Welcome to Climate Weekly!
Each week we (usually) ask one guest writer from our network to give you a short selection of some of the best climate news from their region, giving you a little window into some climate stories you probably didn’t see in your News Feed.
This week, we thought that we might feature 2 writers, since we haven’t done this in a while. So welcome back, and let me hand it over to Ryhan Mohd Yazid (Japan) and Olivia Box (USA).
Konichiwa!
My name is Ryhan and I am writing to you from Japan, the land of the rising sun. I moved to live in Nara to work as a green tea farmer in a small town known as Wazuka. And yes, Nara is well known for the deers that roam the city streets freely.
When the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak however, the deers experienced weight loss due to the sudden lack of crackers tourists often fed them. The general health of the animals however, is better than before as they revert to a more traditional diet and due to less plastic waste in the parks.
While some Japanese national parks have been focused on attracting those working remotely back to nature, the local government in Nara more recently worked on producing a prototype of special eco/deer-friendly packing material.
This move came following a newly enacted anti-plastics llaw in July, which now requires all retailers in Japan including supermarkets and konbinis to charge for plastic bags. Plastic bags however only account for 2% of the total plastic waste generated in Japan. The majority comes from plastic packaging waste, reaching a total of approximately 40 billion bags per year.
Our closest neighbour, South Korea has now become the first country in East Asia to deliver a net zero carbon emission timeframe (by 2050), even though it dropped only 2 days after China’s announcement in the UNGA. As the world’s seventh-largest emitter, the South Korean government will develop a carbon tax and phase-out of coal project financing, among others, to achieve this goal
As the world’s fifth-largest carbon emitter (outside the EU), it remains unclear if Japan’s initial target of generating 22% to 24% of energy from renewable sources by 2030 will be met. The Japan Climate Initiative celebrated its second anniversary in July, and its members have pledged that phasing out coal-fired power plants remains a top priority. Despite this, there has yet to be any concrete plans or specific debates regarding policy measures required from the Japanese government.
There have been recent climate protests, but energy providers such as Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) and Kansai Electric Power Co (Kepco) still hold a monopoly over supply, making the switch to renewable energy more of an uphill task than it seems.
Now that’ you’ve heard about Japan, welcome to Eastern Massachusetts, USA.
I’m Olivia, and this is me in peak foliage across New England. The leaves change at higher elevations first, but this year we’re seeing the leaves change quickly at lower elevations, too. This is because New England, the region I’m from, experienced its longest drought in history over summer. Some scientists predict that temperature increases from climate change could cause more heat stress in New England, and therefore less fall foliage. I can’t imagine a future without fall colors, but it could become a reality.
Beyond the leaves, there are 34 days until the United States presidential election, and I’m sure you saw that horror of a debate. There have been 100 environmental rollbacks under #45 and he has become the first president to open more public land to mining and drilling than preserving it.
Plus, Trump is trying to squeeze in a new conservative supreme court nominee. Having a conservative majority on the supreme court also means climate legislation would be in big danger.
In New York City, the Washington Post installed a climate clock, which is counting down the time until Earth’s carbon budget runs out. Currently, 7 years, 101 days, 17 hours, and counting. With the election, ongoing fires in the West, and the extreme drought in my backyard, I’m feeling the heat (literally and metaphorically).
While I figure you probably already read some of the big stories across the US, I wanted to recommend some great storytellers who really inspire me:
Mary Annaïse Heglar. Her work has been growing in popularity over the past few years and for good reason – her work throws you in the middle of the climate crisis and social issues. She writes clearly and passionately about the climate crisis and systematic racism, and I always walk away from her work feeling inspired.
High Country News is one of my favorite publications. Based in the American West, it focuses on place-based reporting. Journalists live in the region and produce stellar investigations – like this one about the indigenous perspective on the Tongass National Forest which Trump is opening for logging.
A cool solutions journalism story, in graphics. Mona Chalabi’s data visualizations and illustrations are always thought-provoking and pack a punch. I love following her on Instagram too—swiping through her stories is really engaging.
From Climate Tracker
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What we’re reading
I’m sure you would have heard about China’s carbon nuetral pledge, and if you don’t think its such a big deal, you might want to read this great piece in Foreign Policy or this analysis from Climate Action Tracker.
In case the Trump news is too much to take, here’s a beautiful short film from Filipino filmmaker Noni Abao chronicling one community’s push to survive against the power of international mining companies.
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This is amazing.
Well-done Climate Tracker!