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CalMatters honored with 9 awards celebrating our “unsung hero” and journalism from commentary to investigative

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Thursday, October 31, 2024

In summary CalMatters journalists are lauded for their work — from hard-charging investigations to broad projects like Digital Democracy. CalMatters is being honored with nine Northern California journalism awards, including for best investigative, explanatory, health and environmental reporting. The organization also garnered three photojournalism awards and its first-ever honors for commentary.Additionally, Senior Director of Product Sapna Satagopan was named an “unsung hero” — a distinction that celebrates someone “whose contribution to journalism usually happens behind the scenes and is often overlooked.” The awards, announced Wednesday, were given by the Society of Professional Journalists’  Northern California chapter. They’ll  be given out, and judges’ comments released, at the chapter’s Nov. 15 awards banquet. Satagopan was cited as a “visionary leader” behind CalMatters’ Digital Democracy tool, Recall Voter Guide, newsletters and explainers. She also founded Xyza: News for Kids, a subscription news platform for young readers. “I am so grateful to be honored for my work that connects critical news and information with the people of California,” Satagopan said. “I love the opportunity we are provided in journalism product design to make a difference in the world, to empower people, to hold leaders accountable, and to ultimately improve the community.” The commentary award goes to CalMatters’ California Voices Editor Yousef Baig for his piece “From ‘train to nowhere’ to Fresno’s dream: What high-speed rail means for the Central Valley.” “My main goal with this piece was to flip the conversation on high-speed rail so readers could hear from people who live and work in the Central Valley. This kind of approach is at the heart of the Voices mission. For that to be recognized, it’s incredibly gratifying” Baig said. Here are CalMatters other award wins, in the print/online large division: INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: Nigel Duara and Jeremia Kimelman for the three-part series “Locked up and Dying” about jail deaths in California. EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM: Lauren Hepler for “California’s Unemployment Crash” — part 1, part 2 and part 3.  ENVIRONMENT REPORTING: Rachel Becker for “The world’s largest dam demolition has begun. Can the dammed Klamath River finally find salvation?” HEALTH REPORTING: Kristen Hwang, Ana B. Ibarra and Erica Yee for “No Deliveries,” a series on maternity ward closures around California. PHOTOJOURNALISM (breaking news): Jules Hotz  for a photo of a pro-Palestinian protester being arrested after being surrounded by police officers at the University of Southern California. PHOTOJOURNALISM (photo essay): Larry Valenzuela, who is also a Catchlight fellow,  for “‘Go to the people’: Street medicine teams bring health care to the unhoused.” PHOTOJOURNALISM (single image): Jules Hotz for a photo of Screen Actors Guild members and Writers Guild of America members picketing at the Amazon Culver Studios in Culver City.  And, CalMatters contributor Alastair Bland won science reporting honors for his Bay Nature piece on California’s bull kelp forests. Here’s the full list of NorCal SPJ’s 2024 winners from newspapers, online news sites, radio and television stations across Northern California.

CalMatters journalists are lauded for their work — from hard-charging investigations to broad projects like Digital Democracy.

Graphic showing images from the 9 CalMatters stories and projects that won Society of Professional Journalist NorCal awards for 2024

In summary

CalMatters journalists are lauded for their work — from hard-charging investigations to broad projects like Digital Democracy.

CalMatters is being honored with nine Northern California journalism awards, including for best investigative, explanatory, health and environmental reporting. The organization also garnered three photojournalism awards and its first-ever honors for commentary.

Additionally, Senior Director of Product Sapna Satagopan was named an “unsung hero” — a distinction that celebrates someone “whose contribution to journalism usually happens behind the scenes and is often overlooked.”

The awards, announced Wednesday, were given by the Society of Professional Journalists’  Northern California chapter. They’ll  be given out, and judges’ comments released, at the chapter’s Nov. 15 awards banquet.

Satagopan was cited as a “visionary leader” behind CalMatters’ Digital Democracy tool, Recall Voter Guide, newsletters and explainers. She also founded Xyza: News for Kids, a subscription news platform for young readers.

“I am so grateful to be honored for my work that connects critical news and information with the people of California,” Satagopan said. “I love the opportunity we are provided in journalism product design to make a difference in the world, to empower people, to hold leaders accountable, and to ultimately improve the community.”

The commentary award goes to CalMatters’ California Voices Editor Yousef Baig for his piece “From ‘train to nowhere’ to Fresno’s dream: What high-speed rail means for the Central Valley.”

“My main goal with this piece was to flip the conversation on high-speed rail so readers could hear from people who live and work in the Central Valley. This kind of approach is at the heart of the Voices mission. For that to be recognized, it’s incredibly gratifying” Baig said.

Here are CalMatters other award wins, in the print/online large division:

And, CalMatters contributor Alastair Bland won science reporting honors for his Bay Nature piece on California’s bull kelp forests.

Here’s the full list of NorCal SPJ’s 2024 winners from newspapers, online news sites, radio and television stations across Northern California.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

Global carbon emissions inch upwards in 2024 despite progress on EVs, renewables and deforestation

As world leaders gather at COP29 to consider reducing emissions, the latest global carbon budget shows CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels are still going up, not down, despite some promising signs.

Susan Santa Maria, ShutterstockCarbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil fuels continue to increase, year on year. This sobering reality will be presented to world leaders today at the international climate conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Our latest annual stocktake shows the world is on track to reach a new record: 37.4 billion tonnes of CO₂ emitted from fossil fuels in 2024. This is an increase of 0.8% from the previous year. Adopting renewable energy and electric vehicles is helping reduce emissions in 22 countries. But it’s not enough to compensate for ongoing global growth in fossil fuels. There were also signs in 2023 suggesting natural systems may struggle to capture and store as much CO₂ in the future as they have in the past. While humanity is tackling deforestation and the growth in fossil CO₂ emissions is slowing, the need to reach an immediate peak and decline in global emissions has never been so acute. The Global Carbon Project The Global Carbon Budget is an annual planetary account of carbon sources and sinks, which soak up carbon dioxide and remove it from the atmosphere. We include anthropogenic sources from human activities such as burning fossil fuels or making cement as well as natural sources such as bushfires. When it comes to CO₂ sinks, we consider all the ways carbon may be taken out of the atmosphere. This includes plants using CO₂ to grow and CO₂ being absorbed by the ocean. Some of this happens naturally and some is being actively encouraged by human activity. Putting all the available data on sources and sinks together each year is a huge international effort involving 86 research organisations, including Australia’s CSIRO. We also use computer models and statistical approaches to fill out the remaining months to the end of the year. Fossil fuel emissions up This year’s growth in carbon emissions from fossil fuels is mainly from fossil gas and oil, rather than coal. Fossil gas carbon emissions grew by 2.4%, signalling a return to the strong long-term growth rates observed before the COVID pandemic. Gas emissions grew in most large countries, but declined across the European Union. Oil carbon emissions grew by 0.9% overall, pushed up by a rise in emissions from international aviation and from India. The rebound in international air travel pushed aviation carbon emissions up 13.5% in 2024, although it’s still 3.5% below the pre-COVID 2019 level. Meanwhile, oil emissions from the United States and China are declining. It’s possible oil emissions have peaked in China, driven by growth in electric vehicles. Coal carbon emissions went up by 0.2%, with strong growth in India, small growth in China, a moderate decline in the US, and a large decline in the European Union. Coal use in the US is now at its lowest level in 120 years. The United Kingdom closed its last coal power plant in 2024, 142 years after the first one was opened. With strong growth in wind energy replacing coal, the UK CO₂ emissions have almost been cut in half since 1990. Changing land use Carbon emissions also come from land clearing and degradation. But some of that CO₂ can be taken up again by planting trees. So we need to examine both sources and sinks on land. Global net CO₂ emissions from land use change averaged 4.1 billion tonnes a year over the past decade (2014–23). This year is likely to be slightly higher than average with 4.2 billion tonnes, due to drought and fires in the Amazon. That amount represents about 10% of all emissions from human activities, the rest owing to fossil fuels. Importantly, total carbon emissions – the sum of fossil fuel emissions and land-use change emissions – have largely plateaued over the past decade, but are still projected to reach a record of just over 41 billion tonnes in 2024. The plateau in 2014–23 follows a decade of significant growth in total emissions of 2% per year on average between 2004 and 2013. This shows humanity is tackling deforestation and the growth of fossil CO₂ emissions is slowing. However, this is not enough to put global emissions on a downward trajectory. Annual CO₂ emissions continue to increase, reaching a record high in 2024. The shaded area around each line shows the uncertainty in the estimates. Global Carbon Project, CC BY More countries are cutting emissions – but many more to go Fossil CO₂ emissions decreased in 22 countries as their economies grew. These countries are mainly from the European Union, along with the United States. Together they represent 23% of global fossil CO₂ emissions over the past decade (2014–23). This number is up from 18 countries during the previous decade (2004–13). New countries in this list include Norway, New Zealand and South Korea. In Norway, emissions from road transport declined as the share of electric vehicles in the passenger car fleet grew – the highest in the world at over 25% – and biofuels replaced fossil petrol and diesel. Even greater reductions in emissions have come from Norway’s oil and gas sector, where gas turbines on offshore platforms are being upgraded to electric. In New Zealand, emissions from the power sector are declining. Traditionally the country has had a high share of hydropower, supplemented with coal and natural gas. But now wind and particularly geothermal energy is driving fossil generation down. We are projecting further emissions growth of 0.2% in China, albeit small and with some uncertainty (including the possibility of no growth or even slight decline). China added more solar panels in 2023 than the US did in its entire history. Individual country emissions vary widely, but there are some signs of progress towards decarbonisation. Global Carbon Budget 2024/Global Carbon Project, CC BY-ND Nature shows troubling signs In the 1960s, our activities emitted an average of 16 billion tonnes of CO₂ per year globally. About half of these emissions (8 billion tonnes) were naturally removed from the atmosphere by forests and oceans. Over the past decade, emissions from human activities reached about 40 billion tonnes of CO₂ per year. Again, about half of these emissions (20 billion tonnes) were removed. In the absence of these natural sinks, current warming would already be well above 2°C. But there’s a limit to how much nature can help. In 2023, the carbon uptake on land dropped 28% from the decadal average. Global record temperatures, drought in the Amazon and unprecedented wildfires in the forests of Canada were to blame, along with an El Niño event. As climate change continues, with rising ocean temperatures and more climate extremes on land, we expect the CO₂ sinks to become less efficient. But for now, we expect last year’s land sink decline will recover to a large degree as the El Niño event has subsided. About half of the CO₂ emissions were removed from the atmosphere by forests and oceans. When we tally up all of the sources compared to the sinks, the budget should balance. We find a slight imbalance of 1.6Gt/year due to limitations of the data. Global Carbon Budget 2024/Global Carbon Project, CC BY Looking ahead Our latest carbon budget shows global fossil fuel emissions continue to increase, further delaying the peak in emissions. Global CO₂ emissions continue to track in the middle of the range of scenarios developed by the Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). We have yet to bend the emissions curve into the 1.5–2°C warming territory of the Paris Agreement. This comes at a time when it’s clear we need to be reducing emissions, to avoid worsening climate change. We also identified some positive signs, such as the rapid adoption of renewable energy and electric cars as they become cheaper and more accessible, supporting the march toward a net-zero emissions pathway. But turning these trends into global decarbonisation requires a far greater level of ambition and action. Pep Canadell receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program - Climate Systems Hub. Corinne Le Quéré receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council and the UK Royal Society. She was granted a research donation by Schmidt Futures (project CALIPSO – Carbon Loss In Plants, Soils and Oceans). Corinne Le Quéré is a member of the UK Climate Change Committee. Her position here is her own and does not necessarily reflect that of the Committee. Glen Peters receives funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.Judith Hauck receives funding from the European Research Council (OceanPeak) and the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program (OceanICU – Improving Carbon Understanding). The work reflects only the authors' view; the European Commission and their executive agency are not responsible for any use that may be made.Julia Pongratz receives funding from German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.Pierre Friedlingstein receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Robbie Andrew receives funding from the Norwegian Environment Agency and the European Union's Horizon Europe.

Campaigners in Italy urge pope to stop ‘sacrifice’ of 200-year-old tree for Xmas

Twenty-nine-metre tall fir destined to be chopped down and transported to St Peter’s Square in the VaticanEnvironmental campaigners in Italy’s northern Trentino province have started a campaign to stop the felling of a 200-year-old fir tree intended to form the centrepiece of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations.The so-called “Green Giant” is 29 metres tall and is due to be chopped down next week in a forest in the Ledro valley before being transported to the Vatican and positioned in St Peter’s Square, where it will then be unveiled on 9 December. Continue reading...

Environmental campaigners in Italy’s northern Trentino province have started a campaign to stop the felling of a 200-year-old fir tree intended to form the centrepiece of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations.The so-called “Green Giant” is 29 metres tall and is due to be chopped down next week in a forest in the Ledro valley before being transported to the Vatican and positioned in St Peter’s Square, where it will then be unveiled on 9 December.The Vatican’s Christmas tree tradition began in 1982 and ever since then a fir is donated each year, either from a region in Italy or another European country. The gift is often a source of pride.But several environmental associations in Trentino are determined to foil this year’s plan. They have written an open letter to Pope Francis asking him to stop what they described as “a useless sacrifice”. Meanwhile, more than 40,000 people have signed a petition and residents in Ledro, a town with a population of about 600, are reportedly planning a road-block protest to prevent the tree’s passage to Rome.The letter reminded the pontiff, who often lambasts climate crisis deniers, that some of his encyclicals have focused on safeguarding the environment.“It is inconsistent to talk about fighting climate change and then perpetuate traditions like this, which require the elimination of such an ancient and symbolic tree,” the associations wrote.The petition’s appeal urged people to sign against “the purely consumerist practice” of using living trees “for mere advertising purposes and a few ridiculous selfies”.However, Renato Girardi, the mayor of Ledro, hit back, telling the Italian press that he hadn’t expected “such malice”.“They are ruining the Christmas festivities just for a plant,” he added. “We only want to donate a fir tree, and I would like to underline that if it wasn’t donated it would end up in a sawmill.”He added that the valley’s forests are managed in compliance with PEFC, the European Commission forestry certification system.“The fir tree that will be removed is part of one of the lots that must be felled for the correct cultivation of the forest,” he said.Girardi denied claims by the campaigners that 39 more trees would be torn down and dispatched to the Vatican to adorn the internal areas of the tiny city-state in an operation alleged to cost €60,000 (£50,000).“There is no shortage of inaccuracies [in their appeal],” Girardi told the online newspaper, il Dolomiti. “It is true that 40 trees will go towards the Vatican but only one will be cut down in the woods of the Ledro while the other 39 will be purchased from specialised nurseries, because the Holy See had expressed, from the beginning preferred Nordmann fir trees suitable for interiors because they do not lose their needles. These trees have another particular characteristic: they do not grow in Ledro.”The cost of chopping down and transporting the Green Giant was, in fact, €6,000, he said.A spokesperson for the Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‘Like a Phoenix,’ A New Forest Emerges From the Destruction in Ukraine

Russia’s bombing of Kakhovka Dam in 2023 killed hundreds of people and tens of thousands of animals, but it’s also provided a potential ecological reset. The post ‘Like a Phoenix,’ A New Forest Emerges From the Destruction in Ukraine appeared first on The Revelator.

In the early hours of June 6, 2023, two large explosions reverberated across cities and small towns located on the banks of the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine. The Russian military had reportedly set off multiple bombs, destroying the three-kilometer-long Kakhovka Dam and draining its massive reservoir into nearby settlements. Water from the dam flooded the plains, killing hundreds of civilians and countless livestock, destroying farms, and displacing the residents of more than 37,000 homes. The bombing made headlines around the world. However, it’s the long-term impact of the attack on the local biodiversity that has scientists and experts concerned. In the weeks following the explosion, researchers from Ukrainian ministries and independent organizations carried out several assessments as best they could to the backdrop of the war. They found that the attack had flooded about 60,000 hectares (230 square miles) of forest in at least four national parks, threatening an estimated population of 20,000 animals and 10,000 birds. “Almost all aquatic vegetation had died, and much of the marine life had disappeared, including mollusks,” says Serhiiy Skoryk, director of Kamianska Sich National Park in Kherson, one of the regions affected. “Those that survived moved downstream,” says the scientist-turned-freedom fighter. The deluge also dislodged many landmines in the heavy conflict region, moving them downstream into farms and residential areas. The researchers found an equally deadly if less obvious threat: Industrial pollutants previously captured in the reservoir’s sediments had contaminated the flood zones and the Black Sea. Another report by the Ukrainian Scientific Center for Marine Ecology, published just months after the destruction of the dam, also showed high evidence of pollution in the Black Sea, including heavy metals such as copper, zinc, and arsenic compounds. “All that water from the reservoir contains contaminant particles, along with carcasses of the animals that died during the flood, most of which ended in the sea, which is now polluted,” says Oleksiy Vasyliuk, an environmental scientist from Ukraine who has been documenting the ecological impact of the war. One of the hardest hit groups of species was mussels, “filter feeders” who help purify water. With populations of these animals significantly reduced, Vasyliuk expresses worry that these pollutants could enter the human food chain. Satellite data shows the dramatic drying of the Kakhovka reservoir bottom that has been transforming the landscape in 2023-2024. Source: EOS Data Analytics The war has made an already bad situation for many species even worse. “Even before the war, the ecology of Ukraine was endangered, but the Russian invasion attacks have caused serious threats to Ukrainian biodiversity,” says Anastasia Drapaliuk, project coordinator at Tellus Conservation in Ukraine. In a paper for the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, Drapaliuk and other experts noted that wildlife across 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles) faced catastrophic effects from the flood, including rare species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects. “Populations of some species were dealt a possibly greater blow in one day on June 6 than in the last 100 years,” they wrote. But amidst the destruction, something unexpected has emerged. Baby Forests “Despite the challenges, our colleagues have been making regular expeditions to the affected area,” says Vasyliuk. “Three months after the attack they were shocked to find vegetation and forests in part of the reservoir that was left dry after the dam collapse.” They documented a young willow forest making its way through the dry cracked soil left behind by the floods. “It was unbelievable; no one expected to see the greenery they found, or that such a thing could happen amidst these tragic events,” he adds, the thrill of the discovering still evident in his voice. Where they feared desertification, a thick forest of largely willow trees — Rumex aquaticus and Celtis occidentalis — some reaching as high as six meters, now occupies about 150,000 hectares (930 square miles) of land that had once been covered by the reservoir. New vegetation emerges. Photo: Serhiiy Skoryk Vasyliuk hypothesizes that despite the absence of fertile soil, the forest flourished because of the organic mass left behind by the lost animals and plants, including dead species such as the mollusks. “It is possible the organic particles from these mollusks and other materials fed and nourished the forests like fertilizers,” he says. “The entire mechanism [that led to the birth of a new forest] is yet to be studied, because what we found was a lot of cross-breaded seeds among indigenous trees.” Still, it seems a cause for celebration. “It was very great,” he says, adding that the forest was the “only good thing to happened since the Russian attacks have damaged much of the local environment.” Skoryk echoes that: “Nature was healing herself, and all we have to do is to not interfere and let her take charge. Like a phoenix, in the form of a new forest, was rising from this tragedy,” he says. Drapaliuk looks at the growth from a longer perspective. The way she sees it, the nature in the region has been given a bit of a reset: It’s simply reviving its original biodiversity, “Before the Soviet Union, this was a historically significant region, not just for the Cossacks [indigenous Ukrainian tribes] but also for the biodiversity. It was the wetlands, a place for many rare birds and animals,” she explains. Rebuild or Restore? This new forest is a rare positive development in an otherwise tragic situation, considering an estimated 298,000 hectares (1,150 square miles) of forest fires — 50 times more than the annual average — have been reported across Ukraine since the start of the since 2022, according to the by the Kyiv School of Economics. The report, which took stock of Ukraine’s economic losses as of this past January, calculated forest damages “at more than 82.9 million cubic meters of timber with an estimated value of $4.5 billion.” As a result, many Ukrainian environmentalists and scientists have appealed to the government to withhold any reconstruction of the dam. “When the dam was first built [during the Soviet era], the damage to the regional ecology, culture and heritage were not taken into consideration,” says Vasyliuk. “As a result, so much of the natural and historical significant biodiversity was impacted, such as the Great Meadows,” referring to the historic steppe terrain of Ukraine that was submerged under the reservoir when the dam was built. In the early 1950s the Soviet Union pushed for widespread industrialization. During this period, this region and many others were razed to make way for infrastructure such as the dam. “The dam increased the salinity of the land, affecting soil quality, and that should be one of the reasons to not rebuild it,” Vasyliuk argues. “We need to plan strategically for the future and make decisions that are good for Ukrainian and not just because the dam was already there and someone gave us money to rebuild it.” Toll on Scientific Study Overall, though, scientific research in the region has been severely restricted since the Russian invasion. “From what we can gather, about 30% of the previously protected areas, such as wetlands and Ramsay sites in Ukraine, are now active warzones or occupied territories,” says Drapaliuk, who presented findings on that damage last year in a webinar for the EUROPARC Foundation. The Dnipro delta, the mouth of the Dnieper River, is included in the Ramsar Convention’s list of protected areas of international importance. According data published this past February by the Ukrainian Ministry of Environmental Protection, about 812 protected areas, spread over 1 million square kilometers, have been affected by different types of military operations since the beginning of the war. “So much of the area has been mined (with explosive land mines) that it becomes dangerous to even study the region even after it is liberated,” Drapaliuk says, adding that lack of resources, financial and human, has considerably slowed down data collection. “The damage by the war has put a lot of pressure on our work,” she adds. “For those working in the national parks, it is difficult to even access basic needs such as vehicles, fuel, electricity and equipment since much of it was destroyed during the Russian attacks.” Then there’s the effect on people. “To care about a forest, you have to care about people who work for it,” Drapaliuk says. But persistent Russian bombing of the region has prevented any normalcy in the work and life of the locals. “A lot of people from this area, a lot of forest rangers, are now in the army, making it difficult to continue work on protection and conservation.” Indeed, the war has blurred the lines of duty for those like Skoryk, who went from being an environmentalist to a combatant to a prisoner of war. Just days after the invasion began in February 2022, Skoryk was taken prisoner by Russian forces who had entered Ukraine. He eventually escaped when his captors “got drunk on too much vodka.” He went on to assist with the liberation of the national park. Photo courtesy Serhiiy Skoryk. Drapaliuk urges international environmental groups to invest in preserving Ukraine’s biodiversity. Much of the aid flowing into Ukraine today is for military support, and issues such as ecological destruction tends to take a backseat. “Of course, we all understand the priority and urgency; our country needs military support,” she says. “But in my opinion, we also really need international help to protect the ecological sector.” Skoryk calls attention to demining efforts in the region, a task to which he is personally devoting his time. “Gradually, we are clearing the area of mine and explosives, but it is a vast land mass encompassing nearly 12,000 hectares, and complex undertaking,” he says. Experts also emphasized the need to build policies and plans, not just for wartime but also to be implemented after victory. “There is a lot we can’t do now [in terms of conservation] but we can prepare an action plan for territories under war or occupation. They can be established as new protected areas so that we are ready to save the biodiversity in those territories soon after liberation,” Drapaliuk says. “We can’t afford to waste time,” she adds. Scroll down to find our “Republish” button Previously in The Revelator: War Threatens Ukraine’s Unique Red Seaweed Fields. Here’s How Scientists Monitor Them From Afar The post ‘Like a Phoenix,’ A New Forest Emerges From the Destruction in Ukraine appeared first on The Revelator.

Brazilian State Law Overturns Soy Moratorium That Helped Curb Amazon Deforestation

In 2006, environmental nonprofits and some of the world’s largest soybean traders came together in a landmark “soy moratorium” to stop the sale of soy grown on illegally deforested land in Brazil's Amazon

AGUA CLARA, Brazil (AP) — A historic agreement that's helped curb deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon for nearly two decades suffered a major blow after Mato Grosso, the country´s largest soybean-producing state, passed a law ending incentives for participating processing and trade companies.The law passed last week was designed to void the Soy Moratorium — a 2006 deal in reaction to a Greenpeace investigation that linked soy produced in illegally deforested areas to U.S. commodities giants Cargill, Bunge and ADM. Under pressure, the companies agreed at the time not to buy soy produced in areas cleared after 2006. The date was later revised to July 2008.Several studies in recent years have shown the moratorium contributed to the Amazon’s preservation. A 2020 study in the journal Nature Food found that the agreement, in combination with public policies, contributed to the steepest reduction of deforestation recorded in Brazil’s Amazon, between 2003 and 2016. Backed by soybean producers and most of Mato Grosso´s lawmakers and mayors, the new legislation cuts tax benefits to companies that participate in any agreement that imposes restrictions on expanding agricultural activities into areas that can be legally deforested. Governor Mauro Mendes signed the law Oct. 24. It goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, but regulations are pending.It states that only the illegally deforested area of a farm will be prevented from selling soy. In other words, if a 4,000-acre (1,618-hectare) property clears 200 acres (81 hectares) unlawfully, just the output from that specific area is blocked. Specialists warn that such refined monitoring is technically challenging, if not unfeasible.Under the moratorium, property with any post-2008 deforestation is forbidden altogether to sell its crops, regardless of whether the deforestation is legal.Supporters of the new state law have long claimed the moratorium´s 2008 limit is stricter than Brazilian legislation that allows the deforestation of up to 20% of a large rural property in the Amazon.“We will not rest as long as the moratorium harms even one producer," the Mato Grosso soy producers president Lucas Costa Beber said in a celebratory statement. "And until this agreement is extinct, the trading companies will not have a peaceful sleep." Environmental nonprofits and the entity representing leading soybean trade and processing companies have criticized Mato Grosso´s initiative.“The law is a setback,” said Bernardo Pires, sustainability director of the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove), which supports the moratorium. “Companies committed to sustainability should receive twice as many benefits instead of losing them.”Abiove members, which include Cargill, Bunge and ADM, buy over 90% of Mato Grosso´s soy production. The state tax benefits amount to $308 million a year. Pires said the moratorium´s zero deforestation policy is a market demand. "Our European customers demand not to consume any products associated with deforestation,” he said.Cristiane Mazzetti, coordinator of the forests campaign at Greenpeace Brazil, said the law reveals a double standard among politicians connected to agribusiness, who in the Brazilian Congress seek to pass measures reducing environmental protection.The new law sparked mixed reactions within President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government, which has promised zero deforestation by 2030.André Lima, secretary of deforestation control at the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, said that although state governments have the right to choose which economic activities they want to support, it is unconstitutional to withdraw tax incentives from companies that have adopted sustainability and climate criteria aligned with Brazil’s deforestation reduction goals.“It also goes against the national tax reform guidelines, which have incorporated sustainable development as an important criterion for promoting more and new tax incentives for the green economy,” he told The Associated Press. Agriculture Minister Carlos Fávaro, however, praised the law. “The project (moratorium) is stricter than the law, and this creates legitimate dissatisfaction among producers,” he told reporters in an event last week.The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

Costa Rica Expands Forest Protection with New Biodiversity Program

In the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, the Costa Rican delegation organized a side event to announce a new biodiversity-focused Payment for Environmental Services program called “PES Biodiversity Plus.” Costa Rica also reaffirmed its commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, often described as the “Paris Agreement for Nature.” After years of PES, Costa Rica expanded the program this week […] The post Costa Rica Expands Forest Protection with New Biodiversity Program appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

In the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, the Costa Rican delegation organized a side event to announce a new biodiversity-focused Payment for Environmental Services program called “PES Biodiversity Plus.” Costa Rica also reaffirmed its commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, often described as the “Paris Agreement for Nature.” After years of PES, Costa Rica expanded the program this week to prioritize biodiversity conservation through a competitive financial mechanism that supports private forest landowners and enhances biodiversity protection across the nation. This approach, called PSA-Biodiversity Plus, is managed by agencies within Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), including the Commission for Biodiversity Management, the National Forest Finance Fund (Fonafifo), and the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac). “This mechanism not only prevents biodiversity loss but also supports equitable benefit-sharing from genetic resources. Including genetic resources as a variable for prioritization supports private owners and strengthens biodiversity,” explained Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy. During the meeting, Costa Rica’s efforts to achieve Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Framework were highlighted, aiming for at least 30% conservation of terrestrial, inland water, marine, and coastal areas. “We acknowledge the global environmental crisis—biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. Costa Rica’s commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Framework focuses on advancing its mission and targets. During the implementation phase, actions addressing each of these crises will be clear,” stated Eugenia Arguedas, Focal Point of COP16. Costa Rica showcased efforts to combat deforestation, increase forest cover, and balance productive developmentwith greenhouse gas emission reduction through efficient, profitable, and low-emission agricultural practices. The Costa Rican team discussed how deforestation, marine and landscape governance, and conservation are interconnected and crucial to sustainable development. Costa Rica has successfully decoupled agricultural production from deforestation through three impactful initiatives: significant investment in REDD+ financial mechanisms to prioritize forest use over marginal agricultural practices, expanded Payment for Environmental Services (PES) investments, and the inclusion of privately owned forest reserves. These actions have led to a 38% increase in sustainably managed forest cover. Additionally, Costa Rica reports a positive balance between mature forest loss and forest regeneration, showcasing the country’s commitment to sustainable land management. The post Costa Rica Expands Forest Protection with New Biodiversity Program appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

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