URUGUAY: Coming Together to Tackle Climate Change

MONTEVIDEO, Jan 8 (IPS) – Fighting the front line battle against global warming, with the participation of all sectors of society, is the cornerstone of a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) pilot project in Uruguay that is drawing attention from the rest of the world.

ENVIRONMENT: Rio de la Plata Fish and Fisherfolk Under Threat

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 21 (IPS) – A study by more than 30 experts from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay warns of the threat menacing the survival of fish species and 50 riverside settlements in the Río de la Plata basin, which is the second largest river system in South America after the Amazon basin and contains a wealth of biodiversity.

CLIMATE CHANGE: No Water in Copenhagen Talks

COPENHAGEN, Dec 17 (Tierramérica) – In the last two years, the conclusion among decision-makers has been that the only way to solve the climate crisis is to turn carbon into a commodity and privatise the atmosphere. Similar market-based solutions will be used to “solve” the growing water crisis, warned experts at the Klimaforum09, a parallel meeting a few kilometres away from the official 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held Dec.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Water Is the Missing Link in Copenhagen

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14 (IPS/TerraViva) – When the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) announced the grim news that 2009 is likely to rank in the top 10 warmest on record, the U.N. agency also stressed last week the widespread water-related calamities caused by global warming. China has suffered its worst drought in five decades

CLIMATE CHANGE: Latin America Between Hope and Realism

COPENHAGEN, Dec 8 (Tierramérica) – Latin America has come to Copenhagen with the goal that the wealthy nations of the North pay their climate debt by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing resources to developing nations.

ENERGY: Trees: Out of the Forest and Into the Oven

UXBRIDGE, Canada, Sep 24 (Tierramérica) – Millions of trees, especially from the developing countries of the South, are being shipped to Europe and burned in giant furnaces to meet “green energy” requirements that are supposed to combat climate change. In the last two months alone, energy companies in Britain have announced the construction of at least six new biomass power generation plants to produce 1,200 megawatts of energy, primarily from burning woodchips

Uruguay denies Argentine claim over pulp mill

By Aaron Gray-Block THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Uruguay told the International Court of Justice on Monday a pulp mill it operates on a border river meets international environmental standards, denying claims by Argentina that it is polluting the region. Uruguay and Argentina have been at loggerheads for several years over the construction of a pulp mill by Uruguay on the Uruguay river, a dispute that has led to blockades by Argentine environment protesters.