UN climate summit

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Out of COP28, 'Historic' Deal to 'Do What Is Long Overdue'

But critics say little has changed with loopholes that could 'potentially take us backward'

(Newser) - United Nations climate negotiators directed the world on Wednesday to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels in a move the talks chief called historic, despite critics' worries about loopholes, per the AP . "Humanity has finally done what is long, long, long overdue," Wopke Hoekstra, European Union commissioner for...

At Climate Summit, a Record Number of Fossil Fuel Reps

Experts fear their influence at COP28 could block vital action on climate change

(Newser) - A record number of fossil fuel representatives are attending the ongoing United Nations climate summit, something experts fear could translate to a lack of progress toward curbing climate change. The Kick Big Polluters Out Coalition, comprising more than 450 groups working in environmental and climate action, analyzed a provisional attendance...

Activists Say UAE Protests May Be Misleading

Demonstrators at climate talks say dissent isn't usually allowed

(Newser) - Participants at the United Nations' COP28 climate talks Sunday found themselves greeted by the rarest sights in the United Arab Emirates: public protests. Activists allowed into the UAE can protest under strict guidelines in this autocratic nation inside the summit, and they're demonstrating on such issues as the Israel-Hamas...

US Oil, Gas Production Heads Toward Record

Projections arrive before climate talks open in Dubai

(Newser) - Just in time to encourage awkward moments at the global climate talks that begin Thursday, the federal government forecasts record US oil and gas production for the year. The projection is that 12.9 million barrels of crude oil will have been extracted by the end of 2023, more than...

Ailing Pope Will Miss UN Climate Summit

He's recovering from flu, lung inflammation

(Newser) - Pope Francis canceled his trip to Dubai for the UN climate conference on doctors' orders Tuesday, even though he is recovering from the flu and lung inflammation, the Vatican said. Francis, who turns 87 next month, was scheduled to leave Rome on Friday to address the COP28 meeting first thing...

Biden to Skip UN Climate Summit for the First Time

Almost 200 other leaders will gather in Dubai

(Newser) - President Biden will be skipping the world leaders' summit at the annual United Nations climate change conference for the first time in his presidency. Biden has called climate change the "ultimate threat" to humanity and it's not clear why the president won't be at the summit, though...

On UN Climate Talks' Thorniest Issue, a Historic Agreement

Under deal, which still needs final vote, rich nations will compensate poor nations affected by pollution

(Newser) - Negotiators say they've struck a potential breakthrough deal on the thorniest issue of United Nations climate talks: the creation of a fund for compensating poor nations that are victims of extreme weather worsened by rich nations' carbon pollution. "There is an agreement on loss and damage," which...

Biden to World Leaders: Time to 'Double Down' on Climate Change

President vows to 'change the paradigm' at UN's COP27 summit in Egypt

(Newser) - President Joe Biden, speaking Friday at an annual international summit on climate change, urged world leaders to "double down" on their resolve to fight global warming, saying Russia's invasion of Ukraine reinforces the need to phase out fossil fuels. "We can no longer plead ignorance to the...

Head of UN Climate Talks Bristles Over Summit 'Glitches'

Egypt's foreign minister slams media for focusing on event's food, drink issues, not climate change

(Newser) - Drinks are on the house at this year's UN climate talks, and the price of food will be slashed in half, Egypt's foreign minister said Thursday, following complaints from delegates that they were struggling to get food and water during the event. But on another issue that threatened...

Jump in Coal Use Pushes Up US Emissions

Increase outstrips economic growth, making Biden's goal harder to reach

(Newser) - Greenhouse gas emissions rose last year, making the US goal of a 50% reduction by 2030 that much harder to reach. The increase was 6.2% over 2020, pushed by a 17% jump in coal-fired electricity, the Washington Post reports. An analysis by the Rhodium Group, a research firm, showed...

Maldives Calls Summit Decision 'a Death Sentence'

Island nations say they can't afford to wait for incremental steps to address warming

(Newser) - Small island nations are especially alarmed by the results of the UN climate conference, making the point that they don't have time for small, incremental steps to slow global warming. The crisis has reached their homes. Negotiators declined to commit to taking immediate action to hold global warming to...

Climate Talks End in a Deal Without Altering Planet's Course

Weakened wording on coal clears way for accord

(Newser) - Negotiators from almost 200 nations reached an accord Saturday in the fight against climate change, acknowledging that the problem isn't solved but setting up another attempt at more dramatic action next year. The Glasgow summit did not achieve the central goal of agreeing on action to limit the warming...

Obama Concedes Doubts About Climate Action Progress

'We can't afford hopelessness,' former president says as he pressures Russia, China

(Newser) - Former President Barack Obama expressed confidence at UN climate talks Monday that the Biden administration will ultimately get its $555 billion climate package through Congress, and faulted China and Russia for what he called a "dangerous lack of urgency" in cutting their own climate-wrecking emissions. As nations complained of...

Biggest Delegation at Climate Summit May Be a Surprise

Fossil fuel industry has more reps than any single nation or group

(Newser) - It may not be a big surprise to learn that Brazil, home of the Amazon rainforest, has more delegates at the ongoing climate summit in Scotland than any other country. Its total of 479 easily tops No. 2 Turkey's 376 at the COP26 talks in Glasgow, per the BBC...

Global Protests Demand More of Climate Conference

Glasgow demonstration is accompanied by events around the world

(Newser) - More than 100,000 protesters unhappy with the progress made by the UN climate conference filled the streets of Glasgow on Saturday, calling for fewer promises and more change. Companion rallies were held in cities around the world, including London, Dublin, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Athens, Zurich, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Istanbul,...

Before Leaving Glasgow, Biden Slams 3 Nations

President criticizes China's Xi, Russia's Putin for not showing up at COP26, shakes head at Saudis

(Newser) - On Monday at COP26, President Biden had harsh words for a former US leader. On Tuesday, before heading back to the US, he reserved his criticism for two current world leaders, slamming them for not making an appearance at the United Nations climate summit in Scotland. "Not showing up,...

Amid Lofty Goals, a More Earthly Snub
Amid Lofty Goals,
a More Earthly Snub
the rundown
Nov 2, 2021 10:05 AM CDT

Amid Lofty Goals, a More Earthly Snub

Israeli minister was shut out of climate meetings because forum wasn't wheelchair accessible

(Newser) - The world climate summit continues in Scotland, and the coverage of COP26 is wide-ranging. A sample:
  • Rejoining: The US has formally rejoined a group known as the High Ambition Coalition at the climate talks, reports the Guardian . The group, made up of developed and developing countries, will push for nations
...

Public's Interest Is Changing Climate Politics

Rise of Green parties has moved global warming up the priority list for nations

(Newser) - As world leaders arrived in Scotland for the UN climate conference, great strides against global warming may have seemed unlikely, given the vague promises made the day before at Rome's G20 summit. But climate activists have been here before, the Washington Post reports, going back to the first such...

Biden Apologizes to World for Trump
Biden
Apologizes
to World
for Trump
Nov 1, 2021 11:28 AM CDT

Biden Apologizes to World for Trump

He tells UN climate summit US should not have pulled out of Paris accord

(Newser) - President Biden offered a public apology to a UN climate conference over predecessor Donald Trump’s move to pull the US from the Paris accord. Biden was speaking in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday where world leaders were gathering to discuss implementing the agreement to contain global warming by mid-century. “...

Johnson Opens Climate Summit With Quite an Analogy

World is like James Bond strapped to a 'doomsday device,' warns the UK leader

(Newser) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened a global climate summit Monday, saying the world is strapped to a "doomsday device." Johnson likened an ever-warming Earth's position to that of fictional secret agent James Bond—strapped to a bomb that will destroy the planet and trying to work...

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