Latest news with #UNClimateChangeConference
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First Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Under Trump, America ‘dangerously close' to autocracy: Obama amid ‘No Kings' protests in US
Obama said the US was 'dangerously close' to normalising behaviour 'consistent with autocracies' under the Trump administration read more U.S. former President Barack Obama looks on during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 8, 2021. Source: Reuters Former US president Barack Obama on Tuesday (June 19) warned about democratic backsliding in the country, saying the USA was 'dangerously close' to normalising behaviour 'consistent with autocracies.' Obama was speaking in Hartford, Connecticut, when he raised questions on the Donald Trump administration's commitment to democracy. 'If you follow regularly what is said by those who are in charge of the federal government right now, there is a weak commitment to what we understood — and not just my generation, at least since World War II — our understanding of how a liberal democracy is supposed to work,' Obama said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'What we're seeing right now … is not consistent with American democracy,' he said. 'It is consistent with autocracies. It is consistent with Hungary under Orbán. It's consistent with places that hold elections but do not otherwise observe what we think of [as] a fair system in which everybody's voice matters and people have a seat at the table, and there are checks and balances, and nobody's above the law. We're not there yet completely, but I think that we are dangerously close to normalizing behavior like that,' the former president stressed. 'No kings' protest Obama's criticism came days after thousands of demonstrators took to streets against the Trump administration in the so-called 'No Kings' protests. Obama said there has to be people in both parties who can 'say no'. 'There also has to be people in government in both parties who say, 'Well, no, you can't do that,'' the former president said. It is rare for Obama to hit out at his political rivals as he's been away from the spotlight after leaving office in 2017. He has also faced criticism for that. The Atlantic's Mark Leibovich last week hit out, saying, 'The most effective communicator in the Democratic Party continues to opt for minimal communication.' Obama concluded by saying he remained hopeful that American democracy would survive. 'I'm still optimistic — I'm still the 'hope' guy. … I guess the thing when I'm talking to these young people, though, [what] they need to hear the most is: It is important to be impatient with injustice and cruelty, and there's a healthy outrage that we should be exhibiting in terms of what's currently happening both here and around the world. But if you want to deliver on change, then it's a game of addition, not subtraction, which means you have to find ways to make common ground with people who don't agree with you on everything but agree with you on some things.'
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Science
- The Advertiser
Clue to record-breaking temperatures in clearer skies
Disappearing clouds are contributing to faster global warming and tumbling temperature records. Scientists have seen a decline of somewhere between 1.5 per cent and three per cent in the world's storm cloud zones each decade over the past 24 years. The shrinking coverage, observed by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration-led team, results in less sunlight reflected back into space, allowing more in to boost global warming. Overall clearer skies, a trend driven by evolving wind patterns, the expanding tropics and other shifts linked to climate change, is now thought to be the largest contributor to the planet's higher absorption of solar radiation. Christian Jakob, a co-author of the study and director at the Monash-led Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, said the major heating consequences of shrinking cloud cover was now evident. "It's an important piece in the puzzle of understanding the extraordinary recent warming we observed, and a wake-up call for urgent climate action," Professor Jakob said. Last year was the hottest on record, the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, clocking in at about 1.55 degrees above the pre-industrial era average. A single year above 1.5C is not enough to breach the Paris Agreement, however, as the global pact's goals are based on long-term averages measured over decades. The UN weather agency expects temperatures to keep rising, with a 70 per cent chance the 2025-2029 five-year mean will exceed 1.5C. Unprecedented ocean heating has been felt particularly acutely in the waters surrounding Australia, leading to coral bleaching, fish kills and algal blooms. The elevated rate of warming is due to global greenhouse gas emissions holding at all-time highs, largely due to burning fossil fuels and deforestation, according to the latest Indicators of Global Climate Change study released on Thursday. If current emissions trends continue, the report prepared by dozens of scientists from around the world says there will be just over three years left in the carbon budget to achieve 1.5C of heating. Policymakers and experts have gathered in Germany for a mid-year convention ahead of the main UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil scheduled for November. Disappearing clouds are contributing to faster global warming and tumbling temperature records. Scientists have seen a decline of somewhere between 1.5 per cent and three per cent in the world's storm cloud zones each decade over the past 24 years. The shrinking coverage, observed by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration-led team, results in less sunlight reflected back into space, allowing more in to boost global warming. Overall clearer skies, a trend driven by evolving wind patterns, the expanding tropics and other shifts linked to climate change, is now thought to be the largest contributor to the planet's higher absorption of solar radiation. Christian Jakob, a co-author of the study and director at the Monash-led Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, said the major heating consequences of shrinking cloud cover was now evident. "It's an important piece in the puzzle of understanding the extraordinary recent warming we observed, and a wake-up call for urgent climate action," Professor Jakob said. Last year was the hottest on record, the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, clocking in at about 1.55 degrees above the pre-industrial era average. A single year above 1.5C is not enough to breach the Paris Agreement, however, as the global pact's goals are based on long-term averages measured over decades. The UN weather agency expects temperatures to keep rising, with a 70 per cent chance the 2025-2029 five-year mean will exceed 1.5C. Unprecedented ocean heating has been felt particularly acutely in the waters surrounding Australia, leading to coral bleaching, fish kills and algal blooms. The elevated rate of warming is due to global greenhouse gas emissions holding at all-time highs, largely due to burning fossil fuels and deforestation, according to the latest Indicators of Global Climate Change study released on Thursday. If current emissions trends continue, the report prepared by dozens of scientists from around the world says there will be just over three years left in the carbon budget to achieve 1.5C of heating. Policymakers and experts have gathered in Germany for a mid-year convention ahead of the main UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil scheduled for November. Disappearing clouds are contributing to faster global warming and tumbling temperature records. Scientists have seen a decline of somewhere between 1.5 per cent and three per cent in the world's storm cloud zones each decade over the past 24 years. The shrinking coverage, observed by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration-led team, results in less sunlight reflected back into space, allowing more in to boost global warming. Overall clearer skies, a trend driven by evolving wind patterns, the expanding tropics and other shifts linked to climate change, is now thought to be the largest contributor to the planet's higher absorption of solar radiation. Christian Jakob, a co-author of the study and director at the Monash-led Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, said the major heating consequences of shrinking cloud cover was now evident. "It's an important piece in the puzzle of understanding the extraordinary recent warming we observed, and a wake-up call for urgent climate action," Professor Jakob said. Last year was the hottest on record, the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, clocking in at about 1.55 degrees above the pre-industrial era average. A single year above 1.5C is not enough to breach the Paris Agreement, however, as the global pact's goals are based on long-term averages measured over decades. The UN weather agency expects temperatures to keep rising, with a 70 per cent chance the 2025-2029 five-year mean will exceed 1.5C. Unprecedented ocean heating has been felt particularly acutely in the waters surrounding Australia, leading to coral bleaching, fish kills and algal blooms. The elevated rate of warming is due to global greenhouse gas emissions holding at all-time highs, largely due to burning fossil fuels and deforestation, according to the latest Indicators of Global Climate Change study released on Thursday. If current emissions trends continue, the report prepared by dozens of scientists from around the world says there will be just over three years left in the carbon budget to achieve 1.5C of heating. Policymakers and experts have gathered in Germany for a mid-year convention ahead of the main UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil scheduled for November. Disappearing clouds are contributing to faster global warming and tumbling temperature records. Scientists have seen a decline of somewhere between 1.5 per cent and three per cent in the world's storm cloud zones each decade over the past 24 years. The shrinking coverage, observed by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration-led team, results in less sunlight reflected back into space, allowing more in to boost global warming. Overall clearer skies, a trend driven by evolving wind patterns, the expanding tropics and other shifts linked to climate change, is now thought to be the largest contributor to the planet's higher absorption of solar radiation. Christian Jakob, a co-author of the study and director at the Monash-led Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, said the major heating consequences of shrinking cloud cover was now evident. "It's an important piece in the puzzle of understanding the extraordinary recent warming we observed, and a wake-up call for urgent climate action," Professor Jakob said. Last year was the hottest on record, the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, clocking in at about 1.55 degrees above the pre-industrial era average. A single year above 1.5C is not enough to breach the Paris Agreement, however, as the global pact's goals are based on long-term averages measured over decades. The UN weather agency expects temperatures to keep rising, with a 70 per cent chance the 2025-2029 five-year mean will exceed 1.5C. Unprecedented ocean heating has been felt particularly acutely in the waters surrounding Australia, leading to coral bleaching, fish kills and algal blooms. The elevated rate of warming is due to global greenhouse gas emissions holding at all-time highs, largely due to burning fossil fuels and deforestation, according to the latest Indicators of Global Climate Change study released on Thursday. If current emissions trends continue, the report prepared by dozens of scientists from around the world says there will be just over three years left in the carbon budget to achieve 1.5C of heating. Policymakers and experts have gathered in Germany for a mid-year convention ahead of the main UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil scheduled for November.
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Science
- Perth Now
Clue to record-breaking temperatures in clearer skies
Disappearing clouds are contributing to faster global warming and tumbling temperature records. Scientists have seen a decline of somewhere between 1.5 per cent and three per cent in the world's storm cloud zones each decade over the past 24 years. The shrinking coverage, observed by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration-led team, results in less sunlight reflected back into space, allowing more in to boost global warming. Overall clearer skies, a trend driven by evolving wind patterns, the expanding tropics and other shifts linked to climate change, is now thought to be the largest contributor to the planet's higher absorption of solar radiation. Christian Jakob, a co-author of the study and director at the Monash-led Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, said the major heating consequences of shrinking cloud cover was now evident. "It's an important piece in the puzzle of understanding the extraordinary recent warming we observed, and a wake-up call for urgent climate action," Professor Jakob said. Last year was the hottest on record, the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, clocking in at about 1.55 degrees above the pre-industrial era average. A single year above 1.5C is not enough to breach the Paris Agreement, however, as the global pact's goals are based on long-term averages measured over decades. The UN weather agency expects temperatures to keep rising, with a 70 per cent chance the 2025-2029 five-year mean will exceed 1.5C. Unprecedented ocean heating has been felt particularly acutely in the waters surrounding Australia, leading to coral bleaching, fish kills and algal blooms. The elevated rate of warming is due to global greenhouse gas emissions holding at all-time highs, largely due to burning fossil fuels and deforestation, according to the latest Indicators of Global Climate Change study released on Thursday. If current emissions trends continue, the report prepared by dozens of scientists from around the world says there will be just over three years left in the carbon budget to achieve 1.5C of heating. Policymakers and experts have gathered in Germany for a mid-year convention ahead of the main UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil scheduled for November.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Moody's says updated climate goals may miss 2°C Paris Agreement aim
Moody's warns updated national emissions targets under NDCs may not limit global warming to under 2°C; credit risks tied to weak execution and external dependencies Puja Das Implementing updated national carbon emissions reduction goals is still likely to fall short of the Paris Agreement's objective of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, Moody's Ratings has warned. The warning assumes significance as the latest carbon reduction goals submitted by governments ahead of the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November reflect heightened ambition. Credit implications, however, will depend on the pace and rigour of implementation. Achieving absolute global emissions cuts will remain difficult. Should emissions rise following the exit of the US — the world's second-largest emitter — from the Paris Agreement, other advanced economies (AEs) would need to increase their mitigation efforts. This has not been reflected in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to date, Moody's noted in a report on Tuesday. 'We expect that forthcoming emerging market (EM) emission reduction goals will remain more modest than AE submissions, reflecting their share of global emissions, financing obstacles, the need to address pressing social issues, support the agricultural sector and sustain industrialisation as economies grow. Even if fully implemented, it is unlikely that the updated NDCs would achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2.0°C,' the agency said. Over 20 countries, including major emitters like Brazil, the US, Canada, Japan and the UK — which together account for one-fifth of global emissions — have submitted updated NDCs. India, along with several other member countries, is yet to submit its third-round NDC or climate action plan to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The revised deadline is now September, ahead of COP30 in November. The UK has submitted one of the most ambitious NDCs; if implemented, it would place the country on track to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Other submissions have come from nations with minimal emissions but high climate vulnerability, such as Saint Lucia, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives. As national ambitions grow, more sectors will face exposure to policy, technology and demand risks stemming from the carbon transition. Moody's noted that mitigation activities outside the boundaries of national plans could also increase credit risks in some countries. India, the world's third-largest emitter, faces significant challenges in meeting its climate commitments while continuing to grow economically. On a per capita basis, India's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity is well below that of the US or China, according to European Commission data. India's overall emissions intensity had fallen by 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels as of 2023 — surpassing its 45 per cent reduction target for 2030. However, emissions could rise again due to growing middle-class demand for electricity and carbon-intensive products and services, alongside further industrialisation. Like many EMs, India's targets are conditional on receiving technological and capacity-building support from AEs, Moody's cautioned. The 2023 global stocktake found that fully implemented second-round NDCs project warming between 2.1°C and 2.8°C. The UNEP Emissions Gap Report last year warned that achieving the 1.5°C target would require up to six times the current levels of mitigation investment and a significant redirection of international climate finance to EMs. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2023 stated that, to keep the 1.5°C target within reach, global emissions must fall by 60 per cent by 2035. Few of the world's highest-emitting countries have raised their 2035 targets to above that threshold. Moody's also flagged that the conditionality of many EM NDCs on external financial, technological or capacity-building support could hinder their implementation. Additional uncertainty from geopolitical tensions affecting trade and financing may further dampen national ambitions and create new obstacles to delivery. Pointers: Credit implications will depend on the pace of implementation Updated NDCs unlikely to achieve Paris goal of staying below 2.0°C
India Gazette
4 days ago
- Business
- India Gazette
COP30 carbon plans may fall short of Paris agreement: Moody's Report
ANI 17 Jun 2025, 12:39 GMT+10 New Delhi [India], June 17 (ANI): The implementation of the new carbon emissions reduction goals submitted by governments in advance of the November 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) is likely to fall short of the Paris Agreement's targets, potentially impacting a wide array of industries, according to recent report by Moody's report revealed that, amid persistent delays in meeting existing goals, many nations are now prioritising investments in adaptation and updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted so far call for more aggressive emissions cuts, though the specifics vary based on conditionality, sector coverage, and measurement. Upcoming submissions from major economies such as China, the EU, and India are expected to feature even bolder ambitions and a broader range of decarbonization strategies, despite recent global policy shifts posing new implementation the report also notes that governments are increasingly looking beyond electrification to agriculture, energy efficiency, and waste management as key areas for emissions reduction. This expanded focus highlights the difficulties of relying solely on electrification and could have significant credit implications for associated sectors. Notably, there's a heightened emphasis on reducing emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses in many submissions. The waste sector and property energy efficiency are also identified as crucial for emerging markets (EMs), achieving emission targets is heavily contingent on external financial support. A continued lack of funding jeopardises the scaling of climate-resilient infrastructure and technology, as well as efforts to transition communities away from carbon-intensive livelihoods.'Nations that are highly exposed to physical climate risks and lack sufficient investment in adaptation and resilience are at heightened risk of economic disruption and eroding credit strength,' Moody's Rating said.'This increases the likelihood of falling into what some NDCs refer to as a climate investment trap, where recurring disasters deepen debt and further constrain adaptation capacity,' it added. (ANI)
