New EEA report assesses the state of national adaptation actions in 2021

EU Member States recognise the importance of adapting to impacts of heatwaves, droughts, floods, heavy precipitation and changing temperatures and of mainstreaming climate change adaptation to a wide range of affected areas like agriculture, or water and disaster risk management. These are key findings of a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published this week which … Continue reading New EEA report assesses the state of national adaptation actions in 2021 →

How “loss and damage” was handled at COP27

Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development at the Independent University in Bangladesh and a friend of EiD has argued for many years that developing countries need serious support to address their own concerns because of climate change. One of the few positive outcomes of COP27 was the agreement to … Continue reading How “loss and damage” was handled at COP27 →

The latest EU state to leave the Energy Charter Treaty: Luxembourg

The Luxembourg government has decided to exit the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), an international trade and investment agreement concluded in the early 1990s to protect investments in the energy sector, Luxembourg’s Minister of Energy and Spatial Planning, Claude Turmes, announced on Friday 18 November. Frédéric Simon discusses latest developments in an article on the Euractiv website. … Continue reading The latest EU state to leave the Energy Charter Treaty: Luxembourg →

Concerns about underreporting of GHG emissions from oil and gas operations

Climate Trace reports half of 50 largest sources of greenhouse gas are oil and gas operations and many underreport their emissions. Fiona Harvey discusses the report in an article on the Guardian website. Oil and gas greenhouse emissions ‘three times higher’ than producers claim Greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas facilities around the … Continue reading Concerns about underreporting of GHG emissions from oil and gas operations →

New EEA report on impact of heatwaves on health

Unprecedented heatwaves — as seen this year — are the greatest direct climate-related health threat to Europe’s population. Heatwaves already account for numerous deaths and illnesses. This burden is set to increase without more climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. Heat-health action plans, urban greening, better building design and adjusting working times can contribute to … Continue reading New EEA report on impact of heatwaves on health →

While “loss and damage” is gaining more attention ahead of COP27, who’s going to pay?

Loss and damage has been at the heart of much media reporting about the upcoming Cop27 climate talks in Egypt in November. With many disasters recently, such as the flooding in Pakistan, the importance of loss and damage compensation gains attention. Isabella Kaminski writes on the Climate Change News about the challenges involved. She notes that … Continue reading While “loss and damage” is gaining more attention ahead of COP27, who’s going to pay? →

Shipping industry under pressure to reduce GHG emissions given that 99% of shipping globally is powered by fossil fuels

Chris Brown writes on the CBC News website about the pressure that the shipping industry is under, given that all sectors of the economy are having to find an appropriate path to net-zero emissions. Importantly, one company, Copenhagen-based Maersk, until recently the world's No. 1 container shipper over the past 25 years, has set one … Continue reading Shipping industry under pressure to reduce GHG emissions given that 99% of shipping globally is powered by fossil fuels →

“Debt-for-climate swaps” to help low- and middle-income countries lower their vulnerability

With carefully designed debt-for-climate swaps and support from international institutions, developing countries could expand their finance for desperately needed climate mitigation and adaptation actions and remove some of their heavy debt burden. Soyoung Oh, Junior Research Fellow, The Fletcher School at Tufts University discusses her views in an article on The Conversation website. How … Continue reading “Debt-for-climate swaps” to help low- and middle-income countries lower their vulnerability →

Can COP 27 help close the emissions gap?

The window to reign in climate-wrecking emissions and limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is fast closing, says a new UN report. Societal transformation may be the only way to avoid a coming calamity. Stuart Braun discusses the recent report in an article on the Deutsche Welle website. Climate crisis: Widening emissions gap threatens … Continue reading Can COP 27 help close the emissions gap? →

The global energy transition: have we lost momentum in reaching a net-zero future?

In the short term, it feels like countries are abandoning their energy transition plans and the goal of limiting global warming to under 2°C. But in the mid-to-long term, there is still of flicker of hope for a net-zero future. Here we have a detailed blog on the Zurich insurance company website. Is hope … Continue reading The global energy transition: have we lost momentum in reaching a net-zero future? →