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Rachel Frazin, The Hill
The Trump administration will not be sending any “high-level” officials to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, next week, reports the Hill. The administration’s move is “not necessarily a surprise”, the article says, considering “Trump and many of his cabinet officials have sought to downplay the impacts of climate change and roll back regulations”. Reuters says the decision “alleviat[es] some concern among world leaders that Washington would send a team to scupper the talks”. The newswire quotes a White House official, who said: "The president is directly engaging with leaders around the world on energy issues, which you can see from the historic trade deals and peace deals that all have a significant focus on energy partnerships." Todd Stern, a former US lead climate negotiator, tells the Guardian that the decision “doesn’t surprise me”, adding: “I don’t think [US officials] would add anything useful.” Agence France Presse also has the story.
EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra describes the move as a “watershed moment”, reports Bloomberg, but points to new “partnerships and opportunities” for other nations to make progress. It is unclear whether other US officials – including career diplomats at the state department – will still attend the summit, says another Bloomberg article. The newswire includes an announcement on Friday from the COP30 presidency, which noted that, while 143 nations will have delegations at the negotiations, just 57 heads of state and government are now slated to attend. Brazil’s environment minister Marina Silva has urged heads of state to “send a message” on a “just, planned, gradual and long-term decommissioning of fossil fuels”, reports Climate Home News.
MORE ON COP30
Brazil is offering free cabins on cruise ships to poorer nations in a “last-minute bid to ensure they can attend” COP30, reports Reuters. In an article trailed on its frontpage, the Observer looks at the “high stakes and faint hopes” at COP30. The Sunday Times reports on how international climate change talks are “under fire” as COP30 approaches. Bloomberg focuses on the “billion-dollar transformation” in Belém, where “new venues are opening almost daily”. Today, Brazil opens three weeks of events linked to COP30, “hoping to showcase a world still determined to tackle global warming”, says Reuters. Prince William will attend COP30, where he will deliver a “landmark speech on behalf of the King and the UK government”, says Sky News.
Jake Evans, ABC News
The Nationals party – the junior partner in Australia’s opposition Coalition – has formally abandoned a commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 in a unanimous decision, reports ABC News. Nationals leader David Littleproud said the party would shift its focus to climate adaptation instead of being "focused solely" on reducing emissions, the outlet reports, adding that he “proposed pegging Australia's emissions reduction efforts to the OECD average, which he said was about half the pace of the nation's current trajectory”. The decision at a meeting yesterday followed a vote by grassroots members to “abandon its support for a net-zero mandate”, reports the Guardian. It adds: “A bitter brawl has erupted between the Liberal and National parties – and conservative and moderate factions – about whether to keep the net-zero target, prompting speculation the Coalition could split.” The Daily Mail describes the move as a “bombshell” decision that “threatens to tear” the Coalition apart.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley is now “facing growing pressure from conservative Liberal MPs” to ditch net-zero, a separate Guardian article reports. It continues: “Some moderate Liberals want a meeting held as soon as this week, warning further internal debate could weaken Ley’s struggling leadership and give the Albanese government a free pass on the hot-button political issue of rising energy prices.” In a live blog, the Guardian reports the comments of Bridget McKenzie, Senate leader for the Nationals, who said the decision was in the “national interest” and nothing to do with the Liberal party’s policy position.
MORE ON AUSTRALIA
Adam Morton, Guardian Australia's climate and environment editor, asks why Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese wants to host next year’s global climate summit in Adelaide when he is not attending COP30.
Nichola Groom and Timothy Gardner, Reuters
The US Department of Energy announced on Friday that it would make $100m available to refurbish and modernise existing coal-fired power plants, reports Reuters. It continues: “The move is part of the Trump administration’s effort to reverse the decline of coal use in the US. The energy department said last month it would provide $625m to expand power generation fuelled by coal.” The article quotes energy secretary Chris Wright: “These projects will help keep America's coal plants operating and ensure the US has the reliable and affordable power it needs to keep the lights on and power our future."
Meanwhile, Inside Climate News reports that the Trump administration’s emergency order to keep a coal plant on Lake Michigan operating past its planned retirement date has cost at least $80m since May. The New York Times reports on how Navajo Nation, a large Native American reservation in the south-western US, is “divided” over coal: “As an economic engine for the region, it provides well-paid jobs on the reservation…But it has also used up water, polluted the air and raised health concerns.”
MORE ON US
US negotiators have been accused of threatening EU diplomats with “personal consequences”, including “threats of family members losing visas”, during negotiations over a carbon tax for international shipping last month, reports Politico. The Environmental Protection Agency has “quietly retreated” from plans to eliminate Energy Star, a programme to help consumers to choose energy efficient appliances, reports the New York Times. US actor Harrison Ford tells the Guardian that Donald Trump’s attacks on climate science and policy “scares the sh*t out of me”. The Associated Press: “Fast chargers are expanding quickly, but American EV drivers still fear running out of juice.” An investigation by the New York Times finds that, despite new regulations, insurance companies in California are still finding “loopholes” to avoid covering homes in areas at high-risk of wildfires. Texas is “increasingly” meeting its growing demand for power with renewable energy, says Inside Climate News.
Kate Abnett, Reuters
The EU is “considering a brake clause” to weaken its 2040 climate target in the future, if it becomes clear that forests are not absorbing enough CO2 emissions to meet the goal, reports Reuters. Ahead of COP30, EU countries are attempting to approve their new 2040 climate target at a meeting of climate ministers tomorrow, the newswire says. While the European Commission has recommended a target to cut emissions by 90% by 2040, some countries are “concerned about the costs to struggling domestic industries”, the newswire explains. The article quotes the latest “draft EU compromise proposal”, which includes a new clause that says if forests and other land-based activities that absorb CO2 emissions fall short, the EU will be allowed to propose "an adjustment of the 2040 intermediate target corresponding to and within the limits of the possible shortfalls".
Kiran Stacey, The Guardian
A “host of experts” have warned that a rumoured cut to VAT on electricity bills in the forthcoming UK budget “will backfire”, resulting in a “giveaway to richer homeowners and undermining the UK’s climate commitments”, the Guardian reports. It continues: “The chancellor is understood to be looking at plans to eliminate the 5% VAT charge on electricity bills as a fast and simple way to reduce bills for consumers…However, a host of experts have said such a move would disproportionately benefit better-off people with larger homes, would almost certainly result in higher carbon emissions.” The Guardian also reports that Sadiq Khan, Labour’s mayor of London, has called on chancellor Rachel Reeves to back “green investment” in the budget. According to the newspaper, Khan has warned that the Treasury could be “behind the curve” on tackling climate change, adding: “I think the Treasury should understand why this is important. You know why? Actually, we can get good growth from attacking the climate emergency.”
MORE ON UK
Three Just Stop Oil protesters have been cleared over a protest where they sprayed orange powder on Stonehenge, reports the Guardian. Warren Stephens, the US ambassador to the UK, has said the UK should scrap its ban on extracting new oil and gas from the North Sea if it wants to be “the best ally to the US it can possibly be”, reports the Times. The Washington Post and Daily Telegraph both have articles on Zack Polanski, the recently installed leader of the Green party. The UK charging industry has warned it could face a £100m bill as the government considers making operators of public EV chargers pay business rates for the first time, reports the Guardian. The climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph has a deluge of articles attacking net-zero, covering medicine prices, solar-panel fires, North Sea oil wells, domestic energy bills and a so-called “boiler tax”. The Daily Telegraph also attacks the government’s International Climate Finance spending, highlighting projects behind a “road to nowhere” in Guyana and the “rewilding” of Ugandan wetlands.
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