Dismantling ski lifts and moving villages: Alps adapt to climate change | ||
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Innsbruck (Austria) (AFP) - With temperatures rising faster in the Alps than the rest of the world, alpine countries are working together to adapt to climate change and hope to set an example. A recent Austrian climate change report found that the country's temperatures had risen twice as fast as the global average since 1880, with the number of sunshine hours in the Alps increasing by 20 percent. While this may please holidaymakers or locals enjoying longer summers, it is also likely to cause more landslides and forest fires, affecting the agricultural sector and local economy, the Austrian Assessment Report found. "Just imagine, you have a relatively narrow valley and in that small space, you have a street, a railway line, maybe power lines and some houses. If a landslide hits there, there will be serious damage," Georg Rebernig, managing director of the Austrian Environment Agency, told AFP. "Preventing this is what we're trying to do when we talk about a strategy for the Alps," he said ahead of UN climate talks in Lima on December 1-12 meant to pave the way towards a global climate pact next year. Rebernig's office is part of the C3-Alps project, which groups ministries and research institutes from alpine countries -- mainly Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and France -- to discuss ways to tackle climate change. It is only one of several European initiatives promoting the sharing of information and experiences in the Alps, a mountainous region of around 200,000 square kilometres (80,000 square miles) with a population of 14 million. "The effects of climate change can be seen and felt... we have to look ahead, take action," said Karine Siegwart, vice director of the Swiss federal office for the environment, also part of C3-Alps. "This is a cross-border problem and it requires cross-border collaboration."
- Climate adaptation -
A UN report earlier this month warned that Earth was on a likely trajectory for at least 4 C warming over pre-industrial times by 2100 -- a recipe for worsening drought, flood, rising seas and species extinctions. Alpine countries are already shifting their focus to adaptation solutions, acknowledging that climate change will not be stopped or turned around anytime soon. "We have to take climate change very seriously. But we also need local support and to sensitize communities and the population, because the effects of climate change will be felt at a local level," said Siegwart. Low-lying resorts have long invested in snow cannon to ensure white slopes during the ski season but some have radically changed their marketing strategies -- like Switzerland's Stockhorn ski region, which dismantled its ski lifts to refocus on winter hiking and snowshoeing. Rather than building flood defences, authorities in northern Austria relocated some 250 households which sat close to the Danube and were badly hit by flood waters in 2002. The move cost more than 90 million euros ($110 million). "Danger zone plans" are regularly drawn up to identify no-build areas at risk of floods, landslides or erosion, while the mountainous Tirol region has invested some 125 million euros to build avalanche defences over 17.5 kilometres (11 miles) of roads, so they can remain open all year round. Meanwhile, farmers in Germany are being encouraged to grow crops that are more resistant to heat and dry spells.
- Shrinking glaciers -
Glaciers, the most common symbol of climate change in the mountains, have shrunk by 15 percent in Austria over the last 15-20 years, according to Andrea Fischer, a glacier expert at the Interdisciplinary Mountain Research Institute in Innsbruck. Snow levels and flora are moving up mountains and river water is dwindling as glaciers retreat. But regions and local communities can cope with the changes, Fischer told AFP. "Mankind is used to always adapting and dealing with difficulties. The idea of a stationary environment is pleasant... but it's not life. Life is about permanent adaptation," she said. Alpine countries are still drafting strategies to deal with climate change but they can already be a model for others, Rebernig said. "If you look at other mountain regions, they're often not strong economic regions. The Alps are different," he said. If local authorities can work together and gather the necessary research early on, "then other regions who didn't have these means will be able to learn from this".
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Russia's Economy Ministry: 'We Will Not Collapse!' | ||
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The Russian Economy Ministry just tweeted a bizarre quote from Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev. On its official account on Twitter the ministry posted a picture of the minister alongside a quote saying — "We will not collapse!". Here's the tweet: The move is highly unusual from a government ministry. It comes on the back of sharp falls in the value of the rouble and an announcement this morning that Russia is having to reduce expected government revenues from oil after OPEC declined to cut production on Thursday.
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Oil and gas sales account for around 10% of Russia's GDP and the country still relies on the sector to fund around 50% of its federal budget. Lower oil prices could put pressure on the country's finances, while falls in the rouble threaten to hit Russia's corporate sector, which is due to make $35 billion of foreign-debt repayments in December. The 10 Things In Advertising You Need To Know Today | ||
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Catch up on the most important stories in advertising while you wait in line for your Black Friday bargains. 1. To get yourself in the Black Friday mood, look at five ways retailers trick you into spending more money. Department stores have you all figured out. 2. The European Parliament has passed a historic vote to break up Google. The EU doesn't actually have the power to break up the company, but it does send a message to Google that the EU is unhappy with its business practices. 3. Visa has become the latest World Cup sponsor to castigate FIFA over the corruption allegations leveled at football's governing body. The brand said it was "troubled" by recent events and is calling on "greater transparency and more open, forthright communications" from FIFA. 4. The "distasteful" World War I Christmas ad from Sainsbury's will not be banned, despite sparking more than 700 complaints. The UK ad regulator said the ad is not likely to break the rules surrounding harm or offense. 5. A hard-hitting short film called 'My Husband made me a Prostitute" has gone viral in India. Mission Sharing Knowledge (MSK), an open editorial platform, is a fictional, first-person account of a well-read lady who resorts to prostitution to run her family after her husband meets with an accident due to drunk driving and falls in a coma. 6. A Hungarian county police department has released what has been described as possibly the world's worst PSA about rape. The clip, which was released to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, is meant to be a public service announcement, but smacks more of satire. 7. The writers at CMO Today have compiled their advertising and marketing Christmas wishlist. Among the requests are an "acronym dictionary" and a call for Google to fix TV. 8. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are being instructed to simplify their terms and conditions under a new crackdown on obtuse legalese, The Drum reports. A committee of UK MPs have dubbed the present system as overly long and largely impenetrable leaving most users entirely oblivious to how their personal details may be used and what their rights are. 9. AdNews explores whether Google's move to offer users the chance to pay up to $3 a month to remove ads from certain websites is "cannibalizing" the ad industry. Ad execs are giving mixed reviews to Google's “Contributor” service, but all agree it's a “move that the advertising industry will be watching”. 10. This is how gay hook-up app Grindr is selling itself to major brand advertisers. Business Insider spoke to Grindr's CEO Joel Simkhai and obtained the company's advertiser pitch document. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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10 Things In Tech You Need To Know Today (GOOG, FB, MSFT, TWTR, SSNLF) | ||
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Good morning! It's Black Friday. Here's the news you need to know today: 1. The European Parliament has voted to disband Google. It can't actually do that, but it does send a message to EU regulators. 2. Facebook is sending users a lengthy email detailing its new privacy policy. It starts next year. 3. Microsoft accidentally announced that it's acquiring a company. The blank blog post suggested it has acquired Acompli. 4. The CFO of Twitter made another DM fail. This time he didn't let slip that Twitter is acquiring a company. 5. Samsung staff are worried about imminent job losses. The annual reshuffle is expected in early December. 6. Uber has suspended its service in Nevada after it was banned in the state. The company hopes the suspension will only be temporary. 7. South Korea has banned the sale of unregulated selfie sticks. People use the telescopic poles to take photos. 8. The Syrian Electronic Army launched a wave of hacking attacks on media sites. It took hours for sites to recover. 9. An Australian man accused of helping run the Silk Road has been extradited to the US. There was a wave of arrests after police seized the site. 10. Hackers have released a list of files they claim to have stolen from Sony Pictures. It includes Angelina Jolie's passport. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Russian Rouble Is Collapsing To New Record Lows | ||
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Russia's currency is tanking after OPEC declined to cut production to support oil prices on Thursday. In early trading the rouble briefly touched a new record low of 50 roubles to the dollar, before bouncing back. However, it now look to be on its way back across that threshold:
On Friday Alexei Ulyukayev, the Russian economic development minister, announced that official forecasts of the oil price for 2015 will be reduced following OPEC's decision. Independent Russian news service Interfax quotes Ulyukayev as saying: "The rationale of equilibrium prices is complicated. It is very likely that [the price] will be closer to $80 a barrel next year, but it not possible to know for certain, so we must be prepared for any eventuality." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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DEFLATION IS COMING | ||
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Eurozone inflation figures just released put the rate at 0.3% in November, down from October's 0.4% and in line with estimates. Analysts had forecast that that the rate would come in at 0.3% again, though some suggested it could fall as low as 02% The ECB currently targets 2% inflation, but that target was last reached in the summer of 2012. These numbers increase the chance that the ECB will have to ease policy: that might mean buying sovereign bonds (QE). Economists at Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas believe this announcement could come as early as December, while others think it will come at the beginning of next year. With oil prices falling, this is likely not the lowest inflation we're going to see: Frederik Ducrozet at Credit Agricole notes that markets are now pricing in mild deflation for the beginning of next year. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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10 Things You Need To Know In Markets Today | ||
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Good morning! Here are the major stories you need to know about this morning, ahead of markets opening in London and Paris. Japanese Inflation Fell Below 1%. Excluding the effect of the sales tax hike, and volatile fresh food prices, Japanese inflation is now at its lowest level in more than a year, prompting concerns about the country's huge monetary stimulus. Oil Crumbled After OPEC Refused To Agree An Output Cut. Brent crude settled below $73 per barrel after the announcement, the lowest in nearly four and a half years. A Lawsuit Claims That Goldman Sachs, HSBC, And Others Rigged Metals Prices. Banks Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Standard Bank and a unit of chemical producer BASF conspired to manipulate platinum and palladium prices, according to a US lawsuit filed this week. China Wasted $6.8 Trillion (£4.3 Trillion) Of Investment. The explosive construction market and a host of other projects wasted trillions of dollars of investment in China detailed by a new report, according to the Financial Times. Russia Thinks Oil Could Drop Below $60 Per Barrel. Russia's most powerful oil official Igor Sechin said in an interview with an Austrian newspaper that oil prices could fall below $60 by mid-way through next year. Sechin is chief executive of Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer. German Retail Sales Jumped In October. Retailers recorded a 1.9% increase in sales from September, to October, a better than expected start to a seasonal splurge. Analysts were looking for a 1.5% rise. European Inflation Figures Are Coming. At 10 a.m. GMT, European inflation figures are out. Analysts are expecting a 0.3% reading, but there's a chance the figure could drop to just 0.2%, a five-year low. Mexico's President Is Effectively Disbanding Local Police Forces. After the murder of 43 students by a drug gang, allegedly with the co-operation of local police, Enrique Pena Nieto is proposing a totally unified Mexican police force. Iraq Says Its Military Is Too Corrupt. Iraq's finance minister called for deep-rooted reforms to stamp out corruption in a military that collapsed in the face of an Islamic State advance, as he prepares to spend nearly a quarter of the 2015 budget on defence. Asian Markets Are Up. Despite the inflation data, Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.23%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently up 0.15%. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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