Water pollution remains a major issue across the world, shortage of resources is leading to growing calls for water recycling, our next report explains this.

Calls for recycling amid shortage of water

In a big setback, United Nations Security Council failed to adopt first its kind resolution on climate and security. Russia vetoed the resolution.

United Nations Security Council fails to adopt a resolution on climate & security

Canada has failed in its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming, the environment commissioner said, ranking it as the “worst performer” among G7 nations.

Canada worst performer on climate among G7 nations, says Environment Commissioner

Rising sea levels have posed a threat to the fragile ecosystem in France. It is one of the largest wetlands in Europe and a host to an extraordinary variety of wildlife and vegetation.

France: Rising sea level endanger the balance of the unique eco system

Visuals from one of the Amazon rivers largest tributaries have shocked environmentalists and the world at large. Hundreds of illegal miners have swooped in what is now being called another good rush.

Illegal miners are vacuuming Amazon riverbed for gold

Over the years, increased fishing, tourism and construction have left fewer nesting grounds for Senegal's turtles. But as a result of peace brought on from pandemic shutdown, the shores of western Senegal have witnessed a rise in the number of endangered turtle nests.

Quiet beaches help endangered turtles reappear on shores of western Senegal

Four people have died and thousands have been evacuated after heavy rains wreaked havoc on Canada's west coast. British Columbia, the Canadian province witnessed record-breaking rainfall for two days which was equivalent to a months worth of deluge.

Canada witnesses historic flood, four dead and thousands evacuated

Syrian Kurds in the northeast city of Qamishli performed an ancient rain ritual that has gained new relevance as they struggle with record low rainfall.

'The Bride Of The Rain': Syrian Kurds revive ancient rain ritual

Thirty climate activists were arrested in London after they sat on Lambeth bridge and managed to block the traffic for several hours. The proteseors were expressing their support for nine Insulate Britain campaigners who were jailed this week.&nbsp;

The group demands that the government should improve the energy efficiency of heating in people's homes by 2030. It has also targeted London's financial district.&nbsp;

The demonstrators gave speeches, sang songs, and chanted slogans.&nbsp;

Public order act conditions were imposed on the protest as up to 250 people were seen marching from the Royal Courts of Justice.&nbsp;

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Lambeth Bridge occupied by IB9 Solidarity march <a href="https://t.co/F2v6UVJD05">pic.twitter.com/F2v6UVJD05</a>
— Robert Possnett 🌍 🍃💚🍃 (@robertpossnett1) <a href="https://twitter.com/robertpossnett1/status/1462061255414456320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Protesters blocking off Lambeth bridge, so far, police are only observing. <a href="https://t.co/rozv6U40yB">pic.twitter.com/rozv6U40yB</a>
— Almara Abgarian (@almaraabgarian) <a href="https://twitter.com/almaraabgarian/status/1462062707335647234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The demonstrators told the crowd the jailed activists were "political prisoners" and will not be the last to be locked up.&nbsp;

Gabriella Ditton, a protestor at Lambeth Bridge said that she believed that even she would end up in jail for participating in the protests. She has been arrested six times with the campaign group.&nbsp;

Sky News quoted her saying, "I expect to go to prison at some point for at least six months because I am not going to be apologetic about this."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/million-mask-march-protesters-wearing-guy-fawkes-masks-clash-with-police-in-uk-427179">Also read |&nbsp;Million Mask March: Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks clash with police in UK</a>

"I have known for a couple of years that the only thing that is going to serve us is civil resistance. I have faith in people coming together. Solutions to this crisis exist, we just need the political will to do it."

These are not the first protests to be witnessed in the region. Earlier this month, various demonstrators wearing Guy Fawkes-style masks gathered at Trafalgar Square as they burned an effigy of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The protestors even moved to Parliament Square where they threw fireworks towards police.

The members of the movement, known as the Million Mask March, were holding signs against coronavirus restrictions.&nbsp;

Also, before this, there have been reports of nearly sixty supporters of a group Insulate Britain sitting on the ground holding banners as they blocked two roads around Parliament.

The protests angered many people as it led to miles-long traffic congestion.

Thirty climate activists were arrested in London after they sat on Lambeth bridge and managed to block the traffic for several hours. The proteseors were expressing their support for nine Insulate Britain campaigners who were jailed this week.

Thirty climate activists were arrested in London after they sat on Lambeth bridge and managed to block the traffic for several hours. The proteseors were expressing their support for nine Insulate Britain campaigners who were jailed this week. The group demands that the government should improve the energy efficiency of heating in people's homes by 2030. It has also targeted London's financial district. The demonstrators gave speeches, sang songs, and chanted slogans. Public order act conditions were imposed on the protest as up to 250 people were seen marching from the Royal Courts of Justice. Lambeth Bridge occupied by IB9 Solidarity march pic.twitter.com/F2v6UVJD05 — Robert Possnett 🌍 🍃💚🍃 (@robertpossnett1) November 20, 2021 × Protesters blocking off Lambeth bridge, so far, police are only observing. pic.twitter.com/rozv6U40yB — Almara Abgarian (@almaraabgarian) November 20, 2021 × #solidarity Protest for #InsulateBritain 9 block Lambeth Bridge breaking the injunction. @DailyMailUK @BBCBreaking @SkyNewsBreak @itvnews @Independent pic.twitter.com/bSxmRNdcrE — Boots On The Ground News! (@bearwitness2019) November 20, 2021 × The demonstrators told the crowd the jailed activists were "political prisoners" and will not be the last to be locked up. Gabriella Ditton, a protestor at Lambeth Bridge said that she believed that even she would end up in jail for participating in the protests. She has been arrested six times with the campaign group. Sky News quoted her saying, "I expect to go to prison at some point for at least six months because I am not going to be apologetic about this." Also read | Million Mask March: Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks clash with police in UK "I have known for a couple of years that the only thing that is going to serve us is civil resistance. I have faith in people coming together. Solutions to this crisis exist, we just need the political will to do it." These are not the first protests to be witnessed in the region. Earlier this month, various demonstrators wearing Guy Fawkes-style masks gathered at Trafalgar Square as they burned an effigy of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The protestors even moved to Parliament Square where they threw fireworks towards police. The members of the movement, known as the Million Mask March, were holding signs against coronavirus restrictions. Also, before this, there have been reports of nearly sixty supporters of a group Insulate Britain sitting on the ground holding banners as they blocked two roads around Parliament. The protests angered many people as it led to miles-long traffic congestion.

London: Climate protesters block Lambeth bridge after 30 activists jailed

The House on Friday narrowly passed the centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, approving $2 trillion in spending over the next decade to battle climate change, expand health care and reweave the nation’s social safety net, over the unanimous opposition of Republicans.

The bill’s passage, 220-213, came after weeks of cajoling, arm-twisting and legislative legerdemain by Democrats. It was capped off by an exhausting, circuitous and record-breaking speech of more than eight hours by the House Republican leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, that pushed a planned Thursday vote past midnight, then delayed it to Friday morning — but did nothing to dent Democratic unity.

Groggy lawmakers reassembled at 8 a.m., three hours after McCarthy finally abandoned the floor, to begin the final series of votes to send one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in half a century to the Senate.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened the final push with what she called “a courtesy to” her colleagues: “I will be brief.” She then put the House’s actions in lofty terms.

“Under this dome, for centuries, members of Congress have stood exactly where we stand to pass legislation of extraordinary consequence in our nation’s history and for our nation’s future,” she said, adding, the act “will be the pillar of health and financial security in America.”

The bill still has a long and difficult road ahead. Democratic leaders must coax it through the 50-50 Senate and navigate a tortuous budget process that is almost certain to reshape the measure and force it back to the House — if it passes at all.

But even pared back from the $3.5 trillion plan that Biden originally sought, the legislation could prove as transformative as any since the Great Society and War on Poverty in the 1960s, especially for young families and older Americans. The Congressional Budget Office published an official cost estimate Thursday afternoon that found the package would increase the federal budget deficit by $160 billion over 10 years.

The assessment indicated that the package overall would cost slightly more than Biden’s latest proposal — $2.1 trillion rather than $1.85 trillion.

It offers universal prekindergarten, generous subsidies for child care that extend well into the middle class, expanded financial aid for college, hundreds of billions of dollars in housing support, home and community care for older Americans, a new hearing benefit for Medicare and price controls for prescription drugs.

More than half a trillion dollars would go toward shifting the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and electric cars, the largest investment ever to slow the warming of the planet. The package would largely be paid for with tax increases on high earners and corporations, estimated to bring in nearly $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

Savings in government spending on prescription drugs were projected to bring in another $260 billion, although a scaled-back measure to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for some medications was estimated to save only $79 billion, far less than the Democrats’ original $456 billion proposal would have.

“This bill will be transformational, and it will be measured in the deeper sense of hope that Americans will have when they see their economy working for them instead of holding them back,” Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the House majority leader, said Thursday during what was supposed to the closing debate.

The fact that the bill could slightly add to the federal deficit did not dissuade House Democrats from proceeding to vote for it, in part because the analysis boiled down to a dispute over a single line item: how much the IRS would collect by cracking down on people and companies that dodge large tax bills.

The budget office predicted that beefing up the IRS with an additional $80 billion of funding would bring in just $127 billion over 10 years on net. That is far less than the $400 billion the White House estimates it would bring in over a decade, both through enforcement actions and by essentially scaring tax cheats into paying what they owe.

The legislation is moving through Congress under special rules known as reconciliation that shield it from a filibuster, allowing Democrats to push it through over unified Republican opposition in the Senate.

It is a key piece of Biden’s domestic policy agenda, paired with a $1 trillion infrastructure package the president signed into law this week. Its path to Friday’s vote was arduous, from midsummer to deep autumn, with negotiations pitting liberal lawmakers against centrists and House Democrats against senators.

Democrats in the Senate and House had hoped to reach agreement on a final bill before either chamber voted, but that plan was ditched weeks ago amid persistent infighting.

And from the beginning, Republicans — who made it clear they could never support a package of the scope and ambition Biden had proposed — were cut out of the reconciliation talks. While some Republicans voted for the infrastructure measure, they unanimously opposed the expansive social safety net package, arguing that it would constitute a “socialist” encroachment of the federal government into every aspect of American life, and would exacerbate rising costs across the country.

McCarthy, the minority leader, took advantage of the House’s so-called “magic minute” — a custom that allows leaders to speak without time constraints when they are granted their minute of floor time.

He held the floor well into Friday morning, railing for more than eight hours against the bill and the Biden administration, breaking the record for the longest consecutive House speech set by Pelosi in 2018 before he concluded at 5:10 a.m. Some Democrats pointedly walked out before he began to speak, and at times interrupted his speech against the bill with boos, heckles and jeers.

“Every page of all this new Washington spending shows just how irresponsible and out of touch the Democrats are to the challenges that America faces today,” McCarthy said during his diatribe, which appeared designed more to rally his Republican base behind a message for the midterm elections in a debate that had been scheduled to last just 20 minutes.

But just hours later, Democrats filed into the chamber, joking about the lack of sleep. And if Democrats feared the political consequences, it was not evident from the final tally, which reflected support among those from the most competitive districts.

The only Democrat who opposed the bill, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, did so after raising concerns this month about the inclusion of a provision that would generously increase the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes paid, from $10,000 a year to $80,000.

The action — after months of time-consuming maneuvering over the bill — was fueled in part by an eagerness among lawmakers to wrap up their work and leave Washington for their weeklong Thanksgiving recess. It came about eight months after Biden unveiled the first part of his domestic policy agenda, and after several near-death experiences for the package that have exposed deep divisions within his party.

The vote showed remarkable Democratic unity, given the struggle to get to it. A group of moderate and conservative holdouts, wary about the size of the bill, had held out for an official estimate before they would commit to supporting it.

But after the release Thursday of section-by-section assessments from the Congressional Budget Office, the official fiscal scorekeeper, most were swayed. White House officials met privately with the group Thursday evening to walk them through the administration’s analysis and the budget tables, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

“While I continue to have reservations about the overall size of the legislation — and concerns about certain policy provisions that are extraneous or unwise — I believe there are too many badly needed investments in this bill not to advance it in the legislative process,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a key centrist, said in a statement announcing her vote.

For Democrats, the bill is perhaps the last significant opportunity to push through their domestic policy ambitions: an array of environmental provisions, federal support for education and child care, and the fulfillment of a longtime campaign promise to tackle the soaring cost of prescription drugs.

“Now, it’s going to be just telling our story — that’s the challenge,” said Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, as staff carried fresh cups of coffee into his ceremonial office. “We’ve got make sure that people understand which party came through, and we really did.”

The legislation is all but guaranteed to change in the Senate, where two Democratic centrists, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have yet to explicitly endorse it. In an evenly divided Senate, a single defection could sink its passage, and Democrats will have to maneuver the bill through their own internal divisions and a rapid-fire series of politically difficult amendments that could upend the bill.

Democrats must also ensure that the entire plan adheres to the strict rules that govern the reconciliation process and force the removal of any provision that does not have a direct fiscal effect. Those rules have already forced the party to abandon a plan to provide a path to citizenship in the bill for immigrants in the country illegally.

The Senate parliamentarian, the arbiter of those rules, has yet to issue guidance for their latest proposal to provide temporary protection from deportation for millions of migrants who are long-term residents of the United States.

Other elements of the plan may also shift because of objections from individual senators. Manchin, in particular, has raised a variety of concerns, including to four weeks of federal paid family and medical leave and a push to include a fee on emissions of methane, a powerful pollutant.

And Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., have rejected a House provision to generously increase the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes paid, which would primarily benefit wealthy homeowners who itemize their deductions. Instead, they and other senators are discussing an income limit to curtail who could take advantage of the increased deduction.

The provision would raise a cap imposed by Republicans in their 2017 tax law, which Democrats from high-tax states like New York, California and New Jersey, have denounced as punitive for their constituents. While some Democrats have publicly complained about its inclusion, several lawmakers in the New York and New Jersey delegations had established it as a requirement for their votes.

Democratic leaders have suggested that the Senate would move to pass the legislation before the end of the year, despite a number of other pressing fiscal deadlines piling up in December.

The House on Friday narrowly passed the centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, approving $2 trillion in spending over the next decade to battle climate change, expand health care and reweave the nation’s social safety net, over the unanimous opposition of Republicans.

The House on Friday narrowly passed the centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, approving $2 trillion in spending over the next decade to battle climate change, expand health care and reweave the nation’s social safety net, over the unanimous opposition of Republicans. The bill’s passage, 220-213, came after weeks of cajoling, arm-twisting and legislative legerdemain by Democrats. It was capped off by an exhausting, circuitous and record-breaking speech of more than eight hours by the House Republican leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, that pushed a planned Thursday vote past midnight, then delayed it to Friday morning — but did nothing to dent Democratic unity. Groggy lawmakers reassembled at 8 a.m., three hours after McCarthy finally abandoned the floor, to begin the final series of votes to send one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in half a century to the Senate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened the final push with what she called “a courtesy to” her colleagues: “I will be brief.” She then put the House’s actions in lofty terms. “Under this dome, for centuries, members of Congress have stood exactly where we stand to pass legislation of extraordinary consequence in our nation’s history and for our nation’s future,” she said, adding, the act “will be the pillar of health and financial security in America.” The bill still has a long and difficult road ahead. Democratic leaders must coax it through the 50-50 Senate and navigate a tortuous budget process that is almost certain to reshape the measure and force it back to the House — if it passes at all. But even pared back from the $3.5 trillion plan that Biden originally sought, the legislation could prove as transformative as any since the Great Society and War on Poverty in the 1960s, especially for young families and older Americans. The Congressional Budget Office published an official cost estimate Thursday afternoon that found the package would increase the federal budget deficit by $160 billion over 10 years. The assessment indicated that the package overall would cost slightly more than Biden’s latest proposal — $2.1 trillion rather than $1.85 trillion. It offers universal prekindergarten, generous subsidies for child care that extend well into the middle class, expanded financial aid for college, hundreds of billions of dollars in housing support, home and community care for older Americans, a new hearing benefit for Medicare and price controls for prescription drugs. More than half a trillion dollars would go toward shifting the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and electric cars, the largest investment ever to slow the warming of the planet. The package would largely be paid for with tax increases on high earners and corporations, estimated to bring in nearly $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Savings in government spending on prescription drugs were projected to bring in another $260 billion, although a scaled-back measure to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for some medications was estimated to save only $79 billion, far less than the Democrats’ original $456 billion proposal would have. “This bill will be transformational, and it will be measured in the deeper sense of hope that Americans will have when they see their economy working for them instead of holding them back,” Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the House majority leader, said Thursday during what was supposed to the closing debate. The fact that the bill could slightly add to the federal deficit did not dissuade House Democrats from proceeding to vote for it, in part because the analysis boiled down to a dispute over a single line item: how much the IRS would collect by cracking down on people and companies that dodge large tax bills. The budget office predicted that beefing up the IRS with an additional $80 billion of funding would bring in just $127 billion over 10 years on net. That is far less than the $400 billion the White House estimates it would bring in over a decade, both through enforcement actions and by essentially scaring tax cheats into paying what they owe. The legislation is moving through Congress under special rules known as reconciliation that shield it from a filibuster, allowing Democrats to push it through over unified Republican opposition in the Senate. It is a key piece of Biden’s domestic policy agenda, paired with a $1 trillion infrastructure package the president signed into law this week. Its path to Friday’s vote was arduous, from midsummer to deep autumn, with negotiations pitting liberal lawmakers against centrists and House Democrats against senators. Democrats in the Senate and House had hoped to reach agreement on a final bill before either chamber voted, but that plan was ditched weeks ago amid persistent infighting. And from the beginning, Republicans — who made it clear they could never support a package of the scope and ambition Biden had proposed — were cut out of the reconciliation talks. While some Republicans voted for the infrastructure measure, they unanimously opposed the expansive social safety net package, arguing that it would constitute a “socialist” encroachment of the federal government into every aspect of American life, and would exacerbate rising costs across the country. McCarthy, the minority leader, took advantage of the House’s so-called “magic minute” — a custom that allows leaders to speak without time constraints when they are granted their minute of floor time. He held the floor well into Friday morning, railing for more than eight hours against the bill and the Biden administration, breaking the record for the longest consecutive House speech set by Pelosi in 2018 before he concluded at 5:10 a.m. Some Democrats pointedly walked out before he began to speak, and at times interrupted his speech against the bill with boos, heckles and jeers. “Every page of all this new Washington spending shows just how irresponsible and out of touch the Democrats are to the challenges that America faces today,” McCarthy said during his diatribe, which appeared designed more to rally his Republican base behind a message for the midterm elections in a debate that had been scheduled to last just 20 minutes. But just hours later, Democrats filed into the chamber, joking about the lack of sleep. And if Democrats feared the political consequences, it was not evident from the final tally, which reflected support among those from the most competitive districts. The only Democrat who opposed the bill, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, did so after raising concerns this month about the inclusion of a provision that would generously increase the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes paid, from $10,000 a year to $80,000. The action — after months of time-consuming maneuvering over the bill — was fueled in part by an eagerness among lawmakers to wrap up their work and leave Washington for their weeklong Thanksgiving recess. It came about eight months after Biden unveiled the first part of his domestic policy agenda, and after several near-death experiences for the package that have exposed deep divisions within his party. The vote showed remarkable Democratic unity, given the struggle to get to it. A group of moderate and conservative holdouts, wary about the size of the bill, had held out for an official estimate before they would commit to supporting it. But after the release Thursday of section-by-section assessments from the Congressional Budget Office, the official fiscal scorekeeper, most were swayed. White House officials met privately with the group Thursday evening to walk them through the administration’s analysis and the budget tables, according to a person familiar with the discussion. “While I continue to have reservations about the overall size of the legislation — and concerns about certain policy provisions that are extraneous or unwise — I believe there are too many badly needed investments in this bill not to advance it in the legislative process,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a key centrist, said in a statement announcing her vote. For Democrats, the bill is perhaps the last significant opportunity to push through their domestic policy ambitions: an array of environmental provisions, federal support for education and child care, and the fulfillment of a longtime campaign promise to tackle the soaring cost of prescription drugs. “Now, it’s going to be just telling our story — that’s the challenge,” said Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, as staff carried fresh cups of coffee into his ceremonial office. “We’ve got make sure that people understand which party came through, and we really did.” The legislation is all but guaranteed to change in the Senate, where two Democratic centrists, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have yet to explicitly endorse it. In an evenly divided Senate, a single defection could sink its passage, and Democrats will have to maneuver the bill through their own internal divisions and a rapid-fire series of politically difficult amendments that could upend the bill. Democrats must also ensure that the entire plan adheres to the strict rules that govern the reconciliation process and force the removal of any provision that does not have a direct fiscal effect. Those rules have already forced the party to abandon a plan to provide a path to citizenship in the bill for immigrants in the country illegally. The Senate parliamentarian, the arbiter of those rules, has yet to issue guidance for their latest proposal to provide temporary protection from deportation for millions of migrants who are long-term residents of the United States. Other elements of the plan may also shift because of objections from individual senators. Manchin, in particular, has raised a variety of concerns, including to four weeks of federal paid family and medical leave and a push to include a fee on emissions of methane, a powerful pollutant. And Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., have rejected a House provision to generously increase the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes paid, which would primarily benefit wealthy homeowners who itemize their deductions. Instead, they and other senators are discussing an income limit to curtail who could take advantage of the increased deduction. The provision would raise a cap imposed by Republicans in their 2017 tax law, which Democrats from high-tax states like New York, California and New Jersey, have denounced as punitive for their constituents. While some Democrats have publicly complained about its inclusion, several lawmakers in the New York and New Jersey delegations had established it as a requirement for their votes. Democratic leaders have suggested that the Senate would move to pass the legislation before the end of the year, despite a number of other pressing fiscal deadlines piling up in December.

House narrowly passes Biden’s social safety net and climate bill

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest soared 22% in a year to the highest level since 2006, the government's annual report showed on Thursday, undercutting President Jair Bolsonaro's assurances that the country is curbing illegal logging.

Amazon deforestation at a 15-year high, another alarming finding | WION Climate Tracker

Climate experts are warning of the potentially devastating fires in Israel as a result of global warming causing an increase in extreme temperatures. Of late, Israel has witnessed an increase in wildfires with high temperatures and strong easterly winds, a dangerous combination, our correspondent Jodie Cohen brings you more.

Israel witnesses rise in wildfires, climatologists issues red alert

Defending its move on joining with India in changing “phase down" instead of "phase out" of coal in the final text of the COP26 conference declaration, China asked developed countries to stop using the coal first and provide financial aid to developing countries to adopt green technologies.

Responding to COP26 Chairman Alok Sharma’s comments highly critical of China and India for rejecting calls on “phasing out” coal firepower, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said:&nbsp;“To optimise energy structure and reduce the proportion of coal consumption is an incremental process. The varying national conditions, development stage and resources endowment of different countries should be respected.”

The official told a media briefing that a complete phase out of coal was not possible, as many developing, and least developed countries don’t have adequate finance for an alternate source of energy.

“In many developing countries, not everyone has access to electricity and energy supply is not adequate. Before asking all countries to stop using coal, consideration should be given to the energy shortfall in these countries to ensure their energy security,” he said.

“We encourage developed countries to take the lead in stopping using coal while providing ample funding, technological and capacity-building support for developing countries’ energy transition. We need concrete actions more than slogans,” Zhao added.

On Saturday, negotiators from nearly 200 countries accepted a new climate agreement after the COP26 summit in Glasgow concluded with the deal, which recognises India’s intervention for the world to “phase down” rather than “phase out” fossil fuels.

Alok Sharma said he was “deeply frustrated” after India, backed by China and other coal-dependent developing nations, refused to completely end use of coal energy.

(With inputs from agencies)

Defending its move on joining with India in changing “phase down" instead of "phase out" of coal in the final text of the COP26 conference declaration, China asked developed countries to stop using the coal first and provide financial aid to developing countries to adopt green technologies.

Defending its move on joining with India in changing “phase down" instead of "phase out" of coal in the final text of the COP26 conference declaration, China asked developed countries to stop using the coal first and provide financial aid to developing countries to adopt green technologies. Responding to COP26 Chairman Alok Sharma’s comments highly critical of China and India for rejecting calls on “phasing out” coal firepower, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: “To optimise energy structure and reduce the proportion of coal consumption is an incremental process. The varying national conditions, development stage and resources endowment of different countries should be respected.” The official told a media briefing that a complete phase out of coal was not possible, as many developing, and least developed countries don’t have adequate finance for an alternate source of energy. “In many developing countries, not everyone has access to electricity and energy supply is not adequate. Before asking all countries to stop using coal, consideration should be given to the energy shortfall in these countries to ensure their energy security,” he said. “We encourage developed countries to take the lead in stopping using coal while providing ample funding, technological and capacity-building support for developing countries’ energy transition. We need concrete actions more than slogans,” Zhao added. On Saturday, negotiators from nearly 200 countries accepted a new climate agreement after the COP26 summit in Glasgow concluded with the deal, which recognises India’s intervention for the world to “phase down” rather than “phase out” fossil fuels. Alok Sharma said he was “deeply frustrated” after India, backed by China and other coal-dependent developing nations, refused to completely end use of coal energy. (With inputs from agencies)

COP26: China defends move on joining India to ‘phase down’ instead of ‘phase out’ coal

India was criticised at COP26 for "watering down" a pledge to end the use of coal. Rich countries paint developing nations as climate villains. But they have denied billions of dollars in funding. Palki Sharma tells you about the climate hypocrisy of rich nations.

Gravitas: India criticised over coal at COP26, Climate injustice is the real villain

International climate talks went into overtime Friday evening, as negotiators wrestled behind closed doors over several sticking points in an agreement that could determine whether nations can prevent the planet from growing dangerously hot by midcentury.

A draft agreement released Friday morning called for a doubling of money to help developing countries cope with climate impacts and said nations should strengthen their emissions-cutting targets by next year. The document urged countries to accelerate a coal phaseout and eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels.

Negotiators from about 200 countries worked into Saturday morning, arguing over several aspects of the document, including money for developing countries suffering the worst impacts, how to structure a global market for carbon, and whether countries should be asked to return next year with stronger emissions plans.

They even disputed whether the final agreement should mention the words “fossil fuels,” which have never before appeared in a global climate agreement even though their combustion is the principal cause of climate change.

One of the most divisive questions involves whether industrialized countries that have prospered by burning coal, oil and gas should pay developing countries for the irreparable harms they have caused.

The state of the negotiations reflected intensifying pressure on polluter countries to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions far more quickly than they have been willing but also to address the damage that those emissions have exacted on countries least responsible for the problem.

“There’s a huge disconnect between where we are, where we will be based on current projections and where we need to be in terms of what science is telling us,” said Saber Hossain Chowdhury, a negotiator from Bangladesh.

A new draft text was expected Saturday morning, according to summit organizers. To reach a final agreement, all parties must approve. By tradition, if one country objects to language in the agreement, the talks can deadlock.

The summit host, Britain, had said its goal was to ensure that the planet would not heat more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, compared with preindustrial times. That is the threshold beyond which scientists say devastating heat waves, fires and floods become significantly more likely.

That goal is nowhere within reach.

The world has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, although some places have already heated more than that. One analysis found that even if all the pledges made in Glasgow are kept, temperatures will still skyrocket by 2.4 degrees Celsius by 2100.

The Kenyan environment minister, Keriako Tobiko, noted that an average global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius would translate into 3 degrees in Africa, intensifying erratic patterns of rainfall and drought that are already punishing farmers.

“In Kenya and Africa, we cry, we bleed. We bleed when it rains, we cry when it doesn’t rain,” he said. “So for us, ambition, 1.5 is not a statistic. It is a matter of life and death.”

Pressure mounted throughout the day to deliver a strong final document. At noon, more than 700 climate activists marched through the convention centre where the summit is being held, chanting “climate justice” and calling for more ambitious targets. They spilled out into the streets to join noisy throngs of more protesters.

The demonstrations enlivened the two-week proceedings, which have been dominated by well-crafted speeches onstage and arguments over verbs in small meeting rooms. But they also served as a reminder to politicians and diplomats of the demands of ordinary citizens. Midway through the summit, over the course of two days, more than 100,000 protesters filled the streets of Glasgow, many of them young people, angrily demanding that world leaders take aggressive action to deal with the climate crisis.

A British diplomat closely following the negotiations said talks would go down to the wire.

“There are a number of key issues still in play here, and we’re still some distance from reaching an outcome,” said David Waskow, international climate director at the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based environmental think tank.

The latest draft also “requests” nations to return every year to strengthen their emissions-cutting targets until the 1.5 degree Celsius goal is within reach. In diplomatic terms, that is tamer than “urges,” which was used in the previous draft.

Even at current temperatures, Chowdhury said, “We see the destruction, the devastation, the pain, the suffering that all countries of the world are facing.” He received sustained applause from delegates in the plenary hall.

The latest draft calls on countries to accelerate “the phaseout of unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels.” Unabated coal refers to power plants that do not capture their carbon dioxide emissions using a nascent technology not currently available on a commercial scale. The language would allow power plants with the technology to continue burning coal and is a change from previous language asking nations to “accelerate the phasing out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels.”

John Kerry, U.S. special envoy for climate change, on Friday described fossil fuel subsidies as the “definition of insanity,” denouncing measures taken by governments that artificially lower the price of coal, oil or gas.

The world spends about $423 billion each year to subsidize oil, gas and coal, about four times the amount needed to help poor countries address climate change, according to the U.N. Development Program.

Officials from other countries argued that the words “unabated” and “inefficient” should be removed from the agreement.

“We need clear language on the need to eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies, not only the inefficient ones, and to accelerate the phaseout of coal power,” said Andrea Meza, Costa Rica’s environment minister.

“Weasel words,” Catherine Abreu, executive director of Destination Zero, an environmental group, called them.

Kerry defended the language about unabated coal, saying commercial carbon capture technology could be available in the future.

It is unclear whether the coal language will stay in the final version, considering that countries such as China, India, Poland and the United States still rely heavily on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.

In the negotiations Friday night, diplomats were wrestling over how to write regulations to govern the fast-growing global market in carbon offsets, in which one company or country compensates for its own emissions by paying someone else to reduce theirs. One of the thorniest technical issues is how to properly account for these global trades so that any reductions in emissions aren’t overestimated or double-counted, and negotiators still haven’t resolved debates over how best to do so.

It is common for U.N. climate conferences, which are supposed to run for two weeks, to go into overtime. Diplomats often don’t get down to the nitty-gritty details until the final night.

Lia Nicholson, who represents small island nations in the negotiations, said the group “finds ourselves at the final hours of this conference overwhelmed at the work still ahead of us.”

International climate talks went into overtime Friday evening, as negotiators wrestled behind closed doors over several sticking points in an agreement that could determine whether nations can prevent the planet from growing dangerously hot by midcentury.

International climate talks went into overtime Friday evening, as negotiators wrestled behind closed doors over several sticking points in an agreement that could determine whether nations can prevent the planet from growing dangerously hot by midcentury. A draft agreement released Friday morning called for a doubling of money to help developing countries cope with climate impacts and said nations should strengthen their emissions-cutting targets by next year. The document urged countries to accelerate a coal phaseout and eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels. Negotiators from about 200 countries worked into Saturday morning, arguing over several aspects of the document, including money for developing countries suffering the worst impacts, how to structure a global market for carbon, and whether countries should be asked to return next year with stronger emissions plans. They even disputed whether the final agreement should mention the words “fossil fuels,” which have never before appeared in a global climate agreement even though their combustion is the principal cause of climate change. One of the most divisive questions involves whether industrialized countries that have prospered by burning coal, oil and gas should pay developing countries for the irreparable harms they have caused. The state of the negotiations reflected intensifying pressure on polluter countries to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions far more quickly than they have been willing but also to address the damage that those emissions have exacted on countries least responsible for the problem. “There’s a huge disconnect between where we are, where we will be based on current projections and where we need to be in terms of what science is telling us,” said Saber Hossain Chowdhury, a negotiator from Bangladesh. A new draft text was expected Saturday morning, according to summit organizers. To reach a final agreement, all parties must approve. By tradition, if one country objects to language in the agreement, the talks can deadlock. The summit host, Britain, had said its goal was to ensure that the planet would not heat more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, compared with preindustrial times. That is the threshold beyond which scientists say devastating heat waves, fires and floods become significantly more likely. That goal is nowhere within reach. The world has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, although some places have already heated more than that. One analysis found that even if all the pledges made in Glasgow are kept, temperatures will still skyrocket by 2.4 degrees Celsius by 2100. The Kenyan environment minister, Keriako Tobiko, noted that an average global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius would translate into 3 degrees in Africa, intensifying erratic patterns of rainfall and drought that are already punishing farmers. “In Kenya and Africa, we cry, we bleed. We bleed when it rains, we cry when it doesn’t rain,” he said. “So for us, ambition, 1.5 is not a statistic. It is a matter of life and death.” Pressure mounted throughout the day to deliver a strong final document. At noon, more than 700 climate activists marched through the convention centre where the summit is being held, chanting “climate justice” and calling for more ambitious targets. They spilled out into the streets to join noisy throngs of more protesters. The demonstrations enlivened the two-week proceedings, which have been dominated by well-crafted speeches onstage and arguments over verbs in small meeting rooms. But they also served as a reminder to politicians and diplomats of the demands of ordinary citizens. Midway through the summit, over the course of two days, more than 100,000 protesters filled the streets of Glasgow, many of them young people, angrily demanding that world leaders take aggressive action to deal with the climate crisis. A British diplomat closely following the negotiations said talks would go down to the wire. “There are a number of key issues still in play here, and we’re still some distance from reaching an outcome,” said David Waskow, international climate director at the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based environmental think tank. The latest draft also “requests” nations to return every year to strengthen their emissions-cutting targets until the 1.5 degree Celsius goal is within reach. In diplomatic terms, that is tamer than “urges,” which was used in the previous draft. Even at current temperatures, Chowdhury said, “We see the destruction, the devastation, the pain, the suffering that all countries of the world are facing.” He received sustained applause from delegates in the plenary hall. The latest draft calls on countries to accelerate “the phaseout of unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels.” Unabated coal refers to power plants that do not capture their carbon dioxide emissions using a nascent technology not currently available on a commercial scale. The language would allow power plants with the technology to continue burning coal and is a change from previous language asking nations to “accelerate the phasing out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels.” John Kerry, U.S. special envoy for climate change, on Friday described fossil fuel subsidies as the “definition of insanity,” denouncing measures taken by governments that artificially lower the price of coal, oil or gas. The world spends about $423 billion each year to subsidize oil, gas and coal, about four times the amount needed to help poor countries address climate change, according to the U.N. Development Program. Officials from other countries argued that the words “unabated” and “inefficient” should be removed from the agreement. “We need clear language on the need to eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies, not only the inefficient ones, and to accelerate the phaseout of coal power,” said Andrea Meza, Costa Rica’s environment minister. “Weasel words,” Catherine Abreu, executive director of Destination Zero, an environmental group, called them. Kerry defended the language about unabated coal, saying commercial carbon capture technology could be available in the future. It is unclear whether the coal language will stay in the final version, considering that countries such as China, India, Poland and the United States still rely heavily on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. In the negotiations Friday night, diplomats were wrestling over how to write regulations to govern the fast-growing global market in carbon offsets, in which one company or country compensates for its own emissions by paying someone else to reduce theirs. One of the thorniest technical issues is how to properly account for these global trades so that any reductions in emissions aren’t overestimated or double-counted, and negotiators still haven’t resolved debates over how best to do so. It is common for U.N. climate conferences, which are supposed to run for two weeks, to go into overtime. Diplomats often don’t get down to the nitty-gritty details until the final night. Lia Nicholson, who represents small island nations in the negotiations, said the group “finds ourselves at the final hours of this conference overwhelmed at the work still ahead of us.”

Glasgow climate talks are down to the wire on money, ambition and fossil fuels

There are sharks in the river Thames and the scientists are very happy about it. This discovery was made in a recent survey, the trends of wildlife from the Thames in the UK is encouraging for wildlife, this after the river was declared biologically dead.

Once biologically dead, Thames now nurses Sharks

In Gaelic, “Glasgow” translates to “dear green place,” a nod to the parks, gardens and flourishing green spaces throughout the city. But according to Chris Mitchell, who was a garbage collector there for more than two decades, the only thing flourishing in Glasgow these days is “a mountain of waste.”

As diplomats at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow this week preach about the need to curb both greenhouse gas emissions and mass consumption to protect the planet, the reality of today’s throwaway society can be seen just a short way from the conference’s doorstep.

Outside the gleaming center of Scotland’s largest city, dumpsters and trash cans are overflowing. The city’s rat population has surged, with four garbage workers hospitalized because of attacks over the past five months. And litter is strewn across streets.

Mitchell, a senior official for the GMB Scotland trade union, which represents the city’s 1,000 garbage collectors among other workers, said they staged an eight-day strike that ended on Monday because they were tired of poor working conditions, lack of respect from management and low wages. It is a cry that has been echoed throughout Britain, the United States and other parts of the world, where essential workers who carried communities through the worst of the pandemic are saying they will no longer stand for being overworked and underpaid.

“We kept people safe,” said Mitchell, 45, who started working as a garbage collector when he was 16. “We cared for the most vulnerable. We cared for the elderly.” He appreciated the nightly clap for key workers during the pandemic. But now that coronavirus cases have subsided from peak levels, he feels the government has “abandoned low paid workers who have saved this nation.”

In parts of the city, trash is now collected only once every three weeks, down from once every two weeks about a year ago. That means garbage collectors, many of whom make less than 20,000 British pounds ($27,000) a year, have to carry heavier loads up and down steps.

On top of the less frequent collections, volumes of trash per household climbed over the past two years, a reflection of increased spending on takeout and online deliveries, according to Mitchell.

“The pandemic has created waste upon waste upon waste,” he said.

The city of about 635,000 has urged residents to reduce their waste to help protect the environment, but garbage collectors like Jack McGowan, 26, say that reducing collections is not an effective way to achieve that.

“The bins are always like that,” he said Wednesday, gesturing to several overflowing dumpsters behind a block of apartments in Scotstoun, an area west of the Glasgow city center. “We need better pay. Respect as well.”

McGowan said he lives with his mother because he cannot afford a mortgage on his salary of 19,000 pounds a year.

He said he had already seen four rats jump out of trash cans that morning alone.

Glasgow promotes its recycling program and efforts to become more environmentally friendly. But McGowan said he saw examples every day of people putting nonrecyclable trash in recycling bins.

Garbage collectors said they were likely to strike again in the run-up to Christmas if they do not get pay rises. In a statement, the Glasgow City Council said that the leader of the council had already had extensive conversations with the union and that the “door remains open to all trade union colleagues.”

Fiona Ross, a council spokeswoman, said she could not go into further detail because talks were continuing.

Meanwhile, the delegates inside the COP26 summit in Glasgow say they are making some progress toward an agreement to avert catastrophic levels of climate change.

On Wednesday, the United States and China issued a joint statement in which they pledged to do more to cut emissions this decade and in which China committed for the first time to address emissions from methane. Separately, the United Nations climate agency released a draft of an accord that urged nations “to accelerate the phasing out” of greenhouse gas emissions.

But outside the climate talks, there is a mounting frustration over the disconnect between policymakers and those most affected by climate change. There have been daily protests organized by youth activists, who say that pledges by countries that they will commit to goals that are decades away is not enough.

“Nobody really wants to incur the cost of preventing climate change today,” said Sayantan Ghosal, an economics professor at the University of Glasgow’s business school. “They’re willing to do it tomorrow, but they’re not willing to do it today.”

There has also been a gap between world leaders and business executives on the one hand, who have talked this week about the urgent need for a transition to clean energy, and the working class people on the other who will be most affected by the rising costs associated with that transition.

Many of the lowest paid workers in society, including garbage collectors, are more worried about increasing prices of food, rent and energy than about increasing temperatures. They often do not have the flexibility to spend more on food and clothing that are more sustainable.

As the U.S. economy picks up again, after a lull during the pandemic, people are quitting their jobs in record numbers, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. There are 5 million fewer people working than before the pandemic began, and employers have struggled to find enough health care workers, waiters, truck drivers and butchers.

This has given employees newfound leverage and power.

The number of workers on strike in the United States increased in October to more than 25,000, versus an average of about 10,000 in the previous three months, according to data collected by the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

The shortages have disrupted Britain, which has struggled to find workers to make up for the thousands of European workers who left in five years since Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Mitchell, the senior union official, said that 20 drivers had left the garbage collection team in recent weeks for other truck driving jobs that are offering better pay.

Peter Welsh, a union spokesman, said Scotland needed to invest in the workers who will help deliver a transition to a greener economy.

“There are huge, huge challenges that I don’t quite think mainstream politics have begun to grasp and understand,” he said.

In Gaelic, “Glasgow” translates to “dear green place,” a nod to the parks, gardens and flourishing green spaces throughout the city. But according to Chris Mitchell, who was a garbage collector there for more than two decades, the only thing flourishing in Glasgow these days is “a mountain of waste.

In Gaelic, “Glasgow” translates to “dear green place,” a nod to the parks, gardens and flourishing green spaces throughout the city. But according to Chris Mitchell, who was a garbage collector there for more than two decades, the only thing flourishing in Glasgow these days is “a mountain of waste.” As diplomats at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow this week preach about the need to curb both greenhouse gas emissions and mass consumption to protect the planet, the reality of today’s throwaway society can be seen just a short way from the conference’s doorstep. Outside the gleaming center of Scotland’s largest city, dumpsters and trash cans are overflowing. The city’s rat population has surged, with four garbage workers hospitalized because of attacks over the past five months. And litter is strewn across streets. Mitchell, a senior official for the GMB Scotland trade union, which represents the city’s 1,000 garbage collectors among other workers, said they staged an eight-day strike that ended on Monday because they were tired of poor working conditions, lack of respect from management and low wages. It is a cry that has been echoed throughout Britain, the United States and other parts of the world, where essential workers who carried communities through the worst of the pandemic are saying they will no longer stand for being overworked and underpaid. “We kept people safe,” said Mitchell, 45, who started working as a garbage collector when he was 16. “We cared for the most vulnerable. We cared for the elderly.” He appreciated the nightly clap for key workers during the pandemic. But now that coronavirus cases have subsided from peak levels, he feels the government has “abandoned low paid workers who have saved this nation.” In parts of the city, trash is now collected only once every three weeks, down from once every two weeks about a year ago. That means garbage collectors, many of whom make less than 20,000 British pounds ($27,000) a year, have to carry heavier loads up and down steps. On top of the less frequent collections, volumes of trash per household climbed over the past two years, a reflection of increased spending on takeout and online deliveries, according to Mitchell. “The pandemic has created waste upon waste upon waste,” he said. The city of about 635,000 has urged residents to reduce their waste to help protect the environment, but garbage collectors like Jack McGowan, 26, say that reducing collections is not an effective way to achieve that. “The bins are always like that,” he said Wednesday, gesturing to several overflowing dumpsters behind a block of apartments in Scotstoun, an area west of the Glasgow city center. “We need better pay. Respect as well.” McGowan said he lives with his mother because he cannot afford a mortgage on his salary of 19,000 pounds a year. He said he had already seen four rats jump out of trash cans that morning alone. Glasgow promotes its recycling program and efforts to become more environmentally friendly. But McGowan said he saw examples every day of people putting nonrecyclable trash in recycling bins. Garbage collectors said they were likely to strike again in the run-up to Christmas if they do not get pay rises. In a statement, the Glasgow City Council said that the leader of the council had already had extensive conversations with the union and that the “door remains open to all trade union colleagues.” Fiona Ross, a council spokeswoman, said she could not go into further detail because talks were continuing. Meanwhile, the delegates inside the COP26 summit in Glasgow say they are making some progress toward an agreement to avert catastrophic levels of climate change. On Wednesday, the United States and China issued a joint statement in which they pledged to do more to cut emissions this decade and in which China committed for the first time to address emissions from methane. Separately, the United Nations climate agency released a draft of an accord that urged nations “to accelerate the phasing out” of greenhouse gas emissions. But outside the climate talks, there is a mounting frustration over the disconnect between policymakers and those most affected by climate change. There have been daily protests organized by youth activists, who say that pledges by countries that they will commit to goals that are decades away is not enough. “Nobody really wants to incur the cost of preventing climate change today,” said Sayantan Ghosal, an economics professor at the University of Glasgow’s business school. “They’re willing to do it tomorrow, but they’re not willing to do it today.” There has also been a gap between world leaders and business executives on the one hand, who have talked this week about the urgent need for a transition to clean energy, and the working class people on the other who will be most affected by the rising costs associated with that transition. Many of the lowest paid workers in society, including garbage collectors, are more worried about increasing prices of food, rent and energy than about increasing temperatures. They often do not have the flexibility to spend more on food and clothing that are more sustainable. As the U.S. economy picks up again, after a lull during the pandemic, people are quitting their jobs in record numbers, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. There are 5 million fewer people working than before the pandemic began, and employers have struggled to find enough health care workers, waiters, truck drivers and butchers. This has given employees newfound leverage and power. The number of workers on strike in the United States increased in October to more than 25,000, versus an average of about 10,000 in the previous three months, according to data collected by the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. The shortages have disrupted Britain, which has struggled to find workers to make up for the thousands of European workers who left in five years since Britain voted to leave the European Union. Mitchell, the senior union official, said that 20 drivers had left the garbage collection team in recent weeks for other truck driving jobs that are offering better pay. Peter Welsh, a union spokesman, said Scotland needed to invest in the workers who will help deliver a transition to a greener economy. “There are huge, huge challenges that I don’t quite think mainstream politics have begun to grasp and understand,” he said.

Outside climate summit, trash in Glasgow piles high

Most of the developing nations, including China, India and African countries, have sought at least US $1.3 trillion per year from the wealthy countries in climate finance&nbsp;starting from 2030—a demand that would be most likely to cause further consternation even as countries at COP26 negotiate on the amount.

A group of 24 nations that call themselves Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs), as well as countries from Africa, on Monday evening put forward this demand in a proposal for enhanced finance flows that they are pushing for inclusion in the final decisions that will be agreed at the climate conference in Glasgow.

India is part of the LMDC grouping along with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and others.

Earlier in 2009 at COP15, the world’s richest countries had pledged to provide $100 billion per year of climate finance for developing countries every year till 2020. In the Paris Agreement, this period was extended till 2025.&nbsp;

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But the deal never materialised, with many rich nations admitting that they won’t be able to do so before 2023 — three years after the original deadline.

The LMDCs have proposed to the United Nations at the summit said that half of the money must be allotted for financing renewable energy in developing countries, and the other half to them from the effects of global warming.

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These countries said that a “significant percentage” of climate finance, not less than $100 billion, should be in the form of grants, with at least $700 billion per year to be allotted to Africa alone.

The developing nations have argued that the enhanced climate finance is essential to driving their climate ambitions and preventing a global rise in temperatures beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels under the Paris Agreement.

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The developing countries have also said that climate finance must be clearly defined so that it is not mixed up with other kinds of existing financial flows.

During a high-level ministerial dialogue on Climate Finance in Glasgow on Tuesday, India called on the developed countries to accept its historical responsibility and sought enhanced financing.

“We record our deep disappointment with the deliberations in COP26 so far. Developed countries must accept the historical responsibility and provide the financial resources to the developing countries,” it said in a statement.

“Developed countries had taken a commitment in 2009 to mobilise $100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action by developing countries. The promise has not been met. Scaling up mobilisation is pertinent given the huge gap between the requirement and extent of mobilisation,” said the statement.

(With inputs from agencies)

Most of the developing nations, including China, India and African countries, have sought at least US $1.3 trillion per year from the wealthy countries in climate finance starting from 2030—a demand that would be most likely to cause further consternation even as countries at COP26 negotiate on the amount.

Most of the developing nations, including China, India and African countries, have sought at least US $1.3 trillion per year from the wealthy countries in climate finance starting from 2030—a demand that would be most likely to cause further consternation even as countries at COP26 negotiate on the amount. A group of 24 nations that call themselves Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs), as well as countries from Africa, on Monday evening put forward this demand in a proposal for enhanced finance flows that they are pushing for inclusion in the final decisions that will be agreed at the climate conference in Glasgow. India is part of the LMDC grouping along with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and others. Earlier in 2009 at COP15, the world’s richest countries had pledged to provide $100 billion per year of climate finance for developing countries every year till 2020. In the Paris Agreement, this period was extended till 2025. Also read | Johnson cautious over fulfilling UN climate fund pledges But the deal never materialised, with many rich nations admitting that they won’t be able to do so before 2023 — three years after the original deadline. The LMDCs have proposed to the United Nations at the summit said that half of the money must be allotted for financing renewable energy in developing countries, and the other half to them from the effects of global warming. Also read | US warns climate poses ‘emerging threat’ to financial system These countries said that a “significant percentage” of climate finance, not less than $100 billion, should be in the form of grants, with at least $700 billion per year to be allotted to Africa alone. The developing nations have argued that the enhanced climate finance is essential to driving their climate ambitions and preventing a global rise in temperatures beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels under the Paris Agreement. Also read | India calls for hike in climate finance to $1 trillion The developing countries have also said that climate finance must be clearly defined so that it is not mixed up with other kinds of existing financial flows. During a high-level ministerial dialogue on Climate Finance in Glasgow on Tuesday, India called on the developed countries to accept its historical responsibility and sought enhanced financing. “We record our deep disappointment with the deliberations in COP26 so far. Developed countries must accept the historical responsibility and provide the financial resources to the developing countries,” it said in a statement. “Developed countries had taken a commitment in 2009 to mobilise $100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action by developing countries. The promise has not been met. Scaling up mobilisation is pertinent given the huge gap between the requirement and extent of mobilisation,” said the statement. (With inputs from agencies)

India, China, other developing nations propose $1.3 trillion per year in climate finance

The sudden emergence of multiple seal corpses is sounding an alarm among officials, seal death is common during this time of the year but what has led to a sudden spike in the numbers? Our next report investigates.

South Africa investigates seal deaths along Cape coast, veterinarians suspect malnutrition

As the world looks at containing the rise in temperature, Mangrove trees have emerged as a life-saver. Their roots can absorb twice the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide as compared to the trees found in the Amazon but in the last few years, human activities have brought devastation to the Mangrove ecosystem, one such example in Sundarbans.

India: 10,000 Mangrove saplings to be planted in Sundarbans, all women group lead drive

On one hand, Australia has vowed carbon neutrality by 2050, the Scott Morrison government has announced plans encouraging people to buy electric cars. On the other hand, an Australian minister said that Australia expects to keep selling coal.

Australia's hypocritical climate stance, skips the phase-out coal meet

To highlight the effects of climate of change, the foreign minister of Tuvalu, a low-lying island in the south Pacific, filmed his speech to COP26 climate summit standing knee-deep in the ocean to show how the nation is vulnerable to the climate crisis.

Images of Simon Kofe standing in a suit and tie&nbsp;with his trouser legs rolled up&nbsp;have been shared widely on social media.

The video was shot by public broadcaster&nbsp;TVBC&nbsp;at the far end of Fongafale, the main islet of the capital Funafuti, a government official said.

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“The statement juxtaposes the COP26 setting with the real-life situations faced in Tuvalu due to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise and highlights the bold action Tuvalu is taking to address the very pressing issues of human mobility under climate change,” Kofe told news agency Reuters, ahead of the broadcast of his video message.

Tuvalu, which is about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, is made up of nine small islands and has a population of around 12,000.

Its tourism website, Timeless Tuvalu, warns that by the end of the century it could be underwater.

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“School pupils are learning about the effects of climate change and “could be the last generation of children to grow up in Tuvalu,” the website states, while adding that many people have already emigrated to New Zealand.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/cop26-why-the-world-is-worried-about-china-and-co2-levels-425836">COP26: Why the world is worried about China and CO2 levels</a>

According to the&nbsp;World Bank, western Pacific ocean levels have risen at two to three times faster than the global average. They are forecast to rise between 0.5 and 1.1 metres before the end of the century.

Many big polluters have vowed to&nbsp;intensify their carbon cuts over the coming decades&nbsp;with some aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. But Pacific Island leaders have demanded immediate action, pointing out that&nbsp;the very survival of their low-lying countries is at stake.

(With inputs from agencies)

To highlight the effects of climate of change, the foreign minister of Tuvalu, a low-lying island in the south Pacific, filmed his speech to COP26 climate summit standing knee-deep in the ocean to show how the nation is vulnerable to the climate crisis.

To highlight the effects of climate of change, the foreign minister of Tuvalu, a low-lying island in the south Pacific, filmed his speech to COP26 climate summit standing knee-deep in the ocean to show how the nation is vulnerable to the climate crisis. Images of Simon Kofe standing in a suit and tie with his trouser legs rolled up have been shared widely on social media. The video was shot by public broadcaster TVBC at the far end of Fongafale, the main islet of the capital Funafuti, a government official said. Also read | 5 takeaways from the first days of the climate summit “The statement juxtaposes the COP26 setting with the real-life situations faced in Tuvalu due to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise and highlights the bold action Tuvalu is taking to address the very pressing issues of human mobility under climate change,” Kofe told news agency Reuters, ahead of the broadcast of his video message. Tuvalu, which is about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, is made up of nine small islands and has a population of around 12,000. Its tourism website, Timeless Tuvalu, warns that by the end of the century it could be underwater. Also read | Greta Thunberg calls COP26 climate summit 'a failure' “School pupils are learning about the effects of climate change and “could be the last generation of children to grow up in Tuvalu,” the website states, while adding that many people have already emigrated to New Zealand. Also read | COP26: Why the world is worried about China and CO2 levels According to the World Bank, western Pacific ocean levels have risen at two to three times faster than the global average. They are forecast to rise between 0.5 and 1.1 metres before the end of the century. Many big polluters have vowed to intensify their carbon cuts over the coming decades with some aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. But Pacific Island leaders have demanded immediate action, pointing out that the very survival of their low-lying countries is at stake. (With inputs from agencies)

Minister of Tuvalu island films his COP26 speech knee-deep in ocean to highlight climate crisis

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International lawmakers, business leaders, and activists are convening in Glasglow, UK for the second week on the United Nations' COP26 climate summit. WION tells you more.

COP26 kicks off second week in Glasgow, setting reliable rules for Carbon markets on agenda

Activists have criticised the menu being served at this year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow. &nbsp; &nbsp;

It has at least one item that had a significantly larger carbon footprint than the average meal in the UK. &nbsp;

Joel Scott-Halkes, a climate activist and founder, wildcard.land, posted, "Meat and fish on the menu at #COP26?! This is the equivalent of serving cigarettes at a lung cancer conference. Only when governments grasp animal agriculture’s central role in the #climate crisis will we stand a chance of solving it." &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/as-cop26-enters-its-final-week-boris-johnson-urges-countries-to-make-the-bold-compromises-427394" hreflang="en">As COP26 enters its final week, Boris Johnson urges countries to 'make the bold compromises'</a>

The COP26 released the menu online for all to see and showcased the carbon impact, The Hill reported. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The haggis dish, which was pointed by the website, was twice the carbon footprint of the average meal in the UK. &nbsp;&nbsp;

As per the report, there was a separate menu for burgers and half of which had about the same footprint as the haggis dish only. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-scientists-find-high-amounts-of-toxic-rubber-glove-chemicals-in-fast-food-424934" hreflang="en">US scientists find ‘high amounts’ of toxic rubber glove chemicals in fast food</a>

As per the menu, 95% food was locally sourced and seasonal. &nbsp;&nbsp;

"Many of our suppliers are based within 100 miles of Glasgow, which supports our aspirations of delivering a lower carbon menu. About 40% of the options were plant-based and "plant-forward alternatives," the menu read. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Activists have criticised the menu being served at this year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow. It has at least one item that had a significantly larger carbon footprint than the average meal in the UK.

Activists have criticised the menu being served at this year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow. It has at least one item that had a significantly larger carbon footprint than the average meal in the UK. Joel Scott-Halkes, a climate activist and founder, wildcard.land, posted, "Meat and fish on the menu at #COP26?! This is the equivalent of serving cigarettes at a lung cancer conference. Only when governments grasp animal agriculture’s central role in the #climate crisis will we stand a chance of solving it." Also Read: As COP26 enters its final week, Boris Johnson urges countries to 'make the bold compromises' The COP26 released the menu online for all to see and showcased the carbon impact, The Hill reported. The haggis dish, which was pointed by the website, was twice the carbon footprint of the average meal in the UK. As per the report, there was a separate menu for burgers and half of which had about the same footprint as the haggis dish only. Also Read: US scientists find ‘high amounts’ of toxic rubber glove chemicals in fast food As per the menu, 95% food was locally sourced and seasonal. "Many of our suppliers are based within 100 miles of Glasgow, which supports our aspirations of delivering a lower carbon menu. About 40% of the options were plant-based and "plant-forward alternatives," the menu read. (With inputs from agencies)

Climate activists mock COP26 menu over meat, fish selection  

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Paris to demand meaningful action from world leaders at the Glasgow COP26 summit on Saturday.

Demonstrators answering the call of various environmental NGOs held banners and signs, performed stunts and chanted slogans in front of the French capital's city hall.

"Today, we do not need announcements, promises and commitments, we need concrete action," Greenpeace France head Jean-Francois Julliard told Reuters. "How will they do it, country by country, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the most important sectors?"

The demonstration was one of many across the world called for by a coalition of environmental groups and other civil society organisations as part of a "Global Day of Action for Climate Justice."

A week of government speeches and pledges at the two-week UN climate conference in Glasgow brought promises to phase out coal, slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane and cut deforestation.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/million-mask-march-protesters-wearing-guy-fawkes-masks-clash-with-police-in-uk-427179">Also read |&nbsp;Million Mask March: Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks clash with police in UK</a>

Protesters in Paris expressed frustration however because of what they described as "climate inaction" and "empty words" on the part of world leaders.

"I am 73 years old and I can see that we are leaving an extremely dangerous world to our children. Our leaders, even though they attend COPs, are not implementing the necessary measures against global warming," said protester Marie-Claire Gourinal.

Echoing the message of prominent Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and a generation of young climate activists, numerous young protesters also attended the Paris rally to call for a change.

"Coming here allows me to see that I am not alone in worrying about the future and it gives me a bit of hope," 17 year old protester Mia Rety told Reuters. "But I also hope that things will change at a higher level, because at my own level, there isn't much I can really do."

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Paris to demand meaningful action from world leaders at the Glasgow COP26 summit on Saturday. Demonstrators answering the call of various environmental NGOs held banners and signs, performed stunts and chanted slogans in front of the French capital's city hall.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Paris to demand meaningful action from world leaders at the Glasgow COP26 summit on Saturday. Demonstrators answering the call of various environmental NGOs held banners and signs, performed stunts and chanted slogans in front of the French capital's city hall. "Today, we do not need announcements, promises and commitments, we need concrete action," Greenpeace France head Jean-Francois Julliard told Reuters. "How will they do it, country by country, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the most important sectors?" The demonstration was one of many across the world called for by a coalition of environmental groups and other civil society organisations as part of a "Global Day of Action for Climate Justice." A week of government speeches and pledges at the two-week UN climate conference in Glasgow brought promises to phase out coal, slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane and cut deforestation. Also read | Million Mask March: Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks clash with police in UK Protesters in Paris expressed frustration however because of what they described as "climate inaction" and "empty words" on the part of world leaders. "I am 73 years old and I can see that we are leaving an extremely dangerous world to our children. Our leaders, even though they attend COPs, are not implementing the necessary measures against global warming," said protester Marie-Claire Gourinal. Echoing the message of prominent Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and a generation of young climate activists, numerous young protesters also attended the Paris rally to call for a change. "Coming here allows me to see that I am not alone in worrying about the future and it gives me a bit of hope," 17 year old protester Mia Rety told Reuters. "But I also hope that things will change at a higher level, because at my own level, there isn't much I can really do."

Paris protesters call for 'concrete actions' on climate change at COP26

Developing countries need up to 10 times more funding to protect themselves from increasingly ferocious effects of climate change than the world has currently earmarked, the UN said on Thursday.&nbsp;

While the COP26 meeting tries to wrestle down emissions and keep warming within the Paris deal target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, a new report from United Nations Environment Programme highlights the need to prepare countries for effects that are already starting to be felt. &nbsp;

"Even if we were to turn off the tap on greenhouse gas emissions today, the impacts of climate change would be with us for many decades to come," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.&nbsp;

"We need a step-change in adaptation ambition for funding and implementation to significantly reduce damages and losses from climate change. And we need it now."

Slammed by storms, floods and droughts intensified by global warming, the world's poorest nations have put at the heart of the COP26 climate negotiations calls for richer countries to honour a pledge to provide $100 billion annually.&nbsp;

But only a part of that funding promise -- which is now not set to be met until next year at the earliest -- is set aside for adaptation measures that would help nations reduce the exposure of people and property to the growing threats of climate change. &nbsp;

- 'Skydiving without a parachute' - 
The UNEP report found that developing countries alone will need to spend up to $300 billion a year on such measures by 2030, and up to $500 billion annually by 2050.

"Overall, estimated adaptation costs in developing countries are five to 10 times greater than current public adaptation finance flows, and the gap is widening," UNEP said.

In 2019, wealthy countries provided $79.6 billion in climate assistance to developing countries -- but two-thirds of that was for efforts to reduce emissions, with adaptation given lower priority.

On Monday, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley told COP26 delegates failure to provide nations with the funds to protect themselves and adapt to climate change was "measured in lives and livelihoods in our communities and that, my friends, is immoral and unjust".&nbsp;

With 1.1C of warming since the mid 19th Century, the world has seen a torrent of deadly weather disasters intensified by climate change in recent months, from asphalt-melting heat waves to flash floods and untameable wildfires.

UNEP said governments had so far missed an opportunity to use the Covid-19 pandemic to prioritise green recovery spending.&nbsp;

"By failing to invest in climate adaptation, it seems like we've gone sky diving and decided we don't need a parachute," said Brian O'Callaghan, of the Oxford University economic recovery project and one of the authors of the UNEP report.&nbsp;

Developing countries need up to 10 times more funding to protect themselves from increasingly ferocious effects of climate change than the world has currently earmarked, the UN said on Thursday.

Developing countries need up to 10 times more funding to protect themselves from increasingly ferocious effects of climate change than the world has currently earmarked, the UN said on Thursday. While the COP26 meeting tries to wrestle down emissions and keep warming within the Paris deal target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, a new report from United Nations Environment Programme highlights the need to prepare countries for effects that are already starting to be felt. "Even if we were to turn off the tap on greenhouse gas emissions today, the impacts of climate change would be with us for many decades to come," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. "We need a step-change in adaptation ambition for funding and implementation to significantly reduce damages and losses from climate change. And we need it now." Slammed by storms, floods and droughts intensified by global warming, the world's poorest nations have put at the heart of the COP26 climate negotiations calls for richer countries to honour a pledge to provide $100 billion annually. But only a part of that funding promise -- which is now not set to be met until next year at the earliest -- is set aside for adaptation measures that would help nations reduce the exposure of people and property to the growing threats of climate change. - 'Skydiving without a parachute' - The UNEP report found that developing countries alone will need to spend up to $300 billion a year on such measures by 2030, and up to $500 billion annually by 2050. "Overall, estimated adaptation costs in developing countries are five to 10 times greater than current public adaptation finance flows, and the gap is widening," UNEP said. In 2019, wealthy countries provided $79.6 billion in climate assistance to developing countries -- but two-thirds of that was for efforts to reduce emissions, with adaptation given lower priority. On Monday, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley told COP26 delegates failure to provide nations with the funds to protect themselves and adapt to climate change was "measured in lives and livelihoods in our communities and that, my friends, is immoral and unjust". With 1.1C of warming since the mid 19th Century, the world has seen a torrent of deadly weather disasters intensified by climate change in recent months, from asphalt-melting heat waves to flash floods and untameable wildfires. UNEP said governments had so far missed an opportunity to use the Covid-19 pandemic to prioritise green recovery spending. "By failing to invest in climate adaptation, it seems like we've gone sky diving and decided we don't need a parachute," said Brian O'Callaghan, of the Oxford University economic recovery project and one of the authors of the UNEP report.

Climate adaptation cash one tenth of amount needed: UN

The UN's COP26 climate summit has not concluded, the host of the summit and UK PM Boris Johnson has already found himself in the middle of a controversy.

Climate pledges just a gimmick for UK PM Boris Johnson? | COP26

During climate talks, the role played by local communities is often overlooked. For years, people have been working on the ground to protect the environment. In India, a group of women have taken it upon themselves to save the rare species of the Western Ghats, our next report will tell you.

Gurukula sanctuary rehabilitates rare plants, home to 325 endangered plants and animals

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday called upon the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) to work closely to protect the interests of developing countries and urged that climate finance cannot continue at the levels decided in 2009 and should be increased to at least 1 trillion dollars to meet the goals of addressing climate change.

Speaking at the ministerial meeting of the LMDC held on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow, Yadav underlined the unity and strength of LMDC as fundamental in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations to preserve the interest of the Global South in the fight against climate change. The participating countries in the meeting included India, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Also Read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/cop26-major-takeaways-from-pm-modis-speech-at-the-climate-summit-425960">&nbsp;COP26: Major takeaways from PM Modi's speech at the climate summit</a>

Yadav highlighted that recognition of the current challenges being faced by developing countries required intensified multilateral cooperation, not intensified global economic and geopolitical competition and trade wars.

The environment minister also underscored that under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is working on ambitious climate actions in line with sustainable development priorities.

He requested the LMDC members to join hands with India to support the global initiatives it has pioneered, including the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT).

Also Read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/life-to-net-zero-emissions-key-takeaways-from-pm-modis-historic-cop26-speech-426012">&nbsp;'LIFE' to 'net zero emissions: Key takeaways from PM Modi's historic COP26 speech</a>

The Minister also appreciated the efforts of the Third World Network (TWN) for its support to LMDC and expressed the need to ensure resources to TWN.

Yadav called upon the LMDC countries to work closely to protect the interests of developing countries, including the need to ensure a balanced outcome with equal treatment to all agenda items including finance, adaptation, market mechanisms, response measures, and decisions on delivery of transfer of environment-friendly technologies.

The countries collectively underscored that it needs to be ensured that the voices of the LMDC countries are heard loud and clear.

The outcomes of COP 26 must respect the fundamental principles of the Convention, including equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC).

The developed countries must provide means of implementation to developing countries in terms of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building.

They highlighted about the empty promises of the developed countries and inability to deliver the USD 100 billion per year by 2020. They also called upon the speedy finalisation of the Paris Rulebook.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday called upon the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) to work closely to protect the interests of developing countries and urged that climate finance cannot continue at the levels decided in 2009 and should be increased to at least 1 trillion dollars to meet the goals of addressing climate change.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday called upon the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) to work closely to protect the interests of developing countries and urged that climate finance cannot continue at the levels decided in 2009 and should be increased to at least 1 trillion dollars to meet the goals of addressing climate change. Speaking at the ministerial meeting of the LMDC held on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow, Yadav underlined the unity and strength of LMDC as fundamental in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations to preserve the interest of the Global South in the fight against climate change. The participating countries in the meeting included India, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Also Read | COP26: Major takeaways from PM Modi's speech at the climate summit Yadav highlighted that recognition of the current challenges being faced by developing countries required intensified multilateral cooperation, not intensified global economic and geopolitical competition and trade wars. The environment minister also underscored that under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is working on ambitious climate actions in line with sustainable development priorities. He requested the LMDC members to join hands with India to support the global initiatives it has pioneered, including the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT). Also Read | 'LIFE' to 'net zero emissions: Key takeaways from PM Modi's historic COP26 speech The Minister also appreciated the efforts of the Third World Network (TWN) for its support to LMDC and expressed the need to ensure resources to TWN. Yadav called upon the LMDC countries to work closely to protect the interests of developing countries, including the need to ensure a balanced outcome with equal treatment to all agenda items including finance, adaptation, market mechanisms, response measures, and decisions on delivery of transfer of environment-friendly technologies. The countries collectively underscored that it needs to be ensured that the voices of the LMDC countries are heard loud and clear. The outcomes of COP 26 must respect the fundamental principles of the Convention, including equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC). The developed countries must provide means of implementation to developing countries in terms of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building. They highlighted about the empty promises of the developed countries and inability to deliver the USD 100 billion per year by 2020. They also called upon the speedy finalisation of the Paris Rulebook.

India calls for hike in climate finance to $1 trillion

In the first significant agreement reached at the COP26 climate summit, more than 100 global leaders on Monday pledged to end and reverse deforestation by 2030.

On Tuesday, Brazil will be one of the signatories, since significant swaths of the Amazon rainforest have been logged.

Almost $19.2 billion in public and private contributions are included in the offer. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/by-2070-india-will-achieve-target-of-net-zero-emissions-says-pm-modi-at-cop26-425933">Also read | By 2070, India will achieve target of net-zero emissions, says PM Modi at COP26</a>

Leaders from Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which together account for 85 percent of the world's forests, approved the unified declaration during the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow. 
 
Watch | Gravitas | COP26: Climate action or climate hypocrisy?

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-cop26-climate-action-or-climate-hypocrisy-425957/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

According to a statement issued on behalf of the leaders by the UK Prime Minister's office, the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forest and Land Use would embrace forests covering more than 13 million square miles. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-will-reduce-emissions-by-50-52-below-2005-levels-by-2030-says-biden-at-cop26-425923">Also Read:&nbsp;US will reduce emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030, says Biden&nbsp;</a>

Experts applauded the initiative, but cautioned that a prior agreement in 2014 "failed to curb deforestation at all," and that promises must be kept.

Cutting down trees contributes to climate change by depleting forests, which absorb a large quantity of CO2.

If climate change is to be controlled, the two-week conference in Glasgow is viewed as critical. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/eco-hypocrite-leaders-businessmen-arrive-in-fuel-guzzling-private-jets-at-cop26-425903">Also Read:&nbsp;Leaders, businessmen arrive in fuel-guzzling private jets at COP26</a>

Deforestation will also be eliminated from the global trade of food and other agricultural goods such as palm oil, soya, and cocoa, according to the governments of 28 nations. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/cop26-why-the-world-is-worried-about-china-and-co2-levels-425836">Also Read:&nbsp;Why the world is worried about China and CO2 levels</a>

These industries contribute to forest loss by chopping down trees to create room for livestock or crops.

More than 30 of the world's largest corporations have pledged to stop investing in deforestation-related operations.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

In the first significant agreement reached at the COP26 climate summit, more than 100 global leaders on Monday pledged to end and reverse deforestation by 2030. On Tuesday, Brazil will be one of the signatories, since significant swaths of the Amazon rainforest have been logged.

In the first significant agreement reached at the COP26 climate summit, more than 100 global leaders on Monday pledged to end and reverse deforestation by 2030. On Tuesday, Brazil will be one of the signatories, since significant swaths of the Amazon rainforest have been logged. Almost $19.2 billion in public and private contributions are included in the offer. Also read | By 2070, India will achieve target of net-zero emissions, says PM Modi at COP26 Leaders from Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which together account for 85 percent of the world's forests, approved the unified declaration during the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow. Watch | Gravitas | COP26: Climate action or climate hypocrisy? According to a statement issued on behalf of the leaders by the UK Prime Minister's office, the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forest and Land Use would embrace forests covering more than 13 million square miles. Also Read: US will reduce emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030, says Biden Experts applauded the initiative, but cautioned that a prior agreement in 2014 "failed to curb deforestation at all," and that promises must be kept. Cutting down trees contributes to climate change by depleting forests, which absorb a large quantity of CO2. If climate change is to be controlled, the two-week conference in Glasgow is viewed as critical. Also Read: Leaders, businessmen arrive in fuel-guzzling private jets at COP26 Deforestation will also be eliminated from the global trade of food and other agricultural goods such as palm oil, soya, and cocoa, according to the governments of 28 nations. Also Read: Why the world is worried about China and CO2 levels These industries contribute to forest loss by chopping down trees to create room for livestock or crops. More than 30 of the world's largest corporations have pledged to stop investing in deforestation-related operations. (With inputs from agencies)

COP26 climate summit: World leaders pledge to end deforestation by 2030

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