Climate Change Update: South Africa has undertaken several bold projects to mitigate climate change

South Africa ready to host COP 17 Summit|Southafrica Special|chinadaily.com.cn: "South Africa has undertaken several bold projects to mitigate climate change while providing a platform from which to generate socio-economic benefits.

Durban is piloting a Green Roof Project and extensive community reforestation projects to show how Africa's biodiversity can become a tool, not just for fighting climate change, but in creating economic opportunities.
Johannesburg, meanwhile, is credited with having some of the largest manmade forests on earth, with around 10 million trees in the city.
Elsewhere in the country, around 1.3 million hectares are covered by lush forests used commercially with South Africa's forestry sector which contributes R16 billion annually to the economy.

Within an African context, Durban's municipal leadership is mindful that its renewable energy and climate change mitigation projects are not simply about protecting the natural environment, but about creating jobs and fostering development."

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Climate Change Update: South Africa ready to host COP 17 Summit|Southafrica Special|chinadaily.com.cn

South Africa ready to host COP 17 Summit|Southafrica Special|chinadaily.com.cn: "When the sun rises over Durban's Indian Ocean coastline in November, the world's eyes will be firmly centered on the city as the world gathers for the 17th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 17).

The parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change.

In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and for the first time established legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Whether or not more landmark policies to fight climate change will be agreed in Durban, COP 17 is an opportunity for South Africa to take a leadership position in showcasing its efforts to address this global issue."

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Climate Change Update: Scientists to Begin Testing Artificial Volcano to Curb Climate Change (inspired by Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the PH)

Scientists to Begin Testing Artificial Volcano to Curb Climate Change - Truthdig: "Researchers in the U.K. will begin an experiment next month that, by imitating a volcanic eruption, could eventually lead to a climate-cooling method that would work by putting sun-reflective particles into the stratosphere.

The geoengineering experiment, which during its first phase of testing will shoot water into the air through a kilometer-long hose suspended in the air with a hydrogen balloon, was inspired by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991. That volcano shot 20 million tons of sulfate particles into the atmosphere, ultimately cooling Earth by 0.5 degrees Celsius for 18 months.

But scientists believe it will be decades before they can safely implement such a cooling strategy, and even then, they warned, it should not be used as an excuse to avoid cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Rather, geoengineering should be considered a short-term emergency remedy. —BF"

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Climate Change Update: Gore Launches Online Project about Life on the Frontlines of Climate Change | Frances Beinecke's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Gore Launches Online Project about Life on the Frontlines of Climate Change | Frances Beinecke's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC: " Al Gore’s group the Climate Reality Project: 24 Hours of Reality is a worldwide effort to bring the truth about the climate crisis to everyone with access to the Internet.

In a new multimedia presentation narrated by Gore air every hour for 24 hours, people around the globe share their stories of living on the frontlines of climate change. From the Alaskan coastline to the Solomon Islands, from Jakarta’s streets to London’s office towers, residents will connect the dots between the extreme weather events they are battling and the greenhouse gas emissions filling our atmosphere."

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