The head of a mining company hoping to supply the EU with rare earths in two years’ time has said it is “paramount” to end China’s stranglehold on the supply of the raw materials used in everything from cars to wind turbines and military jets. As Donald Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, prepare to meet on Thursday in their second summit of the year, Rafael Moreno said it was also “imperative” that they do a deal for Beijing to ease up, once again, on its threat to ban exports…
Tag: Environment
‘Forcing a reckoning’: How Asia is preparing for a ‘supersized’ El Niño
Asian governments are rushing preparations for the most severe El Niño weather event on record, with hundreds of millions of people bracing for multiple crises at once as extreme heat, heavy rain and food shortages hit the region. Fuelled by exceptionally warm ocean conditions across the tropical Pacific – and developing alongside the human-driven climate crisis – El Niño is virtually guaranteed to grow to a very strong intensity towards the end of this year and into 2027. The World Food Programme has warned that about 50 million people will…
Weather tracker: Typhoon Saudel causes mass evacuations in south-east China
Typhoon Saudel brought days of torrential rain to Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong provinces in south-east China last week. The city of Putian, in Fujian province, recorded 416.5mm of rain in a 24-hour period between Thursday and Friday, with surrounding villages recording more than 500mm in the same period. In Fujian, authorities estimate that almost 600,000 people were evacuated from high-risk, flood-prone areas. A further 128,000 people in 53 counties were also affected across Jiangxi, with emergency evacuations affecting 9,000 people. Flooding, landslips and infrastructure damage were reported widely in…
China’s falling emissions amid Iran war spark hope of decarbonisation watershed
China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell by 1% after the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran, thanks to a sharp reduction in oil consumption and a steady rise in the use of electric vehicles and public transport, analysis shows. The report reveals the role of clean energy in cushioning the price shocks caused by the strait of Hormuz crisis to the world’s biggest oil importer. It also reinforces hopes that China, which is the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, may be nearing a turning point in decarbonising its economy. China…
Swept away: inside the 4 September Guardian Weekly
Over the last week, the world has watched with horror the scenes from the Tibet-Nepal border where a devastating torrent of mud, water and ice tore along the Bhotekoshi River, destroying entire communities and leaving more than 1,000 people dead and several thousand more missing. From the Nepali town of Devighat, our south Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen describes a nightmarish scene of overflowing mortuaries and unidentifiable bodies, as shellshocked survivors of the flood slowly return to the ruins of their homes. The disaster happened after the collapse of a glacier…
Nepal-Tibet flood: this is the cost of not acting in the face of the climate crisis | Sunil Acharya
As a Nepali citizen working on international climate policy for more than a decade, it is difficult to look at the harrowing images coming out of the catastrophic flash flood that thundered down valleys in Nepal, sweeping down the Lhende Khola, Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, and not feel angry. Not just because of the destruction, but because it comes after years of warnings from scientists and civil society that a rapidly warming planet would make disasters more frequent, more intense and harder to predict. This is what the cost of…
Which countries have citizens killed or missing after Nepal-Tibet flash flood?
Hundreds of foreigners were in area to work, take guided treks or make pilgrimages when disaster struck Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates Flash floods at the Nepal-Tibet border have killed at least 543 people and more than 1,500 are missing. Hundreds were foreigners in the area to work, take guided treks or make pilgrimages. Thousands have been rescued, with some of the injured taken to hospitals in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. The number of missing may vary because of progress in the ongoing rescue efforts and differences in how data…
Climate crisis could be destabilising mountain areas like Nepal, experts warn
The devastating flash flood that has ripped through the border communities of Nepal and Tibet has heightened fears that the climate crisis is destabilising the geology of mountain and polar regions, threatening millions of people. Satellite imagery suggests a glacier collapse high in the Himalayas was the primary cause of the deadly torrent of mud, water and ice that tore along the Bhotekoshi River on Wednesday. It swept away buildings and roads and left at least 360 dead and 1,400 missing. A magnitude 4.4 earthquake was initially blamed for the…
‘Tsunami from the sky:’ floods leave trail of devastation in Nepal and Tibet – The Latest
Hundreds of people are missing or have been killed after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday. Entire villages have been destroyed, many of which are popular pilgrimage and trekking destinations for tourists. Lucy Hough talks to global editor Devika Bhat about how the devastating event unfolded The Guardian
How deadly flash floods unfolded in Nepal and Tibet – The Latest
Hundreds of people are missing or have been killed after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday. Entire villages have been destroyed, many of which are popular pilgrimage and trekking destinations for tourists. Lucy Hough talks to global editor Devika Bhat about how the devastating event unfolded – watch on YouTube The Guardian