G20 still paying billions in fossil fuel subsidies
27/10/2022: The G20 group of nations provided nearly $200 billion in support of fossil fuels in 2021, despite the worsening impacts of the climate crisis and their pledge in 2009 to phase out “inefficient” subsidies. The countries with the highest total subsidies for fossil fuels were China, Indonesia and the UK.
Source: China Dialogue
Access to safe drinking water requires increased investment
24/10/2022: The State of the World’s Drinking Water report notes that over 2 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water in the past two decades. However, one-quarter of the world’s population has been left behind and governments must dramatically increase political commitment and quadruple investment in drinking water.
Source: World Health Organization
Forest Declaration Assessment: are we on track for 2030?
24/10/2022: To be on course to halt deforestation completely by 2030, a 10 percent annual reduction is needed. In 2021, loss of irreplaceable primary tropical forest decreased by only 3.1 percent.
Source: Forest Declaration Assessment
What African governments must fight for at COP27
11/10/2022: The Africa Climate Justice Collective is calling for the November COP27 conference to acknowledge the reality of "dirty energy colonialism." Countries in the Global North are indulging in $400 billion worth of new natural gas projects in Africa – while simultaneously giving lip service to phasing down oil and gas.
Source: African Arguments
Adesina quantifies Africa’s needs for climate finance
11/10/2022: The president of the African Development Bank has put figures to the scale of the climate crisis facing countries in Africa. He says the cost of of climate-related losses will soar to $50 billion annually by 2030 and that an annual average of $124 billion is needed for adaptation.
Source: Devex
How has the Amazon rainforest changed under Bolsonaro?
2/10/2022: The Amazon rainforest is regarded as one of the tipping elements capable of destabilizing the global climate. Around 60% of the rainforest's total area lies within the territory of Brazil. After several years in which deforestation rates dropped significantly, they rose again sharply after the right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro took office as president of Brazil in 2019.
Source: DW
UN chief links windfall profits to climate loss and damage
21/9/2022: UN secretary general António Guterres has called on developed economies to tax the windfall profits of oil and gas companies, in part to support poorer countries suffering loss and damage caused by the climate crisis. Wealthy nations have remained conspicuously silent on how to finance extreme climate impacts.
Source: Climate Home News
One-third of China’s land protected under ecological scheme
19/9/2022: Nearly a third of China's land is now off-limits to development, bringing the country in accord with global biodiversity targets. Critics say the enforcement of the scheme has remained uneven.
Source: CNA
Poorer countries demand global tax to pay for climate damage
19/9/2022: Low income countries have submitted proposals for a world global carbon tax for discussion at the UN General Assembly. Options for taxation include air and shipping transport and financial transactions. Richer countries have acknowledged the need for a framework for climate loss and damage.
Source: The Guardian
EU seeks to ban imports of deforestation-linked commodities
15/9/2022: The European Parliament has approved a bill that would block imported commodities sourced from deforested areas. Experts believe that a central objective is to address the deforestation of the Amazon to produce beef, soy and timber.
Source: Mongabay