Kadiatou Sakho in Lagos, Julie Chabanas in Paris, Issam Ahmed in Washington, Sara Hussein in Bangkok AFP
From US President Donald Trump's all-out push for fossil fuels to political squabbles in Europe, governments are retreating on their climate promises. But most people around the world still see global warming as a serious threat.
European diplomats are scrambling to agree on a 10-year target to cut EU carbon emissions this week, with time running out ahead of the United Nations COP30 climate summit.
Wealthy countries are failing to meet their promised targets to provide a funding "lifeline" to help poorer nations prepare for worsening climate calamities, the UN warned Wednesday.
Climate change "will not lead to humanity's demise," billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has said in a long memo in which he argued that tackling global disease and poverty will help prepare the planet's poorest for a warming world.
The UN estimated Tuesday that nations' carbon-cutting pledges imply a far-from-sufficient 10-percent emissions cut by 2035, cautioning that it was unable to provide a robust global overview after most countries failed to submit their plans on time.
The European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday that Norway did not breach its climate obligations when it awarded Arctic oil and gas exploration licenses in 2016.
A French court Thursday ruled oil and gas giant TotalEnergies had engaged in "misleading commercial practices" by overstating its climate pledges, in what activists said was the first such ruling worldwide against a major oil company for climate misinformation.
Oil and gas companies have increasingly come under legal attack over their role in contributing to global warming, yet unlike other industries that face tougher regulations they have not abandoned their climate marketing claims.Â
