I've attended many climate COPs over the years and it seems some nations... *cough* ...are very well versed indeed in this now-declassified "Simple Sabotage Field Manual" first issued by the CIA in 1944

China has little incentive to position itself as a climate leader and risk assuming 'climate finance' obligations But China is still channelling large sums into climate-relevant projects around the world @katelogan.bsky.social + Lily Hartzell explain backchannel1.substack.com/p/chinas-del...

Some thoughts on the new #adaptation #climatefinance goal agreed @cop30brazil.bsky.social: It wasn’t the 2030 goal that developing countries wanted, but it does address the concern that adaptation finance would stagnate after 2025, when the previous Glasgow goal of doubling from 2019 levels is due🧵

One for @edzitron.com from @darrencullen.bsky.social www.spellingmistakescostlives.com/single-post/...

#COP30 saw new 2035 climate targets, boosted adaptation funding, increased support for transitioning away from fossil fuels, and more progress on forest protection. It’s time to put these commitments into action. https://on.nrdc.org/4rodmHi

Yes, budgets are tight but Europe cannot afford to fail on #climate finance at #COP30, writes former German diplomat Norbert Gorissen... backchannel1.substac...

Climate finance is not charity; it is one of the most powerful investments that one can make in sovereignty, energy security, equity, and future competitiveness, @gwagner.com explains. bit.ly/3LKPLjz

2035 might seem like a long way off, but the institutional reforms, development of revenue mechanisms, and investment planning must begin now if we're to stay on track. Governments need to be clear about what they want to do to keep up momentum to deliver $1.3 trillion.

The AGF experience shows what happens when governments fail to build a good process to take forward ideas to raise finance. $1.3tn is a much bigger goal, so this time we can't let this process peter out. The Roadmap is not perfect but it's a good basis to craft a balanced process to scale finance.

We should learn from history! Thanks @joethwaites.bsky.social for the good reminder. The new "Baku to Belem Roadmap" must be followed up, so that it becomes possible to scale up the funding. I hope for a decision at #COP30

History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes, a #climatefinance story: After the $100bn climate finance goal was agreed in 2009, the UN Secretary General created a High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing (AGF) to study potential sources of revenue to meet the new goal, led by the PMs of 🇪🇹&🇳🇴

China and Saudi Arabia among nations receiving climate loans, analysis reveals - Investigation by Guardian and @carbonbrief.org finds just a fifth of funds to fight global heating went to poorest 44 countries #COP30 #climatecrisis www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

If you thought that climate change was all the fault of 'developed' countries, think again! That's NOT what data on GHG emissions since 1850 actually suggests. Old distinctions between developed and developing countries are no longer fit for purpose. Time to move on. www.cgdev.org/blog/emissio...

Analysis by @joethwaites.bsky.social concludes this would mean a steep acceleration in the growth rate of adaptation finance Developing countries ideally want this to be grant-based finance, so that would mean e.g. more development aid going to climate adaptation projects bsky.app/profile/joet...

An influential team called the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance has laid out what it calls an "entirely feasible path" to mobilising $1.3tn by 2035. This was the aspirational goal agreed at last year's COP. Half of the finance in their pathway comes from the private sector.

Countries at #COP30 are discussing a potential new #adaptationfinance goal. I've updated the calculations from our August blog on potential options - removing some scenarios that haven't gained traction and adding others that have.

International climate finance drives climate action, but current efforts fall short of supporting developing countries as they transition and adapt to climate change. At COP30 later this month, world leaders must strengthen climate investments to secure a livable future.

"You can’t reboot the planet if you crash it" | My commentary on Bill Gates' flawed new climate missive for @thebulletin.org: thebulletin.org/2025/10/you-...

I quite enjoyed a lot of the takedowns of Bill Gates' EA brain snap on climate. It is really deadassed in a number of ways. But no-one mentioned the most important thing. He isn't *just* full of shit. He knows he is full of shit. I can prove it: timinclimate.medium.com/even-bill-ga...

notes on gatesnotes, in a thread "A new way to look at the problem" - er, no, he's been running this line for DECADES On the headline: you can absolutely guarantee anyone presenting themselves as telling tough, hard truths is about to deliver some self-aggrandising nonsense

Ahead of #COP30, where are we on the three quantified international climate finance goals agreed at #COP29 last year? I review progress and assess what needs to happen to stay on track here:

For decades, Robert Redford lent his voice to protecting wild places and clean air and water and fighting against climate change. He brought environmental issues into the cultural spotlight and inspired generations to act. Thank you, Bob. 💚

What Could a New Adaptation Finance Goal Look Like? At COP30 countries should set an int'l adaptation finance goal. Here is analysis of the 7 potential scenarios that have been proposed. www.nrdc.org/bio/joe-thwa... from @joethwaites.bsky.social @adellethomas.bsky.social

The #COP21 goal to double provision of adaptation finance is due this year. Heading into #COP30, governments are considering what could come next. In this @nrdc.org piece, @adellethomas.bsky.social and I explore seven potential options for a new adaptation finance goal: www.nrdc.org/bio/joe-thwa...

why is the so IMF passive aggressive about countries doing industrial policy ? title a report "Handle with Care" jeeeeez check out these questions for naughty countries! @nathanlane.bsky.social @jwmason.bsky.social imf.org/en/Publicati...

Lots of commentary on the #ICJ advisory opinion on obligations of States in respect of #climate change. One thing I haven't seen discussed yet, which could have major implications for climate negotiations where developed or developing country status is key to so many obligations, is para 226:

Tom Evans @globalsolidaritylevies.org and I were recently on @chathamhouse.org's Climate Briefing podcast to talk about the 4th Financing for Development conference, solidarity levies, and the Baku to Belém Roadmap to $1.3 trillion #climatefinance Listen here: www.chathamhouse.org/2025/07/clim...

I wrote a piece for @the-independent.com on the future of development policy. focus on 👉🏿 goals not budgets 👉🏿mutual interest not charity 👉🏿universal values not preaching www.independent.co.uk/voices/aid-b... #ffd4 #acm25

We all have power. We all have a choice of how we use it. "Whether we are casting a vote, filing a story, advising a minister, attending a protest, or writing a law – history will remember those who chose to act & those who looked away." @pollyjhemming.bsky.social at the #ClimateIntegrity Summit

ANALYSIS: The UK's right-leaning newspapers have surpassed themselves, publishing even more editorials attacking Ed Miliband in the first four months of 2025 than they did in the full year of 2024 www.carbonbrief.org/...

ICYMI: We have until 11:59 PM PT on May 1st to vote NO on REI's entire slate of Corporate Board candidates! Thousands of REI members nationwide have already submitted their ballots - can you head to VoteNoREI.com today and take 5 minutes to send your vote in?

40-year REI members like Jeff know that REI isn’t the co-op it used to be. But it’s not too late for us to turn things around! We have until May 1st to make our voices heard in this year’s Board election. Can you follow Jeff’s lead and vote NO on REI’s corporate Board candidates at VoteNoREI.com?

We've failed to do what's needed, so it's important that, going forward, we stop trying. www.cfr.org/article/our-...

Pleased to announce some significant upgrades to @nrdc.org's Climate Fund Pledge Trackers, with thanks to my excellent comms colleagues. The graphics and tables are now interactive, embedable and downloadable. Check them out here: www.nrdc.org/resources/cl...

Pleased to announce some significant upgrades to @nrdc.org's Climate Fund Pledge Trackers, with thanks to my excellent comms colleagues. The graphics and tables are now interactive, embedable and downloadable. Check them out here: www.nrdc.org/resources/cl...

Oh my bad, the World Bank would never give up on "billions to trillions," it's obviously an April Fools! 🤡

"A common misconception held us back—the belief, popularised as “from billions to trillions”, that private capital was sitting on the sidelines, ready to be deployed." World Bank President Ajay Banga I wonder where that misconception came from? Oh right, a report the World Bank led!

"There were huge doses of hypocrisy, no doubt. But we are witnessing now why hypocrisy and hope are generally to be preferred to cynicism. With the norms stripped away, we risk descending into a free-for-all." @adamtooze.bsky.social

Is Europe about to make the same mistake with green fuels it did with EV? Another take on the IMO negotiations: www.lloydslist.com/LL1152995/IM...

Comment: For Kenya, this levy is a lifeline. For the world, it’s a chance to choose sustainability over short-term profit. buff.ly/KAJuMrh

If the EU caves and agrees to volatile carbon trading rather than a stable levy, they deserve all the opprobrium they will get for failing to scale climate finance. An IMO levy could be a model for curbing emissions and raising climate finance, but it can only happen if Europe fights for it.

💰 African nations need to improve tax collection from the wealthy to tackle severe debt levels and balance their books. 📉 theconversation.com/wealthy-afri... #BusinessAndEconomy

Bill Gates has liquidated his climate policy and advocacy organization, laying off dozens of staff in Washington, Brussels, and elsewhere. It’s another giant retrenchment for the billionaire, who had already slashed his climate grant budget last month. heatmap.news/climate/brea...

I've seen the tsunami coming

Trump is giving up the U.S. seat on the Board of the FRLD but the United States fully paid in its $17.5m pledge last year. These resources will support vulnerable communities around the world dealing with the impacts of climate change, the U.S. just won't get a say in how they're spent.

This is a great piece, but I disagree with those quoted saying US climate finance cuts leave a gulf in meeting the new climate finance goal. The NCQG was negotiated after the election and Trump's impact was priced in - see my analysis below. The bigger problem is if other countries follow the US...

"The divide is thus no longer about a rich North dictating standards to a receptive South per se. It is about new money leaving old values behind." —Bright Simons

That famously green company Shell has put out its new energy scenarios and, boy, they are worth your time. Here's a thread 🧵 By 2100, in the worst-case scenario, the oil company sees global warming peaking at 2.2C. In the most ambitious, it comes back down to 1.3C. www.shell.com/news-and-ins...

The scale of income and especially wealth inequality is literally stratospheric. Things look challenging, but now is not the time to give up trying to agree and implement a minimum tax on the world’s richest. www.cgdev.org/blog/pens-pa...