AFP UK

The glass frog is an increasingly sought-after pet, being trafficked and collected for their unusual beauty

A global wildlife summit in Panama will decide whether to take measures to protect the translucent glass frog and 12 types of freshwater turtles in its final week, which kicked off Monday.

Conservation experts and delegates from more than 180 nations began the week with a decision to maintain a ban on the trade of white rhinoceros horn, despite a request from Eswatini that was backed by Japan and several other African countries.

The tiny nation, formerly known as Swaziland, had argued the money from the sale of rhino horn would aid in conserving the threatened species.

Delegates began meeting last Monday to discuss 52 proposals to modify protection levels set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

In the coming days the fate of several unique amphibians will be up for debate.

“Freshwater turtles are among the main groups that are trafficked in the countries, and there is high pressure for international trade,” said Yovana Murillo, who heads a program against wildlife trafficking for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru want to list two species of matamata turtles, which live in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, on CITES Appendix II, which requires the tracking and regulation of trade.

Doris Rodrigues of Peru’s forestry service told AFP that the striking matamata turtles, with their beetle-like appearance, have become sought-after pets and “face many threats.”

These include habitat destruction, pollution, illegal trade, and being hunted for their meat and eggs.

– Glass frog –

Delegates will also debate regulating the trade of the nocturnal glass frog, found in several rainforests in central and south America.

The amphibian is an increasingly popular pet. Some are a lime green color, while others have translucent bellies and chests. 

“They are being collected for their beauty. They are being trafficked and some are in critical danger,” said Rodriguez.

CITES, in force since 1975, regulates trade in some 36,000 species of plants and animals and provides mechanisms to help crack down on illegal trade. It sanctions countries that break the rules.

The meeting of the parties to the convention takes place every two or three years.

On Friday, delegates rejected a request by Zimbabwe to allow the ivory trade to resume in some southern African countries, a decision lauded by conservation NGOs. 

– Beleaguered porpoise –

The conference has seen fierce debate over the vaquita, a species of porpoise that lives in Mexico’s Gulf of California and is at risk of extinction.

On the eve of the summit, CITES issued an ultimatum to Mexico, to show progress in protecting the world’s most endangered marine animal by February 2023, or face sanctions against its fish exports.

Washington has argued that its neighbor is not doing enough to protect the world’s most endangered marine animal, while Mexico countered that it had boosted naval surveillance in the Gulf.

Good news also emerged from the summit: the Aleutian cackling goose was moved from the list of most threatened species to those no longer threatened with extinction, after its numbers increased.

“This is a positive story about the recovery of a species,” highlighted the president of the committee which approved the move, Britain’s Vincent Fleming.

The glass frog is an increasingly sought-after pet, being trafficked and collected for their unusual beauty

A global wildlife summit in Panama will decide whether to take measures to protect the translucent glass frog and 12 types of freshwater turtles in its final week, which kicked off Monday.

Conservation experts and delegates from more than 180 nations began the week with a decision to maintain a ban on the trade of white rhinoceros horn, despite a request from Eswatini that was backed by Japan and several other African countries.

The tiny nation, formerly known as Swaziland, had argued the money from the sale of rhino horn would aid in conserving the threatened species.

Delegates began meeting last Monday to discuss 52 proposals to modify protection levels set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

In the coming days the fate of several unique amphibians will be up for debate.

“Freshwater turtles are among the main groups that are trafficked in the countries, and there is high pressure for international trade,” said Yovana Murillo, who heads a program against wildlife trafficking for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru want to list two species of matamata turtles, which live in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, on CITES Appendix II, which requires the tracking and regulation of trade.

Doris Rodrigues of Peru’s forestry service told AFP that the striking matamata turtles, with their beetle-like appearance, have become sought-after pets and “face many threats.”

These include habitat destruction, pollution, illegal trade, and being hunted for their meat and eggs.

– Glass frog –

Delegates will also debate regulating the trade of the nocturnal glass frog, found in several rainforests in central and south America.

The amphibian is an increasingly popular pet. Some are a lime green color, while others have translucent bellies and chests. 

“They are being collected for their beauty. They are being trafficked and some are in critical danger,” said Rodriguez.

CITES, in force since 1975, regulates trade in some 36,000 species of plants and animals and provides mechanisms to help crack down on illegal trade. It sanctions countries that break the rules.

The meeting of the parties to the convention takes place every two or three years.

On Friday, delegates rejected a request by Zimbabwe to allow the ivory trade to resume in some southern African countries, a decision lauded by conservation NGOs. 

– Beleaguered porpoise –

The conference has seen fierce debate over the vaquita, a species of porpoise that lives in Mexico’s Gulf of California and is at risk of extinction.

On the eve of the summit, CITES issued an ultimatum to Mexico, to show progress in protecting the world’s most endangered marine animal by February 2023, or face sanctions against its fish exports.

Washington has argued that its neighbor is not doing enough to protect the world’s most endangered marine animal, while Mexico countered that it had boosted naval surveillance in the Gulf.

Good news also emerged from the summit: the Aleutian cackling goose was moved from the list of most threatened species to those no longer threatened with extinction, after its numbers increased.

“This is a positive story about the recovery of a species,” highlighted the president of the committee which approved the move, Britain’s Vincent Fleming.

The glass frog is an increasingly sought-after pet, being trafficked and collected for their unusual beauty

A global wildlife summit in Panama will decide whether to take measures to protect the translucent glass frog and 12 types of freshwater turtles in its final week, which kicked off Monday.

Conservation experts and delegates from more than 180 nations began the week with a decision to maintain a ban on the trade of white rhinoceros horn, despite a request from Eswatini that was backed by Japan and several other African countries.

The tiny nation, formerly known as Swaziland, had argued the money from the sale of rhino horn would aid in the conservation of the threatened species.

Delegates began meeting last week Monday to discuss 52 proposals to modify protection levels set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

In the coming days the fate of several unique amphibians will be up for debate.

“Freshwater turtles are among the main groups that are trafficked in the countries and there is high pressure for international trade,” said Yovana Murillo, who heads a program against wildlife trafficking for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru want to list two species of matamata turtles, which live in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, on CITES Appendix II, which requires the tracking and regulation of trade.

Doris Rodrigues of Peru’s forestry service, told AFP that the striking matamata turtles, with their beetle-like appearance, have become sought-after pets, and “face many threats.”

These include habitat destruction, pollution, illegal trade, and being hunted for their meat and eggs.

– Glass frog –

Delegates will also debate regulating the trade of the nocturnal glass frog, found in several rainforests in central and south America.

The amphibian is an increasingly popular pet. Some are a lime green color, while others have translucent bellies and chests. 

“They are being collected for their beauty. They are being trafficked and some are in critical danger,” said Rodriguez.

CITES, in force since 1975, regulates trade in some 36,000 species of plants and animals and provides mechanisms to help crack down on illegal trade. It sanctions countries that break the rules.

The meeting of the parties to the convention takes place every two or three years.

Visitors take pictures of the T-rex skeleton named 'Shen' in Singapore

Christie’s has called off the auction of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, the auction house told AFP on Monday, days before it was due to go under the hammer in Hong Kong.

The cancellation came after an American fossil company raised doubts about parts of the skeleton named “Shen”, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Christie’s said in a statement to AFP that Shen — a 1,400-kilogramme (3,100-pound) skeleton — was withdrawn from its autumn auctions week that starts in Hong Kong on Friday.

“The consignor has now decided to loan the specimen to a museum for public display,” it said.

Excavated from the US state of Montana, Shen stands 4.6 metres (15 feet) tall and 12 metres long, and is thought to be an adult male that lived about 67 million years ago.

Its auction would have followed the sale of another T-rex skeleton named “Stan” by Christie’s for $31.8 million in 2020.

It is very rare for complete dinosaur skeletons to be found, according to The Field Museum in Chicago, one of the largest natural history museums in the world.

Most frames on display use casts of bones to complete the skeleton. The Field Museum estimates the number of bones in a T-rex at 380.

Christie’s original materials said about 80 of Shen’s bones were original.

The controversy was sparked when Peter Larson, president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in the United States, told The New York Times that parts of Shen looked similar to Stan.

The Black Hills Institute holds the intellectual property rights to Stan, even after its sale in 2020, and it sells replicas of that skeleton

Larson told the newspaper that it seemed to him that Shen’s owner — not identified by Christie’s — used bones from a Stan replica to complete the skeleton.

Its spokesman Edward Lewine told the newspaper that Christie’s believes Shen “would benefit from further study”.

Sales of such skeletons have raked in tens of millions of dollars in recent years, but experts have described the trade as harmful to science as the auctions could put them in private hands and out of the reach of researchers.

Visitors take pictures of the T-rex skeleton named 'Shen' in Singapore

Christie’s has called off the auction of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, the auction house told AFP on Monday, days before it was due to go under the hammer in Hong Kong.

The cancellation came after an American fossil company raised doubts about parts of the skeleton named “Shen”, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Christie’s said in a statement to AFP that Shen — a 1,400-kilogramme (3,100-pound) skeleton — was withdrawn from its autumn auctions week that starts in Hong Kong on Friday.

“The consignor has now decided to loan the specimen to a museum for public display,” it said.

Excavated from the US state of Montana, Shen stands 4.6 metres (15 feet) tall and 12 metres long, and is thought to be an adult male that lived about 67 million years ago.

Its auction would have followed the sale of another T-rex skeleton named “Stan” by Christie’s for $31.8 million in 2020.

It is very rare for complete dinosaur skeletons to be found, according to The Field Museum in Chicago, one of the largest natural history museums in the world.

Most frames on display use casts of bones to complete the skeleton. The Field Museum estimates the number of bones in a T-rex at 380.

Christie’s original materials said about 80 of Shen’s bones were original.

The controversy was sparked when Peter Larson, president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in the United States, told The New York Times that parts of Shen looked similar to Stan.

The Black Hills Institute holds the intellectual property rights to Stan, even after its sale in 2020, and it sells replicas of that skeleton

Larson told the newspaper that it seemed to him that Shen’s owner — not identified by Christie’s — used bones from a Stan replica to complete the skeleton.

Its spokesman Edward Lewine told the newspaper that Christie’s believes Shen “would benefit from further study”.

Sales of such skeletons have raked in tens of millions of dollars in recent years, but experts have described the trade as harmful to science as the auctions could put them in private hands and out of the reach of researchers.

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano was so intense it reached beyond the Earth's stratosphere, into the mesosphere

A deadly volcanic eruption near Tonga in January was the largest ever recorded with modern equipment, a New Zealand-led team of scientists revealed Monday.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted underwater with a force equivalent to hundreds of atomic bombs, unleashing a 15-metre (50-foot) tsunami which demolished homes and killed at least three people on the Pacific island kingdom.

The natural disaster also damaged undersea communication cables, cutting Tonga off from the rest of the world for weeks and hampering efforts to help the victims.

A detailed study by New Zealand’s national institute for water and atmospheric research shows the eruption blasted out almost 10 cubic kilometres of material — equivalent to 2.6 million Olympic-sized swimming pools — and fired debris more than 40 kilometres (25 miles) into the mesosphere, the level above the Earth’s stratosphere.

“The eruption reached record heights, being the first we’ve ever seen to break through into the mesosphere,” said marine geologist Kevin Mackay.

“It was like a shotgun blast directly into the sky.”

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption rivals the infamous Krakatoa disaster which killed tens of thousands in Indonesia in 1883 before the invention of modern measuring equipment.

“While this eruption was large — one of the biggest since Krakatoa — the difference here is that it’s an underwater volcano and it’s also part of the reason we got such big tsunami waves,” Mackay added.

The team of scientists have accounted for three-quarters of the material fired out by the Tongan eruption with the rest explained as debris scattered in the atmosphere.

Mackay said the plume is estimated to have contained nearly two cubic kilometres of particles which stayed in the atmosphere for “months, causing the stunning sunsets we saw” across the Pacific region as far away as New Zealand.

His team also discovered that the volcano’s crater is now 700 metres deeper than it was.

The eruption’s pyroclastic flows — deadly currents of lava, volcanic ash and gases which reach temperatures of 1,000 degrees Centigrade (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit) and speeds of 700 kilometres per hour — carried debris from the volcano along the sea floor at least 80 kilometres away.

“But the pyroclastic flows appear to extend beyond that, perhaps as far as 100 kilometres away,” said the team’s principal scientist Emily Lane.

“The sheer force of the flows is astonishing — we saw deposits in valleys beyond the volcano, meaning they had enough power to flow uphill over huge ridges and then back down again.”

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano was so intense it reached beyond the Earth's stratosphere, into the mesosphere

A deadly volcanic eruption near Tonga in January was the largest ever recorded with modern equipment, a New Zealand-led team of scientists revealed Monday.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted underwater with a force equivalent to hundreds of atomic bombs, unleashing a 15-metre (50-foot) tsunami which demolished homes and killed at least three people on the Pacific island kingdom.

The natural disaster also damaged undersea communication cables, cutting Tonga off from the rest of the world for weeks and hampering efforts to help the victims.

A detailed study by New Zealand’s national institute for water and atmospheric research shows the eruption blasted out almost 10 cubic kilometres of material — equivalent to 2.6 million Olympic-sized swimming pools — and fired debris more than 40 kilometres (25 miles) into the mesosphere, the level above the Earth’s stratosphere.

“The eruption reached record heights, being the first we’ve ever seen to break through into the mesosphere,” said marine geologist Kevin Mackay.

“It was like a shotgun blast directly into the sky.”

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption rivals the infamous Krakatoa disaster which killed tens of thousands in Indonesia in 1883 before the invention of modern measuring equipment.

“While this eruption was large — one of the biggest since Krakatoa — the difference here is that it’s an underwater volcano and it’s also part of the reason we got such big tsunami waves,” Mackay added.

The team of scientists have accounted for three-quarters of the material fired out by the Tongan eruption with the rest explained as debris scattered in the atmosphere.

Mackay said the plume is estimated to have contained nearly two cubic kilometres of particles which stayed in the atmosphere for “months, causing the stunning sunsets we saw” across the Pacific region as far away as New Zealand.

His team also discovered that the volcano’s crater is now 700 metres deeper than it was.

The eruption’s pyroclastic flows — deadly currents of lava, volcanic ash and gases which reach temperatures of 1,000 degrees Centigrade (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit) and speeds of 700 kilometres per hour — carried debris from the volcano along the sea floor at least 80 kilometres away.

“But the pyroclastic flows appear to extend beyond that, perhaps as far as 100 kilometres away,” said the team’s principal scientist Emily Lane.

“The sheer force of the flows is astonishing — we saw deposits in valleys beyond the volcano, meaning they had enough power to flow uphill over huge ridges and then back down again.”

The Paris Agreement said global warming should be slashed to well below two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels and preferably a safer 1.5C

A fraught UN summit wrapped up Sunday with a landmark deal on funding to help vulnerable countries cope with devastating climate impacts — but also anger over a failure to be more ambitious on cutting emissions.

The two-week talks in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which at times appeared to teeter on the brink of collapse, delivered a major breakthrough on a fund for climate “loss and damage”.

Pakistani climate minister Sherry Rehman said COP27 “responded to the voices of the vulnerable”.

“We have struggled for 30 years on this path, and today in Sharm el-Sheikh this journey has achieved its first positive milestone,” she told the summit.

Tired delegates applauded when the fund was adopted as the sun came up Sunday following almost two extra days of round-the-clock negotiations.

But jubilation over that achievement was countered by stern warnings.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the talks had “taken an important step towards justice” with the loss and damage fund, but fell short in pushing for the urgent carbon-cutting needed to tackle global warming.

“Our planet is still in the emergency room,” Guterres said. “We need to drastically reduce emissions now and this is an issue this COP did not address.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also warned that “more must be done”, while French President Emmanuel Macron proposed another summit in Paris ahead of COP28 in Dubai to agree “a new financial pact” for vulnerable nations. 

– ‘Stonewalled by emitters’ –

A final COP27 statement covering the broad efforts to grapple with a warming planet held the line on the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.

It also included language on renewable energy for the first time, while reiterating previous calls to accelerate “efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”.

But that failed to go much further than a similar decision from last year’s COP26 meeting in Glasgow on key issues around cutting planet-heating pollution.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the EU was “disappointed”, adding that more than 80 nations had backed a stronger emissions pledge.

“What we have in front of us… doesn’t bring enough added efforts from major emitters to increase and accelerate their emission cuts,” said Timmermans, who 24 hours earlier threatened to walk out of the talks.

Britain’s Alok Sharma, who chaired COP26 in Glasgow, said a passage on energy had been “weakened, in the final minutes”.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she was frustrated that the emissions cuts and fossil fuel phase-out were “stonewalled by a number of large emitters and oil producers”.

Criticised by some delegations for a lack of transparency during negotiations, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the COP27 chair, said any missteps were “certainly not intentional”, and that he worked to avoid any “backslide” by parties.

– ‘Loss and damage’ –

The deal on loss and damage gathered critical momentum during the talks.

Developing nations relentlessly pushed for the fund, finally succeeding in getting the backing of wealthy polluters long fearful of open-ended liability.

A statement from the Alliance of Small Island States, comprised of islands whose very existence is threatened by sea levels rising, said the loss and damage deal was “historic”.

“The agreements made at COP27 are a win for our entire world,” said Molwyn Joseph, of Antigua and Barbuda and chair of AOSIS.

“We have shown those who have felt neglected that we hear you, we see you, and we are giving you the respect and care you deserve.”

With around 1.2C of warming so far, the world has seen a cascade of climate-driven extremes, shining a spotlight on the plight of developing countries faced with escalating disasters, as well as an energy and food price crisis and ballooning debt.

The fund will be geared towards developing nations “that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change” — language that had been requested by the EU.

– ‘On the brink’ –

The Europeans had also wanted to broaden the funder base to cough up cash — code for China and other better-off emerging countries. 

The final loss and damage text left many of the thornier questions to be dealt with by a transitional committee, which will report to next year’s climate meeting in Dubai to get the funding operational.

The fund will focus on what can be done now to support loss and damage resources but the agreement does not provide for liability or compensation, said a US State Department spokesperson.

Scientists say limiting warming to 1.5C is a far safer guardrail against catastrophic climate impacts, with the world currently way off track and heading for around 2.5C under current commitments and plans.

“The historic outcome on loss and damage at COP27 shows international cooperation is possible,” said Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and Chair of The Elders.

“Equally, the renewed commitment on the 1.5C global warming limit was a source of relief. However, none of this changes the fact that the world remains on the brink of climate catastrophe.”  

Cooperation between the United States and China is key in the fight against global warming

US climate envoy John Kerry called on Beijing Sunday to “accelerate progress together” on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, following a meeting with his Chinese counterpart at COP27 in Egypt.

Kerry and Xie Zhenhua met during the UN summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed at a G20 summit in Indonesia last week to resume collaboration on fighting climate change.

Beijing suspended the talks in August in anger at US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Cooperation between the superpowers is key in the fight against global warming and has led to breakthroughs at past UN climate conferences, notably the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.

“The climate crisis is fundamentally a global, not a bilateral, issue,” Kerry said in a statement.

“The United States and China should be able to accelerate progress together, not only for our sake, but for future generations,” Kerry added.

“All nations have a stake in the choices China makes in this critical decade… We are all hopeful that China will live up to its global responsibility.”

Xie described his talks with Kerry as “candid, friendly, positive” and “overall very constructive”.

“We have agreed that after this COP we will continue formal conversations, including face-to-face meetings,” he told reporters on Saturday.

But he also highlighted lingering differences with Western nations, rejecting the idea that China should no longer be considered a developing country, though it is now the world’s second-biggest economy.

That distinction in status is key: Under the terms of a bedrock 1992 UN climate treaty, developed countries are supposed to financially help developing nations in their energy transitions and efforts to build resilience against climate impacts.

– ‘Major outcome’ –

The issue was at the heart of a contentious debate at COP27 on establishing a “loss and damage” fund to compensate poorer countries already devastated by the fallout from global warming.

Kerry called the landmark deal on funding to help vulnerable countries cope with devastating impacts of global warming “one of the major outcomes” of the conference.

The US envoy had tested positive for Covid-19 during the summit and was self-isolating when negotiations wrapped up on Sunday.

A final COP27 statement covering the broad array of efforts to grapple with a warming planet held the line on the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.

According to Kerry, this goal can be achieved by “implementing real projects and deploying real dollars to accelerate the energy transition”.

“Investment in clean energy and infrastructure will help countries deliver stronger climate ambition anywhere by driving down the cost of clean technologies.”

He said Washington and other governments were “stepping up” funding to support the green transition, noting several initiatives launched ahead of and during COP27.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced last week in Sharm el-Sheikh a $48 billion renewable energy investment scheme with the United States to strengthen emissions-cutting efforts.

Also during the summit, Kerry launched a partnership with private funds aimed at supporting the transition to renewable energy in developing nations, based on a carbon credit system.

Cooperation between the United States and China is key in the fight against global warming

US climate envoy John Kerry called on Beijing Sunday to “accelerate progress together” on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, following a meeting with his Chinese counterpart at COP27 in Egypt.

Kerry and Xie Zhenhua met during the UN summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed at a G20 summit in Indonesia last week to resume collaboration on fighting climate change.

Beijing suspended the talks in August in anger at US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Cooperation between the superpowers is key in the fight against global warming and has led to breakthroughs at past UN climate conferences, notably the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.

“The climate crisis in fundamentally a global — not a bilateral — issue,” Kerry said in a statement.

“The United States and China should be able to accelerate progress together, not only for our sake, but for future generations,” Kerry added.

“All nations have a stake in the choices China makes in this critical decade… We are all hopeful that China will live up to its global responsibility.”

Xie described his talks with Kerry as “candid, friendly, positive” and “overall very constructive”.

“We have agreed that after this COP we will continue formal conversations, including face-to-face meetings,” he told reporters on Saturday.

But he also highlighted lingering differences with Western nations, rejecting the idea that China should no longer be considered a developing country, though it is now the world’s second-biggest economy.

That distinction in status is key: Under the terms of a bedrock 1992 UN climate treaty, developed countries are supposed to financially help developing nations in their energy transitions and efforts to build resilience against climate impacts.

– ‘Major outcome’ –

The issue was at the heart of a contentious debate at COP27 on establishing a “loss and damage” fund to compensate poorer countries already devastated by the fallout from global warming.

Kerry called the landmark deal on funding to help vulnerable countries cope with devastating impacts of global warming “one of the major outcomes” of the conference.

The US envoy had tested positive for Covid-19 during the summit and was self-isolating when negotiations wrapped up on Sunday.

A final COP27 statement covering the broad array of efforts to grapple with a warming planet held the line on the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.

According to Kerry, this goal can be achieved by “implementing real projects and deploying real dollars to accelerate the energy transition”.

“Investment in clean energy and infrastructure will help countries deliver stronger climate ambition anywhere by driving down the cost of clean technologies.”

He said Washington and other governments were “stepping up” funding to support the green transition, noting several initiatives launched ahead of and during COP27.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced last week in Sharm el-Sheikh a $48 billion renewable energy investment scheme with the United States to strengthen emissions-cutting efforts.

Also during the summit, Kerry launched a partnership with private funds aimed at supporting the transition to renewable energy in developing nations, based on a carbon credit system.