Page 17 - Climate Change

COP2: Here's why a climate breakthrough has rarely looked bleaker

The wavering global commitment is particularly worrying because the coming 12 months will be vital for setting the next decade of climate policies

Pak PM calls for $6.8 trillion in climate funding for developing nations

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called for USD 6.8 trillion in climate funding for developing countries by 2030. Sharif was speaking at a climate finance roundtable hosted by Pakistan during the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan's capital Baku. According to live coverage of his speech by Pakistani TV channels, the prime minister stressed that developing countries were facing huge climate challenges but were often left without adequate resources to meet them. We need urgent climate finance to tackle issues brought by environmental changes, Sharif said, as he asked the developed countries to fulfil promises that have remained largely unmet despite repeated commitments. Developing countries require USD 6.8 trillion in financing by 2030 to manage the impacts of climate change effectively, the premier said. He pointed out that while a climate finance goal of USD 100 billion annually was set in 2009, increasing this target is now crucial as the

COP29: Pay up or face climate-led disaster for humanity, warns UN chief

Nearly 200 nations have gathered at the annual UN climate summit in Baku, focused this year on raising hundreds of billions of dollars to fund a global transition to cleaner energy sources

COP29 climate agreement a boost for India's carbon market ambitions

This agreement enables climate action by increasing demand for carbon credits and ensures that the international carbon market operates with integrity under UN supervision

Dutch appeals court overturns landmark climate ruling against Shell

A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday overturned a landmark ruling that ordered energy company Shell to cut its carbon emissions by net 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. The decision was a defeat for the Dutch arm of environmental group Friends of the Earth, which hailed the original 2021 ruling as a victory for the climate. Tuesday's civil ruling can be appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court. The ruling upholding Shell's appeal came as a 12-day U.N. climate conference was entering its second day in Azerbaijan. Presiding Judge Carla Joustra said that Shell already has targets for climate-warming carbon emissions that are in line with demands of Friends of the Earth both for what it directly produces and for emissions produced by energy the company purchase from others. And she added that an order for Shell to cut emissions by people and businesses who buy its products would be unlikely to have an effect as the products could be sold by another company. The court's final judgment is tha

Need to mitigate risks linked with glacial lakes: Principal secy Mishra

P K Mishra, principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday stressed the need for mitigating risks associated with glacial lakes to ensure a safer future for communities. Mishra asserted that through the tri-focal lens of assessment, monitoring and mitigation, India has made substantial progress in this area. He made the remarks at the 4th Workshop of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction (CoDRR) on Strategies for GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) Risk Reduction here. Complimenting the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Department of Water Resources for organising the workshop, he focused on international perspectives and experiences, pertinently India's experiences, gaps and challenges in mitigating the risks and related aspects. Mishra said the discussions on Sikkim glacial lake outburst flood disaster has brought to focus the enormity of the challenge. Indeed, the South Lhonak GLOF was a wake-up call for all of us, he said. Mishra undersc

COP29: UN climate chief calls for urgent action to counter economic fallout

Issuing a stark warning on the massive economic toll of climate change, UN Climate Change chief Simon Stiell on Tuesday said its worsening impacts will put inflation on steroids and urged nations to take more decisive action. Stiell, the executive secretary of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), also criticised the tendency to sideline climate action in national policies, calling it a recipe for disaster. Addressing the World Leaders Climate Action Summit at the annual UN Climate Change conference -- COP29 here, he characterised the climate crisis as an economy-killer with impacts already draining up to 5 per cent of GDP in various countries. Highlighting the urgent need for bold policies, Stiell underscored how climate impacts have evolved from a distant concern to an immediate financial threat, and emphasised that worsening climate events are no longer just a future generations' issue. The climate crisis is a cost-of-living crisis, he said, pointing to how

Host nation Azerbaijan defends oil, gas sector at COP29 amid West criticism

Azerbaijan's oil and gas revenues accounted for 35 per cent of its economy in 2023, down from 50 per cent two years earlier. The government says these revenues will decline to 22 per cent by 2028

COP29: Experts call for $1 trn annual investment to fight climate change

At the COP29 climate summit, prominent voices in the climate action arena voiced a call for greater accountability, real climate finance, and transparent data from developed countries and called for USD 1 trillion per year in cross-border finance to developing countries. Avinash Persaud, Special Advisor on Climate Change to the President, Inter-American Development Bank from the Inter-American Development Bank, highlighted the enormous financial need for climate adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage. We need an NCQG (New Collective Quantified Goal) that is relevant to actual climate finance needs, he stated, calling for USD 1 trillion per year in cross-border finance to developing countries. Persaud also noted that transparency is critical to finance accountability, arguing that clear data on financial flows and impact is essential. He cautioned, however, that loss and damage finance should be grant-based and separate from adaptation and mitigation to ensure funds reach the m

Targets unchanged a year after deal on tripling renewables by 2030: Report

A year after countries agreed to triple global renewable energy capacity to 11,000 gigawatts by 2030, a new report on Tuesday revealed that national targets still only aim for a collective doubling of capacity in the next six years. The report by global energy think tank Ember showed only eight countries have updated their renewable targets in the last 12 months, resulting in just a four-GW increase in overall renewable energy targets globally. The report analysed national 2030 renewable capacity targets for 96 countries and the EU as a bloc. These countries collectively account for 96 per cent of the world's renewable capacity, 95 per cent of global electricity sector demand and 94 per cent of global power sector emissions. Of the 96 countries, 83 have renewable capacity targets for 2030. At the UN's climate conference in December 2023 in Dubai, world leaders reached a historic agreement to triple global renewables capacity by 2030. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and ...

COP29 adopts establishment of carbon market under Paris Agreement Article 6

In a landmark decision at the first day of the global climate talks here, COP29 have officially adopted the new operational standards for a mechanism of the Paris Agreement under Article 6, setting the stage for a global carbon market. This adoption of article 6.4, achieved during the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA), sets the stage for operationalising Article 6, which has faced years of deadlock. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement facilitates international collaboration to lower carbon emissions. It offers two pathways for countries and companies to trade carbon offsets, supporting the achievement of emission reduction targets set in their climate action plans, or nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The first option, known as Article 6.2, allows two countries to establish a bilateral carbon trading agreement under their own terms. The second, Article 6.4, seeks to develop a centralised, UN-managed system to enable

Greta Thunberg protests against Azerbaijan hosting global climate summit

Climate activist Greta Thunberg on Monday attended a rally in Georgia to protest against Azerbaijan hosting the annual United Nations climate talks. Thunberg and scores of other activists who rallied in Tbilisi, the capital of the South Caucasus nation, argued that Azerbaijan doesn't deserve to host the climate talks because of its repressive policies. UN climate talks, called COP29, opened Monday in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, a major oil producer where the world's first oil well was drilled. Thunberg described Azerbaijan as a repressive, occupying state, which has committed ethnic cleansing, and which is continuing cracking down on Azerbaijani civil society". She charged that the Caspian Sea nation has used the summit as a chance to greenwash their crimes and human rights abuses. "We can't give them any legitimacy in this situation, which is why we are standing here and saying no to greenwashing and no to the Azerbaijani regime, she said. Azerbaijan has committed to clean

COP29 kicks off; host asks nations to resolve differences on finance goal

Azerbaijan, the host of this year's UN climate conference, called on all countries on Monday to urgently resolve outstanding issues to agree on a new climate finance goal to help developing nations combat and adapt to climate change. Delivering his remarks at the opening ceremony of the UN summit, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev said current policies are leading the world towards 3 degrees Celsius of warming, which would be catastrophic for billions of people. He said that the COP29 Presidency's top priority is to find consensus on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), or new climate finance goal, to replace the previous goal of USD 100 billion per year agreed in 2009. Babayev emphasized that the NCQG must be effective and adequate to address the scale and urgency of the problem. Negotiations have seen some progress but a lot of work is left, with just 12 days to land the deal. Countries now urgently need to finalise the elements, resolve differences on ...

World already on cusp of 1.5 degree celsius temp rise, finds new research

The UK-based scientists behind the new approach, who published it Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, say it simplifies the tracking of climate change and is easier to use

COP29: Work will continue despite Trump's return, says US climate envoy

Trump has promised to again remove the United States, the world's biggest historic greenhouse gas emitter, from international climate cooperation

Afghanistan attends UN climate talks for first time since Taliban's return

Afghanistan's first delegation at United Nations climate talks since the Taliban's return to power in 2021 has arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan on Monday in a bid to garner support for climate action in the climate-vulnerable nation. Matuil Haq Khalis, who's head of the country's environment protection agency, told The Associated Press that Afghanistan is among the worst affected nations by climate change and needs the world's support to deal with extreme weather like erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts and flash floods. All the countries must join hands and tackle the problem of climate change, said Khalis, speaking through a translator. Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to climate change, with a recent assessment by climate experts ranking it the sixth most climate vulnerable country in the world. In March this year, northern Afghanistan was hit by heavy rains resulting in flash floods, killing over 300 people. Climate scientists have found that extreme rainfall has gotten 25 pe

COP29 in Baku: Climate finance takes centre stage in global talks

India's strong data system can also speak for other nations who have less means and capabilities - financial or intellectual to record them, understand macroeconomic, monetary and financial aspects

A tough climate: COP29 meeting is not expected to yield much progress

COP29 intends to build on that consensus by putting funding by the Global North front and centre. But the prospects of convincing developed countries to loosen the purse-strings appear bleak

India to push for accountability, fair financing, green credit at COP29

India's approach at COP29 focuses on accountability, green credit, fair financing, and incremental goals for its developing economy, multiple delegates said on Monday as the latest edition of the world's most important meeting on climate change kickstarted here. The 29th session of the climate change conference of parties (COP29) is being held from November 11-22 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. While moderate in terms of attendance and scale, India's primary priorities at the conference are expected to include holding developed nations accountable for climate finance, enhancing resilience for vulnerable communities, and advancing an equitable energy transition, a delegate said. Another focus area for India would be to promote green credit and the LiFe (Lifestyle for Environment) philosophy towards sustainability, another delegate said. A member of the delegation said that India's COP29 strategy is expected to challenge developed nations on the gaps in fulfilling climate pledges

UN climate talks to focus on money to help poor nations cut pollution

A complex international two-week-long game of climate change poker is convening. The stakes? Just the fate of an ever-warming world. Curbing and coping with climate change's worsening heat, floods, droughts and storms will cost trillions of dollars and poor nations just don't have it, numerous reports and experts calculate. As United Nations climate negotiations started Monday in Baku, Azerbaijan, the chief issue is who must ante up to help poor nations and especially how much. The numbers are enormous. The floor in negotiations is the $100 billion a year that poor nations based on a categorization made in the 1990s now get as part of a 2009 agreement that was barely met. Several experts and poorer nations say the need is $1 trillion a year or more. It's a game with high stakes, said Climate Analytics CEO Bill Hare, a physicist. Right now the fate of the planet depends very much on what we're able to pull off in the next five or 10 years. But this year's talks, known as COP29, wo