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.
Nine must-read climate change stories of 2021 from around the world
From how Indonesia treats its Elon Musks to the aftermath of “unimaginable” flooding in Germany, here’s our pick of Climate Home’s best reporting this year
Climate Home News quiz of 2021
How closely did you follow the international climate change news this year? Test your knowledge against our quiz!
UK floats ‘climate compatibility’ test for new oil and gas drilling
The UK government says new oil and gas licensing can fit with its climate commitments. Campaigners, citing the International Energy Agency, disagree
Drought-hit town hopes Chile’s new leader will take back water from Big Avocado
Leftist Gabriel Boric won a landslide to become Chile’s president and backs reform to improve water rights and access for communities like Petorca
Hackers throw Indonesian palm oil seminar into chaos, fuelling blame game
As experts debated a controversial proposal to classify palm oil plantations as forest, their event in Jakarta was disrupted by swearing and pornography
Campaigners seek to curb UK oil production through the high court
The UK’s oil and gas regulator does not take tax breaks or foreign ownership into account when deciding whether a license is in the national interest
‘Huge blow’ – cuts to gas finance sparks West African backlash
Nigerian and Senegalese leaders have criticised western countries for pledging to stop funding gas projects internationally, calling for exceptions to be made
US spending on airport expansion flies under the radar for climate activists
Public funding of $25 billion to airports generated little controversy despite flying’s outsized climate impact, in contrast to the European discourse
Morocco accused of “greenwashing occupation” of Western Sahara
The Polisario Front has released an unofficial climate plan for the Sahrawi people, saying Morocco has built wind and solar farms on their land without consent
Nigeria commits to annual carbon budgets to reach net zero under climate law
After announcing a 2060 net zero goal at Cop26, the oil producing nation will set up a national council to oversee the implementation of its climate plan
“It’s going to get bumpy!” – Papua New Guinea sparked final day panic at Cop26
The rainforest nation was threatening to block a deal in Glasgow over the status of Redd+ forestry projects in a UN carbon market
The breakdown: What is in the Glasgow Climate Pact?
At Cop26 in Glasgow, countries agreed to call out coal, double adaptation finance and finalise rules for carbon trading, in a bid to ‘keep 1.5C alive’
After tense huddles in Glasgow, countries strike ‘uncomfortable’ climate deal
The package agreed at Cop26 cites coal in a UN first and finalises the Paris Agreement rulebook, but is weak on finance for vulnerable nations
Cop26 deal brings support for victims of climate disaster a step closer
The Santiago Network could be up and running in a year, but thorny issues of how to fund it and channel aid to frontline communities have yet to be decided
A Swiss pianist, a Rwandan chemist… meet 15 ministers brokering a deal in Glasgow
The UK presidency has appointed two ministers to steer each strand of Cop26 negotiations towards an agreement
From Chile and Taiwan via Glasgow, youth call for climate justice
Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Glasgow past the Cop26 climate conference venue on Friday, chanting and waving homemade placards
Canada, US, Italy among 20 countries to stop financing fossil fuels internationally
Major backers of coal, oil and gas projects will stop supporting them from 2023, instead backing clean energy in other countries
Scotland breaks loss and damage “taboo”, raising hopes others will follow
Vulnerable countries welcomed Scotland’s leadership in helping victims of climate disaster, saying rich countries need to institutionalise support at Cop26
Over 100 countries join methane pledge but China, India, Australia and Russia stay out
The US and EU got more than a hundred countries on board with a commitment to cut methane emissions 30% by 2030, putting oil and gas sector leakage in the spotlight
Frustrations mount at Covid barriers to participation in Cop26 negotiations
After expensive and difficult journeys to Glasgow, many delegates are excluded from negotiating rooms and can only watch an unreliable webcast