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G20 Sets Plan to Save Education From Pandemic Repercussions

Continuity of education in times of crisis added as a priority to G20 agenda for education | Asharq Al-Awsat
Continuity of education in times of crisis added as a priority to G20 agenda for education | Asharq Al-Awsat
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G20 Sets Plan to Save Education From Pandemic Repercussions

Continuity of education in times of crisis added as a priority to G20 agenda for education | Asharq Al-Awsat
Continuity of education in times of crisis added as a priority to G20 agenda for education | Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Education Minister Dr. Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Sheikh confirmed that the Kingdom had placed two education-related priorities on its presidency agenda for the G20 summit; early childhood education and internationalization.

When the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, a third priority centered on education continuity in times of crisis was added.

Focus on early childhood education comes to lay a foundation for the development of global competence and 21st-century skills, Al-Sheikh explained.

Speaking on how the coronavirus pandemic had affected education, Al-Sheikh said: “With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, education was one of the most important sectors affected by the application of distancing measures and closures.”

He noted that the shutdown of education facilities, which peaked in March, pushed systems around the world to resort to delivery alternatives like distance learning to ensure education continuity.

In light of the effects of the pandemic, the Saudi Presidency of the G20 stressed the need to invest repercussions as opportunities to develop solid educational systems capable of absorbing any future shocks.

G20 education ministers, in a final communique, reiterated their commitment to providing fair, equitable, and comprehensive education.

This is underpinned by building on e-learning infrastructure and hybrid learning.

They also agreed on improving access for all to high-quality early education, and the need to include global and cultural dimensions in all stages of basic education.

G20 education ministers, this year, were faced with the serious challenge of navigating the inevitable repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic on global education sectors.

Reviewing a mix of experiences of how countries dealt with the pandemic’s fallout, education experts said that some action plans were more successful than others.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Joghiman, head of the Education and Scientific Research Committee at the Saudi Shura Council, said that the impacts of the pandemic on global education were unforeseen for all countries of the world, including very advanced educational systems.

Speaking on the Kingdom’s experience with education during the pandemic, Joghiman said it was marked by “making the right decision, at the right time.”

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Scientists Seek Miracle Pill to Stop Methane Cow Burps

A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Scientists Seek Miracle Pill to Stop Methane Cow Burps

A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)

A scientist guides a long tube into the mouth and down to the stomach of Thing 1, a two-month-old calf that is part of a research project aiming to prevent cows from burping methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Paulo de Meo Filho, a postdoctoral researcher at University of California, Davis, is part of an ambitious experiment aiming to develop a pill to transform cow gut bacteria so it emits less or no methane.

While the fossil fuel industry and some natural sources emit methane, cattle farming has become a major climate concern due to the sheer volume of the cows' emissions.

"Almost half of the increase in (global) temperature that we've had so far, it's been because of methane," said Ermias Kebreab, an animal science professor at UC Davis.

Methane, the second largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide, breaks down faster than CO2 but is more potent.

"Methane lives in the atmosphere for about 12 years" unlike carbon dioxide which persists for centuries, Kebreab said.

"If you start reducing methane now, we can actually see the effect on the temperature very quickly."

Filho uses the tube to extract liquid from Thing 1's rumen -- the first stomach compartment containing partially digested food.

Using the rumen liquid samples, the scientists are studying the microbes that convert hydrogen into methane, which is not digested by the cow but instead burped out.

A single cow will burp roughly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of the gas annually.

- 'Social critters' -

Thing 1 and other calves receive a seaweed-supplemented diet to reduce methane production.

Scientists hope to achieve similar results by introducing genetically modified microbes that soak up hydrogen, starving methane-producing bacteria at the source.

However, the team proceeds cautiously.

"We can't just simply cut down methane production by removing" methane-making bacteria, as hydrogen could accumulate to the point of harming the animal, warned Matthias Hess, who runs the UC Davis lab.

"Microbes are kind of social critters. They really like to live together," he said.

"The way they interact and affect each other impacts the overall function of the ecosystem."

Hess's students test different formulas in bioreactors, vessels that reproduce microorganisms' living conditions in a stomach from movements to temperature.

- More productive cows -

The project is being carried out at UC Davis as well as UC Berkeley's Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI).

IGI scientists are trying to identify the right microbe -- the one they hope to genetically alter to supplant methane-producing microbes.

The modified microorganisms will then be tested at UC Davis in the lab and in the animals.

"Not only are we trying to reduce methane emissions, but you also increase the feed efficiency," said Kebreab.

"Hydrogen and methane, they are both energy, and so if you reduce that energy and redirect it to something else... we have a better productivity and lower emissions at the same time."

The ultimate goal is a single-dose treatment administered early in life, since most cattle graze freely and can't receive daily supplements.

The three research teams have been given $70 million and seven years to achieve a breakthrough.

Kebreab has long studied sustainable livestock practices and pushes back against calls to reduce meat consumption to save the planet.

While acknowledging this might work for healthy adults in developed nations, he pointed to countries like Indonesia, where the government is seeking to increase meat and dairy production because 20 percent of children under five suffer from stunted growth.

"We can't tell them to not eat meat," he said.