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12/05/2026

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Ministry of Lands Saves our Nation

12/05/2026

Long before Trump: How US policy has harmed the environment for decades

By Sarah Shamim

Environment advocacy groups are suing the US government over climate change policy rollback but Trump is not the first president to oversee harmful policies. Health and environment advocacy groups in the United States are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw a key 2009 climate change ruling known as the “endangerment finding”. That finding had established that greenhouse gases are a risk to public health and environmental safety, given that they are the primary drivers of climate change. It formed the legal basis for many regulatory policies aimed at curbing climate change. When US President Donald Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and a “con job”, rescinded the declaration in February this year, the EPA supported the move, deeming it the “single largest deregulatory action in US history”. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday this week, alleges that the Trump administration’s decision will risk the health and welfare of US citizens.

“Repealing the Endangerment Finding endangers all of us. People everywhere will face more pollution, higher costs, and thousands of avoidable deaths,” Peter Zalzal, the associate vice president of clean air strategies at the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement. Trump’s revocation of the endangerment finding is the latest in a series of steps he has taken to prioritise deregulation, boost fossil fuel production and reverse climate regulations. But Trump is not the first US president to enact policy damaging to the environment. Here’s how decades of US policy have harmed the environment before he arrived in the White House What is the ‘endangerment finding’? The endangerment finding was established under the presidency of Democrat Barack Obama.

It states that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. That ruling allowed the EPA under President Obama to move forward on policy aimed at limit the release of greenhouse gases in the US, Michael Kraft, professor emeritus of political science and public and environmental affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, told Al Jazeera. Under the endangerment finding, power plants were required to meet federal limits on carbon emissions or risk being shut down. This forced oil and gas companies to invest more to detect and fix methane leaks, curb flaring, and improve tailpipe and fuel economy standards to enable automobile companies to manufacture more efficient, lower emitting vehicles. What does rescind it mean? “By allowing for increased pollution, these recent changes [by the Trump administration] will harm practically every single person on the planet,” Washington, DC-based policy researcher Brett Heinz told Al Jazeera.

“People living near fossil fuel facilities will be some of the most immediately affected, as they will be exposed to the new air and water pollution unleashed by deregulatory policies,” Heinz added. Without the endangerment finding in place, the EPA has lost a key legal basis on which to limit greenhouse gas emissions, making it easier for coal plants, oil refineries and petrochemical complexes to run older, dirtier equipment for longer, expand without installing modern pollution controls, and emit more soot, smog forming gases and toxic chemicals into nearby communities. Heinz explained that higher greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels in power plants, cars and industry as well as continued deforestation will also amplify the dangers posed by natural disasters.

This is because increased warming exacerbates heatwaves, storms, floods and droughts, and raises sea levels – all of which turn existing natural hazards into more frequent and more destructive disasters. “The only people who will benefit from these decisions are a small handful of wealthy fossil fuel executives and shareholders, who will see healthy profits while the world grows sick. These fossil fuel elites, many of whom contributed money to Trump’s presidential campaign, have now gotten a return on this investment,” Heinz said. Experts say that Trump’s decision to entirely do away with environmental policy is unlike any president before him. “The White House’s tidal wave of new pro-pollution policies is completely unprecedented. While past administrations have modified environmental rules, the second Trump administration is essentially trying to eliminate them entirely.

So far, this has been the most radically anti-environmental presidency in American history,” Heinz said. How have previous US presidents endangered the environment? Trump is by no means the first US president to enact policy which is damaging to the environment, however. Under Republican Theodore Roosevelt, who was president from 1901 to 1909, Congress passed the Reclamation (Newlands) Act of 1902, which treated land and rivers primarily as raw material for large infrastructure projects rather than as ecosystems in need of protection. This was furthered by Democrat Harry Truman, who was president from 1945 to 1953 and pushed for rapid post war industrial and suburban expansion by commissioning the construction of interstate highways and promoting car centric development. Under Republican Dwight Eisenhower, who was president from 1953 to 1961, the interstate highway system burgeoned, and the private car became a developmental priority in the US. While Republican Richard Nixon, who was president from 1969 to 1974, signed key environmental laws, he also backed massive fossil fuel expansion.

Under Nixon, the highly toxic herbicide, known as Agent Orange, was used by the US military during the Vietnam War. Republican Ronald Reagan, who was president from 1981 to 1989, appointed people to the EPA and the Department of Interior who pushed for expanded oil, gas, coal and timber extraction on public lands. To facilitate this, they favoured deregulation and industry interests, and rolled back existing environmental policy, slashing budgets for EPA enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, easing rules on toxic emissions and pesticides, and opening up more federal land – including wilderness and wildlife habitat – to oil, gas, mining and logging activities. Republican George W Bush, who was president from 2001 to 2009, refused to ratify the 1997 UN-backed emissions reductions Kyoto Protocol and actively undermined global climate negotiations by formally withdrawing US support for Kyoto in 2001, appointing senior officials who questioned climate science, and pushing voluntary, industry-friendly approaches instead of binding emissions cuts.

While Obama, who was president from 2009 to 2017, introduced several landmark climate regulations, he also oversaw the fracking boom, making the US the world’s largest oil and gas producer, and locking in long-term fossil infrastructure. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves blasting water, sand and chemicals into shale rock to release oil and gas, a process believed to cause methane leaks, groundwater contamination, heavy water use and increased local air pollution. Democrat Joe Biden, who was president from 2021 to 2024, approved large fossil projects such as the Willow project in Alaska. This involved oil development on federal land in the National Petroleum Reserve, projected to pump hundreds of millions of barrels of crude over several decades. Figures released by the the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) suggested that the project would release 239 million to 280 million tonnes of greenhouse gases over its lifetime.

The project, approved in 2023 and ongoing, was projected to continue for 30 years. Biden also backed LNG export growth by approving new and expanded export terminals and long term export licences, allowing companies to lock into multidecade contracts to ship US gas to Europe and Asia. Is this a partisan issue? No. “The failure of US policymakers to aggressively tackle global warming is not so much a Democrat versus Republican matter,” Steinberg said. “It’s neoliberalism, a form of corporate freedom, that is the heart of the problem. A bipartisan consensus on the need for economic growth has led to a general trend toward weakening environmental regulations,” he added. The US once led the world in conservation by creating an extensive national park system in the 19th century, Ted Steinberg, a history professor at the US-based Case Western Reserve University, told Al Jazeera. “That was then. US corporate interests, especially the fossil fuel industry, combined with the one-party political system, in which both Republicans and Democrats indenture themselves to the business class, have caused the United States to drag its feet on global warming,” Steinberg said.

What is the history of Washington’s impact on the environment? The US has historically been the largest contributor to global warming, experts say. “As in most countries, US environmental policy has been a response to the problems caused by industrialisation and urbanisation, starting in the mid-19th century and proceeding from there, happening at the local, state and national levels,” Chad Montrie, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, told Al Jazeera. “Much of that policy has been limited and inadequate, especially when corporations were able to exert their influence, but in some cases, it has been ahead of what other nations were doing,” Montrie, who specialises in environmental history, added. There was a time when environmental policy was bipartisan. The EPA was, in fact, created by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1970. “It wasn’t until the rise of pro-business politics in the 1980s that Republicans like President Reagan took a hard turn against environmental protections,” Heinz said.

“The Democratic Party continues to believe in environmental protection and climate-friendly policies to some degree, while the Republican Party has become one of the few political parties worldwide that completely denies the scientific facts around climate change.” How does this affect the rest of the world? “US policy often sets the standards for policy in other parts of the world, both because of its cultural influence and because of the control that the US has over global bodies like the International Monetary Fund,” Heinz said. “Right now, the US is actively pushing dirty fossil fuels on the rest of the world and even threatening some of its allies for trying to negotiate new environmental agreements.” Heinz explained that this pressure, coupled with soaring energy prices, seems to have convinced Europe to retreat from some of their climate goals.

Household electricity prices jumped by about 20 percent across the European Union between 2021 and 2022, according to Eurostat data. Heinz said that if the latest United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP negotiations are any indication, global climate ambition appears to be on the decline right now. The latest conference concluded in November 2025 in Brazil with a draft proposal which did not include a roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels, nor did it mention the term “fossil fuels” at all. This drew rebuke from several countries attending the conference. “So long as Donald Trump remains in office, the hope of future generations relies upon the nations of the world coming together and acting responsibly to preserve a healthy environment at a time when the United States has gone truly mad.”

12/05/2026

‘A calamity’: Why is a record heatwave sweeping South Asia?

By Usaid Siddiqui

Countries including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have seen temperatures soar well above seasonal averages, with some areas approaching or exceeding 45°C. A record-breaking, deadly heatwave sweeping South Asia has pushed temperatures to dangerous highs, disrupting daily life for hundreds of millions and raising new concerns about the vulnerability of one of the world’s most densely populated regions. Countries including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have seen temperatures soar well above seasonal averages, with some areas approaching or exceeding 45-50 degrees Celsius (113-122 degrees Fahrenheit). In Pakistan, at least 10 people were reported to have died from heat-related complications on Tuesday, according to local emergency services, while multiple deaths related to the heat have also been reported in neighbouring India. Such conditions are not entirely new in the region, as heatwaves have become a regular feature of South Asia’s pre-monsoon summer.

However, scientists and meteorological agencies say the intensity, duration and geographic spread of recent heat events are unprecedented. Increasingly, experts are linking these extremes to human-driven climate change, which is causing extremes in natural weather patterns. As governments scramble to respond, the crisis is exposing deep inequalities across the region – determining who bears the greatest burden, and who is most able to withstand it. What is causing heatwaves so early in the year? India is experiencing an “unusually early and intense heatwave”, Anjal Prakash, research director at the Bharti Institute of Public Policy think tank in India, told Al Jazeera. “High-pressure systems dominate, trapping hot air near the surface like a dome, preventing it from rising and cooling,” Prakash explained.

“This sinking air compresses, warms adiabatically, and blocks clouds, allowing relentless solar heating.” He added that several factors relating to the climate are also contributing to the heat. “Weak pre-monsoon rains and lingering El Nino-like patterns further suppress cooling,” Prakash said. El Nino develops when sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean, particularly off the western coast of South America, “become significantly warmer than usual”, often alongside a “falter” in easterly trade winds from the Americas to Asia, according to NASA. In contrast, the La Nina climate pattern tends to have a mild cooling effect on global temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations’ weather and climate agency, said El Nino conditions could potentially form as early as the period from May to July.

“After a period of neutral conditions at the start of the year … there is high confidence in the onset of El Nino, followed by further intensification,” WMO chief Wilfran Moufouma-Okia warned last month. The WMO added that while there is no evidence that climate change is increasing the frequency or intensity of El Nino events, it can worsen their impact. Which countries are most affected by the heatwave? India The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast higher-than-average temperatures across much of the country, warning that severe heatwave conditions in western regions and along the coast are expected this month. Heatwaves are likely to be more frequent than usual along the eastern coast, in parts of the Himalayan foothills, and in the western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, it said.

“There will be an increased number of heatwave conditions along the east coast states and Gujarat by about four to five days into the month of May,” IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said, adding that temperatures in some areas could rise between three and five degrees Celsius (5.4 and nine degrees Fahrenheit) above normal. In parts of northwestern and central India, temperatures have exceeded 46C (114.8) in some areas. In Maharashtra, the cities of Akola and Amravati recorded 46.9C (116.4F) and 46.8C (116.2) on April 26. Local media also reported that more than 90 of the world’s hottest cities were in India on April 24. Multiple deaths have been recorded since the onset of extreme heat conditions.

In the last week of April, two school teachers died of heatstroke, and four other people were reported to have died in the eastern state of West Bengal due to heat-related causes, Indian media outlets reported. Pakistan India’s western neighbour is also facing a heatwave crisis, with authorities warning it could last several days. On Saturday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast continued heatwave conditions across the central and upper parts of the province of Sindh, and urged citizens to “avoid exposure to direct sunlight during the daytime and remain hydrated”. In Karachi, the country’s most populated city, temperatures reached 44C (111F) on Monday this week – the highest recorded there since 2018, according to the PMD.

At least 10 people were reported to have died on Tuesday, local emergency services said, when the extreme heat gripped the city. Sindh cities of Jacobabad and Sukkur are expected to see temperatures as high as 46C (114.8F) later this week. Bangladesh Bangladesh’s capital. Dhaka, as well as its districts of Faridpur, Rajshahi and Pabna, were particularly badly affected in mid to late April, recording temperatures between 37C (98.6F) and 38C (100.4F). Temperatures have been rising in Bangladesh for some time. In 2024, authorities reported 24 heatwave days in April, the most in 75 years – with temperatures of greater than 40C (104F) in some districts – surpassing the previous record of 23 days in 2019. What impact is the heatwave having on people in the region? Kartikeya Bhatotia, research fellow at Harvard University’s Mittal South Asia Institute, said extreme heat affects people across “multiple pathways”, but that its impacts are deeply unequal.

“The most direct harm is physiological: heat stress overwhelms the body’s thermoregulatory capacity, leading to cardiovascular strain, kidney injury, disrupted sleep, and worsening of chronic conditions including diabetes, respiratory illness, and mental health conditions,” Bhatotia told Al Jazeera. “The elderly, pregnant women, young children, and those with pre-existing conditions face the greatest risk.” Part of the problem is “structural”, he said – and low-income labourers are also more likely to be exposed. “Those in poorly insulated, ill-ventilated homes face higher heat stress than those with access to cooling, and are often the same people who must toil outdoors.” “Roughly 380 million Indians, about three-fourths of the workforce, are engaged in heat-exposed labour. Lost working hours erode piece-rate and daily wages, with downstream effects on nutrition and medication access that accumulate across the heat season and are rarely attributed to heat directly.” How are governments responding to the heatwaves? Bhatotia said India’s widely praised “heat preparedness model” is falling short of protecting its most vulnerable populations, as extreme temperatures intensify across the country.

“India is a pioneer in Heat Action Plans, city-level roadmaps combining early warning systems with water provision, cooling centres, public messaging and mandatory rest breaks,” Bhatotia said. “These save lives, but tend to reach those already within formal systems.” He warned that “informal workers and daily-wagers – the most exposed – fall largely outside the protections such plans are designed around, and implementation is rarely tracked or enforced.” According to Bhatotia, addressing the crisis requires a far broader “structural response” which “must span every level of government and its domains – housing, urban planning, health systems, labour protections and disaster management”, he said. He stressed that “health systems need expanded infrastructure, a trained workforce and functional surveillance so that heat-related morbidity and mortality are actually counted”.

Long-term resilience against rising temperatures will depend on systemic reforms being implemented, he added. “Building codes need to mandate passive design standards before structures are built,” while “labour protections must be made enforceable for informal workers”. Without such changes, he warned, heat risks will continue to outpace current response efforts. Across the border in Pakistan, Islamabad-based climate expert and academic Fahad Saeed has raised concerns about the country’s preparedness and transparency in the face of intensifying heatwaves. He pointed to historical discrepancies between official figures and on-the-ground reality, citing the example of Karachi and the heatwave crisis there over the past decade. “It is imperative for the government to, first of all, give the correct numbers, collect the real data, and then let the world know that it is a calamity,” he told Al Jazeera.

He attributed the underreporting partly to governance concerns, suggesting authorities may be downplaying the crisis to avoid political fallout. However, Saeed stressed that acknowledging the scale of “loss and damage” is critical – not only to mobilise public awareness but also to access international climate funds and develop effective response systems. Without accurate data, he warned, meaningful adaptation measures will remain out of reach. “Putting the dust under the carpet is no solution,” he said. Without confronting the true scale of loss, “it will be super-difficult to develop any kind of countermeasures.” Will heatwaves get worse in the future? Yes. “Climate models project that both the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events will increase across South Asia over the coming decades, even under moderate emissions scenarios,” Harvard’s Bhatotia said.

While India has warmed more slowly than the global average in recent decades, Bhatotia said this is partly due to temporary cooling effects from aerosol pollution and widespread irrigation. “Both of these are likely to weaken in the coming years, potentially accelerating warming beyond what the historical record would suggest,” he added. However, he stressed that rising temperatures do not necessarily mean rising harm if the correct measures are implemented. “Good adaptation planning, anticipatory action, and early warning systems linked to pre-authorised response can substantially reduce damage even as temperatures rise,” he said, adding that “the goal is to decouple the trend in heat from the trend in suffering”.

12/05/2026

By Abass Mahmoud Sillah Jr

A serious fire incident has destroyed a large residential building along Wilkinson Road, leaving residents counting heavy losses after properties and personal belongings were completely burnt to ashes. According to eyewitnesses, the fire broke out unexpectedly and spread rapidly through the building, making it difficult for occupants and nearby residents to salvage their valuables. Several household items, electronics, furniture, clothing, and other properties were reportedly destroyed in the inferno.

Residents at the scene described the incident as devastating, noting that despite frantic efforts to contain the blaze and rescue belongings, very little could be recovered from the burning structure. Some community members also gathered to assist affected residents, while others attempted to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. Fortunately, no loss of life was recorded during the incident, a development many residents described as a miracle amid the scale of destruction.

Authorities are yet to determine the actual cause of the fire, while affected families are now appealing for support following the extensive damage caused by the incident. The fire incident has once again raised concerns about fire safety measures and emergency response preparedness in densely populated communities.

12/05/2026

By Josephine Sesay

The Deputy Minister responsible for waste management has spearheaded a major national initiative aimed at transforming Sierra Leone’s waste management system into a modern, sustainable, and economically productive sector. The initiative was formally launched during a high-level consultative workshop held at Brookfields hotel in freetown, bringing together key stakeholders from government institutions, local councils, development partners, and United Nations agencies to deliberate on a new direction for the sector. In her address, the Deputy Minister described the reform process as a strategic shift in national thinking about waste management, stressing that the sector must now be repositioned as a driver of sustainable development rather than being viewed solely as an environmental challenge.

She emphasised that the proposed reforms are intended to enhance environmental protection, strengthen public health systems, and create new opportunities for employment and green entrepreneurship across the country. Strategic Reform Framework the Deputy Minister outlined a comprehensive seven-point reform agenda designed to guide the transformation of the sector. The framework focuses on strengthening systems, improving coordination, and promoting innovation in waste management. The key pillars include policy and legislative reform to establish a harmonised national framework; improved coordination between central government institutions and local councils; and the development of sustainable financing mechanisms to support efficient service delivery.

Other components of the strategy include promoting recycling and resource recovery under a circular economy approach, formalising and integrating the informal waste sector, expanding environmental education and public awareness campaigns, and strengthening technical and institutional capacity across the sector. According to the Deputy Minister, these measures are aimed at building a more efficient, inclusive, and resilient waste management system capable of addressing Sierra Leone’s growing urban and environmental challenges. Call for Collective Action The Deputy Minister underscored the importance of strong collaboration among all stakeholders, including government agencies, local councils, development partners, and communities, in ensuring the successful implementation of the reform agenda.

She noted that the consultative workshop was designed to gather practical input and ensure that the reforms are grounded in national realities and responsive to the needs of citizens. “The success of this process depends on shared responsibility and collective action. We must work together to ensure that these reforms are practical, inclusive, and deliver real benefits to our people,” she stated. Toward a Cleaner and More Sustainable Future The workshop forms part of broader government efforts to strengthen environmental governance and improve sanitation systems nationwide. It is expected to lay the foundation for a more structured and sustainable waste management framework that supports both environmental protection and economic development. Stakeholders are expected to continue engaging in the reform process as government moves toward finalising and implementing the national waste management transformation agenda.

12/05/2026

By Josephine Sesay

Stakeholders from across Sierra Leone’s environmental sector on Monday convened at the Brookfields Hotel for a consultative workshop on recommendations for legislative and institutional reform in the waste management sector. The workshop was held under the project titled “Environmentally Sound and Safe Waste Management Framework in Africa,” an initiative aimed at strengthening waste management systems, improving environmental governance, and promoting sustainable practices across African countries.

The event brought together representatives from government ministries, environmental protection agencies, local councils, civil society organizations, development partners, and private sector actors to deliberate on challenges affecting waste management in Sierra Leone and propose reforms to improve the sector. Speaking during the workshop, officials highlighted the growing environmental and public health concerns linked to poor waste disposal, inadequate infrastructure, weak enforcement of environmental regulations, and limited institutional coordination.

Participants emphasized the urgent need for stronger legislative frameworks and institutional reforms capable of addressing the country’s increasing waste management challenges, particularly in urban communities where indiscriminate dumping continues to threaten sanitation and environmental safety. The discussions focused on reviewing existing waste management laws and policies, identifying institutional gaps, and proposing recommendations aimed at improving accountability, enforcement mechanisms, and collaboration among relevant agencies.

Stakeholders also underscored the importance of public awareness, community participation, and private sector involvement in achieving sustainable waste management systems in Sierra Leone. The “Environmentally Sound and Safe Waste Management Framework in Africa” project seeks to support African nations in adopting environmentally responsible waste management practices that align with international environmental standards and contribute to climate resilience and sustainable development. The workshop is expected to generate key recommendations that will support future policy reforms and strengthen Sierra Leone’s efforts toward creating a cleaner and healthier environment.

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