Belgian start-up Permafungi is pitching mushroom-based packaging as a fully biodegradable alternative to polystyrene and other plastic (NICOLAS TUCAT) By AFP - Agence France Presse Mushroom Material Takes On Plastic Packaging At Belgian Start-up By Bouchra BERKANE, Adrien DE CALAN On a gleaming new production line in Brussels, Julien Jacquet shows off a row of milky-white soap bar wrappers -- made by what is billed as Europe's first factory for mushroom-based packaging. Jacqu

The landmark European law on corporate sustainability was hailed by green and civil society groups but loathed by firms (Nicolas TUCAT) By AFP - Agence France Presse EU Lawmakers To Vote On Unpicking Green Business Rules By Adrien DE CALAN European lawmakers are expected on Thursday to back weakening a set of EU environmental and human rights rules, as part of a business-friendly push against red tape that has split parliament. Parliamentarians in Brussels will vote for amend

The solar PV industry added over half a million new jobs, spurred by record new installations. Shutterstock By AFP - Agence France Presse Renewables Outpace Fossil Fuels Despite US Policy Shift: IEA By Laurent Thomet and Catherine Hours Renewable energy is still expanding faster than fossil fuels around the world despite policy changes in the United States, with oil demand possibly peaking "around 2030", the International Energy Agency said Wednesday. The Paris-based IEA pres

COP EXPRESS Email UNFCCC for the Press: Dear colleagues, The COP30 Presidency is preparing a daily morning brief (in English and Portuguese), which we are pleased to share with you below on behalf of the COP30 Communications Team. Best, UN Climate Change Communications Team COP30 Morning Brief Day 3: Wednesday, 12 November by the COP30 Communications Team ________________________________________________________ Thematic Focus: Health, Jobs, Education, Culture, Justice and h

Security personnel clash with Indigenous people and students as they storm the venue during the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil (Olga Leiria).(Olga Leiria/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Indigenous Protesters Clash With Security At COP30 Summit In Brazil By Madeleine PRADEL Nov 11, 2025 6:49 pm EST Dozens of Indigenous protesters clashed with security guards on Tuesday at the COP30 summit in Brazil, causing minor injuries in a rare incident of viole

© TÂNIA RÊGO/AGÊNCIA BRASIL; photo Carlos Nobre. COP30: Amazon 2025 Report recommends ecological connectivity Strategy includes support for the flow of resources, information, and people RAFAEL CARDOSO - SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Published on 11/11/2025 - 20:52 Belém Researchers participating in the Planetary Science Pavilion at the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) launched on Tuesday (11) the Amazon 2025 Assessment Report, entitled Amazon Connectivity for a

Argentine President Javier Milei, pictured with US leader Donald Trump at the White House in October, will skip the G20 summit in South Africa (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS). (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse S.Africa 's Ramaphosa says US skipping G20 'their loss' Hillary ORINDE President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday that the United States' boycott of the G20 summit in South Africa later this month would not prevent the meeting of the world's

Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay (Left) receives India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Paro International Airport in Bhutan on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. Photo Courtesy: @narendramodi/X By AFP - Agence France Presse India's Modi Visits Bhutan To Open Hydropower Project Nov 11, 2025 12:06 am EST Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to neighbouring Bhutan on Tuesday to open a giant hydropower project with the king of the Himalayan nation, where electricity is its

Photo: Everett Pachmann by Unsplash By AFP - Agence France Presse Demand For Air Con Set To Triple By 2050, Warns UN Nov 11, 2025 Global demand for air conditioning could more than triple by 2050, the United Nations warned on Tuesday, calling for more sustainable cooling solutions. The UN Environment Programme said demand could surge due to increases in population and wealth around the world, combined with more extreme heat. Rising demand for more polluting and inefficient co

California Governor Gavin Newsom (L) visits a dock area with Helder Barbalho, the governor of Brazil's Para state, in Belem. (Mauro PIMENTEL). (Mauro PIMENTEL/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse California Governor Newsom slams Trump at COP30 Anna Pelegri and Issam Ahmed With US President Donald Trump skipping the UN's climate summit in the Amazon, California Governor Gavin Newsom grabbed the spotlight at COP30 on Tuesday and took a swipe at the fossil fuel agenda of his p

Photo: Anna Yablonskaya by Unsplash By AFP - Agence France Presse Cash Only: How The Loss And Damage UN Fund Will Pay Countries By Ivan Couronne A hard-won UN "loss and damage" fund to help vulnerable countries recover from the devastating impacts of climate change is finally about to come to life after years of tough negotiations. The mechanism was agreed at the COP27 conference in Egypt in 2022 after wealthy countries finally caved to years of pressure from developing natio

Photo: © DIVULGAÇÃO/ARI VERSIANI/PAC Brazilians believe that the green economy will bring new jobs ABDI and Nexus survey points to public support for the green economy AGÊNCIA BRASIL Published on 11/11/2025 - 12:44 São Paulo The much-debated transition to a sustainable – or green – economy has broad support from the Brazilian population, who trust in this change and believe that it will generate new jobs. For 75% – or 3 out of every 4 people – this transformation will generat

© UNFCCC/Kiara Worth COP30 gets underway in Belém in the Brazilian Amazon. Source ONU News, November 10, 2025. By Felipe de Carvalho 10 November 2025 Climate and Environment COP30 opened in Belém on Monday with a clear message: the era of half-measures is over. Climate change is here, devastating communities and driving up costs, but solutions are within reach. Clean energy is surging, resilience saves lives, and cooperation can still bend the curve further. “This is the mome

Brazil's Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, hopes Indigenous peoples will have a leading voice at COP30, which will take place in the Brazilian Amazon. © Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP. By AFP - Agence France Presse COP30: Indigenous Peoples Vital To Humanity's Future, Brazilian Minister Tells AFP By Louis GENOT At COP30 in Belem, in Brazil's Amazon region, the country's Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, hopes Indigenous peoples will play a leading role

Typhoon Kalmaegi has killed more than 200 people in the Philippines (Jam STA ROSA) By AFP - Agence France Presse Super Typhoon Fung-wong Makes Landfall In the Philippines By Pam Castro Super Typhoon Fung-wong slammed into the Philippines' eastern seaboard on Sunday, the national weather service said, after killing at least two people and forcing more than a million to evacuate. The storm, with a radius spanning nearly the whole of the Philippines, made landfall in Aurora prov

Millions of plastic pellets washed up on the beach at Camber Sands in East Sussex, southern England (Ben STANSALL. (Ben STANSALL/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse UK water firm says 'highly likely' behind plastic pellet pollution incident. One of the UK's under-fire water companies apologised on Monday after plastic pellets washed up en masse on beaches in southern England, conceding it was "highly likely" behind the recent pollution. Southern Water, which provides wate

After blazing a trail in the climate fight, the EU political landscape has shifted right, and climate concerns have taken a back seat to defence and competitiveness (Nicolas TUCAT). (Nicolas TUCAT/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Will the EU's Carbon Border Tax Crash the COP30 Party? By Adrien DE CALAN A flagship European environmental policy -- dubbed a "carbon tax" on imports -- is raising hackles abroad and is becoming a flashpoint at the UN's COP30 climate summit in

New Delhi is regularly ranked among the world's most polluted capitals (Sajjad HUSSAIN). (Sajjad HUSSAIN/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse I Miss Breathing': Delhi Protesters Demand Action On Pollution By Arunabh SAIKIA Dozens of protesters rallied in New Delhi on Sunday to demand government action on toxic air, as a thick haze containing dangerous microparticles shrouded the Indian capital. Parents in the crowd brought their children, who wore masks and waved placards,

Chinese ship scouts deep-ocean floor in South Pacific / Photo: © AFP By AFP - Agence France Presse Chinese Ship Scouts Deep-ocean Floor In the South Pacific. A Chinese research vessel docked in the Cook Islands on Saturday as it probed the Pacific nation's deep-sea mining potential, a fledgling industry of mounting interest to both Beijing and Washington. The Da Yang Hao docked in the palm-shaded port of Avatiu on a "scientific research cruise" through the tropical archipelag

A Navy soldier patrols the Port of Outeiro, where cruise ships are docked to host delegations attending the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil (Pablo PORCIUNCULA). (Pablo PORCIUNCULA/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse All aboard! Cruise ships ease Belem's hotel dearth Mariëtte Le Roux Two cruise ships tower imposingly over a sleepy port in the Brazilian Amazon, where some 50,000 people are gathering for a UN climate conference. AFP visited the river port