By pledging no new fossil fuel licenses, the UK Labour party could aid a new international norm.
Afforestation is one way to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Yet it is not always easy to navigate the different types of projects or methods available, and the possibility of greenwashing is ever-present.
(Shutterstock)
Offsetting greenhouse gas emissions can be an effective tool for limiting global warming. But many offset projects fail to meet their GHG reduction targets.
While some countries are more likely than others to sign an international agreement to phase out fossil fuels, measures to tackle fossil fuel demand by adding a higher carbon price are essential.
Leaders speak during a plenary session at the COP28 UN climate summit, Dec. 13, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. COP28 was notable for being the first COP to provide a substantial platform for sub-national groups.
(AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Subnational authorities are leading the charge on a just transition and dealing with climate change impacts. It is time for this key role to be reflected in international climate negotiations.
People watch COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber on a screen as he speaks during a plenary session at the COP28 UN Climate Summit, Dec. 13, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Beyond the international negotiations, COP serves as a critical venue for global civil societies to exchange knowledge, organize and build a better world.
People run from a bushfire in Uruguay in January 2023.
FEDERICO GUTIERREZ/EPA
Without urgent action, Earth is heading for climate catastrophe. Yet there are reasons for hope in 2024 – including a possible peak in global greenhouse gas emissions.
Methane has contributed around 25% of the global temperature rise since industrialisation.
ksrecomm/flickr
Hydrogen will not be used to heat UK homes in the future in any meaningful way.
A woman fills up her vehicle with gas in Toronto in 2019. Governments the world over are stuck between being accused of doing nothing to address climate change or taking actions which often incur a political backlash.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
We look to politicians to provide climate change solutions, but there is only so much they can do. Beyond regulation, governments should remember the key role they play in promoting innovation.
COP28 president and oil company boss Sultan al-Jaber brings the summit to a close.
Martin Divisek/EPA
Our expert roundup of who left the latest UN climate summit happy and who went home empty handed.
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, had front-row seats at COP28’s final session.
Kiara Worth/UN Climate Change via Flickr,
The UN climate conference brought some progress. A former UN official who has been involved in international climate policy for years explains what has to happen now for that progress to pay off.
Birds fly past at sunset as smoke emits from a chimney at a factory in Ahmadabad, India, on Dec. 8, 2014.
(AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Carbon pricing can be a powerful tool to combat climate change and reduce emissions, but it needs to be accompanied by improved regulations, clean technology subsidies and financing mechanisms.
Coal mine near Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley, NSW.
Mark Baker/AP/AAP
Australia supported a phase-out of fossil fuels at the recent UN climate summit but is still expanding coal and gas production. It’s a contradiction that threatens the planet. There is a better way.
Green energy industries like this need to be built in Africa so that the continent ceases being primarily an exporter of raw minerals to developed nations.
Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Africa must guard against new environment friendly trade rules that leave the continent in the poor position of exporting raw materials that developed nations use to manufacture green energy systems.
Children playing on a beach in Vanuatu, an island in the South Pacific Ocean.
Melnais/Stockimo/Alamy Stock Photo
The deal is a global aspiration, not a legally binding agreement. But it should end the idea that burning carbon – in Australia and elsewhere – can continue on a significant scale beyond 2050.