The fossil fuel industry has a stake in the majority of known carbon dioxide removal technologies' projects Analysis The fossil fuel industry tries to present carbon dioxide removal technologies as a safe and effective technical solution to climate problems. However, they have not been proven to be safe and effective. Although the technologies have been extensively subsidized and promoted for several decades – with both public and private funding – there has been no significant progress in their development. Many projects have been abandoned due to high costs or technical problems. By Anja Chalmin
COP26 diary #4: A Global North greenwash festival? - Thoughts on communication around COP26 from a first-time attendee COP26 diary COPs are a time of a plethora of announcements, pledges and initiatives by countries, businesses and financial institutes. It is hard to keep up and even harder to distinguish between newsworthy reason for hope and old wine in new bottles. Lisa Tostado reports on the climate “communication nightmare” of welcoming progress while emphasizing the persistent astronomical gap to what would be Paris Agreement-compatible. By Lisa Tostado
Jutta Paulus on COP26: “For leading by example, we must achieve our European Green Deal goals” Interview Lisa Tostado interviewed Green MEP Jutta Paulus her about her expectations and initial assessment concerning this year’s COP26, as well as the on role of the EU and particularly Germany in international climate negotiations. By Lisa Tostado
Neither Climate Nor Jobs Study A continuing insistence on nuclear will be detrimental to our ability to power a Just Transition: while the jobs it creates are few and primarily for the highly skilled, its enormous costs will likely result in austerity policies. pdf
COP26 diary #3: The most inclusive COP ever? - Thoughts on representation at COP from a first-time attendee COP26 diary COP26 was supposed to be the “most inclusive COP ever”. Lisa Tostado reports on why the promised cannot be considered fulfilled and where inclusion and representation remain an issue to be addressed urgently. By Lisa Tostado
COP26 diary #2: The heartbreak is hard to bear - Thoughts on climate justice at COP from a first-time attendee COP26 diary Inequalities are striking in the climate crisis. Lisa Tostado unpacks them and reports on the action on payment of climate debt at the COP26 in Glasgow. By Lisa Tostado
Methane Leakages from Oil and Gas Across Europe | COP26 Event recording Methane is the second biggest contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for about 0.5°C of human-caused global heating so far. One of the main emitters of the powerful greenhouse gas is the oil and gas sector, where methane can leak across the whole supply chain – during extraction, transport, storage and use. The extent to which such leakages occur is only vaguely known, with companies often reporting emissions only on the basis of calculations as opposed to actual measurements. Where measurements are being done, they often show higher emission rates than previously anticipated.
Net zero is not zero Commentary Recent carbon-neutrality pledges may seem ambitious, but merely serve to promote a new set of false climate solutions under a different guise. Such pledges may persuade many people, but the climate isn’t buying it. By Maureen Santos and Linda Schneider
Geopolitical stakes of COP26 in Glasgow Commentary Global climate policy is the subject of multiple announcements put to the test over the course of these two weeks of COP26. Between the countries that have established carbon neutrality targets for 2050 (the United States and the European Union) and those looking to 2060 or further instead (Russia, China, India), the major challenge lies not in the deadlines, but in the translation of these dramatic promises into concrete actions. By Nidhal Attia
COP26 diary #1: Carefully orchestrated procrastination? Thoughts on the beginning of COP from a first-time attendee COP26 diary Lisa Tostado unpacks some basics in the first report during her attendance at this year’s COP26 in Glasgow. By Lisa Tostado