As day eight begins in Baku, leading economists say finding the required $1tn a year ‘is feasible’, even as negotiators run into a ‘valley of death’ amid deadlock in climate talks
Cop29 negotiations aren’t moving fast enough, according to one of the Pacific leaders attending the summit in Baku.
Surangel Whipps Jr, the president of the republic of Palau, has written an op-ed for the Guardian in which he describes the relentless invasion of his country’s coastlines by rising seawater and calls for bolder action by negotiators. He says:
The importance of these issues to Pacific countries cannot be understated. Around the world, conversations on global security often revolve around invasions, acts of terrorism and threats to peace. For us, the climate crisis is our invasion. It’s a relentless, unyielding force that attacks our food security, our economy, our culture and our very existence.
We want to access sufficient, predictable, grants-based climate finance to address our climate change needs and priorities. These climate finance mechanisms should be scalable, contextual, flexible and predictable.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
11/19/2024 - 01:46
11/19/2024 - 01:00
Experts say mix of taxes with development bank and private funding can provide $1tn a year needed by 2030
Raising money needed to tackle the climate crisis need not be a burden on overstretched government budgets, leading economists have said.
The sums needed – approximately $1tn a year by 2030 – are achievable without disruption to the global economy, and would help to generate greener economic growth for the future.
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11/19/2024 - 01:00
When exploring wrecked warship the London I can barely see six inches ahead, but I’ve dived 500 times to document and save the secrets of this vessel built by Oliver Cromwell
When I dive to the shipwreck of the London, a warship which was accidentally blown up in the murky waters of the Thames estuary in 1665, I dive in darkness. I can barely see six inches in front of me. And if I turn my torch off, I cannot see anything at all.
But I love it. I’ve dived to the London about 500 times and I only have to feel certain timbers of the wreck, and I know where I am.
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11/18/2024 - 23:24
Small island states must continue to be protected by special circumstances and need access to sufficient climate-based finance, Palau’s president writes
A week into Cop29 negotiations, we’re not moving fast enough – or anywhere for that matter – on some key issues.
Climate finance, or more specifically the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) to replace the current $100bn a year goal, and the work to operationalise the loss and damage fund, are key expected outcomes here in Baku.
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11/18/2024 - 19:13
Marine scientists say one area around Cooktown and Lizard Island had lost more than a third of its live hard coral after bleaching event
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Reefs across the north of the Great Barrier Reef have seen “substantial losses” of coral cover after a summer of extreme heat, two cyclones and major flooding, according to the first results of surveys from government marine scientists.
After the most widespread coral bleaching event seen on the world’s biggest reef system, the Australian Institute of Marine Science said one area around Cooktown and Lizard Island had lost more than a third of its live hard coral – the biggest annual drop in 39 years of monitoring.
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11/18/2024 - 18:45
When the heat is on, the onus should be on the Coalition to explain why they don’t support measures to ensure their newly discovered battlers have access to rooftop solar
Guardian Essential poll: almost half of Australian voters want Aukus reviewed after Donald Trump’s election win
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Australia is facing the extreme risk of dangerous concentrations of high pressure and hot air this summer. There is also a strong likelihood of heatwaves.
The return of the performatively anti-climate Donald Trump will see the world’s biggest per capita carbon polluter pull out of global targets, emboldening energy incumbents and their mouthpieces to amp up their attacks on renewables.
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11/18/2024 - 13:00
Sherry Rehman says rich nations should pay ‘internationally determined contributions’ to help poorer and worst-affected countries
Amid the endless politicking and inscrutable arguments at the UN climate negotiations in Baku, Azerbaijan, this month, it can be hard to remember what is at stake. That’s why Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s former climate change minister, is calling on global leaders to “keep an eye on the big picture”.
“We’re here for life and death reasons,” Rehman said.
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11/18/2024 - 12:57
Southeast Asia's tropical forests are renowned for their biodiversity, but at the same time face significant threats from the expansion of oil palm plantations. With global demand for palm oil rising, the urgency for effective restoration strategies in these landscapes has become critical. A long-running experiment has investigated how ecological restoration promotes biodiversity recovery in oil palm plantations in Sumatra. Their findings reveal that establishing islands of trees within large oil palm monocultures can promote the recovery of native tree diversity through natural regeneration.
11/18/2024 - 12:52
A new study reveals alarming risks that pesticides pose to ground-nesting bees, which are crucial for pollination and food production. As agriculture increasingly relies on pesticides to protect crops, the unintended consequences for these essential pollinators are becoming clearer.
11/18/2024 - 11:21
UN climate chief addresses climate summit with no agreement in sight on how to help developing countries
Countries meeting in Azerbaijan to discuss a new global financial settlement for tackling the climate crisis must “cut the theatrics” and get down to serious business, the UN has said.
The UK and Brazil have been drafted in to try to break a logjam at the Cop29 climate summit, which entered its second week on Monday with no agreement in sight on the key issue of how to channel at least $1tn a year to developing countries.
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