The Insanity of the Political Right in the United States......Swaths of the US are baking under record-breaking heat, yet some lawmakers are still attempting to block any spending to fight the climate crisis, advocates say. Nearly 90 million Americans are facing heat alerts this week, including in Las Vegas, Nevada, which may break its all-time hottest temperature record; Phoenix, Arizona, which will probably break its streak of consecutive days of temperatures over 110F; and parts of Florida, where a marine heatwave has pushed up water temperatures off the coast to levels normally found in hot tubs. Stifling heat is also blanketing parts of Texas, which for weeks earlier this summer sweltered under a record-shattering heat dome which one analysis found was made five times more likely by the climate crisis. Despite this, the state’s Republican senator Ted Cruz is rallying his fellow GOP members of the Senate commerce committee to circulate a memo attacking climate measures in Biden’s proposed 2024 budget, Fox News reported on Wednesday. The memo specifically calls on Republican members of the Senate appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee to reject spending provisions focused on climate resilience and environmental justice efforts for scientific agencies. In one example, the memo objects to a Nasa request to fund its Sustainable Flight National Partnership, which seeks to help zero out planet-warming pollution from aviation. It should come as no surprise that Cruz, who has accepted massivedonations from oil and gas companies, is defending the fossil fuel industry’s interests, said Allie Rosenbluth, US program co-manager at the environmental advocacy and research non-profit Oil Change International.“What is really devastating for communities who are experiencing extreme heat, wildfires, flooding and drought across the US is that because of these bought-out politicians, they are not getting the support that they need to be resilient in the face of climate impacts at the federal level,” she said.   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/13/us-republicans-climate-funds-extreme-heat?utm_source=cbnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2023-07-18&utm_campaign=Daily+Briefing+14+07+2023   

Africa-China dialogue provides boost to green industrial revolution.    The Africa Renewable Energy Manufacturing Initiative brought together businesses from Africa and China at the SNEC 16th International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference as part of its mission to deliver a green industrial revolution in Africa. In a new show of South-South cooperation, the roundtable united leadership from 9 African and 14 Chinese energy businesses, as well as financiers and energy sector experts, to identify opportunities and strategies for increasing Africa’s renewable energy manufacturing and export capabilities. There was a specific focus on the potential for investment, and knowledge and technology transfer between Africa and China. This opportunity for African businesses to directly express their needs for scaling up operations to Chinese counterparts was organized by Sustainable Energy for All and the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association. Both are partners in the Africa Renewable Energy Manufacturing Initiative, along with the African Climate Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and ClimateWorks Foundation. “African countries can benefit greatly from local renewable energy manufacturing in terms of economic development, climate change mitigation and energy security,” said Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. “But they need support to grow these industries and make them competitive, which calls for international collaboration with global leaders in renewables development.”  Areport published earlier this year by the Africa Renewable Energy Manufacturing Initiative identified opportunities for solar photovoltaics (PV) and battery materials refining and assembly across a series of African countries. The report found that South-South collaboration, such as strategic partnerships with China, India and ASEAN countries, will be key to realizing this potential.                 https://www.seforall.org/news/africa-china-dialogue-provides-boost-to-green-industrial-revolution

Right-Wing US Supreme Court Delivers 'Catastrophic Loss for Water Protections'. The court "ripped the heart out of the law we depend on to protect American waters and wetlands," said one critic, warning that the ruling "will cause incalculable harm." The U.S. Supreme Court's right-wing majority on Thursday severely curtailed protections for "waters of the United States."The decisionin Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is "unanimous in result but very split in reasoning," explainedSlate's Mark Joseph Stern. "The upshot of Sackett is that, by a 5–4 vote, the Supreme Court dramatically narrows" which wetlands are covered by the Clean Water Act (CWA).  The majority opinion—authored by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by all of the court's other right-wing members except Justice Brett Kavanaugh—concludes that the CWA only applies to wetlands with "a continuous surface connection" to larger bodies of water, excluding those that are "adjacent." Earthjustice declared in response to the ruling that "this is a catastrophic loss for water protections across the country and a win for big polluters, putting our communities, public health, and local ecosystems in danger." Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), was similarly critical, saying that "the Supreme Court ripped the heart out of the law we depend on to protect American waters and wetlands.""The majority chose to protect polluters at the expense of healthy wetlands and waterways. This decision will cause incalculable harm. Communities across the country will pay the price," Bapna warned.  https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-supreme-court-epa-water-protections    

Why the climate movement must do more to mobilise older people.Some say age is only a number. Others associate age with wisdom. Or perhaps it is a state of mind. Whatever it is, age is a factor in climate progress, and 2021’s renewed climate momentum must mobilise the oft-overlooked elderly demographic. To date, the global climate movement has engaged young people en masse. Pre-COVID, the world witnessed a swathe of student-led climate protests, leading to broader public debate and increased youth representation in key international forums.

While these milestones represent important progress, 2020 is tied for the hottest year on record, and the “emissions gap” to avoid catastrophic climate change continues to widen. An accelerated whole-of-society response is required. Elderly people are relatively invisible in climate discussions compared to the youth demographic, yet are arguably the most critical for broader climate action. Here are five reasons to broaden the youthful momentum to engage and empower the elderly.......1. Increasing emissions – and highly vulnerable. The elderly are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change, particularly adverse health effects and exposure to extreme weather events. Their vulnerabilities may be exacerbated by impaired mobility, social isolation (in some cultures) and poor access to services......2. Elderly population and emissions share will increase. Globally, 65s and over are the fastest growing age demographic, poised to become one of this century’s most significant social transformations.......read on       https://theconversation.com/why-the-climate-movement-must-do-more-to-mobilise-older-people-161732