Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Move adds to concerns about the stability of the Paris agreement after the election in the US of Donald Trump Cop29 climate summit – live updates Argentinian negotiators representing the government of the climate science denier Javier Milei have been ordered to withdraw from the Cop29 summit after only three days, adding to concerns about the stability of the Paris agreement. More than 80 representatives from the South American country are in Baku, Azerbaijan, for two weeks of negotiations about climate finance for the energy transition. Argentina’s far-right leader has previously called the climate crisis a “socialist lie”, and threatened to withdraw from the Paris agreement during his election campaign last year, but has since backed down. Continue reading...

German energy firm shaves €3bn from spending plans for next financial year to €7bn A German energy firm has said that Donald Trump’s election victory has increased the risks of investing in offshore wind projects – but his return to the White House could help bolster Britain’s renewables sector, according to UK developer SSE. Germany’s RWE has cut its spending plans and warned that, as a result of the US election, “the risks for offshore wind projects have increased”. Continue reading...

Of 140 million people in the US who draw water from US aquifers via private or public wells, 70% at risk PFAS may be contaminating drinking water for up to 70% of about 140 million people in the US who draw water from the nation’s aquifers via private or public wells, a new federal government study estimates. The findings show a potential impact on about 95 million people, or 27% of the nation’s population. The US Geological Survey sampling and modeling of groundwater contamination found readings up to 37,000 times higher than the EPA’s new drinking water limits. In some regions virtually all of those using public systems that draw from groundwater may be drinking contaminated water. Continue reading...

France’s ecology minister cancels after Azerbaijan’s president attacks French actions in overseas territories Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, has joined a chorus of leaders using their speeches to call for more money to reach their climate goals - and specifying that they need grants rather than loans that saddle them with more debt. “Without climate justice, there can be no real resilience,” he said. “I wouldn’t want other countries to face the fight Pakistan faced in 2022.” Pakistan was devastated by floods two years ago, shortly before Cop27. The disaster added a sense of urgency to that year’s negotiations that helped pressure rich countries to set up a fund to pay for the losses and damages borne by poor countries. (You can read more on that from my colleague Nina Lakhani here.) “Two years, I warned at the top of my voice that the future would never forgive our inaction,” said Sharif. “Today, I echo the same warning with greater urgency and fullest energy at my command.” 25 countries have announced a commitment to swift and ambitious climate action. Continue reading...