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Cop28

Cop28 is the climate change conference that was held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2023

Ministers deliver statements during the closing plenary at Cop27

Cop27 deal delivers landmark on ‘loss and damage’, but little else

Countries adopted a hard-fought final agreement at the Cop27 climate summit early on Sunday that sets up a fund to help poor countries being battered by climate disasters – but does not boost efforts to tackle the emissions causing them. After tense negotiations that ran through the night, the Egyptian Cop27 presidency released the final […]

Dispute over ‘loss and damage’ may extend talks for days

Backroom disagreements on what should have been the final day of Cop27 have ensured that talks would spill over into Saturday and possibly beyond. Delegates have for the last few days been predicting that the talks would be extended. It was only on Friday morning that the conference presidency released the first official draft of […]

Venturesouq climate investment fund

Mena VC firm VentureSouq to set up climate-focused fund

Middle East and North Africa-based Venture capital firm VentureSouq is to launch a new climate-focused fund to support companies developing solutions for the green economy. Achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 globally will require as much as $173 trillion in investments in the energy transition, according to BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) New Energy Outlook 2021 (NEO), […]

Egyptian foreign minister and Cop27 president Sameh Shoukry, left, and United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres on what should be the penultimate day of the climate summit

‘Blame game’ and tension over lack of final proposal

Cop27 attendees are preparing for a long weekend as it appears increasingly likely that talks in Sharm el-Sheikh will be extended. Speaking on Thursday evening at a press conference that was due to begin the process of wrapping up the summit, Cop27 president Sameh Shoukry told reporters that “there are still a number of issues […]

New Egyptian fund to invest in projects issuing carbon certificates

Egypt has launched the first domestic fund to invest in projects that issue carbon certificates (EgyCop), Egypt Today newspaper reported. The Egyptian fund for investment in projects that issue EgyCOP has an authorised capital of EGP1 billion ($40.78 million). It funds projects of local companies that reduce emissions in the country and issues them internationally […]

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won Brazil's presidential election in October, is meeting climate envoys and leaders in Egypt

Lula arrives at Cop27 to deliver message that ‘Brazil is back’

Bringing the message that “Brazil is back” in the fight against global warming, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived at Cop27 in Egypt on Tuesday – his first foreign trip since his presidential election victory. Brazil’s president-elect planned to hold meetings with envoys from Washington and Beijing on Tuesday, an aide said, as he seeks […]

Cop27 sign in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

Sticking points slow crunch talks to agree final deal at Cop27

Government ministers and negotiators from nearly 200 countries began working towards a Cop27 final deal on Tuesday, with the summit host Egypt issuing assurances that the slow-moving talks remain on track. On the conference floor in Sharm El Sheikh, however, some delegates have begun to speculate that the UN talks could run over time into […]

$186bn needed for Mena to achieve Paris Agreement goals

The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) need an estimated $186 billion to help countries achieve their goals under the Paris Agreement, Vivek Pathak, director and global head for climate business at International Finance Corporation (IFC), told the UAE state-owned WAM news agency. Between 2020 and 2030, a green recovery in the region could generate […]

Slump in plastic bag usage as Dubai tackles carbon footprint

Plastic bag use has plummeted at UAE retail outlets operated by Majid Al Futtaim following the emirate’s introduction of a mandatory AED25 ($6.81) bag charge. In a small, but notable step towards reducing the UAE’s vast carbon footprint, Majid Al Futtaim said plastic bag use fell 85 percent in the three months since charges began […]

World Bank tells rich countries to give more cash for climate

The World Bank is ready to step up financing of action to tackle climate change in the world’s poorest countries, but needs fresh funds from wealthy donor countries to do so, its managing director of operations told Reuters. Axel van Trotsenburg made his comments on the sidelines of the Cop27 climate talks in Sharm El-Sheikh. […]

Sustainable standard setters close in on regulatory gap

Sustainability standard setter chief Emmanuel Faber said he was hopeful of reaching in the coming weeks a “big milestone” towards aligning the European Union’s (EU) corporate disclosures with his board’s global norms. Despite nearing agreement over how the work of his International Sustainability Standards Board will mesh with a similar set of EU rules being […]

UNDP chief says global economic crisis strangling progress for poor

Decades of development progress are at risk as economies are pushed backward by climate change losses, the COVID-19 economic fallout, a growing cost-of-living crisis, and soaring debt and inflation, the UN development chief said at Cop27 in Egypt. “We essentially document a regression – and regression that is virtually universal across the board,” said Achim […]

The summit's main stage opens for panel discussions and presentations by business leaders, civil society members, scientists and students

What to watch on Thursday at Cop27

At the UN climate conference on Thursday, delegations are expected to be in closed-door negotiations over the details of this year’s Cop27 agenda. The summit’s main stage opens for panel discussions and presentations by business leaders, civil society members, scientists and students. The day features twin themes – “science” and “youth”. A key report by […]

President Lula plans to announce an overhaul of Brazil's environmental policies at the summit in Sharm El Sheikh

Brazil’s Lula will offer to host future climate summit

Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will offer to host a future global climate change summit when he attends the Cop27 United Nations climate conference in Egypt next week, sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Lula plans to announce an overhaul of Brazil’s environmental policies at the summit in Sharm El Sheikh and the creation […]

Activists demonstrate at the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre during Cop27

US plan to sell carbon credits to private firms gets mixed reaction

With the opening speeches out of the way, day four of Cop27 was the first of the “thematic days”, as member parties moved into the back rooms out of view of the cameras to conduct the real negotiations. The biggest announcement of the day came via the US climate envoy, John Kerry. A new carbon […]

There are many ways the financial world can help slow climate change

Decoding Cop27: the many shades of green bonds

Banks, governments and businesses say financial markets can play a crucial role in driving the shift to a lower-carbon world. At the Cop27 climate conference in Egypt, companies and country delegates are discussing ways of enhancing the market for green bonds, or bonds that are linked to projects deemed environmentally beneficial. Green bonds have their […]

Activists at the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre

What to watch on Wednesday at Cop27

After two days of speeches from heads of state, delegates at the Cop27 UN climate conference in Egypt were planning a day-long agenda Wednesday focused on finance. Expect a possible flurry of announcements around clean energy projects or climate adaption funding on the conference sidelines. But take them with a grain of salt: a UN […]

United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan at the UAE Pavilion during Cop27

Developing countries call for new taxes on oil and gas producers

By the end of the second full day of Cop27 the tone of the conference had been set. One after another, leaders of developing countries took to the plenary stage to voice their frustration and demand that rich nations offer more support to help combat the effects of climate change. After Barbadian prime minister Mia […]