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Divided plastic pollution negotiators call for more time
Negotiators have failed to reach agreement on a landmark treaty to curb plastic pollution and need more time to continue discussions, the diplomat chairing the talks said Sunday.
No accord on plastic pollution deal, more time needed: chair
Negotiators have failed to reach agreement on a landmark treaty to curb plastic pollution, the diplomat chairing the talks said Sunday, calling for additional time to continue discussions.
Afghanistan must participate in future climate talks: Taliban
An Afghan environment official on Sunday said the country must be allowed to participate in future global climate talks, after returning from COP29 in Baku where Taliban officials attended for the first time.
Calls for extension as plastic treaty negotiations falter
Delegates seeking the world's first deal to curb plastic pollution began openly advocating for an extension of talks on Sunday, accusing a handful of nations of obstructing an ambitious agreement.
The farm fires helping to fuel India's deadly air
Blazing flames light the sky as Indian farmer Ali Sher burns his fields to clear them for new crops, a common but illegal practice that is fuelling deadly pollution killing millions.
Philippine Eagle hatchling dies in conservation setback
A Philippine Eagle chick hatched via artificial insemination has died, an avian conservation foundation has announced, in a fresh setback for one of the world's largest and most critically endangered raptors.
Nations warn of 'obstruction' at plastic talks
Dozens of countries warned Sunday that a handful of nations were obstructing efforts in South Korea to reach an ambitious landmark global treaty to curb plastic pollution.
Nations warn of deadlock at landmark plastic pollution talks
Diplomats warned Saturday that a majority of countries could walk away from talks on the world's first plastic pollution agreement if a handful of delegations continue resisting calls to compromise.
Researchers analyse DNA from dung to save Laos elephants
Slow and silent, former logging elephant Mae Khoun Nung emerges from a forest in northern Laos and follows her guide to an animal hospital for a check-up.
Showdown looms on plastic treaty days before deadline
Diplomats warned Friday of a looming showdown in negotiations to reach the world's first deal to curb plastic pollution, after a new draft text emerged littered with competing visions and ongoing disagreements.
Days before deadline, plastic treaty draft highlights disagreement
With just two days before negotiators are due to agree on the world's first deal to curb global plastic pollution, a new draft text released Friday showed deep differences remain.
Top UN court to open unprecedented climate hearings
The world's top court will next week start unprecedented hearings aimed at finding a "legal blueprint" for how countries should protect the environment from damaging greenhouse gases -- and what the consequences are if they do not.
In Bosnia, the path to renewables runs through its coal mines
At 250 metres underground, the dust is thick and oxygen is in short supply at the Mramor mine in northeastern Bosnia.
Plastic pollution talks must speed up, chair warns
Negotiators must move "significantly" faster to agree on a landmark treaty to curb plastic pollution, the diplomat chairing the talks warned Wednesday, as countries lined up to express frustration about the limited progress.
Thailand to return nearly 1,000 trafficked lemurs, tortoises to Madagascar
Thailand is sending almost 1,000 highly endangered lemurs and tortoises back to their home in Madagascar, in what both countries called their biggest ever operation against wildlife trafficking.
Environmentalists slam lobbyist influence on plastic talks
Environmental groups on Wednesday slammed the presence of dozens of petrochemical and fossil fuel industry lobbyists at UN talks on a plastic pollution treaty, accusing them of "obstruction" and "misinformation."
'Very, very slow': plastic treaty talks grind forward
Negotiations on a first global treaty to curb plastic pollution are moving "very, very slowly", diplomats and observers told AFP on Wednesday, threatening the chances of reaching an agreement.
COP29 president blames rich countries for 'imperfect' deal
The tough-fought finance deal at UN climate negotiations was "imperfect", the Azerbaijan COP29 leadership has admitted, seeking to blame richer countries for an outcome slammed by poorer nations as insulting.
California vows to step in if Trump kills US EV tax credit
California will revive its own subsidy programs for electric vehicles if Donald Trump guts US federal tax breaks for such cars, the state's governor said Monday.
Plastic pollution talks must not fail: UN environment chief
Talks to agree the world's first treaty to curb plastic pollution cannot fail and must tackle both production and consumption, the UN's environment chief told AFP on Monday.
Indian author Ghosh wins top Dutch prize
Acclaimed Indian author Amitav Ghosh has won the coveted Dutch Erasmus Prize for his writings on climate change and its impact on humanity, especially on the Indian subcontinent.
As baboons become bolder, Cape Town battles for solutions
On a sunny afternoon in Cape Town’s seaside village of Simon’s Town, three young chacma baboons cause a commotion, clambering on roofs, jumping between buildings and swinging on the gutters.
'Existential challenge': plastic pollution treaty talks begin
A final round of talks on a treaty to end plastic pollution opened on Monday, with the diplomat chairing the difficult negotiations urging nations to "meet an existential challenge."
Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities
Rich countries' promise of $300 billion a year in climate finance brought fury at talks in Baku from poor nations that found it too paltry, but it also shows a shift in global political realities.
Concern as climate talks stalls on fossil fuels pledge
The failure of UN climate negotiations to double down on a global pledge to move away from planet-heating fossil fuels on Sunday was decried by experts as a "worrying" setback to global progress on curbing warming.
Main points of the $300 billion climate deal
The deal reached at UN climate talks in Azerbaijan ramps up the money that wealthy historic emitters will provide to help poorer nations transition to cleaner energy and adapt to global warming.
World approves UN rules for carbon trading between nations at COP29
New rules allowing wealthy polluting countries to buy carbon-cutting "offsets" from developing nations were agreed at UN climate talks Saturday, in a move already raising fears they will be used to greenwash climate targets.
Push to salvage climate talks after poor nations bristle at cash
Key nations raced Saturday to salvage UN climate talks after the poorest countries pushed back angrily for more than $300 billion a year in help from historic wealthy emitters.
Climate-threatened nations stage protest at COP29 over contentious deal
The world's most climate-imperilled nations stormed out of consultations in protest at the deadlocked UN COP29 conference Saturday, as simmering tensions over a hard-fought finance deal erupted into the open.
Failure haunts UN environment conferences
Negotiators were struggling to reach a deal Saturday at UN climate talks in Baku. If they fail, it would not be the first time.
Children suffer as schools go online in polluted Delhi
Confined to her family's ramshackle shanty by the toxic smog choking India's capital, Harshita Gautam strained to hear her teacher's instructions over a cheap mobile phone borrowed from her mother.
Gabon forest elephant forays into villages spark ire
In heavily forested Gabon, elephants are increasingly wandering into villages and destroying crops, angering the local population who demand the power to stop the critically endangered animals in their tracks.