Category:

Kenya: Oil Exploitation Contradicts Kenya’s Climate Goals, Legislator Warns

Kenya is in the final stage of enacting a new climate change law, expected to be approved in the coming months. At the same time, the private sector is preparing to tap significant oil reserves in the north. Will the hunt for fossil fuels thwart Kenya’s efforts to go green and curb its carbon emissions? After a 2007 study forecast how climate change would impact Kenya, a National Climate Change Response Strategy was launched at the 2009 U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen. The government then developed a Climate Change Action Plan to implement the strategy, which was completed in March 2013. The action plan spells out how to tackle climate change at local, county and national levels. The next step is to enshrine that in law. "We realised we had collected enough information to start preparing climate change legislation, because it cuts across all sectors – hence the need […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Kenya: Oil Exploitation Contradicts Kenya's Climate Goals, Legislator Warns

Kenya is in the final stage of enacting a new climate change law, expected to be approved in the coming months. At the same time, the private sector is preparing to tap significant oil reserves in the north. Will the hunt for fossil fuels thwart Kenya’s efforts to go green and curb its carbon emissions? After a 2007 study forecast how climate change would impact Kenya, a National Climate Change Response Strategy was launched at the 2009 U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen. The government then developed a Climate Change Action Plan to implement the strategy, which was completed in March 2013. The action plan spells out how to tackle climate change at local, county and national levels. The next step is to enshrine that in law. "We realised we had collected enough information to start preparing climate change legislation, because it cuts across all sectors – hence the need […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Food Crisis Worsens in South Sudan as Civil War Is Displacing Millions

At the beginning of the rainy season every year, Nyaaker Onwar, 34, would plant the sorghum and vegetables, while her husband and eldest son herded the cows and caught fish from the White Nile. They ate what they produced, and when the harvest was bountiful, they sold the rest in a nearby market town. In February, armed men looted their cows, burned their fishing boat and kidnapped some of their relatives. Ms. Onwar fled with her husband and seven children to this village through rain and deep mud. She has been here for weeks with thousands of people displaced by South Sudan’s civil war. When she arrived, she was hungry, with no money and few options. “We had to sell our clothes to buy food,” she said. Five months of war in South Sudan has led to the deaths of thousands and the displacement […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

U.S. Imposes First Sanctions in South Sudan Conflict

In its first use of economic sanctions against combatants in the bloody fighting in South Sudan , the Obama administration on Tuesday ordered asset freezes and travel bans on two individuals, one on each side of the conflict. The sanctions, which were announced by Secretary of State John Kerry , were imposed under an executive order President Obama signed a month ago in response to the violence that has killed thousands and displaced more than a million people. The announcement came as President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and Riek Machar, the rebel leader, agreed to face-to-face talks in Ethiopia, which are tentatively scheduled to be held on Friday. One of the targets of the sanctions was Marial Chanuong, the commander of the government’s presidential guard force, who Mr. Kerry said led attacks against civilians in and around Juba, the South Sudan capital. The other was Peter […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

South Sudanese Army Seizes Town Used as Base by Rebel Leader

South Sudanese government forces seized the stronghold of the country’s rebel leader and the capital of oil-rich Unity state from insurgents, drawing criticism from the U.S. for violating a January truce. Government forces yesterday retook Unity’s capital, Bentiu, and Nasir, the town in neighboring Upper Nile state used as a base by former Vice President Riek Machar, army spokesman Philip Aguer said by phone today from the national capital, Juba. Rebel spokesman Mabior Garang confirmed the army had recaptured the towns. “It’s not a fragile takeover,” Aguer said. Nasir is “very crucial because that was the headquarters of Riek Machar.” The government expects attacks on the oil-producing state to cease as a result, he said. Fighting erupted in the world’s newest nation on Dec. 15 with President Salva Kiir accusing Machar of leading a coup, a charge Machar denies. Violence has left thousands of people dead and forced more […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Cold economics may limit big LNG ambitions

Natural gas enthusiasts from Texas to Capitol Hill insist the world is clamoring to buy American supplies of the fuel and the only major obstacle is the federal government. But there’s an even bigger economic reality standing in the way: The facilities to super-chill gas for transport cost billions to build, and even with permits, few will ever make it past the drawing board. "It’s very easy for us in this country to blame everything on our regulators, but economics are the biggest driver here," said Joe Fagan, a partner at Day Pitney who advises clients on liquefied natural gas import and export matters. "Even […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

S. Sudan Rebels Killed Hundreds on Ethnic Basis, UN Says

Rebels allied to former Vice President Riek Machar who seized the city of Bentiu last week killed hundreds of civilians seeking shelter there, after determining their ethnicity or nationality, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan said. “These atrocities must be fully investigated and the perpetrators and their commanders shall be held accountable,” Raisedon Zenenga, the officer in charge of the mission, said in a statement on its website late yesterday. Rebel forces said on April 15 that they had gained control of Bentiu, the capital of oil-rich Unity state, after clashes with government forces. The conflict in the world’s newest state, between factions loyal to President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Machar, erupted in December and has left thousands of people dead and driven a million from their homes, according to the UN. The UN mission said opposition forces entered a mosque in Bentiu where hundreds of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

South Sudan: Dozens dead as group opens fire in U.N. base

At least 58 people were killed Thursday when a group of armed civilians pretending to be peaceful protesters delivering a petition to the United Nations in South Sudan  forced their way into a U.N. base sheltering some 5,000 civilians and opened fire, the world body said. Among those killed in the attack on the base in Bor in northern Jonglei state were 46 internally displaced persons and 12 attackers, according to the U.N. Mission in South Sudan. No U.N. staff were killed, they said.  Another U.N. spokesperson said about 100 had been injured. Two U.N. peacekeepers were wounded repelling the armed intruders, the U.N. said. The United Nations has reinforced security at Bor, and South Sudan’s government has sent troops to secure the base. More than 1 million people have fled their homes since  fighting erupted in the world’s youngest country in December between troops backing President Salva Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked Vice President […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple