Latest news with #climatechallenges
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
POWERCHINA Drives Green Energy Transition in Europe and Central Asia Amid Growing Global Climate Pressures
BEIJING, Aug. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Power Construction Corporation of China ("POWERCHINA" or "the Company") is accelerating the global transition to a low-carbon, resilient energy system by constructing clean energy projects aimed at supporting regions affected by drought and extreme heat across Europe and Central Asia. The Company is delivering practical solutions to climate challenges through solar, hydropower, and green hydrogen projects tailored to local drought and energy needs. In May, POWERCHINA entered into a general contracting agreement with Spain's Viroque Energy for the Arreaz Photovoltaic Power Station in San Roque, Cádiz. The project, with an installed capacity of 44 megawatts, includes design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operation and maintenance. Once completed, it is expected to supply about 95,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity annually, supporting local low-carbon energy development. POWERCHINA is actively advancing the global energy transition. Another POWERCHINA-constructed solution to global climate pressures, the Ulog Hydropower Plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was officially completed and handed over for operation recently, marking the project's entry into full commercial operation. With an installed capacity of 35.14 megawatts, this hydropower station is designed to meet both power generation and ecological water supply needs, the project is equipped with a concrete double-curvature arch dam, an ecological flow power station, a right-bank water diversion tunnel, and a water diversion and power generation system. Upon full completion, the project will significantly enhance local power supply reliability, support Bosnia and Herzegovina's energy structure optimization, concurrently improve regional ecological conditions, and further amplify POWERCHINA's global influence. Further east, Central Asia's first industrial-scale green hydrogen project in the region - also marking POWERCHINA's maiden international green hydrogen venture - has commenced trial operations in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with successful production of high-purity hydrogen. This landmark project represents a crucial component of Uzbekistan's Green Energy Strategy. The core hydrogen production facility is located at the MAXAM Chemical Plant in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. It adopts ALK electrolysis technology, equipped with 4x1,000 Nm³/h electrolyzer systems, total capacity is 20 MW. The facility can produce 3,150 tons of green hydrogen annually, reducing approximately 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year compared to the previous gray hydrogen production mode. The project represents a key milestone in advancing green, low-carbon energy transformation across Central Asia and beyond. Speaking about the green hydrogen initiative, Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, commented that the successful launch of the project marks a significant milestone for the industry. He praised the project's progress, highlighting its demonstration of international cooperation and the shared commitment to advancing clean energy. By overcoming numerous challenges, the project also provides valuable experience for the global development of green hydrogen. As the world confronts unprecedented environmental challenges, POWERCHINA remains committed to helping accelerate the global transition to clean energy with tangible, scalable results. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE POWERCHINA Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Zawya
6 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Tunisia: Small Cabinet meeting on ESCWA's Climate/SDGs Debt Swap Initiative
Tunis - A small Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri, was held on Tuesday to discuss the initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on swapping external debt for investments to implement projects that adapt to climate challenges and contribute to improving economic, social, and environmental indicators. This initiative aims to enable member states to finance projects that address climate challenges through an innovative financing approach, whereby bilateral external debt payments are redirected toward projects aligned with national priorities, choices, and development plans. It also seeks to improve economic, social, and environmental indicators by raising citizens' living standards, preserving existing jobs, creating new employment opportunities, boosting development in the poorest and most vulnerable regions, and supporting small-scale farmers. The meeting reviewed an initial list of projects to be proposed under the swap framework, which will be enriched with other projects through bilateral discussions with international partners, as part of implementing the aforementioned initiative. These projects stem from proposals made by local, regional, and district councils during the preparation of the 2026–2030 development plan. These projects mainly concern water resources, alternative and renewable energy, wastewater treatment plant management, forest system rehabilitation, and coastal protection. The proposed projects under the swap programme aim to achieve the following key performance indicators: improving access to clean water; enhancing wastewater treatment through new technologies; increasing the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix by 35% by 2030; restoring Tunisia's forest ecosystems; improving the resilience of coastal areas to climate challenges; improving the well-being of poor populations and providing job opportunities for them; and investing in development goals. The Prime Minister affirmed that the ESCWA initiative represents an important opportunity to enhance financial sustainability and investment through the implementation of various projects in areas such as water security, wastewater management, energy transition via renewable energy supply, ecological transition, and regional development—thereby strengthening national capacity to face climate challenges. This would be achieved within comprehensive agreements between debtor and creditor parties and donors, based on measurable performance indicators and outcomes. She added that this initiative could lead to the building of a fair and productive national economy, breaking away from traditional models based on inequality and dependency. She noted that the ESCWA initiative aligns with the Tunisian state's vision for financing development and addressing climate challenges, as presented during the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Seville, Spain, from June 30 to July 3, 2025. At the conclusion of its work, the Cabinet meeting recommended the implementation of the ESCWA initiative and the proper negotiation of the model project programme with international partners. The aim is to finalise swap agreements by the end of 2025 and launch investments in development projects that improve livelihoods in the poorest and most vulnerable areas, promote the economic inclusion of disadvantaged groups, reduce poverty levels and narrow the regional disparity gap. © Tap 2025 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
The Guardian
04-08-2025
- General
- The Guardian
This New York City island was once a military base. Now it's becoming a climate solutions hub
Between lower Manhattan's iconic skyscrapers and Brooklyn's buzzing waterfront lies Governors Island, a 172-acre island in New York Harbor only accessible by ferry, seen here in July. Originally used by the Lenape tribe for seasonal hunting and fishing, Governors Island later became a military outpost and army headquarters before being sold to New York City and the state. It was officially opened to the public in 2005. With its expansive green lawns, panoramic views, food vendors, and rotating art installations, the island now attracts nearly a million visitors each year. More recently, it has evolved into an educational hub and incubator for solutions to facing the city's climate and environmental challenges. Through a pilot program headed by the Trust for Governor's Island, innovators and companies receive funding and space to launch their ideas and test them in the real world. Projects include Seaweed City, a non-profit that started in Newtown Creek in 2021 with the goal of connecting communities to local waterways by involving them in the growing and harvesting of kelp, while exploring its potential for innovative uses. Shanjana Mahmud (right), 41, Founder and Co-executive director of Seaweed City, seen here with volunteers pulling kelp from their recent harvest to the shore. Seaweeds like kelp, shown here being rinsed by volunteers, offer a nature-based solution to water quality challenges. They help purify the water and create vital marine habitats. 'It's remarkable how the default solutions for improving the city's waterways are often energy-intensive, engineered, and not conducive to marine life,' said Mahmud. 'By contrast, seaweed restoration supports biodiversity in a natural and sustainable way.' 'It's been amazing doing something hands-on outside of an academic setting,' said Manal Bawazir, 27, a biology major and first-time volunteer seen here arranging the kelp to dry which will then be preserved on site and ready to be processed. The harvested seaweeds can then be processed into soil amendment and biomaterials. Seaweed City aims to establish seaweed gardens across all five boroughs in collaboration with local community organizations. With full-time jobs in addition to their work at Seaweed City, Mahmud and partner Luke Eddins identified their main challenge as expanding their organizational capacity as well as securing sustainable funding to support full-time staff. The island also hosts long-term tenants working on environmental solutions, such as the Billion Oyster Project, which launched in 2014, with the goal of restoring one billion oysters in New York Harbor by 2035 while engaging the community. Alana Norwood-Hollis visited Governor's Island for the first time from Brooklyn to volunteer with the oyster project on a recent day in July. 'I wanted to volunteer, and I'm happy I started here,' she said. Built by staff and volunteers, these reef balls will be installed in the harbor at multiple restoration sites to encourage oyster larvae attachment. A healthy oyster population can improve water quality, while the reefs serve as a natural habitat for marine life and a natural defense against erosion and sea level rise. So far, they've reintroduced 150 million oysters into the water. Photograph: Thalia Juarez/The Guardian On a recent July morning, volunteers helped transfer oyster shells through a tumbler that cleans and sorts the shells onto palettes, which are then placed in the hatchery for oyster incubation. The oysters come from restaurants across the city and are left for a year to be 'cleaned' by sunshine, bugs, rain and other natural processes before oyster larvae are introduced. Photograph: Thalia Juarez/The Guardian Other long-term tenants include an urban composting center by Earth Matters, a nonprofit. As part of the island's zero waste mission, the facility processes all of the food scraps and landscape debris generated on the island and turns it into nutrient-rich compost that is directly returned to the soil on and off the island to community gardens and parks in the city. Volunteers are seen here setting up pads of woodchips and landscape debris from the island to prep for a drop off of food scraps. Photograph: Thalia Juarez/The Guardian Open to the public, the site aims to show how communities can participate in small-scale composting within an urban Bayrer, one of the founders, is seen here holding the finished compost, organic matter that can be used as fertilizer in garden soil. 'It's the magic of the transformation,' said Bayrer about what keeps him returning to the island to share the knowledge of this ancient practice. Photograph: Thalia Juarez/The Guardian Earth Matter's work heavily relies on education and volunteer activities, such as caring for the goats, which are brought from a dairy farm each summer. Their nitrogen-rich manure is added to the composting process. A once-abandoned military chapel, formerly known as Our Lady Star of the Sea, was renovated and opened in 2024 to host the island's climate week and other events. Now known as Building 309, people are seen here lining up for a Climate Solutions Showcase event in June. The first year of the climate pilot program in June 2023 focused on water, a theme for which the island is an expert. Now in its second year, the program has invited companies working in the circular economy, a model that aims shifting from a linear model of resource extraction, product creation, and waste to methods that eliminate waste and pollution, maximizing resource use through the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle, and repair. Attendees are seen here Manuel Benitez Ruiz shares his ideas for embedding vegetation into building materials, marketed as low-carbon concrete, designed to enhance air quality and reduce extreme heat during public demonstrations of the Climate Solutions Showcase on the island in April. His company, Plantaer, will test its living concrete façade technology on the island in the coming year. One of the inspirations for this year's theme of reusing and recycling is a solar-powered micro factory from Circular Economy manufacturing. It chops up plastic waste like laundry detergent bottles and then uses a low energy system to form new things. Governors Island has a grant-funded project to collaborate on the manufacture of park furniture. Made from plastic film canisters, these planters are among the products that Circular Economy manufacturing hopes to continue creating from plastic waste. Led by Barent Roth, a designer and professor at the Parsons School of Design, he saw a huge need for industrial designers to design specifically to solve environmental problems.'Too often designers were just making stylistic changes and not worrying about the massive amount of waste that was being generated, and I saw us as being part of the problem when we could be part of the solution. So I just kind of dedicated my career to it.' 'Whatever your area of expertise, there's something you can contribute to solving these problems,' said Barent Roth.– The Guardian receives support for visual climate coverage from the Outrider Foundation. The Guardian's coverage is editorially independent.
Zawya
01-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
AIIB and Arab Fund forge strategic partnership to advance sustainable infrastructure development
Seville – The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) formalized a strategic partnership through the signing of a memorandum of understanding aimed at deepening cooperation and accelerating the delivery of sustainable infrastructure across shared priority regions. The signing ceremony took place on the sidelines of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, Spain, and was officiated by Jin Liqun, President of AIIB, and Bader Alsaad, Chairman and Director General of the Arab Fund in the presence of senior representatives from both institutions. President Jin: "Our partnership with the Arab Fund represents a significant milestone in our shared commitment to sustainable development. By combining AIIB's infrastructure expertise with the Arab Fund's deep regional knowledge, we can deliver transformative projects that address the most pressing connectivity and climate challenges. Together, we will mobilize greater resources and drive innovation in infrastructure financing for a more sustainable future." The MoU establishes a comprehensive framework for collaboration between AIIB and the Arab Fund across sovereign and non-sovereign co-financing, joint project preparation, and strategic priorities including climate resilience, cross-border connectivity, and digital infrastructure, and sustainable urban development. Bader Alsaad, Chairman and Director General of the Arab Fund: "This significant partnership with AIIB will enable us to achieve our mission of financing sustainable development across the Arab region, aligning directly with the SDGs. Through this collaboration we will mobilize vital resources and strengthen our support for strategic infra-related initiatives, ultimately contributing to a more prosperous and sustainable future.' This partnership underscores both institutions' commitment to deepening collaboration with regional development partners and advancing innovative, demand-driven approaches to financing sustainable infrastructure for the future. About AIIB: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is a multilateral development bank dedicated to financing 'infrastructure for tomorrow,' with sustainability at its core. AIIB began operations in 2016, now has 110 approved members worldwide, is capitalized at USD100 billion and is AAA-rated by major international credit rating agencies. AIIB collaborates with partners to mobilize capital and invest in infrastructure and other productive sectors that foster sustainable economic development and enhance regional connectivity. About the Arab Fund: The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development is a regional financial institution based in Kuwait, established in 1972 to support the economic and social development of Arab countries. Through loans, grants, and technical assistance, the Arab Fund finances infrastructure, education, health, water and sanitation and public service projects that contribute to sustainable development and regional cooperation across the Arab world.
ABC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Dairy farmers disappointed with new farm gate prices as drought, floods add financial pressure
Dairy farmers have been disappointed by the farm gate milk prices announced for the next financial year as they continue to struggle with drought and floods. Dairy companies have revealed their opening milk prices, a month before the start of the financial year, as required under the mandatory milk pricing code. This year's milk prices are up slightly on last year, ranging from $8.60 to $9.20 per kilogram of milk solids. But they are lower than what farmers were hoping for. The dairy heartlands of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are in the grips of drought, while many farms in New South Wales and Queensland are recovering from floods. "This is not a normal year," Colac dairy farmer and Dairy Farmers Victoria president Mark Billing said. "The climate challenges we are seeing right across Victoria, coupled with extraordinary cost increases on farm, mean that farmers are carrying unprecedented levels of financial and emotional strain." He said companies risked the rapid decline of Australia's milk production if they did not increase prices to help dairy farmers through the tough times. "Milk processors have repeatedly said they value their suppliers," Mr Billing said. The majority of farmers are paid for the level of fat and protein in their milk, known as milk solids. Many were hoping to be paid at least $9.20 to $9.50 per kilogram of milk solids, which equated to about 70 cents per litre. Mr Billing said the prices under $9.20 on offer from the dairy companies were not enough for farmers to get by. United Dairyfarmers of Victoria president Bernie Free agreed. "It's pretty disappointing, really," he said. He said some farmers would quit the industry if milk prices did not go up soon. "I think it's a concern that farmers may move out of the industry at this price mark, especially in [drought-affected] western Victoria," he said. "Gippsland is not far behind us, and there are pockets in north-east Victoria that are doing it pretty tough. Dairy Australia's latest outlook shows the national milk pool is on track to drop 1 per cent this financial year, compared to the previous one. It has also forecast a further drop in production of up to 2 per cent in 2025/26. If that happened, milk production would sit around 8.24 billion litres, almost 3 billion less than the industry's peak in the early 2000s. Dairy Australia analysis and insights manager, Eliza Redfern, said ongoing challenges with the weather were affecting production. "We are also seeing a lower appetite for farm business growth, and we do expect some farm exits to continue within the new season," she said. Fonterra Oceania was the first milk company to announce its opening milk price for the next season, with one of the lowest prices — an average of $8.60 per kilo of milk solids. Its director of farm source and sustainability, Matt Watt, said while it was higher than last year's opening price, he understood farmers would like more. "What we've got to do is make sure we're running a business that is here, not only this year, but for years to come," he said. "That's our job, frankly, to make sure that we're continuing to make decisions that support paying a milk price that we're earning in the market. "Sometimes that is a milk price that farmers appreciate and enjoy, and other times it takes a bit of time."
