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Argentina: Colegios e institutos, la válvula de escape de los jóvenes durante la pandemia

Colegios e institutos, la válvula de escape de los jóvenes durante la pandemia

Fue duro, muy duro. De la noche a la mañana tuvimos que cambiar radicalmente nuestra vida, sin saber hasta cuándo ni cuánto nos iba a hacer sufrir. La pandemia ha afectado a todos los sectores de la sociedad y el porvenir académico de los hombres y mujeres del futuro se ha tambaleado.

«Llegó de manera inesperado y tuvimos que aclimatarnos todos, docentes y estudiantes», señala Inma Corral, profesora de Secundaria del instituto Duques de Nájera de Logroño. Y, pese a lo que pudiera parecer, «la adaptación ha sido bastante exitosa en cuanto a nivel escolar. Empezamos el curso con normas muy distintas, severas, tanto de acceso como de organización y comportamiento, pero la mayor parte de los alumnos han respondido muy bien».

Medidas que, según explica, han resultado tan positivas que seguramente hayan llegado para quedarse. «La inquietud de hacia dónde iba a evolucionar esto, cuánto tiempo iba a durar, si volvería a pasar… cambió por completo la manera de trabajar, pero, afortunadamente, hoy en día se está haciendo al mismo ritmo que en un año ordinario».

La profesora tenía sus dudas, «como todos, pero yo veo a los chicos y chicas relacionándose igual que antes, asumiendo, eso sí, las medidas, y apoyándose en un entorno que ven seguro». El cansancio es lo que más destaca Inma de sus alumnos: «Mentalmente no tienen las mismas vías de escape; y físicamente, tampoco. Y eso les agota».

Pero, por mucho que algunos incidan en la irresponsabilidad de los jóvenes frente al coronavirus, «están siendo muy aplicados con las normas. En el patio, cuando se comen el bocadillo, se bajan la mascarilla, muerden y se la vuelven a poner. Y en clase, cada dos por tres están desinfectando las cosas y lavándose las manos. Están muy concienciados».

El ‘insti’ ya no es una tortura

La labor de los orientadores educativos es más importante que nunca, más si cabe. «Pero seguimos siendo los ‘raritos’. Esos que solo trabajan con los alumnos problemáticos, pero no es así», afirma Lourdes Sáinz, orientadora en el Instituto Marco Fabio Quintiliano de Calahorra.

Esta figura profesional es multidisciplinar y va desde la prevención del fracaso y el abandono escolar hasta la detención de necesidades educativas especiales, pasando por el asesoramiento psicopedagógico en todas las fases del aprendizaje. «Además, apoyamos al equipo directivo, a los tutores, a las familias… Somos los intermediarios entre todo».

Durante estos meses, Lourdes ha notado un especial repunte en el número de alumnos que han visitado su despacho. «Vienen desanimados, sin ganas de estudiar, porque no ven un futuro claro, ven con pesimismo las cosas». La característica principal de la adolescencia es la socialización con sus iguales y «eso se les ha cortado. La limitación de contacto es una de las medidas más duras para todos, pero especialmente para los jóvenes». El instituto es en este momento su única manera de relación. «Yo les suelo decir: ‘¿A que ahora venir todos los días aquí no es una tortura? Se ríen, pero me dan la razón».

Una de las problemáticas que más ha crecido ha sido la derivada del entorno familiar. «Antes salían y entraban de casa cuando querían, pero con la pandemia tantas horas en casa han desembocado, a veces, en un obstáculo, tanto para padres como para hijos». La gestión de este tiempo ha sido difícil para ambos, «cada uno necesita su espacio, su rinconcito de intimidad. Pero en muchos casos esta situación les ha enseñado a estar más rato en familia, compartiendo nuevas o antiguas aficiones».

Esta orientadora lo tiene muy claro: «Cuanto más abiertos estemos los orientadores, más se puede llegar a los alumnos, que es nuestro principal objetivo». Lourdes subraya que «mi puerta está siempre abierta. Es una manera de que sepan que estás y de invitarles a dejar los temores y entrar».

Fuente de la Información: https://nuevecuatrouno.com/2021/02/28/rioja-logrono-calahorra-educacion-pandemia-instituto-alumnos/

 

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Chile – Que las prioridades se inviertan: Por Tomás y todas las infancias perdidas

Que las prioridades se inviertan: Por Tomás y todas las infancias perdidas

#TOMÁSBRAVO

En Chile cada año se pierden alrededor de 100 niños, muchos más van a dar a instituciones como Sename, otros tantos pasan invisibles y con frío por la frontera. La pérdida de Tomás Bravo pone en la mesa la larga cadena de violencias a las que las y los niños se ven enfrentados además de la hipocresía de instituciones como PDI, Carabineros y el mismo gobierno, a quienes en realidad poco les importa la vida de las y los niños.

Fernanda Morales Aracena

Hace unos días, por todos los medios y redes sociales se difundió la búsqueda de Tomás, niño de tan solo tres años extraviado en Lebú cuyo cuerpo encontrado después de 9 días de búsqueda, había sido victima de su tío actualmente asesino confeso. El caso se desarrolló con peritajes y cobertura nacional del hecho.

No es sorpresa el rol que cumplen los medios de comunicación alrededor del caso, limpiándole la cara a instituciones como lo es la PDI que constantemente atropellan los derechos de tantas y tantos niños.

Aunque el gobierno diga “los niños primeros” y la PDI aparezca de lunes a viernes en televisión jactándose del despliegue en la búsqueda, la verdad es que en Chile la infancia no es prioridad. Siguen operando instituciones como el Servicio de Protección de la Niñez (ex Sename), acusadas de estar involucradas en comercio sexual infantil, con niños baleados por esas mismas “fuerzas de seguridad” que allanan las comunidades mapuche donde la infancia es ver y vivir la represión.

La misma PDI que amenaza de muerte a niños mapuche, que asesina a los hijos del pueblo trabajador, que reprimió en el suelo a una niña de 10 años por ser hija de Catrillanca, hipócritamente hace uso de la tragedia de Tomás y del dolor que causa en la familia y la población la pérdida de un inocente.

¿Cuál es el fin? Por una parte, el lavado de imagen de las FFAA a la vez que el gobierno intenta acelerar la agenda represiva, y por otra la manipulación de los medios de comunicación que hacen de la tragedia el centro, a la vez que se sigue reproduciendo la violencia estructural donde una de las principales causas de mortalidad infantil es la pobreza, por ende, los grandes responsables son los que pretenden perpetuar la división de clases donde los muertos los pone el pueblo trabajador.

Los grandes organismos y organizaciones sociales debiesen poner su fuerza y tribunas a disposición de exigir justicia por Tomás y por todas y todos los niños que sufren los agravios de este sistema dando vuelta las prioridades e invirtiendo realmente en la protección de la niñez y en todo lo que eso implica, terminando con las instituciones podridas como Servicio de Protección de la Niñez y garantizando educación, salud y el derecho a vivir digna y libremente sin violencia.

Fuente de la Información: http://www.laizquierdadiario.cl/Que-las-prioridades-se-inviertan-Por-Tomas-y-todas-las-infancias-perdidas

 

 

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Latinoamérica: La pandemia del COVID-19 generó un retroceso de más de una década en los niveles de participación laboral de las mujeres en la región

La pandemia del COVID-19 generó un retroceso de más de una década en los niveles de participación laboral de las mujeres en la región

La crisis generada por la pandemia del COVID-19 impactó negativamente en la ocupación y en las condiciones laborales de las mujeres en América Latina y el Caribe, generando un retroceso de más de una década en los avances logrados en materia de participación laboral, de acuerdo con el Informe Especial COVID-19 N⁰9: La autonomía económica de las mujeres en la recuperación sostenible y con igualdad dado a conocer hoy por la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).

Según el documento, la tasa de participación laboral de las mujeres se situó en 46% en 2020, mientras que la de los hombres en 69% (en 2019 alcanzaron un 52% y un 73,6%, respectivamente). Se calcula, además, que la tasa de desocupación de las mujeres llegó al 12% en 2020, porcentaje que se eleva al 22,2% si se asume la misma tasa de participación laboral de las mujeres de 2019. En 2020, explica el estudio, se registró una contundente salida de mujeres de la fuerza laboral, quienes, por tener que atender las demandas de cuidados en sus hogares, no retomaron la búsqueda de empleo.

La caída del producto interno bruto (PIB) regional (-7,7% en 2020) y el impacto de la crisis en el empleo están afectando negativamente los ingresos de los hogares, plantea el informe presentado en conferencia de prensa por Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL. El organismo regional de las Naciones Unidas estima que alrededor de 118 millones de mujeres latinoamericanas se encontrarían en situación de pobreza, 23 millones más que en 2019.

“Las mujeres de la región son parte crucial de la primera línea de respuesta a la pandemia. Un 73,2% de las personas empleadas en el sector de la salud son mujeres, quienes han tenido que enfrentar una serie de condiciones de trabajo extremas, como extensas jornadas laborales, que se suman al mayor riesgo al que se expone el personal de la salud de contagiarse del virus. Todo esto en un contexto regional en el que persiste la discriminación salarial, pues los ingresos laborales de las mujeres que trabajan en el ámbito de la salud son un 23,7% inferiores a los de los hombres del mismo sector”, señaló Alicia Bárcena.

Por otra parte, el estudio remarca que el trabajo doméstico remunerado, que se caracteriza por una alta precarización y por la imposibilidad de ser realizado de forma remota, ha sido uno de los sectores más golpeados por la crisis. En 2019, previo a la pandemia, alrededor de 13 millones de personas se dedicaban al trabajo doméstico remunerado (de los cuales el 91,5% eran mujeres). En total, este sector empleaba a un 11,1% de las mujeres ocupadas en la región. No obstante, en el segundo trimestre de 2020 los niveles de ocupación en el trabajo doméstico remunerado cayeron -24,7% en Brasil; -46,3% en Chile; -44,4% en Colombia; -45,5% en Costa Rica; -33,2% en México; y -15,5% en Paraguay.

“América Latina y el Caribe debe invertir en la economía del cuidado y reconocerla como un sector dinamizador de la recuperación, con efectos multiplicadores en el bienestar, la redistribución de tiempo e ingresos, la participación laboral, el crecimiento y la recaudación tributaria”, afirmó la máxima autoridad de la CEPAL.

En este marco, Bárcena alentó a los gobiernos a “priorizar en sus estrategias de vacunación al personal de salud -incluidas las personas que prestan servicios asociados de limpieza, transporte y cuidados-, y a quienes se desempeñan en los sistemas educativos y en el trabajo doméstico, en su mayoría mujeres, que son un pilar fundamental para el cuidado y la sostenibilidad de la vida”.

Según el documento de la CEPAL, un 56,9% de las mujeres en América Latina y un 54,3% en el Caribe se encuentran ocupadas en sectores en los que se prevé un mayor efecto negativo en términos del empleo y los ingresos por causa de la pandemia.

De acuerdo con el estudio, el cierre de fronteras, las restricciones a la movilidad, la caída del comercio internacional y la paralización de la actividad productiva interna han impactado en las trabajadoras y empresarias vinculadas a los sectores del comercio, turismo y manufactura. Por ejemplo, el sector del turismo, altamente feminizado, en el que un 61,5% de los puestos de trabajo están ocupados por mujeres, sufrió una contracción importante, que afectó principalmente a los países del Caribe, donde una de cada 10 mujeres ocupadas se concentra en este sector.

Durante la presentación del informe, la Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL destacó la urgencia de reforzar las políticas de empleo y asegurar a las mujeres participación en los sectores dinamizadores de la economía en condiciones de trabajo decente. Asimismo, enfatizó la importancia de combinar medidas en apoyo al empleo y la reactivación con medidas de atención inmediata a la pérdida de ingresos.

En este contexto, “urge promover procesos de transformación digital incluyentes que garanticen el acceso de las mujeres a las tecnologías, potencien sus habilidades y reviertan las barreras socioeconómicas que estas enfrentan, de manera de fortalecer su autonomía económica”, subrayó Alicia Bárcena, a la vez que resaltó el reducido esfuerzo fiscal que conlleva la propuesta de canasta básica digital de la CEPAL (1% del PIB regional) y el enorme impacto que tendría al conectar a una de cada cuatro mujeres en América Latina y el Caribe.

“Resulta fundamental avanzar en un nuevo pacto fiscal que promueva la igualdad de género y que evite la profundización de los niveles de pobreza de las mujeres, la sobrecarga de trabajo no remunerado y la reducción del financiamiento de políticas de igualdad”, alertó.

“Además de transversalizar la perspectiva de género en todas las políticas de recuperación, se requieren acciones afirmativas en el ámbito de las políticas fiscales, laborales, productivas, económicas y sociales, que protejan los derechos de las mujeres alcanzados en la última década, que eviten retrocesos y que enfrenten las desigualdades de género en el corto, mediano y largo plazo”, concluyó Bárcena.

Fuente de la Información: https://www.cepal.org/es/comunicados/la-pandemia-covid-19-genero-un-retroceso-mas-decada-niveles-participacion-laboral

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Why Opening Windows Is a Key to Reopening Schools

Why Opening Windows Is a Key to Reopening Schools

The C.D.C. is urging communities to reopen schools as quickly as possible, but parents and teachers have raised questions about the quality of ventilation available in public school classrooms to protect against the coronavirus.

We worked with a leading engineering firm and experts specializing in buildings systems to better understand the simple steps schools can take to reduce exposure in the classroom.

Here’s a typical classroom from the pre-Covid era with about 30 students. This scene is based on a real public school classroom in New York City.

New York City put strict protocols in place for reopening schools, and in-school transmission of the virus has been very low. Students must practice social distancing and wear masks, and classrooms must have windows that open.

This classroom seats just nine students, all wearing typical cloth face masks, facing forward and sitting six feet apart. With all of the windows closed, the room would lack sufficient ventilation. That’s a problem with an airborne virus.

The students are wearing masks, but their breath still circulates and mixes around the room. About 3 percent of the air each person in this room breathes was exhaled by other people.

Even students who look healthy may be asymptomatic carriers who can transmit the virus. Let’s see what happens when we introduce an infected student to the mix.

These lines trace the student’s warm breath as it rises and begins to disperse contaminated respiratory aerosols throughout the room. The contaminants are most concentrated where the lines are darkest.

While we still do not know exactly what level of contamination presents the greatest risk of infection, “exposure is a function of concentration and time,” said Joseph G. Allen, the director of the Harvard Healthy Buildings program and an environmental health expert.

Within a short time, the room approaches its peak level of contamination. With little fresh air coming into the space, the contaminants continue to circulate throughout the room.

Experts agree that good ventilation is the most effective and practical way to rid a space of contaminants. The Healthy Buildings program recommends four to six air exchanges per hour in classrooms, through any combination of ventilation and filtration.

New York City mandated every classroom have at least one operable window to help with ventilation, even in the winter. So let’s see what happens when we open a window.

The fresh air dilutes the contaminants as they move around the room. “Simple and inexpensive measures can make schools much safer,” said Scott E. Frank, whose engineering firm JB&B assisted with these simulations

We managed to achieve four total air exchanges by opening just one window in this simulation, which was dependent on specific weather conditions. To get to six air exchanges, we will have to do more.

Let’s try adding a simple air cleaner with a HEPA filter and a box fan blowing fresh air into the room, both practical and low-cost options.

The increased fresh air blowing into the room and the filtered air coming from the air cleaner help to further dilute the contaminants as they spread in the space.

Airflow is one way to understand the importance of ventilation, but we can also look at the data another way.

Here’s a view of the same classroom with the window closed again. Each layer shows a full cross-section of the space once the room has reached a peak level of contamination.

With the window closed, the contaminants accumulate in high concentrations because they have nowhere to go.

The concentration is highest where the warm air rises, but contaminants are also spreading at the level where the students are breathing.

The dense reddish fog shows a high concentration of contaminants spreading far beyond six feet from the infected student. If the student were sitting elsewhere, the pattern would be different but the buildup in the room would be similar.

With the window open, the concentration remains densest near the infected student, but the contaminants are diluted in the rest of the room. Exposure for the other students is reduced.

And with an air cleaner and a fan, the overall concentration levels are at their lowest. The contaminants are concentrated at the front of the room where the fan is blowing, and diluted everywhere else.

Though we achieved six air exchanges with these measures, there are ways we could further improve ventilation in this space.

The Healthy Buildings guidelines call for a fan blowing out the window, not in. “We don’t want to ever blow air across anyone’s face, not knowing who’s infected,” Dr. Allen said.

And since our open window and fan were in the front of the room, we placed our air cleaner in the back for balance. When you don’t know the airflow patterns, it’s generally best to put it in the center of the room.

These simulations offer examples based on specific inputs, but they show how ventilation and filtration can work alongside other precautions like masking and social distancing.

“Improving ventilation is only one part,” said Mark Thaler, who is an expert in school spaces with the design firm Gensler. “It has to stand with all the other C.D.C. guidelines in order to really safely reopen.”

Fuente de la Información: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/26/science/reopen-schools-safety-ventilation.html

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Malasia: Abandoned By Family In A Pandemic

Abandoned By Family In A Pandemic

 

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the economic backlash of the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out some 81 million jobs in Asia-Pacific last year. Moreover, millions of other workers were also asked to reduce their work hours. In a report titled, “Asia-Pacific Employment and Social Outlook 2020,” working hours in the region decreased by an estimated 15.2 percent in the second quarter and by 10.7 percent in the third quarter of 2020, relative to pre-crisis levels.

Back in October, the World Bank estimated that between 88 and 115 million people worldwide would be pushed into extreme poverty in 2020. In a more recent forecast, the organisation now expects the COVID-19-induced new poor in 2020 to rise between 119 and 124 million.

The ASEAN Post has published a number of articles about the repercussions of COVID-19, poverty and unemployment. In a desperate bid to earn a quick buck during these difficult times, some have even resorted to selling their bodies, or borrowing money from loan sharks. Others have asked their children to take a leave of absence from school to join the harsh labour force.

Global media have also reported incidences of child marriages, as impoverished parents are unable to take care of their children.

Other than that, some experiencing immense financial difficulties have also taken another extreme step to alleviate their burden, that is, by abandoning those under their care.

employment in asia pacific

The Young

A few months ago, a heart-breaking story was picked up by Malaysian media which went viral across the country. Images of an abandoned baby boy, fast asleep inside a cardboard box were circulated on social media. A note was also attached to the baby, asking the public to take good care of the child.

“We apologise for not being able to care for Muhammad Arif due to financial constraints,” the note read. “We seek assistance from anyone who can care and look after him.” Baby diapers, talc and wet tissues were also found in the box, next to the infant. He was found in front of a local surau.

Malaysia is notorious for baby-dumping cases with a baby dumped every three to four days, as reported by local media. OrphanCare Foundation, a Malaysian non-profit organisation reported that 45 babies were rescued nationwide between March and December last year during the country’s partial lockdown.

This social problem is not exclusive to Malaysia, but is happening all over the world as well. In India where millions of children are left each year by their parents, the pandemic has led to this phenomenon of abandoning children to rise dramatically.

Give India, India’s largest charity group, said that “a large number of young and older children from marginalised sections of society have been collateral victims of the pandemic. This includes child labourers, abandoned children, those living in child care institutions (CCIs), orphanages, as well as street children. Many among these vulnerable children are malnourished which makes them highly susceptible to the virus.”

The group also added that while the number of abandoned children has increased during the pandemic, adoption activities were also disrupted due to COVID-19.

The Old

Unfortunately, it’s not just babies and children being abandoned during the health crisis, but the elderly too. Some would leave their older and ill parents in nursing homes, while some, would cruelly leave them in public areas, never to be seen again.

Back in March 2020, soldiers in Spain made a shocking discovery while disinfecting a nursing home – elderly people were abandoned and some were even dead in their beds. This came as Spain was experiencing its first wave of COVID-19 cases.

Unfortunately, abandonment of the elderly has also been reported in ASEAN member states.

In February alone, Malaysia highlighted two cases of abandoned senior citizens. Earlier this month, a man in his 60s was abandoned by his family members at a surau located in the outskirts in the country’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Local media reported that his family had brought him to the surau for a congregational prayer only as a ploy to drive him out of the house.

In a separate incident reported days after, an elderly Malaysian woman in a wheelchair was found alone by the road with diapers and a bag of clothes. Officials said that “efforts to contact her family were made but we did not get them to cooperate when not a single family member was willing to take her home and gave many excuses.”

The woman also has an amputated leg, as well as bad memory. Despite it all, the woman still wished the best for her child.

In the Philippines, the number of abandoned elderly people has been increasing every year.

“Imagine being abandoned by your own daughter. That’s very painful. I have many relatives but no one is willing to take care of me,” 73-year-old Timoteo told local media. He is currently under the care of the House of the Lord, a foster home for abandoned elderly in Talisay City.

“When my daughter was a baby, I made sure not one fly would touch her. I don’t know why she has become this way,” he added.

Fr. Rowell Gumalay, head of the House of the Lord, said that some families find it a burden to care for the elderly. Timoteo’s story was reported back in March 2020. Perhaps in recent months, as things get tougher due to the pandemic, more senior citizens will face similar experiences as their children can no longer afford to take care of them.

 

Fuente de la Información: https://theaseanpost.com/article/abandoned-family-pandemicn

 

 

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‘If This Task Was Urgent Before, It’s Crucial Now.’ U.N. Says World Has 10 Months to Get Serious on Climate Goals

‘If This Task Was Urgent Before, It’s Crucial Now.’ U.N. Says World Has 10 Months to Get Serious on Climate Goals

The language of diplomacy rarely allows for a true sense of emotion or urgency. But reading between the lines of the latest report commissioned by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—the body representing the 197 member nations of the Paris Agreement to minimize a global average temperature rise this century—the message is clear. The world has precisely ten months to get our act together if there is to be any hope of staving off a climate catastrophe by the end of the century.

If member nations are to achieve the Paris Agreement target of limiting global temperature rise above preindustrial levels by 2°C—ideally 1.5°C—by 2100, they must redouble efforts and submit stronger, more ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions, according to the report. The document tabulates the national climate action plans [NDCs], of each member nation. The NDCs, which were due at the end of 2020, are essentially blueprints laying out emission reduction targets for each country along with plans detailing how they will meet those stated goals.

So far, the plans all coming up short. The report shows that while the majority of the 75 nations that have submitted NDCs increased their individual commitments, their combined impact puts them on a path to achieve only a 1% reduction in global emissions by 2030, compared to the 45% reduction needed to hit the 1.5°C temperature goal. “This report shows that current levels of climate ambition are very far from putting us on a pathway that will meet our Paris Agreement goals,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change. “While we acknowledge the recent political shift in momentum towards stronger climate action throughout the world, decisions to accelerate and broaden climate action everywhere must be taken now.”

Another report will be released prior to COP 26, the global meeting on Climate Change, currently scheduled for November in the U.K., giving stragglers time to catch up, says Espinosa. “It’s time for all remaining parties to step up, fulfill what they promised to do under the Paris Agreement and submit their NDCs as soon as possible. If this task was urgent before, it’s crucial now.”

The former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, who also served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and is now Chair of The Elders, was scathing in her assessment of the commitments made by some of the world’s biggest polluters and did not hesitate to single out countries by name. “Major economies need to ramp up their ambition – starting with the U.S., where expectations are high for an emissions and finance pledge to make up for lost time. Others like Japan, Canada, Korea, New Zealand and China, have committed to net zero goals by mid-century, but we are still missing their promised new near-term plans to get there,” she said in a statement released ahead of the report.

Robinson was particularly withering when it came to Australia’s commitments, noting that it was not enough for the country to “repackage a plan that was already inadequate five years ago. The good news is there is still time for radical improvement if Australia wants to keep pace with their major allies and trading partners.”

The clock is ticking for Australia, as well as everyone else.

 

Fuente de la Información: https://time.com/5942546/un-emissions-targets-climate-change/

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Corruption and child labour have no place in the energy transition

Corruption and child labour have no place in the energy transition

Richard Kent, Researcher on Business and Human Rights at Amnesty International

The European Commission is currently wrapping up consultations on a new law that could shape the future of green energy. If adopted, the EU Battery Regulation would require all businesses in the battery industry to report on the social and environmental impact of their operations. It would ensure that batteries entering the EU market – for use in electric cars, smartphones, solar panels, and much more – are responsibly sourced and sustainable. Businesses would have to show, for example, that the minerals in their batteries do not indirectly finance armed groups or child labour, and that their supply chains are free of corruption.

The law would be a pillar of Europe’s Green New Deal, and it is long overdue. The World Bank found that production of some battery metals could increase by up to 500 percent by 2050, to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles – essential for reducing carbon emissions. Never before has mineral extraction sought to mitigate climate change on such a scale. But there are currently no laws in place to ensure green technologies do not themselves cause harm – and cause harm they do.

The real frontier of the battery revolution is not in the corridors of Brussels. It is in the unregulated cobalt mines of the DRC, where children as young as seven work in perilous conditions. It is in the vast frozen expanses of Siberia’s Taimyr Peninsula, where a nickel mining company spilled thousands of tonnes of diesel fuel into the Arctic; and in the salt flats of Latin America, where lithium extraction is threatening livelihoods. Cobalt, nickel and lithium are key components of rechargeable batteries, and we are sliding towards a situation where we have replaced one type of environmental injustice with another.

The grim irony is that these abuses are being perpetrated against the people least responsible for the climate catastrophe. Indigenous fishing communities in Papua New Guinea’s Basamuk Bay aren’t the ones pumping CO2 into the atmosphere. Yet it’s their water that was poisoned when a nickel mine dumped 23 tonnes of toxic waste into the ocean, while sourcing the minerals necessary to get drivers in Paris, Beijing and New York into electric cars. The need for regulation has never been so urgent.

Last month, Amnesty International and 66 other human rights and environmental organizations published a set of principles for businesses and governments to adopt in order to clean up battery supply chains. Many of the organizations who signed up to Powering Change represent the frontline communities most affected by the energy transition.

In Powering Change, we call on manufacturers to work towards maximum recycled content in batteries, minimize the use of hazardous materials, and manage battery waste responsibly. We call on businesses and governments alike to ensure environmental defenders and Indigenous communities are consulted and properly informed about planned operations and potential risks.

The EU Battery Regulation proposal contains several articles to improve transparency in supply chains, which is also one of our coalition’s crucial principles. In 2017, Amnesty researchers found that companies including Microsoft, Renault and Volkswagen were failing to ask basic questions about where the cobalt in their batteries came from. More than half the world’s cobalt comes from the DRC, where Amnesty has documented children and adults mining in perilous conditions, earning a couple of dollars a day to work in narrow tunnels at risk of collapse. In light of this, it’s unacceptable for businesses to shrug their shoulders about their supply chains – consumers deserve to know that their cars are not powered by human rights abuses.

This is why the European Battery Regulation could be one of the most important pieces of industry legislation ever. It would be the first legally binding initiative to clean up battery supply chains, and would force businesses to do more to protect workers, Indigenous communities and the environment.

Europe is the epicentre of the push towards a battery-powered future. Governments including the UK, Poland and Sweden are scrambling to construct multi-billion dollar battery “gigafactories”, and the European Investment Bank pledged €1 billion investment to the battery manufacturing industry in 2020. Many of the corporations that led the Second Industrial Revolution – the invention of the internal combustion engine, the mass growth of the car industry, and concurrent demand for oil – are now taking the reins of what they pledge will be a “Green Industrial Revolution.” It is imperative that this time, corporations recognize their impact on the planet and human rights, and factor this into their business models.

If the Battery Regulation is adopted, Europe would also be the epicentre of an energy transition that is genuinely clean and fair.

This article was originally published in EU Observer

 

Fuente de la Información: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/02/corruption-and-child-labour-have-no-place-in-the-energy-transition/

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