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Akshat Rathi, Kevin Crowley, John Ainger and Olivia Rudgard, Bloomberg
Negotiators at COP30 in Brazil are trying to build a coalition to deliver on the promise to “transition away from fossil fuels” made in Dubai last year, reports Bloomberg. Spearheaded by Brazil’s environment minister Marina Silva, countries including the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Colombia and Kenya have shown their support for an agreement on a path away from fossil fuels, it adds. The article quotes Silva, who says, “It makes no sense to invest in the dirty and inefficient models of the 20th century. We have challenges, but we need to make an effort for a fair and planned transition to leave the dependency on fossil fuels.” The Financial Times reports that countries have backed the call for a “roadmap” for nations to plan a way to wean their economies off fossil fuels. The article adds that “in a political balancing act, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has promoted the idea of a roadmap in multiple speeches – only weeks after Brazil itself gave approval for drilling for new oil and gas near the mouth of the Amazon.” A fossil fuel roadmap at COP30 was also covered by BusinessGreen, Semafor, Agence France-Presse and Climate Home News.
MORE ON COP30
The Guardian reports on a joint analysis with Carbon Brief that found that China and Saudi Arabia are among the nations receiving climate loans. [See Carbon Brief’s coverage here.] Backchannel interviews the chair of the Africa Group of Negotiators, Richard Muyungi, to discuss progress on adaptation and loss and damage, as well as Ethiopia being backed to host COP32. Bloomberg reports that the UN has ordered Brazil to improve security and conditions at COP30. Agence France-Presse adds that the host has pushed back, saying “responsibility for safeguarding the venue's interior lies with the world body itself”. Reuters reports that “Australia risks undermining efforts to establish itself as a leader in the green energy transition and letting down its vulnerable Pacific island neighbour” if its bid to host COP31 fails. Bloomberg covers attempts by COP30 host Brazil to “sell sceptics on ‘low-carbon beef’”. The Hindustan Times covers the debate over the inclusion of 1.5C in goals at COP30. Climate Home News covers comments by Indigenous Argentine people at COP30 that “water is worth more than lithium”.
Marianne Gros and Max Griera, Politico
European lawmakers have agreed to exempt more countries from green reporting, according to Politico, after the center-right, right-wing and far-right groups allied to support deregulation as part of the bloc’s first “omnibus simplification package”. The outcome “illustrates the willingness of the center-right European People’s party to abandon its traditional centrist allies and press ahead with the support of far-right groups to pass its deregulation agenda, setting a precedent for future lawmaking in Parliament for the rest of the mandate”, the article continues. The Financial Times notes that the vote is a “win” for the push for deregulation driven by US president Donald Trump, who has been pressing for the EU to water down environmental laws. Reuters explains that the European Union's corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD) was passed last year and has since become a “political flashpoint”. It notes that the vote this week will mean only companies with at least 5,000 workers and €1.5bn ($1.75bn) turnover will have to comply with the CSDDD, and increase from thresholds of 1,000 employees and €450m turnover. This story was also covered by Agence France Presse and Semafor.
Simon Jessop, Lais Morais and Anna Portella, Reuters
At COP30, a group of philanthropies has announced $300m for developing “life-saving solutions as global temperatures continue to rise”, reports Reuters. The article notes that more than half a million people are now dying from heat-related causes every year. It continues that the funding is aimed at developing data and establishing the best investment for tackling the increasing risks from extreme heat, air pollution and infectious disease. The article notes that, separately, COP30 host Brazil has launched the Belem Health Action Plan, to encourage countries to monitor and coordinate climate-related health policy.
MORE ON PEOPLE AT COP30
The Guardian reports that one in every 25 participants at COP30 is a fossil fuel lobbyist, according to figures from Kick Big Polluters Out. Climate Home News reports that, despite a record turnout at COP30, only 14% of Indigenous Brazilians have been given access to “decision-making spaces”. Separately, Climate Home News covers Indigenous activists raising concerns at COP30 as part of an Amazon flotilla. The Guardian’s “Down to Earth” newsletter focuses on the influence of Trump at COP30, despite the US’s absence. The Guardian reports that none of US ‘big four’ broadcasters – CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox – are at COP30. The Guardian reports that a row over the definition of “gender” threatens to “bog down” talks in Belem.
Lisa Friedman, The New York Times
The Trump administration has announced it will allow drilling and mining in “a fragile expanse of tundra and wetlands in northern Alaska that is home to caribou, grizzly bears and thousands of migratory birds”, reports the New York Times. The move revokes restrictions brought in under former president Joe Biden, which banned development in 23m acres of federal land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, it continues: “Despite having “petroleum” in its name, the expanse is some of the last remaining pristine wilderness in the country and contains some of the most important wildlife habitat in the Arctic.” Reuters quotes interior secretary Doug Burgum, who said that "by rescinding the 2024 rule, we are following the direction set by president Trump to unlock Alaska’s energy potential, create jobs for North Slope communities and strengthen American energy security".
MORE ON US
Tao Ye, Beijing News
The head of China’s COP30 delegation Li Gao has said that China is steadily making progress in achieving its “dual carbon” goals and that it is ready to “strengthen practical cooperation” with other countries to support “global climate governance, ecological protection and green, low-carbon development”, reports Beijing News. Speaking at the COP30 China Pavilion, Li added that “steady progress” has been made in areas such as energy conservation and carbon reduction, as well as the “circular economy” and the domestic carbon market, according to the newspaper. In a comment for state-run newspaper China Daily, Josef Gregory Mahoney, director of the Center for Ecological Civilization at East China Normal University, says that China will take “decisive steps toward realising key green targets”, including “dual carbon” goals and the new NDC targets.
MORE ON CHINA
The NEA says that, as of 2024, China’s renewable power capacity has reached 1,889 gigawatts (GW), accounting for roughly 56% of total power capacity, while renewable electricity generation has reached 3.47m gigawatt-hours (GWh), accounting for about 35% of the total electricity generation, according to BJX News. Spain and China have agreed to strengthen cooperation on renewable energy, China Daily reports. Yicai says that China’s electricity demand is estimated to increase by 8% each year between 2028 and 2030, up from a previous estimate of 4-5%, driven by more AI data centres, “robust exports” and “speeding electrification”, citing Swiss bank UBS. China is actively working to reduce its dependence on foreign uranium suppliers, as the country looks to accelerate the development of its nuclear energy sector, China Daily reports. SCMP carries an opinion article by Rutgers University’s Jesse Rodenbiker, under the headline: “Can China balance green ambition with everyday ways of life?” Also in the SCMP, Wang Huiyao and Zhi Wang explore how the “global green industrialisation initiative can have a ‘win-win-win’ outcome”. BBC News: “How China won the world’s EV battery race”
Kiran Stacey, The Guardian
Hundreds of thousands of homeowners could lose their right to subsidies to support the installation of heat pumps as a result of efforts by chancellor Rachel Reeves to bring down energy bills in the upcoming budget, reports the Guardian. Reeves is planning a series of measures to reduce energy bills amid the “concerns the country’s stubbornly high cost of living is driving millions of voters to Reform UK”, it adds. Sources have told the publication that those measures include a plan to remove energy efficient levies from bills and fund them through the government’s warm homes plan, the article notes. The |
