Circular Economy FNQ

If you want to see the effect of regenerative agriculture in action, check the video below. It is filmed during the recent heavy rains in Spain in the region of Sevilla. The water that comes from the right comes from El Alcornoquillo, a 340 hectare regenerative farm managed by Manolo Antolin, a farmer from the Climate Farmers community. (more information in the link in comments) He was able to retain aprox. 200l. on the meadows and part of the lasting 60l in his multiple ponds. As you can see, the water is quiet and quite clean. The water that comes from the top and from the left comes from conventional farms, with high amount of runoff water and sediment. This is a great example, why I believe governments should invest into regenerative agriculture. It would mean reduced flooding and drought risks through the increased soil water storage potential of the soil. Just the floods in Spain now in November, caused 10 billion euros in damages. I would happily take on the challenge of transitioning most Spanish farmers to regen ag with just 10% of that budget.

As the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting unfolds in Samoa this week, Climate Action Network (CAN) nodes from across the Commonwealth have come together to issue an urgent statement to Heads of State. Climate change, compounded by the legacy of colonialism, continues to disproportionately affect small island states and vulnerable communities. Commonwealth leaders MUST act decisively, with a focus on equity, justice, and inclusive multilateralism. This meeting must not be one of empty promises but of transformative action that directly addresses historical wrongs while paving the way for a more just, resilient future. The Commonwealth can and must lead by example. Read full brief here ➡️ https://bit.ly/chogm Climate Action Network International

🚨 #MeetYourLobbyist part 3! A tour of the most powerful lobbies in Europe that are changing YOUR life without any ou even knowing it. Today, we paid a little visit to the International Oil & Gas producers association, one of the biggest group representing fossill fuel companies in Europe. If you look at their website, you’d think they’re super into energy transition & climate ambition. But no! Their main mission is to keep us hooked to oil & gas for as long as possible 😬 A few years ago, as people were facing crazy high bills, they were working hard behind the scenes against windfall taxes 🤦🏼♀️ Because what’s best than economic poverty & climate disaster? Protecting the industry’s profits of course! Hope you enjoy :) 📹 Lucie Morauw

BREAKING: Recent research showcases 3 alarming ocean/planetary impacts caused by climate change. 👇 🌎 Study One: Rising Sea Levels Cause Planetary Wobble Climate change is rapidly melting our planet’s sea ice and glaciers, resulting in more water accumulating at the equator. This ‘bulging’ is slowing the planet’s spin, moving our axis of rotation, and causing the Earth’s wobble to increase. Translation? Humanity’s impact on the planet through anthropogenic-driven climate change is now altering our sense of time and lengthening our days. Published in the scientific journal PNAS, researchers warn that as soon as 2029 we may need to introduce negative ‘leap seconds’ (think similar to Leap Year). And by the end of the 21st century (if we continue business as usual), climate change could have the greatest impact on Earth’s spin. 🌡️ Study Two: Extreme, Consistent Future El Niños The results of a study published this summer in the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Journal point researchers to the possibility of El Niño weather events as another ‘tipping element’ in the global climate system. The study warns that if humanity’s current emissions trends continue to exceed the 1.5°C warming target limit of the #ParisAgreement, more than 90% of all El Niño weather patterns will be ‘extreme’ by today’s standards—resulting in estimated tens of thousands of deaths and billions of dollars of damage in the Pacific region and beyond. The ocean already absorbs 90% of excess heat from humanity’s emissions. The study projects that additional Pacific Ocean equatorial warming would contribute to these consistently extreme El Niños events. 🌊 Study Three: Increased Seafloor Silver Concentrations Also published in AGU this summer, a sharp increase of silver deposits was observed in seafloor sediment cores of the coast of Vietnam, aligned with the start of the Industrial Revolution. Scientists expect this could be an ocean-wide phenomenon. Previous research shows that “silver in its ionic form is toxic for marine creatures.” Now, scientists need to determine the additional impacts of silver on the wider ocean ecosystem. Which of these studies makes you want to take action to limit emissions and global warming? For me, each new ocean/climate study about the possible impacts of climate change drives my urgency to prevent the actualization of these alarming (but SOLVEABLE) predictions. But do you find studies like these motivating or discouraging? Let me know and follow Daniela V. Fernandez for more ocean-climate discoveries, education, and solutions like this! (Video showcasing Earth's wobble courtesy of AGU)

🚨 THE WORLD'S LARGEST DEFORESTATION PROJECT HAS BEGUN. Amid the paradise forests of Papua, Indonesia, a business consortium has started destroying what will eventually be 20,000 square kilometers slated for the "Meruake Intergrated Food and Energy Development Area." That’s 112 times the size of Washington, DC. The company, PT Global Papua Abadi and partners like Sulaidy (linked to First Resources Ltd.) are destroying habitat for endangered tree kangaroos and birds of paradise. The land was allotted to the companies without seeming concern for the Indigenous communities who live on it. The photo below is of the latest shipment of 264 excavators bought from China. It's part of a mind-boggling order of 2000 land-clearing machines. This is likely the largest single deforestation project in the world…and it makes no sense. Although the stated rationale is that the project will provide climate resilience and food security, the reality is the opposite: this level of deforestation will pump about a billion tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere and bulldoze local food gardens to make room for mono-culture sugar and rice plantations. Much of the sugar won't go to food, but rather ethanol to be burned in gas tanks. Simply put, it is a disaster. It follows previous failed efforts to establish state-backed plantation agriculture: the "Mega-Rice Project" on Borneo's peatland rainforest resulted in hundreds of thousands of acres of degraded land…but no permanent rice (rice doesn't grow well on peat). This project seems likely to end in similar failure. The tragedy is that this project would also single-handedly undermine Indonesia's greatest climate success: reducing the rate of commodity deforestation by an amazing 90%. I hope that President Jokowi, incoming President Prabowo, and Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurubaya will examine the project to see if the companies involved are actually delivering on its purposes – or are instead breaking the government's legal commitments. There is reason for hope: the government recently took the brave step of stopping another company's threat to forests: Mayawana Persada’s destruction of more than 90,000 acres in Borneo. They acted acted because the destruction undermined the government’s nationally determined climate commitments (NDCs): to restore 2 million hectares of peatland and 12 million of degraded land. The Merauke project is about 50 times as big as Mayawana Persada’s: It's hard to understand how it passes legal muster or contributes to the country’s admirable goals. Indonesia’s forest success has been a signal accomplishment of the Jokowi administration – and an example for the world. As the administration comes to a close, the President and his successor have the opportunity to secure one of Indonesia’s greatest examples of international leadership into the future. Details from Mongabay: https://lnkd.in/ez2863-n And PUSAKA https://lnkd.in/e7UQBDUc