Climate Holdout Australia Sets 2050 Net Zero Emissions Target

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Coal-rich Australia unveiled a much-delayed 2050 net zero emissions target Tuesday, in a plan that pointedly dodged thorny details or near-term goals ahead of a landmark UN climate summit.

Widely seen as a climate laggard, Australia is one of the world's largest coal and gas exporters.

For the last eight years, its conservative government has resisted action to reduce emissions, routinely approving new coal projects and peddlingskepticismabout climate change.

Under domestic and international pressure, Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday announced a shift in approach and acknowledged the "world is changing,"Australians want policy that "does the right thing on climate change", he said, adding the phenomenon "is real, it's happening. We understand it and werecognizeit."

Just how Australia will get to net zero by 2050 carbon emissions remains unclear, with the government refusing to release its modeling.

The plan would invest US$15 billion in low-emission technologies over the next decade, but it also leans heavily on unproven technologies and carbon offsets, which critics deride as an accounting gimmick.

And Morrison was keen to stress he was not dropping long-running support for the country's lucrative fossil fuel industry.

"It will not shut down our coal or gas production or exports," Morrison told a press conference. "It will not cost jobs, not in farming, mining or gas."

While backing away from demands for more ambitious 2030 targets, Morrison said he expects Australia to "meet and beat" the previously agreed goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 percent on 2005 levels.

He said Australia was now projected to cut emissions 30-35 percent by 2030.

"That is something we actually think we are going to achieve. The actions of Australia speak louder than the words about us," he added.

'Sold a pup'

The announcement comes just days before Morrison departs for next month's United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Australia's reluctance to act had beencriticizedby close allies such as the United States and Britain, as well asPacific islandneighborsthat are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The coalition government has also found itself increasingly out of step with Australians' attitudes as they suffered a series of climate-worsened droughts, bushfires and floods.

A 2021 poll by the Lowy Institute think tank found 78 percent of Australians back a 2050 net zero target, while 63 percent support a national ban on new coal mines.

The country's greatest natural tourist drawcard, the Great Barrier Reef, has been badly damaged by waves of mass coral bleaching as ocean temperatures rise.

Mark Kenny, a professor at the Australian Studies Institute in Canberra, said domestic and international pressures had made it "more and more unviable for the coalition to cling to its essentially denialist position."

But Kenny warned Australia's announcement amounted to little more than a shift in rhetoric for the resource-reliant nation.

"This commitment is not significant in reality. I think if the world takes this seriously, they have been sold a pup," he told AFP.

Tuesday's 2050 commitment trails behind more ambitious announcements from Australian states and corporations, including mining giant Rio Tinto.

Australia's major coal customers such as India and China have already indicated they will phase out thermal coal, and technological advances have made the future of metallurgical coal -- used to make steel -- increasingly uncertain.

Ahead of the 12-day Glasgow summit, the UN says more than 130 countries have set or are considering a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, a target it says is "imperative" to safeguard a livable climate. (VOA)

Joko Widodo Play Soccer with 3 Papuan Boys at National Games Opening

SENTANI, LELEMUKU.COM - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi made a surprise at the opening of the National Games Week, or PON Papua, when he played soccer with three Papuan boys. The opening ceremony was held tonight at Lukas Enembe Stadium, Jayapura, October 2.

It was started when a Papuan legendary soccer player Jack Komboy played with the three boys. All of them wore red and white t-shirts bearing "PON XX Papua" on the back.

Then a voice said, "Mr. President, come support us."

Hearing the words, the president left his VVIP seat and went down to the main field to join Jack Komboy and the children. They played for about three minutes.

After that, a performer wearing Papua's traditional clothing brought a tifa musical instrument and gave it to President Jokowi who then hit the percussion and went back to his seat. The ministers and other invitees also played the instrument, marking the opening of PON XX Papua.

Then, a national soccer player from Papua, Boaz Salossa, came bringing the torch and ran to the cauldron to light the fire of PON XX. At the moment, colorful fireworks were shot to the sky alternately, adding to the lively atmosphere of the opening ceremony.

"Let's celebrate PON with great joy, upholding sportsmanship, strengthening the brotherhood, togetherness, equality, as well as national unity and integrity. Believe that Papua's development will run fast, let's show our participation to success the PON XX," said President Jokowi in his opening speech.

7,066 athletes from all Indonesian provinces enroll in the national games held from October 2 to 15.(Tempo)

Joe Biden Says He'll 'Work Like Hell' to Pass Infrastructure, Social Spending Bills

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday he was going to "work like hell" to get both an infrastructure bill and a multi-trillion-dollar social spending bill passed through Congress and plans to travel more to bolster support with Americans.

Biden visited the Capitol on Friday to try to end a fight between moderates and left-leaning progressives in his Democratic Party that has threatened the two bills that make up the core of his domestic agenda.

The president on Saturday acknowledged criticism that he had not done more to gin up support for the bills by traveling around the country. He noted there were many reasons for that, including his focus on hurricane and storm damage during recent trips, among other things.

Biden said he would be going around the country "making the case why it's so important" and making it clearer to people what is in the two bills.

He said he wanted with the bills to make life more livable for ordinary Americans by making child care affordable, for example.

"There's nothing in any of these pieces of legislation that's radical, that is unreasonable," Biden said. "I'm going to try to sell what I think the people, the American people, will buy."

Biden expressed confidence that both bills would get passed but declined to set a deadline, such as the November Thanksgiving holiday, for when that would happen.

"I believe I can get this done," Biden said.

Moderate Democratic lawmakers wanted an immediate vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in the House of Representatives that has already passed the Senate, while progressives want to wait until there is agreement on a sweeping $3.5 trillion bill to bolster social spending and fight climate change.

Biden, a former senator who is deeply familiar with how the legislative process works, told his caucus on Friday that they could delay a vote on the smaller bill and sharply scale back the larger one to around $2 trillion.

Meanwhile the president said on Saturday he hoped Republicans would not use a filibuster in the Senate to block efforts to raise the debt ceiling.

"That would be totally unconscionable," he said.

The Treasury Department estimates that it has until about Oct. 18 for the government's $28.4 trillion borrowing limit to be raised by Congress or risk a debt default with potentially catastrophic economic consequences. (VOA/Reuters)

United States and South Korea Split on North Korea Sanctions

SEOUL, LELEMUKU.COM - Analysts say that as North Korea advances its weapons systems while it rejects the Biden administration’s offer for talks, there are growing signs of a potentially destabilizing rift between Washington and Seoul on whether to ease sanctions on Pyongyang.

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Friday the United States and South Korea should consider easing sanctions on North Korea as a way to entice Pyongyang to the negotiating table.

“I think that now, time is ripe for the consideration of sanctions relief,” said Chung during a parliamentary session in Seoul on Friday when asked whether sanctions on North Korea should be eased.

Chung, who attended the U.N. General Assembly last month with President Moon Jae-in, said, “If we let the status quo continue, it will lead to the strengthening of North Korean missile capabilities.” He made the remark in a September 23 interview with The Washington Post.

Chung previously served as Moon’s national security adviser and played a mediating role between Washington and Pyongyang by conveying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s eagerness to meet with former President Donald Trump when he visited the White House in March 2018. Chung announced the first summit between Kim and Trump, but talks between Washington and Pyongyang stalled in October 2019.

Since taking office in May 2017, Moon has been prioritizing lasting rapprochement with Pyongyang and inter-Korean cooperation over denuclearization, a position that has often run counter to Washington’s policy on North Korea.

David Maxwell, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Seoul’s call for sanctions relief “will generate significant friction in the alliance as the U.S. resists the ROK push for sanctions relief.” ROK is an acronym of South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

In response to Chung's remarks, the U.S. State Department on Friday stressed the need for maintaining sanctions on North Korea. “The DPRK continues to fund its WMD and ballistic missile programs through sanctions evasion efforts in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions," a State Department spokesperson told VOA’s Korean Service. DPRK refers to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“It is important for the international community to send a strong, unified message that the DPRK must halt provocations, abide by its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions and engage in sustained and intensive negotiations with the United States,” said the spokesperson.

“United Nations sanctions on the DPRK remain in place, and we will continue to implement them, including through diplomacy at the United Nations and with the DPRK’s neighbors,” the spokesperson continued.

Pyongyang so far has dismissed Washington’s repeated offer of dialogue without preconditions.

Kim, in a speech made to the regime’s Supreme People’s Assembly on Thursday, described the offer as “a petty trick for deceiving the international community” and “an extension of the hostile policy pursued by the successive U.S. administration.”

While opposing diplomatic engagement with the U.S., Kim offered to restore severed inter-Korean communication lines starting in October. Many experts see this proposition as a way to encourage South Korea to push for sanctions relief while driving the wedge between Seoul and Washington.

Evans Revere, a former State Department official with extensive experience negotiating with North Korea, said, “It’s been clear to me that there is a significant gap between the U.S. and the ROK on how to deal with North Korea, but it is also clear that the two allies are doing their best to manage their differences and create the impression that they are on the same page.”

Joseph DeTrani, who served as the U.S. special envoy to the Six-Party Talks on denuclearization from 2003 to 2006, called on the two allies to stay in “sync,” saying it is of “paramount importance” in dealing with North Korea.

According to Scott Snyder, director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Biden administration believes sanctions relief should come only as a reward for the Kim regime making steps toward denuclearization because Pyongyang has a history of violating past agreements.

“For this framework to be altered, South Korea must provide a convincing argument and compelling evidence for how and why a different approach would yield better results,” said Snyder.

While seeking sanctions relief, Pyongyang has been advancing its missile technology. North Korea conducted four rounds of missile tests in September with the latest test of “newly developed anti-air missile” on Thursday, according to its state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The regime said Wednesday it had test-fired a new hypersonic missile. Earlier in September, Pyongyang tested rail-launched short-range ballistic missiles for the first time and new long-range cruise missiles that aim to evade missile-defense systems.

Revere thinks granting sanctions relief before Pyongyang resumes dialogue and without its taking action toward denuclearization would be a “major mistake.” (VOA|Jiha Ham/Christy Lee)

Michele Bachelet Seeks Investigation Into Killing of Rohingya Rights Defender

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet is calling on Bangladeshi authorities to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation into the murder of Rohingya activist Mohib Ullah while he was visiting a Cox’s Bazaar refugee camp in Bangladesh earlier this week.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet paid tribute to the prominent human rights defender, who she said spent his life fighting to end decades of discrimination against the Rohingya people. She said Ullah lost his life while seeking to restore his people’s basic rights in Myanmar, including their rights to nationality, land, health, and education.

Ullah was shot and killed by unknown assailants Wednesday in Kutupalong, the world’s largest refugee camp, housing more than 800,000 Rohingya. The refugees fled there in August of 2017 to escape persecution and violence in Myanmar.

The high commissioner’s spokesman, Rupert Colville, says the Rohingya are still waiting for justice and still waiting to return home. He says there has been an alarming increase in violence, criminality, and rising tensions among groups in the Kutupalong camp. He adds anti-Rohingya sentiment also has been rising within Bangladeshi communities.

“Whoever was responsible for his murder, Mohib Ullah’s death is a clear example of the insecurity in the camp, and the apparent attempts to silence moderate civil society voices. The high commissioner is calling for a prompt, thorough, and independent investigation, which should be conducted not only to identify and apprehend his killers, and expose their motives, but also to define what measures are needed to better protect vulnerable civil society leaders, while avoiding further securitization in the camps,” he said.

Colville said the high commissioner understands the huge challenges Bangladesh faces in hosting Rohingya refugees. Nonetheless, Bachelet asserts Bangladesh must ensure the safety, protection, and basic rights of the refugees in Cox’s Bazar. She said that also applies to Bhasan Char, a remote island where thousands of Rohingya have been relocated.

“Meanwhile, in Myanmar itself, the situation of approximately 600,000 Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State remains dire, with many still confined in camps,” said Coleville. "Alleged violations include unlawful killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, and high levels of extortion.”

Colville said it is regrettable the global spotlight has moved away from the plight of the Rohingya people. He added that the high commissioner is calling on the international community to do more to help the persecuted community, both in Bangladesh and in Myanmar. (VOA|Lisa Schlein)

PeduliLindungi Application the Key to Access All PON Venues in Mimika

TIMIKA, LELEMUKU.COM - To support the success of the 20th National Games in Papua held amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mimika Regency Government urged the public to always comply with health protocol and utilize the PeduliLindungi application in all PON venues, including match venues.

Deputy Regent of Mimika Johannes Rettob stated that his party, with all related stakeholders and the 20th PON Papua Mimika Cluster Organizing Committee, have been implementing the use of the PeduliLindungi application in all places within the cluster, including sports venues. This measure was taken to track and trace visitor data around the venues as well as to detect the number of people with COVID-19.  

Deputy Regent Johannes Rettob also added that his administration strongly supports the use of the application as it provides information on the COVID-19 level status or zones status around the venues.

According to him, his administration has performed the use trial of PeduliLindungi application in futsal matches. The result showed that the use of this application is relatively effective in preventing the potential transmission and the emergence of new COVID-19 clusters.

"It indicates that this application (PeduliLindungi) can predict safe zones and red zones so that we can be more aware. It also helps the organizers anticipate (potential transmission and new clusters based on data obtained from the PeduliLindungi application," said Deputy Regent Johannes Rettob during a press conference at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics Media Center for Mimika Cluster on Thursday, 30 September.

He also added that the PeduliLindungi application is also used at Mozes Kilangin Airport for data collection of passengers arriving at and departing from the airport. Previously, poor internet connectivity hampered the use of this application. However, now, PT Telkom Indonesia managed to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, Abraham Kateyauw, the Head of the Mimika Communications and Informatics Office, explained that efforts and measures related to the COVID-19 handling in organizing the Papua PON had been carried out since 2021 when the pandemic had just started.

One of which was through massive outreach and dissemination to the community utilizing the Sub-District Internet Service Center Car (MPLIK).

"Almost every week we went to the community to educate and inform the public about the very dangerous effect of COVID-19 so that they understand and eventually know what to do to avoid the transmission of this virus.”  (infopublik)