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☆ From Pacific to Red Sea: climate court action gathers wave of support
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Climate activists stand next to banners as they take part in a protest during the COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 18, 2022. As climate change has accelerated the rise of sea levels, Vanuatu and other low-lying island states and coastal communities face particular risk from storms and flooding. An advisory opinion by the court would not be binding in any jurisdiction, but could underpin future climate negotiations by clarifying what financial obligations countries have on climate change, and define it as a human rights issue. At a demonstration on Wednesday rallying support for the ICJ to take an advisory opinion, some of the law students were joined by allies from different countries. An ICJ opinion would send a clear signal to governments that hesitate to take decisive action at climate talks, said Solomon Yeo from the Solomon Islands, another Pacific island law student.

[1/3] Egyptian Foreign Minister and Egypt's COP27 President Sameh Shoukry attends an informal stocktaking session during the COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 18, 2022. But with several other sticking points dogging this year's U.N. climate talks, host country Egypt said a final deal was still not expected before the weekend. But it was unclear Friday if all of those countries would accept the EU's offer of a fund to aid only "the most vulnerable countries", rather than all developing countries as they had requested. On Friday morning, the U.N. climate agency published a first official draft of the final summit deal. Some countries, including the EU and Britain, have pushed for the overall deal in Egypt to lock in country commitments for more ambitious climate action.

☆ Lula's Victory Could Boost Hopes of Saving the Amazon Rainforest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He slashed funding for environmental enforcement and halted government efforts to demarcate Indigenous' peoples lands. He is executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, a group advocating for land rights and greater representation in Brazil's government. Bolsonaro's actions legitimized an increase in violence against Indigenous peoples, Tuxá told Insider on the sidelines of COP27. A slice of the funding was set aside for securing land rights for Indigenous people. Still, nearly $2.6 billion was spent in 2021, including at least $321 million to help secure land rights for Indigenous peoples, according to progress reports.

☆ Analysis: India power binges on coal, outpaces Asia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sudarshan Varadhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But the increase in India's coal-fired power output has outstripped its regional peers, data from the government and analysts showed. India's power ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters GraphicsCLEAN ENERGY EFFORTSState-run Coal India, the country’s dominant coal miner, ramped up production to meet the utility demand. It reported a 13.5% year-on-year increase in its coal output in March-October to a record high of 432 million tonnes. Consultancy Wood Mackenzie expects India's coal-fired power output to grow 10% in 2022 compared to the previous year.

That would surpass the October 2020 peak of 89% in the central bank series dating back to 2006. "It reduces the degree of freedom for the central bank to manage monetary policy," said Ramos. Brazil's central bank has held interest rates at 13.75% since August, after 12 straight hikes that lifted rates from a 2% record low in March 2021. Lula campaigned openly against the constitutional spending cap that limits spending growth to inflation. The proposal also removes some public investments from the cap, opening space for another 23 billion reais in public spending next year.

☆ EU expects to be ready for Russia oil price cap Dec. 5 start - officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The EU will ban Russian crude imports from that date, and Russian oil products from Feb. 5, depriving Russia of oil revenues and forcing one of the world's top oil producers and exporters to seek alternative markets. In addition, a G7 plan, intended as an add-on to the EU embargo, will allow shipping services providers to help to export Russian oil, but only at enforced low prices. "Our sanctions will cover crude for EU member states so we will not buy Russian crude oil starting from December 5 and we covered the possible oil price gap for international buyers with our eighth package of sanctions," EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said. read moreWashington plans to issue guidance in coming days on the Russian oil price cap and is ready for some "hiccups" in its implementation, a U.S. State Department official said separately. An EU official said that exchanges continued with the G7 in view of the Dec. 5 deadline.

☆ EU proposes midway path on climate damage fund to unblock COP27 talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The EU proposal would be to set up a special fund for covering loss and damage in the most vulnerable countries - but funded from a "broad donor base". "What we would propose is to establish a loss and damage response fund for the most vulnerable countries," EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans told the COP27 summit. The Alliance of Small Island States and the G77 club of 134 developing countries, who have both pushed for a new fund at COP27, were consulting on their response to the EU proposal. Pakistan's ambassador to South Korea, Nabeel Munir, said Timmermans' proposal was "positive news" but that some divisions remained. The EU offer is at odds with a proposal by developing countries and China that called for all developing countries to have access to the fund.

☆ U.S. aims for zero-emissions heavy-duty vehicles by 2040
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( David Shepardson | Megan Rowling | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The United States aims to only sell and produce zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles like school buses and tractor trailers by 2040, the U.S. energy secretary agreed at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt on Thursday. The non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) sets a target for 30% of those new vehicles - which include commercial delivery vehicles, buses and trucks - to be zero-emission by 2030 and 100% by 2040. The $430 billion climate, tax and drug policy bill passed in August includes new commercial electric vehicles tax credits, with up to $7,500 for light- and medium-duty vehicles and up to $40,000 for heavy-duty vehicles. “Decarbonizing commercial transport vehicles is critical to meeting our overall carbon emissions targets," Heinrich said in a statement. The EPA in March had proposed tighter standards for 17 of the 33 sub-categories of vocational and tractor vehicles, including school buses, transit buses, commercial delivery trucks, and short-haul tractors.

☆ Take a look inside the United Nations climate summit in Egypt: luxury resorts, world leaders, bad food, and long lines
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

There are some 35,000 people attending the United Nations COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. Long stretches of highway separate the luxury coastal resorts, with their green grass and water fountains, from the dusty desert and many half-constructed buildings. Small protests are allowed inside, where UN rules apply, but outside and across the rest of Egypt, political dissent is effectively banned. Take a glimpse inside before the summit comes to a close on Friday.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The U.N. climate agency published a first draft on Thursday of a hoped-for final agreement from the COP27 climate summit, repeating many of last year's goals while leaving contentious issues still to be resolved. The draft repeats the goal from last year's Glasgow Climate Pact "to accelerate measures towards the phase down of unabated coal power and phase out and rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies." The text does not include details for launching such a fund - a key demand from the most climate vulnerable countries, such as island nations. Climate policy experts said there was deep concern about the talks reaching consensus on many key issues. The document is based on requests that delegates from nearly 200 countries have sought to be included in the final deal.

☆ COP27: More countries join methane pact as focus turns to farms and waste
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | Laurie Goering | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The United States and the EU launched the Global Methane Pledge during the Glasgow climate talks last year. China is developing its own methane strategy but has not yet said whether it will join the global effort. Fifty of the signatories to the Global Methane Pledge have so far unveiled detailed strategies to cut emissions. The United States and EU will also launch other initiatives on Thursday under the Global Methane Pledge that tackle oil and gas, agriculture and waste sectors. The United States and EU also announced that Carbon Mapper, which tracks methane by satellite, will develop a global waste sector methane baseline assessment on landfills and dumpsites.

☆ COP27: Activists hoped Egypt would bring a focus on Africa. They were disappointed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt CNN —The crowd was loving what Bhekumuzi Bhebhe had to say, cheering loudly as he yelled “don’t gas Africa!” into the megaphone. Bhekumuzi Bhebhe speaks at a protest against the development of new fossil fuel projects in Africa. Experts and activists are stressing that many African countries are getting locked in fossil fuel investments that are polluting and will likely prove uneconomical in a few years. “Africa has contributed very little to the climate problem, but the fossil fuel companies are using that to their advantage. What Elmaawi, Adow and other activists want is for the COP27 conference to help African countries foster more investment into renewable energy.

☆ Talks at COP27 enter final stretch — but draft deal slammed for paving the way to ‘climate hell’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Around 35,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries are expected to convene in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss collective action to tackle the climate emergency. Ahmad Gharabli | Afp | Getty ImagesAs talks at the COP27 climate summit enter the final stretch, government ministers and negotiators from nearly 200 countries are scrambling to build consensus on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency. The U.N. climate agency on Thursday published a 20-page first draft of a hoped-for final agreement. It is highly likely to be reworked in the coming days as climate envoys in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh strive to reach an overarching deal before Friday's deadline. Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the COP27 climate conference in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

☆ A tiny Pacific island nation threatened by rising sea levels plans to create a digital copy of itself in the metaverse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tuvalu wants to replicate itself in the metaverse before rising sea levels wipe it off the map. Tuvalu plans to become the first country to create a complete replica of itself in the metaverse as rising sea levels threaten to completely submerge the tiny island nation. For Tuvalu, climate change poses an existential threat. The UN has classified the low-lying island nation as "extremely vulnerable" to rising global temperatures, and experts predict that it could be fully submerged by 2100, per Chatham House. In his address to COP27, which was delivered against the backdrop of a digital replica of Teafualiku, Kofe said: "Islets like this one won't survive rapid temperature increases, rising sea levels, and drought, so we'll recreate them virtually.

☆ Europe’s Energy Risks Go Beyond Gas
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Mira Rojanasakul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

In terawatt hours of energy per month Gas Coal 80 80 60 60 2022 40 40 20 20 Previous years since 2015 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec. In terawatt hours of energy per month Wind Solar 60 60 40 40 2022 20 20 Previous years since 2015 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec. In terawatt hours of energy per month Gas Coal 80 80 60 60 2022 40 40 20 20 Previous years since 2015 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec. In terawatt hours of energy per month Wind Solar 60 60 40 40 2022 20 20 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec. In terawatt hours of energy per month Gas Coal 80 60 2022 40 20 Previous years since 2015 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec.

SAO PAULO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Brazilian markets slumped on Thursday after the incoming administration of President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva proposed exempting some 175 billion reais ($32 billion) from the spending cap on next year's budget to pay for welfare programs. Lula's transition team late on Wednesday proposed to lawmakers guidelines for a constitutional amendment that would set a spending cap waiver to secure welfare programs, though without establishing how long the waiver would last. "The stock market will fall, the dollar will rise (against the real). The dollar doesn't rise and the stock market doesn't fall because of serious people, but because of those speculating every single day," he said. Helder Wakabayashi, an analyst at Toro Investimentos, said that markets would remain pressured at least until the incoming government proposes a deadline for the spending cap waiver.

☆ "Time is not on our side," says COP27 president urging Friday summit deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Egypt's COP27 President Sameh Shoukry urged delegates at the climate summit to come to a deal by Friday, warning them that time was not on their side and setting out the extent of the work left to be completed. "Time is not on our side, let us come together now and deliver by Friday," he said in a letter to delegates dated Wednesday and published on Thursday. Reporting by Aidan Lewis, writing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/5] Climate activists take part in a protest during the COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 16, 2022. "There's still a lot of gaps in the texts," said a spokesperson for Britain's COP26 Presidency, which hosted last year's climate summit in Glasgow. EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said the first draft left a lot to be desired. TEMPERATURE TARGETOn limiting the global temperature rise, the document mirrors language included in last year's COP26 agreement. Temperatures have already increased by 1.1C, and are projected to blow past 1.5C without swift and deep cuts to emissions within this decade.

☆ "Stand and deliver," UN chief tells faltering COP27 climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( William James | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Negotiators at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt must overcome a "breakdown in trust" between rich and poor nations to deliver a deal to save the world from the worst of global warming, U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said on Thursday. "The world is watching and has a simple message: stand and deliver." His speech was intended to rally negotiators that have become stuck on issues from whether a fund should be established to compensate poor nations for climate damage already ocurring, to language around fossil fuels use. "No one can deny the scale of loss and damage we see around the globe," he said. He also urged developed countries to deliver on a past pledge to provide $100 billion per year to help poor nations adapt to climate change and switch to clean energy.

REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File PhotoSHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The COP27 climate summit in Egypt must establish a fund to help countries cope with the irreparable damage caused by climate disasters, ministers representing developing nations said on Thursday, warning that anything less would thwart the U.N. summit's chances of success. Talks about creating - or at least committing to create - a "loss and damage" fund were put on the agenda for the first time in nearly three decades of COP climate summits where poorer nations have urged richer countries to act. "Anything less than establishing a loss and damage fund at this COP is a betrayal of the people who are working so hard to clean up this environment," said Molwyn Joseph, Antigua and Barbuda's environment minister. He was speaking at a news conference of ministers representing groups of developing countries in the U.N. climate talks. The first draft of a possible deal document for COP27 published earlier on Thursday mentions loss and damage, but it does not include details for actually launching a fund.

☆ Chile's Codelco trials fully-electric loader in bid to cut emissions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Natalia A. Ramos Miranda | Marianna Parraga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A LHD electric loader is charged inside the Codelco El Teniente copper mine, the world's largest underground copper mine, near Rancagua, Chile, November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Natalia RamosEL TENIENTE MINE, Chile, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A huge fully electric-powered 14-ton loading shovel has begun operating at Chile's century-old El Teniente copper mine, in what state miner Codelco (COBRE.UL) said on Wednesday was a first for South America. Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, said the equipment the loader and hauler, developed by Swedish manufacturer Epiroc (EPIRa.ST) is the first 100% electric machinery of its kind to operate in the region. El Teniente, located in the highlands some 76 kilometers (47 miles) southeast of Chile's capital, produced 459,817 metric tons of copper last year. Codelco plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030, as it looks to meet targets set by Chile's government in recent years.

☆ COP27 Talks Weigh Who Should Pay for Climate Damage to Poor Countries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Saeed Shah | Matthew Dalton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Negotiators at the U.N. climate summit are working out the details of a proposal for wealthy countries to pay developing ones for some of the damage from extreme weather that scientists say is associated with global warming. The plan suggests the money could flow through a variety of channels, including a new facility to help countries deal with floods, storms, drought and other natural disasters believed to be made worse by climate change, according to a draft text released by negotiators. If the plan survives until the final agreement this week, it could be the most significant development of this year’s COP27 meeting in Egypt.

"Over the past year, our climate leadership has been tested in many ways," said Dan Jorgensen, acting climate and energy minister for Denmark. "We are not calling for any sudden disruption of energy supplies, but we must equally recognise that the energy crisis is driven by the dependency on fossil fuels," he said. The alliance said it will also start providing analysis and advice to developing countries on policies to move away from fossil fuel production, setting aside $10 million in funding to do so. Another alliance designed to limit fossil fuel support has struggled to expand this year. Nearly 40 countries including the United States, Canada and Germany at last year's COP26 climate summit committed to stop public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of 2022.

☆ COP27:Brazil's Lula says Amazon rainforest vital to global climate security
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said climate change will have the highest profile in his government, and that he will prioritize efforts to fight deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. "There is no climate security for the world without a protected Amazon," said Lula in a speech at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. "We will do whatever it takes to have zero deforestation and the degradation of our biomes." Lula said he believed the struggle against global warming was also inseparable from the struggle against poverty. Reporting by Jake Spring, William James and Gloria Dickie; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ COP27: Children from Global South make their presence felt at climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Licypriya Kangujam, 11, environmentalist and climate activist, founder of The Child Movement, speaks to Reuters during an interview at the COP27 climate summit in Red Sea resort at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 15, 2022. Among the throngs of men and women in business attire at the COP27 United Nations climate summit in Egypt this week are children who have traveled from around the world to demand adult leaders take action to protect their futures. They may be small, but their voices have been some of the loudest in the climate action movement. Her involvement follows prominent youth activist Greta Thunberg, now 19, who led school strikes in Sweden to demand action. Organisers of the summit say children have been given greater importance, with a designated youth envoy and a pavilion for children and youth at the conference.

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