Hello
Hope you are doing well. This week we talk about the current status in the region of Israel and Hamas, Plastic Pollution and upcoming challenges due to climate change.
Israel and Hamas Agree for a Ceasefire
The violence that kicked off on May 10 has finally come to a halt with the declaration of ceasefire. The mounting international pressure has catalysed this step between both regions. UN’s secretary-general António Guterres had called for an “immediate ceasefire”, Germany’s foreign minister visited Israel and pressed on the issue of peace while meeting the Prime Minister.
Grief and Loss: As the ceasefire has been called, it is inevitable to ignore the loss of life during this conflict. More than 230 people have been killed in Gaza and many more have been displaced from their homes. Meanwhile, 12 people have been killed in Israel. The brunt of the violence has been faced by children of Gaza immensely, with the death of more than 63 children and for teenagers, it is the fourth war they have witnessed. They have been living with loss, fear and trauma and everything the current system brings in.
Israel’s remarks: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called this 11- day bombardment in Gaza an “exceptional success”.
(Source: New York Times, Guardian)
Plastic Pollution: Disparity and Impact
Did you know that the world produces more than 380 million tonnes of plastic every year?
You will be surprised to know that almost 55% of the world’s plastic pollution comes from only 20 companies. This was found in a conducted by the Minderoo Foundation of Australia along with the London School of Economics and Stockholm Environment Institute.
Out of the 20 companies, 11 are based in Asia, four in Europe, three in North America, one in Latin America, and one in the Middle East. Their plastic production is funded by leading banks, chief among which are Barclays, HSBC, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.
What’s next:
In the next five years, the global capacity to produce virgin polymers for single-use plastics could grow by more than 30%. By 2050 plastic is expected to account for 5%-10% of greenhouse gas emissions which means an increasing threat of Global Warming.
Concerns of Chairman of Minderoo Foundation, Dr, Andrew Forrest AO:
The current situation will get worse if we allow these producers of fossil fuel-derived plastics to continue as they have done without check. He recommended that our firm intervention from producers, governments and the world of finance need to break the cycle of inaction and work towards minimising the use of plastic.
Climate Change: Need to pace
Global Warming has become an issue of the present than an estimated future event. Recently, an iceberg bigger than New York’s Long Island broke off from the Antartica Coast. This has increased concerns among experts and academics, but it is not the only evidence of climate change and global warming, as the incidences of natural calamities and disasters across the world are increasing.
In the past few years, India, China and the USA have been prone to the highest number of natural disasters. The three countries have also been noted as the highest emitters of CO2. India is the third-highest emitter of carbon dioxide after the US being the second and China leading the race as per the International Energy Agency.
India also ranks 7th in the Global Climate Risk Index 2021 published by the Bonn-based environmental think tank named Germanwatch.
How India and China plan to combat?
China had been focusing on reducing the relative share of coal in its energy consumption for the last five year which fell from 64% to 57% in 2020. Now China plans to phase down coal consumption to less than 50% in their 15th five-year plan after 2025.
India has also made aggressive commitments to produce 450 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030. Both the countries have been focusing on curtailing air pollution but as the intensity of natural disasters is increasing they are also recognizing the challenge of climate change and their vulnerability to it
Both the countries are making interventions but are they sufficient?
Both the countries need to gear up and make their existing policies a bit environmentally efficient enough to deal with the upcoming challenges. The countries also need to stick to the commitments made under the Paris Agreement and uphold SDGs. To tackle the situation we need to recognise the most vulnerable sections of the impact and develop a social safety net to ensure their well-being.
(Sources: NRDC, The Print, BBC, India Today, Times of India)
What Else is Happening?
Under a massive data breach at Air India, data of more than 45 lakh customers has been misused- including credit card information, passports, phone number.
With the limited availability of vaccines, many countries are doubling or tripling the time interval. Adding to that, a study has confirmed that there are more than 300% antibodies with delay in the second dose of covid-19 vaccine.
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer will officially retire on 15 June 2022. It was launched in 1995.
Black Fungus also known as Mucormycosis, has been commonly found in patients who have recovered from Covid-19 in India and has been declared as an epidemic in 4 Indian states and 1 Union Territory.