Earth’s temperature likely marks hottest decade on record – report
Madrid, SpainReuters The past decade is almost certain to be the hottest on record, weather experts warned on Tuesday, painting a bleak picture of vanishing sea ice, devastating heatwaves and encroaching seas in a report launched at a climate summit in Spain. An annual assessment of the Earth’s climate by the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization […]
UN chief opens climate summit with call for hope over “surrender”
Madrid, SpainReuters The world must choose hope over surrender in the fight against climate change, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, warning a summit in Madrid that governments risked sleepwalking past a point of no return. Two weeks of talks aimed at bolstering the 2015 Paris Agreement to curb global warming began against a […]
Poor nations pay price as millions flee “climate chaos”, Oxfam says
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Fiercer weather and worsening wildfires drove more than 20 million people a year from their homes over the last decade – a problem set to worsen unless leaders act swiftly to head off surging climate threats, anti-poverty charity Oxfam said on Monday. Much of the displacement caused by cyclones, floods and […]
‘People power’ piles pressure on plodding UN climate talks
Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation As young people take to the streets around the world again on Friday urging more action to curb climate change, analysts warn that the UN climate conference taking place over the coming two weeks will likely fall short of their expectations. Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg has inspired a global movement of […]
Climate change could put development goals beyond reach, UN official warns
As global warming brings wilder weather, more harvest failures and the risk of growing migration and poverty, “sustainable development as we think of it today may be out of reach”, a top UN specialist in climate change losses warned last week. Nations around the world in 2015 agreed to pursue a set of Sustainable Development […]
Chile urged not to lose environmental steam after cancelling UN talks
Santiago, ChileReuters Chile’s decision to quit as host of December’s UN climate talks, to focus on dealing with violent social protests, has undermined the Latin American nation’s efforts to craft a green, progressive image on the world stage, environmentalists said. Against a backdrop of civil unrest, which began in mid-October, the Chilean government announced on […]
Uncertainty over UN talks must not delay climate action, green groups say
Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation A surprise decision by Chile, rocked by violent unrest, to withdraw as host of December’s UN climate conference risks throwing international efforts to ramp up action on global warming off course, environmentalists and rights activists fear. They urged quick efforts to reorganise the negotiations, aimed at accelerating cuts in planet-warming emissions […]
POSTCARDS: AS UN CLIMATE TALKS NEAR, HOST CHILE CHARGES UP PUBLIC TRANSPORT
JOHN BARTLETT, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Santiago…