Climate politics
Countries draw battle lines for talks on new climate finance goal
Developed and developing countries are gearing up for heated discussions over the size of the goal and who should provide money for it
Switzerland proposes first UN expert group on solar geoengineering
A draft resolution aimed at creating a space for discussion on sun dimming technologies will be debated at the summit of the UN’s environment body this month
Azerbaijan orders Baku hotels to freeze Cop29 room booking
The move has sparked fears of price hikes, which would exclude poorer activists and government delegates
Rich nations miss loss and damage fund deadline
Their failure to agree risks delaying help for victims of climate disasters in developing countries
John Podesta replaces Kerry as top US climate diplomat
Podesta will lead US international climate diplomacy alongside his current job overseeing the rollout of domestic clean energy subsidies
Saudi Arabia cancels plan to raise oil pumping cap
Analysts said Saudi Arabia’s government may be losing faith that the world wants to keep buying more of its oil
For Cop29 to succeed, rich nations must get their parliaments to agree more finance now
Rich nations always say they need their parliaments approval for climate finance at Cops – now is the time to start
Cop29 host Azerbaijan launches green energy unit to sceptical response
Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas firm promises a green push but a lack of climate policies and plans to expand gas production are causing scepticism
Governments fail to agree timeline for climate science reports in fraught IPCC talks
Saudi, India and China led opposition against a proposal to link the IPCC’s assessment cycle with the global stocktake, sources told Climate Home.
The all-male Cop29 committee is a big step backwards for climate
Azerbaijan appointed 28 men and zero women to a key group tasked with organising the upcoming climate summit in the country
How fossil fuels went from sidelines to headlines in climate talks
For a quarter-century, fossil fuels were absent from Cop climate agreements – so how had they become so ubiquitous at Cop28?
Azerbaijan appoints fossil fuel execs and scandal-hit officials to all-male Cop29 committee
The all-male group in charge of the climate summit organisation includes oil and gas executives and controversial government officials
Veteran US and Chinese climate envoys step down
Xie Zhenhua has stepped down and John Kerry has announced he will do the same in a few months time
High stakes for climate finance in 2024
Setting finance goals without the revenues and systems to deliver on them is a recipe for disappointment – this year it must be different.
“A la carte menu”: Saudi minister claims Cop28 fossil fuel agreement is only optional
Abdulaziz bin Salman’s interpretation of the agreement was slammed as “incredibly misleading” as the text “calls on” all governments to transition from fossil fuels
Azerbaijan appoint state oil company veteran as Cop29 president
Mukhtar Babayev spent 26 years at Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and gas company Socar, where he tried to limit the company’s environmental damage.
Brazil cracks down on illegal gold miners
“Things are going downhill with the new government”, said one gold miner when detained by Brazil’s federal police
Ten climate questions for 2024
The US election and negotiations on a new global finance target are the most important things for the climate in 2024
Six takeaways from 2023’s climate change news
Fossil fuel fights, finance struggles, a resurgent relationship, and much more. We recap the most impactful international climate developments in 2023.
Indonesia promises to fine palm oil companies operating in forests
An Indonesian official said it would levy $310 million in fines on growers of palm oil on land which should be forest