Climate change news from the ground, in a warming world Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here [[link removed]] Megan Rowling [[link removed]]

Climate correspondent

Green groups are sounding the alarm on prospects for a new global pact to protect nature, due to be finished at December's COP15 summit, after last week's extra negotiating session in Nairobi failed to make clear headway on many important issues.

The inclusion of indigenous rights and gender equality in the draft deal was welcomed - but key goals of conserving at least 30% of the planet's land and seas by 2030 and boosting finance to halt and reverse damage to biodiversity remain divisive.

Top officials at the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity acknowledge there is still significant work to do to reach an ambitious deal at COP15 - now rescheduled for Montreal due to pandemic restrictions in host nation China - but say they are optimistic.

Environmentalists, on the other hand, take a dimmer view.

Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International, warned the chance of securing an ambitious agreement is "hanging by a thread" [[link removed]].

"We risk facing a 2030 world with even less biodiversity than we have today, driving entire ecosystems to collapse. That is just unacceptable," he told our correspondent Michael Taylor.

A group of Kara Solar technicians work on a new solar-panel-powered river boat near Tena, Ecuador, April 22, 2022. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Melissa Godin

Nowhere are human pressures on the world's precious but under-valued ecosystems felt more keenly than in the tropical forests of Latin America.

This week, we bring you two stories from Ecuador's rainforest, showing how indigenous people are working to keep their territories and natural riches safe from mining and dirty fuels.

Melissa Godin tells the story of how three solar boats [[link removed]] - a local design topped with protective roofs covered in solar panels - now ply a 67-km (40-mile) stretch of the Pastaza and Capahurari rivers, connecting nine Achuar indigenous communities.

The vessels allow communities without motorised boats to travel more swiftly, and others that had been using diesel engines to cut costs, move quietly and better protect their waterways from pollution.

And Kimberley Brown talked to the indigenous Shuar people, in the Cordillera del Condor mountain ranges in Ecuador's southern Amazon, about their fight to protect their land, forests and rivers from the creeping spread of the mining industry as it feeds a global green transition, hungry for minerals to build electric cars, solar panels and batteries.

"Here we have waterfalls, rivers, medicine. Here we have meat. For us (mining) isn't development. For us, the forest is life [[link removed]], it is the market," said Josefina Tunki, a prominent voice against mining as president of the Shuar Arutam People.

A public electric-vehicle charger installed in Takoma Park, Maryland. Handout photo by Rick Giammaria/Pepco Holdings

We also take a look at how low-carbon economies will require policy interventions to make sure energy savings and cleaner transport are available to all who want to follow a greener lifestyle - but are struggling to afford it.

In Europe, our Brussels correspondent Jo Gill reports on how home owners are struggling to find information and financial support [[link removed]] to undertake renovations such as adding building insulation, which could cut both their bills and energy use - crucial as gas prices rise, in part spurred by the Ukraine war.

Ideas - from training frontline workers like nurses to advise the energy-poor on measures to cut bills, to cheaper mortgages for more energy-efficient properties - are starting to take off, but aren't yet meeting the scale of need.

And Carey L. Biron takes the temperature of a new $2.5-billion push by the U.S. government to expand electric vehicle charging access [[link removed]] in “underserved and overburdened communities”, as it aims to spur the construction of a half-million new public EV chargers by 2030.

As Gil Scott-Heron sang: "The revolution will put you in the driver's seat."

See you next week,

Megan

Is green hydrogen a 'game changer' in clean energy transition? [[link removed]]

Chile, Brazil and India are among countries bidding to become green hydrogen hubs as demand grows for clean fuels

Bangladesh disaster response neglects vulnerable trans community [[link removed]]

Already struggling to access work, education and other basic rights, trans and intersex people in Bangladesh are at greater risk from climate threats like floods and cyclones

Green groups fear failure on new global biodiversity pact after sluggish talks [[link removed]]

Lack of progress at Nairobi talks aimed at brokering a global nature deal leave environmentalists frustrated, with much to do ahead of the make-or-break COP15 in December

In Ecuador's Amazon, solar panels bring 'fire canoe' dream to life [[link removed]]

Solar-powered boats are helping indigenous groups travel on their Amazon river highways faster, cheaper and more cleanly

Indigenous Ecuadorans fight back as metal mining eats into Amazon [[link removed]]

Driven by demand for 'green metals' to fuel the global transition to clean energy, Ecuador's mining growth threatens its forests

Indigenous peoples warn of global delay on forest protection push [[link removed]]

From the Amazon rainforest to Indonesia, indigenous groups see little progress on protecting forests since COP26 climate summit

Brazil's Lula sets out 'net zero deforestation' aim in election bid [[link removed]]

Restoring forests could create green jobs - but protecting existing forest is crucial, analysts say

Amid electric vehicle boom, US seeks to flood 'charging deserts' [[link removed]]

Electric vehicle chargers have often been sited in richer communities and at private homes. Efforts are underway to change that

India must colour coal cash green for mining hubs to survive [[link removed]]

Mining regions that lean on coal for revenue will be severely hit if work on a post-coal economy starts now, says new research, calling for more spending on renewable energy

Energy Charter Treaty under fire over threat to global climate action [[link removed]]

Governments are due to agree reforms to a treaty that allows energy companies to sue states for lost profits and could be used to claim damages if they move to phase out fossil fuels

Slashing emissions and energy bills: Home upgrades key to green revolution [[link removed]]

Home improvements to cut down on energy use can help tackle climate change, wean Europe off Russian fossil fuels and save money – so why isn't energy efficiency being taken more seriously?

OPINION: The G7 should keep its word on trillions for developing countries [[link removed]]

G7 progress on mobilising trillions needed in clean infrastructure investment for developing countries appears largely rhetorical

OPINION: Eviction of Tanzania's Maasai shows need for indigenous rights in global nature pact [[link removed]]

In Tanzania, Maasai people are being evicted from their ancestral lands in the name of conservation and economic need - something a new global nature accord cannot allow

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