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Environment

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Indonesian farmers fight for their land in nickel mining boom

Nickel mining in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer, is putting farmers’ land rights and the environment at risk, say residents and rights groups. The boom is driven by rising global demand for metals used in electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel. Dozens of nickel processing plants have sprung up across Sulawesi, home to black macaques, maleo birds and tarsier primates. Some villagers have confronted miners with machetes, while others have detained miners and set heavy equipment on fire. Chinese firms, which invested $8.2bn in Indonesia last year, are among the leading international investors.

Corporate transparency on emissions falls short: report

Most global corporations are not adapting quickly enough to protect the environment or their businesses from climate change and upcoming regulations says a report by environmental disclosure non-profit CDP. It found most companies are failing to disclose their carbon footprints and environmental impacts, which slows progress toward a net-zero economy and exposes them to climate risks. The report shows that less than half of around 18,500 companies did not disclose emissions related to their supply chains, despite imminent efforts to mandate such disclosures.

Indonesians seeking climate justice take aim at Swiss concrete giant

Residents of Indonesia’s Pari island are suing Swiss cement company Holcim over climate-related loss and damages, in what could be a landmark case for plaintiffs from developing countries. Rising sea levels threaten to sink the 42-hectare island by 2050. Environmental litigation against governments and fossil fuel firms has surged in recent years but this is the first case filed by Indonesians against a foreign company for climate-related damage. Cement manufacturing accounts for around 8% of global CO2 emissions.

Governments to vet crucial UN climate science report

Nearly 200 nations and climate scientists meet to discuss the existential danger of global warming in Switzerland. The UN IPCC’s synthesis report will address ways to halt carbon pollution and the impact of heat waves, flooding, and rising seas. The report will also discuss ways to decarbonize the economy and the need for urgent action.

Rise in ocean plastic pollution ‘unprecedented’ since 2005

A new study found that plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has reached “unprecedented levels” over the past 15 years, with an estimated 170 trillion pieces of plastic, mainly microplastics, on the surface of the world’s oceans today. The study called for a legally binding international treaty to stop the harmful waste and better manage its disposal.

Health warnings as Bangkok chokes on pollution

Air pollution in Bangkok reaches alarming levels as 200,000 people are hospitalized due to the harmful haze. More than 1.3 million people have fallen sick in Thailand this year due to air pollution, with 50 districts in Bangkok reporting unsafe levels of PM2.5 particles.

Sri Lanka banks on IMF deal to tap frozen billions

Sri Lanka hopes that an IMF bailout approved in September 2020 will be finalised, allowing foreign aid for projects suspended since last year to be unfrozen. Government spokesman Bandula Gunawardana said that approval of the $2.9bn bailout, which will be considered at a board meeting on 20 March, would immediately release billions of dollars in bilateral aid and loans that have been frozen since the country defaulted on its external debt last April.

Dozens sick in Philippine villages hit by oil spill

A sunken tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil caused an oil spill that has contaminated the waters and beaches of nine municipalities in the Philippines, causing dozens of residents to fall ill. The oil has been spotted as far as 130 kilometers away from where the tanker sank, sparking concerns for the region’s marine life and economy. Clean-up efforts are underway, and fishermen have been ordered to stay onshore until it is safe to fish again.

UN states agree ‘historic’ deal to protect high seas

by Amélie Bottollier-Depois UNITED NATIONS, UNITED STATES — UN member states finally…