UN climate talks
Expectations mount as loss and damage fund staggers to its feet
Demand for finance to pay for the aftermath of climate impacts is rocketing – but progress on getting a new UN loss and damage fund up and running is slow
UN’s climate body faces “severe financial challenges” which put work at risk
UNFCCC chief Simon Stiell has made an urgent plea to plug the body’s funding gap with government donations
African dismay at decision to host loss and damage advice hub in Geneva
The UN agencies that will run the Santiago Network recommended it should be based in Nairobi but governments have instead chosen the world’s third-most expensive city
Shipping sector pushes to keep emissions-tax cash for itself
The industry and governments’ maritime ministries want a proposed levy on emissions spent on cleaning up shipping, not used for wider climate goals like loss and damage
Paraguay’s carbon deal with Singapore beset by lobbying, lax rules
UN rules governing bilateral carbon offsetting between governments have yet to be agreed but deals are being done, raising concerns about integrity
Is water provision in drought-hit Zambia climate ‘loss and damage’ or adaptation?
Farmers need crop irrigation to help beat drought – but it’s unclear if that would qualify for new loss and damage funding
Nations fail to agree ban or research on solar geoengineering
At talks in Nairobi, governments could not find consensus on new global governance for SRM, including proposals for “non-use” and a UN expert panel
Clean, cheap or fair – which countries should pump the last oil and gas?
The world will need oil and gas for a few decades more – and the debate is heating up over who should get to produce and sell it
Countries draw battle lines for talks on new climate finance goal
Developed and developing countries are gearing up for heated discussions over the size of the goal and who should provide money for it
Switzerland proposes first UN expert group on solar geoengineering
A draft resolution aimed at creating a space for discussion on sun dimming technologies will be debated at the summit of the UN’s environment body this month
Azerbaijan orders Baku hotels to freeze Cop29 room booking
The move has sparked fears of price hikes, which would exclude poorer activists and government delegates
Rich nations miss loss and damage fund deadline
Their failure to agree risks delaying help for victims of climate disasters in developing countries
Saudi Arabia cancels plan to raise oil pumping cap
Analysts said Saudi Arabia’s government may be losing faith that the world wants to keep buying more of its oil
For Cop29 to succeed, rich nations must get their parliaments to agree more finance now
Rich nations always say they need their parliaments approval for climate finance at Cops – now is the time to start
Governments fail to agree timeline for climate science reports in fraught IPCC talks
Saudi, India and China led opposition against a proposal to link the IPCC’s assessment cycle with the global stocktake, sources told Climate Home.
The all-male Cop29 committee is a big step backwards for climate
Azerbaijan appointed 28 men and zero women to a key group tasked with organising the upcoming climate summit in the country
How fossil fuels went from sidelines to headlines in climate talks
For a quarter-century, fossil fuels were absent from Cop climate agreements – so how had they become so ubiquitous at Cop28?
Azerbaijan appoints fossil fuel execs and scandal-hit officials to all-male Cop29 committee
The all-male group in charge of the climate summit organisation includes oil and gas executives and controversial government officials
Veteran US and Chinese climate envoys step down
Xie Zhenhua has stepped down and John Kerry has announced he will do the same in a few months time
High stakes for climate finance in 2024
Setting finance goals without the revenues and systems to deliver on them is a recipe for disappointment – this year it must be different.