Page 3 - Climate Change Talks

2024 likely to be hottest yr on record again, says European climate agency

For the second year in a row, Earth will almost certainly be the hottest it's ever been. And for the first time, the globe this year reached more than 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming compared to the pre-industrial average, the European climate agency Copernicus said Thursday. It's this relentless nature of the warming that I think is worrying, said Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus. Buontempo said the data clearly shows the planet would not see such a long sequence of record-breaking temperatures without the constant increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere driving global warming. He cited other factors that contribute to exceptionally warm years like last year and this one. They include El Nino the temporary warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide as well as volcanic eruptions that spew water vapour into the air and variations in energy from the sun. But he and other scientists say the long-term increase in temperatures beyond fluctuations like E

PM Modi, environment minister unlikely to attend UN climate summit in Baku

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to attend the UN climate conference in Azerbaijan that Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav may also miss, official sources said on Thursday. Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh will lead the 19-member Indian delegation and deliver India's national statement at the high-level segment on November 18-19. India will not host a pavilion at COP29, marking its first absence since the 2021 UN climate conference in Glasgow. Modi will not attend the World Leaders' Climate Action Summit at COP29, scheduled for November 12-13, an official source confirmed to PTI. Yadav is expected to skip the climate conference as he will be occupied with the November 20 assembly elections in Maharashtra where he is the BJP's in-charge. According to sources, India's key priorities for COP29 include securing an ambitious new climate finance goal that meets the needs of all developing countries and the operationalisatio

India commits to 30% protected areas in updated biodiversity plan

India has launched its updated biodiversity action plan with a goal to protect at least 30 percent of its terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas by 2030, in line with global biodiversity targets. The updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), unveiled at the 16th UN Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia, outlines 23 national targets aligned with the 23 global goals set under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), which was adopted at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference in Canada in 2022. A key goal of the KM-GBF is to protect at least 30 percent of the world's land and ocean areas by 2030. It also aims to restore degraded ecosystems, such as forests, wetlands, and rivers, to ensure they continue providing essential resources like clean water and air. India, recognised as one of the 17 megadiverse countries, became a party to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1994. It harbours 7-8 percent of the world's

Global climate finance reached $1.5 trn in 2022, must rise fivefold: Report

Global investment in combating and adapting to climate change reached nearly USD 1.5 trillion, doubling between 2018 and 2022, but it must increase at least fivefold by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to a new study. The "Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2024: Insights for COP29" report, published by global think tank Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), said climate finance currently represents only 1 per cent of global GDP, far short of the required level. Emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) may need around 6.5 per cent of their GDP by 2030 to meet climate goals. "While global climate finance has made some strides, a much more ambitious, cohesive, and effective approach is essential to address the vast funding gap," said Barbara Buchner, CPI''s Global Managing Director. "The data from CPI's Global Landscape report leaves no doubt that investment needs to scale across all fronts -- domestically, internationally, and across sectors -- to reach o

Slight progress in biodiversity protection but some species decline: Report

Global efforts to protect the world's plants and animals have made slight progress and some species remain in serious decline, according to two reports released Monday at a major United Nations biodiversity summit in Colombia. A report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) evaluated global progress since its biodiversity report in 2020. Two years ago, 196 countries signed a historic treaty to protect biodiversity on 30% of the planet by 2030. The biodiversity summit underway in Cali, Colombia is a follow-up to the 2022 accord in Montreal, which includes 23 measures to halt and reverse nature loss. One calls for putting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030. The UNEP report found countries have made some headway on pledges, but that expansion of the global network must accelerate over the next six years to meet the goal. The report says 17.6% of land and inland waters and 8.4% of the ocean and coastal areas globally are within ...

World may warm up to 3.1 degrees celsius on lack of climate action: UN

Continuing with current policies means world will be on course for temperature rise of 3.1C before the end of the century, while implementing promised reforms would at best lead to an increase of 2.6C

What's on agenda at COP16 nature summit in Colombia: All you need to know

COP16 host country Colombia has put the inclusion of Indigenous and traditional communities at the center of its agenda in Cali

UN climate secy gives call to 'step up' climate finance ahead of COP29

At COP29 in Baku, all governments must agree on a new goal for international climate finance

Washington's climate law at risk as voters decide its fate in November

A ground-breaking law that forces companies in Washington state to reduce their carbon emissions while raising billions of dollars for climate programmes could be repealed by voters this fall, less than two years after it took effect. The Climate Commitment Act, one of the most progressive climate policies ever passed by a state Legislature, is under fire from Conservatives, who say it has ramped up energy and gas costs in Washington, which currently has the third-highest gas prices in the nation. The law aims to slash emissions to almost half of 1990 levels by the year 2030. It requires businesses producing at least 25,000 metric tons (27,557 US tons) of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent in other greenhouse gases including methane, to pay for the right to do so by buying allowances. One allowance equals 1 metric ton (1.1 US tons) of greenhouse gas pollution and each year the number of allowances available for purchase drops, theoretically forcing companies to find ways to cut ...

Here's why Nationally Determined Contributions are crucial in climate talks

Altogether, these reports help countries coordinate their climate policies action with one another

COP-out at Baku: Agreement on new climate-funding mechanism inconclusive

Baku climate talks failed to reach a consensus on funding, revealing deep divides between developed and developing nations. The outcome casts doubt on the progress expected at COP29

Climate policy success cases reveal right steps crucial for emissions cut

Merely a higher number of climate policies aimed at reducing emissions do not lead to better outcomes, instead, the right mix of measures is crucial, according to researchers who analysed 1,500 policy interventions implemented between 1998 and 2022. In their study, published in the journal Science, the authors described 63 success cases, which involved "rarely studied policies and unappreciated policy combinations". "For example, subsidies or regulations alone are insufficient; only in combination with price-based instruments, such as carbon and energy taxes, can they deliver substantial emission reductions," lead author Nicolas Koch from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany, said. The climate policies that the researchers studied covered wide-ranging aspects, from energy-related building codes to purchase subsidies for climate-friendly products and carbon taxes. The team used a new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) database,

Earth just ended a thirteen month streak of record heat, what's next?

Global warming has consistently toppled records for warm global average temperatures in recent decades, but breaking them by as much as a quarter of a degree for several months is not common

UN urges nations to better prepare as extreme heat breaks records

After three of Earth's hottest days ever measured, the United Nations called for a flurry of efforts to try to reduce the human toll from soaring and searing temperatures, calling it an extreme heat epidemic. If there is one thing that unites our divided world, it's that we're all increasingly feeling the heat, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday at a news conference where he highlighted that Monday was the hottest day on record, surpassing the mark set just a day earlier. Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere. Nearly half a million people a year die worldwide from heat related deaths, far more than other weather extremes such as hurricanes, and this is likely an underestimate, a new report by 10 U.N. agencies said. Billions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic -- wilting under increasingly deadly heat waves, with temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius around the world," Guterres said. "That's 122 degrees Fahrenhei

Kamala Harris on biz: Friendly to Big Tech, aggressive in climate fight

In 2015, she compelled startup Houzz to hire a chief privacy officer after allegations that the home design app had recorded sales calls without proper notification and consent

COP29 host Azerbaijan launches climate fund, introduces fossil fuel levy

Azerbaijan, the host of this year's UN climate talks, has shelved a planned levy on fossil fuel production and instead launched a fund to "invest" in climate action in developing countries. Reports suggest that Azerbaijan, which relies heavily on oil and gas revenues, faced resistance from some oil- and gas-producing Gulf countries regarding the planned levy announced in May. The new fund, the "Climate Finance Action Fund" (CFAF), will receive annual contributions from fossil fuel-producing countries and companies. Initial fundraising aims for USD 1 billion, with members committing to annual contributions as fixed sums or based on production volume, according to a statement. Based in the capital city of Baku, the fund will target climate projects in developing countries, meeting the next generation of national climate plans to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and addressing the consequences of climate change-fuelled disasters. Financial support to help middle-income and

Citigroup expects India to attract $100 billion in foreign Investments

Apart from climate transition, India's forays into electronics and infrastructure-related manufacturing are gaining prominence with investors abroad, an expert said

'Hellishly hot' southern Europe bakes under heat wave as temp tops 104F

The Italian health ministry placed 12 cities under the most severe heat warning Tuesday as a wave of hot air from Africa baked southern Europe and the Balkans and sent temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), with the worst still to come. Croatia reported the highest-ever temperatures of the Adriatic Sea, with the thermometer reaching nearly 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) at the southern walled city of Dubrovnik, the country's most popular tourism spot. In Serbia, the state power company reported record consumption Tuesday due to the use of air conditioning. Municipal authorities in several southern European and Balkan cities took measures to look after elderly people in particular as civil protection crews fielded calls for water-dropping aircraft such as Canadairs to douse wildfires that raged in southern Italy and North Macedonia. It's hellishly hot," said Carmen Daz, a tourist from Madrid who was trying to keep cool with a fan at lunchtime in ..

Climate change threatens to undo educational gains of recent decade: UNESCO

Climate related stressors like heat, wildfires, floods, droughts, diseases and rising sea levels affect education outcomes and threaten to undo educational gains of recent decade, according to the Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM). The global report compiled by UNESCO, Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) project and University of Saskatchewan in Canada has pointed out that most low and middle-income countries are experiencing climate-related school closures every year, increasing chances of learning loss and dropout. "Climate change related impacts are already disrupting education systems and outcomes. Direct effects include the destruction of education infrastructure as well as injuries and loss of life among students, parents and school staff. Climate change has a negative impact on education indirectly through its displacement of people and the effects on people's livelihoods and health," the report said. "Over the past 20 years, schools .

Caribbean seeks help after Hurricane Beryl devastates small islands

Caribbean officials on Friday demanded more access to funding and help in fighting climate change, weeks after Hurricane Beryl devastated the region. The urgent request was made at an OAS meeting in Washington, DC, where officials noted that the historic storm exposed the vulnerability of small islands. Beryl killed at least seven people in the Caribbean and razed nearly all infrastructure on some of the islands that make up Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. (We) are on the front line, said Virginia Albert-Poyotte, the delegate for St. Lucia, who asked that climate financing be made more available and that financial institutions include special disaster clauses. She and others noted that small Caribbean islands often have rickety infrastructure and fragile economies dependent on tourism and fishing. A resolution approved Friday by the OAS stated that previous hurricanes have led to higher insurance premiums, unemployment and poverty. It called for the immediate operation