Food systems are the missing ingredient from the COP30 menu
Despite making the Amazon the stage for this year’s UN climate summit, Brazil has stayed silent on the food system crisis, the top driver of its deforestation
Nature
See all 
UN biodiversity talks agree finance roadmap, postponing decision on a new fund
Conservation experts call for an urgent boost in funding for nature protection as countries at COP16 say they’ll work out later how best to deliver the money
2025 is the year to invest in forests – and the people who depend on them
With COP30 in the Amazon, governments, businesses and funders must step up restoration finance and put forests at the centre of climate action
COP16 host Colombia reports 35% surge in deforestation
Despite the uptick in deforestation, Colombian environment minister Susana Muhamad said 2024 still had the second-lowest deforestation figure in two decades
How COP16 2.0 can unlock business investment to properly fund nature
Biodiversity COP16 ended with vague targets and limited accountability — but its resumed session in Rome provides an opportunity for businesses to step up
Lula’s government pushes for new oil drilling in the Amazon – where it will host COP30
Pressure mounts on Brazil’s environmental agency as the government seeks expedited approval of a controversial oil drilling project
Valentine’s Day a costlier affair as rising heat hits West Africa cocoa production
Extreme temperatures dent cocoa supplies as vulnerable farmers struggle to adapt to climate impacts
FAO draft report backs growth of livestock industry despite emissions
Experts say the UN’s food agency has shied away from recommending less animal farming, though cutting methane emissions is a quick way to curb warming
Despite dilution, officials say new nature law can restore EU carbon sinks
To meet climate goals, the European Union needs to reverse the decline of its carbon-storing ecosystems like forests and peatlands
Right-wing pushback on EU’s green laws misjudges rural views
Populist and far-right parties are wooing rural voters in the EU elections by exploiting a backlash against green policies – but new research suggests it may not work
The great COP food systems illusion: UN climate talks deliver no real-world action
Negotiations on food and agriculture have moved too slowly, while special initiatives fail to hold countries accountable on their commitments
Climate, development and nature: three urgent priorities for next UK government
Revitalised global leadership from Britain can make a difference at a deeply troubling and fractured time for world affairs
Can the rising cost of chocolate help cocoa producers go green?
Cocoa farmers have long faced difficult growing conditions and low pay. Recent record high prices have highlighted the need for change.
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
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
Indigenous lands feel cruel bite of green energy transition
Mining companies have been offered a path to sustainability but few are taking it – Indigenous people need to be at the table demanding change
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
Nigeria’s path to net zero should be fully lined with trees – and fairness
To meet its pledge of net zero by 2060, Nigeria needs to rein in emissions from deforestation and land use, which equal those from the oil and gas sector
“Two steps forward, two steps back” – Governments off course for forest protection target
While Brazil and Colombia saw forest loss drop, their progress was offset by rises elsewhere
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
Companies still missing in action on methane-cutting goals
The farming and fossil fuel industries must help governments cut methane emissions 30% this decade by harnessing existing technologies and changing practices
UN climate fund axes Nicaragua forest project over human rights concerns
In its first such move, the Green Climate Fund has pulled out of a project after developers failed to address environmental and social compliance issues
Switzerland proposes first UN expert group on solar geoengineering
A draft resolution aimed at creating a space for discussion on sun dimming technologies will be debated at the summit of the UN’s environment body this month
While Europe’s green backlash grows, Poland tells different story
As the backlash against laws protecting nature intensifies across Europe, public pressure has helped push forests centre stage in Poland
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
Shades of green hydrogen: EU demand set to transform Namibia
Backed by the EU, Namibia has a $20 billion plan to export green hydrogen. A secretive tender process raises concerns for nature and citizens.
UK aid cuts leave Malawi vulnerable to droughts and cyclones
After the UK cut short a £52m climate adaptation scheme in Malawi, vulnerable communities saw their livelihoods destroyed by Cyclone Freddy
Forests, methane, finance: Where are the Cop26 pledges now?
Climate Home analysed how highly-publicised commitments are faring two years on from their announcement
Exposed: carbon offsets linked to high forest loss still on sale
Project owners in Cambodia and Brazil are selling carbon offsets to Uber, Marathon and ArcelorMittal despite an uptick in deforestation
Brazilian government eyes money from Amazon Fund for controversial road
Brazil’s transport ministry plans to bid for money from the Amazon Fund to pave the world’s “most sustainable highway”
Sugar rush: how farmers spurred India’s G20 biofuels alliance
Nineteen countries signed up to an India-led alliance this month to boost production of biofuels, but experts raise sustainability concerns