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Countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Pacific and Europe plead for transition to be central outcome of talks Cop30 live – latest updates More than 80 countries have joined a call for a roadmap to phasing out fossil fuels, in a dramatic intervention into stuck negotiations at the UN Cop30 climate summit. Countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific joined with EU member states and the UK to make an impassioned plea for the “transition away from fossil fuels” to be a central outcome of the talks, despite stiff opposition from petrostates and some other major economies. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Tshering Tobgay says his country is doing ‘a lot more than our fair share’ on climate and west must cut emissions ‘for the happiness of your people’ The wealthy western countries most responsible for the climate crisis would improve the health and happiness of their citizens by prioritising environmental conservation and sustainable economic growth, according to the prime minister of Bhutan, the world’s first carbon-negative nation. Bhutan, a Buddhist democratic monarchy and biodiversity hotspot situated high in the eastern Himalayas, is among the world’s most ambitious climate leaders thanks to its people’s connection with nature and a strong political focus on improving gross national happiness rather than just GDP, Tshering Tobgay told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Reintroducing the apex predator would control deer populations, maintaining healthy ecosystems and bolstering biodiversity, rewilding group says Last summer, a wildlife photographer saw, or believed he saw, a mountain lion in South Burlington, Vermont. While it’s possible, it is also remarkable: the apex predator was rendered extinct in northern New England in 1881 and the nearest confirmed breeding population is in North Dakota, 2,000 miles (3,200km) away. But there could be in years hence more definitive sightings if Mighty Earth, a US-headquartered rewilding organization, convinces state and local authorities, along with Vermonters in general, that returning the top-level predator – known in various regions as the cougar, puma, panther and, in the north-east, catamount – to the region. Continue reading...

Thousands of youth activists from around the world presented a global youth statement calling for “full, fast, fair fossil phase-out” We should not fear the forces of denial and delay, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has warned, because “they are losing this fight”. Speaking to delegates at Cop30, the Labour politician acknowledged the existence of climate deniers and delayers across the world – including in the UK – and described them as “well funded, well organised, and determined”. Continue reading...