Scotland pledges more money for the loss and damage of climate change; Rise in UK state pension could cause informal care shortage
Today’s global news summary brings news affecting the world, the UK, and the Dominican Republic and discusses issues as diverse as climate change and pensions.
- World: Scotland pledges more money for the loss and damage of climate change
- UK: Rise in UK state pension could cause informal care shortage
- Dominican Republic: Exceptionally torrential rain kills six in Dominican Republic
Scotland pledges more money for the loss and damage of climate change
Environment
Scotland is to announce it will provide more funding for the loss and damage suffered by vulnerable countries as a result of climate change. Very few governments have so far pledged money to “compensate” vulnerable countries in this way. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Sky News during the global COP27 climate summit in Egypt, saying the additional money will look “in particular at non-economic loss and damage that many countries are suffering,” which could include the loss of culture and tradition.
“[W]hile it is largely accepted that climate change and natural disasters are one of the main challenges of the contemporary era, it is still difficult to achieve consensus on an appropriate course of action, particularly between developed and developing countries,” Linguère Mously Mbaye tells us in her IZA World of labor article.
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Rise in UK state pension could cause informal care shortage
Labor markets and institutions
A new report suggests the rise in the UK state pension age could result in women having to withdraw the free, informal care they currently provide for elderly relatives, writes the Guardian. The report “Should I Care or Should I Work? The Impact of Work on Informal Care” says this informal care should be replaced urgently by significant increases in state spending. “[A]n increase in work time by 30 hours a week due to raising [state pension age] will lead to a drop in care time of 6.3 hours a week, valued about £6,500 a year for each caregiver,” says the lead author of the report, Ludovico Carrino, from the Department of Economics at the University of Trieste in Italy. Women currently undertake almost 60% of informal care for family and friends at an estimated value of £132bn a year. The situation will only be amplified by an aging population.
“The demand for institutional long-term care is likely to remain high in OECD countries, because of longer life expectancy and falling cohabitation rates of the elderly with family members. As shortages of qualified nurses put a cap on the supply of beds at nursing homes, excess demand builds,” says IZA World of Labor author Elena Stancanelli.
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Exceptionally torrential rain kills six in Dominican Republic
Environment
On Friday November 4, some areas of the Dominican Republic’s capital, Santo Domingo, saw twice the monthly average rainfall in one day, with the result that six people lost their lives. Several more people are still missing, reports BBC News. Hundreds of homes have also been damaged and the agricultural sector has been hit hard. Meteorologists were aware of heavy rains approaching, but were surprised by their strength. In some parts of the capital, 232 mm (9.1 in) of rain fell in a matter of hours. President Luis Abinader says poor drainage compounded the flooding; as the capital has grown, the city’s drainage system has not grown with it.
“Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity, threatening lives and livelihoods around the world. Understanding the short- and long-term effects of such events is necessary for crafting optimal policy,” says IZA World of Labor author Tatyana Derugina.
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