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CLIMATE

Danish government negotiations latest: parties yet to agree over climate goals

The environment, climate, nature, drinking water, effectivization of energy and a new state energy deal are all topics of discussion between Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats and other parties on the Danish left.

Published: 17 June 2019 12:38 CEST
Danish government negotiations latest: parties yet to agree over climate goals
Mette Frederiksen speaking to press on Sunday. Photo: Thomas Sjørup / Ritzau Scanpix

After winning an overall majority in the June 5th general election, the left-of-centre group of ‘red bloc’ parties must now agree on a platform on which to back Frederiksen as the new PM.

Climate, a top priority for voters leading into the election, is an area in which the four parties – the Social Democrats, Social Liberals, Socialist People’s Party (SF) and Red Green Alliance – can all deliver on election promises, Frederiksen told Ritzau.

“The (parliamentary) majority voted for by Danes has the potential to really get things done. If we get the opportunity, we can show our children and young people that this wasn’t just talk, that we can make Denmark one of the greenest countries in the world,” she said prior to negotiations on Sunday.

The Red Green Alliance leader Pernille Skipper said that a key factor currently separating the parties is an exact target for reduction of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Along with the Red Green Alliance, both SF and the Social Liberals want greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 70 percent by 2030. The Social Democrat target is 60 percent.

“There’s a long way (to go). But this is what is crucial for us to meet our international commitments. It is one of the most important things we are discussing with relation to climate,” Skipper said.

Social Liberal leader Morten Østergaard called for ambition on climate targets.

“We don’t think you can get a reduction of 70 percent unless you aim for it. This is about having a level of ambition that drives development,” he said.

Østergaard’s party has said that taxes and fees, such as a levy on aircraft CO2 emissions, can help offset the cost of green energy conversion.

Pia Olsen Dyhr, the leader of SF, noted the challenges of high 10-year targets but said parties were obliged to meet the demands of their voters.

“You have to say that there were many people on the palace square [at Christiansborg, location of parliament where climate demonstrations were held, ed.] fighting for green conversion to get into a higher gear. But I also have to say that it is not simple. We are aware of this in SF,” she said.

READ ALSO: Refugees to childcare: Five issues that could thwart talks to form Danish government

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CLIMATE

Central and southern Italy brace for storms and heavy snow

Storms and snowfall are forecast across much of central and southern Italy over the next few days, according to weather reports.

Published: 29 November 2021 15:13 CET
Snow is forecast in the hills of much of central and southern Italy.
Snow is forecast in the hills of much of central and southern Italy. Photo: Miguel MEDINA / AFP

Italy’s Civil Protection Department on Monday issued ‘orange’ alerts for bad weather along Campania’s Tyrrhenian coastline and the western part of Calabria, while Sicily, Basilicata, Lazio, Molise, Umbria, Abruzzo, central-western Sardinia, and the remaining areas of Campania and Calabria are under a lower-level ‘yellow’ weather warning.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is warning Italy’s central-southern regions to prepare for a blast of polar air from the Arctic Circle that will bring heavy snowfall, rain and storms, reports national weather forecaster Il Meteo.

The village of Grotte di Castro in the province of Viterbo, two hours’ drive north of Rome, mountainous parts of Sardinia, and much of the province of Campobasso in the central-eastern region of Molise were already blanketed in snow on Monday morning.

The department is responsible for predicting, preventing and managing emergency events across the country, and uses a green, yellow, orange and red graded colour coding system for weather safety reports.

An orange alert signifies a heavy rainfall, landslide and flood risk, while a yellow alert warns of localised heavy and potentially dangerous rainfall.

The current meteorological conditions mean that snow is expected to reach unusually low altitudes of around 450-500 metres, with flakes already falling thickly on parts of the southern-central Apennines mountain range at 500-700 metres altitude.

The hills of Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, Lazio, Sardinia, Campania, Calabria and Basilicata are likely to see heavy snow around the 500m mark, while areas at an altitude of 1000m or higher will see between 50-60 cm of fresh snow.

Affected parts of the country could see 50-60cm of snowfall.

Affected parts of the country could see 50-60cm of snowfall. Photo: Vincenzo PINTO /AFP

In areas where the snow is unlikely to reach, heavy rains and thunderstorms are anticipated, with rain forecast throughout Sardinia, Campania, Calabria and Lazio, reports Il Meteo.

Strong winds are forecast over the whole country, with the island regions of Sicily and Sardinia facing windspeeds of over 100km/hour and the risk of storm surges, according to the national newspaper La Repubblica.

READ ALSO: Climate crisis: The Italian cities worst affected by flooding and heatwaves

The north of the country, meanwhile, will see sun but low temperatures of below 0°C at night in many areas, including across much of the Po Valley.

While conditions are expected to stabilise on Tuesday, cold currents from Northern Europe are forecast to trigger another wave of bad weather on Wednesday and Thursday, with Sardinia and Italy’s western coastline again at risk of storms and heavy rainfall that will move up towards Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Veneto in the north.

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