Latest news with #COP30
Sky News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Prince William has had a lot to say this week - but is anyone listening?
Prince William has had a lot to say this week, attending three events about the environment as part of London Climate Action Week and giving three speeches. But I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't really heard what he had to say. The eyes of the world have, understandably, been elsewhere. Conflict, not the climate crisis, has been the primary focus of world leaders and continues to be - a problem you could say for William and all those trying to whip up momentum ahead of COP30 in Brazil, with only four months to go until the UN's climate conference in November. It was William and his team who specifically convened a meeting at St James's Palace on Thursday with the Brazilian ministers in charge of the summit and indigenous leaders from other parts of the world. With Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, just a few seats away, William made a call to action, saying: "We've made bold commitments: to halt deforestation, restore ecosystems, and protect 30% of land, sea, and water by 2030. "But these goals will remain out of reach unless we move from promises to action - grounded in respect, equity, and shared responsibility. "Looking ahead to COP30 in Belem and beyond, we must act with greater ambition and deeper collaboration. This is a moment for courage." When I put it to a palace source that maybe it all feels a bit futile in the current climate, with attentions firmly elsewhere, I was told there is "no change in course" - the prince always has and will continue "to use his platform to spotlight the need to restore the planet". 1:16 In the past, we've been more used to his father being more vocal. The King's involvement in London Climate Week was more fleeting, albeit involving a handshake with a giant gorilla puppet, and a discussion with the Brazil delegation in which he hinted that he would love to attend the summit in November, saying: "It's fitting it all in." Attendance by either the King or the Prince of Wales hasn't been confirmed yet, although it's looking likely William will go. He told one person this week: "I'll be in the area", with his Earthshot Prize being held in Rio in the days running up to the climate conference. But in the coming months, we do now know that father and son will be meeting with one key player, who has certainly voiced very different views on the severity of the climate crisis. 0:56 This week, it was confirmed that Donald Trump's full state visit to the UK will go ahead later this year, likely in September. His potentially disruptive presence when it came to the climate debate was hinted at on Tuesday, in front of Prince William, during a speech by former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg. Mr Bloomberg, a global adviser to Earthshot Prize, said: "There's a good reason to be optimistic, lots of problems around the world, America has not been doing its share lately to make things better, I don't think. Nevertheless, I'm very optimistic about the future." The King and Prince William have worked in this environmental sphere long enough to weather the frustrations of other distractions, a lack of interest or momentum. I'll never forget in 2015 ahead of COP21, when Islamic State and Syria were dominating the news agenda, Prince Charles told me very firmly that of course there was a link between the civil war in Syria and climate change. He said there was "very good evidence indeed that one of the major reasons for this horror in Syria was a drought that lasted for about five or six years, which meant that huge numbers of people in the end had to leave the land". "It's only in the last few years that the Pentagon have actually started to pay attention to this," he added at the time. "I mean, it has a huge impact on what is happening." But as a family, they know how much their global profile and ability to get people in the room can help attract attention that others simply can't. It's easy to be sniffy about that convening power, but as one delegate at an Earthshot event put it, they have an ability to "bring people together not around politics but purpose". And in a currently noisy, fractured world, it feels like that is needed more than ever.
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
New global energy report offers path forward on fossil fuel phaseout, just transition, renewable energy models
AP file photo BATHINDA: The Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) on Thursday released a new report on effective and equitable community-led energy solutions to address challenges to just transition away from fossil fuels. The report, How Local Community Power is Central to a Just Renewable Energy Transition, spotlights scalable global community initiatives that are advancing decentralized and democratized energy solutions. The report was released during the Global Women's Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond, and comes on the last day of government climate negotiations in Bonn, and ahead of COP30 in Brazil, where the international community will need to tackle not only escalating climate disasters but also the expansion of fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure by high-income countries. The report's analysis explores some of the barriers to implementing a just transition and the complexities of shifting away from current social and economic structures. Such structures include economic systems that promote fossil fuel production (including the trillions of dollars in government fossil fuel subsidies); societal patterns characterized by overconsumption in high-income countries; and current models of utility companies that further enable fossil fuel use and discourage a transition to more affordable and beneficial energy alternatives. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Fastest Selling Plots of Mysore from 40L | 40+ Amenities PurpleBrick Learn More Undo The authors warn that the energy transition cannot replicate the same injustices as the fossil fuel economy. Instead, this transition must prioritize ecological well-being and community-owned renewable energy projects that are rooted in democratic governance and local empowerment. 'The era of fossil fuels has been defined by corporate greed, environmental destruction, Indigenous and human rights violations, and the denial of communities' right to clean, affordable energy,' said Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder, Executive Director at Women's Earth and Climate Action Network. 'As the climate crisis accelerates and governments regress on their climate commitments, frontline communities are showing the world what a just and regenerative future looks like—one rooted in equity, democracy, Indigenous and human rights, and community-led regenerative energy solutions. We have a narrow window to act and accelerate efforts for a Just Transition. COP30 must be a turning point to phase out fossil fuels and take action toward a just energy system that serves people and planet.' Case studies from the report explore principles and on-the-ground lessons that can inform a rights-based, environmentally sustainable, community-led energy transition. For instance, in Spain, a member-owned energy cooperative began providing renewable energy to its community following the 2008 economic crisis and frustrations over corporate control of energy access. In Ladakh, India, where the Himalayas make it challenging for villages to access outdated energy infrastructure, off-grid and decentralized solar solutions, as well as microgrids, are now a reliable source of energy for many remote villages. The report closes with a call for action: 'Communities across the world recognize that a transition away from fossil fuels is not only urgent but also inevitable, with many taking it upon themselves to implement socially and environmentally just solutions. Looking forward, governments, businesses, and civil society can work together to scale effective and lasting solutions, creating just pathways for economic transformation that do not perpetuate past and present injustices, but instead build a just, equitable, and inclusive future for all. '
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First Post
16 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
COP30 Brazil summit faces uncertainty amid global tensions
Expectations have shifted since Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's initial bid three years ago to bring the summit to the Amazon read more Brazil will host the UN climate conference COP30 in November in the Amazonian city of Belem. AFP This year's UN COP30 summit in Brazil is being viewed as an important moment in the global response to climate change, with the world nearing a critical global warming limit. However, the host country has yet to present a leading agenda for the high-stakes talks scheduled for November, prompting concerns about the event's potential impact. Preparations have been affected by ongoing conflicts in several regions and the United States' recent decisions to step back from international collaboration on climate, trade, and health. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Expectations have shifted since Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's initial bid three years ago to bring the summit to the Amazon. A recent UN climate meeting in Germany, which concluded on Thursday, revealed divisions, particularly on financial commitments, raising further questions about the progress that COP30 might achieve. Brazil is a deft climate negotiator, but the 'international context has never been so bad', said Claudio Angelo, of the Brazilian organisation Climate Observatory. Given the stakes, former UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said Brazil may have to make do with 'baby steps'. 'One of the main messages that should be coming out of COP30 is the unity of everyone behind multilateralism and international cooperation. Not achieving that means everybody will suffer,' she told AFP. 'Failure is not an option in this case.' 'Survival' Previous COPs have been judged on the deals clinched between the nearly 200 nations that haggle over two weeks to advance global climate policy. Recent summits have produced landmark outcomes, from a global pledge to transition away from fossil fuels, to the creation of a specialised fund to help countries hit by climate disaster. COP30 CEO Ana Toni said that 'most of the big flashy topics' born out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change had been dealt with. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD That leaves Brazil with an arguably harder challenge – trying to ensure what has been agreed is put into practice. Much of the action is set for the COP30 sidelines or before nations arrive in the Amazonian city of Belem. National climate plans due before COP30 from all countries – but most importantly major emitters China, the European Union and India – will be more consequential than this year's negotiations, experts say. It is expected this latest round of national commitments will fall well short of containing global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, and possibly even 2C, the less ambitious of the Paris accord's climate goals. 'I expect that the COP will need to react to that,' said Ana Toni, although what form that reaction would take was 'under question'. Uncertainty about how COP30 will help steer nations towards 1.5C has left the Alliance of Small Island States bloc 'concerned', said lead negotiator Anne Rasmussen. 'Our survival depends on that,' she told AFP. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Threat to humanity' How countries will make good on their promise to transition away from fossil fuels may also become a point of contention. Angelo said he hoped Brazil would champion the idea, included in the country's climate plan, of working towards 'schedules' for that transition. But he likened Brazil's auctioning of oil and gas extraction rights near the mouth of the Amazon river this month – just as climate negotiators got down to business in Bonn – to an act of 'sabotage'. Another key priority for Brazil is forest protection, but otherwise COP30 leaders have mostly focused on unfinished business from previous meetings, including fleshing out a goal to build resilience to climate impacts. According to the hosts of last year's hard-fought climate talks, global tensions might not leave room for much else. 'We need to focus more on preserving the legacy that we have established, rather than increasing ambition,' said Yalchin Rafiyev, top climate negotiator for COP29 host Azerbaijan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He fears that trying and failing to do more could risk undermining the whole UN process. Those close to the climate talks concede they can move frustratingly slowly, but insist the annual negotiations remain crucial. 'I don't think there's any other way to address a threat to humanity as big as this is,' Espinosa told AFP.
The Star
16 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
UN bids to salvage global development summit after US boycott
MADRID/LONDON (Reuters) -Scores of world leaders will be sweltering in the summer sun of southern Spain next week at a once-a-decade United Nations development financing summit aimed at curbing global poverty, disease and the worst-case threats of climate change. Despite the scorching temperatures, though, a major chill looms over the event - the decision early this month by the United States, traditionally the world's largest aid giver and key finance provider, not to show up. UN countries want to close a $4 trillion-a-year funding gap they now estimate prevents the developing world achieving the organisation's Sustainable Development Goals that range from cutting infant death rates to minimising global warming. Critics say the promises at the heart of the conference - called the "Seville Commitment" - are nowhere near bold enough. The measures, agreed by consensus after a year of tough negotiations, include tripling multilateral lending capacity, debt relief, a push to boost tax-to-GDP ratios to at least 15%, and shifting special IMF money to countries that need it most. The run-up, however, has been marred by the U.S. decision to withdraw over what it said was the crossing of a number of its red lines, including the push to triple development bank lending, change tax rules and the use of the term "gender" in summit wording. The European Union only joined the summit with reservations, particularly over how debt is discussed within the UN. Speaking to reporters this week, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed described Washington's boycott as "regrettable", especially after its "catastrophic" recent aid cuts that she said had cost lives and livelihoods. Speaking alongside officials from summit host Spain and Zambia, which has helped organise it, she said the final outcome document agreed reflected both "ambition and realism" and that the U.N. would try to re-engage the U.S. afterwards. Remy Rioux, chief executive officer of the French Development Agency, said Washington's withdrawal had not been a total surprise given Donald Trump's views. The hope is that agreements next week will allow bolder action at the UN climate talks in Brazil in November. "We will push for the new framework... (and) its operationalisation from Seville to Belem," he added, referring to the Brazilian city that will host COP30. AID IN DECLINE Other measures to be announced include multilateral lenders automatically giving vulnerable countries the option to insert repayment break clauses into their loans in case of hurricane, drought or flood. Another buzz phrase will be a "Global SDR playbook" - a plan where the wealthiest countries rechannel the IMF's reserve-like Special Draw Rights they hold to the multilateral banks, who then leverage them as capital in order to lend more. Campaigners warn that it will fall far short of what is needed, especially as more than 130 countries now face critically high debt levels and many spend more on repayments than on health or education. Aid and support from rich countries, who themselves have rising debts, is dropping too. In March, the U.S. slashed more than 80% of programmes at its USAID agency following federal budget cuts spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk. Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have all made cuts in recent years too. The OECD projects a 9–17% drop in net official development assistance (ODA) in 2025, following a 9% decline in 2024. It looks set to hit the poorest countries hardest: bilateral ODA to least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa may fall by 13-25% and 16-28% respectively, the OECD estimates, and health funding could drop by up to 60% from its 2022 peak. So what would be a good outcome in Seville, especially given the U.S. pull-out? "We should make sure we are not backtracking at this point," said Orville Grey at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, referring to funding commitments. "We should at least remain stable." (Reporting by David Latona in Madrid and Marc Jones in London, additional reporting by Simon Jessop in London; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Wreckers, money woes and mutirão: 10 things we learned about Cop30 from Bonn climate talks
Two weeks of negotiations on the climate crisis have just concluded in Bonn in preparation for the Cop30 summit taking place in Brazil this November. What did we learn? Limiting global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels is vital for a healthy planet, but hopes of doing so are rapidly vanishing as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, and temperatures soar. The main task for Cop30 in Belém this November is for every country to submit a national plan, required under the 2015 Paris agreement, to cut carbon as far as necessary to hold to the 1.5C limit. Few countries have submitted their plans, called nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which set out a target on emissions to 2035 and an indication of the measures that will be taken to meet them. They were due in February, but the presidency of Donald Trump, his vacillations over tariffs and the prospect of a global trade war led many to adopt a 'wait and see' approach. Military conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran have further frightened governments and taken attention away from the climate. Brazil is urging all countries to come forward with their NDCs in September, in time for the UN to assess them before Cop30 begins. Even if they meet the deadline, however, it was abundantly clear from the preliminary negotiations in Bonn that the NDCs will not add up to the emissions cuts needed to stay within 1.5C, assuming that is still possible. That leaves Brazil with a dilemma. The Cop host has no control over how countries set their NDCs, as that is done by national governments before they arrive in Belém. No country is likely to revise its NDC at the Cop. But a summit that ends with inadequate NDCs that would lead to global heating far in excess of 1.5C or even 2C will be labelled a failure. Brazil must find a way to show how NDCs that come up short can be improved or remedied, or how countries can collaborate to make faster and deeper cuts, if it is to keep the goals of Paris alive. Work at Bonn was held up for two days because countries could not agree on the agenda for the meeting, and by the end they had little progress to show on key issues. This was just a foretaste of the fights and recriminations that Brazil can expect in earnest at Cop30. As well as the withdrawal of the US from the Paris agreement, and the dangerous geopolitical circumstances, Brazil will have to contend with a cadre of countries and vested interests that want to stymie the talks. Developed countries are widely, and reasonably, blamed for their failures to cut emissions fast enough and to provide the finance needed by the poor world. But behind the scenes many fossil fuel producers and their allies that are supposed to be on the side of the developing world are also happy to hold up negotiations, exploiting the complexity of the talks to cover their actions. If Bonn was frustrating, Cop30 could be far worse. For developing countries, the key question remains: how can they gain access to the resources they need to protect their citizens against the impacts of climate breakdown? Many are already experiencing 'loss and damage' from extreme weather, in the form of droughts, floods, heatwaves and encroaching seas. But the funding that developed countries promised has been slow to arrive. Richard Sherman, a South African delegate, told the Bonn conference: 'There is no money. The funds that we have are not able to support the need.' At Cop29, developed countries promised that $1.3tn a year would flow to the poor world by 2035, made up of at least $300bn from public sources and the rest from innovative forms of finance such as levies on polluting activities, carbon trading and private investment. Only the broad outlines were agreed, however. There is not yet a blueprint showing how the money can be delivered and distributed over the next decade. Last year's hosts, Azerbaijan, are collaborating with Brazil to produce a roadmap with more detail. Delegates warn it must set out a clear timetable of concrete actions, rather than more vague promises. At recent Cops, hosts have taken to having special meetings based on traditional formats. This began at Durban in 2011, when as the negotiations stretched long past their official deadline, heads of delegation moved into special 'indaba' meetings, named after a traditional Zulu gathering of tribal elders. Since then, Cop28 in Dubai had its 'majlis', and Cop29 in Baku had a 'qurultay', modelled on a Turkic chieftains' gathering. At Cop30, delegates will be invited to a 'mutirão', a Portuguese word derived from the Indigenous Tupi-Guarani language that refers to a group coming together to work on a shared task. Carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels is the main greenhouse gas affecting the planet, but increasingly scientists and activists are focusing on another gas: methane. Far more potent, it escapes from fossil fuel extraction sites and is produced by livestock and farming. Methane breaks down in the atmosphere much faster than carbon dioxide, but warms the planet about 80 times as much while it lasts, so cutting methane gives more bang for the emissions reduction buck. Given its smaller number of sources, plugging emissions of methane should also be easier than cutting carbon. Governments have tended to ignore the potential for methane cuts, but pressure is growing for the gas to be included prominently in countries' NDCs at Cop30. At Cop28 in Dubai, countries agreed for the first time to 'transition away from fossil fuels', a historic commitment that should have signalled a dramatic shift in the global economy. No sooner was that conference over, however, than some countries were seeking to unpick the resolution. Last year, at Cop29, attempts to reinforce the language on the transition, and to set out clearer plans on how it could be brought about, met fierce – though sometimes covert – opposition, and came to nothing. Many campaigners want to bring the subject back at Cop30. But Brazil is resisting having a 'cover decision' – a wide-ranging text that would incorporate all sorts of resolutions, arguing that the resolutions of previous Cops need not be revisited. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Bonn ended without a clear path forward on the issue, but it is unlikely to disappear before Cop30. Every Cop generates its own baggage – presidents and host countries want to put their own stamp on proceedings, and so bring forward pet projects that focus on one aspect of the climate crisis, such as electric vehicles, or coal, or aspects of food or forestry. Over the years, these initiatives have proliferated so that now there are scores of them, some still useful but others in effect left orphaned as the ministers who invented them have faded into political obscurity and the money behind them has been spent. Brazil is aiming to tackle some of this bloat. But the wider and more radical reforms to the Cop process that some have called for will not be on the programme. Belém, a rainforest city and port, lies near the mouth of the Amazon River. While charming, it has never been a tourist mecca and to have an estimated 60,000 people, and perhaps many more, land on its shores will be a major strain. It seemed as if every conversation in Bonn, whether it started on NDCs, climate finance or the substantive issues of climate governance, always ended up on the same subject: logistics. With just four months to go, most people have yet to secure anywhere to stay in Belém. Brazil has promised that 29,000 rooms and 55,000 beds will be made available, but so far these have yet to materialise. Cruise ships are being pressed into service, supplying more than 3,000 cabins, and some people are gratefully looking forward to spending a fortnight in shipping containers. But the prices being asked in advance are astronomical, and beyond the reach of most developing country delegations and climate activist charities. Without them, the Cop will be skewed towards moneyed interests, will reinforce global inequalities and will fail the most vulnerable. Choosing Belém for Cop30 has created a logistical conundrum that the hosts have yet to solve. The choice of Belém was meant to highlight the plight of the Amazon rainforest, one of the world's greatest carbon sinks and vital to the health of the planet – and which is under threat, not just from deforestation, but from the climate crisis itself, as rapidly rising temperatures could push the Amazon over a tipping point that would transform it from rainforest into a savannah-like state. That would be catastrophic for the planet, potentially leading to further rapid escalations in temperature from which there could be no return. But the spotlight on Belém has also brought into focus Brazil's own adventures with fossil fuels. Oil and gas deposits discovered in and around the Amazon, and off the coast not far from Belém, are being considered for exploitation. Brazil's oil sector regulator, ANP, will auction the exploration rights to 172 oil and gas blocks spanning 56,000 sq miles (146,000 sq km), an area more than twice the size of Scotland, most of it offshore. The 'doomsday auction', as campaigners have called it, includes 47 blocks in the Amazon basin, in a sensitive area near the mouth of the river that fossil fuel companies consider a promising new oil frontier. Brazil has argued that developing countries should be allowed to exploit their fossil fuel reserves while developed nations, many of which have grown rich over centuries of exploiting their own resources, must take the lead in closing down operations. Ana Toni, the chief executive of Cop30, said: 'Transitioning away is a responsibility of everyone, not only producing countries, consumer countries – many countries in the north don't produce fossil fuel, but they consume fossil fuel. We've gone to this era of finger pointing on countries. We need to find solutions for producer countries that depend financially on that income.' One of the many tasks at which Bonn failed was to broker an agreement on who should host the Cop31 summit. Australia and Turkey are vying for the presidency of next year's meeting. Neither is willing to concede to the other, and the obscure process for choosing future presidencies tends to rely on consensus candidates emerging and a system of gentlemen's agreements, rather than a real competition or vote. Australia's newly re-elected government wants to showcase its commitment to climate action, despite being one of the world's biggest fossil fuel exporters, as climate policy was one of its key battlegrounds in the recent elections. Turkey has long been unhappy with its status at the talks – in 1992, when the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed, Turkey was lumped in with developed countries, which have clear obligations to cut emissions and provide climate finance to the poor world, but has since argued it should have been aligned with the developing world. There are hints that Turkey could be persuaded to drop its bid if its status were reconsidered. But opening up the parent treaty to the Paris agreement would be legally difficult and stir up much wider issues: for if Turkey's status has changed since 1992, what of countries such as China, now the world's second-biggest economy with a GDP per capita comparable to some EU member states, and wealthy Gulf petrostates such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates?
