Newly launched BYD Dolphin is displayed during the launch of the Chinese-made BYD brand in Jakarta, on January 18, 2024 (BAY ISMOYO) By AFP - Agence France Presse COP-and-trade? Tariffs, carbon tax weigh on climate talks Issam AHMED In Belem, the Brazilian city hosting COP30, it's hard to miss the BYD Dolphin Mini -- the Chinese hatchback that's dominating the local electric vehicle market, even as the company races to catch up in Europe and is absent in North America. Trade-

Brazil's Vice President and Minister of Industry and Trade, Geraldo Alckmin (L), and Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva addressed the press in Belem on Monday (Pablo PORCIUNCULA).(Pablo PORCIUNCULA/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse First draft of climate pact lands at COP30 in Brazil COP30 hosts Brazil on Tuesday produced a first draft of an agreement between nations at the UN climate talks after negotiations on the sticking points stretched late into the night.

COP30 officially ends on Friday, but UN climate talks traditionally spill into overtime (MAURO PIMENTEL). (MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse EU defends carbon tax as ministers take over COP30 negotiations Benjamin Legendre, with Laurent Thomet in Paris Ministers took over UN climate negotiations in Brazil Monday as COP30 entered its final stretch, with nations split on key issues and the EU defending a carbon tax criticized by China and others. Ministers a

CCS equipment captures CO2 at its source -- such as power plants or industrial facilities -- before it is stored in deep underground rock formations (Jonathan KLEIN). (Jonathan KLEIN/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Carbon Capture Promoters Turn Up In Numbers At COP30: NGO By Benjamin Legendre in Belem and Laurent Thomet in Paris Companies and groups backing carbon-capture technology, which critics slam as an excuse to keep burning fossil fuels, have deployed more than

Photo: Bruno Peres Agência Brasil By AFP - Agence France Presse COP30 by the numbers Belém, Brazil, Nov 17 (AFP) Nov 17, 2025 Here are key numbers from the UN's 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), the annual climate talks, taking place this year in the Brazilian Amazon city of Belem: - How many countries? - A total of 189 countries, plus the EU have delegations at the conference, the UN Climate Change agency told AFP on Monday. But for the first time in COP history, the U

Turkey wants to host next year's UN climate change talks (Stefan Rousseau). (Stefan Rousseau/POOL/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Turkey seeks to host the next COP as co-presidency plans falter Fulya OZERKAN Turkey wants to host next year's UN climate change talks and is prepared to do so independently if consensus on co-presidency cannot be reached, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP Sunday. Australia and Turkey are locked in a stalemate over who should host the 31st Un

Photo: © BRUNO PERES/AGÊNCIA BRASIL People's Tribunal condemns States and companies for ecogenocide The sentence at COP30 denounces violations and demands urgent reparations. RAFAEL CARDOSO - SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Published on 11/15/2025 - 09:33 Belém The Autonomous and Permanent People's Tribunal against Ecogenocide, a symbolic body established during COP30 by social movements, released a sentence condemning states and large companies for systematic violations against indige

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez says the strong-arm negotiation tactics at the October 2025 meeting were not 'typical' of the shipping regulator (ADRIAN DENNIS) By AFP - Agence France Presse UN Regulator Says Shipping Still Wants To Decarbonize - Despite US Threats By Nick Perry Threats, intimidation, harassment -- the tactics deployed by US negotiators to stall a global deal on shipping pollution last month sent chills through cl

Under a baking sun, Indigenous people mixed with activists demonstrated in a festive atmosphere in Belem, Brazil (Mauro PIMENTEL). (Mauro PIMENTEL/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Massive march in Brazil marks first big UN climate protest in years Facundo Fernández Barrio and Issam Ahmed Tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of the Amazonian city hosting COP30 talks on Saturday, dancing to thumping speakers in the first large-scale protest at a UN climate sum

The Archeologia Arborea foundation saves fruit varieties to restore biodiversity and build resilience against climate change (Tiziana FABI). (Tiziana FABI/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Italian fruit detective racing to save forgotten varieties Ella IDE Isabella Dalla Ragione hunts in abandoned gardens and orchards for forgotten fruits, preserving Italy's agricultural heritage and saving varieties which could help farmers withstand the vagaries of a changing climate.

The amount of compensation to be awarded to claimants will be decided at a later trial, scheduled for October 2026. PHOTO: CHRISTOPHE SIMON By AFP - Agence France Presse BHP Liable For 2015 Brazil Mine Disaster: UK Court By Olivier DEVOS, Alexandra BACON A British court ruled Friday that Australian mining giant BHP is liable for one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters, potentially paving the way for billions of pounds in compensation. A dam collapsed in 2015 at an iron-

Alessandra Koran, a member of the Munduruku Ipereg Ayu movement, spoke as Indigenous people held a protest blocking the main entrance to the UN COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil (Pablo PORCIUNCULA). (Pablo PORCIUNCULA/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Brazil Rebuts UN Complaint About COP30 Security, But Boosts Presence Brazil has pushed back against a complaint by the UN's climate chief over a security breach at the COP30 summit in Belem, saying responsibility for sa

Alessandra Koran, a member of the Munduruku Ipereg Ayu movement, spoke as Indigenous people held a protest blocking the main entrance to the UN COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil (Pablo PORCIUNCULA). (Pablo PORCIUNCULA/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Indigenous protest blocks entrance to UN climate summit Magali Cervantes and Ivan Couronne Dozens of Indigenous protesters, some holding babies, peacefully blocked the entrance to the UN climate summit in Brazil on Frid

COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago arrives for a meeting with Indigenous leaders at the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para State, Brazil. (AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Out In Force At Amazon Climate Talks: NGOs Nov 14, 2025 Lobbyists tied to the fossil fuel industry have turned up in strength at the UN climate talks in the Brazilian Amazon, an NGO coalition said Friday, warning that their presence undermines the process. A total of

The Zanzibar sponge cooperative has offered a new and lucrative source of income for locals (MARCO LONGARI). (MARCO LONGARI/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Zanzibar Women Turn To Sponge Farming As Oceans Heat Up By Mary KULUNDU Around 10 in the morning each day, women in hijabs and loose long dresses wade through Zanzibar's turquoise shallow tides to tend their sponge farms -- a new lifeline after climate change upended their former work. Rising ocean temperatures, ove

© UNFCCC/Diego Herculano High-level opening of the Together4Transparency event at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. ‘A wave of truth’: COP30 targets disinformation threat to climate action. ONU NEWS By Felipe de Carvalho 12 November 2025 Climate and Environment Negotiators in Belém, Brazil, opened COP30 with a stark warning: the race to avert catastrophic global heating is being sabotaged by a surge of climate disinformation. The falsehoods, spreading faster than ever online, threaten

Easy access to electricity is posing a big challenge to the race for AI dominance, says Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella (Jason Redmond). By AFP - Agence France Presse The AI Revolution Has A Power Problem By Benjamin LEGENDRE In the race for AI dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power. "The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it's the power and...the ability to get

Locals have gathered walnuts here for generations (VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO)Photos by Vyacheslav Oseledko. By AFP - Agence France Presse In Kyrgyzstan, the World's Largest Natural Walnut Forest Thins Away By Adina ZHOROBEKOVA Rustling through fallen golden leaves, locals in a forest outside Arslanbob in the Kyrgyz mountains were scurrying for walnuts -- an ancient pastime and economic lifeline for the region. But the forest, the world's largest wild walnut grove, has for years bee

UNEP chief Inger Andersen says the world is making progress to bend the curve on global warming, just not fast enough. (Anthony WALLACE). (Anthony WALLACE/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse We Need To Talk About Our Fossil Fuel Addiction: UNEP Chief By Nick Perry "Off Target," "Broken Record," "Closing Window": the UN Environment Programme's flagship reports have been warning for years that emissions must fall faster to avoid dangerous climate impacts -- but is the world