International: United Nations
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.
UN Human Rights Council fails to call out fossil fuels after decision cuts mention
11 Jul 2025
A proposal by the Marshall Islands and Colombia calling for a transition away from fossil fuels at the UN Human Rights Council failed to make it into the council’s declaration on climate change and human rights issued on Tuesday.
UN development conference backs innovative ways to boost climate finance
7 Jul 2025
Leaders push for better financial systems at the Financing for Development summit to help poor nations cope with climate and economic shocks.
UN expert urges criminalising fossil fuel disinformation, banning lobbying
4 Jul 2025
Rapporteur calls for defossilisation of economies and urgent reparations to avert ‘catastrophic’ rights and climate harms.
Global climate science body roiled by controversies stoked by Saudis, US
3 Jul 2025
The proposed selection of a Saudi Aramco oil company staffer as one of the authors of a key science report has been denounced as “political capture.”
Bonn bulletin: Just transition talks find firmer footing
2 Jul 2025
After stalling at COP29, governments agree on how to frame a just transition that is fair to workers, protects nature and promotes clean energy access.
How UN climate negotiations can end fossil fuel-industry influence
1 Jul 2025
COMMENT: Climate COPs remain alarmingly exposed to lobbyists, unlike most global health and anti-corruption bodies that have safeguards to limit interference.
Nations wrap up Bonn talks with pledge to boost UN climate budget by 10%
30 Jun 2025
Countries have agreed to increase their funding to the United Nations climate body, but according to observers, progress on several other key issues at the Bonn intersessional talks was mixed and inconsistent.
UN talks delivered a drop in the ocean of finance and policy change needed to save the sea
27 Jun 2025
Never has the ocean been the focus of so much investor and political attention as it was in Nice earlier this month.
UN expects climate finance roadmap to offer “clear next steps”
25 Jun 2025
But governments, multilateral development banks and civil society are still far apart on how to raise $1.3 trillion a year by 2035.
World Bank and IMF climate snub worrying, says COP29 presidency
24 Jun 2025
The hosts of the most recent UN climate talks are worried international lenders are retreating from their commitments to help boost funding for developing countries' response to global warming.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
Treaty to protect seas short on support ahead of UN ocean summit
9 Jun 2025
Once the High Seas Treaty enters into force, experts say it will boost the health of oceans and their role in tackling climate change.
From sovereignty to sustainability: United Nations Ocean Conference
5 Jun 2025
While ocean governance was once designed to protect the marine interests of states, nowadays it must also address the numerous climate and environmental challenges facing the oceans.
Nations agree on carbon-pricing system to steer shipping towards net-zero
14 Apr 2025
Nations have agreed to introduce a worldwide carbon-pricing system for international shipping to drive the sector towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
COP30 president vows to defend global climate fight
28 Mar 2025
Brazil's UN COP30 president on Tuesday said that this year's summit would aim to defend climate action by governments against "serious" geopolitical challenges, while also pushing the private sector to contribute more to the fight.
Glacier melt threatens water supplies for two billion people, UN warns
26 Mar 2025
Climate change and “unsustainable human activities” are driving “unprecedented changes” to mountains and glaciers, threatening access to fresh water for more than two billion people, a UN report warns.
COP29 chief exec filmed promoting fossil fuel deals
11 Nov 2024
A senior official at COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan appears to have used his role to arrange a meeting to discuss potential fossil fuel deals.
Azerbaijan is using COP29 to ‘peacewash’ its global image
3 Oct 2024
Azerbaijan is hosting the next UN climate summit, COP 29, in November. Their proposed agenda omits discussions on phasing out fossil fuels and excludes civil society participation.
COP28: Key outcomes for food, forests, land and nature at the UN climate talks in Dubai
19 Dec 2023
Agriculture and food were very much on the menu at COP28 in Dubai, with both voluntary pledges and negotiated texts beginning to reflect their central role in climate change.
COP28 president says his firm will keep investing in oil
18 Dec 2023
Sultan Al Jaber says Adnoc has to meet demand for fossil fuels, and hails ‘unprecedented’ Cop deal.
From ‘depressed’ to a milestone: How the climate deal came together
18 Dec 2023
“There were times in the last 48 hours where some of us thought this could fail,” US climate envoy John Kerry said later.
Examining COP28's potential impact on climate change
18 Dec 2023
Once the gavel came down in Dubai, the warm words flowed - but will it really have an impact on climate change?
How COP28 fell short
18 Dec 2023
Two weeks of talks aimed at securing an international consensus on a phase-out of fossil fuels have ended with a statement that critics say does little to advance the urgent work of averting a climate catastrophe.
COP28 “frustrating” but some significant breakthroughs - experts
15 Dec 2023
Small island states facing the existential threat of climate change were particularly effective negotiators at the latest UN climate summit, according to a Kiwi expert.
“It’s by stealth, isn’t it?” The multi-million dollar effort by Australian fossil fuel companies to get into schools
Thu 16 Jul 2026
Australian oil, gas and coal companies want to get into school to shape what kids learn about their industry and climate change. One group has been trying to map the scale of the problem.
Over 1,600 energy department webpages on utility bill savings removed as US temperatures soar
Fri 17 Jul 2026
As millions of Americans prepare for another brutal heatwave, it’s now harder to find information about ways to stay cool while saving energy and keeping utility costs down.
China warming faster than global average as extreme weather intensifies, report says
6 Jul 2026
China is warming faster than the global average, while extreme heat, heavy rainfall and other severe weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as climate change accelerates worldwide.
1,000 evacuated from Fontainebleau fires near Paris; Spanish authorities identify some fire victims
Thu 16 Jul 2026
Bigger fires have been ravaging areas of southern France, but the Fontainebleau fire is exceptionally close to the densely populated region surrounding the French capital.
UK withdraws millions in funding from world’s second-largest rainforest in Congo
Fri 17 Jul 2026
The UK has abandoned projects worth tens of millions of pounds that were meant to help protect Congo rainforests and support local people.
Canadian wildfire smoke chokes Toronto, threatens US cities
Fri 17 Jul 2026
Toronto's air quality ranked the worst among major cities globally on Wednesday as wildfire smoke from northwestern Ontario blackened skies and spread into the northeastern United States, prompting health warnings and calls for residents to limit outdoor activities.
India is adding biofuels to petrol – but many drivers are unhappy
Thu 16 Jul 2026
India's decision to increase the share of biofuels blended with petrol is facing ire from motorists who question its viability in a market where a majority of vehicles are not yet designed for it.
‘Those blocking climate science are not our friends': Pacific leaders warn at Bonn talks
23 Jun 2026
Pacific nations and civil society groups have united at UN climate talks, pushing back against efforts to weaken agreed language on global temperature limits as negotiations continue behind closed doors.
Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average
16 Jun 2026
A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’.
Africa secures $900 million in new clean cooking commitments
Mon 13 Jul 2026
African countries have secured $900 million in new financial commitments to expand access to clean cooking technologies, which replace polluting fuels with cleaner alternatives, said the International Energy Agency.
Under Lula, Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level in a decade
Tue 14 Jul 2026
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has fallen to its lowest level in a decade during the first half of 2026, according to official government figures.
