New Zealand yesterday set itself an ambitious new emissions reduction target, with a pledge to halve its net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The new target, announced as world leaders gather in Glasgow, Scotland, for the critical COP26 summit on climate change, is substantially higher than the previous goal of a 30 percent reduction set as part of the 2015 Paris agreement.
New Zealand’s enhanced contribution to the global fight on climate change “represents our fair share, and is in line with what’s needed if we are to avoid the worst impacts of global warming,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
Photo: AP
Emissions are about the same as they were in 2005 and New Zealand Minister of Climate Change James Shaw described the next decade as “make or break” for the planet.
“To stand a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the science shows we now have about eight years left to almost halve global greenhouse gas emissions,” he said in a statement. “That’s eight years for countries to make the necessary plans, put in place policies, implement them, and ultimately deliver the cuts.”
Under a complex system for determining the contribution to fighting climate change, the cuts will include arrangements helping other countries reduce their emissions, drawing criticism from the opposition National Party.
“National supports using global carbon markets to achieve our targets, but there is no sense in setting a target that over-reaches and simply signs New Zealand up to a huge bill as we buy units from overseas,” the party’s climate change spokesman Stuart Smith said.
Young Chinese, many who fear age discrimination in their workplace after turning 35, are increasingly starting “one-person companies” that have artificial intelligence (AI) do most of the work. Smaller start-ups are already in vogue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, with rapidly advancing AI tools seen as a welcome teammate even as they threaten layoffs at existing firms. More young people in China are subscribing to the model, as cities pledge millions of dollars in funding and rent subsidies for such ventures, in alignment with Beijing’s political goal of “technological self-reliance.” “The one-person company is a product of the AI era,” said Karen Dai
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
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