Biofuels Push at COP30 Could Accelerate Climate Crisis and Threaten Food Supply
The governments of Brazil, Italy, Japan, and India are spearheading a new pledge calling for the rapid global expansion of biofuels as a commitment to decarbonizing transportation energy.An analysis by a clean transport advocacy organization published last month found that, because of the indirect impacts to farming and land use, biofuels are responsible globally for 16 percent more CO2 emissions than the planet-polluting fossil fuels they replace
Biofuels Push at COP30 Could Accelerate Climate Crisis and Threaten Food Supply | Truthout
Despite their positioning as a green alternative, experts warn biofuels expansion could have catastrophic consequences.Zack Kligler (Truthout)
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10 years after the Paris Agreement, world leaders are letting go of its most famous goal | This year's U.N. climate negotiations crashed out on a hard truth: It’s all about the money.
How world leaders let go of the Paris Agreement's biggest goal
At COP30 in Brazil, this year's U.N. climate negotiations crashed out on a hard truth: It’s all about the money.Zoya Teirstein (Grist)
Wow!
Great job!
Some of us figured this out before we got out of college, or even without going to college.
Some people even figured this out many decades ago!
Anyway, time again to roll out the 'ole limits to growth chart, with a modern update, using CO2 instead of 'pollution'.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/fu…
Uh yep, yep you're reading that right, the peak of civilization is roughly now, all downhill from here.
Here's the UK's Institute and Faculty of Actuaries estimating global economic losses due to climate change:
actuaries.org.uk/media-release…
It sure was fun to be a data analyst this last decade, screaming into apparently the void, as the world effectively decides to commit suicide.
Oh well, apocalypse timeline it is then, good thing I can sing most of the New Vegas soundtrack, in case my radio/smartphone/pipboy breaks.
Current climate policies risk catastrophic societal and economic impacts | Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
The global economy could face a 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090 unless immediate policy action on risks posed by the climate crisis is taken, warns a new report by the IFoA.Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
EU leads isolated group of countries pushing for global climate action | ‘Axis of obstruction’ stalls progress with poor and middle-income countries reluctant to quit fossil fuels despite peril
Indigenous people reflect on meaning of their participation in COP30 climate talks
Indigenous people reflect on meaning of their participation in COP30 climate talks
Many Indigenous people who attended the United Nations climate talks felt strengthened by the solidarity with tribes from other countries and some appreciated small wins in the final outcome.PBS News
UN warns world losing climate battle but fragile Cop30 deal keeps up the fight
Reaching agreement in divisive political landscape shows ‘climate cooperation is alive and kicking’, says UN climate chief
Our Almost-Apocalyptic Climate Future | By shooting for 3 degrees Celsius of warming, the world could slide toward a more cataclysmic 4 degrees.
Our Almost-Apocalyptic Climate Future
By shooting for 3 degrees Celsius of warming, the world could slide toward a more cataclysmic 4 degrees.Peter Brannen (The Atlantic)
We don't have to be — the bulk of coal, oil, and gas is still in the ground. There are forests yet standing.
Doom is a choice, and one we can fight against.
Trump’s Vendetta Against Wind is Gutting Jobs and Raising Prices | In Baltimore, blue collar workers are fighting back, preparing for the “Green Workforce of the Future” and defending offshore wind
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Trump’s Vendetta Against Wind is Gutting Jobs and Raising Prices
Unionize workers are fighting Donald Trump's attacks on wind energy. In Baltimore, they're preparing for the “Green Workforce of the Future."Antonia Juhasz (Rolling Stone)
Canada's largest pension fund increases fossil fuel investments
Canada's largest pension fund increases fossil fuel investments - rabble.ca
Earlier this year, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board dropped its net-zero greenhouse gas emission commitment.Gabriela Calugay-Casuga (rabble)
This is one of the reasons I try to point out that there's a generational conflict. A lot of leftists act like this isn't happening, but, well, it is. I noticed it some time ago with relation to BP: theguardian.com/environment/20…
The 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change implicitly calls for leaving 80% of coal, 50% of gas and 33% of oil reserves underground. This paper studies the scarcely addressed relationship between investors like pension funds and climate policy implementation by addressing the question: what is the extent of pension fund investments in the fossil fuel sector, what is the range of actions that pension funds take to address environmental issues, and what does this suggest about pension fund commitments to ambitious climate targets through leaving fossil fuels underground? A small sample of pension funds alone manages at least €79 billion in liquid fossil fuel assets, suggesting that OECD pension funds may jointly manage between €238–828 billion. Sustainability reports reveal that pension funds engage in five actions to implement climate policies: 1) divestment; 2) direct engagement; 3) carbon footprint calculations; 4) investing in ‘green’ alternatives; and 5) engaging in climate-oriented coalitions. However, their use of these actions is so far ineffective and counterproductive to taming the fossil fuel sector. Pension funds are not fully committed to leaving fossil fuels underground, which de facto renders them not yet committed to meeting ambitious climate targets. Forthcoming policies must target investors like pension funds to improve the prospects of meeting such targets and protect vulnerable countries from inheriting the risks of stranded assets.
Revealed: BP's close ties with the UK government
Documents show the extent of BP’s influence on government policy and how their intimate relationship is at odds with UK commitments to reduce carbon emissionsFelicity Lawrence (The Guardian)
COP30: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Belém
COP30: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Belém - Carbon Brief
Carbon Brief provides in-depth analysis of all the key outcomes in Belém – both inside and outside the COP.Carbon Brief Staff (Carbon Brief)
Compromises, voluntary measures and no mention of fossil fuels: key points from Cop30 deal
A deal is welcome after talks nearly collapsed but the final agreement contains small steps rather than leaps
There Can Be No Information Integrity Without Scientific and Political Integrity
There Can Be No Information Integrity Without Scientific and Political Integrity
I'm just back from COP30 in Belém and it is making me feel crazy to watch so many climate advocates and reporters declare the final text coming out of it a victory.Amy Westervelt (Drilled)
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Climate Talks End With 'Empty Deal' That Fails on Forests, Finance, and Fossil Fuels | Common Dreams
“COP30 provides a stark reminder that the answers to the climate crisis do not lie inside the climate talks—they lie with the people and movements leading the way toward a just, equitable, fossil-free future,” one campaigner said.
Climate Talks End With 'Empty Deal' That Fails on Forests, Finance, and Fossil Fuels
"COP30 provides a stark reminder that the answers to the climate crisis do not lie inside the climate talks—they lie with the people and movements leading the way toward a just, equitable, fossil-free future," one campaigner said.oliviarosane (Common Dreams)
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Industrial manufacturing is declining in Europe for sure, but not because of complying to climate policies, as you claimed. Industrial production is falling in most European Union countries, largely due to a lack of competitiveness with China and the US.
Also, the article you linked about the EU loosing manufacturing jobs does not back your claim. On the contrary it says: The move to a sustainable economy is an opportunity to turn the situation around. Towards the end, it also mentions that the EU should make sure that industry jobs are not lost and that Europe's industrial sectors and their workers are fundamental to delivering the climate solutions Europe needs, which are very different things to what you said.
The great decline of European industry
Industrial production is falling in most European Union countries, largely due to a lack of competitiveness with China and the US. The recent Draghi report has urged for significant investment to prevent the economy from 'stalling.'Bastien Bonnefous (Le Monde)
largely due to a lack of competitiveness with China and the US
Where does the lack of competitiveness come from?
The move to a sustainable economy is an opportunity (...)should make sure that industry jobs are not lost and that Europe's industrial sectors and their workers are fundamental to delivering the climate solutions Europe needs, which are very different things to what you said
It's been decades now of supposed opportunity, could and should, of storytelling, hypotheticals and promises, as in your references.
The results are in, the promises turned out false. EU has the most expensive energy of the world, is losing industry faster than ever, there is no novel "green industry". People are looking at reality instead of the fantasy could/should stories.
EU's agenda on climate change is being ignored for valid reasons. We're an unreliable partner in accelerating economical, industrial and thus geopolitical decline.
If we want to convince others on the necessary climate change mitigation methods, we'll have to have something to offer.
We'll have to implement the mitigation methods in a way that shows they're a benefit. So others will want to copy. So far that hasn't happened. We've shown the opposite.
Compromises, voluntary measures and no mention of fossil fuels: key points from Cop30 deal
Compromises, voluntary measures and no mention of fossil fuels: key points from Cop30 deal
A deal is welcome after talks nearly collapsed but the final agreement contains small steps rather than leapsDamian Carrington (The Guardian)
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Fury as ‘Shamefully Weak’ COP30 Draft Drops [almost] All Mention of Fossil Fuels
Fury as 'Shamefully Weak' COP30 Draft Drops All Mention of Fossil Fuels
"We can’t have a deal that fails to deliver what science and the law require on finance, fossil fuels, or forests and call that progress."jake-johnson (Common Dreams)
Microsoft's OneDrive spots your mates, remembers their faces, and won't forget easily
Microsoft's OneDrive spots your mates, remembers their faces, and won't forget easily
: Then shalt thee change the setting three times, no more!Richard Speed (The Register)
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[Solved]How do I join a community that my instance doesn't "see" yet?
Edit2: Solved per wjs018's comment
Specifically !12ozmouse@adultswim.fan. I can tell the instance is federated because !adultswim@adultswim.fan shows up.
On Lemmy I'd run into this issue, and usually could use the community search and try searching in a few different formats to get it to show up eventually, but I wasn't able to get that to work here. I tried searching the link above, as well as the link without the !, the display name, and the full URL (adultswim.fan/c/12ozmouse), but these didn't work.
Is there any trick to doing this?
Edit: I was able to resolve my issue by making this post, because the link that appeared let me join. But I'd still like to know a general solution that doesn't involve finding or making a post with the link (the post preview didn't turn it into a link so I had to actually make the post for it to work).
Actually no. I just had a look through the code and we have some pretty descriptive error messages depending on how it is failing:
- There is a message that will pop up if the instance is blocked (doesn't look like it is for piefed.zip)
- There is a message that will pop up if the community is banned
- There is a message that will pop up if the instance doesn't allow NSFW communities (looks like piefed.zip does)
- There is a message that will pop up if the admin has restricted users from adding new communities
- Finally, there is a message if the community name is formatted incorrectly
@demigodrick@piefed.zip might be able to help you better as your local admin.
The GOP’s War on Naturalized Citizens’ Right to Vote
In 2025, the Trump administration and GOP officials in key states have viciously targeted the voting rights of naturalized citizens with new access barriers, selective surveillance and intimidatory rhetoric — signaling that the full promises of citizenship, for many, remain unattainable.
The GOP’s War on Naturalized Citizens’ Right to Vote - Democracy Docket
The Trump administration and GOP officials in key states have viciously targeted the voting rights of naturalized citizens with new access barriers, selective surveillance and intimidatory rhetoric — signaling that the full promises of citizenship fo…Democracy Docket
‘Now is the hour’: Australian Labor urged to speed up fossil fuel phase-out to justify Cop30 pledge
cross-posted from: slrpnk.net/post/30560540
>
‘Now is the hour’: Labor urged to speed up fossil fuel phase-out to justify Cop30 pledge
Despite Australia signing the Belém declaration, Albanese rejected suggestion Labor shouldn’t develop new gas fieldsAdam Morton (The Guardian)
Why do we need to offset other countries coal use? They're the ones buying it and burning it, not us.
In particular Indonesia:
Yet Indonesia added 1.9 GW of coal capacity in 2024, the third most in the world, behind China and India. Some 80% of this new capacity came from so-called captive coal plants, built specifically to serve industrial estates processing nickel, cobalt and aluminum for the booming electric vehicle market.
news.mongabay.com/2025/04/indo…
How ironic.
Thanks for making Queensland look good I guess? Even our worst state is still doing better than them.
app.electricitymaps.com/map/zo…
Indonesia defies global coal retreat with captive plant boom
JAKARTA — As much of the world shutters coal power plants and shelves new proposals, Indonesia is bucking the trend — adding the third-highest volume of coal capacity globally in 2024, driven largely by the need to power a growing fleet of metal smel…Hans Nicholas Jong (Conservation news)
Australia is among only 24 countries that will meet next April for a conference co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands to work on plans for a complete fossil fuel phase-out. Other participating countries include Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Nepal, Panama, Spain, Slovenia, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.
It is these countries that are leading the way in the fight for a better climate.
The two largest economies and historical emitters, the US and China, were as conspicuous in their lack of impact during the COP30 as they were before. U.S. President Donald Trump declined to send representatives as the Washington exits from global climate accords.
And China has once again proven to focus more on its own interests in trade rather than stepping into a stronger leadership role in fighting climate change while it's energy consumption continues to rise at a staggering rate. The country accounts for one third of the of the world's total energy consumption, compared to a fifth 15 years ago, and is responsible for 90% of the increase in these emissions since 2015. China is portraying itself as a leader in climate policy, but when it's leader Xi Jinping announced a decrease of over 7% by 2035 a few weeks ago, he carefully avoided specifying a baseline.
Researchers think that China’s NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) falls short to limit global warming to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and striving to stay below 1.5 °C. As Lauri Myllyvirta, an analyst who has tracked China’s emissions trends for more than a decade, said in Nature, “Anything less than 20% is definitely not aligned with 2 degrees. Similarly, anything less than 30% is definitely not aligned with 1.5 degrees."
Myllyvirta also says that China's announced emissions cuts — as 7–10% of an undefined amount, rather than specifying a year as the basis for calculation – leaves the door open for short-term emissions increases.
The different pathways for China to achieve carbon neutrality between 2030 and 2060 could result in different amounts of cumulative emissions, says Myllyvirta. “What matters for the climate is the total amount of GHGs emitted into the atmosphere over time,” he says, adding that this is why cutting emissions fast early on is important.
So we should not criticize Australia here, but rather China, the U.S., Russia, and Russia as it is them that opposed to phase out fossil fuels.
China pledges to cut emissions by 2035: what does that mean for the climate?
The country’s plan to reduce greenhouse gases will largely determine the world’s emissions trajectory, researchers say.You, Xiaoying
Australia joins the group of these 24 countries, and they didn't lobby against phasing out fossil fuels - unlike Russia, China, India, the U.S.. Saudi Arabia, and some other oil producing countries.
Australia's reliance on coal-fired power drops to record low in early 2025, the country pledged to end coal consumption by 2038 or earlier (no, that may be not enough, too, but China, India, Russia & Co are not even close to this, and they do nothing that it gets better).
COP-tastrophe: How the COP of Implementation, Truth, Forests, and Indigenous Peoples Failed on All Counts
COP-tastrophe: How the COP of Implementation, Truth, Forests, and Indigenous Peoples Failed on All Counts
COP30 began full of promise but ended as yet another reminder that the mechanism for global climate governance is broken.Drilled
... late in the second week Colombia upstaged their hosts when it announced the creation of an initiative whereby a group of countries would meet to plan the phase out of fossil fuels. The 24-country bloc will meet next April in Santa Marta for a conference co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands. Other participating countries include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Nepal, Panama, Spain, Slovenia, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.
So basically it is Latin America, Europe, and Island Nations that take serious action to phase out fossil fuels.
The world's two largest polluters - China and the U.S. - as well as Russia and some oil-producing countries in the Middle East are doing business as usual.
I mean all those who have said that China is leading in the fight against climate change shall now be silent. If you read the reports on the COP it is obvious that Beijing is interested in money and in money only.
The BBC wrote on Beijing;s pavillon at the COP 30 in Brazil that China ramps up charm offensive with extra pandas:
Was it the many copies of Xi Jinping’s speeches on sale? Or the ubiquitous cuddly pandas?Perhaps it was the much-needed fans here for the heat and humidity outside. Whatever the reason, China’s pavilion here proved a huge draw, with long queues forming of people keen to get their hands on Chinese tat.
The pandas definitely seem to be part of the charm offensive from the world’s biggest emitter of planet-warming carbon.
Many expected China to take a bigger leadership role – but the world’s dominant producer of renewable technology has a different view.
China was content to sit quietly and support others who want to slow down the transition away from fossil fuels like India and Saudi Arabia. It is the world’s biggest coal producer after all.
Despite their current power and size, it seems to still suit China to play the role of the developing country that it was when the UN climate body was formed back in 1992. With extra pandas!
No agreement reached on new pledges to cut fossil fuels at COP30 in Brazil
"We know some of you had greater ambitions," says COP30's president after negotiations among nearly 200 countries ran over time.BBC News
Lemurs in Madagascar Face an Unexpected Killer
Thousands of the endangered primates end up on the dinner plates of people in the upper rung of the country’s society who have money to spare.
Stopping the Greatest Threat to the Amazon, One Fire at a Time
After four decades of research, a scientist returns to the Amazon in an effort to change the behavior that has lead to years of environmental crisis.
COP30 Backpedals on Climate Action | Offering no new plans to cut fossil fuels, the UN’s climate conference failed to produce a roadmap to stop global warming.
COP30 Backpedals on Climate Action - Inside Climate News
BELÉM, Brazil—After negotiators at COP30 retreated from meaningful climate action by failing to specifically mention the need to stop using fossil fuels in the final conference documents published Saturday, the disappointment inside the COP30 confere…Inside Climate News
Cop30’s watered-down agreements will do little for an ecosystem at tipping point
Delegates made minimal headway on timetable for replacing oil and gas or on firm commitments to reducing carbon emissions
U.N. climate talks fizzle out 10 years after Paris accord
Nearly 200 countries at the U.N. climate summit reached a deal that didn’t include a road map to curtail use of fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change.
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Oil Producers, but Maybe Not the Planet, Get a Win as Climate Talks End
The final agreement, with no direct mention of the fossil fuels dangerously heating Earth, was a victory for countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia, diplomats said.
End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff
End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff
Wealthy countries should triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final dealFiona Harvey (The Guardian)
Countries agreed to talk about talking about a plan for a fossil fuels phase out. Which is more than has happened before.
Its nowhere near where things need to be.
Thanks for the laugh!
But are you sure they haven't just agreed to talk about talking about talking about a concept of a plan?
Global Climate Deal Closes In on Effort to Curb Fossil Fuels
Global Climate Deal Closes In on Effort to Curb Fossil Fuels
An international climate deal emerged Saturday meant to spur more concrete plans to transition away from fossil fuels, winning grudging acceptance from nations that insisted on stronger ambition in the fight against global warming.John Ainger (Bloomberg)
Climate disaster is not ambiance | Especially not for an illicit affair with a politician who helped a climate-denying administration come to power.
Climate disaster is not ambiance
Especially not for an illicit affair with a politician who helped a climate-denying administration come to power.Emily Atkin (HEATED)
So the American elite are really speedrunning the whole Ancien Regime France thing.
Somehow they seem unaware of how that story ends.
Cop30 live: rumours of deal as delegates prepare for final plenary
Fury, confusion and gratitude as climate deal reached in Belém – as it happened
After a series of all-night meetings and fears the summit could collapse, an agreement has been gavelled through at Cop30Graham Readfearn (The Guardian)
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In One Week, Trump Moves to Reshape U.S. Environmental Policy
The Trump administration this week moved to weaken the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, two bedrock laws, among other deregulatory moves.
Rising planetary risks after missed decade of action
Commentary: rising planetary risks after missed decade of action
22.11.2025 - A new commentary led by Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), concludes that the world has missed an important decade needed to keep the Earth system within its safe operating space.Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Trump cites ‘emergency’ to keep Michigan coal plant online into winter
The Energy Department’s orders to keep the J.H. Campbell plant running are driving up costs and pollution. States and advocates are challenging the move in court.
Trump cites ‘emergency’ to keep Michigan coal plant online into winter
The Energy Department’s orders to keep the J.H. Campbell plant running are driving up costs and pollution. States and advocates are challenging the move…Canary Media
Well the reality answer is rules don't exist anymore and they are just doing whatever the fuck they want.
The flimsy reasoning they're using likely has to do with Michigan being a part of the Eastern Interconnection power grid, so what they do with their energy production affects a lot more states than just Michigan, so it makes sense for it to be Federally controlled. Only Texas has their own, independent, power grid.
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Von der Leyen demonstrate how to quickly lose credibility on protecting the environment.
Soon she'll tell she wants to fight forest fires without reducing the amount of gas being poured on forests by arsonists.
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New England kicks off $450M plan to supercharge heat pump adoption
New England kicks off $450M plan to supercharge heat pump adoption
The program aims to use federal funds awarded under the Biden administration to deploy more than 500,000 heat pumps in the chilly region over the next few…Canary Media
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Distributors will receive incentives for selling heat pumps. They will keep a small percentage of the money for themselves and pass most of the savings on to the contractors buying the equipment. The contractors, in turn, will pass the lower price on to the customers.
Hah. As if.
If they were really serious about it, they’d make it so that air conditioners must be reversible under code. The BOM isn’t that significant and Midea is making them dirt cheap now.
This is why I find it hilarious that suddenly people are talking about heat pumps so much. They're not a new technology by any means.
The only reason your current air conditioner doesn't run in reverse (a heat pump) is because they wanted to save $10 in materials, and charge $1000 or more for one that does.
If by recently, you mean decades. Cold climate heat pumps have been able to handle temps down to -30F for quite a while.
The recent difference is just that they're now being advertised, have articles being written about them, and most importantly... government subsidies to upgrade.
No, there’s a lot bigger difference than that. I have a modern cold climate air source heat pump. Unlike an air conditioner, it’s designed to operate continuously with a variable speed compressor and cooling fan. It’s easily capable of running for days on end during the coldest times of the year (well below freezing). It’s also capable of defrosting itself which is critical for winter operation because it’s literally cooling the air around itself way below freezing.
My previous air conditioner could not run for long cycles like that without the compressor shutting down as a protective measure. It had no ability to defrost itself and its vertical fan orientation allowed it to fill up with snow and ice during the winter, clearly making it totally inoperable until spring when the weather was warm enough to defrost it and dry it out.
You say this as if things like variable speed compressors, multiple compressor stages, and designs other than the generic mostly empty box with an open vertical fan on top don't exist for air conditioners as well.
Your previous air conditioner was designed for its intended purpose. Based on your description it almost certainly didn't have the hardware to function as a heat pump, so being inoperable during a snowy winter wasn't an issue, given it's designed use. On the other end, it was the house I'm in has had three air conditioning units over its lifetime. None of them were an open vertical design like that, and I'm in AZ where snow is irrelevant.
You're talking about equipment designed for the intended use case of cold weather that takes environmental aspects like snow accumulation into account for its design instead of ignoring it, and acting like that is some sort of new technology. It's just better designed and not just the cheapest shit they can get people to buy. Whoever bought an exposed air conditioning unit like that in an area with regular snow was an idiot that clearly did zero research.
Can we handle the truth on climate?
Based on the updated national climate pledges submitted ahead of COP30, it is clear that our politicians are still not showing the genuine leadership needed to transition rapidly away from fossil fuels, which are responsible for close to 90 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
I recommend reading the article rather than trying for a quick answer off the top of your head.
Can we handle the truth on climate?
As the latest round of United Nations climate talks were under way at COP30 in Brazil, the Liberal Party finally caved in to the pressure of climate change deniers in the National Party, reminding us that the climate wars are well and truly alive and…Joëlle Gergis (The Saturday Paper)
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I recommend reading the article rather than trying for a quick answer off the top of your head.
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Join the Be Like Clippy movement to make technology more user-friendly and transparent. Including a list of custom clippy profile picturesbe-clippy.com
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Why China Can’t Sort Out Its Property Market Mess
cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/42696039
Web archive linkOnce one of the country’s biggest growth drivers, China’s property market has been in a downward spiral for four years with no signs of abating. Real estate values continue to plummet, households in financial distress are being forced to sell properties, and apartment developers that racked up enormous debt on speculative projects are on the brink of collapse.
There was some optimism that government measures to end the crisis had been working to reinvigorate the market, but in March, government-linked developer China Vanke Co. reported a record 49.5 billion yuan ($6.8 billion) annual loss for 2024, showing just how deep the problems run. Then in August, property giant China Evergrande Group delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange — making the shares effectively worthless — marking a grim milestone for the nation’s property sector.
China is now considering further measures to revive its struggling property sector, particularly after new and resale homes recorded their steepest price declines in at least a year in October. The slump has heightened concerns that further weakening could destabilize the country’s financial system.
...
Evergrande’s downfall is by far the biggest in a crisis that dragged down China’s economic growth and led to a record number of distressed builders.
Founded in 1996 by Hui Ka Yan, Evergrande’s rapid expansion was from the outset fueled by heavy borrowing. It became the most indebted borrower among its peers, with total liabilities reaching about $360 billion at the end of 2021. For a time it was the country’s biggest developer by contracted sales and was worth more than $50 billion in 2017 at its peak. Founder and chairman Hui became Asia’s second-richest person. Over the years the company also invested in the electric vehicle industry and bought a local football club....
How did some Chinese developers get into this mess?
In 1998, China created a nationwide housing market after tightly restricting private sales for decades. Back then, only a third of its people lived in towns and cities. That’s risen to two-thirds, with the urban population expanding by 480 million. The exodus from the countryside represented a vast commercial opportunity for construction firms and developers.
Money flooded into real estate as the emerging middle class leapt upon what was one of the few safe investments available, pushing home prices up sixfold over the 15 years ending in 2022. Local and regional authorities, which rely on sales of public land for a chunk of their revenue, encouraged the development boom. At its peak, the sector directly and indirectly accounted for about a quarter of domestic output and almost 80% of household assets. Estimates vary, but counting new and existing homes, plus inventory, the sector was worth about $52 trillion in 2019 — about twice the size of the US real estate market.
The property craze was powered by debt as builders rushed to satisfy expected future demand. The boom encouraged speculative buying, with new homes pre-sold by developers who turned increasingly to foreign investors for funds. Opaque liabilities made it hard to assess credit risks. The speculation led to astronomical prices, with homes in boom cities such as Shenzhen becoming less affordable relative to local incomes than those in London or New York. In response, the government moved in 2020 to reduce the risk of a bubble and temper the inequality that unaffordable housing can create.
Anxious to rein in the industry’s debts and fearful that serial defaults could ravage China’s financial system, officials began to squeeze new financing for developers and asked banks to slow the pace of mortgage lending. The government imposed stringent rules on debt ratios and cash holdings for developers that were called the “three red lines” by state-run media. The measures sparked a cash crunch for developers that was exacerbated by the impact of aggressive measures to contain Covid-19, such as the suspension of construction sites.
Many developers were unable to adhere to the new rules as their finances were already stretched. In 2021, Evergrande defaulted on more than $300 billion, triggering the beginning of China’s property crisis. Two more property giants defaulted — Sunac China Holdings Ltd in 2022 and Country Garden Holdings Co. in 2023.
...
With household debt at a high of 145% of disposable income per capita at the end of 2023, homeowners are increasingly under financial pressure. The country’s residential mortgage delinquency ratio – which tracks overdue mortgage payments – jumped to the highest in four years as of late 2023. Some homeowners are being forced to sell their properties at a discounted rate, which is only exacerbating the problem.
...
Chinese banks’ bad debt — loans they no longer expect to recover — hit a record 3.5 trillion yuan ($492 billion) at the end of September. Fitch Ratings has warned the situation could deteriorate further in 2026 as households struggle to repay mortgages and other loans.
A prolonged property slump could also deepen deflationary pressures. Former finance minister Lou Jiwei recently warned that households’ worsening outlook — driven by falling home values — will affect consumption levels and intensify price declines.
According to economists at Morgan Stanley and Beijing-based think tank CF40, the property sector’s drag on inflation could even be greater than official data suggest. They argue that the methodology used to determine China’s official Consumer Price Index understates falling rents, and, by extension, the broader deflationary impact.
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xxce2AAb
in reply to schizoidman • • •"To meet growing fuel demands, a GMO wheat - Triticum vulgaris megasuavis - specifically engineered for the production of a new kind of complex grain alcohol will be created and produced by a new trans-national conglomerate headquartered in Rome, Italy. It will aptly be named Biotechnica..."
(uh oh)
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87Six
in reply to xxce2AAb • • •It's crazy to me that America is pretty much Night City with the amount of guns they have, but all they've been able to point them at so far was schools, for the most part.
Like these fuckers CAN fight back LITERALLY but they don't. No freedom fighters, no rebels, no gangs fighting for their freedom. Nothing.
America is Night City with none of the glory.
Zahille7
in reply to schizoidman • • •It's such bullshit how blatantly "mask-off" fascists around the world are acting lately, and literally no one cares.
It really seems like they've won.
Valmond
in reply to schizoidman • • •Well, a plant absorbs co2 when it's grown, to release it upon decomposition or burning.
What am I missing?
Hirom
in reply to schizoidman • • •The fuel vs food issue is a well known problem in first generation biofuel, has been for years. It's sad to read they're still being developed and encouraged.
There are standards, either in draft or already in place, to encourage biofuel made from second generation feedstock: sources that are not suitable for human consumption, such as agricultural and municipal wastes, waste oils, and algae. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-g…
Has COP30 ignored all of that?!
biofuels manufactured from non-food biomass
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Phoenixz
in reply to schizoidman • • •How it started:
How it's going: