8 d. ago ‘The dinosaurs didn’t know what was coming, but we do’: Marina Silva on what needs to follow Cop30

Exclusive: Brazil’s environment minister talks about climate inaction and the course we have to plot to save ourselves and the planetSoon after I returned home to Altamira from Cop30, I found myself talking about dinosaurs, meteors and “ambassadors of harm” with Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva.No one in government knows the rainforest better than Marina, as she is best known in Brazil, who was born and raised in the Amazon. No one is more aware of the sacrifices that environmental and land defenders have made than this associate of the murdered activist Chico Mendes. And no one worked harder to raise ambition at Cop30, the first climate summit in the Amazon, than her. So what, I asked, had it achieved? Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Rising Tide protest: climate activists stop three ships from entering world’s largest coal port in Newcastle

Australian campaigners demand Albanese government cancel planned fossil fuel projects and tax existing operations at 78%Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastActivists have blocked two more coal ships from entering the Port of Newcastle on the fourth day of the Rising Tide protests, bringing the total number of ships turned around by campaigners this weekend to three.Thousands of people have gathered at Rising Tide’s annual climate protest at the world’s largest coal port. The blockade began on Thursday and will continue until Tuesday. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago How food on our supermarket shelves is driving destruction of Amazon rainforest

The COP30 climate change summit in Brazil highlighted the importance of the Amazon to us all

Politics

2 w. ago Bitter rows and overnight talks: how a fragile Cop30 deal was agreed – podcast

After bitter arguments, threatened walkouts and heated all-night negotiations, delegates eventually reached a deal this weekend at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil. To unpick what was achieved and what was left out, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian’s environment editor, Fiona Harvey, who has been following every twist and turnEnd of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoffSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago UK Budget 2025: Labour's economic policies are unravelling much like COP30's hopes of ending oil and gas

After the COP30 climate summit ends with a whimper, Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ second Budget may not fare much better

Economics

2 w. ago Another Cop wrecked by fossil fuel interests and our leaders’ cowardice – but there is another way | Genevieve Guenther

The fingerprints of Russia and Saudi Arabia are all over the decision text in Brazil. But a group of nations led by Colombia and the Netherlands offer hopeGenevieve Guenther is the founding director of End Climate SilenceThe 30th conference of the parties (Cop30), the annual climate summit of all nations party to the UNFCCC, just ended. Stakeholders are out in the media trying spin the outcome as a win. Simon Stiell, climate change executive secretary for the UN is, for instance, praising Cop30 for showing that “climate cooperation is alive and kicking, keeping humanity in the fight for a liveable planet”. But let us be clear. The conference was a failure. Its outcome, the decision text known as the Global Mutirão or Global Collective Effort, is, in essence, a form of climate denial.In 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) determined that the world had already developed, or planned to develop, too much fossil fuel to be able to halt global heating at 2C. It ackn...

Politics

2 w. ago Compromises, voluntary measures and no mention of fossil fuels: key points from Cop30 deal

A deal is welcome after talks nearly collapsed but the final agreement contains small steps rather than leapsThe UN climate summit Cop30 moved forward the fight against the climate crisis and the damage it is already causing to lives and livelihoods. But the measures agreed are steps, rather than the leaps needed. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Miliband urges Cop30 to find ‘creative’ routes to roadmap on phasing out fossil fuel

UK energy secretary says UN climate talks must find way to keep proposals alive despite significant resistanceSupporters of a global phaseout of fossil fuels must find “creative” ways to keep the proposal alive, including making it voluntary rather than binding, the UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has said in the closing stages of the UN climate talks.As the Cop30 summit in Brazil carried on past the Friday night deadline, the prospect of countries agreeing on the need for a roadmap to a global “transition away from fossil fuels” looked increasingly dim. A first draft of the potential outcome text from the summit had contained the formulation, but in the updated draft text produced on Friday by the Brazilian presidency it had been excised. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Cop30 live: summit president says ‘everybody will lose’ as fears rise that conference will end without a deal

André Corrêa do Lago issues plea to preserve Paris agreement with countries far from reaching agreement on scheduled final dayAn informal stocktake plenary is now underway [see live feed at the top of the blog]. Here the presidency will update parties on the state of the negotiations.My colleague Damian Carrington will be keeping across the main developments. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Cop30 live: summit president warns ‘everybody will lose’ if countries fail to cooperate

André Corrêa do Lago issues plea to preserve Paris agreement with countries far from reaching agreement on scheduled final dayAn informal stocktake plenary is now underway [see live feed at the top of the blog]. Here the presidency will update parties on the state of the negotiations.My colleague Damian Carrington will be keeping across the main developments. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

3 w. ago Cop30: dozens of countries threaten to block resolution unless it contains roadmap to fossil fuel phase

Exclusive: The Guardian understands Brazil had been planning to drop a roadmap to a transition away from fossil fuels amid opposition from petro statesCountries supporting a phase-out of fossil fuels at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil have threatened to block any agreement that does not include such a commitment, in a significant escalation of tensions at the crunch talks, the Guardian can reveal.The simmering row over a potential roadmap for the “transition away from fossil fuels” boiled over on Thursday night when a group of at least 29 countries signed a strongly worded letter to Brazil, the Cop presidency. The leaked letter demanded that the roadmap be included in the outcome of the talks, which are due to end on Friday but likely to carry on into the weekend. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Cop30 climate summit in Brazil disrupted after fire breaks out in venue

Event thrown into confusion after conference centre evacuated but UN says no one hurtBrazilian president will take fossil fuel phase-out plan to G20 summitTalks at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil were disrupted on Thursday after a fire broke out in the venue, triggering an evacuation just as negotiators were hunkering down to try to land a deal to strengthen international efforts to address climate change.António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, had appealed earlier in the day for a deal from the summit, welcoming calls from some for clarity on the hotly disputed subject of weaning the world off fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago COP30 summit: Why giving up on climate change is a luxury our children cannot afford

Ben Wilson, of the charity Sciaf, who is attending the COP30 summit in Brazil, explains why we cannot lose hope in the fight against global warming

Politics

3 w. ago Divide over fossil fuels phaseout can be bridged, Cop30 president says

Exclusive: André Corrêa do Lago says rise of clean energy must be acknowledged and rich countries need to do moreCop30 live – latest updatesCop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of climate talks in BrazilOil-producing countries need to acknowledge the rise of clean energy, and rich countries will have to provide more assurances on finance if the chasm between negotiating nations at Cop30 is to be bridged, the president of the summit has said.André Corrêa do Lago, the veteran Brazilian climate diplomat in charge of the talks, said: “Developing countries are looking at developed countries as countries that could be much more generous in supporting them to be more sustainable. They could offer more finance, and technology.” Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Keeping promises on renewables, energy efficiency and methane ‘would avoid nearly 1C of global heating’

Analysis published at Cop30 summit shows adhering to pledges offer world hope of avoiding climate breakdownSticking to three key climate promises – on renewables, energy efficiency and methane – would avoid nearly 1C of global heating and give the world hope of avoiding climate breakdown, analysis published at the Cop30 climate summit suggests.Governments have already agreed to triple the amount of renewable energy generated by 2030, double global energy efficiency by then, and make substantial cuts to methane emissions. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv seeks $44bn from Russia for climate

The move marks the first time a country is claiming damages for such an increase in emissions. What we know on day 1,365See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageUkraine plans to seek nearly $44bn from Russia for the damage linked to an increase in climate-warming emissions from the ongoing war, a government minister told Reuters. The move marks the first time a country is claiming damages for such an increase in emissions, including from the fossil fuels, cement and steel used in fighting the war, and from the destruction of trees through resultant fires. “A lot of damage was caused to water, to land, to forests,” said Pavlo Kartashov, the country’s deputy minister for economy, environment, and agriculture. “We have huge amounts of additional CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases,” Kartashov said in an interview on the sidelines of the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil.Russian drones struck an apartment building in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, triggering a fire, injuring five peo...

Events

3 w. ago More than 80 countries at Cop30 join call for roadmap to fossil fuel phase

Countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Pacific and Europe plead for transition to be central outcome of talksCop30 live – latest updatesMore than 80 countries have joined a call for a roadmap to phasing out fossil fuels, in a dramatic intervention into stuck negotiations at the UN Cop30 climate summit.Countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific joined with EU member states and the UK to make an impassioned plea for the “transition away from fossil fuels” to be a central outcome of the talks, despite stiff opposition from petrostates and some other major economies. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Cop30 live: Confusion over next summit as Australian PM says they would not block Turkey as host

Who will host next year’s Cop? The tussle between Australia and Turkey continues, with comments from the Australian PM adding to the lack of clarityWe should not fear the forces of denial and delay, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has warned, because “they are losing this fight”.Speaking to delegates at Cop30, the Labour politician acknowledged the existence of climate deniers and delayers across the world – including in the UK – and described them as “well funded, well organised, and determined”. Continue reading...

Politics