Climate politics

In Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s net zero vision clashes with legacy of war

After Armenians fled the conflict-torn region, the COP29 host nation has launched a huge reconstruction effort to polish its green credentials

World Bank tiptoes into fiery debate over meat emissions

The bank has advised wealthy nations to cut subsidies for high-emissions foods but stopped far short of promoting veganism

UN agrees carbon market safeguards to tackle green land grabs

Local communities will be able to officially challenge UN-registered carbon credit projects before and after they are up and running

Road row in protected forest exposes Kenya’s climate conundrum 

The government wants to expand a road through the Aberdare National Park but conservationists argue it will harm the forest, wildlife and water supplies

How to fix the finance flows that are pushing our planet to the brink

Commercial banks are financing a huge amount of fossil-fuel and industrial agriculture activities in the Global South – they must turn off the tap

Tensions rise over who will contribute to new climate finance goal

Germany wants all high-emitters, especially among G20 countries, to pitch in. But China and Saudi Arabia say the responsibility lies with developed nations

Peak COP? UN looks to shrink Baku and Belém climate summits

While 84,000 delegates attended COP28 in Dubai, just 40,000-50,000 are expected at COP29 in Baku and COP30 in Belém

SBTi’s rigid emissions rules don’t reflect business reality

The Science Based Targets initiative ignores the good a company’s products do in avoiding planet-heating emissions – only counting those from its operations

UN climate chief calls for “quantum leap in climate finance”

Simon Stiell says far more money is required for developing countries to submit bold new climate plans, which would benefit all economies

Spring Meetings can jump-start financial reform for food and climate 

The World Bank and IMF have a big part to play in raising the $3 trillion needed to help countries meet global development goals and the Paris accord

Latest climate politics

Brexit

UK government appoints Alok Sharma as Cop26 president

Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed the former secretary of state for international development to lead the critical UN climate talks in November

Don’t shop till you drop: advice to UK citizens on net zero climate goals

UK holds ‘citizens’ assembly’ to seek ideas for cutting emissions to net-0 by 2050. But some participants doubt the government will listen

‘Miles off track’ – Climate Weekly

Sign up to get our weekly newsletter straight to your inbox, plus breaking news, investigations and extra bulletins from key events

UK walks diplomatic tightrope for 2020 climate summit after shaky start

Boris Johnson officially launched Cop26 on Tuesday but gave little indication as to how the government is going to leverage the world into taking bolder climate action

UK leaders debate climate, with Boris Johnson replaced by ice sculpture

Leaders of most major parties presented their ideas for meeting tough climate goals, but the Conservative prime minister declined

Brexit must not distract from UK’s biggest job in 2020: the Glasgow climate summit

Next year’s climate talks are absolutely vital and as hosts the UK could determine whether the talks fail or succeed. The government must start preparing now

London bids to host 2020 UN climate talks to show UK remains ‘open’

Mayor Sadiq Khan writes to UK prime minster urging every effort to win the presidency of Cop26 in the face of a competing bid from Italy

UK and Italy bid for 2020 climate talks, amid political uncertainty for both

Both countries face potential general elections and economic problems before the crucial Cop26 meeting and the UK may still be in a Brexit imbroglio

Brexit

UN Climate Talks

Forest carbon accounting allows Guyana to stay net zero while pumping oil

Experts say UN rules around forests and oil are open to abuse, so that countries like Guyana can claim to be carbon-negative without cutting emissions

Zambia’s fossil-fuel subsidy cuts help climate and kids – but taxi drivers suffer

Under pressure from the IMF, the government has redirected subsidies into education, welfare and debt reduction, leaving fuel-heavy sectors with higher costs

Cancellation of UN climate weeks removes platform for worst-hit communities

The UNFCCC has said it will not hold regional climate weeks in 2024 due to a funding shortfall – which means less inclusion for developing-country voices

What will it take to protect India’s angry farmers from climate threats?

Indebted farmers, facing falling yields and water scarcity, want legally guaranteed price support for more crops – but that may not fix their climate woes

Expectations mount as loss and damage fund staggers to its feet

Demand for finance to pay for the aftermath of climate impacts is rocketing – but progress on getting a new UN loss and damage fund up and running is slow

UN’s climate body faces “severe financial challenges” which put work at risk

UNFCCC chief Simon Stiell has made an urgent plea to plug the body’s funding gap with government donations

African dismay at decision to host loss and damage advice hub in Geneva

The UN agencies that will run the Santiago Network recommended it should be based in Nairobi but governments have instead chosen the world’s third-most expensive city

Shipping sector pushes to keep emissions-tax cash for itself

The industry and governments’ maritime ministries want a proposed levy on emissions spent on cleaning up shipping, not used for wider climate goals like loss and damage

UN climate talks

Paris Agreement

Cop28 boss’ appeal to raise climate targets met with total indifference

Sultan Al Jaber urged governments to update their national climate targets by September. Not one heeded the call

Public banks agree to check investments against countries’ climate plans

Ten multilateral development banks have agreed on how to make sure their investments meet climate goals. But experts told Climate Home the rules do not go far enough.

Paris agreement’s police force begins with rebuke to Vatican

The Pope’s home state has not yet issued a climate plan, which is against the rules of the Paris Agreement it ratified last year

What is the global stocktake of climate action and why does it matter?

The first Global Stocktake will tell us collective efforts need to be stepped up to reach the Paris Agreement goals. The question is how countries will respond to it.

AIIB finds gas plant in Bangladesh compatible with Paris goals

AIIB’s fast-tracking of a 600MW LNG plant could set a precedent for more development finance to fossil gas projects, campaigners warn

Brazil accused of backsliding in updated climate pledge to UN

While the Bolsonaro administration has nominally increased its 2030 target, a baseline shift allows Brazil to emit more than under its first Paris pledge

To close 1.5C gap, countries face call for another round of climate pledges by 2023

The Cop26 presidency is considering a proposal to strengthen ambition beyond the Glasgow summit, but it faces resistance from emerging economies

Turkey ratifies the Paris Agreement after approving a 2053 net zero goal

Documents agreed by parliament included a declaration that Turkey would implement the climate treaty as a developing country, despite its developed nation status

Paris Agreement