18 h. 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...

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26 h. ago Less arguing, more action: will Brazil’s unorthodox approach to Cop30 work?

Host uses Indigenous concepts and changes agenda to help delegates agree on ways to meet existing climate goalsShipping containers, cruise ships, river boats, schools and even army barracks have been pressed into service as accommodation for the 50,000 plus people descending on the Amazon: this year’s Cop30 climate summit is going to be, in many ways, an unconventional one.Located in Belém, a small city at the mouth of the Amazon river, the Brazilian hosts have been criticised for the exorbitant cost of scarce hotel rooms and hastily vacated apartments. Many delegations have slimmed down their presence, while business leaders have decamped to hold their own events in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Continue reading...

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33 h. ago Trump demands senators stay in Washington to solve shutdown as he heads to Florida – live

US president heads to his Florida resort and presses senators to stay in Washington DC to work toward ending the government shutdownAndrew Roth in Washington and Flora Garamvolgyi in BudapestViktor Orbán will visit the White House today as Hungary’s far-right prime minister tries to broker another summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that Orbán’s advisers claim could help end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Continue reading...

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45 h. ago Over 100 US leaders to attend Cop30 climate summit as Trump stays away

Dozens of US state and local leaders will be at talks in Brazil with president’s team expected to send no representativesThe Trump administration appears to be sitting out this month’s United Nations climate talks known as Cop30, telling the Guardian it will not deploy any high-level representatives to the negotiations.But dozens of US subnational leaders attend to promote their climate efforts. Continue reading...

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63 h. ago Another slip Keir? Starmer narrowly escapes a tumble as he arrives at COP30... before telling summit that Labour is 'all in' on Net Zero despite admitting climate consensus 'is gone'

In a speech to the global gathering in Belem, Brazil , the Prime Minister vowed the UK under his Government would be 'doubling down' on its climate commitments.

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63 h. ago Prince William warns the world is 'edging dangerously close to climate disaster' as he speaks on the 'privilege' of representing the King on a global stage for the first time at COP30 in Brazil

William, 43, is representing King Charles at the COP30 United Nations Climate Summit in Belém, the gateway to Brazil 's Amazon rainforest.

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65 h. ago Prince William's response to journalist's royal scandals grilling hailed by TV viewers

Prince William was being interviewed by CNN ahead of the COP30 climate summit when he was probed about the recent scandals rocking the Royal Family.

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65 h. 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...

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66 h. ago Missing 1.5C climate target is a moral failure, UN chief tells Cop30 summit

UN secretary general António Guterres urges opening session in Brazil to bring about a ‘fundamental paradigm shift’Triple-whammy of hottest ever years risks ‘irreversible damage’, says UNThe failure to limit global heating to 1.5C is a “moral failure and deadly negligence”, the UN secretary general has said at the opening session of the Cop30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.António Guterres said even a temporary overshoot could “unleash far greater destruction and costs for every nation. It could push ecosystems past catastrophic and irreversible tipping points, expose billions to unliveable conditions, and amplify threats to peace and security”. Continue reading...

Events

2 d. ago Only Keir for the beers? Starmer, Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan live it up in Rio after PM travels 12,000 miles for ONE DAY at COP30 climate jamboree... while Trump, India and China stay away

Keir Starmer enjoyed a black tie bash last night after making the emissions-heavy 12,000-mile round trip to the Amazon to reiterate his commitment to Net Zero.

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3 d. ago The era of fine speeches and good intentions is over. Brazil’s Cop30 will be about action | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

This is our message to world leaders: make this the ‘Cop of truth’, before people lose faithLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the president of BrazilToday, in the Brazilian Amazon, the Belém summit opens ahead of the 30th United Nations climate change conference (Cop30). I have convened world leaders in the days leading up to the conference so that we can all commit to acting with the urgency the climate crisis demands.If we fail to move beyond speeches into real action, our societies will lose faith – not only in the Cops, but in multilateralism and international politics more broadly. That is why I have summoned leaders to the Amazon: to make this the “Cop of truth”, the moment we demonstrate the seriousness of our shared commitment to the planet.Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the president of Brazil Continue reading...

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4 d. ago ‘A meeting of voices’: flotillas head into Belém ahead of Cop30 climate summit

Indigenous leaders, environmental activists and forest defenders are determined to make this a summit like no other A day into a river voyage between Santarém and Belém, a dozen or so passengers on the Karolina do Norte move excitedly to the port side of the boat to see the cafe au lait-coloured waters of the Amazon river mix with the darker, clearer currents of the Xingu.“That confluence is like the people on this boat,” said Thais Santi. “All from different river basins, but coming together for this journey.” Continue reading...

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4 d. ago Leonardo DiCaprio continues environmental efforts ahead of COP30 global climate summit in Brazil

The Academy Award-winning actor, 50, advocated for environmental caution in a clip ahead of the Conference of the Parties that was posted to his Instagram page.

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4 d. ago Starmer affirms UK commitment to climate action ahead of Cop30 summit

Starmer has reiterated the government’s dedication to clean energy goals and the UK’s role as a global climate leader

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4 d. ago Starmer says he ‘hasn’t changed his mind’ on climate action before Cop30 summit

The Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to the Government’s clean energy ambitions and the UK’s role as a global climate leader.

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5 d. ago Prince William given keys to city of Rio de Janeiro as he arrives for Earthshot awards

The Prince of Wales is starting a five-day visit to Brazil to stage his Earthshot Prize and attend the Cop30 UN climate change summit

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5 d. ago Prince William given keys to city of Rio de Janiero as he arrives for Earthshot awards

The Prince of Wales is starting a five-day visit to Brazil to stage his Earthshot Prize and attend the Cop30 UN climate change summit

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9 d. ago John Swinney to snub COP30 talks billed as most significant climate summit since Paris Agreement

The summit is expected to hold the most significant climate talks since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.

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9 d. ago Rio cops 'DECAPITATE teen gangster and display his head like a trophy' as narco mobsters bomb police with drones in revenge for bloodbath crackdown

The bloody battle unfolded just days before Brazil is set to host Prince William and world leaders at the COP30 climate summit.

Events

1 week ago Jared Kushner is back – and so are big questions about his financial ties | Mohamad Bazzi

Kushner’s investment firm is backed by three Arab petrostates critical to the Gaza agreement. And the deals keep comingIn Donald Trump’s first term, his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner was omnipresent. He worked on criminal justice reform, Covid-19 vaccine development and modernizing technology across federal agencies. His portfolio extended to foreign policy, as he brokered a new North American trade agreement and negotiated peace deals in the Middle East. But when Trump returned to the White House in January, Kushner stayed out of the limelight and declined to take a formal role in the administration.A few weeks ago, Kushner re-emerged as a central player behind Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, which so far has achieved a ceasefire, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory. Kushner took a victory lap, as Trump and others in the US administration gave him significant credit for helping negotiate ...

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