Feed aggregator

Colombian president Gustavo Petro wants treaty to lay out plan to end era of coal, oil and gas

• Cop28 live – latest updates

Colombia has formally joined an alliance of nations calling for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to prevent the “omnicide of planet Earth”, the country’s president announced at Cop28.

At the climate summit in Dubai, Gustavo Petro has said his country would join a group of nations calling for a new body to manage a global transition away from the primary driver of global heating, akin to previous treaties to reduce nuclear weapon arsenals and landmines.

Cop28: Can fossil fuel companies transition to clean energy?
On Tuesday 5 December, 8pm-9.15pm GMT, join Damian Carrington, Christiana Figueres, Tessa Khan and Mike Coffin for a livestreamed discussion on whether fossil fuel companies can transition to clean energy. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live

Continue reading...

A voluntary carbon credit ratings agency has partnered with an Asian government to help it use "high-quality" carbon credits towards meeting Paris Agreement goals, they said at a joint launch event on Saturday.

Fatih Birol says fossil fuel use will peak in 2030, and urges companies to lead switch to green energy

• Cop28 live – latest updates

Oil and gas producers must convert their operations to renewable energy or face steep economic decline, the world’s chief energy adviser has said amid the forging of a new alliance of energy companies at the UN Cop28 climate summit.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said: “We have to find a way to reduce fossil fuel consumption, and as such there is an important role that the oil and gas industry can play. I very much hope that they can show in Dubai that they can be part of the solution when it comes to tackling climate change.”

Continue reading...

The US has finalised standards to reduce methane pollution and other harmful air pollutants from the oil and gas industry, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Michael Regan announced at COP28 in Dubai on Saturday.

Crediting standard Cercarbono has released for public consultation a broad programme that will allow a wide range of activities to earn voluntary biodiversity credits, covering terrestrial, marine, freshwater, wetland, and urban activities.

World’s militaries produce at least 5.5% of emissions, as evidence mounts that climate crisis puts regions at greater risk of war

Wealthy nations should divert 5% of their military budgets to climate finance, advocates argue.

The call comes as global leaders at Cop28 in Dubai gather for a special-themed day on “relief, recovery, and peace” on Sunday, marking the first time climate-fueled conflict has ever been on an international climate conference agenda.

Continue reading...

Coal exporter Colombia has joined a small group of countries seeking a treaty to end new fossil fuel development and phase out existing capacity in line with the Paris Agreement, President Gustavo Petro announced Saturday at COP28.

A South Korea-led intergovernmental organisation has secured a forest carbon project in Kyrgyzstan, where it plans to restore 600,000 hectares and contribute to achieving the Central Asian country's climate goals.

It's Day 3 of COP28 and world leaders are speaking once again at Expo City in Dubai, UAE, with climate finance pledges mounting, and coal phaseout and renewables targets on the agenda. In our daily running blog, Carbon Pulse will report relevant or useful updates throughout the day. Timestamps are in local time (Gulf Standard Time, GMT+4).

French President Emmanuel Macron and billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg announced a framework to set up the world's first global and open emissions data source for private sector emissions at COP28 in Dubai on Saturday, with 400 companies so far signed up at its launch.

Seven new countries, including the US, signed up to a pledge on Saturday to phase out existing unabated coal plants and to not develop new unabated capacity, in what has been described as a "groundbreaking" move at COP28, while a French-led initiative supported by the EU also launched, aiming to end private finance for the fuel.

Public-private forest finance partnership the LEAF Coalition has unveiled its first finalised Emissions Reductions Purchase Agreements (ERPAs) to supply jurisdictional REDD+ credits from two nations to corporate buyers, organisers announced on Saturday at COP28.

Hosts the UAE will hope that more countries use their speeches to pledge money to the newly approved loss and damage fund

Good morning! This is Alan Evans, bringing you coverage from the third day of the UN’s Cop28 climate summit.

The Guardian will be liveblogging the negotiations throughout. You can email me on alan.evans@theguardian.com or on X/Twitter at @itsalanevans, and my colleague Ajit Niranjan (ajit.niranjan@theguardian.com) will take over later on.

World leaders, particularly those from developing countries at the forefront of the climate crises, begged large economies and emitters to take urgent action both to reduce emissions and fund loss and damage

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak declared to the conference that he had watered down climate policy in the UK, drawing anger from politicians and climate experts who said he had “misread the room”

UK opposition leader Keir Starmer accused Sunak of “shrinking and retreating” from showcasing leadership on the global stage at Cop28 and over the climate crisis

A new UN report found that droughts are a planetary emergency causing widespread famine, and that they are a silent, often ignored, killer

Brazil’s president, Lula, outlined that it is not possible to tackle the climate crisis without also tackling inequality. He spoke of climate suffering in the Amazon, which is experiencing one of the “most tragic droughts in its history” while cyclones in the south of Brazil have left a trail “of destruction and death”.

The UK’s King Charles III opened the conference, and warned in his speech that “unless we rapidly repair and restore nature’s economy, based on harmony and balance, which is our ultimate sustainer, our own economy and survivability will be imperilled.”

Continue reading...

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

The California-Quebec carbon market and Washington’s cap-and-trade programme on Friday announced similar auction floor prices and allowance price containment reserve (APCR) levels for 2024, as the linked WCI scheme also established next year's sale volumes.

Engaging with climate sceptics can be a challenge - but some people are trying to change their minds.

Compliance entities and speculators both shed their V23 California Carbon Allowance (CCA) holdings in favour of V24, favoring the reverse in RGGI, while both groups reduced their Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) positions over the last week, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Friday.

The UAE's state oil company is set to be the world's second biggest producer, analysis shows.

California compliance offset retirements continued to decline during the interim cap-and-trade deadline in 2022, dropping to a third of the amount surrendered during the 2018–20 period, while higher premiums and supply constraints drove down the share of credits with direct environmental benefits (DEBs), according to official data published Thursday.

An update to an existing Improved Forest Management (IFM) methodology in the US will be proposed early next year, the certifier announced on Friday.