Ukraine War

• Pres. Zelensky made a compelling plea to the UN Security Council by video link yesterday, showing footage of what he called “genocide” in Bucha. He also warned of evidence of further Russian atrocities that will come to light in the near future.
• Russia continues to absurdly claim the videos are faked Western propaganda designed to foment anti-Russian fervor.
• Zelensky also nudged the Security Council to consider its underlying mandate and step up to the job: “Where is the security that the Security Council needs to guarantee? It is not there, though there is a Security Council.”

Russia

• The U.S. Treasury said it would ban Russia from using U.S. dollars from American accounts to repay debts, which would force Russia to find other ways—namely, spending its domestic dollar reserves or increasingly scarce new revenues—to repay bond investors and avoid default.
• In retaliation for new sanctions on Russia, Pres. Putin signed a decree instituting stricter visa rules for citizens of “unfriendly” countries like the U.S., UK, and much of the EU. Most international airlines aren’t even flying into Russia right now, so it’s doubtful many new Russian visas are being issued anyway.
• A man died after ramming his car into the gate of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania today. Police are investigating whether it was an accident or a deliberate act of protest. Romania has been deeply affected by the war in neighboring Ukraine: it received almost 625,000 Ukrainians since the war started in late February; around 80,000 of them are still in Romania.

Sudan

• The first—and only—war crimes trial related to the pro-government Janjaweed militia’s atrocities in Darfur began yesterday, almost 20 years after the fact. A suspected former Janjaweed leader, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al Rahman, is being tried on 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Mali

• Local reports corroborated the involvement of Russian mercenaries in last month’s military operation against what the army called jihadists—although those local reports say many among the hundreds killed were civilians rather than terrorists. Apparently over 100 of the men working with the Malian army during the operation were white Russian speakers.

DRC

• A suspected CODECO attack killed at least one UN peacekeeper in Ituri, DRC. Details are scant.

U.S.

• CNN reports that the U.S. successfully tested a hypersonic missile in mid-March, but kept the test quiet out of concern that news about it would escalate tensions with Russia during fragile early negotiations.

Other News

• A new report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reiterated warnings that we’re on a “fast track” to missing the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels, and said global greenhouse gas emissions would need to peak by 2025 and drop by 43% by 2030 to meet that target.
• UN SecGen Guterres penned a Washington Post op-ed calling for reinvigorated efforts on renewables in light of the new report. See below.
• On a related note, GM and Honda agreed to partner to develop a series of affordable (<$30,000) electric cars, and produce millions of them by 2025. They also agreed to work together to develop electric vehicle battery technologies, including solid state batteries that should settle to a lower unit cost than the lithium-ion batteries driving current models.

Opinion: Amid backsliding on climate, the renewables effort now must be tripled (Washington Post)

By António Guterres: Secretary General of the United Nations.

A report released Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a litany of broken climate promises. Together with the IPCC’s previous two reports on physical science and adaptation in the past year, it reveals the yawning gap between climate pledges and reality. And the reality is that we are speeding toward disastrous global warming of more than double the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, as cited in the Paris agreement of 2016.

In concrete terms, this means major cities under water, unprecedented heat waves, terrifying storms, widespread water shortages, and the extinction of 1 million species of plants and animals.

So far, high-emitting governments and corporations are not just turning a blind eye; they are adding fuel to the flames by continuing to invest in climate-choking industries. Scientists warn that we are already perilously close to tipping points that could lead to cascading and irreversible climate effects.

The new IPCC report arrives in a period of extraordinary global political and economic turbulence that has further jeopardized efforts to address climate change. Energy prices spiked after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting several nations to increase fossil-fuel production. In the long run, that will only make matters worse.

Leaders who claim to be protecting their people by doubling down on fossil fuels are doing the exact opposite: throwing their people to the wolves of energy insecurity, price volatility and climate chaos.

The IPCC report lays out a saner, safer approach, one that would get the world back on track by using renewable solutions that provide green jobs, energy security and greater price stability.

This report is a blueprint to bring us back to the 1.5-degree pledge that nearly 200 nations made in Paris and renewed at the COP26 gathering in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.

We left Scotland with a naive optimism, based on new promises and commitments. But the main problem — the enormous, growing emissions gap — was all but ignored.

The science is clear. To keep the 1.5-degree limit within reach, we need to cut global emissions by 45 percent this decade. But current climate pledges would mean a 14 percent increase in emissions. And most major emitters are not taking the steps needed to fulfill even these inadequate promises.

That is why this latest IPCC report is focused on mitigation — cutting emissions. It sets out viable, financially sound options in every sector.

First and foremost, we must triple the speed of the shift to renewable energy.

That means moving investments and subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables, now. In most cases, renewables are already cheaper.

It means governments ending the funding of coal, not just abroad, but at home: Stop financing all forms of coal extraction, production and power generation everywhere, including in the form of subsidies. To support major emerging economies in making this shift, I have been advocating for climate coalitions, made up of developing and developed countries, multilateral development banks, private financial institutions and corporations with the technical know-how to help.

All of us have a role to play in the shift to green energy. Young people, civil society and Indigenous communities are among those who have already stepped up, sounding the alarm and holding leaders accountable. We now need to build on their work to create a worldwide grass-roots movement that no one can ignore.

I hereby appeal directly to everyone with an interest in our planet and our future: Make your voice heard, wherever decisions are taken — in political debates, local authorities, boardrooms and at the ballot box.

Demand an end to coal-fired power.

Call for renewable energy to be deployed rapidly and widely.

I will be following up on net-zero pledges by private finance later this year. Promises to phase out coal must be backed up by comprehensive plans, without exceptions or loopholes, and with action.

The decisions governments make today will determine the future of achieving the 1.5-degree limit.

A shift to renewables will mend our broken global energy mix and offer hope to millions of people already suffering from the impact of climate change.

Climate promises and plans must be turned into reality and action, now. It is time to stop burning our planet, and start investing in the abundant renewable energy all around us.