The European Union is poised to take its first formal steps to expand the world’s most ambitious limits on fossil fuel pollution. That may widen a rift in how it balances green policies with the need for cheaper power.

Wind and solar power producers say they're at risk of losing investment after the European Union's executive arm scrapped proposals for a mandatory target on renewable energy use in 2030.

The European Union should ensure that future climate and energy policies do not undermine the competitiveness of its industry, already weakened by a price gap with the U.S., the bloc’s member states said.

The world needs to triple the energy it gets from renewables, nuclear reactors and power plants that use emissions-capture technology to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, United Nations scientists said.

European Union governments are considering the use of carbon-permit funds to help finance clean technologies and spur poorer nations toward a low-carbon economy under a planned deal on 2030 climate and energy policies.

Humans are causing irreversible damage to the planet from burning fossil fuels, the biggest ever study of the available science concluded in a report designed to spur the fight against climate change.

President Barack Obama pledged deeper U.S. cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions and China will for the first time set a target for capping carbon emissions under an agreement between the world’s two biggest economies.

President Barack Obama will pledge $3 billion to a United Nations climate-change fund that’s intended to help poor nations boost renewable energy and counter the ill effects of global warming.

The Obama administration is proposing a $4 billion fund to reward states that exceed cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, and wants Congress to back steeper royalty rates for oil, gas and coal extraction from public land.

Mexico has become the first developing nation to formally promise to cut its global-warming pollution, a potential milestone in efforts to reach a worldwide agreement on tackling climate change.

In West Virginia, where workers have harvested coal seams for centuries, Pope Francis’ new warning about the risks of fossil fuels will find skepticism even among the faithful.

Stanford, Oxford and Georgetown universities have won praise for promising to purge their endowments of direct investments in coal, embracing the fight against climate change.

The secretary general of the United Nations is frustrated with the pace of negotiations for what’s intended to be a crucial agreement limiting global warming.

Climate change pledges submitted so far from the world’s leading economies won’t be enough to keep the planet from warming dangerously, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday in New York.

Proposals to reduce heat-trapping emissions need to be “a floor, not a ceiling,” he said.

The global increase in temperatures will exceed 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) under the national pledges already submitted to UN, Ban said. That’s the goal scientists and the UN have set to avoid the worst effects due to global warming.

The proposals submitted to date “will not be enough to place us on a 2-degree pathway,” Ban said.

Without any changes to global emissions, the world is on track to warm by 4 degrees Celsius or more, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Change Janos Pasztor said earlier this month.

World leaders have five months to go before a meeting of almost 200 nations in Paris that’s intended to seal a new global pact to cut planet-warming carbon emissions. If successful, the agreement would be the first ever to require both developed nations like the US and growing economies like China to address climate change.

“The pace of UN negotiations are far too slow,” Ban said. “It’s like a snail’s pace.”

The U.S., the world’s biggest historic source of greenhouse gases, pledged earlier this year to cut its emissions by as much as 28 percent by 2025. The European Union has promised a 40 percent cut by 2030. Several other major economies, including Australia and Japan, have yet to submit climate plans to the UN.

Publicly, the United Nations climate-change talks look mired in disputes over everything from money to the length of the proposed agreement.

Papua New Guinea recently became the first country to formally submit the final version of its national climate action plan (called a “Nationally Determined Contribution,” or NDC) under the Paris Agreement. The small Pacific nation’s plan to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030 is no longer just an “intended” nationally determined contribution (INDC) — it is now the country’s official climate plan.

It was a gamble that went spectacularly wrong for Tory Prime Minister David Cameron: Allow the UK to decide through a national referendum on their future participation in the EU and hope that they choose to remain.

The G20 meeting in Hangzhou, China, this September brings together leaders of the world’s largest economies for the first such gathering since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate. G20 Leaders Summits traditionally focus on economic growth and financial stability, but since more than 190 countries collectively agreed to greatly enhance mitigation of the causes and impacts of climate change, the need to tackle a changing climate and foster clean energy has become a clear economic and business reality.

Trustees and providers of pension schemes face ever increasing and changing legal duties to have policies on and disclose how they deal with stewardship and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This article pulls the new rules together...

On 16 October 2019, the FCA published their feedback statement FS19/6 on Climate Change and Green Finance[1]. This feedback statement summarises the responses from stakeholders to the Discussion Paper (DP18/8) on Climate Change and Green Finance[2] ...

On 4 March 2020, the European Commission adopted its eagerly awaited European Climate Law proposal which will enshrine into EU legislation the European Union’s commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (the “2050 Ob...

By Wilmar Salim, Keith Bettinger, and Micah Fisher HONOLULU (June 21, 2019)—With a population of more than 30 million, greater Jakarta is the largest metropolitan area in Southeast Asia and one of the most densely populated urban regions in the world. The city is a major economic engine for Indonesia, accounting for approximately 25 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Yet urban poverty remains an intractable problem, and Jakarta’s infamous traffic congestion paralyzes commerce, leaches productivity, and contributes to air pollution and associated health hazards.

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

Eversheds Sutherland was delighted to be involved in a project to develop proforma clauses and model laws looking to tackle climate change. The Chancery Lane Project involved 143 participants from 63 organisations, including law firms, climate chang...

This year, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue (PCD), a platform for informal political discussion on climate policy related issues, took place online on 27 and 28 April 2020. One of the highlights of this year’s edition of the Petersberg Climate ...

"How did Michael Moore become a hero to climate deniers and the far right?" asks a disturbed and tearful George Monbiot in the Guardian. Simple: by speaking the truth, for a change. ......

Women in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu are dealing with six crises currently – COVID 19, drought, scarcity of potable water, and volcanic ash, acid rain and sulphur gas as there are several active volcanoes on the island. But global women’s rights organisations are collaborating with regional alliances in supporting local women.

The post How Some Pacific Women are Responding to Climate Change and Natural Disasters appeared first on Inter Press Service.

With the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the planet and the governments of both wealthy and poorer nations overwhelmed by the demands of managing a response, the scheduling of this year’s critical UN Climate Summit is suddenly in doubt. COP26 (formally, the 26th annual Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) is […]

The post Is It Time to Postpone the 2020 Climate Summit? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Leonardo Beltran is Non-Resident Fellow of the Institute of the Americas, Member of the Board of SEforALL, and former Deputy Secretary at the Mexican Department of Energy

The post Walking the Talk on Climate Change after the Pandemic: Reorienting State-Owned Enterprises towards Sustainability appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP

The post Asia-Pacific Response to COVID-19 and Climate Emergency Must Build a Resilient and Sustainable Future appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Peter Paul van de Wijs is Chief External Affairs Officer, Global Reporting Initiative

The post Time to Raise the Ambition for Climate Action appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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Effective and planned shoreline management would trigger activities for tourism, and support development of ocean and beach landscape, conserve biodiversity along with coastal people’s livelihood.

Climate-smart and resource-saving farming technologies could be one way to address hunger in Asia.

After a disappointing 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, there is a need to restore confidence that the intergovernmental process can deliver on mitigation, adaptation, and finance.

Now is the time to ramp up actions on resilience so that society can beat the COVID-19 crisis while reducing the impact of climate threats.