Sustainable Switch-The worst floods to hit central Europe
Sept 19 -
By Sharon Kimathi
Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital
sharon.kimathi@thomsonreuters.com
Hello,
Today’s newsletter continues to follow the developments from central Europe’s fatal flood.
The worst floods to hit central Europe in at least two decades have left a trail of destruction from Romania to Poland and killed at least 22 people.
Mud and debris spread across towns, bridges were destroyed, cars were submerged, and authorities and households were left with a bill for damages that will run into billions of dollars.
In the Czech Republic, the finance ministry will provide 30 billion crowns ($1.34 billion) to tackle flood damage under an amendment of its 2024 budget and will allocate a further 10 billion crowns next year for the same purpose, news agency CTK reported. The death toll in the Czech Republic stands at five people, with water levels now receding.
Poland sends its soldiers
Volunteers and emergency personnel worked throughout Wednesday night to fortify the Polish city of Wroclaw against approaching flood waters, while Hungary opened a dam as the prime minister warned a "crucial period" was approaching.
"A lot happened tonight," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a crisis meeting in Wroclaw. "We will need urgent information ... from those places that received high water."
Lines of people in Wroclaw passed sandbags to fortify riverbanks and to protect buildings.
The Polish defense ministry said more than 14,000 soldiers had been deployed to flood-hit regions, with the armed forces using helicopters to evacuate people and strengthen flood defenses, while drones monitored the situation from above.
Austria triples its disaster fund to 1 billion euros
Austria announced a package of measures in response to severe flooding across the country, including a tripling of the federal disaster fund and tax postponements for affected companies.
The disaster fund will more than triple to 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion), Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a statement.
Lower Austria, which was particularly hard hit, received its first aid on Tuesday, with the government providing 45 million euros from the disaster fund.
Austrian political parties also suspended campaign appearances for parliamentary elections scheduled for Sept. 29, with events and TV debates put back until the end of the week.
"The last few days have been enormously challenging for many regions in Austria and our neighboring countries and have caused great suffering and unimaginable destruction," Nehammer said.
Five people have been killed in Austria alone.
Floods hit Italian region of Emilia-Romagna
The storm system also brought devastating floods to the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna on Thursday, forcing people to leave their homes and the closure of schools.
About 1,000 people have been evacuated, acting regional president Irene Priolo told RAI public radio, saying however this was a much lower figure compared to major floods that plagued the region last year.
Talking Points
After a wildfire set off near Athens last month, it stopped at a previously burned area but found fresh fuel in woods nearby, threatening the city's suburbs. This sparked debate over whether to continue replanting trees, which could fuel future fires, or explore new adaptive approaches, as some scientists suggest. Click here for the full Reuters article.
Gas and AI: Chevron CEO Michael Wirth criticized U.S. President Joe Biden's administration for what he described as "attacks on the natural gas” industry and emphasized the crucial role of Permian natural gas in powering the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI). The CEO’s remarks followed new government plans over policies to prevent power-hungry AI data centers from undercutting U.S. climate goals.
Boeing and its largest union restarted contract talks on Wednesday in the presence of federal mediators, after failing to agree on key issues such as wages and pensions, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said.
The United Auto Workers union plans to hold strike authorization votes at one or more of its Stellantis local chapters in the coming days, union president Shawn Fain said on Tuesday, which could lead to significant disruptions for the Jeep maker.
Half of the pupils stayed away from classes at an elementary school in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a day after it was attacked by Jewish settlers with wooden bats in violence that has surged since the Gaza war erupted. This comes as the Palestinian Education Ministry reported all Gaza schools closed, with 90% damaged or destroyed since Israel's assault.
ESG in fashion: "Made in Italy: shame in Italy" - a handful of migrant laborers who had traveled from Italy's famed leatherware region Tuscany chanted last week in Geneva outside the flagship store of luxury accessory maker Montblanc, holding placards with the slogan.
ESG Lens
The United States is urging Vietnam to avoid Chinese cable-laying firm HMN Technologies and other Chinese companies in its plans to build 10 new undersea cables by 2030, sources with knowledge of the talks said. Click here for the full Reuters analysis.
ESG Spotlight
London's Oxford Street, home to some of the British capital's most famous shops from Selfridges to Marks & Spencer, could be pedestrianized to attract more shoppers under a plan announced by city mayor Sadiq Khan.
If approved, Oxford Street would join other major shopping hubs such as Times Square in New York and La Rambla in Barcelona that have gone fully traffic-free.
A previous version of the plan to ban vehicles from the 1.2-mile (1.9 km) thoroughfare was blocked by the local Westminster City Council, but the revived project has received backing from Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
Today’s Sustainable Switch was edited by Mark Potter
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Inside the US push to steer Vietnam's subsea cable plans away from China HMN Tech’s global cable network https://reut.rs/3Tw3NqB
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