German environment minister defends airline bailout, promises green recovery
The immediate priority is to protect workers, argued Svenja Schulze, resisting calls to impose green conditions on a €10 billion support package for Lufthansa
France calls for minimum carbon price to counter oil crash
Oil prices of around $20 a barrel do not reflect the cost for the climate, the French government argued ahead of a meeting of EU energy ministers
Next UN climate science report to consider lessons from coronavirus
UN climate science reports due in 2021 will examine the links between pandemics and human pressures on the natural world to guide policymakers
New Zealand sticks to 2030 climate target while waiting for 1.5C advice
In a submission to the UN on Earth Day, New Zealand communicated its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 without enhancing its 2030 pledge
Climate activists form new tactics and alliances amid coronavirus lockdown
No longer able to take to the streets, activists are upping their digital game and making common cause with social justice campaigners
Greenpeace takes Arctic oil lawsuit to Norway’s supreme court
After losing at two lower courts, campaigners are taking the fight to ban new oil exploration licences to the top, where it will be heard by all 19 justices
Four more EU nations back a green post-coronavirus recovery
Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta join call by 13 other nations to put the European Green Deal at the heart of the economic response to Covid-19
Citizens’ assemblies on climate change seek to shape the post-Covid recovery
French and British initiatives to involve ordinary people in climate policy are adapting their work in light of the coronavirus pandemic
Kenyans live with shattered hopes of a Chinese oil boom
Merti residents eagerly anticipated investment in public services, but when oil failed to materialise, they were left with damaged land and a fear of outsiders
South Korea to implement Green New Deal after ruling party election win
Seoul is to set a 2050 net zero emissions goal and end coal financing, after the Democratic Party’s landslide victory in one of the world’s first Covid-19 elections
Renewable energies under threat in 2020 from coronavirus, oil price slump
Rooftop solar power installations are especially hard hit by social distancing and disruptions to Chinese supplies, as coronavirus ravages the world economy
China may delay submitting climate plans amid economic slowdown
Beijing could wait for the results of the US presidential election in November before it announces an update to its climate plan
Chile to peak emissions by 2025, under strengthened climate pledge
In the midst of a global pandemic, government ministers stressed the need to build a sustainable, resilient economy for the long term
Coronavirus: plane-free skies spur research into warming impact of aviation
As the Covid-19 pandemic response hits air traffic, scientists seize the opportunity to study how planes’ contrails trap heat in the atmosphere
Coronavirus lockdown gives a boost to citizen science projects
From counting penguins to mapping solar panels, people staying at home during the pandemic can contribute to climate change research
Airlines urge UN body to ease climate goals for 2020s as traffic collapses
Airlines’ trade association says current plans to offset greenhouse gas emissions from a 2019-2020 baseline would put an ‘inappropriate economic burden on the sector’
Governments still due to submit tougher climate plans in 2020, despite Cop26 delay
The postponement of a critical climate summit to 2021 does not lessen pressure on governments around the world to submit tougher climate plans to the UN this year
Cop26 climate talks postponed to 2021 amid coronavirus pandemic
Postponement will help clarify US climate policy – Trump is pulling out of the Paris Agreement but Biden or Sanders would rejoin if elected in November
Coronavirus pandemic threatens climate monitoring, WMO warns
Data for weather forecasts and climate monitoring provided by in-flight sensors and manual observations have decreased significantly since the Covid-19 outbreak
Zoom climate diplomacy: ‘Technology doesn’t help build trust’
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed climate diplomacy online, greening much of UN Climate Change’s operations but virtual meeting bring their own challenges