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A second Trump administration is set to redirect US energy policy, moving away from net-zero emissions targets and introducing significant shifts in trade and regulatory frameworks, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

UN climate chief addresses climate summit with no agreement in sight on how to help developing countries

Countries meeting in Azerbaijan to discuss a new global financial settlement for tackling the climate crisis must “cut the theatrics” and get down to serious business, the UN has said.

The UK and Brazil have been drafted in to try to break a logjam at the Cop29 climate summit, which entered its second week on Monday with no agreement in sight on the key issue of how to channel at least $1tn a year to developing countries.

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A provision that "encourages" scaling voluntary carbon markets has been included in the latest text on climate finance at the COP29 global climate summit, though green groups and some developing countries are pushing hard against this language, citing integrity concerns.

By relying on natural carbon sinks such as forests and peatlands to offset emissions, governments can appear closer to goals than they actually are

Relying on natural carbon sinks such as forests and oceans to offset continued fossil fuel emissions will not stop global heating, the scientists who developed net zero have warned.

Each year, the planet’s oceans, forests, soils and other natural carbon sinks absorb about half of all human emissions, forming part of government plans to limit global heating to below 2C under the Paris agreement.

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Denmark has approved the world's first emissions tax on agriculture, to help achieve its legally-binding target to reduce emissions 70% by 2030 on 1990 levels.

Vertical farm developers in England and Saudi Arabia say they can grow trees faster and healthier than with conventional methods. The companies aim to generate credits from reforestation, with oil companies and data centres among the potential first buyers.

The European Union is risking its influential role in global climate diplomacy, as UN negotiations for the so-called 'finance COP' enter second week in Baku with the bloc not yet committing publicly to a specific contribution figure.

The EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) is adding tensions to already difficult negotiations at COP29 in Baku, with top government officials telling Carbon Pulse that the European Union should be more flexible with the policy.

US climate envoy says Trump won’t derail progress as GOP argues for increasing oil and gas production at UN talks

Throughout the UN climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, in recent days, US officials have maintained a studiously sunny disposition, saying that the Republican president-elect, Donald Trump, will not derail climate progress.

The US climate envoy, John Podesta, said the fight “for a cleaner, safer” planet will not stop under a re-elected Trump even if some progress is reversed. The energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, said: “The absence of leadership in the White House does not mean that this energy transition is stopped.” And Joe Biden’s climate and energy assistant, Jacob Levine, told reporters that the president’s climate policies had sparked an unstoppable clean energy “revolution”.

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A kingfisher with a long, dagger-shaped beak. Soft white feathers on its belly, iridescent blue opal spots on its wings

I walked out of my kitchen on an overcast morning last week, feeling depressed, trying to think my way around the US election result somehow towards acceptance – or a totally different reality.

I walked to the garden, carrying a load of laundry. And perched on the top edge of a chair was a fat, fluffy laughing kookaburra. It looked at me, I looked at it. A large kingfisher with a long, dagger-shaped beak. The corners of its beak turn upwards so that it looks as though it is smiling slightly. Soft white feathers on its belly, iridescent blue opal spots on its brown wings.

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The Biden administration announced a raft of new initiatives Sunday that will increase funding for forest conversation and restoration in the Brazilian Amazon, including the launch of a coalition that aims to mobilise at least $10 bln by 2030.

Developing countries need up to $1.5 trillion per year of solely grant-based climate finance as they struggle to attract investment and cope with growing debt, according to a new study that claims previous estimates are far too low.

A group of sovereign debt specialists on Sunday released principles for improving access to nature- and climate-related financial products.

Residents claim contamination from Angus Fire factory has left them trapped and unable to sell their homes

Residents in the UK town with the country’s highest identified concentration of “forever chemicals” have instructed lawyers to investigate the possibility of a first-of-its-kind legal claim against the firefighting foam manufacturer located in the centre of Bentham.

In May this year, an investigation by the Ends Report and the Guardian revealed that the rural North Yorkshire town is the most PFAS-polluted place known to exist in the UK. The town is home to the firefighting foam manufacturer Angus Fire.

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EUAs were firmer at midday on Monday after a stronger than usual auction outcome appeared to trigger a wave of buying that moved the market €2.00 higher.

The United Arab Emirates’ new 2035 Paris Agreement pledge sets an emissions reduction target aligned with a 1.5C temperature limit, but its overall commitments are not compatible because of a weak 2030 goal, according to analysis published Monday.

Companies are lagging behind in aligning biodiversity-related disclosures with the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and are failing to disclose metrics, an assessment has found.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is purchasing clean cooking carbon credits, a representative confirmed Monday at the COP29 climate summit, while a senior member at Verra said the voluntary standard remained in a wait-and-see stance for a new UN-backed methodology for the sector.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has teamed up with the Odisea expedition to explore and protect biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean, the organisation announced on Monday during the ongoing UN climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Scientists say goal to keep world’s temperature rise below 1.5C is not going to happen despite talks at Cop29 in Baku

The internationally agreed goal to keep the world’s temperature rise below 1.5C is now “deader than a doornail”, with 2024 almost certain to be the first individual year above this threshold, climate scientists have gloomily concluded – even as world leaders gather for climate talks on how to remain within this boundary.

Three of the five leading research groups monitoring global temperatures consider 2024 on track to be at least 1.5C (2.7F) hotter than pre-industrial times, underlining it as the warmest year on record, beating a mark set just last year. The past 10 consecutive years have already been the hottest 10 years ever recorded.

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