International: United Nations
UN environment report 'hijacked' by US and others over fossil fuels, top scientist says
Thu 11 Dec 2025
A key UN report on the state of the global environment has been "hijacked" by the United States and other countries who were unwilling to go along with the scientific findings, the co-chair has told the BBC.
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
5 Dec 2025
One of the headline outcomes to emerge from COP30 was a new target to “at least triple” finance for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2035.
Experts work on UN climate report amid US pushback
3 Dec 2025
Some 600 experts began to work Monday on the next major UN climate report, as the international consensus on global warming is challenged by US President Donald Trump, who deems the science a "hoax".
10 years after the Paris Agreement, world leaders are letting go of its most famous goal
27 Nov 2025
This year's U.N. climate negotiations crashed out on a hard truth: It’s all about the money.
This year’s climate talks saw real progress – just not on fossil fuels
26 Nov 2025
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva dubbed it the “COP of Truth”. Delegates did not shy away from the urgency of the moment as climate change intensifies and emissions continue to climb.
UN warns world losing climate battle but fragile COP30 deal keeps up the fight
25 Nov 2025
Reaching agreement in divisive political landscape shows ‘climate cooperation is alive and kicking’, says UN climate chief.
COP30 fails to land deal on fossil fuel transition but triples finance for climate adaptation
24 Nov 2025
Instead of a global agreement to create roadmaps to shift away from fossil fuels and end deforestation, Brazil announces voluntary initiatives.
Article 6 wraps up with progress in hand and challenges ahead
24 Nov 2025
At COP30 in Belém, negotiators made a delicate balancing act in the evolving world of global carbon markets. Amid the buzz of side meetings and plenary sessions, key decisions on Articles 6.2 and 6.4 revealed both progress and caution.
COP30 climate talks evacuated after fire breaks out
21 Nov 2025
The UN climate talks COP30 have been evacuated due to a fire breaking out inside the venue in Belém, Brazil.
Early COP30 climate deal eludes Brazil, but Lula remains upbeat
21 Nov 2025
Brazil failed to land an early COP30 climate deal on Wednesday, though President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva remained upbeat about the prospects of progress in the last two days of the summit despite differences between nations on key issues.
At COP30, focus on wildfire prevention amid record destruction
20 Nov 2025
With wildfires causing unprecedented damage, countries and organisations at COP30 agree to boost community-based prevention.
Artificial intelligence sparks debate at COP30 climate talks in Brazil
20 Nov 2025
At the U.N. climate talks in Brazil, artificial intelligence is being cast as both a hero worthy of praise and a villain that needs policing.
It’s crunch time for the Forest COP – will we let them burn?
20 Nov 2025
We must sustain the momentum on forest finance and a roadmap to secure their future at COP30.
Brazil releases draft text and letter to accelerate COP30 climate negotiations
19 Nov 2025
With a direct letter sent to nations and a draft text released Tuesday, host country Brazil is shifting the U.N. climate conference into a higher gear.
Clamour for change inside the world's COP30 climate negotiations
19 Nov 2025
An existential question hangs over this year's COP30 summit in Brazil: what are the annual U.N. climate negotiations really for?
Thousands march outside COP30 summit in call for action
18 Nov 2025
Marching to the beat of pounding sound systems, thousands of climate protesters have been bringing their message to the gates of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
Ethiopia set to host UN's 2027 climate summit, 2026 undecided
13 Nov 2025
Uncertainty still surrounds which country will host next year's UN climate conference: Australia or Turkey. But for 2027, there's little mystery: it will almost certainly be Ethiopia, an African diplomatic powerhouse.
Rich countries have lost enthusiasm for tackling climate crisis, says COP30 chief
11 Nov 2025
Brazil’s André Corrêa do Lago says countries should follow China’s lead on clean energy as conference begins.
Leaders of world’s biggest polluters are no-shows as heads of state gather for UN climate summit
10 Nov 2025
World leaders descending on the United Nations annual climate summit in Brazil on Thursday will not need to see much more than the view from their airplane window to sense the unfathomable stakes.
UN chief scolds nations for failing climate goals ahead of COP30 summit
7 Nov 2025
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tore into nations for their failure to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as Brazil hosted world leaders for a summit ahead of the COP30 climate conference in the rainforest city of Belem.
UNEP: New country climate plans ‘barely move needle’ on expected warming
5 Nov 2025
Executive director Inger Anderson made the comments as UNEP published its 16th annual assessment of the global “emissions gap”.
Brazil opens three weeks of COP30-linked climate events
4 Nov 2025
Brazil on Monday opens three weeks of events linked to the COP30 climate summit, hoping to showcase a world still determined to tackle global warming
Most countries fail to submit new climate pledges ahead of summit
29 Oct 2025
Only 64 countries have submitted new plans to cut carbon, the UN says, despite all being required to do so ahead of next month's COP30 summit.
UN report: Five charts showing how global deforestation is declining
28 Oct 2025
The amount of forest lost around the world has reduced by millions of hectares each year in recent decades, but countries are still off track to meet “important” deforestation targets.
Super-warming methane gas is being tackled too slowly, UN says ahead of COP30
24 Oct 2025
Almost 90% of satellite-detected methane leaks flagged to governments and oil and gas companies are not being acknowledged, the UN said Wednesday ahead of the COP30 climate talks next month.
Just 28% of countries have released nature pledges a year after UN deadline
23 Oct 2025
Only 28% of countries have met a UN call to submit new plans on addressing nature loss – a year after the original deadline.
UN pushes for worldwide disaster alerts as extreme weather ‘spirals’
22 Oct 2025
Climate-related hazards have killed more than 2 million people in 50 years, said the UN’s meteorological agency, 90 percent of them in developing countries.
New UN carbon market rules could reshape how investors value nature
20 Oct 2025
A debate over carbon permanence – how long CO2 must stay stored to count towards offsetting emissions – is reshaping global carbon markets and could determine whether nature remains investable.
UN agency says CO2 levels hit record high last year, causing more extreme weather
17 Oct 2025
Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilisation and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather.
Climate critics try to discredit IPCC author for linking disasters to global warming
13 Oct 2025
Roger Pielke Jr. and oil industry supporters are attacking climate scientist Friederike Otto, whose work has been used in lawsuits against polluters.
UN-backed climate banking alliance ceases operations
7 Oct 2025
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a UN-backed initiative seeking carbon neutral investments by banks, announced Friday its immediate shutdown -- at a time of faltering climate commitments in the United States and Europe.
Half of global emissions covered by 2035 climate pledges after UN summit in New York
1 Oct 2025
Half of global greenhouse gas emissions are now covered by a 2035 climate pledge following a key UN summit this week, Carbon Brief analysis finds.
Vanuatu pursues new UN resolution to turn ICJ climate opinion into action
26 Sep 2025
The Pacific island nation, which led a campaign for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to clarify states’ climate duties, said the legal opinion must not be “left on paper”.
UN climate chief says new national climate plans will fall short on emissions cuts
24 Sep 2025
With 2035 targets expected to be too weak to meet global goals to limit warming, the UN’s Simon Stiell says COP30 should focus on how countries can speed up delivery of their plans.
‘Con,’ ‘scam,’ ‘hoax’: Trump’s UN speech on climate
24 Sep 2025
The president used a large chunk of his hour-long speech to world leaders to condemn climate science and clean energy policies.
UN chief warns 1.5C warming goal at risk of 'collapsing'
23 Sep 2025
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP Friday that efforts to cap climate warming at 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial level are failing, as the UN prepared to host a climate week event alongside its annual diplomatic gathering.
As UN climate talks loom in Brazil, many would-be participants fear they can't afford to attend
23 Sep 2025
With less than two months until this year's United Nations climate change conference, many prospective attendees are still looking for housing in the small Brazilian host city of Belem.
‘Something is working’: UN climate chief optimistic about green transition
22 Sep 2025
Simon Stiell believes economic benefits will compel countries to speed up climate action.
UN limits staff at COP30 climate summit over accommodation concerns
19 Sep 2025
High hotel prices for Brazil's COP30 climate summit in November have prompted the United Nations to urge its staff to limit attendance, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
UN pushes countries for new climate targets this month
9 Sep 2025
The United Nations urged countries on Wednesday to set more ambitious climate plans during this month, seeking to pressure major economies including the EU and China ahead of this year's U.N. climate summit.
Meet the UN-backed ‘green’ investors’ group that invested in fossil fuels
8 Sep 2025
Despite having pledged to reach net-zero emissions, major members of Net Zero Asset Managers hold billions of dollars’ worth of fossil-fuel stocks, including those in “carbon bomb” projects, while marketing their funds as green and sustainable.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
How could the UN climate talks be reformed?
13 Aug 2025
This year marks a decade since nations successfully negotiated the Paris Agreement, a landmark treaty that has been the guiding force for international climate politics ever since.
Momentum sagging at UN plastic pollution treaty talks
12 Aug 2025
Talks on forging a landmark treaty to combat the scourge of plastic pollution were stumbling Saturday, with progress slow and countries wildly at odds on how far the proposed agreement should go.
Divided nations start 'final' talks on UN plastics treaty
6 Aug 2025
The key divide is whether the new treaty includes a target to limit plastic production or just focuses on recycling and waste management.
UN holds emergency talks over sky-high costs for COP30 climate summit
4 Aug 2025
The United Nations' climate bureau held an urgent meeting over concerns that sky-high accommodation prices for this year's COP30 climate summit could price poorer countries out of the negotiations.
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
28 Jul 2025
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
Top UN court singles out fossil fuels as part of states’ climate duty
24 Jul 2025
Landmark opinion says those that fail to prevent climate harm could be liable for compensation and restitution.
Switching to renewables is ‘smart economics’ - Guterres
24 Jul 2025
The global energy transition is now “unstoppable” due to “smart economics”, UN secretary-general António Guterres has said in an online speech titled: “A moment of opportunity.”
The tiny Pacific nation of Vanuatu turns to the world court as climate disasters mount
23 Jul 2025
The International Court of Justice will issue an advisory opinion on what legal obligations nations have to address climate change and what consequences they may face if they don’t.
Battery subsidy scheme set for 'urgent' overhaul as costs run out of control
Tue 16 Dec 2025
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced big changes to the government's battery subsidy scheme amid claims most of its $2.3 billion budget has been spent in just six months.
How climate change broke the Pacific Northwest’s plumbing
Tue 16 Dec 2025
Flooding in the Pacific Northwest has recently turned deadly serious, as days of intense rain from a powerful atmospheric river have swollen rivers and caused widespread flooding.
Verra cancels four tree planting projects in China. And starts reviews of 45 more projects
Tue 16 Dec 2025
“Multiple carbon projects in China are facing serious allegations regarding the authenticity of government approval documents."
EU closes deal to slash green rules in major win for von der Leyen’s deregulation drive
10 Dec 2025
Controversial “omnibus” bill saw center-right EU lawmakers side with the far right to water down environmental standards.
Net-zero scenario is ‘cheapest option’ for UK, says energy system operator
Mon 15 Dec 2025
A scenario that meets the “net-zero by 2050” goal would be the “cheapest” option for the UK, according to modelling by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
Top climate adviser resigns, says Canada doing worse 'than almost any other country'
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Catherine Abreu explains why she was one of two founding members to resign from Canada's Net-Zero Advisory Body last week, saying she 'could no longer, in conscience, sit on this government-appointed body' after policy rollbacks and oil subsidies in the Alberta energy MOU.
‘Not normal’: Climate crisis supercharged deadly monsoon floods in Asia
Fri 12 Dec 2025
Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are ‘alarming new reality’.
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
8 Dec 2025
Storms in the Southern Ocean influence weather patterns across Australia, New Zealand and the globe.
Changes to polar bear DNA could help them adapt to global heating, study finds
Mon 15 Dec 2025
Scientists say bears in southern Greenland differ genetically to those in the north, suggesting they could adjust.
Are rainforests now a cause of, rather than the answer to, climate change?
Mon 15 Dec 2025
A new study finds that Africa’s forests, responsible for one-fifth of global carbon removal, are beginning to generate carbon as the result of human activity.
Thousands of climate disasters are not included in official reports from Amazonian countries
Fri 12 Dec 2025
More than 12,500 extreme weather events impacted the Amazon and its population in 10 years, but countries have not generated enough information about it, according to a new scientific study.
