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SBTi’s rigid emissions rules don’t reflect business reality - Climate Change News - Politics  (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · The Science Based Targets initiative ignores the good a company’s products do in avoiding planet-heating emissions – only counting those from its operations A close-up of a Tesla car's logo (Photos: Ivan Radic) Chris Hocknell is the director of London-based sustainability consultancy Eight Versa. Tech giant Intel said in its 2023 Climate Transition Action Plan that it faces challenges in setting targets for cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). The chip-maker is likely to be the first in a long list of companies to slowly break cover and admit that the SBTi is unfit for purpose. As a ... | By Chris Hocknell Read more ... |
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Spring Meetings can jump-start financial reform for food and climate - Climate Change News - Politics  (Apr 10) |
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Apr 10 · Comment: The World Bank and IMF have a big part to play in raising the $3 trillion needed to help countries meet global development goals and the Paris accord Assoumpata Uwamariya samples raw beetroot bulbs harvested from a farm in Rubavu district, Western province, Rwanda October 3, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Jean Bizimana) Wanjira Mathai is managing director for Africa and global partnerships at the World Resources Institute and ambassador for the Food and Land Use Coalition. Jamie Drummond leads Sharing Strategies and is co-founder of the ONE Campaign. Set against the global backdrop of poverty, hunger, climate change, debt and conflict, it can feel hard to be ... | By Wanjira Mathai and Jamie Drummond Read more ... |
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UN climate chief calls for “quantum leap in climate finance” - Climate Change News - Politics  (Apr 10) |
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Apr 10 · Simon Stiell says far more money is required for developing countries to submit bold new climate plans, which would benefit all economies 10-year old Nakeeyat Dramani Sam calls for climate finance in a speech to the Cop27 plenary (Photo credit: Kiara Worth/UNFCCC) The head of the United Nations climate body, Simon Stiell, said on Wednesday a “quantum leap” in climate finance is needed for many countries to be able to submit strong new climate action plans next year. “It’s hard for any government to invest in renewables or climate resilience when the treasury coffers are bare, debt servicing costs have overtaken health spending, new borrowing ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Forest carbon accounting allows Guyana to stay net zero while pumping oil - Climate Change News - Politics  (Apr 8) |
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Apr 8 · Experts say UN rules around forests and oil are open to abuse, so that countries like Guyana can claim to be carbon-negative without cutting emissions Guyana's president Irfaan Ali and Exxon's Guyana country chief Alistair Routledge smile for a picture near an Exxon stand at Guyana's International Energy Conference in Georgetown, Guyana, February 14, 2023. (REUTERS/Sabrina Valle) The densely forested South American nation of Guyana is fast becoming the world’s newest petro-state, allowing fossil fuel giants like ExxonMobil to hunt for what researchers have referred to as “carbon bombs” on its seabed. International oil companies, led by US firm ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Zambia’s fossil-fuel subsidy cuts help climate and kids – but taxi drivers suffer - Climate Change News - Politics  (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · Under pressure from the IMF, the government has redirected subsidies into education, welfare and debt reduction, leaving fuel-heavy sectors with higher costs Stephen Musanda in his taxi outside East Park Mall in Lusaka. Zambian taxis drivers are hit by the fossil-fuel subsidy cuts (Photo: Joe Lo 9/3/2024) The Zambian government’s cuts to fossil fuel subsidies may be helping reduce the use of planet-heating oil – but they are causing hardship among groups that rely disproportionately on fossil fuels to make a living, including taxi drivers. The green policy aims to boost both climate action and the heavily-indebted Zambian economy, but taxi drivers in Lusaka, ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Expectations mount as loss and damage fund staggers to its feet - Climate Change News - Politics  (Mar 25) |
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Mar 25 · Demand for finance to pay for the aftermath of climate impacts is rocketing – but progress on getting a new UN loss and damage fund up and running is slow Villager Mujahid Ali dewaters his fields in the flood-hit village Gozo, Pakistan January 17, 2023. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Waqar Mustafa The newly appointed board of the climate finance world’s latest entry – the hard-won UN “loss and damage” fund – will likely hold its first meeting in late April after delays in agreeing members. But despite soaring needs for help, the fund itself isn’t expected to hand out any money until 2025 at the earliest, officials say. The World Bank ... | By Laurie Goering Read more ... |
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Climate leaders, oil bosses pitch alternate energy-transition realities - Climate Change News - Politics  (Mar 22) |
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Mar 22 · As climate officials prepare the next steps in a globally agreed shift away from fossil fuels, oil and gas executives return fire Oil extraction at sunset in an oil field in Midland, Texas. REUTERS/Nick Oxford Helsingør and Houston are separated by just over 8,000 kilometres – but when it came to sending out signals on the energy transition this week, the two cities appeared to exist on entirely different planets. In the Danish port city, as dozens of ministers fired the starting gun on the annual climate diplomacy race, the focus was on putting December’s landmark Cop28 decision into practice. In Dubai, governments agreed for the first time to start ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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UN’s climate body faces “severe financial challenges” which put work at risk - Climate Change News - Politics  (Mar 21) |
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Mar 21 · UNFCCC chief Simon Stiell has made an urgent plea to plug the body’s funding gap with governments’ donations The UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell speaking at Cop28 in Dubai. Photo: COP28 / Christophe Viseux The UN’s climate body (UNFCCC) is facing “severe financial challenges” as the ability to fulfill its expanding workload is being put at risk by governments’ failure to provide enough money. The UNFCCC executive director Simon Stiell made an urgent plea for more funding to over 40 ministers and negotiators gathered on Thursday in Helsingør, Denmark, for the first major climate summit of the year. “Our organization, the UNFCCC, ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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Shipping sector pushes to keep emissions-tax cash for itself - Climate Change News - Politics  (Mar 20) |
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Mar 20 · The industry and governments’ maritime ministries want a proposed levy on emissions spent on cleaning up shipping, not used for wider climate goals like loss and damage The opening of the International Maritime Organisation's 81st Marine Environment Protection Committee (March 18/ IMO) Shipping negotiators for governments at UN talks this week want a proposed tax on the sector’s emissions to be spent mostly on cleaning up the industry – which could thwart international plans to use some of the money to address broader damage from climate change. With rich countries failing to deliver promised amounts of their taxpayers’ money to help ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Paraguay’s carbon deal with Singapore beset by lobbying, lax rules - Climate Change News - Politics  (Mar 14) |
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Mar 14 · UN rules governing bilateral carbon offsetting between governments have yet to be agreed but deals are being done, raising concerns about integrity Santiago Peña, President of Paraguay, and Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister of Singapore, in Dubai on December 6, 2023. (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay) At the Cop28 climate summit in December, Santiago Peña, president of the densely forested South American nation of Paraguay, struck a deal with Singapore’s Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean to directly supply the Asian country with carbon offsets to help reduce its emissions. Both governments announced several carbon offsetting deals at Cop28 in Dubai ... | By Maximiliano Manzoni Read more ... |
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Is water provision in drought-hit Zambia climate ‘loss and damage’ or adaptation? - Climate Change News - Politics  (Mar 11) |
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Mar 11 · Farmers need crop irrigation to help beat drought – but it’s unclear if that would qualify for new loss and damage funding Choombe Lyandama, a farmer in Siateka village, Zambia, shows his failed corn crop on March 3, 2024. (Photo: Joe Lo) At international climate talks, developing countries are trying to draw a clear line between expected new funding to help them deal with the worsening “loss and damage” caused by climate change and existing finance for measures to adapt to more extreme weather and rising seas. But in drought-hit Zambia, that distinction is proving hard to make. Climate-vulnerable nations want wealthy governments to provide ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Aid watchdog questions UK’s climate finance accounting - Climate Change News - Politics  (Feb 29) |
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Feb 29 · Britain has changed how it calculates its international climate aid, boosting its progress towards a 2026 goal without providing additional money for vulnerable countries, a review finds An ice sculpture depicting a man collecting clean water is seen, as environmental and public health campaign group WaterAid highlights the threat posed globally by climate change to healthy water supplies, near Tower Bridge, in London, Britain, September 15, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville The United Kingdom has counted an additional £1.7 billion ($2.15 billion) towards its £11.6-billion climate finance target without giving any more money to vulnerable developing countries, an independent ... | By Megan Rowling Read more ... |
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Nations fail to agree ban or research on solar geoengineering - Climate Change News - Politics  (Feb 29) |
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Feb 29 · At talks in Nairobi, governments could not find consensus on new global governance for SRM, including proposals for “non-use” and a UN expert panel The negotiating room at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi (Photos: IISD/ENB Mike Muzurakis) Governments have failed to agree on how the United Nations should regulate controversial solar radiation management (SRM) techniques, which aim to lessen the effects of climate change by dimming the sunlight reaching Earth. At the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi this week, some governments led by the African Group of countries wanted to ban SRM, while others led by Switzerland ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Clean, cheap or fair – which countries should pump the last oil and gas? - Climate Change News - Politics  (Feb 26) |
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Feb 26 · The world will need oil and gas for a few decades more, so who should produce it? The Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles (Photo: Peter Bennet/Greenpeace) The Cop28 UN climate summit in December secured agreement from almost 200 nations to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner” – a decision hailed by world leaders as “historic”. But, while lots of countries are trying to reduce their use of planet-heating fossil fuels, only a handful have so far taken measures to produce less – particularly when it comes to oil and gas. Last year, a United Nations report found that governments plan to produce ... | By Polly Bindman Read more ... |
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Countries draw battle lines for talks on new climate finance goal - Climate Change News - Politics  (Feb 20) |
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Feb 20 · Developed and developing countries are gearing up for heated discussions over the size of the goal and who should provide money for it Two men load solar panels on a boat at Lake Turkana in Kenya. Photo: Maurizio Di Pietro / Climate Visuals Countdown Governments are drawing their battle lines over what a new global climate finance goal should look like as talks face time pressure for a decision to be made at Cop29. With fewer than nine months to go until the UN climate summit in Baku, negotiators are currently staring at a long list of options and no agreed details for the goal that is due to kick in from 2025. They still need to work out everything from how ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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John Podesta replaces Kerry as top US climate diplomat - Climate Change News - Politics  (Feb 1) |
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Feb 1 · Podesta will lead US international climate diplomacy alongside his current job overseeing the rollout of domestic clean energy subsidies John Podesta at the 2019 National Forum on Wages and Working People (Photos: Gage Skidmore) US President Joe Biden has picked veteran Democratic official John Podesta as the US’s new top climate ambassador. He replaces John Kerry who stepped down last month to campaign for Biden’s presidential bid. The appointment received a mostly positive reaction from climate diplomats and campaigners, with praise for Podesta’s experience, contacts and knowledge. But some concerns were raised about him combining this new ... | By Joe Lo and Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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For Cop29 to succeed, rich nations must get their parliaments to agree more finance now - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 30) |
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Jan 30 · Rich nations always say they need their parliaments approval for climate finance at Cops – now is the time to start G7 leaders gather in Hiroshima, Japan, last May (Photos: Number 10) Although 2024 has just begun, the coming months will determine if Cop29 will be a success and whether benefits will trickle down to vulnerable communities in developing countries. The Cop29 summit in Baku in November will focus on climate finance. Government negotiators in the Global North always tell us that their ambition on finance depends on their parliaments. This has been highlighted by developed countries in so many negotiations. They stress that they ... | By Evans Njewa Read more ... |
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Saudi Arabia cancels plan to raise oil pumping cap - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 30) |
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Jan 30 · Analysts said Saudi Arabia’s government may be losing faith that the world wants to keep buying more of its oil A Tesla charges in Berlin (Photos: Paul Langrock) Saudi Arabia has cancelled plans to raise the limit on the amount of oil it aims to produce, fuelling climate campaigners’ hopes the government will accept experts’ predictions of a peak in oil demand. The energy ministry told state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco not to go ahead with a planned increase of its production cap from 12 to 13 million barrels a day, the company announced on Tuesday. In a brief and unexpected statement, the world’s biggest oil firm gave no reasons for ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Cop29 host Azerbaijan launches green energy unit to sceptical response - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 25) |
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Jan 25 · Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas firm promises a green push but a lack of climate policies and plans to expand gas production are causing scepticism Baku has built its economic development on oil and gas exports. Photo: Sek Keung Lo/Flickr Roaming around what is believed to be modern-day Baku over 700 years ago, the explorer Marco Polo gazed with wonder at “a spring from which gushes a stream of oil, in such abundance that a hundred ships may load there at once”. The birthplace of crude refining, Azerbaijan has embedded fossil fuels in the fabric of its society for centuries. Oil, and more recently, gas have never stopped flowing from the vast reservoirs dotted ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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Governments fail to agree timeline for climate science reports in fraught IPCC talks - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 22) |
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Jan 22 · Saudi, India and China led opposition against a proposal to link the IPCC’s assessment cycle with the global stocktake, sources told Climate Home. The IPCC's scientific reports played a big role in the first global stocktake completed in 2023. Photo: Katie Rodriguez/Unspash Governments have failed to agree on a timeline for the delivery of highly influential scientific reports assessing the state of climate change by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). That is after Saudi Arabia, India and China opposed attempts to ensure the scientific body would provide its assessment in time for the next global stocktake, the UN’s ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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The all-male Cop29 committee is a big step backwards for climate - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 19) |
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Jan 19 · Azerbaijan appointed 28 men and zero women to a key group tasked with organising the upcoming climate summit in the country The percentage of women in Cop national delegations has declined after the pandemic. Photo: Mark Dixon Update: An hour after this article was published, the government of Azerbaijan added 12 women and two men to the commitee. They did not comment on the reason for the change. The recent appointment of an all-men committee, with members linked to the country’s oil and gas industry, to organize this year’s Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan is a major step backward for climate action. We see this selection as yet another example of a ... | By Nella Canales, Isabelle Mallon, Laura Del Duca and Trevor Grizzell Read more ... |
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How fossil fuels went from sidelines to headlines in climate talks - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 17) |
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Jan 17 · For a quarter-century, fossil fuels were absent from Cop climate agreements – so how had they become so ubiquitous at Cop28? A protester at Cop28 (Photos: Kiara Worth/UNFCCC) When Romain Ioualalen started a new campaigning job at Oil Change International, he was tasked with putting fossil fuels on the agenda of international climate talks. That was in April 2020, just after the start of the pandemic. He told Climate Home recently that “it seemed like a pretty distant dream” at the time. In fact, he used to joke that he had “found the only international climate policy job that didn’t require going to Cop because fossil fuels would never be a thing ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Azerbaijan appoints fossil fuel execs and scandal-hit officials to all-male Cop29 committee - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 16) |
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Jan 16 · The all-male group in charge of the climate summit organisation includes oil and gas executives and controversial government officials Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev attends the inauguration of a plant run by oil and gas giant Socar. Photo: The Presidential Press and Information Office's of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan has appointed fossil fuel executives and controversial government officials to the committee tasked with organizing the Cop29 climate summit. The 28 members of the all-male group include senior executives from state-owned oil and gas giant Socar and electricity producer Azerenerji, the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev has announced. The ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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High stakes for climate finance in 2024 - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 15) |
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Jan 15 · Setting finance goals without the revenues and systems to deliver on them is a recipe for disappointment – this year it must be different. 10-year old Nakeeyat Dramani Sam calls for climate finance in a speech to the Cop27 plenary (Photo credit: Kiara Worth/UNFCCC) Can anyone remember a time when we didn’t start the year thinking that this time climate finance was key? Yet there is something historic and different this year. What’s on the table is a perfect combination for things to go really right or really wrong. Last year ended with a historic outcome. After more than 30 years, the UN climate negotiations finally identified the core driver of the crisis ... | By Joe Thwaites and David Ryfisch Read more ... |
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Veteran US and Chinese climate envoys step down - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 15) |
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Jan 15 · Xie Zhenhua has stepped down and John Kerry has announced he will do the same in a few months time U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua before a meeting in Beijing, China July 17, 2023. (Reuters/Valerie Volcovici/ File Photo) The veteran climate envoys from the world’s two biggest polluters have stepped down in the same week, creating uncertainty at the top of international climate talks. After suffering health problems, 74-year-old Xie Zhenhua Chinese climate envoy resigned earlier this month and will be replaced by foreign ministry diplomat Liu Zhenmin. The same week this news ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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“A la carte menu”: Saudi minister claims Cop28 fossil fuel agreement is only optional - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 10) |
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Jan 10 · Abdulaziz bin Salman’s interpretation of the agreement was slammed as “incredibly misleading” as the text “calls on” all governments to transition from fossil fuels Abdulaziz bin Salman speaks at Davos in 2022 (Photo: World Economic Forum/Flickr) Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has claimed that the headline Cop28 agreement to transition away from fossil fuels is just one of several “choices” on an “a la carte menu”. After two weeks in Dubai, all governments agreed to “call on” each other “to contribute” to eight “global efforts” – one of which was ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Azerbaijan appoint state oil company veteran as Cop29 president - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 4) |
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Jan 4 · Mukhtar Babayev spent 26 years at Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and gas company Socar, where he tried to limit the company’s environmental damage. Mukhtar Babayev, a state oil company veteran, will be Cop29 president. Photo: IISD The government of Azerbaijan has appointed its environment minister Mukhtar Babayev to be the president of the Cop29 climate talks in Baku in November. While Babayev will chair the talks, Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister Yalchin Rafiyev will be his lead negotiator, according to the Cop28 presidency. Babayev spent 26 years at Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and gas company Socar, where he tried to limit the ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Brazil cracks down on illegal gold miners - Climate Change News - Politics  (Jan 3) |
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Jan 3 · “Things are going downhill with the new government”, said one gold miner when detained by Brazil’s federal police A miners' camp is destroyed at an illegal gold mine in the Urupadi National Forest Park (Reuters/Adriano Machado) Deep in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil is fighting destructive wildcat gold mining as it spreads from Indigenous lands into government-protected conservation areas. Federal Police have joined the government’s biodiversity conservation agency ICMBio on a series of recent operations to catch illegal gold miners and destroy their camps and equipment. Gold mining is a small but growing contributor to the cutting down ... | By Reuters Read more ... |
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Ten climate questions for 2024 - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 29) |
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Dec 29 · The US election and negotiations on a new global finance target are the most important things for the climate in 2024 Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden debate in 2020 (Photos: Elvert Barnes/Flickr) While 2023’s climate questions depended largely on governments and big bankers, 2024 is one of those years where the fate of the world rests in the hands of ordinary people. But not all its people. Because of the USA’s huge emissions, financial power and electoral system, our hopes lie largely on those in a few swing states – like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona. In 2020, we spoke to grassroots campaigners trying to boost climate ... | By Joe Lo and Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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Six takeaways from 2023’s climate change news - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 28) |
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Dec 28 · Fossil fuel fights, finance struggles, a resurgent relationship, and much more. We recap the most impactful international climate developments in 2023. A protester with a banner saying "Future is more important than fossil fuels". Photo: Ivan Radic / Wikimedia As another year of record emissions draws to an end, it’s worth looking back on what’s been achieved. Like every year, the quick answer is more than nothing but less than enough. To dissect that in more detail, here are our six takeaways from the year in climate. Phasing out or down fossil fuels? Abated or unabated? Scaling up renewables, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and techno ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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Indonesia promises to fine palm oil companies operating in forests - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 27) |
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Dec 27 · An Indonesian official said it would levy $310 million in fines on growers of palm oil on land which should be forest A worker piles up palm fruits at a palm plantation in the Serdang Bedagai district of Indonesia's North Sumatra province November 29, 2011. REUTERS/Y.T Haryono/Files Indonesia said on Friday that it would slap palm oil companies operating within forest areas with fines amounting to a total of 4.8 trillion rupiah ($310.1 million). More than 475 billion rupiah ($30.7 million) in fines have been issued so far, an official from the ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment Firman Hidayat told reporters, who did not provide further details or identify ... | By Reuters and Joe Lo Read more ... |
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The Climate Home News 2023 Quiz - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 22) |
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Dec 22 · Test your international climate news knowledge with our quiz! Can you tell your CCS from your GST? Test your knowledge. Photo: IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis Welcome to the 2023 quiz! It’s been a busy year for climate news. Multiple global temperature records have been broken. Cop28 saw fossil fuels getting a first mention in a UN decision. Plans to put more money into climate action inched forward. But how much do you remember? Test your knowledge with our end-of-year quiz! [qsm quiz=1] As climate disasters grow, early warning systems become essential The subtle art of scaling up climate adaptation Climate Week NYC: Clean ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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We must make it easier to attend Cops virtually - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 22) |
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Dec 22 · If we want to reduce the event’s emissions and make it more inclusive, then it must be easier to navigate and network A woman on her laptop at Cop28 (Photo credit: UN Climate Change) Along with 20,000 others, me and my colleagues at University College London attended Cop28 virtually this year. While we were pleased not to add to the carbon cost, we were left frustrated at a system not yet fit for purpose. The official sustainability report for Cop27 said that the event resulted in 63,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. That’s similar to what some small island nations – like Dominica – emit in a year. With record attendence ... | By Katherine Welch, Carina Fernley and Tom Dolan Read more ... |
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Countries go ahead with carbon deals despite Cop28 standoff - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 20) |
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Dec 20 · The US and EU couldn’t agree on common rules for bilateral carbon trades in Dubai, leaving a vacuum for voluntary certifiers Negotiators in a huddle during Cop28 talks. Photo: IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis Carbon credit certifiers from the much-criticized voluntary market could be the big winners of a failure to strike a deal on the exchange of offsets between countries at Cop28, experts told Climate Home. Talks over Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement – allowing for bilateral deals – collapsed in Dubai following a bitter fight over integrity between the European Union and the United States. But willing countries can still move ahead with ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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How Russia won a ‘dangerous loophole’ for fossil gas at Cop28 - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 15) |
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Dec 15 · With the EU ambivalent and small island states absent, Russia’s call for “transitional fuels” – read gas – made it into the Cop28 agreement Russia's climate envoy Ruslan Edelgeriev meets UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (Photo: Flickr/Cop28/Kiara Worth) The Russian government’s campaign for endorsement of “transitional fuels” succeeded at the Cop28 climate talks in Dubai. Russia, the world’s second biggest gas producer, told the United Nations back in February that “natural gas as a transitional fuel… can be used for [emission-cutting] purposes” and this should be recognised at ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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We have to fix unfairness: Ten takeaways from Cop28 - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 15) |
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Dec 15 · Rich countries must cut carbon faster and provide funding to fix the unfairness getting baked into climate talks The closing plenary at Cop28 (Photo: Flickr/Cop28/Mahmoud Khaled) You’ve seen the headlines that Cop28 in Dubai has resulted in an unprecedented call to 'transition away from fossil fuels’. So why were celebrations from developing countries and civil society so muted? Countries on the front lines of the climate crisis fear that they are still being left to carry the costs, and sink beneath the waves. This global deal has to work for everyone, or it won’t work for any of us. Here are ten takeaways. Rather than a being a detailed plan to save ... | By Teresa Anderson Read more ... |
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‘Car without wheels’: Adaptation playbook lacks finance target - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 13) |
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Dec 13 · Developing nations got agreement to set targets for food and water security, but rich nations were unwilling to plug a huge funding gap A child looking for water in a rural area of Benin during a drought (Photo: UNDP Benin /Flickr) Governments at the Cop28 climate talks in Dubai have agreed a playbook for adapting to climate change in areas like health, protecting nature and food and water security. But while wealthy countries celebrated the agreement, developing and particularly African countries denounced the absence of a target to provide financial and other forms of support. After the deal was agreed, Senegal’s negotiator Madeline Diouf Sarr, who ... | By Joe Lo Read more ... |
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Carbon credits talks collapse at Cop28 over integrity concerns - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 13) |
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Dec 13 · The EU and allies rejected proposed carbon trading rules that followed a “light-touch” approach favoured by the US Co-chairs of negotiations at Cop28 on carbon trading rules (Photo: Flickr/Cop28/Kiara Worth) Hopes of clinching a deal on carbon trading mechanisms evaporated under the desert sun in Dubai after a tussle between the European Union and the United States. Countries failed to agree on key rules to trade offsets bilaterally and to kickstart a long-awaited global UN-sanctioned market. Two opposing, and ultimately irreconcilable, forces fueled tense marathon negotiations regularly stretching into the early hours. Getting the system up and ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ... |
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Dubai deal: Ministers and observers react to the UAE consensus - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 13) |
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Dec 13 · The final Cop28 text was regarded as historic by delegates, including the US, EU and small islands, but most agree there’s still work ahead Delegates during the Closing Plenary at the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 at Expo City Dubai on December 13, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo: COP28 / Christophe Viseux) Negotiators arrived in a good mood on Wednesday morning to the final Cop28 plenary in Dubai. At around 11 am, they adopted the final text of the global stocktake, in what delegates regarded as a historic moment. The final text for the first time mentions all fossil fuels, “calling on” parties to “transition away from ... | By Sebastian Rodriguez Read more ... |
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No ‘phase-out’, but Dubai deal puts oil and gas sector on notice - Climate Change News - Politics  (Dec 13) |
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Dec 13 · One day into overtime at Cop28, countries agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems: a first for the UN climate process Cop28 president Sultan Al Jaber applauds in the closing plenary (Photo: Flickr/Cop28/Christopher Pike) Countries have agreed on the need to shift away from burning fossil fuels for the first time in the UN climate process, at Cop28 talks in Dubai. The “UAE consensus” did not go so far as to call for a “phase-out” as more than a hundred countries wanted. It settled on “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems”. Still, after coal was targeted for a “phase-down” ... | By Megan Darby Read more ... |
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