1 week ago Manchester United’s seat licence plan threatened by ticket tout clampdown

Club plan to sell PSLs to help fund new £2bn stadiumModel to be outlawed by proposed government legislationManchester United’s plans to sell personal seat licences to supporters to help fund the £2bn redevelopment of Old Trafford has been put under threat by the government’s clampdown on ticket touts.The Guardian has learned that the proposed PSL model being considered by United permitted seat licence holders to sell on their match or season-tickets at a profit to other fans but that will now be outlawed by the government in proposed legislation due to be introduced in next year’s King’s Speech. Continue reading...

Sport

1 week ago The Congo basin may be the world’s most important rainforest – why is it the least researched?

It is the second-largest tropical forest on Earth, and one of the most vital carbon sinks, but is losing out when it comes to climate policy and fundingIn October 2023, leaders, scientists and policymakers from three of the world’s great rainforest regions – the Amazon, the Congo, and the Borneo-Mekong basins – assembled in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo. They were there to discuss one urgent question: how to save the planet’s last great tropical forests from accelerating destruction.For those present, the question was existential. But to their dismay, almost no one noticed. “There was very little acknowledgment that this was happening, outside of the Congo basin region,” says Prof Simon Lewis, a lecturer at the University of Leeds and University College London, and co-chair of the Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI). Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Climate change is in the news during COP30. We've got tips to tackle your climate anxiety

Global leaders have descended upon Brazil for COP30, and with the conference often comes a lot of negative news that evokes climate anxiety and dread

Politics

2 w. ago Rich countries have lost enthusiasm for tackling climate crisis, says Cop30 chief

Brazil’s André Corrêa do Lago says countries should follow China’s lead on clean energy as conference beginsCop30: what are the main issues?Net zero to NDCs: your Cop30 jargon busterRich countries have lost enthusiasm for combating the climate crisis while China is surging ahead in producing and using clean energy equipment, the president of the UN climate talks has said.More countries should follow China’s lead instead of complaining about being outcompeted, said André Corrêa do Lago, the Brazilian diplomat in charge of the Cop30 conference, which begins on Monday. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Lula’s balancing act: Cop30 Amazon summit juggles climate and social priorities

Brazil’s president welcomes world leaders while navigating divided government, promising action on deforestation and emissionsHow could the Tropical Forest Forever Facility tackle deforestation?Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has welcomed world leaders to Belém for the first climate summit in the Amazon, where conservationists hope he can be a champion for the rainforest and its people.But with a divided administration, a hostile Congress and 20th-century developmentalist instincts, this global figurehead of the centre left has a balancing act to perform in advocating protection of nature and a reduction of emissions. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Prince William tells Cop30 'courage and unwavering commitment' needed to tackle climate crisis

The Prince of Wales made a landmark speech at the global climate summit in the Amazon in Brazil

Politics

3 w. ago How could Tropical Forest Forever fund proposed at Cop30 tackle deforestation?

Scheme aims to raise $125bn to invest in bonds, with returns used to reward tropical countries for conservationAs a battle-scarred veteran of the war against nature, Garo Batmanian has spent 45 years trying to defend the Amazon rainforest. For most of that time, the resistance he leads has been outfunded and outgunned by those who profit from destruction. The most Batmanian felt he could achieve was to slow the advance of the chainsaws and tractors.But the director-general of Brazil’s forest service feels there could be a chance at the Cop30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, next week, not just of an even fight, but perhaps a victory. There is one condition: world governments must rally behind an initiative being launched by the host nation – the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘We’re leading the way’: Starmer defends plans for green economy before Cop30

PM defies critics calling for a slowdown as he flies to Brazil, where he may have frosty reception after opting out of tropical forest fundUK opts out of flagship fund to protect Amazon and other threatened tropical forestsThe UK will lead on tackling the climate crisis, the prime minister vowed on Wednesday, despite critics calling for a slowdown, because shifting to a low-carbon economy will cut bills, boost economic growth and bring national renewal.But his words risked being overshadowed by a bitter row over funding for tropical forest preservation at the UN Cop30 climate conference. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago UK will not invest in Brazilian tropical forest fund at Cop30

Britain will not commit public money as Rachel Reeves grapples with balancing the books ahead of the Budget.

Economics

3 w. ago How a Zohran Mamdani policy could transform New York and beyond by eliminating costly issue affecting millions

To fund his policies, Mamdani has proposed an increase of the state’s corporate tax rate and raising the city’s income tax by 2 percentage points on New Yorkers earning more than $1 million a year

Economics