By FRANK JORDANS
June 4, 2022
FILE - Crowds of emperor penguins on the ice in Antarctica on Dec. 21, 2005. Officials on Friday, June 3, 2022 say China has blocked efforts to step up protection of emperor penguins that are increasingly threatened by the effects global warming is having on their natural habitat in Antarctica. Dozens of countries had backed giving the world’s largest penguins special protection status at a 10-day meeting of parties to the Antarctic Treaty, which was forged in 1959 to ensure the continent remains the preserve of science and free of arms. (Zhang Zongtang/Xinhua via AP, file)
BERLIN (AP) — China has blocked efforts to step up
protection of emperor penguins that
are increasingly threatened by the effects global warming is having on their
natural habitat in Antarctica, officials said Friday.
Dozens of countries had backed giving the world’s largest
penguins special protection status at a 10-day meeting in Berlin of parties to
the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty was forged in 1959 to ensure that the
continent remains the preserve of science, and free of arms.
“An overwhelming majority of parties held the opinion that
there is sufficient scientific evidence for the species to be put under the
special protection,” the German government, which hosted the May 22-June 2
meeting, said in a statement Friday.
While a formal decision was “blocked by one party,” it said
that most countries attending the meeting planned nevertheless to put in place
national measures to protect emperor penguins.
Chinese officials couldn’t immediately be reached for
comment. But delegates attending the meeting, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said Beijing had made clear it wanted more time to consider the
implications of upgrading the protection status of the penguins.
The meeting was partly overshadowed by the war in Ukraine,
with many countries speaking out against Russia’s attack on the country.
Russia, which like Ukraine is active in Antarctica,
was represented
at the meeting by an official from its embassy in Berlin, with other
delegates participating remotely by video link.
Despite differences with Beijing over the penguins and the
deep diplomatic discord between Moscow and the West over Ukraine, the meeting
was able to adopt by consensus a package of conservation measures for
Antarctica. These included moves to designate four new protected areas in the
future and limit tourism to the frozen continent.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-climate-china-antarctica-berlin-fb9c44fb41f74c6a44f58cdadb09a587
New Polar Strategy
Must Focus On China’s Long March To Antarctica
No comments:
Post a Comment