In late November 2021, Germany’s new coalition government announced its aim to phase out coal power across the country by 2030, eight years ahead of schedule. Earlier that month, the government of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where activists have been protesting against coal mining, announced it would accelerate phasingContinue Reading
California’s giant sequoias are symbols of permanence – with some living for thousands of years. But the fierce wildfires ravaging the state threaten even these mighty trees, which are among the longest-lived organisms on Earth. There is something primeval about giant sequoias. Their weird, broccoli-like branches wouldn’t seem out ofContinue Reading
Is the progress that was made at the COP26 Glasgow climate summit already in jeopardy because of challenges in the year ahead? 2021 was a momentous year for climate change. As well as a host of extreme, destructive events influenced by rising temperatures, the past 12 months have seen unprecedented politicalContinue Reading
What is COP26 and what was agreed at Glasgow climate conference? The UK is hosting the COP26 summit in Glasgow – aimed at bringing climate change under control. A number of pledges have already been made, which could change our everyday lives. What is COP26 and why is it happening?Continue Reading
Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow on 1 – 12 November 2021. The climate talks will bring together heads of state, climate experts and campaigners to agreeContinue Reading
UN chief Antonio Guterres has told the Associated Press news agency that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C is on “life support”. He said the COP26 summit would probably not see governments make the pledges needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by enough. Pressure is mounting for countriesContinue Reading
Activists and politicians have cautiously welcomed an unexpected US-China declaration that vowed to boost climate co-operation. The EU and UN described the move as encouraging and an important step, but Greenpeace said both countries needed to take concrete action. The US and China are the world’s two biggest CO2 emitters.Continue Reading
A key pledge ahead of an upcoming climate change conference has still not been met and the money is not sure to be available before 2023. The UK government has set out a new financing plan ahead of next week’s climate change conference – COP26. It talks of how developedContinue Reading
National plans to cut carbon fall far short of what’s needed to avert dangerous climate change, according to the UN Environment Programme. Their Emissions Gap report says country pledges will fail to keep the global temperature under 1.5C this century. The Unep analysis suggests the world is on course to warm aroundContinue Reading
The UK has committed to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Net zero is the point at which the country is taking as much of these climate-changing gases out of the atmosphere as it is putting in. As part of this promise, the government has a targetContinue Reading