Although one of the first countries to sign the agreement in April 2016, Turkey had held off ratifying it until now while seeking to be reclassified as a developing, rather than developed country. That would mean it would not face such harsh emission reduction targets and would benefit from financial support.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) currently lists Turkey in the Annex I group, described as industrialized countries. However, Turkey has sent a request to the secretariat of the UNFCCC to have its name removed from that list.
The proposal is to be discussed at the upcoming COP26 Climate Change Conference to be held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12.
Climate Change Victim
Turkey has itself felt the brunt of climate change, including in the guise of floods and wildfires in July and August in which roughly 100 people died. Much of the country is also suffering an extended drought.
Following these disasters, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come under pressure to reduce Turkey's contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.
Some 95% of young people in Turkey believe that climate change poses a major threat to the country, according to a report last month by the British Council as part of its Global Youth Letter on Climate Action.
An aerial picture shows the aftermath of wildfires in the Mugla district of Turkey on Aug. 7, 2021. YASIN AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images
Reposted with permission from DW.
- 5 Issues to Watch at Climate Week 2021 - EcoWatch ›
- Renowned Turkish Photographer Asks: Will My Country Lock-In a ... ›
- New Coal Projects Declined by 76% Since Paris Agreement ... ›
The group, which offers offsets for emissions from flights, announced Monday that its site in Emsland, in northern Germany, is expected to begin producing eight barrels (about 1 ton) of synthetic kerosene a day in early 2022. Atmosfair did not disclose how much the project cost or how it was funded.
Synthetic kerosene, also called e-kerosene or power-to-liquid (PtL), is seen as having huge potential to slash the aviation industry's carbon footprint. But there are a few reasons the green fuel hasn't taken off yet.
Flying is one of the most carbon-intensive ways to travel because planes are powered by fossil-based kerosene. The aviation sector is responsible for around 2 to 3% of global CO2 emissions, and it wants to reduce its footprint to half of 2005 levels by 2050. But decarbonization is going to be a huge challenge.
Why Synthetic Kerosene?
E-kerosene is a type of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) that can be blended with conventional jet fuel to bring down flight emissions.
SAFs are mainly biofuels made from sustainable feedstocks, such as waste products or agriculture residues. They're seen as a promising alternative because they can reduce emissions by up to 80% over the lifetime of the fuel compared to fossil kerosene.
The Atmosfair plant in Emsland is aiming to produce carbon-neutral synthetic kerosene by combining hydrogen generated by renewable electricity (from nearby wind turbines) and sustainable carbon dioxide — captured from the air and biomass.
The output is to be mixed with conventional kerosene and transported to Hamburg Airport to fuel flights, including those of German carrier Lufthansa.
Current engines can technically run on up to 50% sustainable fuel, but that's far from being a reality right now. SAF production is currently about 0.1% of the total aviation fuel consumed globally, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
How Much Sustainable Fuel Is Out There?
Some governments have introduced quotas in an effort to drive those numbers up. Germany, for example, wants 0.5% of the 10 million tons used by the German aviation industry each year to be e-kerosene by 2026, with that rising to 2% or 200,000 tons by 2030.
The Atmosfair plant is seen as a way to get the ball rolling on the manufacture of synthetic kerosene.
The European Union has proposed setting a quota of 2% SAFs from 2025 with that rising to 5% — including a sub-quota of 0.7% for e-kerosene — from 2030.
E-Kerosene, a Game-Changer?
Meeting those targets is going to require a massive ramp-up of production and as German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze pointed out at the inauguration of the e-kerosene production site that this only makes sense if renewables are ramped up at the same time.
"PtL fuels only serve climate protection if green hydrogen is used. For green hydrogen, we need much more electricity from renewable energies," Schulze said, adding that the technology is available and functional. "It's now up to businesses to scale this and I hope many will follow the call."
The Atmosfair plant in Emsland is only small, and isn't designed to run in the long-term, according to the organization's CEO and founder Dietrich Brockhagen.
"But we wanted to take the first step in Germany to try out the technology here and gain experience," he said.
Ulf Neuling, Renewable Fuels Group Leader at the Hamburg University of Technology, said the Atmosfair plant is "a step in the right direction to push the production of e-fuels for aviation and to start to get into commercial application."
But he stresses there will ultimately have to be bigger plants with higher production capacities if Germany wants to bring down the cost of e-fuels and scale-up the technology.
Pricey and Energy-Intensive
E-kerosene is currently four to five times more expensive than conventional jet fuel. It's also energy-intensive to produce, requiring large amounts of green carbon dioxide and green hydrogen.
Just powering domestic flights with e-fuels would require more renewable energy than Germany is currently able to produce.
About 40% of the electricity Germany produces still comes from fossil sources; 45% comes from renewables, but much of that is diverted to help other sectors decarbonize.
Atmosfair's Dietrich Brockhagen says current green electricity growth rates mean aviation worldwide could be fueled 100% by e-kerosene in less than a decade. But: "There is competition with other sectors, where electricity is needed more, such as rural electrification. So it's doable, but it's a question of resource allocation and distribution, and hence of policy priorities."
Neuling adds that the huge demand for green energy mean Germany will ultimately have to import electricity from other places with high potential to produce renewable electricity cheaply, such as North Africa, the Middle East or Latin America.
Germany wants 2% of aviation fuel to be synthetic by 2030.
A Future of Climate-Neutral Flights?
E-kerosene, provided it is produced with renewable electricity and available on a larger and more affordable scale, could play a significant role in making flying CO2-free — something that will likely take decades to happen.
Manuel Grebenjak, a campaigner with the Stay Grounded network, says the focus on testing alternative fuels to allow us to keep flying is a distraction from the real problem.
"We are in a climate emergency and have no time to lose. Only a reduction in air traffic can reduce emissions fast enough right now," he said.
"At the same time we still do not produce enough renewable energy. So we have to decide: do we want to use precious green energy for essential things or for luxury activities of a global minority?"
Besides CO2, planes streaking across the sky release other gases and water vapor into the atmosphere that also contribute to global warming.
Atmosfair says optimizing flight routes and altitudes could help bring these non-CO2 effects of flying close to zero. But it acknowledges that this would require more fuel, and thus more electricity in the long run, given that the production of e-kerosene is so energy-intensive. It's just one more problem that will need to be tackled if climate-friendly flying is ever to become a reality.
Reposted with permission from DW.
- To Fly or Not to Fly? The Environmental Cost of Air Travel - EcoWatch ›
- Return of Supersonic Planes Would Be a Dirty, Noisy Climate ... ›
The commitments, made on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, also envisage reliable access to electricity for hundreds of millions of people.
What Are They Promising?
The pledges include projects to expand access to electricity in developing countries and improve energy efficiency.
More than 35 countries — from small developing island states to major emerging and developed economies — have made significant new energy commitments in the form of energy pacts, the UN said.
Several large companies also made pledges, including TotalEnergies, Schneider Electric and Google.
Among the promises is a German commitment to increase its own proportion of renewable energy in total electricity consumption to 65% by 2030.
Berlin has pledged to support partner countries in expanding innovative technologies such as green hydrogen and "power to x," an innovation to use surplus electric power.
The government has also committed to providing €7 billion toward speeding up the market rollout of hydrogen technology in Germany.
Providing Clean Energy
The UN says some 760 million people around the world currently lack access to electricity.
Speaking at the summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world should aim to cut that number in half by 2025.
"Access to clean, renewable energy is, quite simply, the difference between life and death," Guterres said.
Among the ways of achieving this goal are alternatives to national power grids. These include "swarm grids" — a system of power cubes that appear like large car batteries and which are charged by solar array.
The UN chief outlined four priorities for a future of sustainable energy:
- Cutting in half the number of people without access to electricity by 2025.
- Rapidly shifting to clean energy sources.
- Achieve universal energy access by 2030.
- Ensuring that efforts to cut carbon dioxide do not mean leaving some without access to power.
"We cannot wait another 40 years," Guterres said. "The age of renewable, affordable energy access for all must start today."
Separate Pledges From China, U.S.
There were also promises this week by the leaders of the world's two largest economies, who announced separate measures at the UN General Assembly.
China pledged to end overseas coal financing, while the U.S. said it would double climate funding for developing countries.
The pledges came as young climate activists from Greta Thunberg's Fridays for Future movement resumed global mass street protests for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Thunberg herself was in Berlin on Friday, two days ahead of Germany's federal election.
They demanded drastic action from global leaders ahead of UN climate talks in November.
Leaders and representatives of the UN's 193 member states are taking part in the UN General Assembly until Monday, either in person or online.
The energy summit is among several taking place at the same time, including a high-level online summit on distributing coronavirus vaccines more fairly.
Reposted with permission from DW.
The rains caused floods and sent New York City into a state of emergency, as the storm carried into New England with threats of more tornadoes.
Police in New York City reported seven deaths, including a 50-year-old man, a 48-year-old woman and a 2-year-old boy who were found unconscious and unresponsive inside a home. They were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. One death was reported in New Jersey.
New York's FDR Drive, a major artery on the east side of Manhattan, along with the Bronx River Parkway, were underwater by late Wednesday evening.
Subway stations and tracks were inundated to the point where the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suspended all service, and videos posted online showed subway riders standing on seats in cars filled with water. Streets and apartments were under up to 1 meter (3 feet) of water in some places, and more than 5,000 homes were left without power.
The wrath of Hurricane Ida: New York announces its first-ever flash-flood emergency | DW News youtu.be
'Enduring Historic Weather Event'
"We're enduring an historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted.
The alert marked the first-ever alert of flash-flood emergencies in the region, an alert level reserved for "exceedingly rare situations when a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage from a flash flood is happening or will happen soon.''
Destructive Tornadoes
The city also implemented a temporary travel ban for all nonemergency vehicles. Earlier Wednesday, the storm hit states including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with at least two tornadoes, heavy winds and rains. Photos showed homes reduced to rubble, while the roof of a U.S. Postal Service building collapsed in New Jersey.
Highway 440 flooded in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Sept. 2, 2021 with hundreds of cars stuck in water as Hurricane Ida left behind flash floods. Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The National Weather Service had predicted flooding from what remained of Hurricane Ida, saying steep terrain and even city streets were particularly vulnerable to a band of severe weather that stretched to Massachusetts, where tornado warnings were issued early Thursday.
Tropical Storm Henri hit the region a little more than a week ago, causing flooding and making the cities more vulnerable to this week's set of weather events.
Reposted with permission from DW.
- How to Protect your Home From Flood Damage - EcoWatch ›
- Hurricane Ida Badly Damages Home of Goldman Prize Winner ... ›
- Hurricane Ida Slams Louisiana, Knocking Out New Orleans Power ... ›
- Flooded NYC Subways Exemplify Why Climate Is Key to ... ›
"You have a country that is one of the most vulnerable to climate change and any implications as a result of that and without the needed capacities, you're looking at a human catastrophe," said Basir Feda, head of the Afghanistan unit at the Berlin-based Berghof Foundation, an NGO that promotes peacebuilding.
The arid state has seen a mean rise in temperature of 1.8 degrees Celsius (3.24 Fahrenheit) since the middle of the 20th century, compared to a global average of 0.82°C. Droughts, already more frequent, are likely to become an annual occurrence by 2030.
According to the United Nations, a severe drought caused more internal displacement between 2017 and 2018 than conflict. And now the country is in the midst of another prolonged dry period, which the UN's World Food Programme has warned could leave millions of Afghans at risk of starvation.
The agency said it needs $200 million (€170 million) a year to continue working in Afghanistan — its staff members are allowed to continue humanitarian operations in the wake of the Taliban's takeover.
Oli Brown, an associate fellow at London-based policy think tank Chatham House, told DW that food must get to Afghanistan's mountainous areas before winter weather makes some places unreachable.
"The big challenge in the short term is feeding people in Afghanistan," said Brown. Nearly half of the country's 30 million people live below the poverty line and a third is dealing with severe food insecurity.
"Obviously, the ability of the international community to do that now is reliant on decisions that the Taliban government takes — are they going to create the conditions in which people can eat?"
Climate Change, Poverty and Conflict Intertwined
Creating those conditions will require the Taliban to address climate change in the long term, according to Brown.
"If you look at some of the predictions for Afghanistan in the future, this (climate change) is going to be something that will be a constraint ... A Taliban government is going to have to deal with it if they want to see a more peaceful and a more secure Afghanistan, which can feed its people," he said.
Even under one of the UN's more optimistic scenarios for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Afghanistan will likely continue to warm by at least a further 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. That level of warming would still further decrease the amount of snow available to feeds rivers, making water even scarcer.
While drought will be even likelier, so too will extreme rainfall over short periods, increasing the chances of deadly landslides in the mountainous country. And years of war have robbed Afghanistan of the ability to build capacity to adapt and protect its population.
"War is development in reverse," said Brown. That means that 40 years of conflict have, for instance, also meant a chronic underinvestment in water infrastructure like dams and irrigation.
Farmers used to rely on ancient irrigation systems known as "karez," which avoided evaporation by transporting water underground from the mountains. Maintained by villages, some are still functional, but the vast majority were destroyed or fell into disrepair during the decades of war.
More than 80% of the population is involved in agriculture and because so many are reliant on rain-fed farming and livestock raising, they are particularly vulnerable to climate shocks, added Brown. That, in turn, makes people more likely to fall into severe poverty, which increases the likelihood of displacement, according to Action Aid, an international NGO working on poverty.
Afghanistan already has nearly 4 million internally displaced people. And a recent Action Aid analysis on climate change and gender found a further 5 million could be forced to migrate due to climate disasters by 2050 even if governments around the world act to significantly cut emissions.
Climate change sets the stage for increased conflict over ever-decreasing resources like land and water. Evidence suggests it's pushing more farmers to ditch food crops like wheat in favor of drought-resistant poppies used in the opium trade. Afghanistan is the world's biggest producer in the opium industry, worth between $4.1 billion and $6.6 billion in 2017. Revenues from the trade are used to finance the Taliban and other armed groups.
"The whole question is how do you deal with poverty which comes as a result of climate change?" said Basir Feda of the Berghof Foundation. "There's a direct link that exists between conflict and poverty. And climate change can really function as a catalyst there — and a pretty significant one at that."
Working With the Taliban?
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a member of the Taliban's Cultural Commission, told U.S. magazine Newsweek it was seeking global recognition of what it is calling an Islamic Emirate, and said climate change is a challenge that can only be overcome with the collective efforts of all.
Thus far only a few countries are willing to engage with the Taliban. The question for the international community is how much they should engage with the group.
"They will not be able to run the country without assistance, they must know this," said Jost Pachaly, who heads the Asia division at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, a policy reform think tank based in Germany. "It's a very critical question for the international community: how to deal with the situation — not to support the Taliban but also not let the Afghan people suffer... This is a humanitarian disaster."
Women, whose rights are already being curbed under Taliban rule, will likely face an even more uncertain future in the context of climate change. Internationally women are hardest hit by the impacts of global heating, as they are often responsible for collecting water and providing meals.
In Afghanistan, particularly in rural parts of the country, women are further constrained, because they are expected to confine their social and economic lives to the home, or as close to it as possible and are totally financially dependent on men to work and support their families, said Basir Feda.
"This puts women in a far more vulnerable situation, because not only do they play an important role in putting food on the table, they also do it in an environment where their capabilities are severely limited."
While organizations like the World Bank have suspended aid to the country as they wait to see what the Taliban does, international aid and humanitarian organizations want to continue working in the country.
Feda said it is on the "Taliban's shoulders" to keeps its promises and create an inclusive government acceptable to all Afghans so the country can work towards peace and create climate resiliency. "I will never believe that all is lost in Afghanistan."
Reposted with permission from DW.
- 10 Million Climate Refugees in Past Six Months: Red Cross Calls for ... ›
- Water Conflicts Will Intensify. Can We Predict the Worst Problems ... ›
- One Billion People May Become Climate Refugees By 2050 ... ›