2025-11-23 00:04
SEOUL, Nov 23 (Reuters) - South Korea issued Level 1 forest fire response alert early on Sunday, as a wildfire erupted in the forests of Yangyang in Gangwon Province in the northeast part of the country, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people. The Korea Forest Service activated Level 1 alerts as firefighting efforts continued in the popular camping and beach town, which is now estimated to cover between 10 and 50 hectares. Sign up here. Forest authorities deployed 101 fire suppression vehicles and 326 personnel to contain the blaze and 25 helicopters are on their way to be deployed on Sunday. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/firefighters-battle-blaze-south-koreas-gangwon-province-2025-11-23/
2025-11-22 23:17
Country's emissions and some power bills are down Electric utilities struggle with weak demand, high debt Climate ministry says Lahore could see negative power demand BELEM, Brazil, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Pakistan's rooftop solar generation will for the first time exceed power demand on the country's electrical grid during daytime hours in some major industrial regions next year, a senior government official told Reuters. The outlook reflects a record boom in the country's solar panel installations in recent years that has delivered lower emissions and reduced power bills for some, but also disrupted the finances of debt-laden utilities due to a protracted decline in demand for grid-based electricity. Sign up here. "Pakistan will experience negative grid-linked demand during certain daytime hours because behind-the-meter solar is offsetting grid consumption completely," Aisha Moriani, secretary of Pakistan's climate change ministry told Reuters on the sidelines of the COP30 climate conference in Brazil. While regions in Europe and Australia sometimes experience negative electricity prices due to solar oversupply and low demand, Pakistan would be among the first major emerging markets where rooftop generation could exceed grid-linked demand in major areas entirely for lengthy periods. "Negative demand" is likely in the northwestern city of Lahore, which has some of the country's highest solar penetration, followed by Faisalabad and Sialkot, where industrial areas are driving solar adoption, she said. Power cuts and tariff hikes have pushed Pakistan's 250 million people to accelerate solar adoption and made it the world's third-largest panel importer, with solar's share in generation exceeding its neighbour China. The south Asian nation will see more frequent negative-demand events, especially during bright summer afternoons, industrial holidays and moderate temperature days with high solar output, said Moriani, Pakistan's lead negotiator at COP30. "Pakistan's challenge is not whether renewable energy will grow, it is how fast the grid, regulation, and market design can evolve to keep pace," she said. The south Asian nation is planning to introduce new tariffs for large solar users, as well as changes to fee structures to ensure businesses with panels share equally in the costs of grid upkeep, she said. Pakistan's grid-linked power demand is expected to grow 3-4% this year, slower than historical averages. Next year, consumption is expected to rise more steeply but could be impacted more by higher solar use, Moriani said. The surge in solar use has also pushed Pakistan to renegotiate its LNG contracts with top supplier Qatar and cancel cargoes supplied by Italy's Eni, Moriani said. Pakistan is looking for lower prices, flexible delivery schedules and potentially fewer cargoes, she said. While there were no formal negotiations with Qatar at COP30, the event provided "diplomatic space for engagement with energy ministers and commercial representatives," she said. "The key aim is to align Pakistan's gas import strategy with fiscal space, demand outlook, and seasonal patterns. Pakistan seeks stability and affordability, not expansion of LNG dependency." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/pakistan-says-rooftop-solar-output-exceed-grid-demand-some-hubs-next-year-2025-11-22/
2025-11-22 21:33
Countries unlocked billions in new funds for forests Nations failed to agree on a deforestation plan Brazil announces demarcation of 10 new Indigenous lands Record Indigenous presence at COP30 with 3,000 leaders attending Massive fires and farmland expansion threaten tropical forests BELEM, Brazil, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Brazil insisted on hosting this year's COP30 climate summit in the Amazonian city of Belem to put rainforests at the heart of negotiations on how to curb global warming. But as delegates from almost every country concluded tense talks under the rainforest's humid heat, the outcome for trees and their guardians, though unprecedented, was bittersweet. Sign up here. Countries unlocked billions in new funds for forests, and a record number of Indigenous delegates took part in the conference. Still, even as the final agreement acknowledged that leaders were gathered at the heart of the rainforest, nations failed to agree on a plan to keep trees standing as they have repeatedly promised to do in recent summits, relying instead on a voluntary roadmap. "There was enormous expectation that we could leave with something more concrete," said Carlos Rittl, director of public policy at the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society. But, he added, the final agreement didn't provide the answers "that the Amazon asked for, and that the world expected." The week in Belem opened with optimism. Germany pledged 1 billion euro to Brazil's flagship Tropical Forests Forever Facility, the TFFF, which will support global conservation of endangered forests, boosting total contributions to nearly $7 billion. But it closed on a sour note, with negotiators dropping a proposed roadmap to end deforestation from the final agreement, which would have required countries to show how they intend to meet the 2030 zero-deforestation pledge made two years ago at the Dubai climate summit. "This was supposed to be the Forest COP. I'm not sure if it is the Forest COP today," said Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, the head of the Panamanian delegation, hours after he learned the roadmap had been dropped. Tropical forests, which hold huge amounts of planet-warming carbon, have never been in higher danger of disappearing along with the thousands of communities and animal and plant species that inhabit them. Massive fires fueled by climate change led global forest loss to smash records last year, even as farmland continued to expand over trees in developing countries that hold the biggest areas of pristine forests. Though global commitments on conservation have generally been left to the global biodiversity summit, historically a much less consequential forum, nature has been increasingly present in climate negotiations. "Climate change and the loss of biodiversity are two sides of the same coin," said María Heloísa Rojas Corradi, Chile's minister of environment. RECORD INDIGENOUS PRESENCE Tropical forests got more money in Belem than at any other climate summit. The Brazilian government still expects other countries, such as China and the United Arab Emirates, to announce contributions to the TFFF so it can reach $10 billion by the end of the year. European countries also announced they were backing a $2.5 billion initiative to help protect the Congo Basin rainforest. Having failed to get countries to agree on a roadmap to halt and reverse deforestation, Brazil's COP30 presidency also put forward a voluntary roadmap, along with another one to transition away from fossil fuels, COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago said in the final plenary. On the sidelines of the conference, different governments and companies also announced millions of dollars in new programs to make more forest-friendly beef, strengthen the supply chain of forest products, and more. "For all those reasons, I would call COP30 a success for forests," said Frances Seymour, a senior policy advisor at Woodwell Climate Research Center. The so-called forest COP, she said, was also seen as a huge opportunity for Indigenous people to get a bigger seat at the table, partly because of their role in protecting threatened ecosystems like the Amazon. No climate summit had ever hosted so many Indigenous peoples. Some 3,000 leaders from countries around the world were present, said Toya Manchineri, who heads the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon. They had some victories that may also help keep forests standing. Brazil announced the demarcation of 10 new Indigenous lands, covering almost 1,000 square miles, at COP30. And about a fifth of the TFFF forest fund is set to go to Indigenous peoples protecting forests. Manchineri said he was disappointed that a proposal to include an item in the agenda to discuss formal recognition that the demarcation of Indigenous lands is a climate policy failed. "But the fact is that we get out of here, as an Indigenous movement from the Amazon, a lot stronger," he said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/what-cop30-climate-summit-amazon-delivered-forests-indigenous-people-2025-11-22/
2025-11-22 21:22
AMSTERDAM, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Air traffic at Eindhoven airport in the south of the Netherlands was suspended for several hours on Saturday evening due to multiple drone sightings, Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said in a post on X. Traffic resumed around 11 p.m. (2200 GMT), Brekelmans said, two hours after he had first reported the disruption. Sign up here. "Defence has taken measures," the minister said. "Out of security considerations no further information can be shared." The Dutch military on Friday evening had used weapons against drones sighted above the air force base in Volkel, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of Eindhoven, the defence ministry had said earlier on Saturday. Eindhoven serves both as a civilian and as a military airport. All types of air traffic were suspended, Brekelmans said. Asked if it was clear where the drones had come from, the defence ministry had no additional comment. Drones and other airspace incursions have caused considerable disruption across Europe in recent months. In September, more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace and three Russian military jets violated Estonia's airspace for 12 minutes. Since then, many drone flights, the origins of which are mostly unknown, have disrupted airspace operations in Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the incursions "hybrid warfare." https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/eindhoven-airport-closed-after-drone-sightings-defence-minister-says-2025-11-22/
2025-11-22 21:15
Nov 22 (Reuters) - A fire on a cargo ship that sent smoke billowing through parts of the second most populous U.S. city has been “substantially contained” after several hours, the Port of Los Angeles said on Saturday. Shelter-in-place orders for two of the city's neighborhoods were lifted. No injuries have been reported. Sign up here. The blaze began with an electrical fire at about 6:30 p.m. local time Friday on the ship One Henry Hudson at a dock in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles. Fire crews and ship crew members continued fire suppression efforts on Saturday, officials said, after the vessel was towed away from its berth at the Yusen Container Terminal. Marine units continued cooling the ship's exterior, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. TV footage from an ABC affiliate showed firefighting boats shooting streams of water on the ship's sides and over containers on fire on the deck. On Friday, the fire and subsequent explosion on the ship spurred concerns that hazardous materials were burning. All 23 crew members were quickly evacuated from the vessel, as the fire disrupted power and crane operations. Officials issued shelter-in-place orders for the Los Angeles communities of San Pedro and Wilmington. Those orders were lifted on Saturday, and officials also removed work restrictions that had been in place for the port's terminals. Earlier, fire officials said four of the port’s seven container terminals had resumed operations. The One Henry Hudson sails under a Panama flag and arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday from Tokyo's Shinagawa port, according to LSEG data. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/container-ship-fire-la-substantially-contained-officials-say-2025-11-22/
2025-11-22 20:39
Negotiators overcome EU concerns over draft Deal would triple climate finance for developing nations by 2035 Colombia, Panama, Uruguay demand fossil fuel transition language Sierra Leone criticizes unclear adaptation indicators BELEM, Brazil, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's COP30 presidency pushed through a compromise climate deal on Saturday that would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming but that omitted any mention of the fossil fuels driving it. In securing the accord, Brazil hoped to demonstrate global unity in addressing climate change impacts even after the world's biggest historic emitter, the United States, declined to send an official delegation. Sign up here. Acknowledging that the deal left many frustrated, the head of the U.N. climate secretariat (UNFCCC) praised the delegates for coming together in an year of denial and division. "I'm not saying we're winning the climate fight. But we are undeniably still in it, and we are fighting back," UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said in a statement. The agreement, which landed in overtime after two weeks of contentious negotiations in the Amazon city of Belem, exposed deep rifts over how future climate action should be pursued. After gaveling the deal through, a weary Brazilian COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago told delegates he recognized the talks had been tough. "We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand," he said. Several countries objected to the summit ending without stronger plans for reining in greenhouse gases or addressing fossil fuels. Brazil's Latin American neighbors Colombia, Panama and Uruguay made multiple objections before Correa do Lago suspended the plenary for procedural consultations. After about an hour, he resumed the plenary and said the decisions as gaveled would stand. Colombia's negotiator had noted that fossil fuels were by far the biggest contributor of planet-warming emissions, and said her country could not go along with a deal that ignored science. "A consensus imposed under climate denialism is a failed agreement," the Colombian negotiator said. The Russian delegate, Sergei Kononuchenko, accused those objecting of "behaving like children who want to get their hands on all the sweets." The comment, made through a translator, was called out by many Latin American delegates who said they were deeply offended by Russia's remarks, and defended their role in advocating for their countries' best interests. The three Latin American countries had been objecting not to COP30's overall political deal, but to one of the other more technical negotiating texts being approved alongside the headline deal. The three had joined the European Union demanding the deal include language on a transition away from fossil fuels - while a coalition of countries including top oil exporter Saudi Arabia said any fossil fuel mention was off-limits. After tense overnight negotiations, the EU agreed on Saturday morning not to block a final deal, but said it did not agree with the conclusion. "We should support (the deal) because at least it is going in the right direction," the European Union's climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, said before the deal was sealed. FINANCE BOOST The summit also launches a voluntary initiative to speed up climate action to help nations meet existing pledges to reduce emissions, and calls for rich nations to at least triple the money they provide to others for adapting to a warming world by 2035. Developing countries say they urgently need funds to adapt to impacts that are already hitting, like rising sea levels and worsening heat waves, droughts, floods, and storms. Avinash Persaud, Special Advisor to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, a multilateral lender focused on Latin America and the Caribbean, said the accord's focus on finance was important as climate impacts mount. "But I fear the world still fell short on more rapid-release grants for developing countries responding to loss and damage. That goal is as urgent as it is hard," he said. Several countries including Sierra Leone also objected at the final plenary to a list of indicators for what they should be measuring in areas such as food security in order to prepare for climate impacts. Sierra Leone's climate minister, Jiwoh Emmanuel Abdulai, said the list agreed "is not the list crafted by experts." "Instead, we leave COP with indicators that are unclear, unmeasurable, and in many cases, unusable" he said. FOSSIL FUEL SIDE TEXT The overnight impasse between the European Union and the Arab Group of nations over fossil fuels had pushed the talks past a Friday deadline, triggering all-night negotiations before a compromise could be reached. Correa do Lago said on Saturday morning that the presidency was issuing a side text on fossil fuels - as well as on protecting forests - keeping it out of the main accord because of the lack of consensus. But he urged countries to keep discussing the issues. Saturday's agreement also launches a process for climate bodies to review how to align international trade with climate action, according to the deal text, amid concerns that rising trade barriers are limiting the adoption of clean technology. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/cop30-talks-grind-into-overtime-eu-objects-proposed-deal-2025-11-22/
