https://www.scmp.com/rss/520095/feed Latest news and updates on the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop29), which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, between November 11 and 22, 2024. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Natalie Chung Sum Yue Natalie Chung Sum Yue The Cop30 UN climate change conference in Belem, Brazil, concluded with a package of decisions that champions implementation and finance, yet its success is nuanced, marked by both institutional progress and political compromises over the core issue of fossil fuels. The conference, framed as the “implementation Cop” by the Brazilian presidency, turned attention away from purely text negotiations to implementing action. The world is grappling with the complex realities of executing a systemic... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3334252/how-cop30-laid-bare-new-geopolitics-climate-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3334252/how-cop30-laid-bare-new-geopolitics-climate-action?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 12:30:10 +0000 Peter T. C. Chang Peter T. C. Chang Amid the climate crisis, China’s quiet leadership in the fight for a sustainable future offers a reason for optimism, particularly for the Global South. After two weeks of contentious negotiations, Cop30 in Brazil concluded with an uneasy deal that sidestepped any mention of fossil fuels, exposing deep divisions and mounting frustrations. Indeed, even as Cop30 convened, the world was already suffering “summit fatigue”. After decades of lofty declarations and limited follow-through, many question... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3333752/trump-casts-pall-over-cop30-chinas-quiet-leadership-inspires-hope?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3333752/trump-casts-pall-over-cop30-chinas-quiet-leadership-inspires-hope?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 12:30:10 +0000 Syed Munir Khasru Syed Munir Khasru At Cop30, the first UN climate summit held in the heart of the Amazon, the stage is set for a fundamental reframing of climate diplomacy. For too long, the Global South has been cast as a passive aid recipient, a problem to be managed rather than a partner in solutions. But as delegates gather in Brazil’s gateway to the world’s largest rainforest, they will confront a different reality: a tropical belt that holds the keys to our climate future and a generation of evidence showing that South-led... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3331989/how-cop30-can-advance-new-template-south-south-climate-leadership?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3331989/how-cop30-can-advance-new-template-south-south-climate-leadership?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Nov 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Rioberto Sidauruk Rioberto Sidauruk At the 17th Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, some countries – particularly Russia, China and India – arrived wielding formidable influence. With nuclear capabilities, expansive infrastructure and veto power in multilateral bodies, they shape global narratives and push national agendas. Their role in the Brics grouping is that of a core capable of challenging norms and institutions. Indonesia, by contrast, does not bring hard power. We are neither a nuclear state nor a technological giant.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3317280/through-brics-indonesia-offers-its-vision-inclusivity-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3317280/through-brics-indonesia-offers-its-vision-inclusivity-world?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2025 21:31:00 +0000 President Donald Trump’s second term has been a wrecking ball for US climate policy – ripping the country out of the Paris Agreement, gutting climate science funding and abandoning global clean energy commitments. Fossil fuels are back at the centre of power, while international climate efforts scramble to fill the void left by a retreating America. Scientists flee to Europe, funding dries up for energy transitions and the United States, once a key player in climate diplomacy, now cedes... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3303970/asia-cant-afford-wait-us-wake-its-climate-duty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3303970/asia-cant-afford-wait-us-wake-its-climate-duty?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Mar 2025 01:30:08 +0000 John Pomeroy John Pomeroy In the 30 years since leaders first gathered to discuss how to limit climate change under the UN framework convention, the Earth has lost over 14 trillion tonnes of ice from mountain glaciers and ice sheets. We stand on the cusp of major losses to polar ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica – changes happening much sooner than scientists’ previous worst-case scenarios. They spell the end for low-lying nations, and the polar indigenous peoples and many lifeforms evolved to thrive in these... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3302739/asia-ground-zero-impact-global-glacier-loss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3302739/asia-ground-zero-impact-global-glacier-loss?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Mar 2025 21:30:08 +0000 China’s energy and climate change ambitions are in the spotlight again. This time, much of the attention comes from the recently concluded United Nations climate conference, Cop29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. During that often heated and contentious 12-day conference, Chinese diplomacy was at its finest, set against a markedly placid United States presence. Washington’s retreat in most things climate-related partly stems from Donald Trump’s re-election as US president given his apparent antipathy... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3289249/how-china-quietly-becoming-worlds-climate-champion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3289249/how-china-quietly-becoming-worlds-climate-champion?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Dec 2024 01:30:08 +0000 China’s energy and climate change ambitions are in the spotlight again. This time, much of the attention comes from the recently concluded United Nations climate conference, Cop29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. During that often heated and contentious 12-day conference, Chinese diplomacy was at its finest, set against a markedly placid United States presence. Washington’s retreat in most things climate-related partly stems from Donald Trump’s re-election as US president given his apparent antipathy... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3289646/how-china-quietly-becoming-worlds-climate-champion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3289646/how-china-quietly-becoming-worlds-climate-champion?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2024 07:17:26 +0000 What can you do with US$300 billion? For Southeast Asian nations trying to build solar plants or wind farms, not that much. The conclusion of UN climate change conference Cop29 tells us the region cannot wait for developed nations to raise the bar. Solutions need to come from within, and one possibility is in policy. At Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, developed nations agreed to provide at least US$300 billion annually by 2035 to help developing nations. Southeast Asia alone needs US$210 billion... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3288756/southeast-asias-energy-transition-lacking-both-finance-and-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3288756/southeast-asias-energy-transition-lacking-both-finance-and-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Dec 2024 21:30:08 +0000 At the latest UN climate conference, representatives from each of the countries present sought to establish a new global climate finance regime. Developed economies had already committed to mobilise US$100 billion annually in climate finance by 2020 to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. This goal was belatedly reached in 2022, but the deal expires next year. The Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, chaired by the British climate economist... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3288200/did-cop29-make-any-meaningful-progress-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3288200/did-cop29-make-any-meaningful-progress-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Nov 2024 21:30:08 +0000 Two announcements at Cop29, the recent UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, show China’s consistent leadership in climate change diplomacy and cooperation, especially from the vantage point of the Global South. The first was Beijing’s commitment to working with all countries to advance the UN’s Early Warnings for All initiative, announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s special representative, Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang. Ding proposed three vital tasks: improving global risk assessments,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3288211/how-china-can-set-tone-global-climate-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3288211/how-china-can-set-tone-global-climate-action?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Nov 2024 08:30:08 +0000 A final round of talks on a treaty to end plastic pollution opened on Monday, with the diplomat chairing the difficult negotiations urging nations to “meet an existential challenge”. The meeting opens just hours after a chaotic end to the Cop29 climate talks in Baku, which agreed to a boost in climate funding that developing countries slammed as insufficient. “This conference is about far more than drafting an international treaty,” Ecuadorian diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso told an opening... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3287987/existential-challenge-south-korea-hosts-final-round-global-plastic-treaty-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3287987/existential-challenge-south-korea-hosts-final-round-global-plastic-treaty-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2024 05:04:42 +0000 Nearly 200 countries agreed to more than triple the amount of money available to help developing countries confront rapidly warming temperatures. But the deal reached at the close of the two-week Cop29 summit in Azerbaijan resulted from fractious and at times openly hostile negotiations, producing an agreement that even its supporters may see as insufficient and disappointing. The process of global climate cooperation will lurch forward from here under the weight of heavier existential... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3287885/cop29-ends-us300-billion-deal-climate-finance-saving-talks-brink-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3287885/cop29-ends-us300-billion-deal-climate-finance-saving-talks-brink-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2024 23:37:37 +0000 Who exactly is in charge of the battle against climate change? Anyone asking is likely to get the answer: “good question”. The fact is, no one is really in charge of dealing with this existential threat. While there is a dawning realisation of this leadership gap, filling it is another matter. Pledges made at the Cop29 meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, last week to scale up climate finance miss the point. The issue is not just about commitments to aid but how governments direct private savings into... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3287489/are-governments-finally-getting-serious-about-climate-finance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3287489/are-governments-finally-getting-serious-about-climate-finance?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2024 08:30:09 +0000 Croatia is set to become the latest European country to tackle a tourism-related housing price crunch, although some property owners fear the proposed legislation will affect business. A package of draft laws was approved in the Croatian parliament last week, but the final nationwide legislation will only be passed after wider discussion and likely amendments. Cities from Malaga and Barcelona in Spain to Athens, Greece, and Budapest in Hungary have clamped down on short-term rentals to alleviate... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3287542/croatia-latest-nation-consider-restricting-short-term-tourist-rentals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3287542/croatia-latest-nation-consider-restricting-short-term-tourist-rentals?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2024 05:15:06 +0000 Heated negotiations on a global climate deal were set to spill into Saturday after developing nations rejected an initial US$250 billion offer from rich countries to help them tackle global warming. Cop29 hosts Azerbaijan said negotiations would drag “over the course of the night” in the Caspian Sea city Baku to produce a final text. This will be put before nearly 200 nations for consensus approval on Saturday. The rejected proposal raised an existing commitment of US$100 billion a year from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3287795/cop29-draft-deal-proposes-rich-nations-give-us250-bn-climate-finance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3287795/cop29-draft-deal-proposes-rich-nations-give-us250-bn-climate-finance?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Nov 2024 12:14:10 +0000 Yujie Xue Yujie Xue One Earth Alliance (OEA) has assembled a star-studded governing council and board of advisers to advise its Hong Kong-based secretariat on its sustainability endeavours and entrench the city’s position as a green financing hub. The governing council comprises six members, while the board is made up of 21 industry experts and representatives. Both lists were unveiled at the end of the United Nations’ Cop29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan this week. The experts will represent the alliance... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3287727/one-earth-alliance-names-jeffrey-sachs-and-others-drive-hong-kongs-green-initiatives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3287727/one-earth-alliance-names-jeffrey-sachs-and-others-drive-hong-kongs-green-initiatives?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Nov 2024 08:54:29 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification With the annual global climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan ending on November 22, time is running out for delegates to agree on a new climate finance target for global action. The target will... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3287352/can-un-climate-framework-rise-occasion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3287352/can-un-climate-framework-rise-occasion?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Nov 2024 03:30:08 +0000 As world leaders gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the UN climate change conference Cop29, an opportunity has arisen to align climate action with economic initiatives, in particular the Belt and Road Initiative. One of the largest infrastructure programmes in history, the Chinese initiative was launched in 2013 to enhance global connectivity and economic integration across Asia, Europe and Africa. Recognising the environmental challenges, China is focusing on a green transformation of the Belt and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3286810/cop29-can-work-belt-and-road-initiative-greener-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3286810/cop29-can-work-belt-and-road-initiative-greener-future?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Nov 2024 08:30:09 +0000 Brazil wrapped up the annual G20 summit of major industrialised and developing economies in Brazil on Tuesday with a focus on sustainable development and the transition to renewable energy. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told the assembled delegates that member countries have to step up their game on global governance, health security, women’s empowerment and the equitable spread of technology. “We worked hard,” he said. “But we only scratched the surface of the deep challenges... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3287294/g20-ends-call-urgency-climate-global-health-womens-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3287294/g20-ends-call-urgency-climate-global-health-womens-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2024 18:20:44 +0000 With the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop29) under way in Baku, Azerbaijan, the global community stands at a pivotal moment in its fight against climate change. For years, international climate negotiations have hinged on cooperation between two of the largest emitters – the United States and China. While China has steadily expanded its renewable energy capacity and strengthened its global influence in climate policy, the US faces a credibility crisis as political volatility... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3287162/us-must-be-consistent-reclaim-climate-leadership-role-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3287162/us-must-be-consistent-reclaim-climate-leadership-role-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2024 12:30:09 +0000 Pressure is mounting on China to fill a potential void in climate leadership following the re-election of Donald Trump, who has promised to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement. There is little doubt that his isolationist “America first” policies could deal a devastating blow to international efforts to halt global warming but, as many have argued, it also provides an opening for Beijing to step in. However, it is not clear if it is prepared to do so. China was obviously not ready... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3287268/china-ready-lead-way-fighting-climate-change-after-donald-trumps-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3287268/china-ready-lead-way-fighting-climate-change-after-donald-trumps-return?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2024 11:49:26 +0000 As rising temperatures and devastating storms reshape the landscape, Asia’s rice farmers are embracing innovation like never before. By marrying traditional cultivation with advanced digital tools, they are striving to tackle the urgent challenges of climate change by transforming rice production into a sustainable and profitable venture. From the boundless fields of India to the bustling paddies of Vietnam and Thailand, a revolution is brewing, driven by the pressing need to combat methane... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3287190/future-proofing-rice-how-asias-farmers-are-innovating-against-climate-odds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3287190/future-proofing-rice-how-asias-farmers-are-innovating-against-climate-odds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2024 10:00:17 +0000 The world’s climate leaders have gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the latest UN climate conference. It takes place in the midst of warnings that if the global community does not cut emissions by 42 per cent by 2030 and 57 per cent by 2035, we will not be able to avoid the catastrophic costs of climate change. The good news is that thanks to advances in China, Japan, Europe and the United States, the technology that is needed to meet these targets stands ready. All that is necessary is to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3287081/china-already-climate-finance-leader-despite-wests-finger-pointing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3287081/china-already-climate-finance-leader-despite-wests-finger-pointing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2024 08:30:08 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Even before Azerbaijan welcomed delegates to Cop29, the annual global meeting to discuss and adopt actions to address climate change, concerns were raised of a conflict of interest. Could... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3286671/conflict-interest-should-have-ruled-out-azerbaijan-cop29-host?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3286671/conflict-interest-should-have-ruled-out-azerbaijan-cop29-host?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Nov 2024 03:30:08 +0000 Cities in Asia and the United States emit the most heat-trapping gas that feeds climate change, with Shanghai the most polluting, according to new data that combines observations and artificial intelligence. Nations at UN climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan are trying to set new targets to cut such emissions and figure out how much rich nations will pay to help the world with that task. The data comes as climate officials and activists alike are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286800/worlds-most-polluting-cities-revealed-cop29-frustration-grows-fossil-fuels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286800/worlds-most-polluting-cities-revealed-cop29-frustration-grows-fossil-fuels?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Nov 2024 11:31:05 +0000 Over the past week, four of the world’s more important multilateral institutions – and hundreds of world leaders – have been working hard to foster international cooperation. Pity most of their work is likely to be in vain. Instead of focusing on the looming challenges – from slowing climate change and agreeing on finance for poor countries that are immediately threatened, to reforming global institutions and settling wars in Ukraine and the Middle East – leaders have been diverted by how to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3286616/trump-proofing-distracting-world-far-graver-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3286616/trump-proofing-distracting-world-far-graver-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Nov 2024 08:30:08 +0000 Prominent scientists and politicians are calling on the United Nations to not allow the UN climate conference to be hosted in countries that do not support the phase out of fossil fuels. The appeal, in a letter published on Friday during the Cop29 conference in Baku, comes as climate groups released an analysis showing at least 1,773 lobbyists from the oil, gas, and coal industries were officially accredited to attend the UN meeting in Azerbaijan. In Baku, the coalition Kick Big Polluters Out,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286713/un-urged-ban-cop-climate-talks-pro-fossil-fuel-countries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286713/un-urged-ban-cop-climate-talks-pro-fossil-fuel-countries?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Nov 2024 06:50:03 +0000 Host Azerbaijan tried to bring down the diplomatic temperature in Baku on Thursday after a French minister cancelled her trip to the UN climate talks and Argentina withdrew its delegation. While negotiators work behind closed doors at the Cop29 talks to thrash out a climate finance deal, the spotlight has been largely stolen by diplomatic turmoil. France’s Environment Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Wednesday she would not travel to Baku after Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev accused... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286627/cop29-host-tries-calm-waters-after-diplomatic-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286627/cop29-host-tries-calm-waters-after-diplomatic-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Nov 2024 17:18:27 +0000 The president of Azerbaijan, host of this year’s UN climate summit, lashed out at Western critics of his country’s oil and gas industry on Tuesday. In his keynote address at the Cop29 climate summit, where nearly 200 nations are negotiating global action on climate change, President Ilham Aliyev described his country as a victim of a “well-orchestrated campaign of slander and blackmail”. Within moments, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres took to the stage to say that doubling down on fossil... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286301/cop29-host-azerbaijan-hits-out-west-defence-oil-and-gas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286301/cop29-host-azerbaijan-hits-out-west-defence-oil-and-gas?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:30:38 +0000 Southeast Asia’s path to securing climate financing to address extreme weather impacts and ease the region’s clean energy transition appears fraught with challenges, including a persistent reliance on fossil fuels and new uncertainties around the United States’ climate commitments. This year’s edition of the annual UN climate summit – taking place until November 22 in Baku, Azerbaijan – is being described as the “Finance COP” due to its focus on securing new financing for the countries that are... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3286262/southeast-asias-energy-transition-hangs-balance-cop29-amid-uncertainty-over-trump-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3286262/southeast-asias-energy-transition-hangs-balance-cop29-amid-uncertainty-over-trump-return?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Nov 2024 11:22:41 +0000 Yujie Xue Yujie Xue The agenda at the United Nations’ Cop29 climate summit has become more complicated with the re-election of Donald Trump, who made “Drill, baby, drill” an applause line on the campaign trail. The summit, which kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday, marks the first time in 15 years that global representatives will negotiate a new global climate finance target – detailing the support wealthy nations will provide to countries that need help to achieve their climate goals. It also marks the... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3286153/cop29-can-china-fill-climate-void-left-trumps-return-drill-baby-drill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3286153/cop29-can-china-fill-climate-void-left-trumps-return-drill-baby-drill?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Nov 2024 03:17:44 +0000 The Cop29 climate talks opened on Monday in Azerbaijan with a call to show global cooperation was not “down for the count”, as Donald Trump’s re-election hangs over the key discussions. Countries come to Baku after new warnings that 2024 is on track to break temperature records, adding urgency to a fractious debate over funding for climate action in poorer countries. Trump has pledged to once again withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement, and there are concerns the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286066/cop29-climate-talks-open-azerbaijan-call-cooperation-after-trump-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3286066/cop29-climate-talks-open-azerbaijan-call-cooperation-after-trump-win?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Nov 2024 08:57:17 +0000 Hong Kong’s environment chief will depart for Azerbaijan on Monday to attend the United Nations’ annual climate change summit, while a former head of the city’s weather forecaster has voiced concerns about rising local temperatures. The government said on Sunday that Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan would link up with the Chinese delegation at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (Cop29) in the South Caucasus country, which is located at the juncture of eastern... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3285964/cop29-hong-kong-environment-minister-attend-un-climate-change-summit-azerbaijan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3285964/cop29-hong-kong-environment-minister-attend-un-climate-change-summit-azerbaijan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2024 10:48:30 +0000 Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has darkened the outlook for a strong deal at the COP29 climate summit next week and will increase pressure on Europe and China to lead international progress in curbing planetary warming, according to climate negotiators. Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has said he plans to withdraw the US from the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement at the start of his second presidency, and his policy advisers have floated removing the US... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3285634/trump-win-worries-global-partners-ahead-cop29-climate-summit-slap-face?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3285634/trump-win-worries-global-partners-ahead-cop29-climate-summit-slap-face?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Nov 2024 13:04:31 +0000 Cop29, the UN climate change conference, convenes in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, from November 11-22. Compared to Cop28 host, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), less is known about Azerbaijan – but that is about to change. The South Caucasus country bridging Eastern Europe and Western Asia is poised to be a middle power in a multipolar world. Cop29 will focus on the funds needed to limit global warming to the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. The contentious... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3284353/cop29-azerbaijans-moment-step-global-sunshine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3284353/cop29-azerbaijans-moment-step-global-sunshine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Nov 2024 21:30:08 +0000 Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere reached record highs in 2023, locking in future temperature increases for years to come, the United Nations warned on Monday. Levels of the three main greenhouse gases – the climate-warming carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – all increased yet again last year, the UN’s weather and climate agency said. The World Meteorological Organization said carbon dioxide was accumulating in the atmosphere faster than ever, up more than 10 per cent in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3284185/un-sounds-alarm-cop29-greenhouse-gases-hit-record-highs-we-are-clearly-track?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3284185/un-sounds-alarm-cop29-greenhouse-gases-hit-record-highs-we-are-clearly-track?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Oct 2024 09:49:21 +0000 The United States and China are closing the divide on the contentious issue of international climate finance, raising hopes for a breakthrough at a crucial climate conference in Azerbaijan, according to the host country’s chief negotiator. In an interview, Yalchin Rafiyev said he had received “positive signals” following recent high-level talks between the world’s two largest economies, which frequently assert themselves as leading voices for the Global North and South in international... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3279974/us-china-progress-sparks-hope-cop29-azerbaijan-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3279974/us-china-progress-sparks-hope-cop29-azerbaijan-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Sep 2024 19:25:05 +0000 ExxonMobil has joined the global Opec cartel in crossing swords with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the global net zero movement on what is set to be a critical controversy. That is, how sharply can we cut demand for oil and gas without inflicting widespread economic harm on the path to net zero carbon emissions by 2050? The debate simmered fiercely on the margins of Cop28 in Dubai last year. It will undoubtedly flare up again at Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November. Government... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3276741/big-oil-threatening-turn-cop29-fight-over-industrys-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3276741/big-oil-threatening-turn-cop29-fight-over-industrys-future?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Sep 2024 08:30:09 +0000