Positive climate news and hurdles for Sweden entering NATO
Plus, Uganda stamps out ebola and South Korea tries to move forward
It can be easy to be nihilistic about the planet’s future, as the vast majority of the news we read is dire. But there are occasional victories, and a major one hit the newswires this week: the ozone layer appears to be healing.
There are more details about the story below, but I wanted to highlight the news because it is important to note positive climate updates.
The ozone layer healing is proof that collective action can work, even if it takes decades. About 35 years have passed since international governments signed the Montreal Protocol in 1987, but today’s positive news would have been impossible without that legislation.
We are keenly aware of the threat the planet faces, meaning good news acts as a motivator and may help galvanize change. The constant drumbeat of a bleak future can often lead to inaction.
What if the Paris Climate Agreement works? And 30 years from now the planet is much healthier than today. The Montreal Protocol proves it is as least possible.
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Sweden and Türkiye feud over potential NATO membership
The Swedish government spent this week criticizing Türkiye, and then walking it back, after Ankara has proven to be a significant hurdle for the nordic country’s attempt to join NATO.
To win Türkiye’s support, Sweden distanced itself from a Kurdish military group, lifted a weapons export embargo and emphasized anti-terrorism measures. When Ankara moved the goalposts, officials in Stockholm said they “could not” meet the additional demands.
For example, a Swedish court refused to extradite a Turkish journalist over concerns he would be unfairly prosecuted.
NATO membership requires unanimous support, and only Türkiye and Hungary have blocked the applications of Sweden and Finland, but both countries expect Hungary to approve their participation.
There are a couple of other factors at work here. Sweden has made joining NATO a top priority after Russia invaded Ukraine, but public polling suggests the average Swede is willing to forgo NATO if it means sacrificing their values.
More important might be a June election in Türkiye that is already showing signs it could get ugly. Turkish President Recep Erdoğan has demonstrated authoritarian tendencies for years, and the opposition leader (who was leading in the polls) was recently banned from running for office.
Finland, the other country trying to join NATO, said it does not expect Türkiye to vote until after the election.
The ozone layer is healing
The United Nations said this week that the ozone layer is healing at a slow but noticeable rate, and it will mostly heal in the 2040s at the current pace. The hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica will not recover until the 2060s.
The experts pointed to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which banned a type of chemical commonly found in refrigerants and aerosols, as the most crucial factor contributing to the recent good news.
Additionally, China’s ability to reign in its pollution over the last decade, especially its release of noxious chemicals, has been a significant positive event in the 21st century. America has also enjoyed diminishing emissions and has been a champion of the Montreal Protocol and subsequent ratifications.
There is still a long way to go - China’s emissions won’t peak until the end of this decade, and America is still a substantial per capita emitter - but the ozone update is a reminder that collective climate action can work.
Interestingly, the UN estimated that the healing ozone layer is saving 2 million people per year from skin cancer.
Uganda reigns in ebola outbreak
Uganda appears to have gotten control of an ebola epidemic over three months after it reported the problem.
These kinds of updates are especially important amid the Covid-19 pandemic because the world is collectively on edge regarding the spread of disease. Ebola is also particularly nasty, and 56 of the 142 people who caught it in Uganda died.
According to The Guardian, health minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero said: “The magic bullet has been our communities who understood the importance of doing what was needed to end the outbreak and took action.”
The country has not reported a case in 42 days, twice the incubation period for the virus. There is no vaccine for Ebola.
In other disease news, the US said it would lift its Mpox emergency response protocols after a significant dip in the spread of the disease. Experts credit the drop in cases to public health officials, vaccines and actions from members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Major climate protest at a tiny German village
German police cleared a group of climate protesters who built an encampment at a condemned village to try and save it from being demolished to expand a coal mine.
The town, Luetzerath, has come to symbolize Germany’s energy predicament, which has been exacerbated by Berlin’s attempt to ween itself off Russian energy exports after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
Protesters said any expansion of the mine would increase greenhouse gas emissions and undermine Germany’s plan to stop using coal by 2030. The government argued that the mine is necessary for Germany’s energy security so it can actually accomplish the coal ban in the next seven years. Both arguments are probably accurate.
The protest had captivated Germany and became a headache for a government that prided itself on its environmentally friendly accolades. While some protesters threw rocks during the clearing operation, the protest does appear to have ended relatively peacefully.
South Korea forced labor compensation
South Korea appears to be trying to solve one of the most contentious issues driving a wedge between its relationship with Japan. In 1910, Imperial Japan annexed the Korean peninsula and subjugated it to foreign rule until the end of World War II.
A feature of that period included systematic forced labor of Koreans by Japanese companies. For years, South Korea has pushed for the companies themselves to pay restitutions to the victims and families, which has always been met with firm resistance in Japan.
Now, the South Korean government wants to use its own money to repay the workers, which some victims or their families call “humiliating”.
However, the idea is more about South Korea trying to build a bridge with Japan as East Asia becomes increasingly unsettled.
North Korea’s increasing nuclear arsenal particularly threatens both South Korea and Japan as they, along with the United States, would be the primary candidates to be attacked in a dreadful scenario in which Kim Jong-un decides to use a bomb.
The restitutions could be a case where compromise means nobody is happy, but it might be necessary.
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