Cop31

Experts flag heat risks for pregnant women, urge targeted action at COP31

Exposure to extreme heat during pregnancy can lead to severe outcomes, including preterm birth, stillbirth and congenital abnormalities in newborns, prompting experts at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) to highlight maternal health risks and call for targeted adaptation strategies. The issue comes into focus as countries at COP31 prepare to discuss progress towards the Global Goal on Adaptation, a framework to help nations develop key adaptation measures, including those needed to address the health impacts of climate change. However, translating growing recognition of climate-related health risks into action remains a challenge, particularly in the absence of adequate financial support. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), only about one per cent of formal climate finance under its financial mechanism is currently directed towards health. The broader issue of adaptation finance for developing nations is also expected

Fossil fuel transition coalition presses ahead after Colombia's exit

The coalition will release a progress report outlining steps by member countries to reduce dependence on coal, oil and gas, despite Colombia's withdrawal from the initiative

COP31: Consensus on climate deal unlikely as global leaders clash

sland nations seek urgent emissions cuts, Europe backs electrification, while developing countries demand climate finance and fossil fuel producers defend continued use of hydrocarbons

COP31 pushes electrification goal as groups call for mining safeguards

Clean public transport, energy-efficient buildings and affordable energy are a few of the things the president of the UN climate talks - known as COP31 - asked global leaders and climate activists to pledge as part of the global electrification plan laid out during the world's largest annual climate summit. But environmental and human rights organisations caution that without strong safeguards, the mining boom for the minerals and metals needed to make the power lines, batteries, wind turbines and other energy infrastructure that can make the pledge a reality could have serious environmental and human rights impacts across the globe. Mining has come at a cost to communities and habitats around the globe: Forests have been felled, water supplies poisoned and Indigenous peoples have lost access to land. Rights groups have urged COP31 officials to focus on how to fairly source the materials needed for the transition. COP31 sets ambitious electrification ...

At COP31, leaders of island countries warn of 'life-or-death' crisis

Leaders of Seychelles and Niue warned that rising seas and extreme weather threaten the survival of island nations, urging urgent climate action and stronger financial support.

War and trade disputes must not derail climate action, leaders warn

Brazil and Turkey urged world leaders at COP31 to keep climate action on the agenda despite wars and trade disputes, as negotiators seek fresh momentum to move away from fossil fuels.

COP31 begins in Turkey amid concerns over efforts to curb global warming

World leaders will begin formal discussions Wednesday at the United Nations climate change conference in Turkey, hoping to agree on concrete actions to curb global warming after a year of deadly floods, heat waves and other climate-related disasters. But what can and will be accomplished at the Conference of the Parties, called COP31, remains to be seen. Past talks have been criticized for making promises that later fell flat. While delegates at the 2023 conference in Dubai agreed to transition away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas - the leading contributor to climate change - subsequent conferences in Azerbaijan and Brazil ended with little agreement on reductions. Last year's Brazil conference produced a compromise agreement pledging additional money to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change. This year's conference - Turkey is hosting and Australia is leading negotiations - officially kicked off Monday amid fears that the world is not moving quickly ...

COP31 opens with climate finance clash as rich, developing nations spar

An opening-day fight over climate finance and trade underlined the widening divide between developed and developing nations as COP31 began in Antalya, Türkiye