World
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
German CO2 cuts stall as coal, oil use cancel out renewable gains
In a pivot away from Russian gas, Germany cut energy consumption to its lowest level since the Berlin Wall fell – but increased coal burning
Lula revives $1 billion Amazon Fund and environmental protections
On his first day in office as Brazil’s president, Lula da Silva signed a package of seven executive orders to protect the environment
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
Cost of a KitKat: Big brands leave sugar farmers at the mercy of climate extremes
Nestlé, Coca Cola and Pepsi are among the buyers from Nanglamal Sugar Complex, which smallholders say gives no help with climate resilience
India’s female cane cutters face child marriage and hysterectomy
Women and girls in India’s sugar fields are exposed to sexual harassment, backbreaking work and inadequate healthcare
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
Migrant labourers suffer exploitation in India’s sugar fields
Millions of people migrate each year to work in India’s sugar fields under extreme heat, harsh conditions and debt bondage
India’s sugarcane farmers struggle to cope with droughts and floods
In India more intense droughts and floods are destroying sugarcane crops and plunging millions of farmers and their families into debt
Climate Home’s five must-read climate change stories from 2022
The hype machine behind a $70,000 carbon credit, fossil fuel fights in Sharm el-Sheikh and other essential journalism
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
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
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
EU agrees law to crack down on deforestation in supply chains
The EU deforestation law aims to stop imports of products if their producers have cut down trees to grow them
EU chief flags concerns about Biden’s ‘buy American’ climate plans
Ursula von der Leyen is mooting increased public support for EU cleantech industries, in response to the US’ Inflation Reduction Act
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
Republican gains quash hopes of US delivering on climate finance
The results of the US midterm elections make it harder for president Joe Biden to meet his promise to developing countries
Lula charms UN climate summit, bringing hope for rainforests
Brazil’s president-elect got a hero’s welcome at Cop27, where he met with climate envoys from the US and China