Latest news with #Austrian-British
Observer
16-04-2025
- Science
- Observer
Study warns of dramatic Austrian glacier melt
Experts are warning that the once mighty glaciers of Austria could almost completely disappear in the foreseeable future due to climate change. In order to save even a small part of the ice masses, the global temperature increase would have to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius,according to a study by an Austrian-British research team published in the journal The Cryosphere on Thursday. Five glaciers completely disappeared in the Ötztal and Stubaitalregions between 2006 and 2017. A temperature increase of 2.7 degrees is currently expected. "The window of opportunity is closing very quickly," said co-author Fabien Maussion from the Universities of Bristol and Innsbruck. The researchers' prognosis refers to glaciers in the province of Tyrol. However, the results can be applied to the whole of Austria ,according to the study. "We are watching the glaciers disappear. Ice remnants that no longer have any flow movement or a feeding area are actually no longer glaciers. They are called dead ice," said a researcher from theInstitute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). Glaciers are crucial freshwater reservoirs for Austria, releasing vital water that feeds its rivers and lakes. This supply is not only integral for drinking water but also supports the agricultural sector through irrigation. In addition to freshwater, these glaciers are a cornerstone of Austria's energy infrastructure. Hydropower accounts for a substantial amount of the country's electricity generation, and the consistent water flow from melting glaciers is essential for maintaining operational efficiency of hydropower plants, particularly during periods of low precipitation. —dpa
Telegraph
13-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Argentine minister hails ‘inspirational' Margaret Thatcher
Argentina has labelled Margaret Thatcher 'inspirational', as Javier Milei's libertarian government again lavished praise on the prime minister who led Britain to victory in the Falklands War. Federico Sturzenegger, the red-tape slashing deregulation minister, described Thatcher as a 'fighter' who brought about a 'tremendously positive transformation' for the UK in the 1980s. He revealed that Mr Milei's administration, which was elected on a mandate to rein in government spending and cut bureaucracy, sees the Iron Lady as a role model for its reforms. Mr Sturzenegger, who dubbed himself the 'plumber of freedom', told the Politico Power Play podcast: 'We learned from the UK. The reforms that the UK did in the 80s were very inspirational to us. 'Margaret Thatcher was a fighter, she was very conscientious about her role. 'She did a tremendously positive transformation for the UK and I think Milei is a little bit of that style – someone who likes to debate, who likes to push his ideas with a lot of strength, so certainly I think there is a model there for us.' Argentina's ministry of deregulation and state regulation was set up last summer to spearhead some of the world's most aggressive attacks on public sector waste. The Argentine president, the first world leader to meet Donald Trump after his election win, has highlighted the department's resemblance to Doge, the Elon Musk-led body intended to maximise US government efficiency. Mr Sturzenegger is said to keep a copy of Mr Musk's biography on his desk at his ministry's headquarters in Buenos Aires. Mr Milei has drawn ire in Argentina before for his praise of Mrs Thatcher, describing her as 'one of the great leaders of humanity' in 2023. The president has also deflected questions over the question of who should rule the Falklands, saying 'chest beating' patriotism would not win over the islands' inhabitants and efforts would be better placed on making Argentina a more attractive proposition. 'Are you really going to force the islanders to become Argentine, and impoverish them, and drag them into misery?' Mr Milei said. Mr Sturzenegger, a former president of the central bank and a Harvard economist, said the government had inherited a 'macroeconomic mess' of a high deficit, runaway inflation, stagnant growth and depreciating currency. Mr Milei had kick-started his tenure by rolling back the state and passing sweeping economic reforms, he added. 'You cannot imagine how many times we find that actually there is no need for the government to get involved in this or that arena, and we just scrap the whole thing,' he said. Mr Milei achieved worldwide notoriety in 2023 after posting a video of himself ripping down from a whiteboard the names of government agencies deemed surplus to requirements – such as the ministry of women, genders and diversity – while shouting 'afuera', which means 'out'. He is said to be an admirer of Friedrich Hayek, the Austrian-British economist who laid out the dangers of state-directed economic planning in The Road to Serfdom in 1944. Since taking office, Mr Milei has cut 35,000 public sector jobs and introduced strict controls to slow devaluation of the peso, hoping that Argentina can retain competitiveness through deregulation, lowering taxes and corporate borrowing costs. Critics said Mr Milei's radical reforms led to a sharp rise in the poverty rate in the first half of 2024 – which decreased in the second half of the year – but his methods appear to have had some success. Argentina is taking in more taxes than it is spending, inflation has been somewhat tamed and debt is falling. Inflation has fallen from a monthly increase of 25 per cent in January 2024 to a little over 2 per cent per month, with price rises dropping from a peak of almost 300 per cent a year to around 119 per cent. The World Bank forecast Argentina's economy to grow by 5 per cent in 2025, after contracting by 3.4 per cent in the first half of 2024. Mr Sturzenegger said a 'boom in energy products' would spur Argentina to open up its economy and keep its inflation in check. Argentina is the second-largest shale gas producer in the world, after the US, and is the world's fourth-largest producer of lithium. The deregulation minister said Argentina should waste no time in exploiting its natural resources. 'The world is very dynamic, you don't want to leave those resources down below the ground,' he said, adding: 'We need to open up the economy so the pesos doesn't strengthen so much.'
