Eco-Business

Support for protected and conserved areas fell from more than US$1.2 billion in 2023 to US$1 billion in 2025, as governments conclude COP17 in Yerevan to advance the goal of protecting 30 per cent of land and waters by 2030.

Though smaller than those of China, India and Indonesia, the COP31 hosts’ coal expansion plans raise questions about their credibility ahead of the November summit, according to a new report by nonprofit Urgewald. Previous hosts have faced similar scrutiny over their fossil fuel policies.

Countries embrace clean energy but resist cutting fossil fuel production. That fault line is now shaping the UN's first transition roadmap, due at COP31 in November.

Brazil will chair a new body in an ambitious effort to align the world’s fragmented carbon markets – despite its own not launching until 2030.

By Hannah Alcoseba Fernandez

By Amanda Magnani

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For decades, the international community has acknowledged the extraordinary value of tropical forests while failing to invest adequately in their conservation. The Tropical Forest Forever Facility, launched at last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, could help close this financing gap. By Carlos Nobre and Lee White

Drone view of a residential area in Kijal, Malaysia, showing extensive flooding and submerged buildings

Asean must push for stronger adaptation funding, faster loss and damage support and a transition away from fossil fuels as climate risks intensify. By John Leo Algo

Climate shocks can disrupt services that millions of vulnerable people rely on, yet care is largely absent from adaptation plans and national funding estimates. Investing in climate-resilient care can prevent cascading health and economic crises while creating jobs and easing pressure on public budgets. By Caren Grown and Kendall Trelegan

UN_Secretary_General_Guterez_Time_For_Action

The next UN Secretary-General will take over the most prominent position in multilateral governance at a time when multilateralism is arguably at its nadir. Adapting to today’s multipolar reality will require instilling a renewed sense of purpose and demanding more of member states. By Philipp Schönrock

By Pedro Ivo Ferraz da Silva

By Murat Kurum

By Ralph Regenvanu

By Julie McCarthy

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Eminent speakers and thousands of attendees discussed strategies for a resource-efficient future at Ecosperity Week 2019. As they heard about the science of global warming, delegates were called upon to be part of the solution.

Screen Grab Patricia Espinosa Interview Feb 2017 Carbon Brief

Patricia Espinosa is tasked to steer the international climate negotiations through the finer details of the Paris Agreement. What happens if the US renegades on its current commitment? Is Brexit a threat? Her answers on this video.

With 31 more countries submitting their instruments of ratification for the Paris climate pact last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is confident the Paris Agreement will have entered into force before his term concludes.

Screen Grab: Patricia Espinosa August 3 interview on Climate Change

UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, talks about the need to mobilise the world in the fight against climate change, which is affecting lives every day.

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At the close of COP30, nations agreed to triple adaptation finance by 2035, while the fund for loss and damage appeared to remain sidelined. Lidy Nacpil, a long-time attendee of the climate conference, explains why.

UN climate report authors need to commit to the integrity of assessment processes while working with governments with differing interests. Dr Theresa Wong tells the Eco-Business podcast why the stakes are high to get climate science right.

"We are already at 1.1°C of warming – a matter of life and death for the Global South", says Professor Winston Chow, the recently appointed co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's working group on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.

The Singapore scientist, recently elected to the UN's top climate body, tells the Eco-Business Podcast about the precarious state of climate adaptation in developing Asia. The region is not well-prepared to manage the cascading risks of extreme climate events, he says.

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