Environmental developments worldwide in September 2021

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) – Several reports on climate change and its growing impact were released in September, while some positive steps and pledges for reduction of carbon emissions were also witnessed.

Here is a list of environmental developments, reports, events, and stories compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Sept. 1:

- Over 30 million people are dying from hunger across the world, according to a report by the UN special rapporteur on the right to food.

Sept. 2:

- The mayor of New York City declared a state of emergency after Hurricane Ida caused heavy floods.

Sept. 4:

- Trees 4 Kili, a conservation charity in northern Tanzania, is working to plant 50 million trees in a pioneering reforestation campaign in the Mt. Kilimanjaro region.

Sept. 7:

- US President Joe Biden visited flood-hit areas in New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Ida’s remnants lashed the region with heavy rainfall and caused tornadoes.

Sept. 8:

- The Biden administration rolled out an ambitious plan to ensure that solar power constitutes nearly 50% of US energy by 2050.

Sept. 9:

- An international conservation group said rising sea levels from climate change are pushing the prehistoric Komodo dragons from “vulnerable” to “endangered” status.

- Argentina hosted the virtual Latin American Summit on Climate Change ahead of the COP26 meetings in Glasgow.

Sept. 10:

- The US’ Harvard University announced that it will stop investing in fossil fuels after nearly a decade of criticism from students and faculty.

Sept. 14:

- Turkey’s agriculture minister said the country is aiming to modernize its irrigation systems and agriculture.

Sept. 15:

- Even countries with strong targets are mostly not on track to meet them, while more have failed to bring forward stronger commitments for 2030, said a report by the Climate Action Tracker.

Sept. 16:

- The European Commission’s executive vice president for the European Green Deal and Turkey’s environment minister held the first EU-Turkey high-level dialogue on climate change.

- An Indonesian court ordered President Joko Widodo and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to improve the hazardous air quality of the capital.

- All naturally occurring climate events are now related to human-induced climate change and extreme events previously seen once a century may now happen every 20 years, the head of the World Meteorological Organization said.

- Climate-related disasters affected the lives of at least 139.2 million people and killed some 17,242 since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Sept. 17:

- UN chief Antonio Guterres issued a dire warning, saying the world is on a “catastrophic pathway” to surpass negotiated caps on temperature increases meant to mitigate the ravages of climate change.

- US President Joe Biden called on EU and other partners to launch a Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions to at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.

Sept. 18:

- Nine European countries bordering the Mediterranean met in Athens for the EUMed9 Summit, agreeing on global action against climate change and to preserve the natural environment of the Mediterranean.

- Climate finance provided and mobilized by developed countries for developing countries totaled $79.6 billion in 2019, up 2% from $78.3 billion in 2018, according to new data released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Sept. 20:

- American business magnate Bill Gates’ nonprofit organization, Breakthrough Energy, announced that it has partnered with seven corporations for its program to accelerate development of climate-smart technologies to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Sept. 21:

- Turkey is planning to submit the Paris climate pact to parliament next month in line with its constructive steps and as a declaration of its contributions to the cause, announced President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

- China’s President Xi Jinping ordered a halt to building new coal-fired power projects outside of China.

Sept. 22:

- To mark World Rhino Day, authorities in India’s northeastern state of Assam burned nearly 2,500 rhino horns in a strong message to deter poaching of rhinos.

- The European Union welcomed Turkey’s plan to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change in October.

- Bosnia and Herzegovina's Croat member of the presidency said the crisis of climate change and global warming is “already here” and stressed the need for urgent measures.

Sept. 23:

- NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres hold talks in New York on climate crisis.

- The UN’s annual climate change conference, COP26, must be a “turning point for humanity,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in UN General Assembly address in New York.

Sept. 24:

- After many months without rain due to climate change, many communities in northern Kenya face severe difficulties, including life-threatening hunger and competition with wild animals for resources such as water and pastures.

- Turkey will continue to pull its weight in tackling the climate crisis and ensuring clean energy transformation, said President Erdogan.

Sept. 25:

- Rwanda named 24 endangered mountain baby gorillas born in late 2020 and this year in an annual conservation event known locally as “Kwita Izina.”

Sept. 26:

- Air pollution is a serious problem in India and calls for nationwide action, the head of the Public Health Foundation think tank said on World Environmental Health Day.

Sept. 28:

- Billions of dollars are needed to prepare Africa’s cities for climate change and to turn urban centers into engines of green growth, said a report by the Coalition for Urban Transitions and FSD Africa.