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  • During COP26, Facebook served adverts with local weather falsehoods, skepticism

    Facebook advertisers promoted false and deceptive claims about local weather change on the platform in current weeks, simply because the COP26 convention was getting beneath approach.
    Days after Facebook’s vice chairman of worldwide affairs, Nick Clegg, touted the corporate’s efforts to fight local weather misinformation in a weblog because the Glasgow summit started, conservative media community Newsmax ran an advert on Facebook that referred to as man-made world warming a “hoax.”
    The advert, which had a number of variations, garnered greater than 200,000 views. In one other, conservative commentator Candace Owens mentioned, “apparently we’re just supposed to trust our new authoritarian government” on local weather science, whereas a U.S. libertarian think-tank ran an advert on how “modern doomsayers” had been wrongly predicting local weather crises for many years.
    Newsmax, Owens and the Daily Wire, which paid for the advert from Owens’s web page, didn’t reply to requests for remark.
    Facebook, which just lately modified its identify to Meta, doesn’t have a selected coverage on local weather misinformation in adverts or unpaid posts. Alphabet’s Google mentioned final month it will not enable adverts that contradict scientific consensus on local weather change on YouTube and its different companies, although it will enable content material that discusses false claims.
    Facebook usually doesn’t take away misinformation in posts except it determines they pose imminent real-world hurt, because it did for falsehoods round COVID-19. The firm says it demotes posts ranked as false by its third-party fact-checkers (of which Reuters is one) and prohibits adverts with these debunked claims. It says advertisers that repeatedly publish false data could face restrictions on their means to promote on Facebook. It exempts politicians’ adverts from fact-checks.
    Asked about adverts pushing local weather misinformation, an organization spokesperson mentioned in an announcement: “While ads like these run across many platforms, Facebook offers an extra layer of transparency by requiring them to be available to the public in our Ad Library for up to seven years after publication.”
    UK-based think-tank InfluenceMap, which recognized deceptive Facebook adverts run from a number of media shops and think-tanks round COP26, additionally discovered fossil gasoline firms and lobbying teams spent $574,000 on political and social subject Facebook adverts in the course of the summit, leading to greater than 22 million impressions and together with content material that promoted their environmental efforts in what InfluenceMap described as “greenwashing.”
    One advert paid for by the American Petroleum Institute panned over a pure panorama because it touted its efforts to deal with local weather change, whereas BP America ran an advert detailing its help for climate-friendly insurance policies in neon inexperienced writing.
    “Our social media posts represent a small fraction compared to the robust investments our companies make every day into breakthrough technologies aimed at capturing methane, advancing hydrogen and accelerating carbon capture,” the API mentioned in an announcement, saying the pure gasoline and oil trade was dedicated to reducing emissions. BP mentioned in an announcement that it was “actively advocating for policies that support net zero, including carbon pricing, through a range of transparent channels, including social media advertising.”
    Oil and gasoline firms have positioned adverts throughout a broad vary of different media properties forward of and in the course of the COP26 summit, together with on podcasts, newsletters and thru TV commercials. In Europe, Greenpeace and different environmental teams referred to as final month for a ban on adverts and sponsorships by oil and gasoline companies.Facebook has began including informational labels to posts about local weather change to direct customers to its Climate Science Center, a brand new hub with info and quizzes which it says is visited by greater than 100,000 individuals a day.
    Asked in an interview aired this week on the Reuters Responsible Business USA 2021 occasion the place he thought Facebook nonetheless fell brief on local weather points, Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer mentioned, “Obviously, there’s been concern about people sharing misinformation about climate on Facebook.”
    “I’m not going to say we have it right at any moment in time,” he mentioned. “We continually reevaluate what the state of the world is and what is our role, which starts with trying to allow people free expression, and then intervening when there are harms happening that we can prevent.”
    He didn’t straight reply why Facebook had not banned all local weather misinformation adverts however mentioned it “didn’t want people to profit over misinformation.”
    Employees query coverage
    The firm’s approaches to local weather misinformation and skepticism have brought on worker debate. Discussions on its inside message board present workers sparring over the way it ought to deal with local weather misinformation and flagging situations of it on the platform, corresponding to in a January publish the place an worker mentioned they discovered “prominent results of apparent misinformation” once they looked for local weather change in its video ‘Watch’ part.
    The paperwork have been amongst a cache of disclosures made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress by whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product supervisor who left in May. Reuters was amongst a bunch of stories organizations in a position to view the paperwork.

    In the feedback on an April publish highlighting Facebook’s dedication to lowering its personal environmental affect, together with by reaching web zero emissions for its world operations final 12 months, one workers member requested if the corporate might begin classifying and eradicating local weather misinformation and hoaxes from its platforms.
    Two exterior researchers working with Facebook on its local weather change efforts instructed Reuters they wish to see the corporate method local weather misinformation with the identical proactiveness it has for COVID-19, which Facebook cracked down on in the course of the pandemic.
    “It does need to be addressed with the same level of urgency,” mentioned John Cook, a postdoctoral analysis fellow on the Climate Change Communication Research Hub at Monash University who’s advising Facebook on its local weather misinformation work. “It is arguably more dangerous.”

  • Good COP, dangerous COP? Takeaways from the brand new UN local weather deal

    After two years of preparation and 13 days of robust talks, did negotiators on the UN local weather assembly in Glasgow save the planet?
    In quick: no.

    But they have been hardly anticipated to take action. The annual Conference of the Parties, simply held for the twenty sixth time, is all about getting international locations to regularly ratchet up their measures to defuse international warming.
    The focus of the Glasgow talks was to not forge a brand new treaty however to finalize the one agreed to in Paris six years in the past and to construct on it by additional curbing greenhouse fuel emissions, bending the temperature curve nearer to ranges that don’t threaten human civilization.
    Here’s a have a look at what was achieved in Glasgow:

    Aiming For Fewer Emissions
    Going into the Glasgow talks, most international locations, together with the United States, China and the 27 members of the European Union, declared new, extra bold targets for lowering emissions.
    Some, reminiscent of India, introduced extra measures on the assembly itself. Side offers brokered by host nation Britain lined points reminiscent of reversing deforestation, boosting electrical autos, phasing out coal, clamping down on methane emissions and unlocking investor money for the struggle in opposition to local weather change.
    Within the official negotiations, international locations agreed to firmly concentrate on essentially the most bold purpose within the 2015 Paris accord, of holding international warming from going past 1.5 levels Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). Experts and weak international locations have lengthy advocated that threshold, however some nations beforehand held onto the choice of aiming for “well below 2 C (3.6 F).”
    They additionally agreed to explicitly goal coal use and fossil gasoline subsidies, although the unique proposals have been tremendously watered down.
    In a bid to spur additional ambition, main emitters can be requested to current new targets on the 2022 UN local weather convention in Egypt.
    Delegates from totally different international locations pose for a gaggle {photograph} within the plenary room on the COP26 UN Climate Summit, in Glasgow on Saturday. (Photo: AP)
    Aid To Poor Countries
    There was dangerous blood going into the assembly as a result of wealthy international locations have failed to satisfy their pledge of offering $100 billion every year by 2020 to assist poor nations deal with local weather change.
    The closing settlement expressed “deep regret” in regards to the funding failure and urges wealthy nations to give you the cash as quickly as potential.
    The share and sum of money earmarked for poor international locations to adapt to rising sea ranges and different impacts of local weather change was additionally elevated, although not by as a lot as that they had demanded.
    No Reparations
    Wealthy nations such because the United States and European Union members rejected calls for to ascertain a fund to compensate poor international locations for the destruction wrought by local weather change, which developed international locations are considerably chargeable for due to their previous emissions.
    Many weak international locations have been angered by the choice however nonetheless backed the settlement within the hope of creating progress on the “loss and damage” challenge subsequent yr in Egypt.
    Alok Sharma, the President of the COP26 summit, at the beginning of a stocktaking plenary session in Glasgow on Saturday. (Photo: AP)
    Carbon Trading Rules
    Fixing the principles on worldwide cooperation for lowering emissions, together with carbon markets, had eluded nations since Paris. Six years on, it remained one of many hardest-fought points within the negotiating room over the previous two weeks.
    The guidelines protecting what’s referred to as Article 6 will change into more and more necessary as international locations and corporations purpose to chop their emissions to “net zero” by 2050 by balancing out any remaining air pollution they produce with an equal quantity of carbon captured elsewhere.
    While a compromise was discovered that proponents say may add trillions of {dollars} to the battle in opposition to local weather change, some international locations and environmental teams worry the deal left important loopholes which may undermine the integrity of the system by permitting sure emissions cuts to be counted twice.
    A shift by Brazil, beneath strain by a few of its main firms, proved decisive in clinching the deal. In return, the nation will get to maintain some carbon credit it amassed beneath an older system that consultants say wasn’t credible.
    A small surcharge on carbon trades will go towards a fund to assist poor international locations adapt to international warming, however campaigners had hoped for the levy to be utilized extra broadly and blamed U.S. opposition for that taking place in Glasgow.
    Technical Tweaks
    Countries agreed to a number of tweaks to the principles on how and the way usually they should report what they’re doing to scale back emissions. While this may increasingly appear technical, consultants argue that better transparency and extra frequent accounting are necessary for constructing belief as a result of nations are intently watching what others do.
    China has been notably cautious of getting others scrutinize its efforts too intently. Along with different developed and rising economies, it’s now anticipated to report each 5 as an alternative of each 10 years.

  • UN local weather talks drift into extra time in push to avoid wasting 1.5 Celsius objective

    Two weeks of UN COP26 local weather talks in Glasgow blew previous a deadline on Friday because the convention president referred to as on international locations to make a last push to safe commitments that may rein within the rising temperatures that threaten the planet.
    With a deal now anticipated someday on Saturday, there remained powerful speaking to be achieved on points such because the phasing out of fossil gas subsidies, carbon markets and monetary assist for poor international locations to sort out local weather change.
    A draft of the ultimate deal, launched early on Friday, requires international locations to set more durable local weather pledges subsequent 12 months – in an try to bridge the hole between present targets and the a lot deeper cuts scientists say are wanted this decade to avert catastrophic local weather change.
    “We have come a long way over the past two weeks and now we need that final injection of that ‘can-do’ spirit, which is present at this COP, so we get this shared endeavour over the line,” mentioned Britain’s COP26 President Alok Sharma.

    Late on Friday Sharma introduced that conferences would proceed into Saturday, and that he anticipated a deal later within the day. A revised draft of the settlement could be launched Saturday morning to kick off the final spherical of talks, he mentioned.
    The assembly’s overarching intention is to maintain inside attain the 2015 Paris Agreement’s aspirational goal to cap world warming at 1.5 levels Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial ranges, the restrict scientists say would avert its worst results.

    Under present nationwide pledges to chop emissions this decade, researchers say the world’s temperature would soar far past that restrict, unleashing catastrophic sea stage rises, droughts, storms and wildfires.

    The new draft obtain is a balancing act – making an attempt to soak up the calls for of probably the most climate-vulnerable nations reminiscent of low-lying islands, the world’s greatest polluters, and international locations whose exports of fossil fuels are very important to their economies.
    “China thinks the current draft still needs to go further to strengthen and enrich the parts about adaptation, finance, technology, and capacity building,” mentioned Zhao Yingmin, the local weather negotiator for the world’s largest greenhouse fuel emitter.
    The draft retained its most vital demand for nations to set more durable local weather pledges subsequent 12 months, however couched that request in weaker language than earlier than, whereas failing to supply the rolling annual evaluation of local weather pledges that some creating international locations have sought.Nations are at the moment required to revisit their pledges each 5 years.
    WEAKER LANGUAGE
    The newest proposal included barely weaker language than a earlier one in asking states to section out subsidies of the fossil fuels – coal, oil and fuel – which are the prime artifical trigger of worldwide warming.
    That dismayed some campaigners, whereas others had been relieved that the primary specific reference to fossil fuels at any U.N. local weather summit was within the textual content in any respect, and hoped it will survive the fierce negotiations to come back.
    “It could be better, it should be better, and we have one day left to make it a lot, lot better,” Greenpeace mentioned.
    “Right now, the fingerprints of fossil fuel interests are still on the text and this is not the breakthrough deal that people hoped for in Glasgow.”
    Some thinktanks had been extra upbeat, pointing to progress on financing to assist creating international locations take care of the ravages of an ever-hotter local weather.
    Saudia Arabia, the world’s second largest oil producer and regarded among the many nations most proof against robust wording on fossil fuels, mentioned the newest draft was “workable”.
    A last deal would require the unanimous consent of the practically 200 international locations that signed the Paris accord.
    To improve strain for a robust deal, protesters rallied outdoors the COP26 venue, the place activists had hung ribbons with messages imploring delegates to guard the Earth.
    The newest draft acknowledged scientists say the world should reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 45% from 2010 ranges by 2030, and to internet zero by “around mid-century” to hit the 1.5C goal.
    This would successfully set the benchmark to measure future local weather pledges.
    Currently, international locations’ pledges would see world emissions improve by practically 14% by 2030 from 2010 ranges, in accordance with the U.N.
    ‘INSANITY’
    Fossil gas subsidies stay a bone of rivalry. Kerry instructed reporters that making an attempt to curb world warming whereas governments spend lots of of billions of euros supporting the fuels that trigger it was “a definition of insanity”.
    Financial help can also be hotly debated, with creating international locations pushing for more durable guidelines to make sure wealthy nations whose historic emissions are largely accountable for heating up the planet, supply additional cash to assist them adapt to its penalties.
    Rich international locations have failed to satisfy a 12-year-old objective to offer $100 billion a 12 months in so-called “climate finance” by 2020, undermining belief and making some creating international locations extra reluctant to curb their emissions.

    The sum, which falls far in need of what the UN says international locations would really need, goals to handle “mitigation”, to assist poor international locations with their ecological transition, and “adaptation”, to assist them handle excessive local weather occasions.
    The new draft mentioned that, by 2025, wealthy international locations ought to double from present ranges the funding put aside for adaptation – a step ahead from the earlier model that didn’t set a date or a baseline.
    “This is a stronger and more balanced text than what we had two days ago,” Helen Mountford of the World Resources Institute mentioned of the present draft.
    “We need to see what stands, what holds and how it looks in the end – but at the moment it’s looking in a positive direction.”
    Of roughly $80 billion wealthy international locations spent on local weather finance for poor international locations in 2019, solely 1 / 4 was for adaptation.
    A extra contentious side, referred to as “loss and damage” would compensate them for the ravages they’ve already suffered from world warming, although that is outdoors the $100 billion and a few wealthy international locations don’t acknowledge the declare.
    A bunch of weak nations together with the Marshall Islands within the central Pacific mentioned the ultimate deal wanted to do extra to handle the query. “Loss and damage is too central for us to settle for workshops,” mentioned Tina Stege, the Marshall Islands’ local weather envoy.

  • COP26: Time runs out, points unresolved, no settlement but

    THE COP26 assembly in Glasgow had an unusually productive begin, with a number of nations, together with India, promising new local weather actions to strengthen the worldwide struggle in opposition to local weather change. The ending, nonetheless, was prone to occur in a well-recognized vogue.
    As has occurred with a lot of the earlier local weather change conferences, the twenty sixth session of Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP26 for brief, was unable to ship an settlement on time, and negotiations have been set to spill over to Saturday.
    Read | ‘Carbon colonialism’: India, China amongst nations to reject first draft
    Several points that have been presupposed to be wrapped up right here, together with these associated to finance and guidelines for the institution of a brand new carbon market, stay unresolved, and the joy generated by the big-ticket bulletins of the primary week are prone to get dampened by the weak settlement that’s set to come back out now. There isn’t sufficient time to wrap up the discussions on all of the pending points, and it’s doable that a few of them could also be kicked to the following yr’s assembly.

    COP26 was billed because the assembly that will give the world a significant probability to carry the rise in international temperatures inside 1.5 diploma Celsius from the pre-industrial occasions, in opposition to the two diploma Celsius that’s the most important aim of the Paris Agreement. Assessments of the local weather actions being taken by the nations recommend that the world, actually, was headed in direction of a 2.7 diploma Celsius temperature rise by the tip of the century. COP26 was presupposed to ship an settlement that will have spurred stronger motion from nations in a bid to place the world in direction of a 1.5 diploma pathway.
    That looks like a tall ask now, as acquainted points like availability of local weather finance, persevering with to stay intractable.
    “We need to deliver a strong message regarding our collective resolve for accelerated mitigation and adaptation actions to combat climate change in this decade. This message will have credibility only if accompanied by an equally strong resolve of developed country parties to mobilise and provide enhanced climate finance to developing country parties,” India’s lead negotiator Richa Sharma, an extra secretary within the Environment Ministry, mentioned at one of many conferences on Friday. “We express our disappointment at the lack of significant progress in climate finance related agenda items,” she mentioned.
    Opinion |What India should do to observe by way of on COP26 commitments
    On the final official day of the convention on Friday, negotiators have been capable of produce a brand new draft settlement, the second to date, which was thought-about an enchancment on the earlier one however not ok.
    In reality, sad with the weak outcomes being proposed, civil society teams, which kind a robust neighborhood of individuals on the COPs, held a parallel ‘people’s plenary’ on the venue, after which organised a march outdoors to press for stronger settlement.

    The new drafts weren’t drastically completely different from the primary one, however most of the seemingly small modifications in language, or emphasis, have penalties and authorized implications, and represented hours of negotiations. For instance, whereas the primary textual content famous “with regret” the failure of the developed nations to ship on the promised US$ 100 billion by 2020, the most recent one has famous it “with deep regret”.
    A gaggle of growing nations, which included India and China, had expressed dissatisfaction with the primary draft, particularly the part regarding mitigation of greenhouse gasoline emissions, and had demanded that it’s overhauled fully. The new draft, nonetheless, is just not very completely different from the sooner one, although the precept of widespread and differentiated duty (CBDR), which recognises that growing nations have a comparatively minor burden within the struggle in opposition to local weather change, has been accorded higher emphasis.
    Crucially, a point out on phase-out of coal and fossil fuels has survived, although an essential qualification has been added, apparently on the insistence of nations which nonetheless depend upon coal energy crops for producing electrical energy. This is the primary time in over 20 years that coal or fossil-fuels utilization has discovered a point out in any doc or choice of the local weather change conferences, and was being thought-about a major ahead motion. The first draft referred to as upon the nations to “accelerate the phase-out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels”. In the second draft launched on Friday morning, this has been tweaked to a name for accelerating the phase-out of “unabated coal power” and “insufficient subsidies” on fossil fuels.
    The second draft additionally retains the decision for doubling of finance for adaptation, an essential demand of the growing nations which have been lamenting the extraordinarily insufficient availability of cash for adaptation. It has additionally been made extra particular. Developed nations are being requested to double local weather finance from current ranges by the yr 2025. The specifics have been lacking within the earlier draft.

  • Glasgow summit: hits and misses from COP26 local weather meet

    After practically two weeks, the practically 200 international locations represented on the summit stay at odds over a spread of points from how wealthy nations ought to compensate poor ones for harm brought on by climate-driven disasters to how typically nations must be required to replace their emissions pledges.
    Alok Sharma, the British chief serving because the president of the summit, stated that there’s a lot extra work to be finished. Meanwhile, Dubai introduced that UAE will likely be internet hosting COP28 local weather convention in 2023. The 2022 COP will likely be hosted by one other Middle-Eastern nation, specifically Egypt.
    The core purpose of the COP26 convention was to maintain alive the 2015 Paris Agreement’s aspirational goal to cap world warming at 1.5 levels Celsius above preindustrial ranges and keep away from the worst impacts of local weather change. But beneath international locations’ present pledges to chop emissions this decade, researchers say the world would hit ranges of world warming far past that restrict, unleashing catastrophic sea stage rises, floods and droughts.
    Here are a few of the hits and misses on the convention:
    India’s announcement to attain web zero carbon emission by 2070
    India pledged to attain web zero carbon emissions by 2070. The assertion was delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who made 5 main bulletins at Glasgow. These are: a) India will produce 500 GW of non-fossil gasoline power by 2030, b) India can have 50 per cent renewable power in its power combine by 2030, c) India will scale back its emissions depth from 35 per cent to 45 per cent by 2030, d) scale back India’s carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030.
    China, US announce plan to work collectively to chop down methane emissions
    In an surprising bilateral settlement between US and China, Beijing has promised to finalise a plan to scale back its methane emissions this decade. China had stayed away from a pledge that over 100 different international locations had made final week — to make 30 per cent reduce in methane emissions from present ranges by 2030. US was a part of that pledge. In the bilateral settlement, China has not taken any targets on methane emission cuts however solely stated it will work in direction of decreasing it. But that’s nonetheless being seen as a ahead motion, contemplating that China is among the largest emitters of methane.
    Africa, India name for $1.3 tn per yr in local weather finance from wealthy nations
    While developed international locations have didn’t put collectively even the $100 billion per yr in local weather financing as promised, African nations and another creating international locations, together with India, have put a determine on the improved movement of finance that the developed world should ship within the coming years — no less than $1.3 trillion per yr from 2030.
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the opening ceremony of the COP26 convention in Glasgow final week. (AP)

    A bunch of 24 nations that decision themselves Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs), in addition to international locations from Africa, on Monday night put ahead this demand in a proposal for enhanced finance flows that they’re pushing for inclusion within the ultimate selections that will likely be agreed on the local weather convention in Glasgow. India is a part of the LMDC grouping together with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and others.

    Climate talks again off from name to finish all coal use
    Negotiators at this yr’s UN local weather talks in Glasgow gave the impression to be backing away from a name to finish all use of coal and part out fossil gasoline subsidies utterly. The newest draft proposal from the assembly’s chair launched Friday calls on international locations to speed up “the phaseout of unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels.”
    Tuvalu minister stands in sea to movie COP26 speech to point out local weather change
    Tuvalu’s international minister has given a speech to the United Nations local weather convention in Glasgow standing knee-deep in seawater to point out how his low-lying Pacific island nation is on the entrance line of local weather change.
    Tuvalu’s Minister for Justice, Communication & Foreign Affairs Simon Kofe provides a COP26 assertion whereas standing within the ocean in Funafuti, Tuvalu November 5, 2021. (Tuvalu’s Ministry of Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs / Social Media by way of Reuters)
    Images of Simon Kofe standing in a go well with and tie at a lectern arrange within the sea, together with his trouser legs rolled up, have been shared extensively on social media, drawing consideration to Tuvalu’s battle in opposition to rising sea ranges.
    More than 40 nations pledge to chop emissions from their well being industries
    More than 40 international locations have pledged to chop greenhouse-gas emissions throughout their well being programs, World Health Organisation officers stated late Monday, representing the biggest world effort to this point to attempt to scale back contributions by the world’s hospitals and well being care business to world warming. The well being care sector accounts for nearly 5% of world carbon dioxide emissions. If it had been a rustic, it will be the fifth largest emitter
    China targets 1.8 per cent reduce in common coal use at energy crops by 2025
    China flagged on Wednesday it’s targetting a 1.8 per cent discount in common coal use for electrical energy technology at energy crops over the following 5 years, in a bid to decrease greenhouse fuel emissions.
    The goal, introduced by China’s financial planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), comes because the world’s high local weather negotiators have gathered in Scotland for the COP26 local weather talks. Average coal use for electrical energy technology in China fell by about 17.4 per cent within the 15 years until 2020.
    Nearly 90 international locations be a part of pact to slash planet-warming methane emissions
    Nearly 90 international locations have joined a US- and EU-led effort to slash emissions of the potent greenhouse fuel methane 30% by 2030 from 2020 ranges, a pact aimed toward tackling one of many essential causes of local weather change, a senior Biden administration official stated. The partnership will likely be formally launched in a while Tuesday.
    Methane is the principle greenhouse fuel after carbon dioxide. It has a better heat-trapping potential than CO2 however breaks down within the ambiance quicker – which means that chopping methane emissions can have a fast affect on reining in world warming.
    Over 100 world leaders pledge to finish deforestation by 2030
    More than 100 world leaders late on Monday pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the tip of the last decade, underpinned by $19 billion in private and non-private funds to spend money on defending and restoring forests.
    The joint assertion on the COP26 local weather talks in Glasgow was backed by the leaders of nations together with Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which collectively account for 85% of the world’s forests.

  • Saudi Arabia denies taking part in local weather saboteur at Glasgow

    The tightest of smiles on his face and the material of his conventional thobe swirling about him as he strides by way of a hallway at UN local weather talks, Saudi Arabia’s vitality minister expresses shock at repeated complaints that the world’s largest oil producer is working behind the scenes to sabotage negotiations.
    “What you have been hearing is a false allegation and a cheat and a lie,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al Saud stated this week on the talks in Glasgow, Scotland. He was responding to journalists urgent for a response to claims that Saudi Arabia’s negotiators have been working to dam local weather measures that will threaten demand for oil.
    “We have been working well” with the pinnacle of the UN local weather talks and others, Prince Abdulaziz stated.

    Negotiators from about 200 international locations are developing towards a weekend deadline to seek out consensus on subsequent steps to chop the world’s fossil gas emissions and in any other case fight local weather change.
    Saudi Arabia’s participation in local weather talks itself can appear incongruous — a kingdom that has grow to be rich and highly effective due to oil concerned in negotiations the place a core concern is lowering consumption of oil and different fossil fuels. While pledging to hitch emission-cutting efforts at dwelling, Saudi leaders have made clear they intend to pump and promote their oil so long as demand lasts.
    Saudi Arabia’s workforce in Glasgow has launched proposals starting from a name to give up negotiations — they typically stretch into early morning hours — at 6 pm day by day to what local weather negotiation veterans allege are advanced efforts to play nation factions towards each other with the intention of blocking settlement on powerful steps to wrench the world away from coal, gasoline and oil.
    That is the “Saudis’ proposal, by the way. They’re like, ‘Let’s just not work at nights and just accept that this is not going to be ambitious’” on the subject of quick cuts in fossil gas air pollution that’s wrecking the local weather, stated Jennifer Tollmann, an analyst at E3G, a European local weather suppose tank.

    And then “if other countries want to agree with Saudi, they can blame Saudi Arabia,” Tollmann stated.
    Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and head of a gaggle of senior political leaders on local weather, choked up as she informed Sky News that Saudi Arabia was taking part in “dirty games” and searching for to intestine essential, consensus-building elements of draft agreements out of the talks.
    Saudi Arabia lengthy has been accused of taking part in a spoiler within the local weather talks, and this yr it’s the predominant nation singled out thus far by negotiators, talking privately, and observers, talking publicly. Russia and Australia are additionally lumped in with Saudi Arabia on the talks as international locations that see their futures as depending on coal, pure gasoline or oil and as working for a Glasgow local weather deal that doesn’t threaten that.
    Despite efforts to diversify the economic system, oil accounts for greater than half of Saudi Arabia’s income, protecting the dominion and royal household afloat and secure. About half of Saudi staff nonetheless work for the general public sector, their wage paid largely by oil.

    And there’s China, whose dependence on coal makes it the world’s present largest local weather polluter. It argues it could’t change to cleaner vitality as quick because the West says it should, though the United States and China did collectively pledge to hurry up their efforts to chop emissions.
    A core concern within the talks: Scientists and the United Nations say the world has lower than a decade to chop its fossil gas and agricultural emissions roughly in half if it desires to keep away from extra catastrophic situations of world warming.
    Not surprisingly, island nations that will disappear underneath the rising oceans at a better degree of warming are the bloc at Glasgow pushing hardest for essentially the most stringent deal out of this summit.
    Meanwhile, local weather advocates accuse the United States and European Union of thus far failing to throw their weight behind the calls for of the island nations, though the US and the EU typically wait till the previous couple of days of local weather talks to take laborious stands on debated factors.
    The United States — the world’s worst local weather polluter traditionally and a significant oil and gasoline producer — will get loads of criticism in its personal proper. The Climate Action Network dishonored the Biden administration with its “Fossil of the Day” award to President Joe Biden for coming to Glasgow final week with formidable local weather speak however failing to hitch a pledge to wean his nation off coal or to rein in US oil manufacturing.
    Jennifer Morgan, government director of the Greenpeace environmental group, stated different governments want “to isolate the Saudi delegation” if they need the local weather convention to succeed..
    Saudi Arabia was positive with becoming a member of in governments’ climate-pledge fever earlier than the talks. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman introduced within the runup to Glasgow that the dominion would zero out its carbon emissions by 2060.
    But Saudi leaders for years have vowed to pump the final molecule of oil from their kingdom earlier than world demand ends — an goal {that a} quick international change from fossil fuels would frustrate.
    “Naked and cynical,” says Alden Meyer, a senior affiliate on the E3G local weather analysis group, of Saudi Arabia’s function in international local weather discussions.

  • COP26 draft settlement calls on developed world to double its contribution

    The first draft of the anticipated settlement from Glasgow, launched on Wednesday morning, asks developed international locations to double their monetary contribution for adaptation efforts within the creating world, and, for the primary time, features a name for eliminating coal and subsidies for fossil fuels.
    The draft “notes with regret” the failure of developed international locations to ship on their promise to mobilise $100 billion in local weather finance per yr from 2020, and “acknowledges the growing need” of creating international locations resulting from a rising frequency in local weather change impacts in addition to their “increased indebtedness” because of the pandemic.
    It subsequently requires higher assist via grants or different “highly concessional forms of finance” to be made out there however doesn’t point out any minimal quantity that ought to be raised.
    Some creating international locations and the Africa group had, a day earlier, requested the developed international locations to extend the dimensions of worldwide local weather finance to not less than $1.3 trillion by 2030 from the present goal of $100 billion.
    On Wednesday, the BASIC international locations (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) as soon as once more known as for an pressing supply of $100 billion and start discussions on deciding the brand new enhanced goal for local weather finance within the post-2025 interval.

    “…(BASIC) Ministers are concerned that climate finance provided by developed countries has fallen short of the $100 billion per year commitment by 2020 and that finance tends to be provided with unilateral condionality and eligibility criteria, as well as in the form of loans, rather than grants, which aggravates the debt crisis,” BASIC ministers mentioned in a joint assertion.
    “The new collective quantified goal (on finance) must build from a floor of $100 billion per year, be significantly public funded with greater transparency and predictability, and take a balanced approach towards mitigation and adaptation in light of the needs and priorities of developing countries,” it mentioned.
    The draft textual content is anticipated to undergo a number of revisions earlier than it’s agreed on by everybody.

    The first draft has solely placeholders for a number of contentious points as a result of concrete proposals are but to emerge on these. But even the problems which are lined had been assessed to be weak and insufficient by a number of civil society teams and observers current on the assembly.
    “Where is the support to help people forced to pick up the pieces after climate disasters? Where is the action to meet all this talk of urgency? Where are the real commitments that the world needs to limit warming to 1.5°C, or to back up the need for action with climate finance? With this text our leaders are failing us all. These empty words are way off target to meet the scale of the enormous challenge facing humanity,” Teresa Anderson, local weather coverage coordinator at ActionAid International, mentioned.
    The draft textual content urges all international locations to strengthen their targets for 2030, as talked about of their local weather motion plans, by subsequent yr in a fashion that’s essential to align with the worldwide temperature targets (maintaining the rise in temperatures to inside 2°C from pre-industrial occasions).
    For the primary time in any official COP textual content, a point out on elimination of coal and fossil-fuel subsidies has been launched. It is simply an enchantment and no obligation or deadline is sought to be placed on any group of nations, however it’s uncertain whether or not this provision would discover area within the ultimate model of the textual content.

  • Climate talks draft settlement expresses ‘alarm and concern’

    Governments are poised to precise “alarm and concern” about how a lot Earth has already warmed and encourage each other to finish their use of coal, in keeping with a draft launched Wednesday of the ultimate doc anticipated at U.N. local weather talks.
    The early model of the doc circulating on the negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland, additionally impresses on nations the necessity to minimize carbon dioxide emissions by about half by 2030 — regardless that pledges so removed from governments don’t add as much as that often acknowledged aim.
    In a big transfer, nations would urge each other to “accelerate the phasing out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels” within the draft, although it has no express reference to ending using oil and fuel. There has been an enormous push amongst developed nations to close down coal-fired energy vegetation, that are a serious supply of heat-trapping gases, however the gasoline stays a essential and low cost supply of electrical energy for nations like China and India.
    While the language about transferring away from coal is a primary and vital, the shortage of a date when nations will accomplish that limits the pledge’s effectiveness, mentioned Greenpeace International Director Jennifer Morgan, a long-time local weather talks observer.
    “This isn’t the plan to solve the climate emergency. This won’t give the kids on the streets the confidence that they’ll need,” Morgan mentioned.
    The draft doesn’t but embody full agreements on the three main targets that the U.N. set going into the negotiations — and should disappoint poorer nations due to an absence of strong monetary commitments from richer ones. The targets are: for wealthy nations to provide poorer ones $100 billion a 12 months in local weather assist, to make sure that half of that cash goes to adapting to worsening international warming, and the pledge to slash emissions that’s talked about.
    The draft does present perception, nevertheless, into the problems that should be resolved in the previous few days of the convention, which is scheduled to finish Friday however might push previous that deadline. Still, lots of negotiating and decision-making is but to return since no matter emerges from the conferences needs to be unanimously accredited by the practically 200 nations attending.
    The draft says the world ought to attempt to obtain “net-zero (emissions) around mid-century.” That means requiring nations to pump solely as a lot greenhouse fuel into the environment as could be absorbed once more via pure or synthetic means.
    It additionally acknowledges “with regret” that wealthy nations have did not dwell as much as the local weather assist pledge.
    Poorer nations, which want monetary assist each in growing inexperienced power methods and adapting to the worst of local weather change, are offended that the promised assist hasn’t materialized.
    “Without financial support little can be done to minimize its debilitating effects for vulnerable communities around the world,” Mohammed Nasheed, the Maldives’ parliamentary speaker and the ambassador for a bunch of dozens of nations most susceptible to local weather change, mentioned in an announcement.
    He mentioned the draft fails on key points, together with the monetary assist and powerful emission cuts.
    “There’s much more that needs to be done on climate finance to give developing countries what they need coming out of here,” mentioned Alden Meyer, a long-time convention observer, of the European think-tank E3G.
    The doc reaffirms the targets set in Paris in 2015 of limiting warming to “well below” 2 levels Celsius (3.6 levels Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial occasions, with a extra stringent goal of making an attempt to maintain warming to 1.5 levels Celsius (2.7 levels Fahrenheit) most popular as a result of that might preserve injury from local weather change “much lower.”
    Highlighting the problem of assembly these targets, the doc “expresses alarm and concern that human activities have caused around 1.1 C (2 F) of global warming to date and that impacts are already being felt in every region.”
    Small island nations, that are notably susceptible to warming, fear that too little is being performed to cease warming on the 1.5-degree aim — and that permitting temperature will increase as much as 2 levels can be catastrophic for his or her nations.
    “For Pacific (small island states), climate change is the greatest, single greatest threat to our livelihood, security and wellbeing. We do not need more scientific evidence nor targets without plans to reach them or talking shops,” Marshall Islands Health and Human Services minister advised fellow negotiators Wednesday. “The 1.5 limit is not negotiable.”
    Separate draft proposals had been additionally launched on different points being debated on the talks, together with guidelines for worldwide carbon markets and the frequency by which nations must report on their efforts.
    The draft calls on nations that don’t have nationwide targets that might match with the 1.5- or 2-degree limits to return again with stronger targets subsequent 12 months. Depending on how the language is interpreted, the availability might apply to most nations. Analysts on the World Resources Institute counted that ingredient as a win for susceptible nations.
    “This is essential language,’’ WRI International Climate Initiative Director David Waskow mentioned Wednesday. “Countries actually are anticipated and are on the hook to do one thing in that timeframe to regulate.’’

    Greenpeace’s Morgan mentioned it might have been even higher to set a requirement for brand spanking new targets yearly.
    In a nod to one of many massive points for poorer nations, the draft vaguely “urges” developed nations to compensate growing nations for “loss and damage,” a phrase that some wealthy nations don’t like. But there are not any concrete monetary commitments.
    “This is often the most difficult moment,” Achim Steiner, the top of the U.N. Development Program and former chief of the U.N.’s setting workplace, mentioned of the state of the two-week talks.
    “The first week is over, you suddenly recognize that there are a number of fundamentally different issues that are not easily resolvable. The clock is ticking,” he advised The Associated Press.

  • Tuvalu minister stands in sea to movie COP26 speech to point out local weather change

    Tuvalu’s international minister has given a speech to the United Nations local weather convention in Glasgow standing knee-deep in seawater to point out how his low-lying Pacific island nation is on the entrance line of local weather change.
    Images of Simon Kofe standing in a swimsuit and tie at a lectern arrange within the sea, together with his trouser legs rolled up, have been shared broadly on social media, drawing consideration to Tuvalu’s wrestle towards rising sea ranges.

    “The statement juxtaposes the COP26 setting with the real-life situations faced in Tuvalu due to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise and highlights the bold action Tuvalu is taking to address the very pressing issues of human mobility under climate change,” Kofe stated of his video message to the convention.
    The video was shot by public broadcaster TVBC on the far finish of Fongafale, the principle islet of the capital Funafuti, a authorities official stated. It is because of be proven on the local weather summit on Tuesday and comes as regional leaders push for extra aggressive motion to restrict the impression of local weather change.
    Many massive polluters have vowed to accentuate their carbon cuts over coming many years with some aiming for web zero carbon emissions by 2050. But Pacific Island leaders have demanded rapid motion, declaring that the very survival of their low-lying international locations is at stake.

  • ‘Earth began to purge us too’: slam poet brings refugee voices to Glasgow

    She heard them when she spoke to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and when she met Syrians at a camp in Jordan: the identical cries of the dispossessed that rang throughout her personal childhood, when she escaped from Darfur.
    Now, Sudanese-American poet Emtithal “Emi” Mahmoud – topped world champion on the 2015 Individual World Poetry Slam in Washington DC – is carrying the message of these voices to world leaders on the local weather summit in Scotland.
    Her mission, she defined to Reuters, is “to just get the most vulnerable people’s voices into spaces where we’re not normally represented”.
    “At 11 years old I saw my neighbour’s house crumble before my eyes,” she writes in her poem entitled ‘Di Baladna’, or ‘Our Land’ in Arabic, which she unveils on Monday on the COP 26 U.N. local weather summit in Glasgow.
    “Our country was already locked in turmoil and now the earth began to purge us too,” it reads.
    As a refugee herself and a goodwill ambassador for U.N. refugee company UNHCR, she has spoken to fellow refugees across the globe. She noticed how a lot they’d in widespread.

    “…You realise that the same vulnerabilities and issues and sensitivities and crises that we witnessed during the Darfur crisis are being repeated over and over,” she mentioned.
    “I think I try to answer the question a little bit of how it is that we can bring everyone into the same cause that a lot of us are in right now.”
    At COP26, she will probably be interesting for pressing motion but additionally highlighting the efforts refugees are already making to adapt to their habitats.
    “Is the situation dire? Absolutely, yeah. But can it be changed? It can, and they’ve already changed it themselves. But that work can go to waste if we don’t support them sometime soon.”