Feed aggregator
Global leaders have a climate 'credibility problem', says Al Gore at Cop27 – video
Al Gore made an impassioned call on Monday for leaders to 'choose life over death' by ending the use of fossil fuels that are stoking the climate crisis. The former US vice-president, a long-time environmental campaigner who was among the first to raise the alarm about climate change, told leaders at this year's United Nations climate summit in Egypt that they should turn away from destructive behaviour, insisting that 'we have other choices' in the form of renewable energy
Continue reading...How can we cut soaring demand for meat? Try a hybrid burger | Joseph Poore
Blending lentils or vegetables into meat products could have huge benefits for the environment, animal welfare and human health
Our current level of meat consumption is unsustainable. Animal farming is a major driver of global heating and tropical deforestation. The meat industry keeps most animals in intensive, inhumane conditions. And red meat is linked to multiple health problems including heart disease and colorectal cancer.
The food industry has committed to change – chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King have signed up to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, to zero deforestation by 2030, and to multiple health targets too. But how can these giant companies, and indeed the whole food sector, possibly follow through when we consume 340bn kilos of meat a year globally, and demand is still rising? Do we just hope that consumers will go vegan or vegetarian of their own accord?
Joseph Poore researches agriculture and the environment at the University of Oxford. Hannah Ritchie also contributed to this piece
Continue reading...Euro Markets: Midday Update
Met Office predicts severe flooding across England in February
Government embarks on campaign to raise awareness over weather threat as England remains in drought
Severe flooding caused by La Niña is predicted for February despite England remaining in drought, the Met Office has said.
Two-thirds of people at risk of flooding were unaware of the situation, the government said on Monday, as it embarked on an awareness campaign. This average cost to a flooded household is £30,000, figures show.
Continue reading...'We are in the fight of our lives,' says UN chief at Cop27 climate summit – video
António Guterres told delegates gathered at the start of the conference in Egypt that humanity was 'on a highway to climate hell with our foot – still – on the accelerator'. The UN secretary general's speech set an urgent tone as government representatives assembled for two weeks of talks on how to avert the worst of climate breakdown
Continue reading...Sunak extends UK support for saving forests – but will not give more funding
New president of Brazil expected to join initiative at Cop27 covering a third of world’s forests
Rishi Sunak has pledged the UK’s continued support for conserving threatened forests around the world, through a funding programme covering a third of the world’s forests, at the Cop27 UN climate summit in Egypt.
Brazil is expected to join the initiative, under the incoming president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and new funding from the public and private sector will take the spending for forest conservation above $20bn over the next five years. The moves form part of efforts to tackle emissions from land use, the second biggest driver of global heating, of which tropical deforestation is a significant component.
Continue reading...World is on ‘highway to climate hell’, UN chief warns at Cop27 summit
António Guterres tells leaders ‘global climate fight will be won or lost in this crucial decade – on our watch’
Humanity is on a “highway to climate hell”, the UN secretary general has warned, saying the fight for a liveable planet will be won or lost in this decade.
António Guterres told world leaders at the opening of the Cop27 UN climate summit in Egypt on Monday: “We are in the fight of our lives and we are losing … And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson urges Cop27 summit to 'double down on net zero' – video
The former UK prime minister attended a New York Times event at the UN climate conference in Egypt on Monday, saying 'now is not the moment to go weak on net zero' after suggesting that the discussion over the war in Ukraine had distracted from the climate crisis and was having 'all sorts of bad effects'.
Johnson said global leaders should not back away from promises made at the previous climate summit in Glasgow. He said he was attending the summit in a 'purely supportive role' before Rishi Sunak's appearance on Monday afternoon. Sunak had originally said he was unable to attend the event because of commitments to tackle the cost of living crisis
Continue reading...Cop27 wifi in Egypt blocks human rights and key news websites
Attendees say they are unable to visit Human Rights Watch and other sites needed during climate talks
Attendees at the Cop27 climate meeting have found that the conference internet connection blocks access to the global rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) as well as other key news websites needed for information during the talks.
HRW is due to lead a panel discussion at Cop27 along with Amnesty International, whose website is accessible on the conference wifi. The list of blocked sites also includes the blogging platform Medium, Egypt’s lone independent news outlet, Mada Masr, and the Qatari news outlet Al Jazeera.
Continue reading...Senior Carbon Adviser, Santos – Adelaide
Loss and damage issue keeps us Cop27 negotiators wrangling late into the night
Developing countries hope to make progress on this problem because we are already suffering the effects
Cop27 had not even officially opened, and already we delegates found ourselves staying up all night wrangling over important issues. In this case, it was loss and damage – and there may be many more late nights to come on that issue.
At the official start of the conference of the parties to the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC), the conference must first of all achieve consensus on the agenda.
The Secret Negotiators are representatives of developing countries involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations, and who will be attending the Cop27 climate conference.
Continue reading...Cop27: Boris Johnson to attack ‘corrosive cynicism’ on net zero at summit – live
The 27th Cop on climate change is taking place over the next two weeks in the resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt
The US and China are showing the ‘can-do promethean’ spirit that can get us to net zero. We need to “put the electric throttle to the floor”.
Glasgow was a high point, a moment at which the ‘clouds of despair’ momentarily parted. But then Putin invaded Ukraine and the fight against climate change was one of the most important collateral damages.
Continue reading...Carbon trader leaves investment firm to set up own VCM venture
Startup raises $4.8 mln to scale up emissions-saving AI tech for heavy industries
Billionaires should not make up climate finance gaps, says Bezos Earth Fund head
Rich countries ‘not living up to obligations’, says Andrew Steer, in charge of $10bn environmental fund
Billionaires can not be expected to make up for climate finance gaps left by rich countries that fail to deliver on promises to the developing world, the head of the Bezos Earth Fund has said.
The Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, created a $10bn (£8.8m) grant to protect the Earth’s environment in 2020. Andrew Steer, the president and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, oversees this alongside the billionaire, his partner Lauren Sanchez and the fund’s board.
Continue reading...Japan to fund third-country green hydrogen projects under JCM
Offshore floating solar plant linked with offshore wind in world first
The world’s first commercial offshore floating solar plant has been commissioned off the east of China, integrated with offshore wind.
The post Offshore floating solar plant linked with offshore wind in world first appeared first on RenewEconomy.
The floating gardens of Bangladesh – in pictures
Many farmers in south-western Bangladesh use floating rafts made from invasive water hyacinths to grow vegetables during the monsoon season – when dry land is scarce – to ensure food security in the low-lying country, which has recently been experiencing prolonged floods and waterlogging as a result of the changing climate
Continue reading...Cop27: Met says arrests made as Just Stop Oil ‘intend to disrupt motorways’
Scotland Yard accuses climate action group of planning harmful and ‘reckless action to obstruct the public on a large scale’
The Metropolitan police have launched a “significant” operation to identify and arrest climate change protesters suspected of planning “reckless and serious” motorway disruption as Cop27 gets under way.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said three people were arrested on Sunday evening who were suspected of planning public disruption. Police were expecting to make more arrests.
Continue reading...Tonga appoints Singapore firm to study, develop blue carbon potential
Pages
