Climate loss and damage fund launched on first day of COP28
Friday, 1 December 2023
A historic moment has opened the COP28 summit in Dubai, with 200 nations agreeing to launch a fund to support countries hit the hardest by climate change.
Against the backdrop of the hottest year on record, questions are looming over the Australian government's refusal to act on a fossil fuel phase-out with a projected 20bn tonnes of Co2 emitted if new projects are given the green light. Greenpeace Australia Pacific Shiva Gounden said Australia has made an outsized contribution to global emissions as the world’s third-largest fossil fuel exporter “There is no scenario where expanding coal and gas is compatible with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees.”
And, the New South Wales government’s target of cutting emissions by 70% compared with 2005 levels by 2035, and reaching net zero emissions by 2050, are now enshrined in law, and an independent advisory panel to monitor progress will be established.
Top stories:
COP28 opens with 'historic' launch of loss and damage fund
The formal establishment of the "loss and damage" fund long sought by climate-vulnerable nations provided an early win at COP28, where sharp divisions over the phasing out of fossil fuels were immediately apparent.
More than 20bn tonnes of Co2 could be emitted if Australian fossil fuel projects up for approval go ahead
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Net zero by 2050 and interim target of 70% emissions reduction by 2035 passed by NSW parliament
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Australia set to face heat at COP28 climate summit
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Industry super funds warn slow transition to net zero puts Australia at risk of losing ‘attractive’ investments
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Australian populations of threatened bird species fall 60% in past 40 years, study says
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A simple change to how frozen food is stored and transported could help Earth avoid a climate ‘hell’
New research released today shows raising the temperature frozen food is stored and transported at from minus 18C to minus 15C would not only cut carbon dioxide by 17.7 million metric tonnes.
Satellite AI analysis finds thousands of hectares of 'magnificent forests' in Victoria that haven't regenerated after logging
An AI-based analysis of 20 years of logging by VicForests, shared exclusively with the ABC, shows for the first time, the potential scale of failed regeneration in Victoria's state forests.
‘Heading towards a very unsafe world’: Vanuatu’s climate change minister fights to end fossil fuel projects
Sitting under a tree in a quiet courtyard, Vanuatu Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu sips on a long black as he prepares for a whirlwind trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate change summit. He’s hoping developed countries such as Australia commit to phasing out fossil fuels like coal and gas at the UN’s annual meeting. The future of his country depends on it.
How to understand the COP28 climate talks in four charts
As the world gathers for yet another round of climate talks – COP28 in Dubai – it is clear climate change is no longer on the horizon. Extreme warming is hitting us now.