hostst: welcome toto "global00" ththis week, we take a closer lk at the ongoing climatete crisi. sweden i is throwing its enery into renewables, making the most of its extensive natatural resources. a mayor in mali is helping his community adjust to the effects of climate change. and iraq may be one of the world's top oil producers, but widespreread corruptioion means peoplehere rarely benenefit from the wealth it brings. despite all the warnings from experts, greenhouse gas

emissions rose to a new high last year, a mind-blowing 55.3 billion tons. two-thirds of it was carbon dioxide produced by power stations run on fossil fuels -- gas, oil, and coal. and although many nations are reducing their reliance on coal, the global coal plant tracker platform says that more than 1000 new coal-fired power stations are under construction or in planning. one way of discouraging use of fossil fuels is to levy taxes or fines on co2 emissions. and that would encourage a shift to greener renewable energies. like in sweden, for example. reporterit's saithat sweden's soul resides in dadalarna. once the c country's indususta hearartland,t hehelpedupplyy euroro with copperer. and the e red paint ththat coveo many of sweden's houses comes frfrom the countnty's capital, falun. now dalna's f fests arere helping to shape sweden's future.

for forest engineer per-ove torstensson, these trees are the key. it might sound like a contradiction, but he saysys cuttttg down trees on an industrial s scale is goodod foe environment. per-ove: the forest is an exceptional resourur. if w we build withth wood instsf cemement, it's g good for te environment. and if we stop u using fossil fl and start t heating withth bras and twigs, then we'l'll have de a lot for the climimate. reporter: the math is sisimple- more trerees are grownwn in swn than are cut down. and that helps the forest capture and store more and more co2 from the atmosphere. what remains after the timber is processed is collected and then the heavy machchinery gets t work. the resulting biomass is used to warm stockholm's homomes.

trains and ships transport more than 1000 tons of wood chips to the swededish capital eaeach w. theyey fuel one of the world's most advanced power plants. it generates both heat and energy for the community, enough to power 1,0,000 eleric c cars and 190,0,000 apartmenents. ulf: we're aold d cotry and need heat. local l councils massively expandedong-g-distance h heatig in the 1960'0's. anand since the e carbon tax s intrtroduced, those facilities were converted to use biomass. reporter: a new pilot facility is currently under construction that will filter co2 out of the plant's exhaust, further reducing the co2 expelled into the atmosphere. when perer-ove travelsls throh dalarna's foforests, he's s nory driving on electricity. his car's gas motor only kicks in after 50 kilometers.

and the world'd's highghest can tax can reallyly be felt at te pump, adding $0.25 to ththe cot of every liter of f fuel. per ove: this car has a cacapacy of 10 kilowatt hours. whwhen i fully charge the e bay it costs abobout 10 crownsn. that's enough for 50 kilometers. with gas, it would cost three times as m much. reporter: energy productioion n swsweden is almomost 100% fosl fufuel-free. hydroelectric plan are respsisible fo40% % of i many of the facilities le e this one e nearalun h havbeen producing co2 neutl l power r over 1 100ears. but nuear power ants lik e one atororsmarnorth of stkholm stl genera just as mu energy. sincsweden dlared itants to be 2 neutraby 2045, thers been ltle talkf shuttingown the untry's nuear plan. ma of the cilitiesill stay onli for deces to co. at the se time, eden is

expandinits windower par usinmoney fr the carn tax. when perve comesome after a cold fall day, a small heat mp keeps his home toasty.y. they're a andard featuture for many single family homes. oil furnaces have become too expensive. but per-ove n'n't readto g give up his fireplace just ye per-ove: we instald d this replace inase ththe is everr a blackokout. and it's cozier r in theveninin. reporter: swsweden is blanketedy forests. loggg g stilthe momo important ecomicic stor. whicmight behy the cntry is turng to sawdust as a urcece opower. thhohope iit wililsoon fuel semiand evev airplan. swen's larst oil cpany has teamed up wiwith the largegestw mill operarator. using a process called pyrolysis, they generate oil by ating sawdwdust.

pontus: wewe process wood. but pyrocell needs chemistry know-how to o create oil out o th great material. that's uncharted territory for us and a big challenge. we're expanding our own boundaries. sön: it's ththe same for us, just thetherer way around.d. so i gueuess we needacach othe. reporter: in 2021,1,il will be won from sawdust here commercially for the first time. back at the torstensson's in falun, per-ove's wife is a doctor on n maternity leleave. theyey have three e childre. evenhe typical swedish meatlllls herere v vegarian and better for the envononment. the torstensnssons were coconcd about the environment long bere g gretahunbererbecame a household meme. sasara: flht s shame is somemeg we talk about. ateast foror n we're n n plananni any long distan flhts. and ybe we should beraveling less.

it's betr by tra, bubut u ha to ask urself whether you haveo go at al reporter: the highest co2 tax in thwoworld esn'n't seem to have impacteded the torstenssononso mumuch. but it's still caused massive change in sweden over the last 30 years. host: another side effect of rising temperatures is desert expansion, something north africa's sahel region knows well. large areas of the sahel now regularly experience drought. fertile land is becoming a rare commodity, leading to increased conflict in the region. take mali. it's has been mired in crisiss for years. r r report juüen schchider travelled to the landlocked country in west africa. in fana, he enjoyed the hospitality of the local mayor, who has become an expert on climate change. reporter: there's only enough moisture in the sand for the

butterflies, even though the rainy season just ended. abdulaye coulibaly is the mayor of fana, a town in southern mali. mayor coulibaly: it wasn't as dry 10 years ago. now we can't plant rice anymore. if we don't stop chopping down trees, we soon won't have any rain at all. reporter: a few months ago, mayoyor coulibaly gogot a phonel from the capital bamako. it was an invitation to take part in a seminar on climate change, one that the mayor was happy to accept. mayor cocoulibaly: i've been opopposed to the d destructiof our forests for a long time. but thanks to the workshop, i learned even m more about t the consequencnces of deforestatio. it inspired me to do more to protect nature and the environment.

reporter: abdulaye coulibaly is one of around 3500 officials in mali who have taken part in the climate change seminars. these days, protecting the environment is on the agenda of almost every council meeting. most of fana's 30,000 residents are poor, and subsist on what the land gives them. cotton is the most important crop here, but growing it takes a lot of water. the niger river is an important lifeline for mali and supplies the country with water year-round. but it's toooo far away for te fafarmers in fanana. they h have to depend on rainwater. now that rain has become scarce, many local farmers have begun selling charcoal. mali's dependence on fuel wood and charcoal for fuel is a major contributor to deforestation.

faoulé fane and his brother madou are both farmers, and also operate a small roadside stand. faoulé: we're not selling charcoal for fun. we know that climate chahange s real. but what can we do? the land doesn't give us enough to survive on. if we had a choice, we'd stop selling chcharcoal. reporter: but things may be changing, thanks to the new insights the mayor gained at the workshop. those new ideas have won over sheik mamadou coulibaly. he and his family run a small farm on just two hectares of land. in recent years, their harvests have been too small. recently, sheik mamadou started planting different crops. now his family c can make e es

meet without destroying the forest. sheik mamadou: the mayor told us that fewer trees means less rain. that's why i decided to stop making charcoal and start planting trees. i can live off of that. i sell trees from my nursery and grow eucalyptus trees that i sell for lumber. reporter: he's already sold more than 10,000 seedlings. conservationism is taking root in fana ever since the mayor launched his environmental campaign. mayor coulibaly: when i stand here and see this, i get the feeling ththat we're on the rit path in the e fight against climate change. reporter: part of that fight is helping farmers boost their harvests. at t the workshop, mayor couliby

learned about new drought-resistant seeds. he knows that people will move away if they don't have enough to eat. mayor coulibaly: we realized that many people in the area were selling their farms and working in the gold mines because their harvests were too small. that's also a consequence of climate change. reporter: mamadou fomba also thought about throwing in the towel and moving away. his harvests had declined. thanks to advice from climate change experts, he bought new millet seeds from bamako. they only need a single heavy rain to start growing, and that made all the difference. mamadou: i used to only harvest 1.5 tonsns of millet per hecta.

with the new seeds, i get three tons. reporter: the mayor knows that his work has just begun. he plans to keep raising awareness in fana of the need to fighght climatchanange mayor coulibaly: i hope more pepeople take up the fight agait climate change here. then we'll h have lots of tres and plenty of rain again. it's very important, so that the coming generations will be able to live the way our grandparents did. we used to see wild animals near the town. now they're gone because the bush has vanished. reporterer: if climate change contntinues, life will only bece more difficult for the people here. the desert will l keep creepig ever closer to fana. that's also something mayor coulibaly learned at the workshop.

host: hundreds of people have bebeen left deadad since anti-government presests began in iraq. mamany iraqis arare infuriatey corruption a and mismanagegem. despite the country'vavast oil rereserv, manyny oinary cicizens are struggling to survive. reporter: ayoub and nabba are among the lucky ones. they live just five minutes from school. some of their classmates have to walk an hour or more. there's no public transportation here. iraq's rural south receives little attention from the central government. there's no support for children, or for education. parents have built their own school, made of mud and straw, the cheapest materials available. ma'amoun jaber taher is the school's principal. for years, he's been fighting in vain to secure government funding for a new building, as

well as for chairs, desks, and teaching materials. ayoub and his classmates are still being taught in this makeshift building. it's too hot in the summer, and cold and damp in the winter. ayoub: the floor gets so muddy that we can't walk around. there are strong winds, and the roof is leaky, so water comes in. and the teachers suffer too, of course. reporter: there's no electricity, and no lights, which is why the door next to the white-board stays open. no electricity means there's no school bell, either. the principal is frustrated. he says his school and its students are trarapped in the stone age.

ma'amoun: they started an electricity project five years ago, but it was put on hold and nothing's happened since. we asked the authorities for financial assistance, but nothing happened. reporter: the only power line anywhere nearby belongs to a wealthy farmer, who had it connected to his property. electricity is in short supply in iraq, even though the country is a major oil producer. that oil pumps 200 million euros into state coffers every day. money that could be invested in infrastructure, says this engineer. then he could buy compononentso get the nasiriyah power plant back to full capacity, instead of the current 30%. >> we could buy the materials we need, but the economic crisis in iraq makes that difficult. the parts we need are the heart and soul of this plant. reporter: iraq's economic woes are, to a degree, home-grown.

much o of the oil wealth is lot due to corruption. it's the country's children who lose out the most. ayoub is just 12, , but he sas that if the country's oil wealth were invested properly, many of the country's problems could be addressed. ayoub: we have to protect our natural environment, and make sure that the water isn't polluted. the oil could help us to do all that. reporter: ayoub's house has no running water, like most families in the region. even if they did, clean water is in short supply. the nearest major water treatment facility is currently under construction in nasiriyah. ali hussein is taking a look at the site. once it's finished, the facility could supply clean water to

350,000 people in the region, people like ayoub and his family. but the project has been hobbled by lack of funds. mayor hussein: to be honest, we've been working on this project for 12 years. it was supposed toto be finishd inin three, but there wewere vas delays. the builder had its contract withdrawn. there's always some new obstacle. then we brought in a new company. but they haven't made much progress either, because there's never enenough money. reporter: the facility isn't a priority for the government, and neither are schools. work on this building began in 2011, but was abandoned in 2012. with oil prices at a historic high, there would have been plenty of money to build schools in the region. that's why parents have begun building schools out of mudbrick, also called adobe.

about 1000 have already been built. adobe is a traditional building material in southern iraq, but it's not very durable. ayoub b doesn't t think his scl will ever get electricity or running water. but for him, that's not all that matters. ayoub: this is a very good school. all of my friends are here, and the teachers are great, especially mr. schlon and mr. auwad. we have lots of good teachers who are very good to us. reporter: ayoub and the other children are happy they can attend school. when their break is over, they all run back to the classroom to keep learning. host: last year there were just over 400,000 catholic priests to minister to a global catatholc community y of 1.3 billion --

slightly less than in n 2017. priests are in short supply. in south america, for example, there's just one priest for every 707000 catholicscs. anand those men n are stretcheo ththe limit. some suggegest the churcrch cd eaease the problblem by alterire eleligibility rerequirement. reporter: milson cardoso is a devout catholic. but at the moment, he's not altogether happy with his church. he's critical of the celibacy requirement. milson: every man needs a partner. pastors in the protestant church have them, so catholic priests should be allowed to have a wife, too. reporter: milson's church, são josé, has largely been abandoned. the paint has faded and moisture has seeped into the walls. today, children play in the church that lies deep in the amazon rainforest.

the priest in charge can only make rare visits. mass is held here once every three months, at most. fisherman cardoso believes there's an obvious solution to the shortage of catholic priests in the amazon. mimilson: the church shoulud provide training to married men, and allow them to hold mass in the place of priests. reporter: it's a challenge to tradition, but it has widespread support in the amazon region. a boat is about to set out from the harbor of santarém. father edilberto may not look like a member of the clergy, but he's one of the most senior priests in this region. he's sworn to celibacy, and tells us he's been celibate his

entire life. this trip to a remote congregation will take him att least six hours. he'll spend much of the time in a hammock. father edilberto has also become critical of celibacy. father edilberto: pope francis has recognized that our cocongregations in the amazon nd the help of married priests. why should only chaste priests be allowed? this is a major issue in the church right now, and i see it as a blessing. reporter: during the boat ride, it becomes apparent what father edilberto is talking about. congregations are far apart. travelling by boat takes a long time. and the church struggles to find young people willing to be celibate. in the village of são francisco, father edilberto is greeted by

200 young catholics. he'll be holding an outdoor mass, here on the riverbank. only priests are permitted to consecrate the bread. that's why he made the six-hour journey. são francisco is hosting a meeting of catholic youth from the region. it's also a chance for some socializing. father edilberto also talked about the pope's synod of amazonian bishops,s, and possie plans to ease the celibacy requirement. father edilberto: for the first time ever, the pope will try to allow married men to hold mass. if god wills it, one day even women might be allowed to do that as well. reporter: it's an idea that would upend centuries of church teaching. father edilberto: i support getting rid of the celibacy

requirement. if a priest wants to be chaste, ne. but it shohould be voluntary, d not obligatory. reporter: pope francis has said the idea will be given discussion in the vatican. the catholic church is looking for ways to cope with a lack of priests, and help reverse declining membership. indigenous catholics are demanding radical change, from even the vatican's arch-conservatives. back in são francisco, an evening ceremony is underway. it's mainly young women who are playing leading roles, and they're asking for a greater say in the church. julia: it would be nice if women could finally hold mass. we're also affected by the shortage of priests.

that's why i think women should be permitted to give communion. reporter: most members of milson's congregation support the end of celibacy in the priesthood. then, mass could be held every sunday, and not just once every three months. if married men could lead services, milson would also be willing. mariria: there's no reason noto do this. we seeee that protesestant minis have wives andhihildren. that's what we want, too. reporter: a historic shift in the catholic church may be underway, inspired in part by the amazon region. host: that's all from us at "global 3000" this week.

as you know, we love hearing from you. write to us at global3000@dw.com and check us out on facebook, dw women. see you soon. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> today on "earth focus"... restoringng the earth, shaping the future. john liu on solutions frfrom china, ethiopia and r rw. coming up onon "earth focus." [drumming] >> this isis china's loess plateau. until recently, this was one of the poorest regions in the coununtry. a land renowned for floods, mudslides and famine. but with the fanfare comes the hope of change for the better.