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☆ Analysis: Brazil's Lula hopes to unite rainforest nations, tap funding at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Michael Taylor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

read moreIn the run-up to the COP27 U.N. climate summit, taking place in Egypt from Nov. 6-18, green groups urged Brazil and other forest nations to team up to increase their bargaining power during talks with potential donors over rainforest protection. Brazil was the climate-change success story of the early 2000s when its government - led then by Lula - slashed deforestation rates in the Amazon, she said. But enforcing forest protection laws in remote areas is a problem for all three, conservationists said, while Bolsonaro's allies form the largest bloc in Brazil's Congress, which could hinder Lula's policy push. Other forest nations - like Colombia - could also take part in talks and join any new alliance at COP27 to create a "more robust and effective" coalition, he added. "Done right, collaboration and exchange of experience between rainforest countries can help in tackling deforestation," Jaeger said.

☆ A Core Question at COP27: Who Will Pay for Climate Change?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

When world leaders gather in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, this week for the annual United Nations climate summit, the debate over who bears financial responsibility for climate change will be center stage. Most Vulnerable, but Least Responsible for Climate Change A vulnerability index developed by the University of Notre Dame measures countries’ exposure, sensitivity and capacity to adapt to the negative effects of climate change. 10 gigatons CO2 Climate change vulnerability index COUNTRY’s Total historical emissions 1 Somalia is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but has contributed only a tiny fraction of global emissions. Pakistan experienced widespread and deadly flooding this summer that scientists linked to climate change. India 57.1 Gt CO2 0.5 Middle income countries China 249.4 Gt CO2 0.4 Russia 117.5 Gt CO2 Japan 66.7 Gt CO2 Higher income countries United States 421.7 Gt CO2 0.3 United Kingdom 74.9 Gt CO2 Germany 93.1 Gt CO2 Wealthy countries are responsible for half of the world’s emissions since 1850.

☆ Question of compensation for poor on COP27 agenda
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

EnvironmentQuestion of compensation for poor on COP27 agendaPostedDelegates at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt agreed after late-night talks to put the delicate issue of whether rich nations should compensate poor countries most vulnerable to climate change on the formal agenda for the first time. Rachel Graham reports.

☆ Climate Change and the Lancet’s ‘Heat Death’ Deception
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Bjorn Lomborg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

As the United Nations’ annual global climate summit, COP27, nears, it’s important to look with skepticism at the academic reports many news outlets cite as evidence supporting radical climate policies. Too often, they use highly skewed data that seem to have been carefully selected to support aggressive environmental regulations. The study offers a frightening statistic: Rapidly rising temperatures have increased annual global heat deaths among older people by 68% in less than two decades. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres publicized the report, tweeting a link with a grave statement of his own, “The climate crisis is killing us. #COP27 must deliver a down-payment on climate solutions that match the scale of the problem.”

☆ Biden comments on coal-fired plants slammed by Manchin ahead of U.S. midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOLIET, Ill. (Reuters) - Comments by President Joe Biden about shutting coal-powered energy plants days before critical midterm elections drew fire on Saturday from a key conservative Senate Democrat. Higher energy costs following Russia’s war in Ukraine have helped lift prices, along with the economic rebound from the COVID pandemic. Pennsylvania, where Biden was scheduled to campaign later on Saturday, is both a major producer and consumer of coal. Tuesday’s midterms will determine whether Democrats retain control of Congress and hinge on races like the one for an open Senate seat in Pennsylvania. The power industry is the source of a quarter of the nation’s greenhouse gases and Biden campaigned on a pledge to cut net emissions to zero by 2035.

The pledge was praised widely at last year's COP26 climate summit, particularly as Brazil, Indonesia and Congo all signed on. To fulfill the pledge, the world would need to ensure 10% less area is deforested on average each year from 2021 to 2030. Most countries under the pledge have yet to detail plans for passing stronger forest protections or implementing them. BRAZILThe biggest rainforest country also leads the world in deforestation, as the Amazon falls rapidly to illegal logging, agriculture and land speculation. Deforestation driven by land-clearing for palm oil plantations continued to slow in the first seven months of the year - even as palm oil prices soared.

How Putin and Friends Stalled Climate Progress A handful of powerful world leaders rallied around Russia and undercut global cooperation. Mr. Putin has gained from this as the increasingly autocratic Mr. Xi finds common cause with the Kremlin. “Much depends on whether authoritarian leaders perceive climate action to be in their self-interest.”Though their actions help Mr. Putin, their track records on climate are mixed. Mr. Xi called Mr. Putin his “best friend.”He was returning the favor from a year earlier, when Mr. Putin hosted Mr. Xi at the Grand Kremlin Palace and awarded him one of Russia’s highest medals for foreign dignitaries. At a news conference with Mr. Putin, Mr. Bolsonaro thanked his “dear friend,” saying that Mr. Putin had offered him support when other world leaders were criticizing his Amazon policy.

☆ Australia, Pacific nations to bid to co-host 2026 UN climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Laurie Goering | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Australia will launch a bid with Pacific nations to host the United Nations climate summit in 2026, its energy minister said on Saturday, as the new labour government seeks to position the country as a renewable energy powerhouse on the global stage. The government also reinstated the role of the Ambassador for Climate Change, appointing Kristin Tilley, who it said has over a decade of experience with climate change policy, to work with other countries to tackle the climate crisis. We're back at the International table," Chris Bowen, minister for climate change and energy, said of the bid for COP31 at a press conference in Sydney,"It's an opportunity to work closely with our Pacific family, and we will seek to co-host the bid with the Pacific to help elevate the case of the Pacific for more climate action." Australia has lagged developed countries on its climate action, with the former government of Scott Morrison resisting pressure to set more ambitious carbon emission targets at last year's Glasgow climate summit. Bowen is leading Australia's delegation to attend COP27 climate summit in Egypt from Nov. 6 to 18, the first such summit for the newly elected labour government that came into office in May.

☆ Egypt faces criticism over crackdown on activists ahead of COP27 climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Egypt is facing a barrage of criticism over what rights groups say is a crackdown on protests and activists, as it prepares to host the COP27 climate summit starting Sunday. According to rights groups, security forces have been setting up checkpoints on Cairo streets, stopping people and searching their phones to find any content related to the planned protests. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), an NGO, said Wednesday that 93 people had been arrested in Egypt in recent days. Then there is a separate public venue where climate exhibitions and events take place throughout the two weeks of the summit. But rights groups said the government’s initiatives amounted to little change.

☆ Democratic lawmakers want Biden to sign global EV memorandum at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - A group of 16 Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Friday urged President Joe Biden to back a global memorandum that aims to shift to zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The lawmakers want the United States at the COP27 climate summit to sign the non-binding memorandum of understanding that sets a target for 30% of those new vehicles to be zero-emission by 2030 and 100% by 2040. The lawmakers led by Senator Martin Heinrich note medium and heavy trucks represent 10% of vehicles but account for 28% of total on-road greenhouse gas emissions. Reporting by David ShepardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

Ramaphosa said South Africa was speaking to international partners to identify additional funding sources, calling for "a significantly larger grant component" in support pledges. The 1.5 trillion rand plan includes about 1 trillion rand of electricity financing needs, 128 billion rand for new energy vehicles and 319 billion rand for green hydrogen. The head of South Africa's presidential climate finance task team said there was a funding gap of about 700 billion rand for the plan. If successful, South Africa's energy transition plan could be a model for other coal-dependent emerging economies in the global fight against climate change. ($1 = 17.9540 rand)Additional reporting by Anait Miridzhanian Editing by James Macharia Chege, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The COP27 climate summit gets underway in Egypt from Nov. 6. Climate Change Conference will see more than 30,000 delegates convene in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss collective action on the climate emergency. Loss and damage funding, meanwhile, is recognized by many as the third pillar of international climate policy. Kerry's openness to talks on loss and damage funding marked an abrupt change in tone from just one month earlier. Singh said political mobilization over loss and damage funding makes COP27 the most important COP yet.

☆ EU gas emissions end post-COVID rise on cleaner supply, energy-saving-study
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Avi Asher-Schapiro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Steam rises from the cooling towers of the coal power plant of RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity and gas companies in Niederaussem, Germany, March 3, 2016. "The post-COVID rebound in the EU's fossil fuel use and emissions has come to an end in the past few months, due to the growth in clean energy supply led by solar power, and energy saving measures precipitated by the fossil fuel supply crunch," said CREA lead analyst Lauri Myllyvirta. "Clean energy investments and policies have expanded dramatically, which will lead to a sustained and accelerated fall in emissions in the next years." Hydropower generation is now closer to historical averages, and nuclear underperformance should recover, easing Europe's reliance on pollutants, it said. World leaders are expected to discuss increasing clean energy production facilities in emerging countries during the annual United Nations climate summit in Egypt from Sunday.

☆ Explainer: Why methane emissions are threatening climate stability
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Tim Cocks | Avi Asher-Schapiro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Methane emissions have emerged as a top threat to the global climate, with scientists and policymakers calling for aggressive action to curb the output. At last year's U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, more than 100 countries pledged a 30% cut from 2020 methane emissions levels by 2030. "If you're interested in the climate impacts, we'll be experiencing in 2050 ... you'd be absolutely screaming about methane emissions." WHERE IT COMES FROMThree-fifths of the world's estimated methane emissions are from human activity; the rest are from natural sources like swamps. The European Union recently endorsed labeling some natural gas projects as "green" in a major boost to the industry.

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The world is falling far short at rounding up money to help struggling nations adapt to the increasingly dangerous impacts of climate change, according to a report released Thursday. Current international finance flowing to developing countries is between 5 and 10 times below what is needed, the United Nations Environment Programme report said. "It's time for a global climate adaptation overhaul," said United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres in a media statement, noting he had asked green climate funds to work with public and private financiers to pilot a new accelerator for adaptation investment. The accelerator will help financiers work with developing countries to invest in their adaptation priorities and specific projects. At the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow last year, developed countries agreed to double support for adaptation financing to $40 billion per year by 2025.

That means vineyards - which have for centuries transplanted cuttings to ensure robust and flavourful fruit - are now looking for grape types that are more resistant to climate change. It has determined that vines aged 35 years and older appear to cope better with climate change because they are more genetically diverse. The lab's ultimate goal is to ensure winemakers plant specific vines proven to be "more adaptable to climate change conditions", said Carbonell. "We are very worried about climate change," said Iñigo Torres, director of Grupo Rioja, an association representing 60 wineries that together account for 80% of sales. The grapevines were transplanted after being carefully selected from another vineyard where RODA studies the behaviour of old vines - some up to 110 years old.

☆ UK to extend windfall taxes on energy firms - The Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 2 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and finance minister Jeremy Hunt are planning to extend windfall taxes on oil and gas companies to raise nearly 40 billion pounds ($45.55 billion) over the five years, The Times reported on Wednesday. Sunak and Hunt want to maximise revenues from the windfall tax, by increasing the rate from 25% to 30% and extending it until 2028, the newspaper said, adding the scheme will be expanded to cover electricity generators. In May, Sunak under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government, introduced the 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers' profits, which helped to fund a package of support for households. The decision back then was met with critiques from oil and gas companies that it would shrink investment and domestic production. The president of the COP26 climate summit Alok Sharma said earlier this week that Sunak's government should explore extending a windfall tax on oil and gas firms.

☆ 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.

☆ How U.N. climate conferences have tackled global warming
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Andrea Januta | Kim Harrisberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File PhotoNov 2 (Reuters) - This year’s U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, marks the 27th time since 1995 that world leaders have gathered to confront global warming. Here are some key moments in the global climate conversation:1800s - Throughout the 1800s, several European scientists study how different gases and vapours can trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. 1990 - At the U.N.’s so-called Second World Climate Conference, scientists highlight the risks of global warming to nature and society. 2015 - Global warming passes 1 degree Celsius. Signatories promise to try to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees C of the preindustrial average.

BRUSSELS, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Italy is attempting to weaken a pledge 10 European governments intend to make on Thursday to stop export credit support for fossil fuel projects, according to draft documents and sources familiar with the matter. A group of ministers plan to make a joint statement on Thursday committing to end public trade and export finance support for overseas fossil fuel projects by the end of 2022. Three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters Italy had asked to remove the list specifying which fossil fuel activities would lose such support. That report said no new fossil fuel extraction projects can be developed if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels. An Export Finance for Future report in May said the 10 countries involved had committed 29.8 billion euros ($29.50 billion) in export credit support for fossil fuel projects from 2015-2020.

☆ Egyptian security arrests dozens ahead of COP27 climate summit- rights group
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CAIRO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have arrested nearly 70 people in connection with calls for protests to coincide with the COP27 climate summit, a rights group said. The arrests come after some social media users, including an exiled former construction contractor and actor, Mohamed Ali, made renewed calls for anti-government protests in Egypt on Nov. 11. The COP27 United Nations climate talks will be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from Nov 6 to 18. Sisi, who was elected president in 2014, says security measures were needed to stabilise Egypt. Abd al-Fattah will stop consuming honey, tea and milk from Tuesday and plans to stop drinking water from Nov. 6, when COP27 opens, his family says.

☆ Ahead of COP27, researchers call for climate compensation fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Channelling climate compensation payments through existing funds will not work for vulnerable communities, a team of international researchers said on Tuesday, arguing that a new fund be created. Representatives of the nearly 200 countries attending COP27 will be weighing whether to create some form of compensation fund - a central demand by developing countries worldwide. In a report on Tuesday, researchers at the Stockholm Environment Institute backed the case for a new fund. For example, most climate finance takes the form of loans, rather than the small grants the researchers said would support vulnerable communities without burdening them with debt. The researchers said that, in principle, those responsible for causing climate change should be on the hook for paying compensation - but acknowledged that the idea was politically contentious.

SAO PAULO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will participate in this month's COP27 United Nations climate summit in Egypt, the head of his political party said on Tuesday. He defeated President Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing nationalist who has overseen rising deforestation and appointed climate change skeptics as ministers. Gleisi Hoffman, the head of Lula's Workers Party, on Tuesday confirmed he would attend COP27. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also invited Lula to attend the summit in a message congratulating him on his election victory. "I have absolute certainty that...various national representatives will request to meet with President Lula," Teixeira said, adding that she was being directly consulted on the matter.

☆ Brazil's 2021 climate emissions highest since 2006, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Steven Grattan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions rose more than 12% in 2021 largely due to surging deforestation in the Amazon rainforest under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, a non-profit report said on Tuesday. read moreThe increase in emissions was the biggest since 2006, according to the so-called SEEG emissions monitoring project sponsored by the Climate Observatory environmental advocacy group. Data shows that last year the country emitted 2.42 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), up from 2.16 billion tonnes in 2020. The report puts Brazil off-track to meet its 2025 and 2030 climate goals, just as the world is set to discuss climate commitments at the United Nations COP27 climate summit in Egypt next week. Lula plans to send representatives to the meeting, despite Bolsonaro continuing to lead the country until Jan. 1.

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