Latest climate change news
For Cop29 to succeed, rich nations must get their parliaments to agree more finance now
Rich nations always say they need their parliaments approval for climate finance at Cops – now is the time to start
Biden misses chance to tackle “huge” US landfill emissions
Food and plants dumped into US landfills are rotting and warming the planet but “weak” regulations have not been improved
US government pauses new gas export terminals in ‘historic win’ for climate
The Biden administration is freezing approvals of new LNG export permits as climate considerations take centre stage.
Zimbabwe looks to China to secure a place in the EV battery supply chain
In the first story of our Clean Energy Frontier series, we go to Zimbabwe, which is betting on the booming lithium industry to spur economic growth
After gas pipeline sabotage, German activists claim solidarity against US gas export terminals
A group celebrating the sabotage said they opposed the pipeline out of solidarity with marginalised people in the USA
Cop29 host Azerbaijan launches green energy unit to sceptical response
Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas firm promises a green push but a lack of climate policies and plans to expand gas production are causing scepticism
Amazon nations to tackle rainforest crime together in donor-funded new office
The $1.8 million Centre for International Police Cooperation will be built in the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus and funded by the Norwegian-backed Amazon Fund
Governments fail to agree timeline for climate science reports in fraught IPCC talks
Saudi, India and China led opposition against a proposal to link the IPCC’s assessment cycle with the global stocktake, sources told Climate Home.
The all-male Cop29 committee is a big step backwards for climate
Azerbaijan appointed 28 men and zero women to a key group tasked with organising the upcoming climate summit in the country
Junk offset sellers push to enter new UN carbon market
Renewable energy schemes make up four-fifths of Kyoto-era projects hoping to keep selling offsets under Article 6, sparking concerns over the credibility of the new market.
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
Poland’s green tide arrives in Brussels
While the previous Polish government tried to water down the EU’s climate action, the new one is supporting ambition
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.
Witness bribing minister’s family own Congolese carbon credit company
The minister Jean-Pierre Bemba bribed witnesses in his war crimes trial and holds power over the environment minister Eve Bazaiba
Germany and US warn Brazil against using Amazon Fund to pave rainforest road
The Brazilian government wants to tap forest protection funds to pave a major highway. Western donors say that goes against the fund’s rules.
“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
First ever Paris Agreement offsets face integrity questions
As Switzerland buys the first ever bilateral offsets, civil society’s analysis suggests the claimed emissions reductions from Thai buses would have happened anyway
South African ministry uses opaque modelling to argue for weakening climate ambition
Gwede Mantashe’s ministry argues for cutting ambition on renewables and investing more in gas. also plugging so-called “clean coal”