UNITED NATIONS: Worldwide investments in limiting climate change are far too low and as flimsy as using an umbrella in a hurricane, the United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa said on Wednesday.
Espinosa, a former Mexican foreign minister, also told delegates from almost 200 nations meeting in Germany that more storms, droughts and floods linked to man-made greenhouse gas emissions threatened “global destabilization.”
She urged far more investments to limit global warming, by shifting from fossil fuels toward cleaner energy, and to protect people from the worsening effects of extreme weather.
“Trying to address climate change at current financing levels is like walking into a Category 5 hurricane protected by only an umbrella,” she said in a speech.
“Right now we are talking in millions and billions of dollars when we should be speaking in trillions,” said Espinosa, who is head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat. “The impacts of extreme weather are already creating chaos.”
Nations at the April 30-May 10 meeting in Bonn are working on a detailed rule book for the 2015 Paris Agreement, aiming to have it in place by the end of 2018, and are reviewing actions so far to limit global warming.
Developing nations at the talks want firmer guarantees of funds — rich nations have promised to mobilize $100 billion a year in climate finance, from both public and private sources, by 2020 to help them tackle warming.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has estimated that climate finance for the poor totalled $62 billion in 2014. Developing nations say the accounts are exaggerated.
“There remains a vast gap between the support needed and support received,” Gebru Jember Endalew, who chairs the least developed nations group, said in a statement.
Espinosa said average world surface temperatures were set to rise by 3.0 degrees Celsius (5.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, based on current commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The Paris Agreement seeks to limit warming to “well below” a 2C rise. US President Donald Trump, who doubts climate change is primarily man-made, plans to quit the Paris pact and instead promote domestic fossil fuels.
Espinosa said a three degree rise “will lead to nothing less than global destabilization. It will cost lives. It will raise competition over resources, it will increase instability and conflict.”
Inia Seruiratu, Fiji’s agriculture minister who is tasked with driving more ambitious action to meet Paris Agreement targets, said countries face limits on how much they can adapt to coming changes — such as worsening cyclones.
“We live in constant fear that a direct hit from intensifying cyclones could wipe out our economy altogether and set back our development by decades,” he said in Bonn.
‘Umbrella in a hurricane’: UN says climate funding far too low
‘Umbrella in a hurricane’: UN says climate funding far too low
- Worldwide investments in limiting climate change are far too low and as flimsy as using an umbrella in a hurricane, the UN climate chief says
- She urged far more investments to limit global warming, by shifting from fossil fuels toward cleaner energy
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
