New Zealand symbolically declares climate emergency
Wellington: Joining more than 30 countries, New Zealand on Wednesday took the symbolic step of declaring a climate emergency.
Lawmakers voted 76-43 in favour of the motion, in a split that followed party lines.
The government also launched a new initiative requiring many public agencies to become carbon neutral by 2025, in part by getting rid of coal boilers and buying electric cars.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government usually declares emergencies only for things like natural disasters, but that if it doesn't address climate change, such disasters will continue to happen.
She said the declaration was an acknowledgment of the burden the next generation faces.
For them, it is instinctual, it is tangible, it is real, Ardern said. It is about the country they will inherit. And it's about the burden of debt they will inherit unless we make sure that we demonstrate leadership on this issue.
The declaration comes without any newly assigned statutory powers or money, making it purely symbolic. But Ardern and other lawmakers promised to back up the declaration with ongoing action.
The declaration states that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity and promises a commitment to minimise global warming. It says climate change will have a devastating impact on New Zealand through flooding, wildfires, sea-level rise and water availability.
Ardern said climate change was an important consideration in rebuilding the economy from the downturn caused by the coronavirus, and it was important to "build it back in a sustainable way, with a focus on carbon neutrality."
Opposition climate change spokesperson Stuart Smith said the declaration was hollow and lacked substance.
Today's performance from the government was a triumph of politics over practical solutions, and of slogans over substance," said another opposing lawmaker, David Seymour.
Ardern has previously announced plans for the nation to plant 1 billion trees, phase out offshore oil and gas exploration, and to make the electricity grid run from 100% renewable energy by 2030.
The government last year passed a bill for the country to become carbon neutral by 2050, although it carved out some exemptions for farmers, who bring in much of the country's foreign income.
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Delhi court sentences Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia, associate to life imprisonment
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia and his associate to life imprisonment under MCOCA provisions, but refused the death penalty saying the offences did not fall under the category of 'rarest of the rare cases'.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain sentenced Gulia and Dhirpal alias Kana to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
In an order dated December 13, the judge said, "Death sentence can only be awarded in 'rarest of the rare cases' wherein the murder is committed in an extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner as to arouse umbrage of the community at large."
The judge said that on weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it could be concluded that the present case did not fall under the category, and so, the death penalty could not be imposed upon the convicts.
"Thus, both the convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh each, for committing the offence under Section 3 of MCOCA," she said.
The public prosecutor, seeking the death penalty for both the accused, submitted that they were involved in several unlawful activities while they were on bail in other cases.
He argued that the accused had shown no respect for the law and acted without any fear of legal consequences, and therefore did not deserve any leniency from the court.
The court noted that both convicts were involved in offences of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Besides, they had misused the liberty of interim bail granted to them by absconding.
It said, "The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public, and they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of convicts. Despite suffering losses, they could not gather the courage to depose against them."
The court noted that Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to 10 serious offences.
It underlined that MCOCA had been enacted "keeping in view the fact that organised crime had come up as a serious threat to society, as it knew no territorial boundaries and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated by committing the offence of extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, collection of protection money, murder, etc."
Both accused persons had been convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The police filed a chargesheet under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) and 4 (punishment for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of member of organised crime syndicate) of MCOCA.
