi Jinping at yesterday's climate summit by pledging to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by half from 2005 levels by 2030? His commitment promises to sweep away economic policy controls a bit like in one of Xi's five-year plans. Biden now has a 10-year version of central economic planning. The United States accounts for less than 15 percent of global CO2 emissions, Biden told world leaders. Emissions in the United States and Europe have decreased since 2005 as natural gas and renewables replaced coal-fired energy. But rising emissions from China drowned out these drops. At the 2015 Paris Climate Summit,China only committed to reducing emissions in 2030 and continued to build coal-fired power plants and expand industrial production. Biden wants to anchor emission reduction targets in the Clean Air Act to bypass Congress and impose rules on the entire American economy. Biden will face no resistance to his over-regulation by Democrats in Congress. They will happily finance his ten-year plan to remake the economy, starting with his $ 2.3 trillion much more than infrastructure proposal that is the Green New Deal in disguise.Biden wants to anchor emission reduction targets in the Clean Air Act to bypass Congress and impose rules on the entire American economy. Biden will face no resistance to his over-regulation by Democrats in Congress. They will happily finance his ten-year plan to remake the economy, starting with his $ 2.3 trillion much more than infrastructure proposal that is the Green New Deal in disguise.Biden wants to anchor emission reduction targets in the Clean Air Act to bypass Congress and impose rules on the entire American economy. Biden will face no resistance to his over-regulation by Democrats in Congress. They will happily finance his ten-year plan to remake the economy, starting with his $ 2.3 trillion much more than infrastructure proposal that is the Green New Deal in disguise.
PBS Newshour
interview with Michael Mann, climate scientist, professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University: Are Biden's goals for the next 10 years realistic?
- Nothing worthwhile, it's easy to do. This is certainly a monumental task. But now there is a lot of research, teams from Stanford and the University of California, for example, have shown that we can get there with existing technology. We don't need a miracle, Bill Gates, he said that in the past. We have the technology to solve this problem.
What do you need then?
What we need is political will and we need policies, climate legislation passed by Congress, if we are to deliver on these commitments.
We have to put a price on carbon.
We need to provide huge subsidies for renewable energy.
We must block the development of further fossil fuel infrastructure.
These are all things the Biden plan supports.
Time Magazine
climate is everything.
How the pandemic can lead us to a better, greener world
VOX
How Climate Became Central to Biden's Economic Agenda, by Elia Nilsen
No president has embraced the fight against climate change so fully before, but the hardest part for Biden is yet to come. Yet, the perception of the climate issue has changed in public opinion. Analyzing data from the past 13 years, researchers at Yale and George Mason universities used to see about 12% of people "alarmed" by the climate and the same amount of people "contemptuous" about the matter. Over the years these numbers have changed. Those in the alarmed group grew to 26% (and there is another 29% who call themselves "worried" about climate change), while the number of contemptuous fell to 8%.
Edward Maibach, director of the George Mason University Center for Climate Change noted that there is broad support among voters for the United States to adopt clean energy. In a December poll, Maibach and his fellow researchers found that 66 percent of registered voters say developing clean energy sources should be a "high" or "very high" priority for the president and Congress. "While there is a clear divide in America between liberals and conservatives on the issue of climate change, that divide is much smaller when it comes to clean energy," says Maibach. "It is still true that Democrats are much more likely to support aggressive policies towards the clean energy transition;but it is also true that the vast majority of Republicans now support the same. "
Die Zeit
She or him?
While the CDU is still upside down, many already imagine a green chancellor: how Annalena Baerbock is gaining more and more power and how Armin Laschet wants to get back on her feet.
After the announcement of the nominations, the Greens still gain and become the first party in the polls, the CDU loses ground, the SPD continues its descent
Stern
finally different
Annalena Baerbock sets new rules for politics
Tagespost
A candidate for Catholics?
what can German Catholics expect from Armin Laschet?
his speech, at the CDU, was a hymn of praise to the old Federal Republic and its promise of social advancement the story Laschet senior, who started as a miner and retired as a principal of an elementary school. These opportunities not only made the Laschet family faithful citizens of the Republic of Bonn, but the Laschet also feel they have a duty: to be proud of their prosperity, to enjoy it, but with a debt of thanks to be paid concretely with their commitment. Laschet comes from Aachen, he comes from the Rhenish Catholic world. As a young man he became politicized in the parish. He was opposed to "marriage for all" and shows this character in other socio-political issues as well. But he always seeks the conversation and wants to discuss with everyone.
FAZ
Spahn expects the priority of vaccinations to be exceeded from June.
But the association of doctors in Germany is asking to set aside the criteria followed up to now of vaccination priorities immediately.
It is unacceptable, they say, that in Germany more than 5 million doses remain in the warehouses while tens of thousands of Germans, 27 thousand in the last 24 hours, are infected every day.
Bild
absolute ban on travel to Germany
Le Soir
A Belgium divided into 4 regions: anything but easy
The De Croo government is working on a project to reform the state. Among the hypotheses on the table, the division of the country into 4 federated entities.
The Mayor of Doel to the Belgians: don't come to us, stay away!
since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, many Belgians have practiced tourism within the borders of our country. It also seems that many of them have set their sights on the village of Doel (Beveren). In particular following a television report which evoked a visit to the village. Faced with this unusual influx, local authorities implore tourists to stop coming to visit Doel in order to ensure the safety and tranquility of the inhabitants.
From the editorial staff
RPP (Peru)
Cuba: Internet, the stone in the shoe of the dictatorship
A few days ago the Council of State of Cuba approved a new decree to regulate telecommunications aimed at "defending the successes of the socialist state". "Lies", "manipulation", "subversion": Raúl Castro, who has just handed over the reins of the Communist Party of Cuba, does not mince words to talk about the Internet: "It has become the favorite weapon of the opposition". The country of 11.2 million people has long been one of the least connected in the world. Everything changed with the arrival of the internet at the end of 2018: people have adopted it in a dizzying way. Currently 4.2 million people are connected in Cuba, although its price remains high. The president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, successor to Raúl Castro at the head of the party, boasted of encouraging "the computerization of society ", but was soon disillusioned by an unprecedented social concern, which became visible from the outside. Earlier this week, while 300 party delegates met at a congress in Havana, it was viralized on social media a video showing the arrest of dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara in a depressed area of the capital.
Dozens of activists, independent journalists and artists have reported to the police, via Twitter, of being prevented from leaving their homes, a technique used by the authorities to prevent them from meeting. Others have claimed, through the social networks of relatives and friends, that they have been deprived of the Internet. Ted Henken, an American sociologist and author of the book, "Cuba's Digital Revolution", believes that "there is a struggle in Cuba over who will have control of digital technologies". In November 2020, protester Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara took refuge in a house for ten days to demand the release of a rapper by filming live on Facebook, which was also followed outside the country.
After evicting the artist in November last year, about 300 artists gathered demonstrating in front of the Ministry of Culture, asking for greater freedom of expression, simultaneously spreading messages via social media, something never seen in Cuba. For Raúl Castro, behind these protests are hiding the same old enemy: Washington. However, the truth is another: "The internal opposition lacks social base, leadership and mobilization capacity - adds the author of the book - continues to decrease the number of members and the number of actions, shifting and concentrating their activism on social networks ". In recent months, Twitter has suspended the accounts of Cuban media and official organizations, as well as common activists, for violating the rules on "manipulation".
Moskovskij Komsomolets (mk.ru)
The war between Russia and Ukraine for borscht (beet-based soup) as a UNESCO heritage
The "battle of the borsch" of cultural institutions is underway: while Ukraine has already announced at the end of 2018 which would have asked to add borsch to Unesco's intangible heritage list, Russia is now rejoicing as on the Internet platform Google Art and Culture, borsch has appeared as one of the 10 dishes that have influenced history and culture Russian.
"The history of borsch goes back centuries," notes the article, "but in the twentieth century this simple and hearty soup became a staple on the menus of cafes from Khabarovsk to Brest. One of the variants of borsch was Ukrainian borsch with Grated pork lard and garlic. This presentation is exactly in line with the Russian perception of East Slavic ethnicity in general and culture in particular: we are all, they say, from the Carpathians to Vladivostok, of the same Russian root, the rest are just details Of course, the former republics of the USSR - Ukraine in the first place - disagree with this formulation of the question.
Pavel Syutkin, a historian of Russian cuisine, has an unimaginable number of borsch recipes, and talking about the specifics of this or that region may not be entirely rational in this case - much more important is the place of the dish in history and culture. popular. Imagine what would happen if the borsch suddenly disappeared! For Ukrainian cuisine it would be a serious loss, the disappearance of the key dish. For Russian cuisine, on the other hand, this loss would certainly be significant, but only in twentieth place for its importance among Russian dishes, and it would not be a tragedy, explained Pavel Syutkin.
There is currently not a single culinary element from Russia on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. Ukraine has the most - 4 items - on the list, but none of the culinary items. According to the Intangible Heritage Convention, inclusion in the Unesco list of intangible heritage is not a "copyright". And whichever country wins the "battle", the borsch will remain in the common Slavic heritage.