Climate Change

The problem that would-be reformers of corporate voting continue to face is the same: It's so complicated for an individual investor. Reformers might want to be careful about what they wish for. Shareholders in Vanguard 500 index funds, for example, could be faced with 4,500 decisions each year regarding how to vote proxy ballots during corporate annual meetings. Who could sort all that out, anyway? In a forthcoming paper, a group of professors of law and business from Duke University, University of Florida and Columbia University refers to the "rational apathy" problem. They say that shareholders will not waste time...

The United Nations Human Rights Chief condemned Israel for "massacring" Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and "hindering sufficient life-saving aid", saying that the country has a case before the International Court of Justice. Volker Turk is the head of the Office of the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). He did not describe the Gaza War as a genocide in progress, as had been urged by hundreds of U.N. employees. In his opening remarks to the 60th Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Turk expressed disgust at the "open use of genocidal language" and the "disgraceful humanization" of Palestinians...

Has Donald Trump become a socialist? Analysts from all political parties have expressed concern about the president's unprecedented economic and corporate interventions. The president has made a number of unprecedented corporate and economic interventions, including giving the government stakes at companies such as Intel and putting pressure on the Federal Reserve in order to lower interest rates. He also pressed media and law firms. Investors and academics are concerned that the measures will undermine business independence. Many blame major trade groups because they have not united and pushed back harder against Trump. Vanessa Williamson, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution...

The Dutch pension fund PFZW announced on Wednesday that it had ended its relationship BlackRock, a wealth manager. This was part of a revamping of its portfolio to prioritise sustainable investments. The Netherlands' second largest pension fund selected 756 companies for investment and sold its stakes of over 2,600 companies in the last few months. Ellen Habermehl, spokesperson for PFZW, said: "In the next five-year period, we will strive to achieve a balance between our desire for good returns and acceptable risks, as well as sustainability." BlackRock was not selected. BlackRock's Dutch Office did not respond immediately to a comment...

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday plans for competitive coal leasing sales in Alabama, Montana and Utah this year as part of an overall government effort to boost domestic coal production. Why it's Important The sales are part President Donald Trump’s effort to revitalize U.S. Coal Mining despite global efforts for a transition to cleaner energy sources in order to reduce planet-warming CO2 emissions. KEY QUOTE In a press release, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated that coal has been the foundation of America's industrial and energy strength for many years. By moving forward with lease sales, "we are creating good...

Mezcal sales for small farmers fell by 80% in the past year Mezcal producers are underpaid by the middlemen Monoculture and pollution are harmful to biodiversity By Diana Baptista Ramirez is a 32-year-old third generation expert mezcal producer, or "palenquera", and the first female in her family who has worked in the industry. She had to overcome patriarchal standards that previously did not permit women to be involved in mezcal manufacturing. She and other farmers now face falling mezcal price. The growing international demand has allowed Palenqueras such as Ramirez, who cut, fermented and distilled the agave plants with expert...

Jamaica's state-run information service JIS announced on Tuesday that it will be using drones donated by Canada in order to improve its disaster response capabilities. The Caribbean is bracing itself for more powerful hurricanes due to climate change and warmer oceans. Why it's important Forecasters from the U.S. Government predict an "above normal" Atlantic hurricane season in 2025, with storms fuelled by warmer ocean temperatures. Their development could also be boosted due to softer westerly winds. Small island states are especially vulnerable to climate change effects, despite their low greenhouse gas emissions. The Caribbean is located in a zone where...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services in the United States, said that a group of federal agencies including the Departments of Defense, Energy and Commerce are working together to examine offshore wind farms along the Atlantic Coast approved by the Biden Administration. The disclosure, made during a cabinet meeting, shows a concerted effort by President Donald Trump's administration to undermine a sector that was central to the climate and energy agendas of former President Joe Biden. The administration issued a stop work order for a project that was nearly complete off the coasts of Rhode Island...

The executive director of the International Coffee Organization, (ICO), said on Tuesday that tariffs imposed by United States, climate changes, and a smaller Brazilian crop are all driving up coffee prices. Vanusia nogueira, speaking at an event organized by the National Federation of Colombia Coffee Growers, said that despite the trend of rising prices, the market is still volatile. Nogueira stated that the global coffee supply has been in shortfall for several years due to production deficits caused mainly by adverse weather conditions in key growing areas. Brazil, which is the world's biggest coffee producer, has been hit by weather-related...

Apple cannot advertise the Apple Watch in Germany as a CO2-neutral product, after a ruling by a German court on Tuesday. The court sided with environmentalists and found that Apple had misled its consumers. A Frankfurt regional court said that Apple advertised the device as "our first CO2-neutral" product online. The claim was found to be unfounded by a panel and to violate German competition law. Apple refused to comment on this ruling. It can be appealed. Apple's claim of carbon neutrality is based on a project that it runs in Paraguay, where eucalyptus plants are planted on leased land...

A new study warns that the Gulf Coast of America is becoming increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes. This comes 20 years after Katrina destroyed New Orleans and hundreds of kilometers of coastline. Marc Bove is a German Reinsurer Munich Re meteorologist who warned that with time, the likelihood of major hurricanes making landfall in the area will increase and the effectiveness post-Katrina of flood defense systems would diminish. Katrina, the worst hurricane to ever hit the United States, made its debut in August 2005. It began in Florida, then intensified when it reached the Gulf of Mexico. The storm caused nearly...

The U.S. administration of President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a comprehensive plan to sell more than 30 oil and gas leasing rights in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska's Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico over the next fifteen years. Why it's important The plan is in line with the energy dominance agenda of Trump's administration to increase domestic fossil fuel production. This schedule is a major departure from the former president Joe Biden's administration, which had planned to auction a small number of drilling right auctions in order to combat climate change. KEY QUOTE Interior Secretary Doug Burgum...

On Thursday, thousands of people in Shanghai flocked to the largest indoor ski resort in the world to escape the heat. The temperatures in the Chinese capital reached around 37 degrees Celsius. Shanghai L+SNOW Indoor Skiing Resort is a 98,000-square-metre (117207 square yard) indoor ski resort where temperatures are kept at or below 5degC all year. Tang Junqi spent a day with her mother. It was hot and felt like I was in a pot. The 10-year-old boy said, "But it feels like you're in a refrigerator inside." Shanghai experienced on Friday its 24th consecutive August day with temperatures above...

Brazilian officials announced on Friday that the government of Brazil has ruled out subsidizing hotel rates for all delegates at the United Nations Climate Summit it will be hosting in November. This was after a meeting they described as being tense with U.N. officials. As delegations become increasingly concerned about the price of accommodation in Belem, the Amazonian coastal city that hosts the Amazon Conference, the standoff has occurred. Brazil is trying to double the number of hotel rooms available. Entrepreneurs have also been creative in converting love-motels and ferryboats into hotels to accommodate delegations. The Brazilian government has rejected...

Cui Jian, the owner of a rural hotel in Beijing, and his guests were stranded in the rain on a roof during the deadly floods that struck Beijing last month. Rescuers had to battle through metres-high silt and mud to reach them the following day. Beijing's northern Huairou District and the neighbouring Miyun District received an entire year's rain in just one week. This led to flash floods which devastated entire villages, killing 44 people. It was the worst flood in Beijing since 2012. Most Huairou villagers were asleep when the authorities issued their most severe weather warning. In the...

State media reported that at least eight people died in a flash flooding in northern China on Sunday. Four others are still missing. The East Asian monsoon is continuing to create atmospheric chaos in the second largest economy in the world. A report stated that the banks of the river flowing through grasslands in Inner Mongolia burst around 10:00 pm (1400 GMT) Saturday night, washing away thirteen campers near Bayannur, a major agricultural center. One person was rescued. Since July, China has been hit by weeks of extreme weather. The monsoon is stalled over the north and south. As flash...

Over the years, Pingtou's residents, who live in a sub-tropical village of China, have experienced many typhoons, rainstorms, and other natural disasters. Nothing prepared them for the flooding that hit Pingtou this week, which was the worst in decades. On Friday, Guangdong residents were still dragging furniture and appliances from their homes that had been damaged by the recent downpour. At least four of these items collapsed. One villager in his fifties, who requested to be identified only by his surname Zhong, said that the older people here have never seen such flooding in their 100 years of living here....

Rescue crews in south China prepared for the final downpour of heavy rain on Wednesday. They raced between torrential downpours, clearing mudslides and draining waterlogged roads that submerged cars. The East Asian monsoon is at its peak. Forecasters warn of more thunderstorms a day after the skies over Hong Kong and high-tech cities in China's Pearl River Delta went black, unleashing the heaviest rainfall of August since 1884 to the Asian financial center. Videos show that Guangdong province in southern China has transformed its shopping streets into flooded waterways, which is worsening the outbreak of Chikungunya. The mosquitoes are flourishing...

Henan Province, known as China’s Granary for its wheat production, announced that it had received funding of 131.5 million Yuan ($18.3million) from the central government to support its drought-stricken agriculture sector. This was more than double the amount that the province of central China had raised on its own between mid-July to early August in order to protect the fall grain harvest. The autumn harvest accounts for approximately three quarters of the annual grain production of the country. The Henan Finance Department said on its website that the total amount of funds allocated since then to repair wells, maintain irrigation...

Beijing warned its residents to prepare for more heavy rains in the mountains of the city, one week after the deadly floods that killed dozens. Weather forecasters have warned that parts of Beijing could receive up to 200mm (7.9 in) of rain over a period of six hours starting at midday. Weather forecasters warn that Beijing, a city with 22 million residents, receives an average of 600mm of rain each year. Authorities are rushing to update evacuation plans, improve weather forecasts, and reinforce aging flood defences. They have also reported that bodies were pulled from floodwaters across the country. At...

Beijing warned residents to stay indoors if it rains heavily on Monday, following the recent floods that killed dozens in the Chinese capital. Weather forecasters have warned that parts of Beijing could receive up to 200mm (7.9 in) of rain over a period of six hours starting at midday. Weather forecasters warn that Beijing, a city with 22 million residents, receives an average of 600mm of rain each year. At least 44 people were killed in Beijing last month after heavy rains. The majority of those who died were trapped by quickly rising water at a nursing facility in Miyun...

Chongqing in southwest China, known for its cyberpunk cityscape and fiery hotpot restaurants, has been sweltering in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Locals have responded to the heat by inventing new ways of coping with it. Liu Fengying (60), a local resident, said, "It is getting hotter and more hot." Liu Fengying, 60, a local resident, said that the temperatures were soaring on Thursday afternoon. He avoided the heat playing cards and sharing snacks among friends in an air-conditioned subway entrance. There's no way to escape the heat other than coming here. Even with the AC set at 17 degrees...

Eight people have died in extreme weather conditions near Beijing. Another 18 are still missing. Heavy rains flooded the hills of the region last week. State-run Xinhua late Wednesday reported citing local officials that the deaths took place in villages in the Xinglong region of Chengde, Hebei Province, without specifying how or when the people died. Xinhua reported that the search for missing persons is ongoing. Chengde, a mountainous town in China's Qing Dynasty, was a popular summer resort for Qing Emperors. Beijing and its surrounding areas have been ravaged by extreme rains since last Wednesday. In some places, a...

China Central Television (CCTV), reported Wednesday that Shanghai had relocated over 280,000 people as a precaution in preparation for heavy rains due to the arrival of tropical cyclones in eastern China. Co-May, a tropical cyclone, made landfall in Zhoushan (Zhejiang Province) in the early morning hours of Wednesday. The maximum sustained wind speed near the centre was 23 metres per second 83 kph. Co-May's winds are less powerful than those of a typhoon, but the Chinese financial center and other cities along the Yangtze Delta have not taken any chances. They cancelled flights and trains, suspended schools and moved people...