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Cutting waste would help us cut carbon emissions

Cutting waste would help us cut carbon emissions

Cutting waste would help us cut carbon emissions
Pedestrians walk near the presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on November 1, 2024 amid smoggy conditions. (AFP)
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We are living in a moment of profound global disorder, more and more painfully visible every day. Humans have become a danger to each other, to the planet, and to themselves.

Our attention is ruled so intensely by the conflicts raging in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Ukraine, between Israel and Iran, between China and Taiwan, that the subject of the ongoing destruction of our environment has almost disappeared.

Instead, we hear talk of investing further in weaponry and more sophisticated destruction. The crucial objective of deeply cutting carbon emissions hardly registers anymore on our radar.

But all around the world we are witnessing heavy climate disturbance and extreme weather phenomena. We have recently seen yet more hurricanes rip through the US.

Climatologist Michael Mann says hurricanes have become 40 percent more deadly in recent years due to climate change, while a recent report shows that rain events have become 20-30 percent stronger and winds 10 percent stronger.

We do not need to be told this, as we have all experienced disturbed weather and climate wherever we live. After a historic drought in North Africa, the largest hot desert in the world, the Sahara Desert, experienced record rainfall, forming large lakes in the middle of the desert.

This unpredictability is a very ominous sign of what is to come.

Noble intentions to reduce carbon emissions, enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, lie almost null and void, considering that our burning of fossil fuels has increased in recent years.

We would have to cut our carbon emissions by around 50 percent if we were to have a chance of reaching our objectives of limiting average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, but right now we are on track for a devastating 3 C increase.

If you can imagine living with a 40 C fever every day, that is essentially what our planet would experience, regularly unleashing deadly and devastating climate phenomena.

The concept of cutting emissions may be too abstract for our simple brains to understand, so let us focus on cutting waste instead.

Waste has become a major part of our way of life and global economy. We waste so much plastic (only 10 percent is recycled) that our oceans will soon contain more plastic by weight than fish.

One-third of all food we produce goes to waste, representing almost 10 percent of global carbon emissions.

It is estimated that 10 percent of global energy production and 30 percent of water is wasted through inefficiencies in transmission.

Almost 30 percent of energy used in homes in the developed world is wasted, and, on average, 60 percent of water used for agriculture is wasted.

While humans only require 15-20 liters of water a day to meet their basic needs, the average American uses 8,300 liters (or 2,200 gallons) per day through various forms of consumption.

Clearly, just cutting waste — a simple enough concept for all to understand — would allow us to cut a sizable proportion of global carbon emissions.

Hassan bin Youssef Yassin

Just nine percent of the almost 100 billion tons of minerals, fossil fuels, metals, and biomass that enter the economy every year are recycled, while 62 percent of global carbon emissions are created during the extraction, processing, and manufacturing of goods.

Clearly, just reducing waste — a simple enough concept for all to understand — would allow us to cut a sizable proportion of global carbon emissions.

We must rethink not only our daily way of life but also the very underpinnings of our global economy, which encourages overproduction, overconsumption and tremendous amounts of waste at every turn.

For us to make any difference, we need the participation of everyone, from kindergartens to old people’s homes. It is essential that we educate a new generation to be fully aware of our actions and their direct consequences on our environment.

This is a multi-generational battle, but one in which we can make a difference quite quickly.

Our capitalist system has hit a wall, not only in terms of waste and carbon emissions, but also in the rising inequalities around the world and our need for constant growth, new gadgets and never-ending consumption.

By reducing both waste and consumption, essentially moving towards a circular economy that is able to reuse and recycle the materials we use, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates we could reduce carbon emissions by almost 40 percent by 2050, while generating major economic benefits through greater efficiency and lower material costs.

According to the UN Development Program, we could lift almost one billion people out of hunger by tackling food waste and loss. Meanwhile, the International Resource Panel says improved waste management could save up to 40 percent in global energy demand by 2050.

These are all changes well within our reach, and easily understood by all.

We are all participants in the journey that humanity and our planet are on. We can either choose to close our eyes to the waste and pollution which are threatening the lives of future generations, or we can do our part.

Simply paying attention to the food, water, and energy we use and what we actually need every day can make a tremendous difference on a large scale. Our governments will also be called upon to assist us by putting in place the necessary infrastructure to recycle more, to redistribute food, and to reduce overconsumption.

This may require some initial economic discomfort for our system. But as we learn to live better lives, we will also begin to enjoy its benefits both in our individual lives and in a more efficient and less wasteful global economy. As the saying goes: “Don’t be useless. Use less.”

Hassan bin Youssef Yassin has worked closely with Saudi petroleum ministers, headed the Saudi Information Office in Washington, and served with the Arab League observer delegation to the UN.

 

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

Two killed, 28 wounded in Russian strikes on Kharkiv: Ukraine official

Two killed, 28 wounded in Russian strikes on Kharkiv: Ukraine official
Updated 6 sec ago

Two killed, 28 wounded in Russian strikes on Kharkiv: Ukraine official

Two killed, 28 wounded in Russian strikes on Kharkiv: Ukraine official

KYIV, Ukraine: Russian strikes on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv killed two people and wounded 28 early Wednesday, the mayor said.
“Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs  were carried out in two districts of the city this night,” Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said on Telegram, later adding: “There is information about two dead already.”


‘What wrong did he do?’ Gaza family mourn three-year-old shot dead

‘What wrong did he do?’ Gaza family mourn three-year-old shot dead
Updated 4 min 3 sec ago

‘What wrong did he do?’ Gaza family mourn three-year-old shot dead

‘What wrong did he do?’ Gaza family mourn three-year-old shot dead
  • In Gaza, “There’s no hope or peace”

KHAN YUNIS, Palestinian Territories: Gazan mother Amal Abu Shalouf ran her hand over her son’s face and hair, a brief farewell before a man abruptly sealed the body bag carrying the three-year-old who was killed just hours earlier on Tuesday.
“Amir, my love, my dear!” cried his mother, struggling to cross the crowded courtyard of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza’s main city, where several bodies lay in white plastic shrouds.
According to the civil defense agency, at least nine people were killed on Tuesday in the southern Gaza Strip as Israeli forces carried out military operations, more than 20 months into the war triggered by Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel.
Contacted by AFP, the military did not respond to a request for comment about Amir Abu Shalouf’s death.
At the hospital, a man carried the boy’s body in his arms through a crowd of dozens of mourners.
“I swear, I can’t take it,” his teenage brother, Ahmad Abu Shalouf, said, his face covered in tears.
“What wrong did he do?” said another brother, Mohammad Abu Shalouf. “An innocent little boy, sitting inside his tent, and a bullet struck him in the back.”
Mohammad said he had “found him shot in the back” as he returned to the tent that has become the family’s home in Al-Mawasi, a coastal area near Khan Yunis that is now a massive encampment for displaced Palestinians.
The devastating war has created dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where the United Nations has warned that the entire population is at risk of famine.
The grieving mother, comforted by relatives, said her young son had been begging for food in recent days and dreaming of a piece of meat.
“There is no food, no water, no clothing,” said Amal, who has eight children to take care of.
Amal said she too was injured in the pre-dawn incident that killed her son.
“I heard something fall next to my foot while I was sitting and baking, and suddenly felt something hit me. I started screaming,” she said.
Outside the tent at the time, she said she tried crawling and reaching for other family members.
“Then I heard my daughter screaming from inside the tent...  found them holding my son, his abdomen and back covered in blood.”
A group of men formed lines to recite a prayer for the dead, their words almost drowned out by the noise of Israeli drones flying overhead.
In the second row, Ahmad Abu Shalouf held his hands over his stomach in prayer, unable to hold back a stream of tears.
Similar scenes played out at the hospital courtyard again and again over several hours, as the day’s dead were mourned.
At one point, an emaciated man collapsed in front of the shrouded bodies.
One mourner pressed his head against one of the bodies, carried on a stretcher at the start of a funeral procession, before being helped up by others.
At a distance, a group of women supported Umm Mohammad Shahwan, a grieving mother, with all of them in tears.
“We need the war to end,” said Amal Abu Shalouf.
In Gaza, she lamented, “there’s no hope or peace.”


Northern Ireland town hit by ‘racially motivated’ riot

Northern Ireland town hit by ‘racially motivated’ riot
Updated 12 min 50 sec ago

Northern Ireland town hit by ‘racially motivated’ riot

Northern Ireland town hit by ‘racially motivated’ riot
  • “This violence was clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police,” Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said
  • Two teenage boys, charged by police with the attempted rape of a teenage girl, had appeared in court Monday

BALLYMENA, United Kingdom: Northern Irish police said Tuesday that 15 officers were injured in clashes after “racially motivated” attacks sparked by the arrest of two teenagers for the attempted rape of a young girl.
The unrest in the town of Ballymena, some 30 miles  northwest of Belfast, erupted Monday night after a vigil in a neighborhood where an alleged serious sexual assault happened on Saturday.
“This violence was clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police,” Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said.
Tensions in the town, which has a large migrant population, remained high on Tuesday, as residents described the scenes as “terrifying” and told AFP those involved were targeting “foreigners.”
Two teenage boys, charged by police with the attempted rape of a teenage girl, had appeared in court Monday, where they asked for a Romanian interpreter, local media reports said.
The trouble began when masked people “broke away from the vigil and began to build barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties,” police said.
Houses and businesses were attacked and three people had to be evacuated, the Police Service of Northern Ireland  said, adding it was investigating “hate attacks.”
Security forces also came under “sustained attack” with petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks thrown by rioters, injuring 15 officers including some who required hospital treatment, according to the force.
One 29-year-old man was arrested and charged with riotous behavior, disorderly behavior, attempted criminal damage and resisting police.
Four houses were damaged by fire, and windows and doors of homes and businesses smashed.
Cornelia Albu, 52, a Romanian migrant and mother-of-two who lives opposite a house targeted in the attacks said her family had been “very scared.”
“Last night it was crazy because too many people came here and tried to put the house on fire,” Albu, who works in a factory, told AFP.
“My family was very scared,” she said, adding she would have to move but was worried she would not find another place to live because she was Romanian.
A 22-year-old woman who lives next door to a burnt-out house in the same Clonavon neighborhood said the night had been “terrifying.”
“People were going after foreigners, whoever they were, or how innocent they were,” the woman, who did not want to share her name for security reasons, told AFP.
“But there were local people indoors down the street scared as hell.”
Northern Ireland saw racism-fueled disorder in August after similar riots in English towns and cities.
According to Mark, 24, who did not share his last name, the alleged rape on the weekend was “just a spark.”
“The foreigners around here don’t show respect to the locals, they come here, don’t integrate,” said Mark.
Another man was halfway up a ladder, hanging a Union Jack flag in front of his house as a “precaution — so people know it’s not a foreigner living here.”
“Ballymena has a large migrant population, a lot of people actually work in the town and provide excellent work,” Mayor Jackson Minford told AFP.
“Last night unfortunately has probably scared a lot of people. We are actively working to identify those responsible and bring them to justice,” said Henderson.
Footage on social media appeared to show protesters smashing the windows of houses and some masked individuals kicking in doors.
A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the “disorder” in Ballymena was “very concerning.”
“Obviously, the reports of sexual assault in the area are extremely distressing, but there is no justification for attacks on police officers,” Downing Street added.
 


Spain’s economy minister says ‘overtourism’ challenges need to be addressed

Spain’s economy minister says ‘overtourism’ challenges need to be addressed
Updated 20 min 17 sec ago

Spain’s economy minister says ‘overtourism’ challenges need to be addressed

Spain’s economy minister says ‘overtourism’ challenges need to be addressed

MADRID: Spain could receive as many as 100 million tourists this year, according to some projections, which the country’s economy minister said poses challenges for the country’s residents that the government can no longer afford to ignore.
Last year, Spain received a record 94 million international visitors, making it one of the most visited countries in the world.
“It’s important to understand that these record numbers in terms of tourism also pose challenges,” Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. “And we need to deal with those challenges also for our own population.”
Tourism is a key sector for the Southern European nation’s economy, which grew faster than any major advanced economy last year at 3.2 percent, and is projected to grow at 2.4 percent this year, according to the Bank of Spain, well ahead of the expected eurozone average of 0.9 percent.
But a stubborn housing crisis in which home and rental costs have skyrocketed in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and elsewhere has led to growing frustration about one aspect tied to tourism in particular: the proliferation of short-term rental apartments in city centers.
The country has seen several large protests that have drawn tens of thousands of people to demand more government action on housing. Signs at demonstrations with slogans such as “Get Airbnb out of our neighborhoods” point to the growing anger.
In response, the government recently announced it was cracking down on Airbnb listings that it said were operating in the country illegally, a decision that the company is appealing.
“We are a 49 million-inhabitants country,” Cuerpo said. The record numbers of tourists illustrate the “attractiveness of our country, but also of the challenge that we have in terms of dealing and providing for a good experience for tourists, but at the same time avoiding overcharging  our own services and our own housing,” he said.
The Bank of Spain recently said the country has a deficit of 450,000 homes. Building more public housing is critical to solve the problem, Cuerpo said. Spain has a lower stock of public housing than many other major European Union countries.
“This is the key challenge for this term,” the minister said of the country’s housing woes.
On the possibility of more US tariffs on EU goods, the top economic policymaker for the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy said he believed the EU still wanted to reinforce economic ties with the US
“From the EU side, we are constructive but we are not naive,” Cuerpo said, adding that the bloc would pursue “other routes protecting our firms and industries” if no agreement with the Trump administration can be reached.
A 90-day pause on tariffs announced by the EU and the US is slated to end on July 14. About halfway through that grace period, US President Donald Trump announced 50 percent tariffs on steel imports. The US has also enacted a 25 percent tariff on vehicles and 10 percent so-called reciprocal tariffs on most other goods.
On how Spain’s current housing woes got here, the minister said a steep drop in construction in Spain following the 2008 financial crisis played a role. So did population growth due to immigration, Cuerpo said, and pressures from an increase in the number of tourists.
While building more housing is key, the minister advocated for an all-of-the-above approach, including regulating Spain’s housing market and short-term rental platforms.
“For us, there’s no silver bullet,” he said.


Syria rescuers say two killed in drone strikes on northwest

Syria rescuers say two killed in drone strikes on northwest
Updated 20 min 29 sec ago

Syria rescuers say two killed in drone strikes on northwest

Syria rescuers say two killed in drone strikes on northwest
  • During a meeting in Riyadh last month, US President Donald Trump called on his Syrian counterpart Ahmed Al-Sharaa to help Washington prevent a resurgence by Daesh

DAMASCUS: Two people were killed in separate drone strikes Tuesday on a car and a motorcycle in the northwestern bastion of the Islamist former rebels who now head the Syrian government, rescuers said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the twin drone strikes in the Idlib region but a US-led coalition in Syria has carried out past strikes on terrorists in the area.
Earlier this year, the United States said it killed several commanders of Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Hurras Al-Din in the area.
The group had recently announced it was breaking up on the orders of the interim government set up by the rebels after their overthrow of Bashar Assad in December.
US troops are deployed in Syria as part of a US-led coalition to fight the Daesh group.
When contacted by AFP, a US defense official said they were aware of the reports but had “nothing to provide” at the time.
During a meeting in Riyadh last month, US President Donald Trump called on his Syrian counterpart Ahmed Al-Sharaa to help Washington prevent a resurgence by Daesh.