Climate Change

Media reports said that rescue workers searched on Tuesday for a group who had gone missing during a powerful storm in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, located in southern Patagonia. The storm killed at least 2 Mexicans. According to T13, one of the victims died after she was evacuated. Guillermo Ruiz is the delegate of the president for Chile's southern Ultima Esperanza Province. He told T13 the first responders are still searching for seven people but bad weather has complicated the search. The tourists are lost in the Los Perros camp of the national park, Ruiz stated. It...

Wildfires caused the largest tropical forest losses in 2024 Global warming is expected to worsen destruction Communities put in the center of fire prevention at COP30 By Andre Cabette Fabio The government agencies responsible for the environment and forests in Ecuador, Peru Ghana and Kenya, along with more than 30 environmental and indigenous groups from around the world, signed an agreement that will secure $100 million by 2030. The pledge will initially focus on the Amazon Basin - the largest tropical forest in the world, which is located mostly in Brazil. Fires are raging in forests that were not likely...

On Monday, the top U.S. financial regulatory body changed the grounds for which companies can request permission to skip voting on shareholder resolutions. This is seen as making things more difficult for activists who want to force votes about controversial topics like climate change or workplace diversity. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on its website that it will no longer rule on common proxy objections such as whether or not an activist's request was filed late, or if the filer owns enough shares. The SEC stated that there is an exception if a company claims jurisdictional reasons, such as...

Tyson Foods agreed to cease claiming it would reach zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050, and to stop marketing beef as climate-friendly in order to settle a suit that accused the U.S. Meat Company of misleading consumers. The nonprofit Environmental Working Group announced this on Monday. The Environmental Working Group reported on Monday that companies have been accused of "greenwashing," where they present an image of environmental responsibility to the public. In the lawsuit filed by Environmental Working Group, Tyson's Brazen Beef brand was cited as an example of misleading advertising. The company claimed that this was the...

Documents seen by have revealed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked its staff to search for over two dozen words and phrases relating to climate change and diversity in order to determine which grants could be terminated during the first months of the second Trump Administration. This effort was part of a broader campaign among federal agencies in order to comply with President Donald Trump’s directives that diversity, equity and inclusivity efforts and climate regulations be eliminated within the federal government. Trump called DEI "racist", "illegal", and pressured private institutions like universities to end diversity practices. Climate change has...

Documents seen by have revealed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked its staff to search for over two dozen words and phrases relating to climate change and diversity in order to determine which grants could be terminated during the first months of the second Trump Administration. This effort was part of a broader campaign among federal agencies in order to comply with President Donald Trump’s directives that diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts as well as climate regulation be eliminated within the federal government. Trump called DEI a "racist" practice and said it was "illegal". He also pressed private institutions...

A senior Alaska Native official, who was responsible for overseeing the federal agency that is in charge of U.S. Arctic research policy, quietly left her position in the last few days. This information comes from a source with knowledge of the issue and documents seen. The departure of Elizabeth Qaulluq Cravalho who was a member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC) until earlier this month is the latest indication of the turmoil in the Arctic research community and the policymaking process since Republican U.S. president Donald Trump assumed office in January. Sources say that the exact nature of Cravalho's...

On Monday, environmental groups sued Alaska’s wildlife authorities to stop a predator-control plan that allows game wardens to hunt an unlimited number of bears using helicopters in a vast area where a protected herd of caribou roams. The groups claim that the Board of Game reinstated the program, without taking into account the impact on grizzly bear and black beaver populations. This is a violation of Alaska's wildlife conservation provisions. The suit was filed in the state district court of Anchorage. It claimed that state fish and games agents had killed 175 black bears and 175 grizzlies since 2023 under...

Ding Xuexiang, vice premier of China, called on fellow leaders to show "true multiculturalism" at the climate summit held in Brazil. Ding, via a translation, said: "We must strengthen international collaboration in green technology and the industry, remove trade obstacles, and ensure free flow of high-quality green products, to better meet global sustainable development needs." Ding told the official Xinhua News Agency on Friday that the developed countries must fulfill their obligation "to lead in emission reduction and honour their funding commitments", as well as provide more assistance to developing countries. He said that China was willing to work with...

Google's biggest deal to remove carbon emissions involves financing the restoration of Amazon rainforests with Brazilian startup Mombak. This comes as big tech searches for high-quality credits that can offset emissions from energy-hungry data centres. Companies said the deal would offset 200 metric tons carbon emissions. This is four times more than a pilot agreement signed in September 2024 between Google and Mombak, its sole supplier of forestry credits. Both companies declined comment on the deal's value. The agreement shows how big tech wants to mitigate the climate impact of its massive investment in data centers that use a lot...

The government revealed in its budget plan for the first budget of Prime Minister Mark Carney that Canada may scrap the cap on oil-and-gas emissions and replace it with other measures, such as industrial carbon pricing or the deployment of technology to capture and store carbon. In the climate plan that was part of the first budget of Prime Minister Mark Carney, it said the cap would be no longer needed because its value would be marginal. The Canada's emission cap is not being enforced by legislation, and it will not take effect before 2030. Canadian oil and natural gas...

The government revealed in its budget plan for the first budget of Prime Minister Mark Carney that Canada may scrap a cap on gas and oil emissions if other initiatives like carbon markets, stronger regulation, and carbon capture and storage technology prove successful. In the climate plan that was part of the first budget of Prime Minister Mark Carney, it said the cap would be no longer needed as its value would be marginal. The Canadian emissions cap is not legally enforced and will not take effect until 2030. However, Canadian oil and natural gas companies have condemned it because...

Brazil, the COP30 summit's president, released a draft of a proposed agreement for this year’s U.N. Climate Summit early on Friday. It dropped a proposal that was included in a previous version to develop a plan to move away from fossil-fuels. This issue was one of the most controversial at the two week conference in the Brazilian Amazon city of Belem, attended by nearly 200 government officials. The nations have been arguing over the future for fossil fuels. Their burning releases greenhouse gases, which are the biggest contributors to global warming. The first draft of the deal, which was released...

Brazil's economic model is designed to benefit locals from a healthy forest. It was developed on the banks of Guama River, where the city Belem borders the Amazon rainforest. The state government of Para, instead of clearing trees to make way for mines and cattle, unveiled this year a research-and-development program that will help locals turn forest products such as acai or Brazil nuts into goods destined for international markets. The program is a part of a larger plan to demonstrate to the world, in Belem, the host city for the COP30 climate summit, that Brazil can protect the Amazon...

Officials said that the fire which forced the evacuation of the COP30 Climate Summit in Belem, Brazil, on Thursday has been put out. However, it is unclear whether delegates will return immediately to continue the negotiations. The Brazilian tourism minister informed reporters on the scene that the fire had been put out and that no one had been injured. However, he was unsure if delegates could return to the area of the venue in which the summit negotiations took place today or tomorrow. The summit organizers confirmed that the fire had been brought under control and added that Brazilian fire...

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an agreement from the Climate summit COP30 Some have called for clarification on the controversial subject of weaning off the world. fossil fuels The Belem summit, in Brazil's Amazonian city, missed the self-imposed deadline of Wednesday to reach agreement between the 200+ countries that were present. This included issues such as how to increase climate financing and move away from fossil fuels. Guterres said at a summit press conference: "I welcome the calls for a just and fair transition mechanism, as well as the growing coalition that is calling for clarity in...

Brazil's President was scheduled to meet with key negotiators on Wednesday at the COP30 Summit as part of a push to reach a deal before schedule on some the most controversial issues in the global talks on climate change, including fossil fuels. Nearly 200 countries have gathered in the Amazonian city of Belem for a two-week U.N. Summit to increase multilateral action on climate change. The United States was absent, but the United States is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Brazil, the host country, hopes to break the trend of recent climate summits that have run past their deadlines...

Five sources said that plans to launch a U.N. supported global market to trade carbon offset credits hit a snag during the COP30 Summit, as governments struggled to resolve a disagreement over funding in order to get the market running. The U.N. has been trying to create a global carbon market since the early 2000s. At last year's climate summit, rules were agreed on for a U.N. centralised trading system that allows countries and companies to buy CO2 emission credits which represent emissions reductions from poorer countries. It is intended to allow richer countries and companies to count these emission...

Jamaica has spent many years building up a fund to deal with climate-driven disasters. The money was only enough to cover 5% of a storm's cost. Matthew Samuda, Jamaican cabinet Minister, said that Hurricane Melissa left the island with bills of $10 billion. Of this amount only $500 million could be covered by climate-preparation reserve funds. Jamaica has asked wealthy nations to offer urgent grants, investments and concessional financing at the COP30 Climate Summit in Belem. It does not want commercial rate loans, which would burden the country with additional debt, as it faces an uncertain future that is expected...

Brazil hopes to reach an early agreement at the COP30 Climate Summit on some of its most controversial issues after revealing a bold strategy of negotiation that kept delegates working until the wee hours of Tuesday morning. The two-week Belem summit, which took place in the Amazonian city, brought governments from around the world together to reinforce the U.N. framework for global action that aims to stop rising temperatures and deal with their damage. Brazil, the host nation, wants to reach a deal in two phases: one on Wednesday that includes items that were too difficult a week earlier to...

The demand from tech giants for high-quality credits to offset their AI emissions is fueling a shortage, which experts say is what's needed to stimulate investment in this nascent industry. Credits tied to forest preservation projects will be nearly four times as expensive in 2024 due to heavy purchases by companies such as Microsoft and Google over the past two years. Credit experts report that Big Tech collectively has spent hundreds of millions on carbon removals which capture and store CO2 for an extended time, a large portion of this in the past two years. According to CDR.fyi, the total...

COP30 discusses how to measure climate adaptation and pay for it Farmers say that they are not receiving enough climate funding Extreme weather events are increasing and requiring more funding for adaptation. Clar NiChonghaile This kind of climate change is not uncommon in Parana, where the summers are now hotter and the winters colder. Droughts have also become more frequent. Six people were killed by a tornado that struck Rio Bonito do Iguacu, Parana on November 7. Bevilacqua Mendonca (35), wants COP30 to do more for smallholder farmers to adapt to extreme weather by providing them with funds to access...

According to a study published on Monday, clearing land for agricultural purposes in Brazil's Cerrado tropical Savanna region leads to drier conditions which ultimately harm soybean yields. The study was first shared with and argues that falling yields drive farmers to clear more land. This further accelerates degradation of Brazil's largest biome, the Amazon, and hinders conservation efforts. Zero Carbon Analytics released a press release detailing the findings of their study. "Our new analyses found that farmers clearing native vegetation to plant soy have climate impacts far beyond the cleared areas," the group said. Brazil's Cerrado Region covers more than...

On Saturday, thousands of climate activists marched peacefully through the Brazilian city Belem to call for more action in order to protect the fate and future of the planet. They also vented their anger towards governments and fossil-fuel industries. Negotiators have reached the halfway mark of the marathon COP30 Climate Summit, which aims to put years of promises to action in order to stop global warming and provide support for those who are most affected. Indigenous people, youth activists, and civil society groups sang, played musical instruments, and waved banners in the sweltering heat. Marina Silva, Brazil's Environment Minister, addressed...