AI-Summary – News For Tomorrow
Parks Canada reports confirm the devastating Jasper wildfire in July 2024 was caused by lightning and exacerbated by extreme winds and dry conditions. The fire, which destroyed a third of Jasper’s structures and displaced thousands, might have been mitigated further with more fuel reduction efforts like prescribed burns. Separately, the U.S., under President Trump, blocked a global carbon fee on shipping at an international meeting. This decision, made with support from Saudi Arabia, led to the postponement of new regulations for a year. Critics argue that political compromises prioritized over climate action harmed countries most affected by climate change.
News summary provided by Gemini AI.
Parks Canada releases two reports on Jasper fire confirming cause, development
Two new reports on last year’s devastating wildfire in Jasper confirm the blaze was caused by lightning and accelerated by “tornado-force fire-generated” winds and dry conditions.
The fire, which started as three separate blazes before merging as one, hit town two days after starting and destroyed a third of the community’s structures in July 2024. It forced 25,000 residents and visitors to flee and displaced an estimated 2,000 people.
The reports, commissioned by Parks Canada, say efforts to reduce fuel for wildfires, including prescribed burns, helped mitigate the blaze.
But one of the reports, which looks at how the fire formed and developed, says more burns and other attempts to reduce fuel would have been beneficial, since the fire began in an area south of town that had not burned or been treated in over a century.
The favourable fire weather stemmed from minimal rainfall in the weeks leading up to the blaze, combined with “record-high” temperatures in the proceeding days, the report says.
Read the full story here.
—The Canadian Press
U.S. blocks a global fee on shipping emissions as international meeting ends without new regulations
With trade threats from President Donald Trump, the U.S. derailed the world’s first global carbon fee on shipping as an international maritime meeting adjourned Friday without adopting regulations.
Instead, after much pressure from Trump, along with Saudi Arabia and a handful of other countries, delegates decided to postpone the decision by a year and adjourn. In the interim, nations will continue to negotiate and work toward consensus.
“Faced with pressure, too many governments chose political compromise over climate justice, and in doing so, abandoned the countries bearing the brunt of the climate crisis,” said Emma Fenton, senior director for climate diplomacy at a U.K.-based climate change non-profit, Opportunity Green.
Read the full story here.
—The Associated Press
