Joe Lo
Joe Lo is a reporter for Climate Home News. He has previously specialised in container shipping, UK politics and investigative stories about Scotland. His work has appeared in the Guardian, Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle.
Brazil bids to bring Cop30 climate talks to Amazon’s Belem
The city is at the mouth of the Amazon river and is the second-biggest city in the Amazon region after Manaus
Eskom poisoning raises fears for South Africa’s energy transition
Outgoing chief Andre De Ruyter survived an attempt on his life last month, as coal-friendly minister Gwede Mantashe took control of Eskom
Hurricanes and floods bring $120bn in insurance losses in 2022
Hurricane Ian in Florida caused a big chunk of the financial losses while floods in Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa killed the most people
Donors pledge over $8bn to rebuild Pakistan after floods – official
At a Geneva summit, multilateral development banks committed the vast majority of funds, with smaller contributions from governments
Thirteen critical questions for international climate action in 2023
Meetings of the World Bank, IMF, International Maritime Organization and Cop28 will shape climate action, plus elections and China’s reopening
World Bank moots stronger strategic focus on climate action
A draft document suggests the bank will broaden its “twin goals” of boosting prosperity and ending extreme poverty to encompass climate action
Russia’s invasion & Pakistan’s floods defined 2022 in climate
After an avalanche of climate pledges last year, 2022 was when governments and corporations started to grapple with implementation
Breakthrough for nature protection – Climate Weekly
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Momentum grows towards 2050 zero carbon shipping target
Nigeria, Chile and Vietnam are among countries now backing a stronger climate goal for international shipping, but cost concerns remain
Cop15 global nature deal passes despite DR Congo’s objection
The Chinese presidency gavelled through a biodiversity pact in Montreal, overriding the funding concerns of some African delegates
Mexico’s new climate plan is worse than its old one, analysts say
Mexico, a country of 130 million, is one of only two G20 countries not to have set net zero emission targets
The sweet life goes sour – Climate Weekly
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Destruction of Brazil’s Cerrado savanna soars for third year in a row
Brazil’s outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro has presided over four years of destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado grasslands
Rich nations mobilise $15.5bn for Vietnam’s coal-to-clean transition
The deal will help Vietnam to peak its greenhouse gas emissions five years earlier than planned and scale up renewable energy generation
EU strikes internal deal to tax carbon at its borders
The world-first scheme will protect European industries from being undercut by polluting competitors, but angers emerging economies
UK coal mine approval sparks global fury and hypocrisy claims
The decision to allow a new coking coal mine goes against official climate advice and the UK’s international rhetoric on fossil fuels
Which countries are ‘particularly vulnerable’ to climate change?
The European Union pushed to restrict loss and damage funds to “particularly vulnerable” nations, but the definition is still up for debate
Brazil’s incoming government set to scrap gas pipelines and power plants
Marina Silva, tipped as the next environment minister, tweeted that the planned infrastructure would cost the country $22bn over four years
Battle lines drawn in talks on new plastics treaty
US and Saudi Arabia want a bottom-up deal focused on recycling, while a “high ambition coalition” wants top-down curbs on plastic production
Who should pay for loss and damage? Spoiler: not China
While there is a case for South Korea, UAE and Israel to join the donor pool, whichever way you measure it the US should pay more