Next UN climate summit scheduled for December in Chile
Cop25 will take place 2-13 December 2019 in Santiago, the Chilean capital, UN officials announced
UN aviation body agrees to close carbon emissions loophole
Rules to avoid double-counting of emissions cuts are a step forward, say campaigners, but more assurances are needed to meet the sector’s climate promises
Macron puts European climate bank on EU election agenda
French proponent ‘pleased’ Macron has backed a new institution, although the president’s support was left deliberately vague, said a government official
New UK green watchdog to be based on EU system, says Gove
‘Whatever else are the defects of the EU – that is a good working model,’ the environment secretary told MPs
Turkish supreme court blocks coal plant, as wave of new projects stalls
Local opposition won a legal ruling against a major project on the Black Sea coast – the latest challenge to Turkey’s plans to expand coal use
Weeds flourish and fish decline in Lake Victoria’s ‘deadest’ corner
As invasive water hyacinth chokes fishing communities, the World Bank launches a third phase of investment to try and restore the degraded lake
Burning wood for power breaches EU treaty, new lawsuit claims
Plaintiffs from six European countries and the US argue biomass does more harm than good and should be not be counted as a renewable energy source
UK bill would weaken environmental law after Brexit, legal experts tell MPs
The bill creates ‘get-out-of-jail-free cards’ for ministers and exposes the environment watchdog to government influence, they said
Developing world split on climate finance at UN flagship fund
Vulnerable countries are backing governance reform at the Green Climate Fund, while emerging economies resist efforts to impose conditions on finance
Saudi Aramco dismisses peak oil demand ‘hype’, touts carbon efficiency
Amin H Nasser, head of the world’s largest oil company, expressed fears key stakeholders saw no future for the industry, at a major conference in London
Switzerland puts geoengineering governance on UN environment agenda
No longer the preserve of science fiction, climate-hacking technologies may need international oversight, say backers of draft resolution
French experts propose trillion-euro EU climate finance pact
Economist Pierre Larrouturou and climate scientist Jean Jouzel are leading a call to mobilise funds on a large scale, backed by more than 600 political figures
Costa Rica targets electric cars and forest growth in 2050 climate strategy
President Carlos Alvarado Quesada has launched an economy-wide plan to slash his country’s greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century
French UN official named as next chief of flagship climate fund
Yannick Glemarec was picked from an all-male shortlist to lead the Green Climate Fund, in a key fundraising year
German climate law draft calls for net-zero emissions by 2050
The environment ministry is calling to hike the target to 95% and ensure that any remaining emissions are removed
South Africa set to introduce long-awaited carbon tax in June
The levy will make polluters report and pay for their emissions, but experts say the starting rate is too low to spur a rapid shift to clean energy
EU committee shelves climate concerns to open US trade talks
Amid US threats to slap import tariffs on European cars, the EU is wavering on its commitment to uphold the Paris Agreement through trade negotiations
Brazil’s first indigenous congresswoman defends her people’s rights from Bolsonaro
Joênia Wapichana helped to win land titles for five indigenous groups in Brazil’s far north, but the president is threatening to re-open the area to white farmers and miners
‘Imperialist’ citizenship idea sparks spat between Australia and Pacific islanders
Tuvalu PM rejects idea that islanders would exchange maritime rights for Australian citizenship, telling Canberra to focus on breaking its coal addiction
EU foreign ministers back UN call to raise climate ambition
In a statement on Monday, the European Council said UN chief Antonio Guterres’ summit in September is “an essential opportunity” to ramp up national commitments