International: United Nations
Biden and Xi unshackle Cop27 climate teams to formalise talks
15 Nov 2022
The US and China are set to resume formal climate cooperation after their leaders Joe Biden and Xi Jinping held a four-hour late night meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
Meet Licy of India – one of the world’s youngest climate campaigners
15 Nov 2022
Licypriya Kangujam, 11, is a leading voice in anti-coal protests at home and calls out rich and powerful countries abroad, asking them to make up for the loss and destruction caused due to their unabated regard for the climate.
Let the court decide: Vanuatu's climate push raises hopes
14 Nov 2022
The COP27 climate summit in Egypt has been dominated by calls for nations to redouble their efforts to cut emissions and for rich polluters to finally provide the money that developing nations need to cope with global warming.
As leaders discuss climate, Egyptians bear brunt of a crackdown
14 Nov 2022
Envoys from around the globe gathered this week in a renovated Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where green development projects mushroomed in the lead-up to this year’s climate change summit.
Livestock is a form of climate justice in the Global South
11 Nov 2022
As the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) proceeds in Egypt, few seem to be acknowledging that the elephant in the room is actually a cow.
How do young Egyptians feel about the climate summit?
11 Nov 2022
Accusations of greenwashing have been levelled at COP27 – but Egypt’s youth are remaining optimistic
What became of climate pledges made at COP26?
11 Nov 2022
Meeting at a climate summit in the UK last year, world leaders from nearly 200 countries promised to tell the UN how they would cut pollution faster and sooner.
Kerry announces proposal for public-private carbon market for developing countries
10 Nov 2022
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry on Wednesday formally announced the Energy Transition Accelerator, a public-private partnership aimed at developing carbon markets to transition developing nations off fossil fuels with private funds.
COP27: Time to pay the climate bill: vulnerable nations
10 Nov 2022
Leaders of countries flooded or parched due to climate change are pleading at the COP27 summit for an urgent financial lifeline from richer nations.
40 countries to reveal methane action plans at COP 27
10 Nov 2022
With 40 countries expected to unveil their methane reduction plans at COP 27, global action on the climate-busting greenhouse gas could get a boost after stalling out under industry pressure over the last year, even after more 100 countries signed on to the Global Methane Pledge at COP 26.
Global South needs $2 trillion a year to tame, cope with climate
9 Nov 2022
Developing and emerging countries - excluding China - need investments well beyond $2 trillion annually by 2030 if the world is to stop the global warming juggernaut and cope with its impacts, according to a UN-backed report released Tuesday.
It's going to be hard for Biden to meet this $11 billion climate change promise
9 Nov 2022
President Biden has pledged to direct $11 billion annually toward international climate aid by 2024, quadrupling the previous U.S. high-water mark.
Climate mitigation expert pessimistic about COP27
8 Nov 2022
A leading New Zealand sustainable energy and climate mitigation expert is pessimistic about COP27, fearing that delegates will not make enough progress on crucial issues where urgent action is already long overdue.
We’re on a ‘highway to climate hell:’ UN chief Guterres
8 Nov 2022
The United Nations secretary general issued a stark warning Monday, telling attendees at the COP27 summit that the world was losing its fight against climate change while also repeating his call to phase-out coal by the year 2040.
Who is paying for climate change loss and damage?
8 Nov 2022
Global warming is leading to ever more extreme natural events and more damage. Countries in the Global South are demanding compensation for climate change they say wealthier nations caused.
"Hard to find causes for optimism" say architects as COP27 begins
8 Nov 2022
Architects and built environment sustainability experts have expressed frustration at the slow pace of global action to reduce carbon emissions as the COP27 climate-change summit kicks off in Egypt.
NZ risks losing its standing in the Pacific due to lack of ambition at COP27: expert
7 Nov 2022
A climate diplomacy historian is disappointed with Aotearoa New Zealand’s lack of ambition for COP27, which started in Egypt yesterday, and says the country risks losing its standing in the Pacific.
COP27: 'Watershed moment' as UN climate summit begins
7 Nov 2022
The UN's annual climate change summit opened on Sunday with hosts Egypt billing it as the world's "watershed moment" on climate action. More than 120 world leaders are heading to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Climate change will force up to 113m people to relocate within Africa by 2050: new report
7 Nov 2022
Adapting to a world that is warmer than today is a huge undertaking, even if the most ambitious temperature ceiling is met. Increasing climate risks mean that millions of Africans could be uprooted or trapped where they are due to climate change.
Climate activists block private jets at Amsterdam airport
7 Nov 2022
Hundreds of climate protesters blocked private jets from leaving Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Saturday in a demonstration on the eve of the COP27 U.N. climate meeting in Egypt.
COP27: What have global leaders done on climate change in 2022?
4 Nov 2022
Last November global leaders met at the UN climate summit COP26 in Glasgow to agree next steps to tackle climate change. But climate experts have told the BBC that progress in 2022 has been slow - with governments around the world distracted by global energy and financial crises.
UK leader reverses decision not to attend UN climate talks
3 Nov 2022
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday said he will attend this month's U.N. climate summit in Egypt, reversing a decision to skip it that had drawn criticism at home and abroad.
Climate pledges depend too much on natural carbon sinks: report
2 Nov 2022
Current climate pledges focus too much on land-based carbon sinks such as tree planting rather than food production and biodiversity, researchers from Australia, Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere said in a report on Tuesday.
Māori youth activists fundraising for UN climate conference
1 Nov 2022
Two young Māori climate change activists are raising money to attend COP27 in Egypt, which starts this week.
Revolution is in the air at Sisi's climate conference
31 Oct 2022
Storm clouds are gathering over the skies of Egypt which have a hint of revolution within them. They could be the real reason why prominent climate change protagonists like Britain's King Charles III and politicians are not attending the prestigious global COP27 due to be held in Sharm El Sheikh from 6 to 18 November.
Here's how to make rich countries pay for their climate impact: Mia Motley
28 Oct 2022
Today, the front line of the climate crisis lies between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, where 40% of the world lives. This belt around the equator is where temperatures will reach the most intolerable, and sea levels will rise the most. It’s also home to those who have contributed the least to the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
Countries’ climate promises still not enough to avoid catastrophic global warming: UN Report
27 Oct 2022
While plans submitted by most signatories of the Paris Agreement would reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, they are still not ambitious enough to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, a new report by UN Climate Change (UNFCCC) warned on Wednesday.
'Massive gaps' seen in countries' plans to tackle climate change: study
20 Oct 2022
The latest pledges by countries to tackle global warming under the Paris Agreement are "woefully inadequate" to avert a rise in global temperatures that scientists say will worsen droughts, storms and floods, a report said on Wednesday.
Almost 200 nations are set to tackle climate change at COP27 in Egypt. Is this just a talkfest, or does the meeting actually matter?
6 Oct 2022
By Matt McDonald - The Conversation |In a crucial meeting for tackling the climate crisis, almost 200 countries will come together in Egypt at the start of November for a “Conference of the Parties”, or COP27.
COP27: Why is addressing ‘loss and damage’ crucial for climate justice?
30 Sep 2022
The death and destruction that can result from climate change is not evenly distributed around the world
Russia’s first climate lawsuit filed over greenhouse emissions
15 Sep 2022
Russia’s first climate lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday by activists who demanded Russia take urgent steps to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet its obligations under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Climate change compensation fight brews ahead of COP27 summit
9 Aug 2022
Tensions are mounting ahead of this year’s U.N. climate summit as vulnerable countries ramp up demands for rich countries to pay compensation for losses inflicted on the world’s poorest people by climate change.
Climate action calendar for COP27 published
3 Aug 2022
The incoming Presidency of COP27, together with the High-Level Champions and Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, have published the calendar of the thematic programme of the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November.
New challenges face the Bonn climate summit
30 May 2022
When the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meets in the German city of Bonn in early June to review worldwide progress in the battle against this growing threat, it will be hard pressed to find any advance at all.
Countries back away from pledge to update climate goals this year
2 Feb 2022
EVEN before the ink was dry on the Glasgow pact, questions about how many nations would actually honor their pledges were already circulating.
'Fragile win' at COP26 summit under threat: Sharma
25 Jan 2022
COP26 President Alok Sharma has warned that progress made during the summit is at risk of "withering on the vine".
Who will be the judge of countries' climate plans?
13 Dec 2021
Countries have until the end of next year to ensure their climate commitments meet the Paris agreement's cap on global warming. But who will check that their promises really do stack up?
Jonathan Pie: The World's End (COP26 short film with George Monbiot, Caroline Lucas & Ed Miliband)
9 Dec 2021
As all the environment correspondents are sick with COVID, reporter Jonathan Pie gets sent to the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow (aka COP26) despite knowing very little about the climate crisis. But he reckons he can wing it.
Pledges not enough to keep warming below 2 degrees
25 Nov 2021
In the aftermath of the United Nations’ annual climate conference earlier this month, scientists have a sobering message: The world still is not on track to meet its international climate goals.
Who will ensure compliance with the Glasgow climate commitments?
19 Nov 2021
The news from Glasgow includes positive announcements, in particular agreements to curb deforestation, cut methane emissions, “phase down” coal use and, next year, more aggressive emissions reduction targets. But a disturbing history of broken global climate promises — going back decades — compels us to ask: Will countries comply with their commitments, and what happens if they don’t?
‘COP26 hasn’t solved the problem’: scientists react to UN climate deal
16 Nov 2021
The Glasgow Climate Pact is a step forward, researchers say, but efforts to decarbonize are not enough to limit global temperature rises to 2 °C.
Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Glasgow: Carbon Brief
16 Nov 2021
Carbon Brief provides an in-depth summary of all the key outcomes in Glasgow – both inside and outside the COP26.
Fixing climate finance: Jeffrey Sachs
16 Nov 2021
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) fell far short of what is needed for a safe planet, owing mainly to the same lack of trust that has burdened global climate negotiations for almost three decades.
Last chance saloon all over again
15 Nov 2021
By Jeremy Rose Carbon News editor: They said it in Copenhagen, they said it in Paris, and numerous commentators said it about Glasgow too: This is the last chance saloon when it comes to averting disastrous climate change.
Glasgow Conversations: It's a wrap
15 Nov 2021
In this the final episode of the Glasgow Conversations, Alastair Thompson talks about the successes and failures of COP26, and ranks the various participants: Africa scores a 10 - Europe just 1.
COP26: New global climate deal struck in Glasgow
15 Nov 2021
The Glasgow Climate Pact is the first ever climate deal to explicitly plan to reduce coal, the worst fossil fuel for greenhouse gases.
Five things you need to know about the Glasgow Climate Pact
15 Nov 2021
The COP26 UN climate talks in Glasgow have finished and the gavel has come down on the Glasgow Climate Pact agreed by all 197 countries.
These experts say there's reason for cautious optimism coming out of COP26
15 Nov 2021
As the COP26 summit ends, experts say there is reason to be "cautiously optimistic" about the work that's been done to avoid a climate disaster.
After the failure of COP26 mass protest only hope of survival: Monbiot
15 Nov 2021
It’s too late for incremental change. By mobilising just 25% of people, we can flip social attitudes towards the climate, argues environmentalist George Monbiot.
Glasgow Climate Pact has loopholes so big an oil tanker could get through them
15 Nov 2021
The curtain came down on United Nations climate talks a day later than expected. It’s a strange feeling as representatives from countries around the world said they were willing to accept an agreement that they all said sucks.
Datacentres should be forced to invest in wind and solar energy, all states agree – except Queensland
Wed 13 May 2026
Power hungry datacentres that are growing to meet the demands of artificial intelligence could be forced to invest in enough new solar and wind generation to completely cover their electricity needs.
Some inconvenient truths in bringing climate science to the judiciary
Today 11:45am
OPINION: Climate science had been knocking on the courthouse doors for quite some time when the Supreme Court of the United States finally invited it into the realm of legal action in 2007.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
Inequality causing 100,000 extra deaths a year from heat and cold in Europe
Tue 12 May 2026
Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the vast toll from heat and cold in Europe each year, research has found.
Risk of drought in UK grows after unusually dry start to spring
Today 11:45am
The risk of drought is rising after an unusually dry start to spring has pushed river flow, groundwater and reservoir stores below normal levels across much of the country, especially in central and southern England.
Carbon capture ‘doesn’t work’: Former British Columbia premier
Fri 8 May 2026
Former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell warned the costly, troubled technology has failed to deliver, undercutting a central justification for billions in public subsidies and new oil infrastructure.
While the world hesitates, India must continue leading on climate
Today 11:45am
India’s updated climate targets must translate into systems that secure growth, resilience, and autonomy.
How climate change threatens the economic backbone of the Pacific
4 May 2026
The vast Pacific Ocean and the islands dotted within it produce more than half of the world's tuna.
‘Triple whammy of climate chaos’: Why Antarctica's sea ice collapse is no longer a mystery
Mon 11 May 2026
Scientists have finally identified the ‘triple whammy’ behind Antarctica’s dramatic collapse, shedding new light on the chain reaction that has pushed its sea ice to record lows.
With its first marine reserve, Ghana protects its ocean to secure its future
5 May 2026
Comment: Last month, Ghana made news when it declared its first marine reserve and sited it in one of the nation’s most ecologically and biologically significant marine environments.
The country where lethal hantavirus cases are on the rise. Experts blame climate change
Wed 13 May 2026
Experts believe environmental degradation caused by climate change and human activity is contributing to its spread by allowing the rodents that transmit the virus to thrive in new areas.
