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Today

Valencia floods: Human tragedy and environmental disaster

With at least 222 people dead, the torrential rain and floods in Valencia – on the eastern coast of Spain – have devastated many families and the cleanup of the region continues, more than a month after the disaster struck. But until now, there has been

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Melting permafrost in Canadian Arctic town could lead to first climate refugees

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, December 3: French Prime Minister Michel Barnier faces a fight for his job as two votes of no confidence will be held against him, plunging France into a deep political crisis. The New York Times reports from a Canadian Arctic tow

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Yesterday

Poaching in Indonesia: Government cracks down on wildlife trafficking

Indonesia is the Asian capital of wildlife trafficking, a market estimated at $20 billion according to Interpol. The archipelago is one of the world’s biggest reservoirs of biodiversity. Wild animals are already the victims of massive deforestation, but

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UN top court opens landmark hearings on climate protection guidelines

The UN's top court begins landmark hearings Monday on global climate protection guidelines. Vanuatu and Pacific island nations lead proceedings before 15 judges. Over two weeks, more than 100 countries and organisations are set to present submissions on

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Sunday, december 1, 2024

Hopes of global plastic pollution treaty fade as negotiators call for more time

Efforts to seal a global treaty to curb plastic pollution faltered on the last day of scheduled talks in South Korea's Busan on Sunday as over 100 countries pushed to cap production while a handful of oil-producing countries sought to focus only on plast

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Tuesday, november 26, 2024

The problems with plastic recycling: Is there a viable alternative?

Will the international community manage to come to an agreement to fight plastic pollution? That question is on everyone's minds as representatives from across the globe meet in Busan, South Korea. The challenge is significant: plastics represent a threa

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Award-winning photographer Shane Gross on the importance of saving the ocean

The winner of this year's prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award has spoken to FRANCE 24 about his love for photography and his hope that his work will help protect the world's oceans and its ecosystems. He calls himself a marine conservatio

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Sunday, november 24, 2024

South Korea hosts treaty talks on curbing 'existential challenge' of plastic pollution

A conference on how to end plastic pollution opened on Monday in Busan, South Korea, but there was little consensus between nations on how to deal with the 90 percent of plastic produced globally that is not recycled.

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Developing nations blast 'paltry' $300 billion deal approved at COP29 UN climate summit

The contentious deal reached at the UN climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, commits developed nations to paying at least $300 billion a year by 2035 to help developing countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissons and prepare for disasters related to glo

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Key points of the COP29 deal to help poorer nations cope with climate change

The Baku accord raises the amount of money that developed countries must provide to help poorer nations adapt to global warming to at least $300 billion per year by 2035. The deal states that the money will come from a "wide variety of sources", includin

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Friday, november 22, 2024

COP29 drags on as developing nations reject $250 billion offer

In tonight's edition: A draft deal on climate finance has been rejected by African nations at the COP29 summit. Also, the Algerian Press Agency confirms that Franco-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal has been arrested by Algerian authorities. Plus, support

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Wealthy nations offer $250 billion on climate action, developing nations say it's not enough

Wealthy nations on Friday pledged $250 billion by 2035 to help poorer nations hit hardest by extreme weather events adapt to the challenges of climate change. A number of developing countries have already responded that they need far more to help them sh

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India banks on renewables to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

At the COP29 summit draws to a close, this report takes us to a renewable energy farm in India, partly owned by billionaire Gautam Adani. He has just been charged in the US for allegedly bribing Indian authorities over contracts for solar plants in the s

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Real carbon, false credits? Investigating mass deforestation in Cambodia

With around 40 percent of its territory covered by forests, Cambodia has become Asia's champion of carbon credits. This system is supposed to finance the protection of the country's forests, thanks to money injected by multinationals from around the worl

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COP29 draft deal proposes rich nations give $250 bn in climate finance

A new draft deal at UN climate talks Friday proposes that rich nations commit $250 billion a year to help poorer nations combat global warming in an 11th-hour bid to break the deadlocked negotiations.

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Green spaces and social housing: Paris’s ‘bioclimatic’ plan to transform the city by 2035

The Paris City Council on Wednesday approved its "bioclimatic" urban development plan, designed to address climate challenges, housing shortages and urban expansion. The plan’s focus on green spaces, social housing and tighter rental regulations has draw

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Thursday, november 21, 2024

At UN climate talks, developing countries blast lack of detail on funding for energy transition

The draft text for the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, left out how much wealthy nations will pay poorer countries to help them to reduce greenhouse gasses and cope with climate change. The developing world says it needs the $1.3 trillion in c

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Fires in the Amazon: Brazilian police track down climate criminals

With the COP29 summit now in its final days, we take a closer look at the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. A major global carbon sink that's nicknamed the lungs of the planet, the Amazon is once again under threat. Illegal fires set by farmers ravaged millio

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EU raises cash offer to poor nations to $300 billion in bid to salvage climate talks

The European Union announced on Saturday that it was, in tandem with other rich nations including the United States and Japan, increasing its offer to help poorer countries fight climate change to $300 billion a year. Its previous offer, of $250 billion

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Wednesday, november 20, 2024

G20 Rio summit ends with Ukraine blame game as Lula pushes climate action

At the G20 on Tuesday, Ukraine's allies and Russia blamed each other for escalating Europe's war, overshadowing the summit's final day. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged global leaders to revive stalled UN climate talks in Azerbaijan, w

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Rich nations under pressure over climate finance at COP29 talks

Pressure mounted on wealthy nations Wednesday to put a figure on the table as time runs out at COP29 to strike a deal on climate assistance for poorer countries.

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Tuesday, november 19, 2024

Goodbye old world order? Final G20 summit before Trump inauguration

Will history remember Rio as the swansong gathering of the US-led world order as we now know it? The curtain is coming down on Joe Biden's last G20 summit – his last big global gathering before the return of Donald Trump to the White House. The outgoing

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Negotiators seek to break COP29 impasse after G20 'marching orders'

Negotiators sought Tuesday to break a deadlock at UN climate talks after G20 leaders backed the need for "trillions" of dollars for poorer countries but left key sticking points unresolved. Details by Liza Kaminov.

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G20 leaders turn focus to climate change on Rio summit's last day

Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies meet on Tuesday to discuss sustainable development and the transition to cleaner energy, as they aim to increase the odds of a successful deal to address global warming at U.N. climate talks in Azerbaijan. Analy

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Trump's shadow looms large over G20 summit

G20 leaders on Tuesday were holding the final day of a summit that offered some impetus to stalled UN climate talks, diverged on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East -- and foresaw global turbulence as Donald Trump readies to take over the US presidency.

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Monday, november 18, 2024

French farmers protest EU-Mercosur trade agreement

French farmers are mobilizing for widespread protests targeting the controversial EU-Mercosur trade agreement. They argue the deal threatens their livelihoods by allowing a surge of South American agricultural imports produced under less stringent enviro

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G20 leaders to grapple with climate, taxes and Trump comeback in Brazil

G20 leaders gather in Brazil on Monday to discuss fighting poverty, boosting climate financing and other multilateral initiatives that could yet be upended by Donald Trump's impending return to the White House. Details with FRANCE 24 correspondent in Rio

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Hopes set on G20 spurring deadlocked UN climate talks

Nations returned Monday to the negotiating table at deadlocked UN climate talks in Azerbaijan, but with time running out hopes of a breakthrough are pinned on G20 leaders meeting in Brazil. Story by Liza Kaminov.

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Schools shut in India's New Delhi as toxic smog exceeds 60 times WHO limit

Schools in New Delhi were closed Monday as toxic smog enveloped the Indian capital and exceeded the daily limit set out by the World Health Organization by 60 times. The polluted air is thought to be the cause of thousands of premature deaths each year,

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Trump nominates fracking magnate and noted climate change skeptic Chris Wright as Energy Secretary

President-elect Donald Trump appointed Republican Brendan Carr, a vocal critic of big tech backed by Elon Musk, as FCC chairman on Sunday. Calling Carr a "warrior for Free Speech", Trump pledged he will curb regulatory overreach and support rural America

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Head in the clouds: 'We're not thinking about' the energy required to store our digital data

Climate talks in Azerbaijan are focusing on getting more climate cash for developing countries to transition away from fossil fuels, adapt to climate change and pay for damages caused by extreme weather. And for the first time ever, 'digital pollution is

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Biden becomes first US president to visit Amazon as Trump signals climate policy shift

Joe Biden became the first US president to visit the Amazon on Sunday, flying over drought-hit regions and fire-damaged rainforests, in a bid to highlight climate change's toll on the vital ecosystem. His visit to Latin America comes as the incoming Trum

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Sunday, november 17, 2024

UN chief urges G20 'leadership' to rescue stalled COP29 climate talks

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged G20 leaders in Rio to "show leadership" on emissions cuts to rescue stalled UN climate talks in Azerbaijan. Deadlocked over a $1 trillion climate investment deal, nations hope that compromise from the

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In Brazil, activists call on leaders to combat global hunger, as G20 summit to open in Rio

Diplomatic tensions over global warming will take center stage at the G20 summit in Brazil this week, as negotiators at U.N. talks in Azerbaijan hit an impasse. Meanwhile activists take to the beaches of Brazil to call on world leaders to commit to comba

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As COP29 crosses its halfway point, climate groups link oil industry to Gaza war

Distractions were bigger than deals in the first week of United Nations climate talks, leaving a lot to be done, especially on the main issue of money. With wars in the Middle East and Europe and Donald Trump's re-election, is COP29 being overlooked? FRA

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APEC closes in Peru, China's Xi urges freer trade and criticizes tariffs as backward

China’s leader Xi Jinping met for the last time with U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday but was already looking ahead to President-elect Donald Trump and his “America first” policies, saying Beijing “is ready to work with a new U.S. administration." De

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World looks to G20 in Rio for breakthrough in climate talks

Diplomatic tensions over global warming will take center stage at the G20 summit in Brazil this week, as negotiators at U.N. talks in Azerbaijan hit an impasse on climate finance that they hope leaders of the world's 20 major economies can break. Report

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Super Typhoon Man-yi batters Philippines' most populous island

A powerful typhoon wrecked houses, caused towering tidal surges and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee to emergency shelters as it cut across the northern Philippines on Sunday in the sixth major storm to hit the country in less than a month.

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Super Typhoon Man-yi smashes power lines, wrecks houses in Philippines

Super Typhoon Man-yi slammed into the Philippines, sparking tidal surges and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee to emergency shelters as it cut across the northern Philippines on Sunday in the sixth major storm to hit the country in less tha

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Saturday, november 16, 2024

Philippines urges residents to flee as super typhoon Man-Yi strengthens on approach

Philippine authorities issued an urgent appeal on Saturday for residents in low-lying areas and coastal towns to move to safety as super typhoon Man-Yi gained strength on its approach towards the country's main Luzon island. Details by Shirli Sitbon.

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Is Argentina's Milei on brink of leaving Paris climate accord?

French president Emmanuel Macron is on a visit to Argentina. France hopes to bring his counterpart Javier Milei closer to the international consensus, ahead of the G20 summit in Brazil. On Friday, Argentina was widely criticised for casting the only vote

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Spanish regional leader admits mistakes made in flood response, but refuses to step down

The Spanish regional leader Carlos Mazón facing immense pressure for his handling of the catastrophic Valencia floods last month defied calls to step down Friday, but conceded that authorities made mistakes in their response to the disaster. Details with

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Activist Greta Thunberg urges release of Armenians in Azerbaijan

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg Friday urged the release of political prisoners held by COP29 summit host Azerbaijan, including detainees from its neighbour and rival Armenia whom she described as "hostages". Story by Emily Boyle.

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Philippines warns of 'potentially catastrophic' Super Typhoon Man-yi

A super typhoon sweeping towards the Philippines on Saturday was intensifying and could have a "potentially catastrophic" impact, the state weather forecaster warned, with millions of people at risk from storm surges.

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Super Typhoon Man-yi slams into Philippines – the sixth major storm in a month

Super Typhoon Man-yi made landfall in the Philippines on Saturday after the disaster-hit nation evacuated hundreds of thousands of people. It was the sixth major storm to hit the country in the past month, and authorities warned of a "potentially catastr

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Friday, november 15, 2024

'Drill, baby, drill': What Trump's election victory means for climate change

Nations have gathered in Azerbaijan for COP29, under the shadow cast by the re-election of climate change denier Donald Trump, who has pledged to row back on the United States' carbon-cutting commitments. As the planet logs its hottest year on record, Ch

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COP29: In absence of world's biggest polluters, 'more underrepresented nations have a bigger voice'

A group of former leaders and climate experts said the annual UN COP climate talks were no longer fit for purpose and needed to be reformed, publishing a critical open letter mid-way through what has so far been a fractious summit. Nearly 200 countries a

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'Green Islam': How Indonesian Muslims are helping protect the Earth

Indonesia may be on the front lines of the fight against global warming, but many of its people are climate sceptics. A 2019 survey found that Indonesia – the world's biggest Muslim-majority country – has the highest proportion of climate change sceptic

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A muted COP29 in Azerbaijan: Heavy on lobbyists, light on commitments

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, November 15: US President-elect Donald Trump has mooted bypassing Senate approval for his major appointments – we take a look at the press backlash. In other news: COP29 continues, but without the Argentinian delegation and with ac

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Methane, a climate time bomb: On the trail of leaks in Romania

Nearly three years after more than 100 countries promised to tame methane emissions, the indiscriminate leakage of this powerful greenhouse gas is still rampant. As world leaders convene in Azerbaijan for the COP29 climate summit, FRANCE 24's reporters f

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Thursday, november 14, 2024

2024 Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey on her unintentional climate novel 'Orbital'

This year's Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey speaks to FRANCE 24's Culture Editor Eve Jackson about her wonder-filled space novel "Orbital". They discuss climate change, fiction's role in politics and Elon Musk's space endeavors.

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World's largest known coral found near Solomon Islands

The world's largest known coral, visible from space, has been discovered in the waters of the Solomon Islands. Scientists said the discovery of the gigantic organism offered a glimmer of hope at a time when hotter and more acidic oceans have drained the

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New rain alert lifted for Spain's flood-ravaged Valencia region

Two weeks after Spain's deadliest flooding in decades that killed more than 200 people, a fresh overnight rain alert issued by the national weather agency was downgraded from the highest level after a new storm made landfall without causing any new victi

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Wednesday, november 13, 2024

How does climate change affect young people and migration?

COP 29 taking place all this week, dozens of world leaders gathered to discuss how to combat the challenge of climate change and global warming. FRANCE 24's speaks to Aakash Ranison, Youth Delegate on Climate Migration at the International Organization f

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Does the global workforce have the skills necessary to fight climate change?

In its 2024 Green Skills Report, social media platform LinkedIn uses data from its 1 billion users to track the evolution of so-called "green skills" on the labour market. Their findings show that while the number of people with the skills that help comb

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Making polluters pay for the climate disaster: Oxfam calls for 'systemic change'

Two jets of billionaire Elon Musk – who is set to join the incoming Trump administration – jointly discharged as much CO2 in just 25 days as 834 years' worth of emissions generated by the average person. That's just one of the shocking statistics in a re

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Shell wins appeal against landmark climate ruling

Oil giant Shell has succeeded in overturning a landmark 2021 court ruling that ordered it to cut CO2 emissions by 45 percent from 2019 levels by 2030. The appeals court in The Hague said that while companies like Shell had the responsibility to contribut

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Greenland extends detention of anti-whaling activist Watson for three more weeks

A court in Greenland has once again extended the detention of Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson while Denmark decides whether to extradite the prominent activist to Japan. Watson's next hearing is scheduled for December 2.

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UK's Samantha Harvey wins 2024 Booker Prize for 'Orbital'

UK author Samantha Harvey, one of a record five women shortlisted for the Booker Prize, won the coveted award on Tuesday for her fifth novel, a "space pastoral" titled "Orbital", becoming the first woman to win the award since Margaret Atwood in 2019.

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Tuesday, november 12, 2024

Shell wins appeal against landmark Dutch climate ruling

A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday overturned a landmark ruling that ordered energy company Shell to cut its carbon emissions by net 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, while saying that "protection against dangerous climate change is a human right.” FRAN

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