Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 12 November 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# The Presidential Climate Commission has joined South Africa’s delegation to COP29, led by minister Dion George, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Running under the theme In Solidarity for a Green World, COP29 focuses on ambitious climate finance targets and operationalising the Loss and Damage Fund. The commission’s Crispian Olver emphasised the urgency, and cited 2024’s climate-driven disasters which impacted vulnerable communities. The commission will host dialogues at the South African pavilion, highlighting adaptation and mitigation efforts.

# Record-breaking levels of thick, toxic smog shrouding eastern Pakistan and northern India since last month, can be seen in satellite imagery. The pollution has forced authorities in Pakistan to close schools and public spaces as the smog threatens the health of tens of millions of people. Hospitals and clinics in Pakistan have become inundated with patients suffering from the effects of pollution, with Punjab health officials saying more than 30-thousand people have been treated for respiratory ailments. Air pollution from fossil fuels is killing 5.1-million people worldwide every year.

# And finally: A malnourished emperor penguin has been found in Australia for the first time, more than three-thousand-500 kilometres north of the Antarctic coast. The adult male dubbed Gus was discovered on a tourist beach in the town of Denmark in southwest Australia. The emperor is the largest penguin species. According to Belinda Cannell from the University of Western Australia, the species has never been reported in the country before. Gus is being cared for by a seabird rehabilitator until his future is determined.

Stay tuned for more news………….