Climate politics
How fossil fuels went from sidelines to headlines in climate talks
For a quarter-century, fossil fuels were absent from Cop climate agreements – so how had they become so ubiquitous at Cop28?
Azerbaijan appoints fossil fuel execs and scandal-hit officials to all-male Cop29 committee
The all-male group in charge of the climate summit organisation includes oil and gas executives and controversial government officials
Veteran US and Chinese climate envoys step down
Xie Zhenhua has stepped down and John Kerry has announced he will do the same in a few months time
High stakes for climate finance in 2024
Setting finance goals without the revenues and systems to deliver on them is a recipe for disappointment – this year it must be different.
“A la carte menu”: Saudi minister claims Cop28 fossil fuel agreement is only optional
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
Azerbaijan appoint state oil company veteran as Cop29 president
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.
Brazil cracks down on illegal gold miners
“Things are going downhill with the new government”, said one gold miner when detained by Brazil’s federal police
Ten climate questions for 2024
The US election and negotiations on a new global finance target are the most important things for the climate in 2024
Six takeaways from 2023’s climate change news
Fossil fuel fights, finance struggles, a resurgent relationship, and much more. We recap the most impactful international climate developments in 2023.
Indonesia promises to fine palm oil companies operating in forests
An Indonesian official said it would levy $310 million in fines on growers of palm oil on land which should be forest
The Climate Home News 2023 Quiz
Test your international climate news knowledge with our quiz!
We must make it easier to attend Cops virtually
If we want to reduce the event’s emissions and make it more inclusive, then it must be easier to navigate and network
Sudan’s Cop28 delegates “really hurt” by silence on their civil war
While Israel’s attack on Gaza featured prominently, Sudan’s civil war and its climate links were largely ignored at Cop28
Countries go ahead with carbon deals despite Cop28 standoff
The US and EU couldn’t agree on common rules for bilateral carbon trades in Dubai, leaving a vacuum for voluntary certifiers
How Russia won a ‘dangerous loophole’ for fossil gas at Cop28
With the EU ambivalent and small island states absent, Russia’s call for “transitional fuels” – read gas – made it into the Cop28 agreement
We have to fix unfairness: Ten takeaways from Cop28
Rich countries must cut carbon faster and provide funding to fix the unfairness getting baked into climate talks
‘Car without wheels’: Adaptation playbook lacks finance target
Developing nations got agreement to set targets for food and water security, but rich nations were unwilling to plug a huge funding gap
Carbon credits talks collapse at Cop28 over integrity concerns
The EU and allies rejected proposed carbon trading rules that followed a “light-touch” approach favoured by the US
Dubai deal: Ministers and observers react to the UAE consensus
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
No ‘phase-out’, but Dubai deal puts oil and gas sector on notice
One day into overtime at Cop28, countries agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems: a first for the UN climate process