Rich countries ‘confident’ $100bn climate finance delivered in 2023
19/9/2023: Ministers from richer countries believe that their $100 billion a year climate finance promise will be met in 2023, but not confirmed until 2025 at the earliest. The delay means governments will go into Cop28 and Cop29 without assurance that the goal has been met, doing nothing to ease tensions between developed and developing countries.
Source: Climate Home News
Six of nine planetary boundaries have been crossed
13/9/2023: Six of nine planetary boundaries are being crossed, while simultaneously pressure in all boundary processes is increasing, new research published in the journal Science Advances shows. The new study is the third major assessment of the planetary boundaries framework, first introduced in 2009.
Source: Stockholm Resilience Centre
Small islands open case at landmark maritime court hearing
11/9/2023: The heads of small island states most vulnerable to climate change have criticised “endless” climate change negotiations. At the start of an unprecedented maritime court hearing, they have called for legally binding obligations, rather than empty promises that go unfulfilled.
Source: Climate Home News
Stop calling people ‘climate refugees’
11/9/2023: Despite the rejection of the term “climate refugee” by the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization on Migration, it persists in popular media. “Climate refugee” implies that populations displaced by climate change are protected by the 1951 Refugee Convention. They are not.
Source: Climate Home News
More leadership needed from G20 countries
9/9/2023: In response to the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, the World Resources Institute warns that these countries must shift more rapidly away from fossil fuels - and do more to address the severe lack of finance and debt crises that climate-vulnerable countries face.
Source: World Resources Institute
Major study warns of growing threat from invasive species
6/9/2023: The new global deal for nature agreed at COP15 in Montreal last year includes a target to reduce the rate of introduction and establishment of invasive alien species by at least 50% by 2030. But a major new report by IPBES warns that the impacts of invasive species are set to worsen through international trade, climate change and other human activities.
Source: China Dialogue
A wolf in sheep’s clothing: why Africa should shun carbon markets
7/9/2023: There is increasing hype and push for so-called voluntary carbon markets in Africa. For global corporations, purchasing credits is the cheapest way to avoid real cuts in emissions and continue business as usual. Since carbon markets were started more than two decades ago, there’s a large body of evidence showing offsetting schemes mean insecurity and land grabs for local communities
Source: Climate Home News
Africa’s inaugural climate summit ends with mixed reviews
8/9/2023: Africa’s first climate summit has ended with the adoption of the Nairobi Declaration, which calls for new global taxes to fund climate change action, an increase in Africa’s renewable generation capacity, and a new debt relief architecture. However, civil society organizations criticized the declaration for promoting false solutions such as carbon markets.
Source: Devex
India’s fertility rate faces sharp decline
6/9/2023: India may have edged out China as the world’s most populous country earlier this year, but recent official statistics show that the general fertility rate in India has fallen 20 per cent in 10 years. Lifestyle diseases are on the rise, while shifting economic and social factors are pushing back the age of marriage.
Source: CNA
Developing countries call for $100 billion loss and damage target
30/8/2023: Citing a UN-commissioned report that foresees climate-related loss and damages reaching $150-300 billion a year by 2030, developing countries say that $100 billion should be a minimum commitment. The 2030 target is one of several contentious proposals at negotiations in the Dominican Republic this week ahead of COP28 in December.
Source: Climate Home News