– A round-up of the day’s top climate change stories
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UK: A number of high profile broadcasters, academics, politicians and business leaders have signed an open letter published in the Sunday Times condemning the UK government’s decision to take climate change out of the curriculum for children under 14. The 96 signatories, including Sir David Attenborough, called the decision “both unfathomable and unacceptable”. (The Guardian)
UK Education Secretary Michael Gove is reforming the country’s curriculum (Source: Flickr/educationgovuk)
China: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi have announced closer ties on the development of clean energy. The two promised closer cooperation both for the sake of energy conservation and to create more business opportunities. The two countries are among the largest solar panel manufacturers globally but have involved in a bitter trade dispute over what the US sees as unfairly priced low cost Chinese panels. (Xinhua)
Ireland: Famine, drought and food security are set to dominate the agenda of a climate change summit hosted by the Irish Government today. Speaking ahead of the Hunger, Nutrition and Climate Justice conference organised by the Mary Robinson Foundation, Frank Rijsberman from the CGIAR crop research centre warned the issue urgently needed to be addressed by governments. (RTCC)
Antarctica: Summer ice melt in the Antarctic Peninsula has increased almost 10-fold in the last 600 years, weakening the area’s large ice shelves and reducing glacier size, scientists have discovered. The findings explain a series of sudden collapses of ice shelves in the last 20 years, which scientists studying them had not expected. (RTCC)
Guyana: Global deforestation rates are likely to accelerate in the coming decade, threatening efforts to control climate change and land degradation, Guyana’s former President has warned. Bharrat Jagdeo says rainforest areas twice the size of the UK could be destroyed unless US$ 29 billion is provided between now and 2020 to promote ‘forest-friendly’ growth. (RTCC)
USA/Japan: The governments of the USA and Japan have agreed to work together on climate adaptation projects in Asia and pledged stronger cooperation on negotiations for an international climate agreement through the UN. (State Department)