Climate Change

The top European weather forecaster announced on Wednesday that it has opened up access to real-time weather data, which will help support early warning systems around the world for extreme weather. Climate change is causing more intense and frequent weather events, such as heatwaves, floods, and storms. Access to high-quality data is essential to understanding and managing the risks. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is backed by 35 countries, mostly European, who collect 800 million observations per day to predict the weather. It also oversees one the largest meteorological archives in the world. The centre's data policy leader...

Tesla, a manufacturer of electric vehicles, urged the Trump Administration not to repeal the vehicle emission standards or the longstanding U.S. conclusion that greenhouse gas emissions are harmful to human health. Tesla stated in comments published on Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency proposal to repeal standards would "give a pass to all engine and vehicle manufactures for measurement, control and reporting of GHG emission for any highway vehicle and engine." Earlier this year, a group of automakers including General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, and almost all others asked the EPA for a rollback on its aggressive vehicle emission limits, which...

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, told the United Nations on Wednesday that his country planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7%-10% by 2035. He also called out "some" countries for opposing the global clean energy shift. Xi delivered a video message live from Beijing to a climate leaders summit hosted by U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres, announcing China’s national climate plan. The plan was expected be announced prior to the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil in November. In addition to the goal of reducing emissions, Xi stated that China intends to increase its installed wind and solar capacity to more...

On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on all parties to the Paris Climate Agreement to develop new climate plans that would achieve greater and faster reductions in emissions than what they have already committed to. Guterres hosts a climate leaders' summit Wednesday on the sidelines the U.N. General Assembly. He has asked the countries to announce new climate targets in order to generate momentum for the global COP30 Climate Negotiations in November in Brazil. The summit takes place a day after U.S. president Donald Trump used the UNGA address to call climate change a "con-job" and to...

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Wednesday that his state will continue to sue Trump's administration for its aggressive deregulatory measures on environmental regulations. He also said he was looking into more lawsuits related to deception surrounding plastics recycling. Bonta said, "Every time they break the law, it hurts my state and my people. We will sue, we'll take them to court." "So far, that's been more than one per week." He said that "we definitely have more suits planned". California's strategy is to counteract the administration's rapid rollbacks in environmental policies and its push to expand fossil-fuels. In...

The Inter-American Development Bank wants to bring private capital into Latin America. It will help turn a pool up to $500 billion in regional local loans, which the lender described as a "pool of investable assets" globally. ReInvest+ is a partnership between IDB Group, Brazil's presidency at the COP30 and the IDB Group. It aims to convert loans that are already performing on the balance sheets of local banks into hard currency securities with investment grade by adding insurance for political and foreign exchange risks. This move is intended to attract institutional investors that shy away from unrated and early-stage...

Colin Penner, a farmer who farms 3,700 acres about an hour north of the U.S. Border, crunched a handful of canola pods, and blew away the chaff in a stiff prairie wind. In his hand, a small pile of black seeds was left. The harsh sun and high temperatures last summer scorched the yellow flowers of canola and destroyed their pollen. This led to lower yields in Western Canada. Smoke from nearby wildfires covered the skies in July and shielded Penner's young crops from the sun's rays. This resulted in more seeds and pods per plant. He said, "Look at...

Ed Miliband, Britain's Energy Minister, said that talk of an American-led retreat from climate action is overstated. He also stated that the economic arguments for net zero are strong enough to overcome domestic and international scepticism. Miliband spoke from New York Climate Week where speakers called on world leaders to put climate promises into actions, in the backdrop of U.S. president Donald Trump's agenda to boost fossil fuels and roll back pollution regulations, and to defund science and climate action. Not everyone is in favor of climate action He said via video link: "There are many people who say that...

In November, the Trump panel will offer reform recommendations The cities would struggle to replace federal funds Mutual aid networks report a growing response. By Carey L. Biron Her neighbors were also in the same situation - if there were any doors left over after the storm of September 2017, which caused 3,000 deaths and $115 billion worth of damage. Aviles-Vazquez stated that it felt like residents of the U.S. island territory were all alone, but they also had each other. She said, "I could hate the neighbor but we couldn't get through this if we didn’t help one another."...

Climate Week NYC speakers sent a message loud and clear to world leaders Monday. The global energy transition has begun and is accelerating. The U.N.’s top climate official began a morning session of the annual event with a call for the world to convert promises into concrete solutions. Simon Stiell is the executive secretary of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Climate change has become an existential threat for countries like Antigua and Barbuda, so the premier of Antigua-Barbuda called on wealthy counterparts. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua-Barbuda said: "It turns every storm for small islands into a financial...

The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly begins on Tuesday. Who speaks when? The United Nations, which was founded in 1945 with 51 members, now has 193 members. The leaders of the Holy See, State of Palestine, and two non-member observers states, known as the United Nations' State of Palestine and the Holy See, may also speak. Brazil is the first to speak in every meeting. U.N. officials say that Brazil was the first to speak in the early days of the world organization, when other countries were reluctant. The United States, which hosts the U.N. Headquarters in...

Disclosures reveal that the world's largest asset managers have drastically reduced their meetings with company executives this year. New guidance has made it difficult to discuss issues like climate change and diversification. BlackRock and Vanguard's shifts came after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued new guidance, headed by Mark Uyeda (a nominee of U.S. president Donald Trump). This could lead to executives receiving less input from investors on their strategy, or being surprised by critical votes during shareholder meetings. These directives are part of a recent Republican effort to reduce corporate actions, from climate disclosures of companies to the...

In November, Brazil will host the COP30 climate summit, and the Amazon city of Belem, which is the most biodiverse city in the world, will be the center of attention. Visitors to Sao Paulo in Brazil's business capital may be shocked by the city's treeless landscapes, and its polluted river. Cardim is a botanist and landscaper on a mission. He wants to use native plants of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil's most endangered ecosystem. The Atlantic Forest once covered the entire city but now only occupies a fraction of its original area along the coast. Cardim has created "pocket trees," a...

At a United Nations conference in New York, Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva announced a $1 billion investment into the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. This multilateral funding mechanism has been proposed to support the conservation of endangered forest. Brazil is the first country in the world to make a commitment to the Forest Fund. The announcement confirmed an earlier report citing sources. Lula stated that Brazil will be the first to set an example by investing $1 billion in the forest fund. He added that he expected other countries to announce similar contributions. Sources said the move was...

Two people familiar with the plans said that Brazil would announce a $1billion investment in the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. This multilateral funding mechanism is intended to help conserve endangered forests. Sources say that the investment will be announced later Tuesday by Brazilian President Luiz inacio Lula da So at an event hosted by the United Nations in New York. Brazil is the first country to make a commitment to the Forest Fund. Sources say the move is intended to encourage contributions from wealthy economies and developing countries, who have had disagreements over funding global climate policies. According to those...

Climate Week will kick off in New York City on Sunday, marking the biggest year ever for the event. Organizers report a record number companies participating and more than ever events to attend. This response was almost unanticipated in an event-hosting country that is the wealthiest nation on the planet. The host has a climate-denying program of increasing fossil fuels and rolling back pollution regulations, and defunding U.S. climate science and action. Climate Week organizers even wondered if people would show up, said Climate Group Chief executive Officer Helen Clarkson. Clarkson stated that there was a lot of enthusiasm. Climate...

Three people familiar with the plans said that Brazil would be the first to announce an investment into the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. This multilateral funding mechanism was proposed by Brazil to support the conservation of endangered forest globally. The President Luiz inacio Lula da So will announce the investment at the U.N. on Tuesday in New York. This is a move to unlock more contributions both from wealthy and developing countries, who have been at odds over funding global climate policies. The Brazilian government believes that the TFFF could be the main deliverable for the U.N. Climate Summit known...

On Wednesday night, less than two months before Belem welcomes heads of state to the U.N. Climate Summit COP30 in the Brazilian city, pop star Mariah Carey performed with a cast local artists at a floating concert for the Amazon rainforest. The concert was part of the two-day "Amazon Live Today and Forever" event, organized by Rock World. The company that organizes the music festivals Rock in Rio and The Town. Carey, 56 years old, was able to captivate more than 70,000 Sao Paulo fans on Saturday when she appeared at The Town. Fans watched from another location as the...

In light of the rising costs of accommodation in Belem, an Amazonian city, the U.N. is giving low-income countries additional money to attend COP30. This global climate summit will take place in Brazil in November. Brazil has resisted the calls for the conference to be moved from Belem. President Luiz inacio Lula da So did not want to renege on his promise to show the Amazon rainforest at COP30. A spokesperson for the U.N. Climate Secretariat informed that the International Civil Service Commission of the U.N., which makes decisions on the "daily allowance", has agreed to increase it for Belem....

The United Nations has asked its staff to limit their attendance at the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil, which will take place in November. Meanwhile, government delegations continue to scramble to find hotels within their budgets. As delegations become increasingly concerned over the rising cost of accommodation, the city of Belem on the coast of the Amazon is hosting the COP30. Brazil is working on nearly doubling the number of hotel beds available, but rising prices have led some governments to call for a relocation of the COP30 conference. Brazilian officials, however, have refused. In a UNFCCC document, Simon Stiell,...

According to a Monday statement, Brazil's JBS - the world's biggest meat company - has delivered 123 765 ear tags for tracking cattle individually in Para state. This could be a turning point in efforts aimed at halting deforestation of the Amazon. Para adopted a law late in 2023 that requires ranchers to identify their cattle in the state by the end 2026. JBS has said that it will deliver 2,000,000 tags to small ranchers of the state in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. JBS reported that 65,902 of the tags delivered to farmers have been attached to the ears...

Archaeologists have confirmed that an ancient civilization has disappeared because of climate change by finding a small sculpture of toads and other water-related symbols near Caral, the once oldest city in the Americas. Climate change is a large-scale, long-term shift in weather patterns. It can be caused by natural factors such as solar activity changes or volcanic eruptions. Human activities have been the main cause of climate change since the early 1800s. Archaeologists found the small sculptures of two amphibians dating back 3,800 year, as well anthropomorphic figures in mud walls, earlier this year, at the Vichama archaeological site, around...

BTG Pactual, a Brazilian lender, and International Finance Corporation (the private sector arm of the World Bank) announced Thursday that they would invest up to $1 billion on sustainable development and sustainability initiatives. Why it's important Globally, the private sector has become increasingly involved in sustainability. Private institutions are promoting climate finance as well as development-focused investments. Brazil is the home of much of Amazon Rainforest and is a crucial region for biodiversity and solutions to climate change. BTG Pactual, Latin America's biggest investment bank, is headquartered in Brazil. By the Numbers By the end of 2028, the partnership will...

Brazilian officials announced on Friday that the government of Brazil has ruled out subsidizing hotel rates for all delegates at the United Nations Climate Summit it will be hosting in November. This was after a meeting they described as being tense with U.N. officials. As delegations become increasingly concerned about the price of accommodation in Belem, the Amazonian coastal city that hosts the Amazon Conference, the standoff has occurred. Brazil is trying to double the number of hotel rooms available. Entrepreneurs have also been creative in converting love-motels and ferryboats into hotels to accommodate delegations. The Brazilian government has rejected...