International: United Nations
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.
Compromise COP26 deal disappoints
15 Nov 2021
The COP26 summit approved a climate deal late Saturday evening. But the watered-down ambitions on the end of coal subsidies left many delegates frustrated, including Switzerland.
Glasgow Conversations: Day 11
12 Nov 2021
On the second to last (scheduled) day of COP26, Alastair Thompson reflects on the summit so far, a talk by Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate, and how Saudi Arabia and Australia could yet scuttle a final agreement.
Climate Change vs. the Sino-American Cold War
12 Nov 2021
In the absence of meaningful policies from both China and the United States, this year’s climate-change summit, COP26, was never going to deliver what the world really needs. Ultimately, getting both countries on the same page and cooperating on the issue will require public pressure from their own people, argues Daron Acemoglu.
How close are we to climate tipping points?
12 Nov 2021
As world leaders gather at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, to take bolder action against climate change, human activity has already warmed the planet 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels.
Our AI is exposing climate misinformation throughout COP26
12 Nov 2021
There is a kind of climate pollution that we can’t see clearly. It isn’t in our rivers, lands or skies, it is in our minds. When climate disinformation goes unchecked, it spreads like wildfire, undermining the existence of climate change and the need for urgent action.
How the world’s militaries hide their huge carbon emissions
12 Nov 2021
Climate change leadership requires more than stirring speeches. It means facing up to hard truths. One truth that governments around the world are struggling with is the immense contribution their militaries are making to the climate crisis.
The Global South does not need debt. We need climate justice: Mitzi Tan
12 Nov 2021
In 2009, when I was 12 years old, world leaders gathered in Copenhagen for COP15. They made a pledge to allocate $100bn per year in climate finance for Global South countries by 2020 so that they could address the effects of the climate crisis.
Saudi Arabia denies playing climate saboteur at Glasgow
12 Nov 2021
The tightest of smiles on his face and the fabric of his traditional thobe swirling about him as he strides through a hallway at U.N. climate talks, Saudi Arabia's energy minister expresses shock at repeated complaints that the world's largest oil producer is working behind the scenes to sabotage negotiations.
Glasgow Conversations: Day 10
11 Nov 2021
On day 10 of COP26, Alastair Thompson is there when the US and China announce what he believes to be the most significant news of the summit to date.
Cook Islands calls for new class of climate debt
11 Nov 2021
Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown has called for climate related debt to be treated differently from national debt.
COP26 draft text calls for tougher emissions pledges by 2022
11 Nov 2021
The United Nations climate agency has published a first draft (PDF) of the political decision countries will likely issue at the end of the COP26 summit.
COP architects furious at lack of climate justice at pivotal summit
11 Nov 2021
Researchers who helped to draft parts of the first United Nations environmental agreements nearly 30 years ago say that that low income countries are being massively let down in the current COP26 climate talks.
The climate activists stealing Big Oil’s playbook
11 Nov 2021
A secretive network of public relations experts has spent the better part of the last decade whispering into journalists’ ears about climate science — spoon-feeding them facts, figures, spin and quotes.
Battery subsidy scheme set for 'urgent' overhaul as costs run out of control
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.
EPA erases references to human-caused climate change from websites
Fri 19 Dec 2025
EPA has scrubbed references to people’s contribution to rising temperatures from some of its climate change webpages.
Verra cancels four tree planting projects in China. And starts reviews of 45 more projects
16 Dec 2025
“Multiple carbon projects in China are facing serious allegations regarding the authenticity of government approval documents."
France updates its 2050 carbon neutrality roadmap
17 Dec 2025
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, France released a revamped climate plan promising to phase out oil and gas and sharply increase electricity use.
Net-zero scenario is ‘cheapest option’ for UK, says energy system operator
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).
The ecological havens flourishing beneath power lines
Fri 19 Dec 2025
Initiatives to foster native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs are turning utility corridors into wildlife corridors.
‘Not normal’: Climate crisis supercharged deadly monsoon floods in Asia
12 Dec 2025
Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are ‘alarming new reality’.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
Fri 19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’
Thu 18 Dec 2025
Region known as ‘world’s refrigerator’ is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts say.
Are rainforests now a cause of, rather than the answer to, climate change?
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
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.
