China warns of more floods and heatwaves in 2023
Last year was marked by a record-breaking heatwave and China’s weather agency has warned of more this year, as the climate crisis escalates
Portugal agrees to swap Cape Verde’s debt for environmental investment
Cape Verde owes around $150m to the Portugese state – but Portugal says it will write off the debt if the African island nation spends the money on environmental measures
Brazil launches first raids against Amazon tree-cutters under Lula’s new government
Brazil’s new government is already having an impact on deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, an environmental enforcement agent claimed
Airlines plot fight-back against France’s short-haul flights ban
The aviation industry plans to argue that banning short-haul flights is ineffective and impinges on EU citizens’ right to travel between countries
Thunberg joins protest against German coal mine expansion
The German government agreed that utility RWE could expand the Luetzerath coal mine in exchange for a faster national coal phase-out
Brazil bids to bring Cop30 climate talks to Amazon’s Belem
The city is at the mouth of the Amazon river and is the second-biggest city in the Amazon region after Manaus
Hurricanes and floods bring $120bn in insurance losses in 2022
Hurricane Ian in Florida caused a big chunk of the financial losses while floods in Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa killed the most people
Donors pledge over $8bn to rebuild Pakistan after floods – official
At a Geneva summit, multilateral development banks committed the vast majority of funds, with smaller contributions from governments
Cop15 global nature deal passes despite DR Congo’s objection
The Chinese presidency gavelled through a biodiversity pact in Montreal, overriding the funding concerns of some African delegates
Destruction of Brazil’s Cerrado savanna soars for third year in a row
Brazil’s outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro has presided over four years of destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado grasslands
Rich nations mobilise $15.5bn for Vietnam’s coal-to-clean transition
The deal will help Vietnam to peak its greenhouse gas emissions five years earlier than planned and scale up renewable energy generation
EU strikes internal deal to tax carbon at its borders
The world-first scheme will protect European industries from being undercut by polluting competitors, but angers emerging economies
Natural disaster spike to drive 2020 insurance rate rise
Losses from hurricanes, typhoons and wildfires in 2017 and 2018 are likely to cause reinsurance rates to rise by up to 5% agencies warn
Chinese Belt and Road plan ‘may result in 2.7C warming’
Without green policy controls, $12tn programme could promote development that would compromise the goals of the Paris Agreement, report finds
Australian emissions rise as LNG production soars
Emissions from gas extraction cause carbon pollution to continue to rise, while agency issues warning about health of Great Barrier Reef
US trade war undermining Chinese efforts on climate, says official
‘Don’t underestimate the difficulties China is facing,’ a top official said ahead of a key UN summit designed to accelerate climate action
Rocks in the gearbox: German anti-car protesters target industry for disruption
Police are investigating after a group claimed responsibility for vandalising 40 luxury cars near Frankfurt, while the industry braces for further actions
Brazil says South American countries will meet over Amazon wildfires
President Jair Bolsonaro made the announcement after meeting with his Chilean counterpart on Wednesday
G7 countries offer $20 million emergency aid to fight Amazon wildfires
The Brazilian government has suggested it would reject the offer after president Jair Bolsonaro’s chief of staff said the resources are “more relevant to reforest Europe”
Ireland threatens to block Mercosur trade deal unless Brazil protects Amazon
Leo Varadkar said Ireland could vote against the free trade deal between South American countries and the EU over deforestation and wildfires concerns