Questões para Concursos

Relatório da ONU sobre poluição plástica alerta sobre falsas soluções e confirma necessidade de ação global urgente

Nairobi, 21 de outubro de 2021 - Uma redução drástica do plástico desnecessário, evitável e problemático é crucial para enfrentar a crise global de poluição [...]
Acelerar a transição para energias renováveis, eliminar subsídios e adotar abordagens circulares ajudará a reduzir os resíduos plásticos na escala necessária, de acordo com o relatório Da Poluição à Solução: Uma Análise Global sobre Lixo Marinho e Poluição Plástica ( From Pollution to Solution: A Global Assessment of Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution ).
O relatório mostra que a poluição plástica é uma ameaça crescente em todos os ecossistemas, de onde a poluição se origina até o mar. O estudo destaca que a poluição plástica nos ecossistemas aquáticos cresceu consideravelmente nos últimos anos e deve dobrar até 2030, com consequências terríveis para a saúde, a economia, a biodiversidade e o clima. [...]
Os autores rejeitam a possibilidade de reciclagem como uma saída para esta crise e alertam para alternativas nocivas aos produtos de uso único, tais como plásticos de base biológica ou biodegradáveis, que atualmente representam uma ameaça química semelhante aos plásticos convencionais.
O relatório analisa falhas críticas do mercado, tais como preços baixos de matérias-primas fósseis virgens versus materiais reciclados; esforços mal articulados no gerenciamento formal e informal de resíduos plásticos; e a falta de consenso sobre soluções globais. [...]
O relatório pede a redução imediata dos plásticos, incentiva a transformação de toda a cadeia de valor envolvida e indica que há necessidade de reforçar os investimentos em sistemas de monitoramento muito mais abrangentes e eficazes para identificar a origem, escala e destino do plástico, bem como o desenvolvimento de uma estrutura de risco, que atualmente não existe globalmente. [...]
Adaptado de: https://www.unep.org/pt-br/noticias-ereportagens/comunicado-de-imprensa/relatorio-da-onu-sobrepoluicao-plastica-alerta-sobre. Acesso em: 08 ago. 2022.

TEXT 5

Answer the questions from 54 to 60 according to the text 5.

Ukraine-Russia War: Impact on Gas, Stocks, Inflation and the US Economy

Stock prices rebounded Friday, but the invasion of Ukraine could bring about many disruptions to the US economy.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine intensified on Saturday as troops continued to march on the capital Kyiv, which has instituted a citywide curfew from 5 p.m. local time Saturday until 8 a.m. Monday. US defense officials report that Russian troops launched more than 250 missiles at Ukraine Saturday but have been slow to advance on Kyiv, per ABC News. The attacks have virtually shut down shipping in Ukraine, a country with massive agricultural production, particularly corn and wheat. Russia and Ukraine are also major suppliers of metals and other industrial commodities, while Russia is one of the world's largest oil and gas producers. The invasion not only has ramifications for political stability in Europe and around the world, it's also straining a global economy already weakened by inflation, rising energy prices, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a constrained supply chain. Here's how Russia's attacks on Ukraine, and the resulting economic sanctions from the West, are affecting Americans and people around the world.

Gas and oil prices on the rise
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused global energy prices to spike, with crude oil rising Thursday above $105 a barrel for the first time since 2014. The price cooled down a bit later on Thursday and Friday, and currently sits around $92.50 a barrel, according to OilPrice.com. Per AARP, the average price of gas in the US on Saturday was $3.60 a gallon, up slightly from $3.57 on Friday. Russia is one of the world's largest producers of crude oil and natural gas, providing roughly 40% of the European Union's gas. Sanctions from the West could affect access to that supply, especially with Germany putting a halt to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was intended to bring natural gas from Russia to the EU via the Baltic Sea.

Continued inflation
Russia is the largest exporter and second-largest producer of palladium, a metal used in mobile phones, automotive exhaust systems, fuel cells and even jewelry and dental fillings. Rising prices of palladium and other essential metals could lead to price increases for manufacturers and, ultimately, consumers. "We could see a new burst of inflation," the American Enterprise Institute's Christopher Miller told The New York Times.
[...]

More cyberattacks
The US Departments of Treasury and Homeland Security have both sounded the alarm over possible cyberattacks on US banks, hospitals, government offices and power grids in retaliation for sanctions against Moscow. On Thursday morning local time, websites for the Ukrainian cabinet and foreign affairs and education ministries were all experiencing disruptions. Herbert Lin, senior research scholar at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation, told the Atlantic's Rachel Gutman that the Russians have elevated cyberattacks to an "art form." Though US banks have been heightening their defenses, Lin added, utilities in larger cities might be more at risk because they lack the extra funding for cybersecurity. Lin discouraged a panicked response by everyday Americans but said having extra cash and a go bag might not be a bad idea. He underscored that those items should always be in place regardless.

Rising food prices
Food prices have already gone up in the US and abroad, and the dent in wallets could get bigger with the Russian invasion. Ukraine is one of the top five corn exporters in the world, trading some 35.9 million metric tons in 2019 alone. An extended open conflict would likely see prices go up in Europe, not just for corn itself but also for related goods, including cooking oil, corn syrup and livestock feed. Soybean prices have also surged in the US in recent months, following an unusually poor crop in South America.
If US farmers have to make up the difference in both corn and soybeans, which compete for land, prices for both crops will likely rise in the United States, as will the cost of packaged goods made with them.
Russia is the world's largest exporter of wheat, a crop that Ukraine exports as well, commodities economist Arlan Suderman told MarketWatch. Together the two nations account for nearly a third (29%) of the global wheat trade. "A prolonged military conflict that disrupts trade could make much of that wheat unavailable to the export market," Suderman said. The US doesn't rely on Russian wheat -- Egypt, Turkey and Bangladesh are the biggest importers -- but the trade disruption could affect global prices on flour, pasta, bread, pizza and other wheat products. On the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat futures jumped by as much as 5.7% on Thursday, to just over $9.34 a bushel, the highest price since 2012. Soybean prices also leaped to a nine-year high, while corn climbed to an eightmonth peak. Rates on all three futures have started to contract, with overnight losses of between 2% and 3%.

Available at: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/ukraine-russiawar-impact-on-gas-stocks-inflation-and-the-us-economy/. Access on: Feb. 27th 2022 (adapted).