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LITTLETON, Colorado, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Over 60% of global electricity generated so far in 2023 was produced by fossil fuels, despite the ongoing aggressive roll-out of renewable energy sources in every major economy. Fossil fuels remain the primary source of global electricity despite steep gains in clean power outputBut with the energy systems of so many influential countries still so dependent on fossil fuels, there is little chance that COP28 meetings will yield the kind of bold power sector overhauls that ardent climate activists may hope for. Global electricity generation by sourceCoal's staying power as the main pillar of the global electricity generation system is at odds with widely held assumptions that coal is being phased out of power systems due to plant closures seen in Western economies in recent years. GAS ON THE UPNatural gas has the second largest share of electricity generation globally, accounting for around 22.6% of total generation so far this year. RENEWABLE REPLACEMENTSWorldwide, electricity generation from renewable sources has grown at nearly triple the pace of fossil fuels since 2019, providing a boost to supporters of the energy transition away from fossil fuels.

Persons: Gavin Maguire, Christopher Cushing Organizations: United Nations, Global, Reuters, Thomson Locations: LITTLETON , Colorado, United States, China, India, Japan, Poland, Turkey, Dubai, Europe, North America, Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Germany, South Korea

Greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are the biggest cause of climate change. "We have a world which has more fossil fuels than ever," said Ani Dasgupta, president of the World Resources Institute, a climate NGO. U.S. officials and others are hopeful a recent climate deal between the U.S. and China may also set a positive tone for the talks. Another test is whether wealthy nations announce money for the fund at COP28 - to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. "Speaking from previous experience, unfortunately most of the global agreements, most of the global climate related pledges went uncompleted," said Najib Ahmed, National Consultant at Somalia's Climate Ministry.

Persons: Sultan al, Jaber, ADNOC, Ani Dasgupta, Narendra Modi, Britain's King Charles, Joe Biden, Gayane, Najib Ahmed, Valerie Volcovici, Josie Kao Organizations: OPEC, United Nations, International Energy Agency, BBC, World Resources Institute, Indian, European Union, Reuters, U.S, FINANCE, EU, Climate Ministry, “, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, WASHINGTON, BRUSSELS, Dubai, UAE, U.S, China, India

The world is off track in its efforts to curb global warming in 41 of 42 important measurements and is even heading in the wrong direction in six crucial ways, a new international report calculates. On the flip side, public money spent to create more fossil fuel use is going in the wrong direction and faster than it has in the past, said study co-author Kelly Levin, science and data director at the Bezos Earth Fund. The globe has already warmed about 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the mid 19th century. But he said the report shows “we’re really struggling to pick the low-hanging fruit.”___Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment. ___Follow Seth Borenstein on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @borenbears___Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations.

Persons: Kelly Levin, it’s, ” Levin, ”, Joe Thwaites, Katharine Jacobs, ” Jacobs, Justin Mankin, “ we’re, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: Climate, World Resources Institute, Fund, United Nations, United, Natural Resources Defense, Arizona State University, Twitter, AP Locations: Canada, South Asia, Dubai, United States, Paris, Ukraine, Dartmouth

☆ Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon falls 57% in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Amazon Fund II LP FollowSAO PAULO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell 56.8% in September compared to a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, while the region is struggling with a historic drought. In September, Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva announced at the United Nations Summit in New York more ambitious climate targets for the country. Deforestation and fires usually spike in the Amazon in August and September, when the weather turns drier. Fires in the region last month fell 36%, improving from the worst September in more than a decade in 2022. Last month, Switzerland and the United States donated $8.4 million to Brazil's Amazon Fund to help preserve the world's largest tropical rainforest.

Persons: Ueslei Marcelino, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's, Jair, Marina Silva, Peter Frontini, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Amazon Fund, SAO PAULO, Brazil's, United Nations Summit, Thomson Locations: Seca, Uruara, Para State, Brazil, New York, Switzerland, United States

☆ COP28 president says oil companies support 2050 net-zero goal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Maha El Dahan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jaber, who is also head of United Arab Emirates oil giant ADNOC, has this year urged the energy industry to join the fight against climate change. He was a controversial pick to lead COP28, which begins next month, because his country is an OPEC member and a major oil exporter. "We need a system-wide holistic transformation of entire economies - economies that currently run on the equivalent of 250 million barrels of oil, gas, and coal every single day," Jaber said at an oil and gas conference in Abu Dhabi. The COP28 summit is scheduled to take place in Dubai between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12. Major oil and gas company chiefs held meetings with heavy industry bosses on Sunday in the UAE to discuss a decarbonization commitment ahead of COP28.

Persons: Sultan Al Jaber, ABU, Sultan al, Jaber, it's, Maha El Dahan, Yousef Saba, Alexander Cornwell, Nadine Awadalla, Louise Heavens, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Africa Climate Summit, United Nations, United, United Arab Emirates, Thomson Locations: UAE, Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, ABU DHABI, United Arab, OPEC, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, COP28

☆ Netanyahu says Israel and Saudi Arabia 'can forge a historic peace' with Biden's help
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the United Nations summit Wednesday and agreed to work toward establishing diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. The meeting marked the first time the two leaders met since Netanyahu returned to power nine months ago. Israel and Saudi Arabia currently do not have official diplomatic relations. Speaking before the meeting, Netanyahu said he thought so as well. "I think that under your leadership, Mr. President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia," Netanyahu said.

Persons: Joe Biden lholds, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Biden Organizations: Israeli, General Assembly, United Nations, White House Locations: New York City, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Israel

☆ Tens of thousands march to demand end to fossil fuels ahead of UN climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"If you want to win in 2024, if you do not want the blood of my generation to be on your hands, end fossil fuels." The March to End Fossil Fuels featured such politicians as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and actors Susan Sarandon, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Kyra Sedgewick and Kevin Bacon. "If you don't stop fossil fuels our blood is on your hands." And the march, unlike others, was more clearly focused on fossil fuels. Signs included "Fossil fuels are killing us" and "I want a fossil free future" and "keep it in the ground."

Persons: Spencer Platt, it's, Joe Biden, Emma Buretta, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Susan Sarandon, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Kyra Sedgewick, Kevin Bacon, Antonio Guterres, Athena Wilson, Maleah, Athena, Alexandria Gordon, Biden, Sharon Lavigne, Jean Su, Eve Ensler, Anna Fels, Vanessa Nakate, Megan Bloomgren Organizations: United Nations, Ambition, UN, Assembly, Getty, Sunday, U.S, Broadway, U.N, Boca, Center for Biological Diversity, New Yorker, American Petroleum Institute Locations: New York, New York City, Brooklyn, Alexandria, Sunday's, Boca Raton , Florida, Florida, Houston, Louisiana, U.S, United States, China, New, Vietnam

“If you want to win in 2024, if you do not want the blood of my generation to be on your hands, end fossil fuels.”The March to End Fossil Fuels featured such politicians as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and actors Susan Sarandon, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Kyra Sedgewick and Kevin Bacon. “It is frustrating.”Protest organizers emphasized how let down they felt that Biden, who many of them supported in 2020, has overseen increased drilling for oil and fossil fuels. "You need to phase out fossil fuels to survive our planet,” said Jean Su, a march organizer and energy justice director for the Center for Biological Diversity. And the march, unlike others, was more clearly focused on fossil fuels. “The elephant is that fossil fuels are responsible for the crisis.

Persons: it's, Joe Biden, ”, Emma Buretta, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Susan Sarandon, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Kyra Sedgewick, Kevin Bacon, Antonio Guterres, Athena Wilson, Maleah, ” Athena, “, Alexandria Gordon, Biden, Sharon Lavigne, Jean Su, Eve Ensler, Anna Fels, That's, Vanessa Nakate, Megan Bloomgren, Seth Borenstein Organizations: Sunday, U.S, Broadway, United Nations, U.N, Boca, “, Center for Biological Diversity, New Yorker, American Petroleum Institute, Twitter, AP Locations: Brooklyn, Alexandria, Sunday's, Boca Raton , Florida, Florida, Houston, Louisiana, U.S, United States, China, New, Vietnam

MONTREAL, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A United Nations summit approved on Monday a landmark global deal to protect nature and direct billions of dollars toward conservation but objections from key African nations, home to large tracts of tropical rainforest, marred the final passage. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the joint leadership of China and Canada, is the culmination of four years of work toward creating an agreement to guide global conservation efforts through 2030. "The parties which are developed nations should provide resources to parties which are developing," the Congolese representative said through a translator. The deal, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the failed 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020. Investment firms focused on a target in the deal recommending that companies analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the joint leadership of China and Canada, is the culmination of four years of work toward creating an agreement to guide global conservation efforts through 2030. A Congolese representative argued that developed nations should provide more resources to nature conservation efforts in developing countries. [1/6] The leadership of the U.N.-backed COP15 biodiversity conference applaud after passing the The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in Montreal, Quebec, Canada December 19, 2022. Developed countries will provide $25 billion in annual funding starting in 2025 and $30 billion per year by 2030. The agreement, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020.

☆ Guest view: Protecting Earth’s underground heroes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Tokiers Mark Tercek | Mark Tercek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

This activity seals and traps hidden underground ecosystems and their carbon-capturing capabilities. A recent estimate published by Nature found that more than 70% of the Earth’s known soil biodiversity hotspots are unprotected by current conservation schemes. The first step is to incorporate underground ecosystems into global conservation and climate schemes. We should also begin systematically mapping and monitoring underground biodiversity hotspots across the Earth. Researchers are starting to record, analyse and use soundscapes to identify underground biodiversity hotspots.

☆ Explainer: What's on the agenda at the U.N.'s COP15 nature summit?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

MONTREAL, Dec 6 (Reuters) - A key United Nations summit to halt nature loss begins this week in Montreal, Canada. China's COP15 summit has been delayed four times, however, from its original date in 2020 due to COVID. The world's last set of nature targets - the Aichi Targets - expired in 2020. To protect nature, countries will need cash - a lot of it. Environmental groups argue that rich nations should provide at least $60 billion per year to help developing countries meet their nature targets.

☆ Reporter says she was knocked off balance when she shouted question about human rights ahead of Biden-Xi meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — A White House pool reporter says she was knocked off balance Monday when she tried to shout a question about human rights ahead of a meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ahead of their first in-person bilateral meeting since Biden took office, ABC News producer Molly Nagle said she tried to shout a question to Biden about whether he planned to raise human rights in his meeting with Xi in Bali, Indonesia. Another member of the White House staff also approached and told the man not to touch her either, she wrote in the pool report. The Chinese government has been accused of human rights violations and genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups. On a video call in May, Xi defended his country’s record to the top human rights official at the United Nations.

Alex Brandon / AP“I don’t think there’s enough votes to codify unless something happens unusual in the House,” Biden said. “I think we’re going to get very close in the House,” he added. Democrats have kept control of the Senate, but passing a bill through that chamber would likely require 60 votes, which would necessitate about 10 Republicans supporting it. Although Democrats performed surprisingly well in the midterm elections, Biden’s remarks on Monday underscore the limitations of his policy agenda going forward as he adjusts to what will likely be a divided Congress. Biden said that throughout his trip it has “been clear just how closely the world, our allies and our competitors as well, have been following our elections at home.”

☆ Plans to Shut Down Coal Face Headwinds as South Africa Says It Needs More Cash
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Gabriele Steinhauser | Ed Ballard | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JOHANNESBURG—A group of rich countries plans this week to announce a deal to help Indonesia pay for a transition away from coal, part of a series of moves governments are trying to finalize during the past week of a United Nations summit on global warming in Egypt. But the newly announced terms of a similar agreement, reached last year with South Africa, have attracted criticism from several of the country’s politicians, including its president, for burdening the country with more debt and containing too few outright grants.

Geopolitical strife and energy market turmoil have upended prospects for reaching a global agreement to accelerate efforts to limit climate change, with many big economies failing to submit faster timetables for emissions reductions ahead of next week’s United Nations summit. With only days to go before world leaders and negotiators convene in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El Sheikh for COP27, few countries have followed through on the sweeping agreement struck at last year’s conference in Glasgow. That accord urged national governments to submit more ambitious plans to the U.N. by the end of this year to wean their economies off fossil fuels and take other measures aimed at limiting global warming.

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