Plus: Last chance to join our slow travel event
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Welcome to The Independent's weekly round-up on the climate crisis, and the solutions to tackle it. Thanks for reading - SM |
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From top left clockwise: Young men inspect a destroyed car carried by waters in Kenya; A sign sits amongst plastic on a public art installation outside a United Nations conference on plastics; A vendor sets up an umbrella as she sells fruits on a hot summer day in Bengaluru (Credit: AFP , AP and AFP) |
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It's your last chance to get a ticket to The Independent's first Climate Conversations event, taking place at 6.30pm BST (or 1.30pm ET) today.
My colleague Louise Boyle will be joined by Mark Smith, better known as The Man in Seat 61, Anna Hughes, director of Flight Free UK, and The Independent's own slow travel expert Helen Coffey.
The free virtual panel will examine how you can travel without it costing the earth, offering practical tips for keeping your carbon footprint down when planning your next holiday.
Get your ticket here. And don't worry if you can't make it — the recording will be available this week on our website here.
The biggest climate story this week comes from G7 talks in Italy. The group, which represents the world's largest economies, has agreed to phase-out coal fired power plants by 2035. The "historic" decision is a move that could pave the way for other economies to follow suit.
Italian energy minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who is chairing the G7 ministerial meeting in Turin, said a "a technical agreement" has been reached among members.
"We will seal the final political deal on Tuesday," he said.
Putting an end to coal – the most polluting of all fossil fuels – has always been a contentious issue during international climate talks. The UN Climate Change Conference (Cop28) in Dubai last year called for transitioning away from fossil fuels, but countries could not agree on a phase-out of coal, oil, or gas.
Proposals to end coal in earlier G7 meetings have faced pushback from coal-dependent economies like Japan and Germany, which rely on it for one-third of their electricity needs.
Andrew Bowie, a UK minister at the department for energy security and net zero, told Class CNBC in Turin: "To have the G7 nations come around the table to send that signal to the world – that we, the advanced economies of the world – are committed to phasing out coal by the early 2030s is quite incredible."
Climate groups welcomed the decision but said it was "too little, too late," calling for an overall phase out of fossil fuels, including oil and gas.
Read the full story here
Elsewhere, global negotiations on a treaty to end plastic pollution are at a critical phase. In Canada delegates are mulling over the text of what could be the most important environmental deal since the 2015 Paris agreement on the climate crisis.
The treaty, a legally binding agreement which will be signed this year, is set to cover the entire life-cycle of plastics, from the initial extraction of fossil fuels for production to the disposal of plastic waste.
Introducing a limit on how much plastic is manufactured globally has become the most contentious topic in the talks. The idea is facing strong objections from plastic-producing countries and companies, as well as oil and gas exporters.
Campaigners have raised concerns over the record-high presence of Big Oil representatives at the negotiations.
More than 4,000 people have registered to attend the talks. But nearly 200 of them are fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists, according to an analysis by the Center for International Environmental Law.
This means the number of lobbyists is higher than that of many national delegations, including the European Union and Small Island States.
More climate news this week from The Independent
Kenya flooding: 45 dead and dozens missing after floods destroy houses
Suspected heat stroke kills two as extreme temperatures scorch India
Fossil fuel tax could raise £580bn to fight climate crisis, new report finds
Conservation efforts are working to save species and protect biodiversity, study finds
British doctor suspended over involvement in Just Stop Oil protests
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A commitment to rapidly phase out all fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – is urgently needed. |
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Life in the climate crisis |
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