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A UN study last year found "negligible" correlation between household food waste and gross domestic product, indicating most countries "have room to improve." "We do have a long way to make the goal," said Jean Buzby, the food waste liaison at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration agreed in 2018 to tackle America's food waste together. A spokesman for New Zealand's environment ministry said the country is finalizing its baseline food waste estimate so it can establish a target. SLOWEST GAZELLEIn California, which has America's most ambitious climate policies, officials are trying to ensure food waste goes to composting, not landfills.

☆ Europe Predicts Milder Winter, a Boost for Its Energy Security
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As energy-strapped Europe watches closely for signs of how cold it might get this winter, one of the continent’s most prominent forecasters is expecting a mild next few months. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, in a seasonal outlook released Sunday, said it had grown more confident of milder weather than usual over the next three months in Europe. But it warned cold snaps are likely through December.

☆ Asia's coal phase-out must be gradual, says Mitsubishi Heavy head
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Previously, the discussion was binary in which you had to choose between renewable energy or existing technology. A "realistic" mix of renewable energy and greener existing infrastructure is needed to help Asia's emerging economies meet a power consumption boom in coming years, Izumisawa said. "You have to think not just about renewable energy, but how to make better use of resources like coal and LNG," he said. Japan, the world's fifth-biggest CO2 emitter, has also called for more focus on promoting the transition of existing fuel plants to greener energy resources. Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and eighth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, with coal making up about 65% of its total energy mix.

☆ Degrowth: A dangerous idea or the answer to the world's biggest problems?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“An innocent 2 or 3% per year, it’s an enormous amount of growth — cumulative growth, compound growth — over time,” said Giorgos Kallis, a top degrowth scholar based at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Action Press/ShutterstockThe UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently cited degrowth in a major report. Investment bank Jefferies said investors should consider what happens if degrowth gathers steam, noting “climate-anxious” younger generations have different consumer values. She’s criticized “fairy tales about non-existent technological solutions” and “eternal economic growth.” And she’s touched on another point degrowthers raise: Is our current system, which has produced rampant inequality, even working for us? Gates, the Microsoft co-founder who’s prioritized investing in climate innovations, admits that overhauling global energy systems is a Herculean task.

The White House said in a statement after the meeting that Biden raised concerns about human rights and China’s provocations around Taiwan. “President Biden and President Xi reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won,” a White House readout said, referring to the threat of nuclear weapons use in Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. Planning for Monday’s meeting predated Pelosi’s trip, and discussions continued between US and Chinese officials despite Beijing’s furor. “Xi is not an enigma to President Biden,” a senior administration official told CNN.

☆ Curbs on rights weaken Egypt's climate talks, campaigners say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Dominic Evans | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/2] People walk outside of the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre during the COP27 climate summit opening in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 6, 2022. Climate action "requires more people on the street, more voices, more independent research, more independent reporting, more accountability when climate obligations are not met," said Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch's acting Executive Director. "That's not going to happen under governments such as the Egyptian government which is excluding civil society, independent journalism and academia," she told a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh this week. Despite those criticisms some delegates argued that there was a benefit to holding the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh to shine a light briefly on Egypt's record. "This is a huge opportunity," Egyptian journalist and human rights advocate Hossam Bahgat said.

☆ Biden says 'everyone has to act' to help the world deal with the climate crisis. But the US isn't meeting its own promises.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

President Joe Biden touted the new US climate law and methane restrictions at a UN climate summit. Biden urged rich countries pay up on climate, but the US hasn't been meeting its own promises. Developing nations share comparatively little responsibility for the buildup of heat-trapping gasses in the atmosphere. "If countries can finance coal in developing countries, there is no reason we can't finance clean energy in developing countries," Biden said to loud applause from the audience. Looming over COP27 is the global energy crisis sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine.

☆ World's dash for natural gas endangers climate goals -report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Germany's future LNG terminal is under construction amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Lubmin, Germany, September 19, 2022. Among the projects are new gas drilling in Canada and liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity in Germany and Vietnam. By October, Russian gas had plummetted to 7.5% of Europe's gas imports, down from 40% in recent years. The dash to replace those supplies has bolstered plans to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, even as the European Union has proposed higher renewable energy targets to attempt to mostly replace Russian fuel with clean energy. The International Energy Agency has said no new oil and gas fields should be opened if the world is hit the 1.5C goal.

☆ 'This is not going to stop': Pakistan says apocalyptic flooding shows the need for reparations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Reparations, or "loss and damage" funding, are seen as a fundamental question of climate justice. The decision to include loss and damage funding as an agenda item, which was proposed by Pakistan, was preceded by 48 hours of talks. He now hopes the international community can find a way to collectively address financing for loss and damage. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Washington would not be "obstructing" talks on loss and damage in Sharm el-Sheikh. We are talking about the reality outside these conference walls," Singh told CNBC.

☆ The US is creating a carbon-offset plan for corporations that would fund developing countries' moves to clean energy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The plan would create revenue to fund developing countries' moves toward clean energy. "This is a critical tool that will supplement, not replace, other sources of climate finance." The US will also consult with organizations that are trying to improve the scientific integrity of carbon credits. "Buying emissions reductions from developing countries is not the same thing as channeling climate finance and raises questions about who can count the reductions." African nations unveiled their own carbon-market initiative Tuesday, with an aim to supply 300 million carbon credits each year by 2030 and raise up to $6 billion.

“All of the members are committed to net zero, particularly many developing countries who certainly have a lot of issues to deal with. But all of them are committed,” Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview Tuesday at UN climate summit COP27. China is the world’s largest carbon emitter of fossil fuels, but has committed to net zero goals by 2060. He did not mention China’s coal sector, which produces much of the country’s methane emissions, in addition to carbon dioxide emissions. China produces the most methane emissions from coal mines in the world, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

☆ Leaders push for climate action and fossil tax at UN talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — World leaders are making the case for tougher action to tackle global warming Tuesday, as this year’s international climate talks in Egypt heard growing calls for fossil fuel companies to help pay for the damage they have helped cause to the planet. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned Monday that humanity was on “a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” urging countries to “cooperate or perish.”Leaders gather during the COP27 climate summit in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday. Ludovic Marin / AFP - Getty ImagesHe and leaders such as Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said it was time to make fossil fuel companies contribute to funds which would provide vulnerable countries with financial aid for the climate-related losses they are suffering. The idea of a windfall tax on carbon profits has gained traction in recent months amid sky-high earnings for oil and gas majors even as consumers struggle to pay the cost of heating their homes and filling their cars. The U.S. mid-term elections were hanging over the talks Tuesday, with many environmental campaigners worried that defeat for the Democrats could make it harder for President Joe Biden to pursue his ambitious climate agenda.

☆ COP 27 Developing countries need $1 trillion a year in climate finance -report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The report, released ahead of talks on climate change finance at the COP27 summit in Egypt, said the funding was required to cut emissions, boost resilience, deal with damage from climate change and restore nature and land. "The world needs a breakthrough and a new roadmap on climate finance that can mobilise the $1 trillion in external finance that will be needed by 2030 for emerging markets and developing countries other than China," said the report, commissioned by the current and previous climate summit hosts, Egypt and Britain. It said the total annual investment requirement of developing countries would hit $2.4 trillion by 2030, with half coming from external financing and the rest from public and private sources in those countries. "Unlocking substantial climate finance is the key to solving today's development challenges," said Vera Songwe, one of the report's authors. Delegates at the climate summit in Egypt are expected to focus on financing issues on Wednesday.

☆ Poorer countries suffering the worst effects of the climate crisis want rich nations to pay reparations for the chaos they've caused
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Climate reparations for poorer nations are on officially on the agenda at the UN climate summit. Developing countries with "loss and damage" from climate disasters want rich nations to pay up. The inclusion of so-called climate reparations sets up a debate over how to compensate poorer nations for the climate impacts they've already suffered but for which they bear little responsibility. They've repeatedly objected to discussing loss and damage during past UN climate negotiations over concern that such talks would result in enormous financial liabilities. More than a decade ago, rich nations promised to send $100 billion a year to poorer countries by 2020.

☆ Trump and his far-right allies have stoked a dangerous climate that increases the likelihood of violence far beyond midterms, extremism experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Political violence experts warn that Trump and his allies are fomenting a dangerous climate. "Republican campaign ads have been riven with violent language and imagery," an expert on political violence said. Pelosi is one of the Democrats most vilified by former President Donald Trump and his far-right allies. Experts on extremism and political violence warn that Trump and his MAGA compatriots are fomenting a dangerous climate that increases the likelihood that opponents of the GOP will be targeted with violence, underscoring that the threat extends well beyond midterms. "This form of political violence is here to stay.

John Fetterman, the Democratic Senate nominee, along with Democratic candidates in local House races on the University of Pittsburgh's campus. Former President Barack Obama speaks to supporters of Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Democratic Pennsylvania Senate nominee John Fetterman speaks to supporters on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday. Jeff Swensen / Getty ImagesOz, Obama said, would be a vote for Trump in case of another close election in 2024. Oz, Trump said, is "desperately" needed in the Senate where "he could very well be the tie-breaking vote."

☆ COP27 climate summit: Here's what to watch
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Given countries’ current promises, Earth’s temperature will climb to between 2.1 and 2.9 degrees Celsius by 2100. “No country has a right to be delinquent,” US Climate Envoy John Kerry told reporters in October. It is likely loss and damage will have space on the official COP27 agenda this year. And US officials often stress they want to also unlock private investments to help countries transition to renewables and deal with climate effects. Getty ImagesCOP27 is intended to hold countries’ feet to the fire on fossil fuel emissions and gin up new ambition on the climate crisis.

PHILADELPHIA/LATROBE, Pa., Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden told voters in Pennsylvania that a Democratic loss in Tuesday's midterm elections would have "decades" of consequences, while Republican candidates for Congress predicted a sweeping victory. Still, opinion polls show a significant number of Republican voters accept the claim, as do many candidates for Congress, governor and state offices overseeing election administration. Speaking before Trump at a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Representative Glenn Thompson told supporters that Republicans were headed for major gains on Tuesday. TRUMP READIES ANOTHER RUNTrump is set to gin up support for his handpicked Republican Senate nominee, Oz, and Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano at a rally in Latrobe, southeast of Pittsburgh. Nonpartisan election forecasters and polls show Republicans are heavy favorites to win control of the House, with the Senate a toss-up.

PITTSBURGH/LATROBE, Pa., Nov 5 (Reuters) - Former President Barack Obama warned about divisions fueling a "dangerous climate" in U.S. politics as he stumped for Democratic candidates on Saturday three days ahead of midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. "This habit we have of demonizing political opponents, of saying crazy stuff, it creates a dangerous climate," Obama said, without referencing Republicans directly. Republicans contend that Democrats have also engaged in political violence, citing the widespread anti-racism protests that rocked the country in 2020. They have criticized Democrats for failing to keep their focus on inflation and crime, two of voters' principal concerns, according to most opinion polls. Scott Flaherty, a 53-year-old mechanic from Pittsburgh who was heading to the Trump rally, said he is tired of Democrats calling Republicans extreme.

☆ Explainer: A field guide to climate jargon
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Representatives from the world's nations meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Nov. 6-18 to flesh out the rules of a new global climate pact. Here is a guide:GLASGOW PACTReached at the 2021 U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the Glasgow Pact marked the first time a U.N. climate agreement mentioned the goal of reducing fossil fuel use. With time running out for steep emissions cuts, the pact also urges nations to come up with more ambitious climate plans. NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONSNDCs are the pledges that each country makes to reduce its emissions and adapt to climate change from 2020 onward. 'LOSS AND DAMAGE'Although richer countries have agreed to provide them with funding to address the impact of climate change, poorer countries continue to press for an agreed basis to assess liability for the losses and damage caused by climate change, and calculate compensation.

☆ Obama warns 'more people are going to get hurt' if political climate persists
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - Democratic former President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned that "more people are going to get hurt" unless the U.S. political climate changes, after the husband of the Speaker of the House was attacked by a man wielding a hammer. "If that's the environment that we create, more people are going to get hurt." The Obama tour will continue on Wednesday in Arizona and Saturday in Pennsylvania, two more states with tight races for governor and senator. The Nevada race could determine which party controls the Senate, which is split 50-50 and in Democratic hands only because Vice Present Kamala Harris can break any ties. In the race for governor, Democratic incumbent Steve Sisolak is locked in a close race with Republican challenger Joe Lombardo, the Clark County sheriff.

☆ Europe warms more than any other continent in last 3 decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Gloria Dickie | Isla Binnie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Europe has warmed more than twice as much as the rest of the world over the past three decades and experienced the greatest temperature increase of any continent, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization. The report on the state of the climate in Europe follows a summer of extremes. "Europe presents a live picture of a warming world and reminds us that even well prepared societies are not safe from impacts of extreme weather events," WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas said in a statement. For example, fewer clouds over Europe during the summer has meant more sunlight and heat now reaches the continent, said Freja Vamborg, senior scientist with the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Some scientists have called Europe a "heatwave hotspot" as the number of heatwaves on the continent have increased faster than in other regions due to changes in atmospheric circulation.

☆ WATCH: Obama responds to heckler while speaking out against attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former President Obama was interrupted by a heckler as he spoke about the attack on Paul Pelosi. Obama remarked on the assault during a Michigan rally, where he spoke of the need for civility. Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Pelosi, was attacked in their California home late last week. Gretchen Whitmer and other Democrats, Obama spoke of the need for civility, a throwback to his calls for bipartisanship during his first presidential campaign in 2008. Immediately after Obama called on lawmakers to reject dangerous rhetoric — with his mind on the attack on Paul Pelosi, the speaker's husband, at the couple's San Francisco home — the heckler began yelling at the former president.

☆ Climate Change Is Real. Markets, Not Governments, Offer the Cure. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Bret Stephens | Mr. Stephens Is An Opinion Columnist. Mr. Winter Is A Staff Photographer On Assignment In Opinion. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +32 min

worse-case, highest-carbon-emission scenario.” (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the U.N. body that assesses climate change.) How do we weigh the risks of underreacting to climate change against the risks of overreacting to it? While he’s not an expert on climate change, he has spent decades thinking deeply about every manner of risk. That’s particularly true if climate change is akin to cancer — manageable or curable in its earlier stages, disastrous in its later ones. Maybe, I realized, in assessing my newfound concerns about climate change, my long-held beliefs might provide a solution — look to the market.

☆ The world is heading toward a climate catastrophe and countries want the US and other top offenders to pay up — but the GOP likely won't let that happen
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Recent reports from the United Nations found the world is failing to meet climate goals, and it could be catastrophic. Some developing countries are calling on the top offenders, like the US and China, to pay reparations. GOP Sen. Ron Johnson recently called climate change "bullshit," and even centrist Democrats, like Sen. Joe Manchin, expressed hesitancy with the scale of climate funding President Joe Biden proposed in his Inflation Reduction Act, which ended up including $400 billion in climate investments. As Politico reported, other countries like Scotland and Denmark have already made small pledges to fight climate change, as well. "The climate crisis is killing us," Guterres said in a statement.

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