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COP26: Egypt, UAE confirmed as next UN climate summit hosts
COP26: UN chief Guterres says global warming target on life support
Cities act on climate while nations delay, Sadiq Khan tells Cop26
The London mayor and chair of a global alliance of cities announces $1bn for electric buses
Global cities are acting now to fight the climate crisis, while many governments are delaying, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has told the Cop26 summit.
Cities are growing fast and cause an estimated 75% of carbon emissions, making urban action critical to halting global heating. Khan is chair of the C40 group of 97 major cities, representing more than 700 million people and a quarter of the global economy.
Continue reading...Deforestation in Australia: a wanton assault on wildlife – in pictures
More than 100 nations including Australia this month signed up to stop or reverse deforestation by 2030. The pact, hailed as one of the main achievements of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, put the spotlight on an issue that combines carbon emissions and threatened species. These images reveal some of the shocking impacts of deforestation
Continue reading...UK, Indonesia eye carbon trading partnership
'This is a circus': a day at Cop26 with a climate activist – video
World leaders, big business and international delegations have converged on the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow promising to tackle global heating.
But outside the closed negotiation doors, activists from around the globe have been a strong voice in attempting to hold those in power to account on their environmental pledges. The Guardian followed Fatima Ibrahim, activist and co-director of Green New Deal Rising, as she navigated a day at the climate conference
Continue reading...Scotland to ban plastic straws and polystyrene food boxes from June
Scottish ministers fear raft of measures could be undermined by delay to parallel action in England
The sale of plastic straws, cutlery and polystyrene cups and food boxes is to be banned in Scotland next year as part of measures to reduce waste and pollution.
The Scottish government said the ban would cover all single-use polystyrene food containers and their lids, as well as plastic stirrers, balloon sticks, plates and coffee stirrers, and would come into force on 1 June.
Continue reading...‘We are not on course’: scientists warn action must match words at Cop26
Climate experts say their message is getting through but more urgent work is needed
Scientists attending Cop26 have sent a clear warning to policymakers: get a move on, because every moment of delay, every extra fraction of a degree of global heating will have dire consequences.
That message has been reinforced at Glasgow with reports, forums and discussions, but those involved in channelling the science to the world’s leaders are frustrated that words are still not being matched by actions.
Continue reading...Concern over letter to asylum seekers not to join Cop26 protests
Recipients felt ‘threatened’ by letter from Mears, which is contracted to house asylum seekers in Glasgow
Concerns have been raised about a letter sent to thousands of asylum seekers in Glasgow advising them not to take part in policed protests during the Cop26 summit.
The letter was sent by the private housing provider Mears, which has the Home Office contract to house asylum seekers in the city, the UK’s largest dispersal area.
Continue reading...Nature under threat: a Cop26 photographic competition – in pictures
The Earth Project, in collaboration with Nature Picture Library photography competition, aims to raise awareness of the huge challenges faced by nature, as well as the impacts of climate change on global ecosystems. Some of the world’s leading photographers came together to illustrate nature under threat, linking to one of the main goals of Cop26: to help protect and restore ecosystems in countries adversely affected by the climate crisis
- The overall winning images, by Rivoni Mkansi of a rhino being dehorned to deter poaching; by Doug Gimesy of little blue penguins silhouetted against Melbourne city, and by Jo-Anne McArthur of pigs in an industrial farm, were selected by an online vote for three galleries
Key Cop26 pledges could put world 9% closer to 1.5C pathway
Climate Action Tracker data shows world still heading for catastrophe – but outlook could improve
New Cop26 pledges announced on methane, coal, transport and deforestation could nudge the world 9% closer to a pathway that keeps heating to 1.5C, according to a study by the world’s most respected climate analysis coalition.
Climate Action Tracker says the sectoral commitments announced in Glasgow represent potential cuts of 2.2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to the emissions of Germany, Japan and the UK combined, or 20,000 fully loaded aircraft carriers. This is in addition to measures previously outlined in national climate plans.
Continue reading...We need more female leaders in the fight against climate change | Maria Tanyag
Diverse participation leads to more robust solutions, but Cop26 shows we are still failing to include marginalised voices
In a stirring speech at the opening of the Cop26 world leaders summit, Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados, asked: “When will leaders lead?” The problem she identified is that “both ambition and needed faces are not present in Glasgow”. The over-representation of white men in climate change decision-making processes is stifling for both the imagination and the implementation of transformative solutions. Globally, only 26 women serve as heads of government and state. At the last Cop summit, held in 2019, approximately 80% or 155 of the 196 heads of delegation were men. Progress has been made to increase women’s participation in Cop events, but gender parity in climate leadership is estimated to be achieved only in 2068.
The global climate change agenda has met with not only political inaction, but resistance in the form of populist denialism that threatens to derail or undo existing efforts. For example, studies on “conservative white males” in the US and Norway have highlighted the connections between climate change denialism, patriarchal beliefs and rightwing nationalism.
Dr Maria Tanyag is a research fellow and lecturer in international relations at the Australian National University
Continue reading...Blow to UK battery industry hopes as Johnson Matthey halts research
British chemical giant to exit sector saying it is lagging too far behind rivals already making batteries at scale
Britain’s hopes to grab a slice of the fast-growing market for electric vehicle batteries have been dealt a blow after one of the UK’s biggest chemicals companies said it would give up on developing the technology.
Johnson Matthey, a member of the FTSE 100, announced plans on Thursday to exit the battery materials business because it is too far behind rivals who are already making batteries at gigantic scale.
Continue reading...Chinese emitters forced to chase scarce supply after ignoring CO2 verification requirements
Cop26 police tactics creating atmosphere of fear, protesters say
Organisers of Glasgow march claim police risked ‘chaos’ by failing to adhere to agreed arrangements
Accumulated incidents of police intimidation, harassment and aggression towards activists at Cop26 are creating “an atmosphere of fear and repression” on the streets of Glasgow and have had a chilling effect on protest, campaigners and monitoring groups have said.
Organisers of Saturday’s Climate Justice march through Glasgow have also claimed that police risked “chaos” by failing to adhere to agreed arrangements, while Scottish immigrant groups and indigenous visitors have described their feelings of discomfort and threat prompted by “saturation policing” throughout the city.
Being threatened with arrest for unfurling a banner at a train station.
One activist operating in a police liaison capacity was given an identifying blue bib to wear by organisers, but later had it confiscated by a police officer and was threatened with arrest for impersonating a police officer.
The organiser at an activists’ campsite was threatened with arrest for “child neglect” after an officer witnessed families asking whether they could stay there.
Police vans driving past the site in the early hours blasting an air horn and shining a spotlight with the apparent intention of disturbing sleep.
One activist was reduced to tears after being followed into a men’s toilets by three officers.
Continue reading...‘Natural Health Service’: Derby approves UK’s largest urban rewilding project
Plan to transform 130 hectares of Allestree Park could see reintroduction of species such as red kite and harvest mouse
“I’m excited about the potential for large wildflower-rich grassland areas mixed with naturally regenerating scrub,” said Prof Alastair Driver, director at Rewilding Britain. “It won’t be long before these areas are ringing with warbler song and sizzling with grasshoppers and crickets.”
The source of Driver’s excitement is Allestree Park, the largest open space in Derby, to which Derby city council has given the green light this week to become what Rewilding Britain believes to be the UK’s largest urban rewilding project.
Continue reading...Cop26: Australia brought nothing but ‘good coffee’ to summit, says former negotiator – day 11 live
All the latest news from the UN climate change conference in Glasgow
- Cop26 draft text annotated: what it says and what it means
- US-China deal on emissions welcomed by climate experts
The UN’s António Guterres is underwhelmed by the pledges so far.
Bit of a theme here in the final push of the summit to make Cop26 a world-saver, rather than a historical disappointment. Lots of voices calling for more “ambition”.
Continue reading...The earth’s secret miracle weapon is not a plant or an animal. It’s fungi | Giuliana Furci
Without fungi we don’t have bread, chocolate, cheese, soy sauce, beer or wine. They are also crucial to protecting our climate
Let’s picture a dinner with family or friends that began by enjoying beer, wine, fruit juice or maybe a fizzy kombucha beverage. You’re contemplating a glorious basket of bread, wrapped in awe of its perfect crumb and fantasizing about the moment you slather it in butter or olive oil. Then come the fresh vegetables sauteed with soy sauce, maybe tofu or free-range beef with potatoes or rice, followed by cheese, or a chocolate dessert – and to top it off, a lovely cup of coffee or tea with some chocolates or maybe some sake? We need to stop for a moment and thank fungi for all of this. Honestly, none of it would be possible without them, and your dinner would certainly not be so tasty!
Fungi are responsible for almost all our food production, and most of our processed materials. They are also to be thanked for many of the important medical breakthroughs in human history that treat both physical and mental ailments, for naturally sequestering and slowly releasing carbon, for optimizing industrial processes, and so much more.
Continue reading...World’s militaries avoiding scrutiny over emissions, scientists say
Countries do not have to include armed forces’ emissions in their targets despite estimates sector creates 6% of greenhouse gases
Armed forces are among the biggest polluters on the planet but are avoiding scrutiny because countries do not have to include their emissions in their targets, scientists say.
The world’s militaries combined, and the industries that provide their equipment, are estimated to create 6% of all global emissions, according to Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR).
Continue reading...COP26: US-China climate agreement and fossil fuel spending
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