Europe A Global Leader Against Climate Change

'David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet' talks about the monumental scale of humanity's impact on nature

Brussels - Earlier this year, President Biden invited over 40 world leaders to a "climate summit", where heads of states announced their targets to combat climate change. This Wednesday, the European Union became the first entity to publish a detailed plan of action to meet its target of being carbon neutral by 2050. With the 291-page document, the most aggressive and detailed plan in the world, Europe now takes the global leadership along with the US in the fight against climate change. “Europe was the first continent to declare to be climate neutral in 2050, and now we are the very first ones to put a concrete road map on the table,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The road map paves the way to pivot away from fossil fuels in the next nine years and end of sales of new gas and diesel-powered cars in the next 14 years, but the most radical measure is the new "Carbon Border Tax". The tax will be imposed on exports from countries that do not have similar climate protection rules, coercing other countries to have stricter climate protection measures. The greatest impact of such a tax would be on goods from Russia, Turkey, China, Britain, and Ukraine, majorly on Iron, Steel, and aluminum goods. The plan is yet to be debated by the European Parliament before passing it, but China and India have become the first countries to publicly criticize the idea of a Carbon Border Tax. Japan also isn't very fond of the idea. The idea is expected to set off new global trade disputes and also puts China, the world's largest emitter, under great pressure to set more ambitious targets for itself.

The democrats in the US have also agreed on a similar tax called "Polluter import fee". Although they did not publish any detailed plan as in the case with Europe, it would function quite similarly to Europe's Border Carbon Tax.

The new "green deals" come at a very crucial timing in the fight against climate change, just a few months before the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November when a global stocktake is expected.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of a toll of disastrous flooding in Western Europe, which has claimed the lives of over 100 people so far. Ottmar Edenhofer, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany said: “Weather extremes around the world clearly illustrate that strong action is key now if we want to limit costs and risks, and secure a safe future for all.”

'Jozi Gold' realtes Mariette Liefferink's struggle against the richest mining corporations in Africa.

In 'Kiss the Ground', a group of activists, scientists, farmers, and politicians band together in a global movement of “Regenerative Agriculture.

The 2021 Cannes Film Festival

Watch the trailer to the film 'Revolution of Our Times' by Kiwi Chow

Cannes - After the 2020 Cannes film festival was canceled due to the pandemic, the 2021 festival took place this week, with a two-year backlog of very influential films, and with special COVID-related restrictions. This Guardian article by Xan Brooks, former associate editor for The Guardian specialized in film, relates the 'strangeness' of this year's Cannes with masks, long queues, and COVID tests.

Long-time Cinema for Peace chairwoman Catherine Deneuve's new film "Peaceful" was one of the most applauded films at the festival, and the beloved actor received a long emotional standing ovation before the premiere. The film takes about a grieving mother helping her terminally ill son accept his fate. Deneuve had recovered from a stroke and it was her first appearance in Cannes again.

Russian dissident director, Kirill Serebrennikov, was not able to attend the premiere of his new film "Petrov's Flu" due to a travel ban imposed on him because of his support of LGBTQ issues. He was also unable to attend the premiere of his last film "Leto" three years ago when the film bagged an award, as he was put under house arrest.

Jodie Foster, who is also known to be very vocal about LGBTQ issues, received an honorary Palme d'Or, presented to her by the first black president of the Jury Spike Lee and Bong Joon-ho. Jodie Foster encouraged budding female filmmakers through her speech to seek their own truth. "There has never been a better time for women to enter the film industry," she said. Here are some of the films that won the awards this year:

  • 'Titane' by Julia Ducournau - Palme d'Or

  • 'Ghahreman (A Hero)' by Asghar Farhadi - Grand Prix (ex aequo)

  • 'Hytti N°6 (Compartment N°6)' by Juho Kuosmanen - Grand Prix (ex aequo)

  • Leos Carax for 'Annette' - Best Director

  • Hamaguchi Ryusuke & Takamasa Oe for 'Drive My Car' - Best Screenplay

  • 'Memoria' by Apichatpong Weerasethakul - Jury Prize (ex aequo)

  • 'Ha’berech (Ahed's Knee)' by Nadav Lapid - Jury Prize (ex aequo)

  • Renate Reinsve in 'Verdens Verste Menneske (The Worst Person in the World)' - Best Performance by an Actress

  • Caleb Landry Jones in 'Nitram' - Best Performance by an Actor

Read more on the awards here.

A new documentary was added to the program on Friday as a surprise addition - a Hong Kong Protest Documentary 'Revolution of our Times' by native Hong Kong filmmaker Kiwi Chow, on the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests. "Being able to have a premiere in the Cannes festival is a good chance to let the world know that there are still people persisting in Hong Kong," Kiwi Chow said.

Watch a short clip from the film 'Peaceful' starring Catherine Deneuve.

Watch the trailer to the film 'Petrov's Flu' by Kirill Serebrennikov.

Watch the first look of the film 'A Hero' by Asghar Farhadi.

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