After two weeks of bruising negotiations, officials from almost 200 countries agreed Saturday on universal, transparent rules that will govern efforts to cut emissions and curb global warming. To the frustration of environmental activists and some countries who were urging more ambitious climate goals, however, negotiators delayed decisions on two key issues until next year in an effort to get a deal on them.
Dutch inventor says his ocean cleaning boom is working
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After a series of setbacks, a system for catching plastic floating in the Pacific between California and Hawaii is now working, its Dutch inventor said Wednesday. Boyan Slat, a university dropout who founded The Ocean Cleanup nonprofit, announced that the floating boom is skimming up waste ranging in size from a discarded net and a car wheel complete with tire to chips of plastic measuring just 1 millimeter.
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European officials agree on ban of some single-use plastics
The 28-nation bloc moved closer to banning single-use straws, plates, cutlery and cotton swabs, after officials from EU member states and the European Parliament on Wednesday backed recommendations by its executive branch designed to reduce marine pollution. "When we have a situation where one year you can bring your fish home in a plastic bag, and the next year you are bringing that bag home in a fish, we have to work hard and work fast," said Karmenu Vella, the European commissioner for environment, maritime affairs and fisheries.
Scientists confirm July set new global heat record
July was the hottest month measured on Earth since records began in 1880, the latest in a long line of peaks that scientists say backs up predictions for man-made climate change. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday that July was 0.95 degrees Celsius (1.71 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 20th century average of 15.8 C (60.4 F) for the month.
Climate talks pause as battle over key science report looms
A diplomatic standoff over a single word could set the stage for a bigger showdown during the second half of this year's U.N. climate summit, after just four of nearly 200 countries present — Russia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the U.S., all oil-exporting countries — blocked endorsement of a landmark study on global warming. "It's really an embarrassment for the world's leading scientific superpower to be in this position of having to disbelieve a report that was written by the world's scientific community including a large number of pre-eminent U.S. scientists," said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
India's Chennai rapid growth threatened by water shortages
Dozens of billion-dollar companies. Thousands of high-paying IT and manufacturing jobs. Luxury apartments towering over the Bay of Bengal. The southern Indian city of Chennai has one of the world's fastest-growing economies, but it's out of water, threatening to put a brake on all that growth. Here's a look at the city.
Dutch PM: All must be involved in climate fight
The latest on the U.N. climate conference being held in Poland: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says politicians need to win over all of society for measures needed to tackle climate change.
UN chief: Climate change is "most important issue we face"
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a dramatic appeal to world leaders Monday to take the threat of global warming seriously and to act boldly to avert a catastrophic rise in temperatures before the end of the century.
UN chief calls for compromise, sacrifice at climate talks
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on countries to make compromises in tackling global warming, amid concern that the U.N. conference on the issue could end without a substantial agreement.
Boris Johnson's father joins climate protesters in London
The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has joined climate protesters in London, after his son urged the demonstrators to pack up their "hemp-smelling" tents and leave
Protesters march as UN climate talks hit fossil fuel snag
Thousands of people from around the world marched Saturday through the southern Polish city that's hosting this year's U.N. climate talks, demanding that their governments take tougher action to curb global warming. "Climate change is the thing that frightens me the most," said Michal Dabrowski from Warsaw, who brought his young daughter to the march. "I'm a father and it's kind of crucial that she will have a decent life."