57 m. ago Cop30 live: rumours of deal as delegates prepare for final plenary

After a series of all-night meetings, the Brazilian presidency appears optimistic it has persuaded parties to agree to a dealWe have some texts, but we do not have the big one yet (the global mutirão decision).So far, we have the final versions on the mitigation work programme, the global stocktake, gender, loss and damage, and the global environment facility. Continue reading...

Economics

2 h. ago Cop30 live: ‘Clown show’ talks run into overtime with no clarity on climate deal

Negotiations ran late last night, and as delegates begin to leave the outcome of the summit remains unclear Civil society campaigners from the developing world have accused the rich countries of spreading “duplicitous narratives” over their role in the Cop30 climate talks over the past fortnight.As the talks in Belém, Brazil, passed the deadline for their resolution on Friday, European countries indicated they would walk away from any deal that did not include a commitment for “roadmap” to phase out fossil fuels.The world lost the climate gamble. Now it faces a dangerous new realityTen years ago the world’s leaders placed a historic bet. The 2015 Paris agreement aimed to put humanity on a path to avert dangerous climate change. A decade on, with the latest climate conference ending in Belém, Brazil, without decisive action, we can definitively say humanity has lost this bet. Continue reading...

Society

26 h. ago ‘It’s like arguing with robots’: negotiators on the state of Cop30 talks

Three representatives of developing countries speak candidly about meetings behind closed doors in BelémCop30 – latest updatesIn the negotiating rooms at the Cop30 climate conference, representatives from vulnerable countries work to get the best deal they can. Here, three of them reveal what happens behind closed doors. Continue reading...

Politics

28 h. ago Cop30 draft omits any mention of fossil fuel transition plan as talks enter final hours

Negotiators face narrowing window to resolve some of summit’s most politically charged questions before scheduled close this weekend

Politics

42 h. ago Huge fire erupts at Cop30 venue leaving 13 people suffering smoke inhalation

Blaze disrupts UN climate talks in Brazil at critical time, with just two scheduled days left and negotiators yet to announce any major agreements

Events

43 h. ago Huge fire erupts at Cop30 venue prompting evacuations and halt in climate talks

Videos show huge flames as blaze spread through venue used for conference in Brazil

Events

4 d. ago Artificial intelligence sparks debate at COP30 climate talks in Brazil

Artificial intelligence is being cast as both a hero and a villain at the U.N. climate talks in Brazil

Politics

4 d. ago Bam! What is the acronym everyone is talking about at Cop30?

Securing the Belém Action Mechanism is a top priority for climate justice advocates at the talks in Brazil • Cop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of the climate talks in BrazilAll through the halls of the UN climate talks, civil society activists are wearing badges that read “Bam!”. They are not showing their fandom for old superhero comics but rather indicating their support for the Belém Action Mechanism (Bam), a proposal for states to drive action on a just transition towards a low-carbon economy.Securing the Bam is a top priority for climate justice advocates at Cop30. Proponents say that if a just transition is not a priority, climate action will unintentionally leave workers and communities behind. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago ‘This is survival’: Jamaica leads calls from vulnerable nations at Cop30

Countries including Mauritius and Cuba reiterate life-or-death nature of cutting emissions, calling it ‘a moral duty’Cop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of climate talks in BrazilJamaica has led calls from vulnerable nations at the Cop30 climate summit to urge immediate action on climate breakdown as the conference entered its second week.As high-level ministers from governments around the world took over negotiations in Belém, Brazil, vulnerable nations lined up to say how important it was that wealthier countries cut emissions in order to limit the worst effects of global heating. In addition, they renewed a longstanding call for rich nations to do more financially to help poor countries deal with warming. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Cop30: calls for new urgency to talks as studies show global warming may reach 2.5C – latest updates

As the summit goes into its second week, complex issues with anxiety growing over conference outcomesA spectacular demonstration by tens of thousands of climate, nature and land activists in Belém this weekend has set the stage for the second week of COP30 negotiations, when organisers hope the energy from the streets can be channeled into the conference halls.Monday and Tuesday mark the transition to the political phase of the negotiations, when ministers fly in to grapple with the issues that were too thorny for their bureaucrats to handle. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Cop30 was meant to be a turning point, so why do some say the climate summit is broken?

Swamped by lobbyists and hobbled by a lack of urgency, there are fears Cop could become a sprawling spectacle that betrays those who depend on it mostThousands of diplomats, activists, journalists and lobbyists are gathering in the sweltering, tropical heat of Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon, for the Cop30 climate talks.Since Brazil was awarded the hosting duties three years ago, hopes have been high that the Amazonian Cop – taking place in the country that hosted the Earth summit where the global fight for the climate first began – could be a turning point in the fight against climate breakdown. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Protesters blockade Cop30 summit over plight of Indigenous peoples

Munduruku people demand to speak to Brazil’s president, saying they are never listened toCop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of the climate talks in BrazilProtesters blockaded the main entrance to the Cop30 climate conference for several hours early on Friday morning, demanding to speak to Brazil’s president about the plight of the country’s Indigenous peoples.About 50 people from the Munduruku people in the Amazon basin blocked the entrance with some assistance from international green groups, watched by a huge phalanx of riot police, soldiers and military vehicles. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Row over definition of ‘gender’ hangs over Cop30 plans to support women

Advocates say conservative states’ push to define gender as ‘biological sex’ would backslide on decade-old language within the UNA row over the definition of the term “gender” threatens to bog down pivotal talks at the Cop30 climate summit.Before the UN talks in Brazil, hardline conservative states have pushed to define gender as “biological sex” over their concerns trans and non-binary people could be included in a major plan to ensure climate action addresses gender inequality and empowers women. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Despite America’s absence, Trump’s influence looms large over Cop30

In this week’s newsletter: Fear of retribution from the unpredictable president has left climate summit negotiators feeling nervous and vulnerable• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereUnder Donald Trump, America has not only jettisoned any effort to deal with the climate crisis, but has also attempted to stymie moves by other nations to shift to cleaner forms of energy, such as solar and wind.The climate crisis is “the greatest con job perpetrated by the world”, Trump told the UN in September, urging other governments to stick to oil and gas (preferably drilled in the US, of course) and ditch the “scam” of renewable energy.World still on track for catastrophic 2.6C temperature rise, report findsFossil fuel projects around the world threaten the health of 2bn peopleChina’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis findsCalifornia governor calls Trump ‘an invasive species’ at Cop30 climate talksTussles break out between protesters an...

Politics

9 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

9 d. ago Cop30 live: ‘literally insane’ that we are letting global heating happen, says Al Gore

Former US vice-president also critical of Donald Trump and Bill Gates as negotiations begin in earnestHello comrades, this is Nina Lakhani in chilly New York City taking over the blog for the next few hours. Thanks very much to my colleague Matt Taylor in London Town who will be back in the hot seat on Friday morning.Leading climate activists and influencers have signed a letter criticising PR firm Edelman over its role at the Cop30 summit in Brazil. Continue reading...

Society

1 week ago Tussles break out between protesters and security at Cop30 in Brazil

Dozens storm venue at climate conference that has encouraged NGOs and Indigenous groups to play unprecedented role in talksThere were tussles between protesters and security guards at the Cop30 climate talks late on Tuesday night, when a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people stormed the conference centre in Belém.Several dozen men and women, some in brightly coloured feather headdress, ran through the entrance, pushing at least one door off its hinges, before striding through the metal detectors and entering the Blue Zone. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago ‘It will never be forgiven’: UN climate chief warns world to act or face disaster

Faltering governments will be blamed for famine and conflict abroad, and face stagnation and inflation at home, says climate chief at start of Cop30Governments failing to shift to a low-carbon economy will be blamed for famine and conflict abroad, and will face stagnation and rising inflation at home, the UN’s climate chief warned on Monday at the start of the Cop30 climate talks.Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the UN framework convention on climate change, addressed the gathering of ministers and high-ranking officials from nearly 200 countries, in a stark portrayal of the price of failure on the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Events

1 week 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

2 w. ago I wish we could ignore Bill Gates on the climate crisis. But he’s a billionaire, so we can’t | George Monbiot

Money talks – and his essay denouncing ‘near-term emissions goals’ at Cop30 mostly argues the case for letting the ultra-rich off the hookLet’s begin with the fundamental problem: Bill Gates is a politics denier. Though he came to it late, he now accepts the realities of climate science. But he lives in flat, embarrassing denial about political realities. His latest essay on climate, published last week, treats the issue as if it existed in a political vacuum. He writes as if there were no such thing as political power, and no such thing as billionaires.His main contention is that funds are very limited, so the delegates at this month’s climate summit in Brazil should direct money away from “near-term emissions goals” towards climate “adaptation” and spending on poverty and disease.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Society