The climate threat Global challenges

Closing US Aid Hits Oyster Farmers in Ghana

In Ghana's coastal mangrove swamps, oyster farming has been an important source of livelihood for women for generations. But training programs in environmentally friendly methods have been ended as a result of President Donald Trump's cuts in US aid, writes AP.

Now the women are left to try to preserve the tradition and protect the endangered mangroves on their own, while the West African country tries to get out of a severe economic crisis. And the work is slowly paying off, writes the news agency.

- The oysters have started to attach themselves to the mangroves we have planted, says 45-year-old Beatrice Nutekpor, who has been growing oysters since she was 15.

The women are forced to dive deeper and deeper as swamp plants die

Ghana has lost much of its mangroves due to climate change, reports AP. Over 80 percent of the population has disappeared in the last century, and the trend is similar in several West African countries.

The swamp plant is important for traditional oyster farming, which is an important source of income for many women. When the mangrove disappears, the oysters cannot attach to its roots – and the shellfish seek deeper water. This means that oyster farmers have to take greater risks and dive ever deeper. This can involve free diving over nine meters for several hours in search of oysters.

The EU saves face with half-hearted emissions targets

EU environment ministers have decided on a “declaration of intent” on new emissions pledges to avoid going empty-handed to the UN General Assembly next week, reports AFP. They have failed to agree on new emissions targets, which all countries were supposed to have presented.

The EU's emissions are to be reduced by between 66.25 and 72.5 percent compared to 1990. The fact that it is not a concrete promise but an intention range was what finally got all the countries on board after long negotiations on Thursday.

- It will be difficult for us to demand from others, our international partners, to act if we do not deliver ourselves, says Finnish Climate Minister Sari Multala to Reuters.

Today's decision only postpones the difficult EU negotiations ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil in November, writes Politico.

Europe's Heat Waves
Record Drought Affects More Than Half of Mediterranean

The Mediterranean region suffered a record drought in August, reports AFP, which has analyzed data from the EU. More than half of the region, 53 percent, was affected by drought. This is the highest figure recorded since the EU's climate service Copernicus began measuring it 13 years ago.

Between 2012 and 2024, the average figure for the month of August was 30.1 percent.

Both western and eastern Europe were hit hard. More than 90 percent of Armenia, Georgia and Lebanon were affected by drought, according to the news agency.