"United Nations annual climate talks stuttered to a start Monday with more than nine hours of backroom bickering over what should be on the agenda for the next two weeks. It then turned to the main issue: money."
"A senior official at COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan appears to have used his role to arrange a meeting to discuss potential fossil fuel deals, the BBC can report. A secret recording shows the chief executive of Azerbaijan's COP29 team, Elnur Soltanov, discussing "investment opportunities" in the state oil and gas company with a man posing as a potential investor."
"As President-elect Donald J. Trump’s transition team plans his energy and environment agenda, it is relying on two seasoned former cabinet leaders and fossil fuel lobbyists to dramatically reshape the agencies charged with protecting the nation’s air, water, climate and public lands, according to six people familiar with the matter."
"President-elect Donald Trump on Monday tapped former representative Lee Zeldin of New York to serve as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, a crucial role that will oversee the rollbacks of dozens of President Joe Biden’s environmental policies."
Again this year, a petrostate hosts the COP climate gathering. Azerbaijan as host not only raises questions of how an oil-rich nation can help foster the fossil fuel cuts needed to stem climate change. But WatchDog Opinion also worries what Azerbaijan’s poor press freedom record will mean for journalists covering the gathering and for the civil society that normally enlivens the meeting.
The United Nation’s annual climate change meeting is underway this week and if you’re seeking databases on greenhouse gas emissions, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox suggests they might not be from the U.N. Instead, look for the best data from the European Commission’s EDGAR project. What makes EDGAR’s data particularly strong and how to make the best use of it in your reporting.
"New research shows global warming has become the dominant driver of worsening droughts in the Western U.S. Scientists say the severity of future droughts will be determined largely by how much more planet-heating gases humans release into the atmosphere."
"From California to Louisiana, ballot measures on climate and the environment gained voters’ approval. In state legislatures, results were mixed."
"Public utility commissions hold significant sway over state energy systems. Clean energy advocates failed to break through in elections this year."
"A new report, urging rich nations to give more climate aid to poorer ones, comes as Donald Trump’s election throws global climate talks into disarray."
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