'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Members of the Group of Seven major economies pledged Tuesday to create a new "climate club" for nations that want to take more ambitious action to tackle global warming, putting them on a possible collision course with China.
The idea, championed by G7 summit host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, will see countries that join the club agree on tougher measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Countries that are part of the club will try to ensure their national measures are transparent and comparable, avoiding the need for members to impose climate-related tariffs on each others' imports. The European Union in particular has touted such tariffs as a way to prevent companies which reduce emissions from being undercut by foreign rivals that don't have to abide by strict environmental rules.
Speaking at the end of the three-day summit, Scholz said the aim was to "ensure that protecting the climate is a competitive advantage, not a disadvantage."
The G7 say that the new club will be "will be inclusive in nature and open" to countries that are committed to fully implementing the 2015 Paris climate accord, but the idea is likely to find little favour particularly with China, the world's biggest emitter. Beijing has made clear that it strongly opposes climate-related tariffs and has tried to rally support against the idea from other emerging and developing countries.
Scholz said details of the planned climate club would be finalized this year.
The G7 also made clear their continued support for efforts to cap global warming at 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) this century compared to preindustrial times, outlining numerous measures they will take to curb their own emissions and help poorer nations do the same.
Environmental campaigners expressed relief that existing pledges to phase out coal use and boost the uptake of electric cars hadn't been rolled back, though the G7 did soften their commitments on ending public support for fossil fuel investments.
In their final statement following three days of talks in Elmau, the G7 leaders said that because of the exceptional circumstances arising from the war in Ukraine, "publicly supported investment in the gas sector can be appropriate as a temporary response."
Environmental campaigners, scientists and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have urged rich, developed nations to end all public finance for fossil fuel projects, warning that these could lock in increased carbon emissions or become obsolete in just a few years.
Scholz, whose country has scrambled to find replacements for Russian natural gas supplies cut due to the war in Ukraine, defended the decision.
"Gas will be needed temporarily and that is why there may be investments that make sense, in this transition phase, and that therefore may need to be supported," he told reporters after the summit.
One of the arguments made by German officials in favour of supporting new natural gas development projects is that this could prevent them having to resort to burning more polluting coal to meet their energy needs.
But experts said it is unclear whether investments in natural gas projects -- such as one that Germany is considering supporting in Senegal -- even make financial sense when countries have committed not to release any additional emissions into the atmosphere by mid-century.
"The simple truth is gas, oil and coal have got much more expensive while clean alternatives like wind and solar look an even better, and far cheaper bet," said Gareth Redmond-King of the environmental think tank Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. "It will be critical not to risk fossil fuel stranded assets that, by the time they come online, find the world has moved on towards net zero."
____
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.