Asia
US-China talks thaw in heatwave – Climate Weekly
Sign up to get our weekly newsletter straight to your inbox, plus breaking news, investigations and extra bulletins from key events
Confusion surrounds China’s pledged climate finance towards the Global South
China is not obligated to provide financial aid but has pledged to “make available’ $3.1bn to other developing countries
“Green” finance bankrolls forest destruction in Indonesia
Green funds have been spent cutting down trees for biomass to make electricity, decimating the traditional food sources of indigenous people
FSC’s rehab scheme for forest destroyers under fire after fresh allegations
Indonesian pulp and paper giants are trying to rehabilitate themselves with the FSC despite continued accusations of deforestation in their supply chains
Vietnamese anti-coal campaigner freed early from prison
Nguy Thi Khanh has been released a few months early from prison but two of her fellow campaigners remain in jail on tax evasion charges
Nations fight to be called climate vulnerable in IPCC report
Being recognised as partiuclarly vulnerable can help countries access climate finance and plan adaptation strategies
Loss and damage committee ready to start talks following Asian nominations
Six Asian countries will share two seats on the committee due to start work on establishing a fund for climate victims
Lawyers and activists build pressure on Korean court to rule on climate
Pressure is building on South Korea’s constitutional court to make a key climate change judgment, as the government prepares to publish its first carbon neutrality plan
Governments sworn to secrecy on ‘$20bn’ for Indonesia’s energy transition
They won’t reveal who is paying what or how it will be spent and one bank said their $1bn contribution is just something they’re “willing to consider”
Japan’s ‘green transformation’ would derail the energy transition in Asia
Japan plans to prolong fossil fuels across Southeast Asia, by promoting carbon capture, gas and the co-firing of ammonia at coal power plants.
UN budget cuts hindered response to Pakistan’s extreme floods
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had only seven staff in Islamabad to assess the needs, down from 35 five years earlier
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
Taiwan’s failure to clean up industry endangers its net zero pledge
Comment: Taiwan’s industry is responsible for more than half of its emissions but the government’s new climate policies have no specific plan to tackle them.
Azerbaijan weaponises conservation law in conflict with Armenia
Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of deforesting the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, but satellite data tells a different story
World Bank adaptation funds slept through Pakistan’s record flooding
A $100 million project was meant to protect Karachi slumdwellers from flooding, but instead made many homeless before work stalled
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
Rich nations, banks pledge $20bn for Indonesia’s coal-to-clean switch
The US and Japan led on mobilising finance to retire Indonesian coal plants and scale up renewables, in a deal announced in Bali
Climate fund approves plan to speed up coal retirement in Indonesia
The Climate Investment Funds aims to mobilise $4 billion from public and private sources to start decarbonising Indonesia’s power sector
Funds for Pakistan flood relief come too little, too late
Nearly two months on from devastating floods, only $51 million of aid has been delivered, forcing humanitarian groups to make tough decisions
Pakistani prime minister promises compensation to flood victims
The government will offer financial aid to those who lost homes and crops in Pakistan’s worst-ever floods, Shahbaz Sharif said