Page 3 - Climate Change

UN climate deal boosts funds for nations but lacks fossil fuel plan

United Nations climate talks in Brazil reached a subdued agreement Saturday that pledged more funding for countries to adapt to extreme weather's wrath. But the catch-all agreement doesn't include explicit details to phase out fossil fuels or strengthen countries' inadequate emissions cutting plans, which dozens of nations demanded. The Brazilian hosts of the conference said they'd eventually come up with a road map to get away from fossil fuels working with hard-line Colombia, but it won't have the same force as something approved at the United Nations conference called COP30. Colombia responded angrily to the deal after it was approved, citing the absence of wording on fossil fuels. The deal, which was approved after negotiators blew past a Friday deadline to wrap up, was crafted after more than 12 hours of late night and early morning meetings in COP30 President Andr Corra do Lago's office. Do Lago said the tough discussions started in Belem will continue under Brazil's leadersh

'Nowhere else to go': Shukla calls for efforts against climate change

Astronaut and Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Saturday urged the youth to work together to tackle shared global challenges like climate change, and avoid making the mistakes of earth in space. Shukla said travelling outside the Earth offers a profound realisation that "this is your planet, this is your home, there is nowhere else to go." Speaking at the 26th International Conference of Chief Justices of the World at his alma mater City Montessori School here, Shukla said the experience of viewing Earth from space changes a person. "It is not about a region, it is not about a city, it's about the entire planet which is your home. What happens in one place, even if we don't see it visually, will affect us a few months or a year later. That realisation becomes very deep and you come back a changed person," he said. Shukla stressed that climate change is a global crisis that demands collective action. "We are on the issue of climate change and how our Earth is changing, h

COP30 agenda: Contentious issues on climate change on the margins

Due to lack of willingness on part of developed nations to open their purses, ambitions have turned to phasing out fossil fuels, in order to keep global warming below 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels

From rhetoric to reality: Why COP30 must become a bank of actions

With climate impacts mounting, the summit's final days must deliver a credible finance plan, realistic transition pathways and stronger action-focused alliances

COP30 at halftime sees EU pushback on India, China's CBAM, finance moves

Two issues on financial obligations of developed countries and unilateral trade agreements were dropped from the COP agenda after resistance from developed nations

India shaping growth path with climate-responsible approach: UNDP chief

India has demonstrated that economic growth and social inclusion can advance together and it is helping translate its success stories into global lessons for a more equitable world, a top official of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has said. The India growth story is not only about economic progress but also about using technology and participatory governance to ensure that development objectives are achieved and no one is left behind, UNDP's Acting Administrator Haoliang Xu said. In an interview to PTI, Xu said India's commitment to climate adaptation, renewable energy and inclusive digital finance offers a blueprint for balancing growth with sustainability. India continues to shape "development pathways" that are both economically sound and climate-responsible, he said. The UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Acting Administrator was in India on a three-day visit to strengthen and identify new areas of cooperation, including in areas of digital transformation and climate ...

Climate finance failure by developed nations hurts NDCs: India at COP30

India on Saturday sharply criticised developed countries for failing to meet their climate finance obligations, warning that developing nations cannot deliver on their climate goals without "predictable, transparent and reliable" financial support. Speaking on behalf of the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) at the third high-level ministerial dialogue on climate finance at COP30 in Brazil's Belem, India said climate finance is a critical enabler of climate action in developing countries. "Without financial resources from developed countries, developing countries cannot achieve the level of mitigation and adaptation necessary to meet the NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions)," India's negotiator Suman Chandra said. NDCs are national climate plans under the Paris Agreement that set targets to cut emissions and adapt to climate change, guiding global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Countries are required to submit their third round of NDCs, referred to as

Can digital twinning find transformative solutions for our problems?

Most physical processes are very complex, however, and this sort of modelling can require billions of calculation

Bill Gates' pivot away from bold climate action misses key challenges

To find our way back to shore, we urgently need a new financial architecture that can provide the policy and fiscal space to support implementation and build state capacity

Big Tech's Climate Strategists Feeling Strain of AI Power Needs

One of Trump's biggest moves against renewables was to use massive tax bill he signed in July to strip away clean energy incentives created through his predecessor Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act

India unfolds priorities in Belem but yet to show its climate cards

2025 was among the 3 hottest years on record, accompanied by a record-breaking glacier loss, lowest Arctic sea ice on record and record increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from 2023-24

Climate finance is within reach as COP30 eyes stronger commitment

Recent studies have estimated climate finance requirements of EMDEs at $1-4 trillion per year up to 2030, which is seen as daunting, leading to even less action than might have been possible

What is the COP30 climate summit, and why does it matter this year?

World leaders are meeting in Brazil's Amazon city of Belem for COP30, the 30th UN climate summit, to discuss how to curb global warming and act on past promises to cut fossil fuel use

COP30 starts with call for faster action, more togetherness, but without US

UN climate negotiations were expected to begin on Monday at a meeting on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon, with leaders pushing for urgency, cooperation and acceleration after more than 30 years fighting to curb global warming by drastically reducing the carbon pollution that causes it. Andre Correa do Lago, president of this year's conference, known as COP30, emphasised that negotiators engage in mutirao, a Brazilian word derived from an Indigenous word that refers to a group uniting to work on a shared task. Either we decide to change by choice, together, or we will be imposed change by tragedy, Lago wrote in his letter to negotiators on Sunday. We can change. But we must do it together. Complicating the calls for togetherness is the United States. The Trump administration did not send high-level negotiators to the talks and is withdrawing for the second time from the 10-year-old Paris Agreement, which is being celebrated as a partial achievement here in Belem. The United States

The Baku to Belem road map has a crucial hurdle: The missing leaders

The reluctance of developed nations like the UK to foot the climate bill and the US withdrawal among key challenges to mobilise $1.3 trillion by 2035

The obstacle course at Belem: COP30 agenda faces multiple headwinds

This much was evident when it became clear that only a third of countries, ahead of the summit, submitted updates detailing how they would cut the emission of greenhouse gases

Best of BS Opinion: India must reform QCO regime to meet global standards

Today's Best of BS Opinion analyses India's Quality Control Order overreach, dim prospects for COP30, Ajay Shah on Trump's tariff shock, and Jordan Ellenberg's review of The Great Math War

The world faces action and inaction against climate: What will win?

For the first time, renewable energy has overtaken coal as the primary source of electricity in the first six months of 2025

Datanomics: As COP30 nears, why India is set to miss 2030 emission target

As COP30 begins in Brazil, new data shows India's emissions rising faster than its 2030 targets - though still far below major economies on a per capita basis

Countries at COP30 endorse new fund to pay nations for preserving forests

World leaders gathered at the COP30 Leaders' Summit in Belm, Brazil, to launch the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a landmark global initiative aimed at channelling large-scale finance into the protection of tropical forests. The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) is designed to reward countries for keeping their forests standing rather than waiting for them to be cut down or degraded. According to the launch statement, it has been endorsed by 53 countries. The host country, Brazil, described the move on Thursday as a turning point in global environmental finance and one of the most important deliverables of this year's UN climate conference. It creates a system of regular, performance-based payments to tropical forest nations that successfully maintain their forest cover, verified through monitoring tools such as satellites. The goal is to shift the financial incentives in favour of conservation and to recognise the immense ecosystem services provided by tropical forests