December News Brief

Olivia Wasmund, Hadam Che, and Alex Jung | December 12, 2022

Earthquake in Indonesia

In mid November, more than 270 were killed after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck Java, Indonesia's main island (NYT). The district of Cianjur was the most shaken by the tremor since it's one of Indonesia's most disaster prone areas. The collapse of buildings made transportation and rescue efforts even more difficult. Destruction to the city's main hospital—especially crucial power cuts—has made medical care difficult to access (BBC). This hospital quickly became both understaffed and overwhelmed. Officials in Indonesia announced that thousands of families and many children are among the victims. Through this disaster, Indonesia has once again demonstrated the perils of living in poorly constructed dwelling in one of the world's most seismically active zones.

UN Climate Summit: COP27

In November, representatives from over 190 countries gathered for the 27th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP27), the united Nation Climate Change Conference, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

the UN held the first COP summit in 1995 to address the growing crisis of climate change. The COP's goals are to secure global net zero by mid-century; to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius; and to protect vulnerable communities through financial support (UN News).

Demands for "climate justice" in the form of funds from wealthy countries for damages caused by extreme weather in lower income countries remained a theme throughout the conference. Climate change affects food security, agriculture, water, nature, and human settlements, particularly in coastal and island nations. This year several countries have pledged cash for a new loss and damage fund, which protects vulnerable countries from climate change and natural disasters (NYT).

Escalating tensions with recent North Korean missile tests

Tensions escalate in the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's recent barrage of missile tests. Thus far, 2022 has seen a record number of arms tests from the hermit nation, firing more than ten ballistic missiles between September 25 and November 2— one of which crossed the Northern Limit Line, the maritime boundary bisecting the peninsula (Reuters). This is contrary to the previous years, with four incidents of weapons demonstrations in 2020 and eight in 2021 (CNN).

North Korea declared itself a nuclear-weapon state in September (BBC). Experts speculate that the surge in arms development was an effort to strengthen the country's ties with China and Russia and be in the position to negotiate security and economic concessions from a position of strength (NPR).

Fears are on the rise that North Korea is preparing for an underground nuclear test, a first in five years. The U.S., South Korea, and Japan are responding with missile launches and joint military exercises (CNN).