Nuclear fission mushroom cloud

Powerful climate turbulence ahead of the World Eco Summit

Microsoft wants to reactivate a reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, of all places.(Bild: ©George Sheldon stock.adobe)

This year's UN conference in Azerbaijan is being massively hijacked by the oil and nuclear lobby! Environmentalists are already warning of "greenwashing" and nuclear storms a month before the starting signal.

With massive criticism, Greenpeace is trying to draw attention to the massive environmental offenses and human rights violations in the self-confessed Central Asian "petro-state"! "The fossil fuel lobby is already trying to exert massive pressure in the background," warns Alexander Egit, European head of the environmental movement.

From November 11 to 22, the main issue in the capital Baku will be the financing of measures to combat global warming. However, the international community has not yet been able to agree on a binding target in this regard. Nevertheless, there is a struggle for eco-aid funds amounting to 100 billion dollars.

This year's UN Climate Change Conference is being held in Azerbaijan, of all places, a deeply committed petro-state.(Bild: zaoark - stock.adobe.com)

Irrespective of this, the nuclear divide is rampant in Brussels. Although the demand for a tripling of global renewable energy capacity is included in the EU negotiating mandate, some countries are openly backing "clean" nuclear energy sources. Sweden, for example, wants to start building a new reactor by 2026. Italy (which decided to phase out nuclear energy after the Chernobyl disaster in 1987), on the other hand, is hatching "radioactive" plans with the US energy company Westinghouse, among others. And Poland wants to cooperate closely with the Czech Republic (Austrian nuclear power plants close to the border) on nuclear energy with immediate effect. Hotspot in Central Asia: Kazakhstan has now secured the construction of its first nuclear power plant by means of a referendum.

As reported, Microsoft is also going nuclear! The US company wants to reactivate a reactor at Three Mile Island, the scene of a nuclear meltdown in 1979, to secure its own energy supply. Google also wants to cover its electricity needs with nuclear-powered mini-reactors.

Climate change threatens Antarctic ecosystems
A new report by the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) also warns of dramatic developments in the Antarctic. Scientists are calling for the establishment of protected areas to make the ecosystem more resilient.

The ice is melting - making it difficult for emperor penguins to breed.(Bild: AFP/MATT CUR-NOCK)

In addition to climate change and fishing - especially krill - growing tourism and increasing pollution from microplastics are also putting pressure on the fragile natural system. In the 2022/2023 season, the number of visitors to Antarctica exceeded the 100,000 mark for the first time, and microplastics were detected in water samples, snow and even in the droppings of penguins. Scientists are sounding the alarm and calling for regulations.