Climate Change

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...

Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) first Amazonia Bond raised $100 million to combat deforestation, boost local communities and support them, according to its chief. Other countries will follow soon. The coupon rate for the five-year bond is 3.802%. Ilan Goldfajn, President of the IDB, said that the operation is the start of a plan for the IDB to issue bonds up to $1 billion "over time." He added that the Brazilian government has told them they intend to issue similar bonds using the same framework developed by the IDB and the World Bank. Brazil's Treasury said that "studies are underway" to...

The grain traders group Abiove said that the vote of Brazil's Supreme Court, which took place on Monday, recognising legality and effectiveness of the soy-moratorium, a corporate agreement under investigation by Brazil’s antitrust agency, confirms its legitimacy and efficiency. Why it's important The ruling by Supreme Court Justice Flavio DiNo supports a longstanding corporate environment agreement that prohibits soybean traders from purchasing from farmers who cleared land from the Amazon rainforest in July 2008. It also shapes the soy trading in Brazil, which is the world's biggest soybean exporter. CONTEXT The soy ban was intended to reduce deforestation by limiting...

Executives revealed that a climate finance platform, co-founded by MUFG (Japan's largest financial group), has raised $600 million in order to assist countries in developing markets to adapt to climate change impacts and reduce emissions. Bill Gates, a billionaire investor and business leader in Brazil, made the announcement as business leaders gathered ahead of COP30 climate talks. The GAIA Climate Loan Fund will support projects that build resilience in countries as extreme weather events like floods and droughts become more intense. Ariane Pvide, Director of Climate and Blended Finance, MUFG, stated in an emailed comment that "Adaptation Finance has become...

A White House official confirmed that the U.S. would not be sending any high-level officials for the upcoming COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil. This will ease some concerns among world leaders who were worried Washington might send a team of negotiators to sabotage the talks. Brazil will host the high-level leaders summit in Belem, Amazonian City next week. The UN climate talks begin there two weeks later. Earlier this week, the U.S. warned that it would use visa restrictions and sanction to retaliate to nations who voted in favor of a UN shipping agency plan, the International Maritime Organization (IMO),...

Hurricane Melissa, which swept through the Caribbean on Thursday and was seen gaining speed as it moved across open water towards Bermuda, left a path of destruction and high winds from Jamaica to Cuba. As the storm passed, people in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos were slammed with rain and dangerous winds. Bermudans, located around 600 miles (970km) northeast of the last position of the storm, prepared for the expected evening arrival. Authorities in the region are struggling to keep up with the devastation. They have confirmed 25 deaths, 10 of which were children, in Haiti and four in...

The document shows that a flagship climate coalition of asset managers has dropped certain targets for its members. This comes months after U.S. pressure forced BlackRock to leave the group and suspend their activities. After Republican politicians attacked them, the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative took similar measures at sister groups in banking and insurance. The announcement comes just days before the COP30 Climate Talks in Brazil, where a number of fund managers will be gathering at a variety of events related to the global effort of decarbonising the economy. 2050 NET-ZERO GOAL FOR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS DROPPED NZAM announced on...

Shuttered Climate.gov reborn as Climate.us The number of changes to federal websites has increased by 70% during the Trump administration Nonprofit organizations working to protect data By Carey L. Biron Climate.gov was a huge repository of climate change research. By May, her entire team was laid off. The site moved the following month to NOAA's Public Relations Department, ending its autonomy. The NOAA has not responded to a comment request on the plans for this site. Environmentalists claim that the Trump administration has made unprecedented changes to federal website, including a halt in data collection and hiding of existing data....

Altman stated that OpenAI could be the most significant company in Silicon Valley's past-sources OpenAI's ability to achieve its ambitious infrastructure goals remains a mystery Altman: Company needs to reach hundreds of billions in annual revenue Deepa Seetharaman SAN FRANCISCO Oct. 29 - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman informed employees that they were at the beginning of a new technology revolution soon after ChatGPT had been released to the public late in 2022. Altman told two former OpenAI staffers that OpenAI would soon be "the most important company ever in the history Silicon Valley", according to his comments. The US tech...

A federal judge dismissed an attempted class action lawsuit that accused Mondelez International, of misleading consumers into paying more for Clif bars labeled as "climate-neutral certified." U.S. district judge Manish Shah found that the labels of Clif Kid Zbar products and Zbar Protein that showed a certification by Change Climate Project (a nonprofit that assists companies in reducing emissions) were not wrong. Shah dismissed the case with prejudice, which means it cannot be brought back. Cynthia Salguero, a plaintiff from Chicago, accused Mondelez, a Chicago-based company, of "greenwashing," or exaggerating a product's environmental impact, by labeling Zbars "climate neutral." She...

HSBC released a new set of climate targets on Thursday that are softer and more flexible for near-term sectors like oil and gas. This is in response to the slow rate of change in real economy. The targets for the end of the decade follow a review that was announced by British bank earlier this year, when it dropped its goal to reach net-zero emissions in all of its operations by 2030. HSBC is still aiming for its operations, funded by the loan book, to produce zero emissions by 2050. It and other banks who have set similar climate goals...

The world leaders who are gathering in Brazil to discuss climate change are deliberately thousands of miles from the finance and business leaders that they hope will fund the fight against global heating. The executives who have attended the recent U.N. Climate Summits in Baku and Dubai, Sharm el-Sheikh, Glasgow, are now gathered in Sao Paulo's business district, instead of battling for hotel rooms in Belem, the small Amazonian town hosting the summit this year. The Brazilian government has given the green light to finance-focused conferences hosted by third parties. This has attracted thousands of registrants around the globe. The...

Prince William of Britain expressed optimism about the global environmental challenges on Wednesday at an event with a star studded crowd in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate the fifth edition EarthShot Prize. William's visit to Latin America is just a few days before Brazil hosts the UN Climate Summit COP30 in next week. William, who founded the award in 2020 after being inspired by his visit to Namibia, said: "I can understand why some people might be discouraged during these uncertain times." I understand that so much work remains to be done. This is not the time to be complacent....

After a full year of discussions, COP30 hosts Brazil laid out a plan on Wednesday to increase climate finance from $1.3 trillion a years to $1.3 trillion a day. They also faced early signs that the political landscape was becoming more challenging as the Amazonian City of Belem prepared to host world leaders. The document, which is almost 100 pages long, has been dubbed Baku to Belem Roadmap. It was created after months of discussions with various stakeholders following the conclusion of the event held in Azerbaijan last year. As emissions continue to increase, some of the world's poorest nations...

Luiz inacio Lula da Solo, Brazil's president, is still reeling from the aftermath of his country's deadliest police operation. He has been left unable to handle political fallout as he tries to reconcile growing international concern over human rights abuses with public support for an aggressive crackdown on crime. This divide highlights a broader problem facing Lula. He is hoping to be re-elected next year, and has devoted much of his political capital towards an "ecological transform" of Brazil's economic system, capped off by the U.N. Climate Conference COP30, which starts this week. However, most Brazilians seem more concerned with...

A new U.N. study said that record wildfires in combination with rising temperatures could turn vital carbon sinks like forests into carbon emitters. According to a report released by the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe ahead of the COP30 Climate Conference in Brazil, forests in Europe, North America and Central Asia have slowed their ability absorb carbon dioxide. It warned that if current trends continue these forests may reach a tipping-point where they start releasing more CO2 than they can absorb. The Paris Agreement targets a reduction of CO2 emissions in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius....

Luiz inacio Lula da Sol was left stunned by the most deadly police operation Brazil has ever seen. He is now trying to deal with the political fallout as he tries to reconcile growing international concern over human rights violations and public support for an aggressive crackdown on crime. This divide highlights a broader problem facing Lula. He is hoping to be re-elected next year, and has devoted much of his political capital towards an "ecological transform" of Brazil's economic system, capped off by the U.N. Climate Conference COP30, which starts this week. However, most Brazilians seem more concerned with...

Brazil's President said that a U.N. Report warning that global carbon emissions are too high to stop global warming has prompted him to declare that the U.N. Climate Change Summit in the Amazon this month will be a COP of Truth and offer real solutions. Despite 30 years of global negotiations, the Paris Agreement of a decade back failed to prevent the world from warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. The United Nations Environment Programme stated on Tuesday that the world is heading for a 2.3 to 2.5degC extreme warming. The forecast is based on the assumption that countries will meet...

Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) first Amazonia Bond raised $100 million to combat deforestation, boost local communities and support them, according to its chief. Other countries will follow soon. The coupon rate for the five-year bond is 3.802%. Ilan Goldfajn, President of the IDB, said that the operation is the start of a plan for the IDB to issue bonds up to $1 billion "over time." He added that the Brazilian government has told them they intend to issue similar bonds using the same framework developed by the IDB and the World Bank. Brazil's Treasury said that "studies are underway" to...

Prince William traveled to Brazil for a ceremony to award his multi-million dollar environmental prize. He hoped to divert attention from the scandal surrounding his uncle Andrew to the causes of the royals. William, the British heir, will make his first Latin American visit and will see some of Rio de Janeiro landmarks. The goal is to bring the attention of the public to a number of environmental projects in advance the award ceremony for the Prince's Earthshot Prize. The visit came just days after King Charles stripped Andrew of his princely title and expelled him from his mansion. He...

Prince William will be in Brazil next week to receive his multi-million dollar environmental prize. He hopes to divert attention from the scandal surrounding his uncle Andrew to the causes of the royal family. William, the British heir, will make his first Latin American visit and will see some of Rio de Janeiro’s most famous sights. The goal is to bring the attention of the public to a number of environmental projects in advance the award ceremony for the Prince's Earthshot Prize. The visit came just days after King Charles stripped Andrew of his princely title and expelled him from...

Data released by the government on Thursday showed that deforestation rates in Brazil's Amazon rainforest dropped 11.08% between January and July of last year, a record low. The data was released days before Brazil hosts the United Nations Climate Summit known as COP30. This is a victory for President Luiz inacio Lula Da Silva who wants to highlight his government's achievements on the environment at the conference. Lula has committed to ending all deforestation within the country by 2030. Amazon destruction has decreased by half since the start of his tenure in 2023. Inpe, the Brazilian space agency, released a...