Top tips for a sustainable Christmas from the WWF and How to have a greener Christmas from the National Trust will give you plenty of ideas.
If you are thinking of getting books as Christmas presents for children I recommend checking books to help talk to your child about climate change.
Cop28
Cop28 runs from 30th November to 12th December and will be an important topic of climate news before, during and after so I am including the COP28 news in this section of the blog. The BBC Climate question 14 minute podcast about COP28 asks how does it actually work? And does it make a difference?.
COP28 will proceed under the shadow of the UN’s global stocktake. This assessed whether humanity was on course to cut emissions in line with the Paris agreement’s targets by 2030. If all national pledges are fulfilled , global warming will peak between 2.1-2.8°C this century, past the 2°C, the upper temperature target of the Paris agreement, making the triggering of feedback loops (like the release of potent greenhouse gas methane from Arctic permafrost) and catastrophic sea-level rise more likely.
For a chance to avoid climate breakdown and limit warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to 22.9 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from reaching the atmosphere over the next six years. This is roughly how much the top five polluters (China, US, India, Russia and Japan) emit in a year.
- World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief. Leaders must ‘stop dawdling’ and act before a crucial summit in Dubai.
- From carbon capture to King Charles: what to look out for at Cop28 who are the key players and what will they be talking about?
- COP28: UAE planned to use climate talks to make oil deals.
- COP28: inside the United Arab Emirates, the oil giant hosting 2023 climate change summit
- Cop28: UN summit seeks to settle debate over one word that has dominated climate talks for years. They report on the debate over whether the final text countries will be signing will include a call for the “phase down” or “phase out” of fossil fuels.
- Deal to keep 1.5C hopes alive is within reach, says Cop28 president. Sultan Al Jaber says progress means an ‘unprecedented outcome’ is possible.
- As disasters and heat intensify, can the world meet the urgency of the moment at the COP28 climate talks?
- COP28: four key issues that will dominate the latest UN climate summit
- COP28: how bad is climate change already and what do we need to do next to tackle it?
- China is already paying substantial climate finance, while US is global laggard – new analysis
- COP28: a year on from climate change funding breakthrough, poor countries eye disappointment at Dubai summit
- COP28: oil pushers scrape the barrel as critical climate talks begin in Dubai
- Agreement on loss and damage deal reached on first day of Cop28 talks. Fund to help the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries hit by climate disaster is the first decision agreed at the conference.
- Plans to present meat as ‘sustainable nutrition’ at Cop28 revealed. Documents show industry intends to go ‘full force’ in arguing meat is beneficial to the environment at climate summit
- ‘Climate collapse in real time’: UN head António Guterres urges Cop28 to act. World Meteorological Organization says 2023 will be hottest year on record, leaving ‘trail of devastation and despair’
- 2023 shatters climate records, with major impacts
Good News
- Black Friday: parody adverts target unbridled consumerism with an environmental message
- A Peruvian farmer is trying to hold energy giant RWE responsible for climate change – the inside story of his groundbreaking court case
- Stones inside fish ears mark time like tree rings – and now they’re helping us learn about climate change
- Pioneering flight to use 100% sustainable aviation fuel to cross the Atlantic, The Boeing 787 test flight from Heathrow to New York will be powered purely by the eco-fuel made up mainly of used cooking oil and plant-based products.
- Wind turbine blades: inside the battle to overcome their waste problem
- Could we soon be cycling across Mersey on new tidal barrage bridge? The multi-billion project is also expected to generate enough electricity to power one million homes.
- Why renewed China-US cooperation bodes well for climate action
Not so Good News
- British empire’s past emissions ‘double UK’s climate responsibility’. The UK’s domestic emissions account for 3% of total world emissions dating back to 1850. But when responsibility for emissions in countries once under the British empire’s rule is given to the UK, the figure rises to more than 5%.
- Climate crisis and energy costs fuel £600 rise in UK household food bill, analysis finds. Extreme weather contributing one-third of all food price inflation with worse to come in 2024, warn climate researchers.
- Climate crisis: what to consider if you’re questioning whether to have children
- Does the way we talk about the climate crisis numb people with fear, rather than energising them?
- Why the world’s first flight powered entirely by sustainable aviation fuel is a green mirage
- Most sponsors of Cop28 have not signed up to UN-backed net zero targets. Firms including Bank of America have made no commitment to cut emissions in line with target system, analysis finds
Bad News
- Black Friday is an environmental nightmare – the Victorians had a much more sustainable approach to fashion
- Toxic gas putting millions at risk in Middle East, BBC finds. Toxic pollutants released during gas flaring – the burning of waste gas during oil drilling – are endangering millions more people than previously feared.
- Undercover filming highlights Saudi plan to artificially raise oil demand.
Other Media News
Watch A Year in the Ice: The Arctic Drift | Stream free on Channel 4. I highly recommend this documentary . It is a Grierson Award Winner 2022: An intrepid team of 300 scientists spend a year in harsh conditions deep in the Arctic, on a pioneering expedition to find vital answers to help us deal with climate change.
Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis was book of the week last week on BBC Radio 4 all five14 minute episodes are available on BBC sounds. It addresses concerns around how much waste humans are producing and what we do with it.
Last week the 15 minute episode from the climate channel on YouTube, ‘Just have a Think’, addressed this interesting question How can we stop burning fossil fuels if we still need everything else they make?