Latest news with #JorgeSilva
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
US climate pullback threatens planned debt-for-nature deals
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows bleached corals on the reef at the Costa dos Corais, in Japaratinga, in the State of Alagoas, in Brazil, April 16, 2024. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo LONDON - Billions of dollars of debt deals aimed at protecting vital ecosystems from Africa to Latin America are at risk of unravelling or may need rework amid concerns that crucial U.S. backing is about to dry up under President Donald Trump. The 'debt-for-nature' swaps, which reduce a country's debt in return for conservation commitments, have gained traction in recent years with deals involving the Galapagos Islands, coral reefs and the Amazon rainforest among the most prominent. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has been a key player, providing political risk insurance for over half of the deals done over the last five years, accounting for nearly 90% of $6 billion of swapped debt. A source with direct knowledge of the plans said the DFC had about five swaps in the pipeline which are now in question with CEO-in-waiting Ben Black and U.S. government efficiency chief Elon Musk both criticising its climate work. The source did not specify how much debt was covered by the swaps but pointed out that the last few DFC-backed deals involved over $1 billion each. Spokespeople for the White House and the DFC did not respond to requests for comment on future DFC involvement in such deals. A DFC official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to Reuters it stepped down earlier this year as co-chair of a global task force set up in 2023 to expand the use of debt swaps. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also hit out at multilateral lenders for climate change work amid a broader U.S. retreat that has seen it withdraw from the Paris Agreement to curb global warming. Angola and Zambia and at least one Latin American country are among those whose 'debt-for-nature' swap plans risk needing to be reworked or even abandoned due to DFC uncertainty, four sources that have been directly involved in the projects said. Angolan Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa said her country, which is one of the most indebted in Africa and whose rivers feed the Okavango basin vital for endangered elephants and lions, has been talking to the DFC about two potential swaps. One is a debt-for-nature deal, the other a broader 'debt-for-development' swap tied to education and young people. "We feel openness from them (DFC), but especially on the debt-for-development swap," de Sousa recently told Reuters. "We respect their vision," she added. "For us there is no difference – we have opportunities on the development side, and we have opportunities on the nature side." In Zambia, which late last year was looking closely at a swap linked to its vast national parks that are home to over 40% of Africa's elephants, things have changed too. "We are not completely shutting (the swap) down but we are not actively at it right now," its Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane told Reuters, declining to specify the reason for the shift. NEW REALITY Generating money for conservation by exchanging costly government bonds for cheaper ones is seen as an obvious choice for smaller nations grappling with heavy debt loads and climate change pressures. The UK-based, non-profit International Institute for Environment and Development estimates that the world's 49 poorest countries seen most at risk of debt crises could swap a quarter of the over $430 billion they now owe. Given the signals coming from Washington, those that do should drop hopes of DFC support and look at alternatives, said White Advisory managing director Sebastian Espinosa, who has advised Barbados, Belize and Seychelles on such swaps. Those could include credit guarantees from major multilateral development banks, potentially alongside private sector insurers and guarantors, as pioneered by the Bahamas last year. Historically, though, DFC backing has been crucial in scaling up deals, offering up to $1 billion in political risk insurance. That protects those who buy the new lower-cost bonds if the governments involved fail to make payments. "Who's going to step in? (to replace DFC) I don't know," said Eva Mayerhofer at the European Investment Bank, which backed a 2023 Barbados swap. "We won't be able to do debt conversions that regularly." The Inter-American Development Bank, involved in five of the last nine debt-for-nature swaps, sometimes alongside the DFC —declined to comment on whether any of its plans were being affected. Investment firm Nuveen's Stephen Liberatore, who has been a cornerstone investor in some debt swaps, said while substitutes for the DFC could be found, the knock-on effects were yet to be seen. "What is the price for a private entity (to provide risk insurance) versus a public entity like the DFC?" Liberatore said. "Does it change the amount of savings?" which are then spent on conservation. "That's the ultimate question." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Brazil hopes to be officially free of bird flu in 28 days
FILE PHOTO: A person wearing a hazmat suit stands next to burning egg cartons and other items in a hole in the ground at a poultry farm after Brazil confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on Friday, triggering protocols for a country-wide trade ban from top buyer China and state-wide restrictions for other major consumers, in Montenegro, Brazil May 16, 2025. REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo Chicken is displayed in a fridge in a market in Sao Paulo, Brazil May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Jorge Silva Brazil hopes to be officially free of bird flu in 28 days SAO PAULO - Brazil began a 28-day bird flu observation period on Thursday which it hopes will show the country's chicken farms are free of the disease after local authorities said a farm where its first outbreak was detected had been fully disinfected. The outbreak in the world's largest chicken exporter, detected in the town of Montenegro in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, triggered trade bans from multiple countries. The report from state authorities late on Wednesday that the farm was cleared means that if no other cases of bird flu are detected on Brazilian commercial chicken farms over the next 28 days, the country may be considered free of the disease. The count starts on Thursday, authorities said. "We need to ensure that the 28 days of observation occur without new outbreaks," Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said after a meeting with Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite this week. "We are reinforcing actions to ensure that everything is perfectly safe," he said. Eleven active investigations into potential bird flu cases in Brazil are ongoing, including two on commercial chicken farms in Santa Catarina and Tocantins states. On Wednesday, Tocantins state authorities ruled out an outbreak of bird flu in the farm where the investigation was being conducted, citing preliminary test results. However, the federal government is conducting additional tests, according to the agriculture ministry's website. Wagner Yanaguizawa, an analyst at Rabobank, said the next few days will be decisive in determining whether the outbreak has been contained. "After 28 days, if there are no new cases from then on, Brazil can declare itself free of the disease," he said, adding that it will then be up to the importers to lift existing trade bans. "But then trade flows will most likely return to normal," Yanaguizawa said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
04-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
New Zealand to spend NZ$2 billion on new maritime helicopters
FILE PHOTO: A military helicopter flies towards the airport during the rescue mission following the White Island volcano eruptions, in Whakatane, New Zealand, December 13, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo New Zealand to spend NZ$2 billion on new maritime helicopters WELLINGTON - The New Zealand government said on Sunday it had set aside NZ$2 billion ($1.19 billion) in its upcoming budget to replace the Defence Force's aging maritime helicopters, as global tensions increase. Along with money for the helicopters, the government said it would increase baseline spending by NZ$239 million for the Defence Force each year over the next four years. 'It is very clear that New Zealand is not immune from the increasing tensions being felt throughout the world,' New Zealand Minister of Defence Judith Collins said in a statement. '(This) sets us on our path for defence spending to reach 2% of GDP by 2032-33,' she added. New Zealand's Defence Force has struggled with systemic underspending over the past several decades, which amounts to just over 1% of GDP now. In April, the government said it would boost defence spending with NZ$9 billion of new funding over the next four years. 'There is no economic security without national security. Global tensions are increasing rapidly, and Defence personnel need the right equipment and conditions to do their jobs,' Collins added. 'As a maritime nation we are prioritising naval capability,' she said. New Zealand's first national security review in 2023 called for more military spending and stronger ties with Indo-Pacific nations to tackle climate change and strategic competition among the West, China and Russia. New Zealand has eight SH-2G(I) Seasprite maritime helicopters. Collins said replacing these will increase the defensive and offensive capabilities and surveillance range of New Zealand's frigates. Collins added she will have more to say about defence investments in the coming year when the government unveils its budget. New Zealand's budget is scheduled for May 22, and will outline spending for the 12-month period to June 30, 2026. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Brazil ex-President Bolsonaro's health has worsened, says medical note
FILE PHOTO: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro looks up as he greets his supporters, at a demonstration against his judicial process and to demand the amnesty of all accused of taking part in allegedly conspiring to overthrow the government, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo
Straits Times
23-04-2025
- Science
- Straits Times
Global coral bleaching crisis spreads after hottest year, scientists say
FILE PHOTO: Bleached corals are seen at a reef in Koh Mak, Trat province, Thailand, May 8, 2024. REUTERS/Napat Wesshasartar/File Photo FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows bleached corals on the reef at the Costa dos Corais, in Japaratinga, in the State of Alagoas, in Brazil, April 16, 2024. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Bleached corals are seen near a bull statue in a reef in Koh Mak, Trat province, Thailand, May 8, 2024. REUTERS/Napat Wesshasartar/File Photo More than four-fifths of the world's coral reef areas have been affected by devastating mass bleaching spurred by record-high ocean temperatures, turning many once-colourful reefs a ghostly pale hue, scientific authorities said on Wednesday. Bleaching is triggered by anomalies in water temperature that cause corals to expel the colorful algae living in their tissues. Without the algae's help in delivering nutrients to the corals, the corals cannot survive. The world's fourth mass bleaching event, which scientists declared one year ago, has shown few signs of slowing down, according to the International Coral Reef Initiative and data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which track reef health. Instead, it has grown to be the most widespread on record, with 84% of reef areas - from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic to the Pacific - subjected to intense heat stress for a duration expected to cause bleaching as of March 2025. Last year was the hottest on record and the first to reach over 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times, contributing to unprecedented ocean temperatures and triple the previous record number of marine heatwaves around the world. "The magnitude and extent of the heat stress is shocking," said Melanie McField, a marine scientist working in the Caribbean. "Some reefs that had thus far escaped major heat stress and we thought to be somewhat resilient, succumbed to partial mortalities in 2024." "Bleaching is always eerie - as if a silent snowfall has descended on the reef," she added. Previous events in 1998, 2010, and 2014-17 saw 21%, 37% and 68% of reefs subjected to bleaching-level heat stress respectively. Marine biologists had warned early last year the world's reefs were on the verge of a mass bleaching following months of record-breaking ocean heat fuelled by human-induced climate change and the El Nino climate pattern, which yields unusually warm ocean temperatures along the equator and in the Pacific. In December 2024, a weak La Nina pattern, which typically brings cooler ocean temperatures, gave scientists hope that corals might recover, but it only lasted three months. Instead, the bleaching has continued to spread, said NOAA Coral Reef Watch coordinator Derek Manzello. The Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea were recently added to the list of 82 countries and territories registering bleaching-level heat stress in their waters. It will take scientists years to understand the global extent of coral reef death, but they say they have already observed widespread mortality in parts of the Caribbean, Red Sea, and along Australia's Great Barrier Reef. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
