Fate of EU’s Ribera hangs in balance as Parliament conservatives call for her resignation over Spanish floods
The approval of former Spanish ecology minister Teresa Ribera as the European Commission’s new executive vice-president in charge of competition and the green transition was delayed on Tuesday evening, amid calls for her to resign over the government’s handling of the deadly floods that hit the region of Valencia.
Read MoreUPDATE – COP29: Negotiators hail Article 6.4 deal, but campaigners say it’s a false solution
The COP29 summit’s speedy Article 6.4 agreement was met with polarising reactions on Tuesday, with advocacy groups lambasting it as a distraction from genuine climate action while UN negotiators hailed its potential to unlock up to $250 billion in private climate finance by 2030.
Read MoreCOP29: Presidency secures early Article 6 outcome as parties approve carbon crediting standards
Azerbaijan’s COP29 presidency secured an early endorsement of key methodological standards under Article 6 during Monday’s opening plenary, driven to action by two years of failure at the annual UN climate summit to move forward on the Paris Agreement’s carbon crediting mechanism.
Read MoreCOP29: Coal commission backs transition finance, Article 6 carbon credits for early plant closures
Carbon credits and transition finance are essential to accelerate coal plant closures in developing countries – especially in Asia where new projects are still being developed, according the Coal Transition Commission, which unveiled its first report during the COP29 climate summit in Baku.
Read MoreCOP29: INTERVIEW – China has been more helpful than Europe in green cooperation, says Bahamas
The Bahamas envoy to the COP29 UN climate summit has called out Europe for seeking “business as usual” commercial relationships in bilateral green development talks, saying cooperation with China has yielded more results, particularly in areas like electric mobility.
Read MoreClimate spending rift precipitated German govt fall, says Scholz
Opposing views on climate, and the need to ramp up spending on defence and clean energy in the wake of Donald Trump’s election in the US, all played a part in the fall of the German government coalition, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.
Read MoreEU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra sails through Parliament confirmation hearing
Wopke Hoestra will remain the EU’s climate chief for the next five years, after committing to push for a 90% emissions reduction target for 2040 while emphasising the need to reconcile climate action and industrial competitiveness, in his confirmation hearing with the European Parliament on Thursday.
Read MoreEU’s new finance chief says she will stick with green agenda
The EU’s sustainable finance policy for the next five years will focus on implementing legislation agreed under the European Green Deal, said the EU’s commissioner-designate for financial services during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Read MoreCarbon removals target ‘not a deal-breaker’ for Hoekstra’s EU confirmation hearing, MEPs say
Lawmakers in the European Parliament are focusing their attention on the Commission’s pledge to table a 90% climate target for 2040, leading MEPs told Carbon Pulse ahead of EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra’s confirmation hearing on Thursday.
Read MoreBRIEFING: Policymakers look at digital MRV to build trust in CO2 removals
The development of trustworthy monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) tools is essential to grow the market for carbon removals, with digitalisation seen as key to speed up processes and ensure high integrity of carbon credits, policymakers say.
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