7 h. ago Labour government sends 210 delegates to Brazil's COP30 climate conference generating more than 2.5million air miles (while the world's biggest polluters all happily stay at home)

Opposition parties rounded on the government over the numbers sent to South America and the size of the entourage, which will create an estimated 500 tonnes of CO2.

Society

29 h. ago Cop30 live: ‘If we continue destroying everything on this earth there will be chaos,’ warns Indigenous chief

Earlier on day five of the climate summit, activists blockaded the main entrance demanding to speak to the Brazilian presidentNorway and the United Arab Emirates - both significant fossil fuel producers - are among the ministerial pairings announced by the Brazilian Cop30 Presidency. The task of the pairings is to consult with countries on specific issues and report their views back to the presidency, to help the negotiations progress.The ministers from Norway and the UAE will work on the “global stocktake”, the strand of the talks about the big gap between the carbon emissions cuts needed and the real world. At its heart is cutting fossil fuel emissions, which makes it a target for obstruction by petrostates. The UAE hosted Cop28 in 2023, which delivered the first ever mention of fossil fuels in a Cop outcome.Gambia and Germany, working on adaptationEgypt and Spain, working on mitigation, i.e. cutting emissionsMexico and Poland, working on just transition, i.e. making the switch to...

Events

33 h. ago Cop day 5 live: Indigenous activists blockade the summit centre as climate conference continues

As the climate conference goes into its fifth day, with huge amounts still unresolved, there were reports that activists had blockaded the entrance to the centreNorway and the United Arab Emirates - both significant fossil fuel producers - are among the ministerial pairings announced by the Brazilian Cop30 Presidency. The task of the pairings is to consult with countries on specific issues and report their views back to the presidency, to help the negotiations progress.The ministers from Norway and the UAE will work on the “global stocktake”, the strand of the talks about the big gap between the carbon emissions cuts needed and the real world. At its heart is cutting fossil fuel emissions, which makes it a target for obstruction by petrostates. The UAE hosted Cop28 in 2023, which delivered the first ever mention of fossil fuels in a Cop outcome.Gambia and Germany, working on adaptationEgypt and Spain, working on mitigation, i.e. cutting emissionsMexico and Poland, working on just tr...

Politics

42 h. ago Fossil fuel lobbyists outnumber all Cop30 delegations except Brazil, report says

One in every 25 participants at 2025 UN climate summit is a fossil fuel lobbyist, according to Kick Big Polluters OutMore than 1,600 fossil fuel lobbyists have been granted access to the Cop30 climate negotiations in Belém, significantly outnumbering every single country’s delegation apart from the host Brazil, new analysis has found.One in every 25 participants at this year’s UN climate summit is a fossil fuel lobbyist, according to the analysis by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition, raising serious questions about the corporate capture and credibility of the annual Cop negotiations. Continue reading...

Politics

2 d. ago World still on track for catastrophic 2.6C temperature rise, report finds

Fossil fuel emissions have hit a record high while many nations have done too little to avert deadly global heatingThe world is still on track for a catastrophic 2.6C increase in temperature as countries have not made sufficiently strong climate pledges, while emissions from fossil fuels have hit a record high, two major reports have found.Despite their promises, governments’ new emission-cutting plans submitted for the Cop30 climate talks taking place in Brazil have done little to avert dangerous global heating for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Climate Action Tracker update. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Fossil fuel projects around the world threaten the health of 2bn people

Exclusive: ‘Deep-rooted injustices’ affect billions of people due to location of wells, pipelines and other infrastructureA quarter of the world’s population lives within three miles (5km) of operational fossil fuel projects, potentially threatening the health of more than 2 billion people as well as critical ecosystems, according to first-of-its-kind research.A damning new report by Amnesty International, shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that more than 18,300 oil, gas and coal sites are currently distributed across 170 countries worldwide, occupying a vast area of the Earth’s surface. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Supply boom in cheaper renewables will seal end of fossil fuel era, says IEA

Watchdog’s flagship report says rise in low-carbon electricity will make transition ‘inevitable’, despite Trump’s calls to carry on drillingRenewables will grow faster than any major energy source in the next decade, according to the world’s energy watchdog, making the transition away from fossil fuels “inevitable”, despite a green backlash in the US and parts of Europe.The world is expected to build more renewable energy projects in the next five years than has been rolled out over the last 40, according to the flagship annual report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Top UN official warns inaction on climate crisis ‘will never be forgiven’ as Cop30 opens in Brazil

Simon Stiell told ministers from nearly 200 countries in Belém that governments dragging their feet on cutting fossil fuel use would be held responsible for famines, conflicts, and economic turmoil

Events

5 d. ago Cop ahoy! Sailing up the Amazon to the climate summit – podcast

Jonathan Watts sets off on a three-day boat trip down the Amazon – with indigenous leaders, scientists, artists and more – to report on Cop30, the climate summit taking place this year in BrazilThis week, delegations from countries from all over the world are flying into Belem, Brazil, to attend Cop30, the world’s biggest climate summit.The Guardian’s global environment reporter Jonathan Watts, however, had a different idea – to take the slow road. Or, in fact, the slow boat – a three-day journey up the Amazon, across hundreds of kilometres, to arrive in Belem just in time. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Fossil fuel lobbying of SNP ministers trebled since Glasgow COP26 summit

Oil and gas representatives have held more than 300 meetings with SNP ministers since November 2021 climate summit, a Sunday Mail probe found.

Politics

6 d. ago Rachel Reeves claims she wants to cut our bills but this is the hidden tax experts tell me is coming

Thank goodness energy and climate secretary Ed Miliband is out of the country for a while, heading up the UK's delegation at the COP30 climate talks in Brazil .

Economics

7 d. ago Why Scotland should learn from Spain to save fossil fuel workers from unemployment

The Scottish and UK governments need a better plan to deal with mass job losses in the North Sea oil and gas industries

Politics

8 d. ago How thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists got access to UN climate talks – and then kept drilling

Exclusive: Research shows oil, gas and coal firms’ unprecedented access to Cop26-29, blocking urgent climate actionMore than 5,000 fossil fuel lobbyists were given access to the UN climate summits over the past four years, a period marked by a rise in catastrophic extreme weather, inadequate climate action and record oil and gas expansion, new research reveals.Lobbyists representing the interests of the oil, gas and coal industries – which are mostly responsible for climate breakdown – have been allowed to participate in the annual climate negotiations where states are meant to come in good faith and commit to ambitious policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Experts call for new taxes on worst polluters to help poorer nations with climate crisis

Report to be discussed at Cop30 says global agreements should target carbon intensive activities and ‘ultra high net worth individuals’New taxes on the super-rich, fossil fuels, financial transactions and highly polluting and carbon-intensive activities should be explored as key ways of raising the finance needed to help poor countries, governments have been told in an influential report.The proposal is one of the top recommendations of a new blueprint for global climate finance, the Baku to Belém roadmap, drawn up by the governments of Brazil and Azerbaijan, the current and the previous president of the UN climate Cop process. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Exxon funded thinktanks to spread climate denial in Latin America, documents reveal

Texas-based fossil fuel company financed Atlas Network in attempt to derail UN-led climate treaty processExxon funded rightwing thinktanks to spread climate change denial across Latin America, according to hundreds of previously unpublished documents that reveal a coordinated campaign to make the global south “less inclined” to support the UN-led climate treaty processThe documents, which include copies of the actual cheques Exxon sent, consist of internal documents and years of correspondence between the Texas-based fossil fuel company and Atlas Network, a US-based coalition of more than 500 free-market thinktanks and other partners worldwide. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Shell’s profits pass $43bn after production hits new highs in Brazil and Gulf of Mexico

Oil company plans to buy back shares for 16th consecutive quarter as protesters say its earnings are ‘horror show’Profits at Shell have climbed to more than $43bn for the year so far after fossil fuel production in the Gulf of Mexico reached a 20-year high and production in Brazil set a new record.The oil company reported better than expected earnings of $5.4bn for the third quarter, a 27% increase on the $4.3bn in the previous three-month period – but lower than the $6bn recorded over the same period a year earlier. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Expanded state powers on fossil fuel projects and water ‘betrayal’ of Australians, nature law critics say

Extracts of planned changes to the EPBC Act prompt ‘anger’ from conservation organisations that fear nature protection will be weakenedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastState governments could be given expanded powers to make decisions on fossil fuel developments under Labor’s proposed overhaul of environment law, prompting “shock and anger” from community-based conservation organisations that fear nature protection would be weakened.The Albanese government plans to introduce its planned changes to the national law – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – to parliament later this week, and has been briefing interest groups on its plans. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump sanctions have swift impact but will world stop buying Russian oil and gas?

Analysts say president’s war on Russia’s fossil fuel revenues is a chance to bring peace to Ukraine and profit to USDonald Trump’s stated mission to broker peace in Ukraine could come down to this simple question: can the US president convince the world to stop buying Russia’s fossil fuels?Last week, Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to damage Moscow’s ability to fund its war machine. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Brazil’s fast start delivers victory over Lionesses despite Angelina’s red card

England Women 1-2 BrazilStanway 52pen; Bia Zaneratto 10, Dudinha 18England were caught out against Brazil at the Etihad Stadium, Georgia Stanway’s penalty not enough to cancel out first-half goals from Bia Zaneratto and Dudinha, but it was far from a performance to worry about.Shortly after taking a two-goal lead, the visiting team were down to 10, Angelina receiving a straight red for bringing down Ella Toone, but despite a gutsy and fiery battle to the end, Sarina Wiegman’s side couldn’t find the equalising goal. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘A punch in the face’: Germany’s dash for gas raises questions over climate targets

Plans for a fossil fuel project in Wadden Sea nature reserve have angered local people and campaigners, as political enthusiasm for renewables wanesPeering out on a clear day from the windswept dunes that dapple the north-western tip of Germany, on a gull-shaped island in the Wadden Sea nature reserve, tourists hoping to spot seals may soon see a dark metal platform rise out of the water.The planned structure is one of several fossil fuel projects that Germany is pushing to build despite a legal deadline to stop polluting the atmosphere with carbon emissions in 20 years’ time. The joint Dutch-German venture, which received the green light from regional authorities last month, seeks to extract 13bn cubic metres of gas from just outside a protected area at the marine border between the two countries. Continue reading...

Society