Ready, set, go View Online [[link removed]] | Subscribe now [[link removed]]Powered byKnow better. Do better.Climate. Change.News from the ground, in a warming world

By Laurie Goering [[link removed]] | Climate Change Editor

Oil state to oil-free?

The COP28 U.N. climate summit kicks off in Dubai on Thursday amid some big questions: Can an oil-producing state effectively lead negotiations to ramp up climate action? Is a phase-out of fossil fuels on or off the agenda? What would a working “loss and damage” fund look like - and who would fill it and benefit from it?

Over the next two weeks, our team on the ground – Megan Rowling [[link removed]], Jack Graham [[link removed]] and Bukola Adebayo [[link removed]] – will be seeking out some answers to those questions and many more. Stay tuned!

One government that won’t be at COP28 is Afghanistan’s.

Despite its people suffering increasingly brutal climate change impacts [[link removed]], particularly droughts and flash floods, the Taliban government’s international political isolation means it is excluded from the summit [[link removed]] – and from accessing the expected new “loss and damage” fund to help vulnerable developing countries recover from climate-driven losses, writes correspondent Emma Batha.

Farmer Ghulam Sakhi holds peanut plants grown in his fields in Haska Mina district in Nangarhar province, east Afghanistan, October 2023. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Rohullah Talaash

Many climate adaptation experts have left the country since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover. That, and a lack of available cash, mean promising measures like small-scale dams – to cope with both flooding and drought – are on hold, a problem in a country where about two-thirds of people already need aid to survive.

Finding ways to help conflict-affected countries - even those with challenging leadership - become more resilient to climate impacts is crucial to protecting lives, humanitarians say.

“It makes no sense to keep giving food aid but not invest in climate adaptation projects that will help people grow their own food,” Najibullah Sadid, an Afghan water specialist based in Germany, told Context. “If you don’t target the root of the problem, the hunger will go on forever.”

Communities in the driver’s seat

Finding ways to fill a new “loss and damage” fund [[link removed]], once launched, will be a priority at COP28. But who gets access to the money is also a key question – and early spending in Bangladesh suggests frontline communities should have a big say on what needs to be done and how.

Chak Channamara, a village in the storm-hit southwest, for instance, has used some of $1 million in seed “loss and damage” funding [[link removed]] from Scotland’s government to repair a vital road into town, which had been cut off by cyclone damage, writes correspondent Md. Tamid Zami.

Commuters ride on rickshaws on a flooded road after heavy rains in Dhaka, Bangladesh, September 22, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

That has helped people get to school, hospitals and jobs, improving incomes – and letting the community restart a colourful religious festival that had been shelved for more than a decade since the storms, effectively reducing their “non-economic” losses.

One key lesson from Chak Channamara’s experience is that “there should be a community ‘window’ in loss and damage funding that give out smaller grants and is directly accessible by communities,” said Heather McGray, director of the Climate Justice Resilience Fund, which channeled the cash for the road repairs.

Revving up change?

Ahead of the COP28 climate talks, Formula One auto racing roared through its final fixture of the year this weekend, just down the road from Dubai in Abu Dhabi.

COP28 is supposed to focus minds on the race to rapidly cut planet-heating emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change – but is F1 headed toward a greener future [[link removed]] too?

The answer is mixed, our correspondent Jack Graham discovered.

Formula One F1 - Mexico City Grand Prix - Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico - October 29, 2023 Red Bull's Max Verstappen passes the chequered flag to win the Mexico City Grand Prix. REUTERS/Andres Stapff

The sport in 2019 set a target to achieve a net-zero-carbon footprint by 2030, including use of 100% sustainable fuels – such as recycled cooking oil and animal fats – by 2026 when new engines are introduced.

But most of F1’s emissions – over 72% - come not from its sleek racing cars but from the logistics and business travel involved in moving cars and teams around the planet to a growing number of races.

A bit of schedule recalibration can help – the Abu Dhabi and Qatar races won’t have a Las Vegas grand prix separating them next year, organisers said – and F1 has promised to cut overall emissions by at least 50%. But to achieve full net-zero the sport will depend significantly on offsetting emissions, an increasingly controversial practice.

Still, if F1 it can find new ways to keep racing competitive while making real emissions cuts, rather than depending heavily on offsets, “it would be a model for the whole sports world [[link removed]] to follow,” said Madeleine Orr, a sport and climate researcher at the University of Toronto.

Don’t miss our COP28 coverage here [[link removed]] – and see you next week!

Laurie

This week's top picks Women farmers shine as 'super-heroes' in India's climate fight [[link removed]]

Women lead the charge for climate-friendly agriculture on the ground, though many important decisions still rest with men

Here's why climate change in Afghanistan has global repercussions [[link removed]]

Severe droughts are exacerbating Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis, but funding for climate change adaptation is frozen

Early 'loss and damage' funding puts communities in driver's seat [[link removed]]

Loss and damage finance with greater community leadership can bring better and fairer outcomes, experts say

With sustainable cotton in fashion, Indian farmers seek fair price [[link removed]]

As fashion brands heed environmental concerns, demand rises for greener cotton but small-scale farmers need support to tap benefits

Can gas-guzzling Formula One ever go green? [[link removed]]

As the world prepares for COP28 climate talks, F1 says it wants to be part of the solution - but can the sport be sustainable?

Villagers resist India's biofuel push over hidden health risks [[link removed]]

Tensions caused by a new ethanol plant in the south reveal the social and environmental challenges of India's plan for greener fuel

COP28 must deliver a rapid response plan for the climate [[link removed]]

Incremental action can't solve the climate crisis - at COP28, leaders need to accelerate the exponential change already underway

It’s time to put our money where our mouths are [[link removed]]

Climate finance underpins all the key progress that needs to be made at COP28

Ignoring Indigenous people will put nature targets out of reach [[link removed]]

It’s time for governments to invest in Indigenous communities as effective partners in countering climate change and biodiversity loss

Read all of our coverage here [[link removed]] Editor's pick Growing green on India’s farms [[link removed]]

With climate change hurting harvests and incomes, poor farmers need support to adapt and shift to eco-friendly agriculture

[[link removed]]Discover more Nature [[link removed]] Climate Risks [[link removed]] Net Zero [[link removed]] Just Transition [[link removed]] Climate Justice [[link removed]] Green Cities [[link removed]] Thank you for reading!

If you like this newsletter, please forward to a friend or share it on Twitter. [[link removed]'s%20seat&url=prod//newsletter?id=a7bc5c8e1ca869993c2e89ee0ae618a6]

We value your feedback - let us know what you think [mailto:[email protected]].

This email was sent to you by Thomson Reuters Foundation located at 5 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AQ - a registered charity in the United Kingdom and the United States.

If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you do not wish to receive this type of correspondence in the future, contact us at [[email protected]] so that we can remove you from this list.

Thomson Reuters Foundation terms and conditions and privacy statement can be found online at www.trust.org [[link removed]].

Photos courtesy of Reuters or Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Manage your Subscriptions [[link removed]] | Unsubscribe from all TRF communications [link removed]