Us Un Climate Talks

UN climate talks give all nations a platform to address climate change

When more than two dozen world leaders deliver remarks at the United Nations' annual climate conference on Wednesday, many are likely to detail their nations' firsthand experience with the catastrophic weather that has come with climate change. That could include Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose nation has seen deadly flooding this year from monsoon rains that scientists say have become heavier with climate change. Just two years ago, more than 1,700 people died in widespread flooding. Pakistan has also suffered from dangerous heat, with thousands of people hospitalised with heatstroke this spring as temperatures soared to 47 degrees Celsius. Also on the list of speakers Wednesday is Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Edward Davis. Like many other countries in the Global South, the Bahamas has piled up debt from warming-connected weather disasters it did little to cause, including Hurricanes Dorian in 2019 and Matthew in 2016. Leaders have been seeking help and money from the

Most G20 nations should advance climate action: Global South climate index

Most G20 members, including the US, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, need to significantly step up climate action, according to a Climate Accountability Matrix launched at COP29 here on Tuesday. The Climate Accountability Matrix (CAM) is a first-of-its-kind assessment tool from the Global South to analyse countries' performance in climate aspects beyond mitigation, including adaptation and means of implementation. As against the rich nations, countries from the Global South, such as India and South Africa have made significant efforts in climate action by actively participating in key agreements, undertaking reasonable efforts domestically and adhering to their obligations, the CAM, featured in a report by independent, New Delhi-based think tank the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), found. The CEEW report Are G20 Countries Delivering on Climate Goals? Tracking Progress on Commitments to Strengthen the Paris Agreement unveiled at the COP29 here introduces

Azerbaijan accused of intensifying repression of critics amid hosting COP29

As representatives from nearly 200 countries, along with hundreds of journalists, arrived in Azerbaijan in November for the UN climate conference known this year as COP29, they bring with them a level of scrutiny the hosts aren't accustomed to and don't often tolerate. Azerbaijan has had a poor human rights record for many years and the government has regularly targeted journalists, activists and independent politicians. President Ilham Aliyev and his administration are accused by human rights organisations of spearheading an intensifying crackdown on freedom of speech ahead of the climate summit, including against climate activists and journalists. Aliyev's father, Haidar, ruled Azerbaijan from 1993 until he died in 2003 and Ilham took over. Both suppressed dissent as the country of almost 10 million people on the Caspian Sea basked in growing wealth from huge oil and natural gas reserves. Elections since independence from the Soviet Union in the 1990s haven't been regarded as ful

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Saudi Arabia, UAE amid COP28

Russian President Vladimir Putin began a trip on Wednesday to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, hoping to shore up support in the Mideast from two major oil producers allied to the US as his war on Ukraine grinds on. Putin landed in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms now hosting the United Nations' COP28 climate talks. It marked his first trip to the region from before the coronavirus pandemic and the war and as he faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over the war in Ukraine. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE has signed the ICC founding treaty, meaning they don't face any obligation to detain Putin over the warrant accusing him of being personally responsible for the abductions of children from Ukraine during his war on the country. Putin skipped a summit in South Africa over concerns he could be arrested on arrival there. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's foreign minister, met a smiling Putin after

PM Modi meets Qatar's ruler at COP28 amid navy veterans' death row

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on Friday, as they discussed bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in the oil-rich country. The meeting is significant as eight former Indian Navy personnel were on October 26 given death sentences by a court in Qatar and the Indian government has reportedly filed an appeal against the sentence. "On the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai yesterday, had the opportunity to meet HH Sheikh @TamimBinHamad, the Amir of Qatar. "We had a good conversation on the potential of bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar," Modi posted on X on Saturday. The Indian nationals, who worked with private company Al Dahra, were arrested in August last year reportedly in an alleged case of espionage. Neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public. India had described t

COP28: PM Modi emplanes for his visit to UAE for UN climate talks

PM Modi will address the opening session of the World Climate Action Summit in the United Arab Emirates and participate in the three high-level side events, of which two will be co-hosted by India

Big gap in carbon removal effort key to climate goals, says study

Most current greenhouse gas removal is achieved by planting trees and managing forests and other natural carbon sinks, which themselves are under considerable threat

Explained: What is 'loss and damage' fund, what is India's take on it

Agreement on financing one of the most significant steps in UN climate talks in 30 years

India expected to see faster progress towards clean energy economy: Report

At least three of the four top emitters of greenhouse gases -- China, the EU and India -- are expected to see faster progress towards a clean energy economy than they have set out in national plans or NDCs, according to a new analysis released on Monday, coinciding with the UN climate summit in Egypt. According to "Global Carbon Budget Report 2022", the top four CO2 emitters in 2021 were China (31 per cent), the US (14 per cent), the European Union (8 per cent) and India (7 per cent). The report, "Big Four: Are major emitters downplaying their climate and clean energy progress?", by the UK-based Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, suggests interconnected global crises and market mechanisms are driving the shift towards electric vehicles, low-carbon heating and renewables around the world, in particular in those four countries. Rapid price reductions, which make wind and solar power vastly cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives, concerns over energy security and access, and in Europ

COP27: UN climate change talks near halftime with key issues unresolved

As the UN climate talks in Egypt near the half-way point, negotiators are working hard to draft deals on a wide range of issues they'll put to ministers next week in the hope of getting a substantial result by the end. The two-week meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh started with strong appeals from world leaders for greater efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and help poor nations cope with global warming. Scientists say the amount of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere needs to be halved by 2030 to meet the goals of the Paris climate accord. The 2015 pact set a target of ideally limiting temperature rise to 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, but left it up to countries to decide how they want to do so. With impacts from climate change already felt across the globe, particularly by the world's poorest, there has also been a push by campaigners and developing nations for rich polluters to stump up more cash. This would be used to help developing ...

COP27: Joe Biden says climate crisis is about 'very life of the planet'

"It's more urgent than ever that we double down on our climate commitments. Russia's war only enhances the urgency of the need to transition the world off its dependence on fossil fuels," he said

COP27: Joe Biden off to climate talks, first leg of around-the-world trip

President Joe Biden is heading to a global climate meeting with a giant domestic investment in tow and he's likely to face questions about how far the US will go to pull other large greenhouse gas emitters along. His attendance on Friday at the UN climate conference, known as COP27, in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, is the first stop on an around-the-world trip that will also take him to a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in Cambodia and a Group of 20 summit meeting for leaders of the world's largest economies in Bali, Indonesia. Biden boarded Air Force One late on Thursday buoyed by a stronger-than-expected showing by the Democratic Party in Tuesday's midterm elections, congressional passage this year of the largest climate investment in US history and Russian military setbacks on the Ukrainian battlefield. At the climate conference, Biden will discuss a new supplemental rule coming Friday that cracks down on methane emissions, a measure that expands on a similar ...

Guterres appreciates critically important partnership between US, UN

The Secretary-General particularly welcomed the United States rejoining the Paris Agreement, re-engagement with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Human Rights Council

US wants dilutions, alterations and deletions in UN climate change report

It also tells the UN it does not support the Sustainable Development goals and targets

US to defend Trump's Paris pact pullout at UN climate talks

Earlier this year, Trump withdrew US from the historic Paris climate agreement saying the "draconian" deal unfairly punished America while benefited other countries