Amazon nations split on oil and deforestation, ahead of summit
Colombia wants to restrict oil production while the Brazilian government is divided on the issue
Court says renewable firms can seize Spain’s property after subsidy cuts
The Energy Charter Treaty, which Spain is trying to leave, protects investments in fossil fuels and in renewables
Amazon governments set sights on narco-deforestation
When governments gather for the Amazon summit next week, they will talk about how to tackle drug traffickers who destroy forests
Brazil seeks European trade advantages in return for Amazon protection
The EU wants environmental guarantees in case a future Brazilian government stops trying to protect the Amazon
G20 climate talks fail to deliver emission cuts despite leadership pleas
Cop28 president, Sultan Al Jaber and UN climate change boss, Simon Stiell, had called on G20 countries to show leadership and deliver ambitious emissions cuts.
G20 divisions over key climate goals pile pressure on Cop28 hosts
The world’s largest economies failed to agree on targets to phase down fossil fuels and scale up renewables
Frans Timmermans steps down from EU’s climate leadership
Timmermans has led the EU’s climate policy since 2019 but will now seek to become Dutch prime minister instead
UAE’s Cop28 president plans “brutally honest” climate summit
“We must be brutally honest about the gaps that need to be filled, the root causes and how we got to this place here today” said Sultan Al-Jaber
IEA celebrates energy transition minerals investment, as fears of shortage lessen
There’s been a boom in investment in minerals like lithium, cobalt and nickel – which will be necessary for the energy transition
EU set to propose mass exit from Energy Charter Treaty
They hope they can neutralise the treaty’s 20 year sunset clause and prevent fossil fuel companies suing them over climate action
Norway approves oil and gas fields despite Cop fossil phase-out push
Despite pushing for a phase out of unabated fossil fuels, Norway claims its oil and gas are “essential to Europe’s energy security”
UK off course for net zero, its advisers say
The UK government’s official advisers say it is failing on climate at home and abroad, as it cuts climate programmes
As Moscow labels WWF “undesirable”, WWF Russia cuts ties with group
The Russian government has clamped down on environmental organisations who they say are a threat to their economic security
Colombia accuses Drummond coal mining exec of funding paramilitary group
The current Colombia head of an American coal miner will face trial, accused of giving money to right-wing paramilitaries in the late nineties
Governments fall short in UN’s East Africa drought appeal
Donor countries promised only a third of the $7bn the UN was appealing for to provide humanitarian aid to drought-stricken Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia.
Lula set to improve Brazil’s climate target
Brazil’s new president Lula is set to improve on the climate target set by his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, Reuters sources say
Regulator blocks Brazilian oil drilling, sparking conflict within government
While President Lula’s environment minister Marina Silva supported the decision, Lula ally Randolfe Rodrigues vowed to oppose it
France proposes tax credits for green technology
France will spend €500m a year on tax credits for wind and solar power, heat pumps and batteries funded by a tax rise on carbon-intensive fuels
After court blocks renewables push, US promotes carbon capture & hydrogen
The Environmental Protection Agency will set limits on power plants’ emissions, forcing them to clean up or shut down
Ecuador gets cheap debt write-off with promise to protect Galapagos’s nature
Ecuador will get $12 million a year to spend protecting the wildlife and habitats of the Galapagos islands, in the largest “debt for nature” deal yet