Tag: climate

Putin will not attend COP 26 climate summit: Kremlin

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will not go to next month’s landmark UN climate summit, the Kremlin said on Wednesday as the UK stressed the importance of national leaders’ presence. The COP26 conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow has been called humanity’s “last best chance” to get devastating climate change under control. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “unfortunately Putin will not fly to Glasgow”, while stressing that climate change […]

Rio Tinto says to ‘halve’ emissions by 2030

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia-based mining giant Rio Tinto on Wednesday announced plans to cut direct carbon emissions 50 percent by 2030, ramping up previous targets as the firm tries to green its highly polluting operations. Rio Tinto said it would spend around $7.5 billion from now until the end of the decade to cut so-called scope one and two emissions — from mining operations and power consumption. “Governments are setting more ambitious targets and […]

Planned fossil fuel output shatters 1.5C climate target: UN

by Patrick GALEY Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – The world’s nations are currently planning to produce more than double the amount of coal, oil and gas consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the United Nations said Wednesday. Ten days before a climate summit that is being billed as key to the viability of the Paris Agreement temperature goals, the UN’s Environment Programme said that government fossil fuel production plans this decade […]

Oil & gas giant Total downplayed climate threat: study

PARIS, France (AFP) – The French oil and gas major Total deliberately downplayed the threat of global warming from the 1970s onwards, according to research based on interviews with former company executives and internal company documents. The findings, published by a trio of historians Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Global Environment Change, follow similar revelations about US oil giant ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. The pattern that emerges is one of oil and gas giants […]

‘Running out of time’: Asia struggles to kick coal addiction

by with Sam Reeves in Kuala Lumpur / Haeril Halim Agence France-Presse CILEGON, Indonesia (AFP) – Smokestacks belch noxious fumes into the air from a massive coal-fired power plant on the Indonesian coast, a stark illustration of Asia’s addiction to the fossil fuel which is threatening climate targets. Asia-Pacific accounts for about three-quarters of global coal consumption — even as the region struggles with the environmental and public health impacts of global warming, from deadly […]

Mining firm, eco-activists battle over unique Chile archipelago

by Pablo COZZAGLIO / Alberto PEÑA Agence France-Presse LA HIGUERA, Chile (AFP) – The Humboldt archipelago off the northern Pacific coast of Chile is a “natural treasure” and refuge for unique species of fauna, including a particular type of penguin and an otter on the brink of extinction. But its fragile ecosystem is under threat, say environmentalists, from a $2.5 billion mining project on the nearby mainland that has stirred the debate in Chile between […]

New Zealand boosts climate aid ahead of Glasgow summit

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) – New Zealand pledged Monday to quadruple foreign aid spending on climate change, addressing its “woefully inadequate” response to the challenge in recent decades. As representatives from around the world prepare for a landmark UN summit on global warming, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wellington would lift its climate aid budget to $930 million over four years. Ardern said at least half the money would go to Pacific island nations, many […]

Australia’s PM drops threat to skip UN climate summit

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia’s prime minister on Friday withdrew a threat to skip next month’s landmark UN climate summit, describing the meeting as “an important event”. “I confirmed my attendance at the Glasgow Summit, which I’m looking forward to attending,” Scott Morrison told journalists. Under mounting pressure to adopt more ambitious climate targets, the conservative leader had suggested he would not join other heads of government in Scotland’s largest city. His comments angered climate […]

Climate change a double blow for oil-rich Mideast: experts

by Frank ZELLER Agence France-Presse PAPHOS, Cyprus (AFP) – The climate crisis threatens a double blow for the Middle East, experts say, by destroying its oil income as the world shifts to renewables and by raising temperatures to unliveable extremes. Little has been done to address the challenge in a region long plagued by civil strife, war and refugee flows, even as global warming looks likely to accelerate these trends, a conference heard last week. […]

As COP looms, Prince William awards debut Earthshot Prize

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson Prince William presented the inaugural Earthshot prizes at a ceremony in London on Sunday, with  projects from Costa Rica, Italy, the Bahamas and India picking up prizes. The new annual awards were created by Prince William to reward efforts to save the planet in the face of climate change and global warming. Five winners were announced, each receiving a million pounds ($1.4 million). The build-up to […]

US Treasury to study climate change’s impact on communities

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The US Treasury announced Wednesday it will study how climate change is affecting communities and households in the United States. The department’s Financial Literacy and Education Commission will look into “how households, communities, and the smallest businesses experience financial resilience in the face of climate change and climate transition,” Treasury said in a statement. It will also focus on “how to map climate-related financial risks, and identify which groups […]

El Nino puts millions in childhood malnutrition: study

by Patrick GALEY Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Changing rain patterns caused by the El Nino warming phenomenon frequently drives millions of children into malnutrition and saddles them with life-long health issues, researchers said Tuesday, calling for action against the “predictable” impact. El Nino is a periodic event that affects global weather patterns, occurring every few years when eastern Pacific Ocean waters get unusually warm, leading to heavy rain in some regions but relative […]