climatecrisis
By Paul Zimmerman With the decision to postpone waste charging, there is a need to refocus support on the cleaners who sort and collect recyclables in households, businesses, buildings, estates and public areas. The cleaners play a key role in helping building managers minimise waste. Contrary to the popular opinion that the city does a poor job of recycling, Hong Kong is quite successful: we recycle 42 per cent of our used paper, and 92 per cent of our waste metal, including aluminium cans. This is thanks to the efforts of a dense network of cleaners. In addition to the estimated 2,900 scaven...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hundreds of heatstroke victims are being treated at hospitals across Pakistan as an intense heatwave continues to blast the country. Local residents are being urged to stay indoors after temperatures soared above 50C in some areas on Monday. Across the country, volunteers have set up temporary relief camps where people can drink iced water and shelter from the heat. The state-run ambulance service is also now carrying bottled water and ice to provide emergency treatment to victims of the extreme weather. Pakistan's southwest and northwestern areas are also affected by the heatwave. Daytime tem...
Euronews (English)
A waste charging scheme first discussed two decades ago will be delayed, the Hong Kong government has said after a trial that saw limited adoption rates among residents. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk on Monday told the the Legislative Council’s (LegCo) Panel on Environmental Affairs and Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene that the waste tax would not go ahead as planned this August. He did not provide an alternative date for the introduction of the scheme. The Municipal Solid Waste Charging scheme, which was originally meant to take effect in April, will require residents to d...
Hong Kong Free Press
The full implementation of Hong Kong’s waste-charging scheme, which was already delayed to August earlier this year, will not go ahead as scheduled, local media reported on Sunday citing sources. Sources said authorities will not impose the municipal solid waste tax on August 1, and will not set a date for the scheme’s citywide roll-out following a two-month trial run. The plan was first raised two decades ago. The government will continue to distribute designated garbage bags to public housing estates for six months to allow residents to get used to using the designated bags. Private housing ...
Hong Kong Free Press
An international ocean court has just delivered a “historic” legal opinion outlining countries’ obligations in the face of climate change. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) - a UN court on maritime law - found that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions can be considered a marine pollutant. It said countries have a legal obligation to implement measures mitigating their effect on oceans. ITLOS’s expert opinion was requested last September by a group of nine small island states in the Pacific and Caribbean threatened by rising sea levels: the Commission of Small Island S...
Euronews (English)
A one-year-old baby is a litigant in a case against the South Korean government over its ‘insufficient’ response to climate change. “Woodpecker”, as the baby boy is nicknamed, was not yet born when his parents filed the case on his behalf, alongside the parents of more than 61 children under the age of five. The young peoples’ case was merged with three similar ones filed between 2020 and 2023, with the first hearing held in the South Korean constitutional court last month. The second and final hearing takes place tomorrow (21 May). Woodpecker isn’t only one of the youngest plaintiffs in clima...
Euronews (English)
Ocean temperatures that have gone “crazy haywire” could make the current global coral bleaching the worst in history. It's so bad that scientists are hoping for a few hurricanes as they cool the oceans. More than three-fifths - 62.9% - of the world's coral reefs are badly hurting from a bleaching event that began last year and is continuing. That's nearing the record of 65.7% in 2017, when from 2009 to 2017 about one-seventh of the world's coral died, says Derek Manzello, coordinator of the US's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch Program. When water gets to...
Euronews (English)
Pro-establishment lawmaker Rebecca Chan has urged the government to postpone the waste charging scheme for a second time, citing a survey conducted by the legislator which showed a large percentage of interviewees supported a delay. The online survey, conducted from April 30 to May 6, collected 959 effective responses. Chan said at a press conference on Thursday that, while 58 per cent of people supported recycling and waste reduction, 78.1 per cent said they “agreed” or “highly agreed” to postpone the official roll-out of the waste tax. The waste tax, a policy to encourage recycling by asking...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong officials have warned against thrill-seeking activities such as chasing storms and searching for big ocean waves during extreme weather, saying offenders could face jail time and a fine. Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk said on Thursday authorities are considering invoking legislation that would close beaches and country parks under extreme weather. Violators could face a HK$2,000 fine and 14 days in jail. “Do not attempt to defy nature for the sake of thrill-seeking or satisfaction, because you will not succeed,” Cheuk told reporters in Cantonese. Cheuk added that the lives...
Hong Kong Free Press
At least 14 people were killed and dozens more injured when a giant billboard collapsed during an intense storm in the Indian city of Mumbai on Monday. The oversized billboard, measuring 37 by 37 metres according to local reports, fell backwards onto a gas station in Ghatkopar suburb, crushing several parked cars. A police investigation has been launched into the incident, with officials telling the Press Trust India (PTI) that the billboard was illegally installed. Inquiries are ongoing, but the tragedy also highlights the vulnerability of this populous coastal city to storms made fiercer by ...
Euronews (English)
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