36 h. ago Inside the climate group working everywhere but DC: ‘You can still have huge wins’

Climate Cabinet supports candidates in state and city races as the federal government ignores the climate crisisWith a president who has called climate change a “hoax”, refused to send a delegation to international climate talks, and packed the federal government with former fossil fuel industry employees, this can feel like a dark moment for climate action in the US. But shifting one’s focus to local and state law makes for a very different outlook.Analysts have estimated that 75% of the commitments that the US made at the Paris climate agreement – which Donald Trump pulled the nation out of as soon as he took office – can be reached entirely without federal support. Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago Global race to secure critical minerals for weapons threatens climate, warns report

Study reveals US earmarked billions to stockpile critical minerals for military use, including precision-guided weaponry and AI-driven warfareThe accelerating global arms race is hindering climate action as critical minerals that are key to a sustainable future are being diverted to make the latest military hardware, according to a reportThe study from the Transition Security Project – a joint US and UK venture – reveals how the Pentagon is stockpiling huge stores of critical minerals that are needed for a range of climate technologies including solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and battery storage. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Trump reportedly gave Maduro ultimatum to relinquish power in Venezuela

US president sent a ‘blunt message’ to his South American counterpart, sources sayHow US campaign against Venezuela has unfoldedUS politics – live updatesDonald Trump reportedly gave Nicolás Maduro an ultimatum to relinquish power immediately during their recent call – but Venezuela’s authoritarian leader declined, demanding a “global amnesty” for himself and allies.On Sunday, the US president confirmed the call had taken place, telling reporters: “I wouldn’t say it went well or badly, it was a phone call.” Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Made in Britain, ISIS's new leader: Terror network's latest chief 'preached in British mosques for years after being given sanctuary as a migrant in Sweden'

Abdul Qadir Mumin is on the run from forces in Somalia, who have so far failed to capture the latest supreme commander of the Islamic State, known for his beguiling charisma.

Events

4 d. ago New ISIS leader 'runs global network from Somalian mountain after years preaching in British mosques'

Abdul Qadir Mumin is on the run from forces in Somalia, who have so far failed to capture the latest supreme commander of the Islamic State, known for his beguiling charisma.

Politics

5 d. ago Dining across the divide: ‘I was nervous – was he going to attack me for being a snowflake?’

A Green-party globalist and a right-of-centre Tory clash over immigration. Would they see eye to eye over reparations?Peter, 34, LondonOccupation Former civil servant, now a student, studying public health Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Global ‘Free Marwan’ campaign calls for Palestinian political leader’s release

Locked away in prison for decades, Marwan Barghouti is a longstanding advocate for a two-state solutionA global campaign is being launched to secure the release of Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian prisoner seen by many as the best hope of leading a future Palestinian state, as negotiations continue in the context of the current Gaza ceasefire.The campaign, being led by Barghouti’s West Bank-based family with UK civil society support, is seeking to put the 66-year-old’s fate at the centre of the next stage of the ceasefire. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Africa’s forests transformed from carbon sink to carbon source, study finds

Alarming shift since 2010 means planet’s three main rainforest regions now contribute to climate breakdownAfrica’s forests have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source, according to research that underscores the need for urgent action to save the world’s great natural climate stabilisers.The alarming shift, which has happened since 2010, means all of the planet’s three main rainforest regions – the South American Amazon, south-east Asia and Africa – have gone from being allies in the fight against climate breakdown to being part of the problem. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Beyond the negative headlines, some truly good things came out of Cop30

In this week’s newsletter: Ultimately, climate progress will come from real-world action, and this year’s summit made some promising strides on that front• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereSome commentators have called Cop30 a failure. An attempt to insert plans for a route to the phaseout of fossil fuels into the legal text was stymied, consideration of how to improve countries’ emissions-cutting plans was put off till next year, and although developing countries got the tripling of finance for adaptation that they were seeking, it will not be delivered in full until 2035 – and will come out of already promised funds.Look beyond the headlines, however, and the Cop achieved a great deal more. Take the outcome on fossil fuels – it seems absurd, but until 2023 three decades of annual climate summits had failed to address fossil fuels directly.UK can create 5,400 jobs if it stops plastic waste exports, report findsZombie fires: how Arctic wildfires that come...

Politics

1 week ago We delivered a clear message at Cop30: the delayers and defeatists are losing the climate fight | Ed Miliband

For all its flaws, the Brazil conference underlined the wish by a global majority for clean energy and climate action – and the UK will keep leading the wayEd Miliband is the secretary of state for energy security and net zeroSweaty, maddening, sleepless. That’s what it was like to be part of Cop30 in Brazil. And yet more than 190 countries came together in the rainforest of the Amazon and reaffirmed their faith in multilateralism, the Paris agreement and the need to redouble our efforts to keep global warming to 1.5C.We went to Cop because working with other countries to tackle the climate crisis is the only way to protect our home and way of life. We know the UK produces just 1% of emissions, which is why, as the prime minister said in Belém, our government is “all-in” on working with others to reduce the remaining 99%.Ed Miliband is Labour MP for Doncaster North and secretary of state for energy security and net zero Continue reading...

Society

1 week ago EU leads isolated group of countries pushing for global climate action

‘Axis of obstruction’ stalls progress with poor and middle-income countries reluctant to quit fossil fuels despite peril

Politics

1 week ago Developing nations push for climate action and debt relief at G20 summit in South Africa

Poorer nations at the Group of 20 summit in South Africa have urged world leaders to address climate action and debt issues affecting the developing world

Politics

1 week 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

2 w. ago SC1 London plans to make South London a global leader in health and life sciences

SC1 London plans to make South London a global leader in health and life sciences  London Post

Politics

2 w. ago There’s a catastrophic black hole in our climate data – and it’s a gift to deniers | George Monbiot

Climate sceptics tell us that more people die of extreme cold than extreme heat. What’s the truth?I began by trying to discover whether or not a widespread belief was true. In doing so, I tripped across something even bigger: an index of the world’s indifference. I already knew that by burning fossil fuels, gorging on meat and dairy, and failing to make even simple changes, the rich world imposes a massive burden of disaster, displacement and death on people whose responsibility for the climate crisis is minimal. What I’ve now stumbled into is the vast black hole of our ignorance about these impacts.What I wanted to discover was whether it’s true that nine times as many of the world’s people die of cold than of heat. The figure is often used by people who want to delay climate action: if we do nothing, some maintain, fewer will die. Of course, they gloss over all the other impacts of climate breakdown: the storms, floods, droughts, fires, crop failures, disease and sea level rise. B...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘We can no longer predict the seasons’: why Indonesia’s coal mindset has to change

It’s a climate-vulnerable nation, while also being the world’s sixth-largest greenhouse-gas emitter. Global investment in climate action is vital Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Australia’s failed bid to host Cop31 looks like a mess – but it may actually be the best result possible | Adam Morton

While the outcome is a let down for those who want Australia to do better on climate, Chris Bowen looks set to play a pivotal role in the UN talksSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereOuch. From one perspective, Australia’s long-running bid to host the Cop31 UN climate conference next year has ended in clear failure.It campaigned for more than three years for the rights to put on the world’s biggest climate summit and green trade fair, which would have brought tens of thousands of people to the South Australian capital of Adelaide next November. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. 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

2 w. ago Pope Leo XIV calls for urgent climate action and says God’s creation is 'crying out'

Pope Leo XIV is urging countries at United Nations climate talks to take “concrete actions” to stop climate change that is threatening the planet

Politics

2 w. 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