COP15

The weekly round-up on the climate crisis and data on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. After more than four years of negotiations, repeated delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and late-night talks, on December 18, nearly 200 countries - among them not the United States or the Vatican - they signed an agreement at COP15 on biological diversity, hosted by Canada and China, to halt biodiversity loss by 2030.The agreement, defined as one of a kind, appears to have been imposed by the Chinese president, ignoring the objections of some African states. The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) negotiator appeared to block the final deal presented by China, telling the plenary that he could not support a document that did not create a new biodiversity fund, distinct from the existing UN Global Fund. Environment Facility (GEF).China, Brazil, Indonesia, India and Mexico are the largest beneficiaries of GEF funds, and some African states wanted the final agreement to include more...

The weekly round-up on the climate crisis and data on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. December 5th has entered into force the $60 per barrel cap on Russian oil transported by sea imposed by the G7 countries, the European Union (with the exception of Bulgaria, which was given a longer period to comply) and Australia.The measure allows Russian crude to be shipped to third countries using tankers, insurance companies and G7 and EU lenders, only if the cargo is purchased at or below the price cap.Given that major shipping and insurance companies are based in G7 countries, the imposed limit could make it difficult for Moscow to sell its oil at a higher price.The level of the cap will be reviewed by the EU and the G7 every two months.The first review is scheduled for mid-January and “will need to take into account the effectiveness of the measure, its implementation, international take-up and alignment, market developments and the potential impact on member countries...

The weekly round-up on the climate crisis and data on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. After more than half a century of research into nuclear fusion, a major breakthrough comes from the United States that could pave the way for enormous amounts of clean energy in the future.Researchers at the US National Ignition Facility, in California, said their fusion experiments released more energy than was pumped out by the lab's huge, high-powered lasers.This is a historic achievement, known as ignition or energy gain.Until now, in fact, experiments conducted around the world had required more energy than they had generated.However, writes the Guardian, this does not mean that we are in an energy utopia.This technology is still far from being ready to be transformed into power plants, it will not have any immediate effects on the climate crisis, but, as mentioned, it is a big step for science and research which demonstrates that fusion is a viable path to meet the planet's gr...

More than one-third of all people in the world live in cities, towns and villages on coasts. They rely on healthy oceans for many things, including food, income, a stable climate and ready connections to nature. But as coastal populations continue to grow, governments are under increasing pressure to ramp up development for transportation, power generation and economic growth. Projects like these can have heavy impacts on lands, waters and wildlife. World leaders are gathering in Montreal this week for the long-awaited Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP15. This treaty, which was adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, is designed to protect biodiversity – the variety of life on Earth, from genes to entire ecosystems. At the two-week conference, nations are expected to officially adopt the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which will guide global conservation efforts over the next decade. China is thi...

As the world parses what was achieved at the U.N. climate change conference in Egypt, negotiators are convening in Montreal to set goals for curbing Earth’s other crisis: loss of living species. Starting on Dec. 7, 2022, 196 nations that have ratified the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity will hold their 15th Conference of the Parties, or COP15. The convention, which was adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, is designed to promote sustainable development by protecting biodiversity – the variety of life on Earth, from genes up to entire ecosystems. Today, experts widely agree that biodiversity is at risk. Because of human activities – especially overhunting, overfishing and altering land – species are disappearing from the planet at 50 to 100 times the historic rate. The United Nations calls this decline a “nature crisis.” This meeting was originally scheduled to take place in Kunming, China, in 2020 but was rescheduled be...