Paris, June, 2023 – UNESCO welcomes Australia’s decision to implement urgent new protection measures to safeguard the Great Barrier Reef recommended by UNESCO. The measures include a ban on fishing with gillnets. The Australian government formalized its commitments in a letter addressed to Audrey Azoulay, the Director General of UNESCO this week.
“The Great Barrier Reef is a fragile jewel of world heritage. For many years, UNESCO has not ceased alerting the world to the risk of this site losing its universal value forever. We have proposed several concrete measures which provide a roadmap for tackling the problem. I am delighted that the dialogue between our experts and the Australian authorities has now resulted in a set of formal commitments,” said Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s Director-General.
For many years, UNESCO has sounded the alarm on the Great Barrier Reef. In 2021, with regard to very worrying data on the reef’s poor state of conservation, experts at the Organization went as far as to recommend the site was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. This warning had global resonance.
The fruits of a long process of discussion In March 2022, a UNESCO-IUCN joint mission travelled to the Great Barrier Reef in order to examine the reef in even greater detail, and to dialogue with all the relevant actors: public sector decision-makers, scientists and non-government organizations (NGOs). In their report, the experts confirmed that due to the threats posed by pollution, over-fishing and the rise in sea temperatures, the outlook for the Great Barrier Reef was worrying. UNESCO and the IUCN also emphasized that the implementation of corrective measures could significantly improve the state of conservation of the reef, listing ten precisely-defined actions the Australian authorities should take. In July 2022, Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s Director-General, met with the new Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese and recalled the urgency of taking action. A discussion between UNESCO experts and the Australian authorities followed, with the aim of establishing an implementation plan for the ten priority measures including costs and timetable. This process has just been completed. In a letter addressed to Audrey Azoulay, the Minister of the Environment, Tanya Plibersek announced that the urgent new measures for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef UNESCO had requested, would be carried out.
Key Measures In the letter the Australian government committed notably to: Create no-fishing zones in a third of the World Heritage site by the end of 2024, and to ban gill net fishing altogether by 2027; Reach water quality improvement targets by 2025, by significantly reducing pollutant discharges from farmers and industrialists, and restoring flora and fauna in drainage basins; Set successively more ambitious CO2 emissions reduction targets, in alignment with efforts to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C. This comes in addition to the measures already announced by the Australian authorities in recent months. UNESCO will closely monitor the effective implementation of these measures. The state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef will be examined again by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th extended session (September 10-25, Saudi Arabia).
Zurich, Switzerland- A report from a few years ago deserves a second look. That study demonstrated how leveraging mobile network data can estimate levels of carbon emissions and air pollution in cities, an approach that could substantially reduce the cost of implementing the Paris Agreement.
The study analyses mobility patterns derived from mobile network data to estimate the usage of different transport modes within a city and derive conclusions about the respective pollution they cause.
This innovative methodology allowed scientists to estimate the concentration of air pollutants in urban areas with up to 77% accuracy.
The method could provide a scale-able and cost effective way to help understand and combat greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in cities worldwide.
Big data analytics company and ETH Zurich spin-off Teralytics, Telefónica NEXT and sustainability solution provider South Pole Group conducted the study in Nuremberg, Germany and revealed the analysis of mobile network data is an effective way to estimate CO2 and NOX emissions in urban areas at very low cost. To achieve this, Teralytics examined aggregated and anonymized data, which is generated when mobile devices communicate with Telefónica’s mobile communication cells during user calls, text messages or while using phones to browse the internet. Teralytics was able to refine this raw data into human mobility patterns to understand how the different modes of transport, for instance trains or cars, are frequented. Combining this information with data on the emissions of the different transport modes, the three entities were able to estimate air pollution and GHG emissions in the city.
As each form of transportation produces a unique amount of CO2 and NOX emissions, understanding urban mobility patterns is vital to understand the source of emissions. The study in Nuremberg used this information to estimate with up to 77 per cent accuracy the concentration of air pollutants in the city. These findings encourage further exploration of how big data can be used to understand and ultimately solve environmental issues such as air pollution in cities across the world. This is particularly interesting with regards to the lower cost of analyzing and interpreting data compared to the higher cost of production and maintenance of elaborate measuring stations. The novel approach could thus allow an ongoing analysis on a nationwide scale.
George Polzer
“While our contemporary urban lifestyles result in the generation of harmful greenhouse gasses, it also generates large amounts of behavioural data. Our mission at Teralytics is to use this data for the benefit of society,” says Georg Polzer, CEO of Teralytics. “Our findings from Nuremberg showed that this data can be used to give city planners insights into how human mobility contributes to pollution. This is a vital part to efficiently design and implement clean air and low carbon strategies. We are looking forward to further exploring this opportunity.”
Using a three-level process, the fully anonymized and aggregated data was first transformed into movement flows by the data scientists at Teralytics, identifying over 1.2 million transportation routes during the analyzed time period, as depicted in Figure 2. The sustainability solution expert South Pole Group then used an atmospheric model to estimate air pollution levels caused by the usage of the different modes of transportation, taking into account meteorological data and information on the respective traffic carriers’ emission levels from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUB). In the third step, the accuracy of the method was examined by comparing the findings with existing data from air pollution measuring stations. The values measured at these stations were found to correlate up to 77 per cent with those from the Teralytics’ calculations.
The results of this pilot study in Nuremberg constitute a sound basis to further develop the methodology.
Following its success, the consortium was able to secure financial support from Climate KIC’s Low Carbon City Lab (LoCaL), an initiative that brings together cities, business, academia and NGO’s to deliver high environmental and societal impact. With this backing, the research partnership will expand and improve the methodology, focusing on short travel routes and taking into account local emission factors like airports, large-scale events, and types of vehicles on the road (i.e. electric cars and SUVs). Moreover, the influence of factors such as traffic jams and red lights will be taken into account in order to make even more accurate estimations of the air pollution levels in a city.
“The results from this pilot study exceed our expectations,” says Maximilian Groth, responsible for Business Development & Partnerships at Teralytics. “We are confident that we will soon be able to scale this product to cities worldwide to support urban planners in making our air cleaner and achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement at the lowest possible cost.”
This research follows other successful studies on usage of mobile network data, including a smart data analysis for transport in Stuttgart by Teralytics, Telefónica Germany, and Fraunhofer IAO.
Renat Heuberger
“Approximately 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are generated in cities, meaning that they play a key role in climate protection. We see great potential in the use of continuously generated data, such as mobile network data, to measure and reduce pollution levels in cities.” States Renat Heuberger, CEO of South Pole Group.
Florian Marquart
Florian Marquart, Managing Director of Telefónica NEXT for Advanced Data Analytics: “The pilot project in Nuremberg has clearly shown the specific added value of anonymised mobile network data for the environment. This is data from people for people. We see great potential in the results and will start the next phase of our research. The goal is to develop a product that German cities, German states and the German federal government can use to better face the challenges of emissions pollution”. For the Silo, Ricky Sutton.
About Teralytics
Teralytics is the trusted data analytics partner for some of the largest telecom operators in North America, Europe and Asia. Using technology built for operators by data scientists, they have perfected the ingestion, modelling and transformation of raw signals from subscriber actions and movements on operator networks to deliver meaningful and actionable insights, that delivers new value to our mobile operator partners. By unlocking and processing a massive scale of device movement and consumer intelligence data from location and behavioral signals, they can analyze people, places and things and offer actual insights to help city planners, venue owners, retailers, NGOs and media companies make informed decisions, optimize operations and maximize ROI. Headquartered in Zurich, Teralytics has offices in New York, and Singapore.
Our friends at ExpertFlyer sat with Environmental and Air Transportation Experts to Learn How Airlines are Reducing Their Carbon Footprint Today and Where They are Investing Resources for Tomorrow.
NEW YORK, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — When it comes to carbon emissions, no industry absorbs more attention or criticism than the air travel industry. Our friends at ExpertFlyer recently spoke with experts in the environmental and air transportation industries to get a sense of what is actually happening in the U.S. and Canada to address aircraft CO2 emissions now and for the future.
ExpertFlyer went One-on-One with Steve Creedy, editor and Asia-Pacific bureau chief for AirlineRatings.com, a one-stop airline safety and product rating review website, and Nancy Young who heads up environmental affairs for Airlines for America, a U.S. trade association and lobby group that represents North American airlines, to learn more about how and where airlines are investing their time and money on behalf of the environment.
When it comes to “going green,” Steve Creedy says that North American based airlines aren’t quite bringing their A-game yet, citing a 2017 Newsweek report ranking the top 500 global companies according to their green credentials. While the report may not reflect a stellar performance by U.S. airlines, three made the top half of the list – United (100), Delta (137), and Southwest (179) – and American came in at 284. Canadian airlines see similar data points.
“The rankings measured the companies against general principles such as transparency, objectivity, publicly available data and comparability with their industry peers,” Creedy explained. “That matched my less scientifically rigorous view that United and Delta seemed more active in this space than some others,” he added.
Biofuel made from municipal waste. Image: Smithsonian Magazine
For example, Creedy noted that United was the first airline to incorporate sustainable aviation fuel, such as waste oils from biological origin (biofuels), in regular operations on a continuous basis. This initiative marked a significant milestone in the industry by moving beyond test programs and demonstrations to the everyday use of low-carbon fuel in ongoing operations. “In 2015, United invested $30 million USD / $38,490,000 CAD in alternative aviation fuel development and signed an offtake agreement in 2019 with Boston’s World Energy for up to 10 million gallons of biofuel over two years.”
But the airline industry, in general, continues to make enormous investments in technology, including the purchase of new, more efficient aircrafts. “In the end, what we’re really striving for is fuel efficiency and ways to increase that efficiency, thus reducing carbon emissions and investing in newer, more efficient planes is certainly a great start,” said Nancy Young who shared some of the things airlines are doing now to reduce emissions. “The airline industry is the first to have a global market-based measure applied to itself and we are very proud of our work and unwavering commitment to that,” she added.
Creedy concurs and added that airlines are also investing significant research dollars in electric aircraft, which could be used for commercial air transport for short-haul routes in the next 10-15 years. He also noted that airlines are beginning to use electric ground vehicles and introducing recyclable flatware on board while reducing single-use plastics to address other environmental concerns.
While the airline industry itself has a goal to reduce CO2 emissions 50% by 2050 (relative to 2005 levels), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is currently focused on short-term goals from 2020 and beyond, including its MRV plan (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) requiring aircraft operators around the world (with international operations) to report fuel burn to their respective governments to help measure carbon emissions. Ms. Young says the plan, known as the Carbon Offsetting Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), is not mandatory until appropriate regulations can be implemented, but says that U.S. and soon Canadian airlines are voluntarily complying with its guidelines.
And when it comes to alternative fuels, the “Flux Capacitor,” made famous in the film, Back to the Future, doesn’t seem so far-fetched anymore. “We’re really excited about transitioning our liquid fuels to sustainable aviation fuels, which can come from a number of sources, including municipal solid waste,” Ms. Young said. “In fact, a couple of our members have agreements for future supply literally from garbage, but right now United Airlines is taking supply of alternative fuels from waste oils at LAX. We can take these biomaterials and process them to be equivalent to jet fuel and they can bring up to an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide,” she added.
“The airline industry is making incredible strides to reduce carbon emissions through investments in a variety of new technologies, investments in bio-fuel research, and commonsense practices such as the use of recycled papers and plastics on board flights,” says Chris Lopinto, president of ExpertFlyer.com. “I believe that the airline industry will follow in the footsteps of NASA in the sense that its sizeable investment in research will yield numerous products that will become commonplace among general consumers around the world, thus furthering the environmental initiative.“
(Calgary, Alberta) Australian wildfire facts are being blocked from public distribution by the International Fact Check Network (IFCN), Poynter Institute and facebook. Friends of Science Society has issued a rebuttal to Climate Feedback’s Australian wildfire analysis, a member of IFCN, that claims human-caused ‘climate change’ is the culprit behind Australian wildfire stories, not arsonists or untenable fuel load. In turn, relying on Climate Feedback’s ‘authority’, facebook has been demoting page quality of those who post Australian wildfire stories that don’t fit the climate catastrophe narrative. Friends of Science wildfire expert says “fuel rules” in the case of wildfires, not temperature.
Facebook and Poynter Institute have partnered in a journalism ‘integrity’ project intended to prevent the spread of false news, but instead, they are promoting a singular climate dogma narrative. Most mainstream media outlets toe the line on the pronouncements of Poynter’s IFCN/Climate Feedback without question. Friends of Science Society argues that this is contrary to the principles of freedom of the press and is damaging to the safety of the public.
Decades of detailed wildfire research by the National Fire Protection Association, a global non-profit established in 1896, has shown that proper setbacks of shrubbery, removal of combustible material, and other house-proofing measures can significantly increase the likelihood that a house will survive a wildfire. Wildfire management techniques like clearing firebreaks and managing combustible fuel loads of dead or dry shrub vegetation and the cutting of firebreaks are well-known, successful wildfire risk reduction techniques.
In their rebuttal to Poynter’s “Climate Feedback”, Friends of Science Society points out that in Alberta, the 2011 statistics of human caused fires versus those caused by lightning reached 72% in the five-year average. Human-caused wildfire includes arson, accidental or negligent activity and fires started from human infrastructure issues – like power lines sparking on contact with tree branches. Some of the largest Canadian wildfires, like the 2011 Slave Lake catastrophe, have been identified as arson.
For those people demanding climate action to reduce carbon dioxide from human industry, the grand irony is that poor forestry and fuel load management lead to wildfires which in turn emit huge quantities of carbon dioxide, as reported by Esquire. Proper forestry management would reduce those emissions.
Many climate activists condemn Australia as being at fault for climate warming because it is a coal-producing nation. Based on those claims, Australia is facing economic trade wars by Greenpeace, BankTrack, and even Greta Thunberg. But as discussed in Friends of Science Society’s “Burning Questions” 2015 report, wildfires, especially those that create huge Pyrocumulonimbus clouds, are a significant driver of climate change. “The Untold Story of Pyrocumulonimbus” explains the complex findings of wildfire’s influence on climate and environment, with the research led by Mike Fromm of US Naval Research Lab.
Likewise, Friends of Science Society’s report “Unfriend ENGOs – Befriend Facts” deconstructs the green trade wars against essential prime power industries like coal, natural gas and oil, driven by environmental groups acting as proxies for ‘green billionaires’ who are deeply invested in pushing global cap and trade, carbon pricing and their vested interests in renewables.
Climate activists, Poynter and facebook are suppressing freedom of the press and freedom of speech, while falsely proclaiming a climate emergency, a concept developed by a clinical psychologist in the US, intended to scare people into compliance. The same “Climate Mobilization” organization advocates for World War II style rationing, managed economy, and massive restrictions on freedoms.
On April 6, 2020, Friends of Science Society’s 17th Annual Event “Freedom of Speech! No Climate Emergency” will host investigative journalist Donna Laframboise to address these diminishing freedoms, and Dr. Roy Spencer, who will offer “10 Reasons Why There is No Climate Emergency.”
Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens who are celebrating its 17th year of offering climate science insights. After a thorough review of a broad spectrum of literature on climate change, Friends of Science Society has concluded that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2). Friends of Science Society P.O. Box 23167, Mission P.O. Calgary, Alberta Canada T2S 3B1 Toll-free Telephone: 1-888-789-9597 Web: friendsofscience.org E-mail: contact(at)friendsofscience(dot)org Web: climatechange101.ca
Yeah this image is a little “Hollywood” but seriously, Europe DID have a Little Ice Age not that long ago……
The delicate balance of the planet’s biosphere is tipping — threatening all life on earth. Scientists are calling it our Holy Shit moment on climate change, and world leaders meet at the UN next month — we have until then for all of us, everywhere, to act, in the largest day of action on climate change in history, to call for action and fight for everything we love. Sign up to join in:
The last ice age happened in 6 months. 6 months for the planet to unleash a giant wall of ice across central Europe and the Northern Hemisphere. This is what happens when we hit a climate ‘tipping point’, and right now we’re rushing towards 3 more of these catastrophic reactions.
It’s our “holy shit” climate moment according to a leading NASA scientist, and only a holy shit massive coordinated day of action response, right now, can change the future we’re facing.
One agreement with common sense steps to end dirty energy can save us. That’s why the UN has called an urgent climate meeting next month with all major world leaders — if we greet them on September 21st with the largest ever global climate mobilisation in history, we can break through the walls of mega coal, oil, and business that prevent even the best politicians from doing what is right.
There’s no way to get around how big a task this is. But together, each small action will add up into a millions-strong movement that literally drowns out the opposition and gives our leaders the best reason to break free and build a hopeful, clean and green future. Click below to join in:
“Tipping points” are feedback loops, where climate change feeds back on itself and causes rapidly accelerating, catastrophic consequences. Right now, methane gas that is 25 times worse for global warming than CO2 is frozen into arctic ice. But as the ice melts, the gas escapes into the atmosphere, increasing global warming, melting more ice, and thus releasing more and more gas… everything starts to spin out of control. And that’s just one example. These tipping points are the reason why scientists are yelling from the rooftops that we have to act now.
We actually have the tools and the plan we need to make sure we don’t cross into a world where tipping points destroy us. And while it will take global cooperation on a bigger scale than ever before, our 38 million-strong movement already has real people power to help move leaders from every country to take the first steps. Recently, the United States and China announced serious new plans to curb their carbon pollution. Momentum is building ahead of next year’s critical Paris climate summit where a deal could be inked, and next month we can take it up a notch further.
Taking to the streets in a record setting show of power and coordination is one of the most effective ways to create change — from the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa to civil rights in the US, it’s sometimes been the only way. This is our chance to bring that power to the most important issue of our time: survival and a thriving future for our families, their families and the generations of people to come. Click below to be a part of it all:
We know we can do this… and do it big. When our community was just 3 million people we held 3,000 actions on the same day to protect our planet. We’re now 38 million strong, twelve times that size! Imagine what we can achieve together now…
With so much hope for our future,
Ricken, Emma, Iain, Lisa, Alice, Emily, Uilleam and the rest of the Avaaz team
