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Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada.
Another year of the United Nations climate change summit has come and gone. Today we’ll take a look at how things came to a close.
Now, let’s catch you up on other news.
Noteworthy reporting this week:
- Analysis: Pipeline mania is distracting from what the talks between Ottawa and Alberta could actually achieve
- Policy: G20 leaders release declaration on climate change and debt, defying U.S. pressure
- Pollution: North Bay residents file lawsuit alleging ‘forever chemicals’ contaminated wells
- Electric vehicles: B.C. plans to lower EV sales mandate to achievable levels, minister says
- Science: Is this the moment Canada gets serious about science and the economy?
- Style: The end of the Big Winter Coat? How Canada’s outerwear market is adapting to a changing climate
- Major projects: Alaska tribal nations demand a say on Canadian resource projects
A deeper dive
Passengers walk along a boarding gate showing the logo of the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference at Julio Cezar Ribeiro International Airport in Belem, Brazil.PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP/Getty Images
Climate summit takeaways
For this week’s deeper dive, a look at some of what happened at COP30, held in Brazil’s Amazon city of Belem.
The UN’s climate summit came to a close on Friday (well actually, Saturday, since it went into overtime). Let’s take a brief look into some of what we missed.
The deal
The agreement landed in overtime after two weeks of contentious negotiations, as it often does. And not everyone is happy with the outcome, as is often the case.
Brazil’s COP30 presidency pushed through a compromise climate deal that would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming but that omitted any mention of the fossil fuels driving it.
Developing countries have argued they urgently need funds to adapt to impacts that are already hitting, like rising sea levels and worsening heat waves, droughts, floods and storms. The deal calls for rich nations to at least triple the amount of money they provide to help developing countries adapt to a warming world by 2035.
The summit also launches a voluntary (yes, meaning not everyone will participate) initiative to speed up climate action to help nations meet their existing pledges to reduce emissions.
Indigenous activists participate in a climate protest Nov. 17 during the COP30 UN climate summit.Andre Penner/The Associated Press
The science
Nearly three-fourths of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 2020 have come from coal, oil and gas. An International Energy Agency report midway through the summit said that demand for these fuels is likely to rise through 2050, reversing expectations of a rapid shift to clean energy.
But by sidelining fossil fuels and emissions targets at the conference, some argue that COP30 ignored the alarm bells being rung by scientists.
It also meant the result was similar to Egypt’s COP27 and Azerbaijan’s COP29, where countries agreed to spend more money to address climate dangers while ignoring their primary cause. Instead of being historic, this year’s conference could continue to erode confidence in future talks.
COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago attends the plenary session at COP30 on Saturday.Adriano Machado/Reuters
The unity
Countries agreed on something: The need to show global unity in climate talks.
But the absence of the United States loomed large. The world’s largest historic emitter and top economy declined to send a formal delegation as President Donald Trump declared global warming a hoax and efforts to combat it a competitive liability.
This year, the European Union had pushed hard for language clarifying the world’s transition away from fossil fuels but ended up giving in to demands to keep it out, led by Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had just been warmly received at the White House.
The endurance of international climate cooperation will be tested in the months ahead as Brazil leads efforts to draft the roadmap to phase out fossil fuels and mobilize the promised finance for developing nations.
The summit will take place in Turkey next year.
With reporters from Reuters and the Associated Press.
What else you missed
- UN climate summit proposals criticized for failing to mention fossil fuels
- Sea wolves in B.C. pull crab traps from water in video footage that surprises researchers
- Venice’s acrobatic dolphin charms tourists, but his refusal to leave puts him in danger
Opinion and analysis
New northwest pipeline risks hazard of landslide tsunamis
Geology usually happens slowly, except when it doesn’t. It would be foolish to be unprepared.
— Dan Shugar, associate professor in the department of earth, energy and environment at the University of Calgary
Canada is an agriculture and food superpower. We must start acting like it
Our farms have the lowest carbon footprint among developed countries. Canada has a generational opportunity to convert its agricultural advantage into a high-value, globally competitive industry.
— David Dzisiak, advisor for agriculture and food technology companies, and Frank Hart, a former Saskatchewan deputy minister of economic development and trade
Photo of the week
A worker at a hatchery holds a manjuari, a critically endangered fish, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, at Zapata Swamp, Cuba, last week.NORLYS PEREZ/Reuters
Guides and Explainers
- Want to learn to invest sustainably? We have a class for that: Green Investing 101 newsletter course for the climate-conscious investor. Not sure you need help? Take our quiz to challenge your knowledge.
- We’ve rounded up our reporters’ content to help you learn about what a carbon tax is, what happened at COP29 and just generally how Canada will change because of climate change.
- We have ways to make your travelling more sustainable and if you like to read, here are books to help the environmentalist in you grow, as well as a downloadable e-book of Micro Skills - Little Steps to Big Change.
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