The Latest: U.S. climate envoy Kerry lauds Biden project

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The latest connected the U.N. climate acme COP26 successful Glasgow:

GENEVA — U.S. clime envoy John Kerry says a caller task trumpeted by U.S. President Joe Biden, successful which companies underpin improvement of low-carbon technologies done their buying power, amounts to a “big transformation.”

The “First Movers Coalition,” spearheaded by the U.S. authorities and the World Economic Forum, aims to assistance conscionable an progressively hard people laid retired successful the 2015 Paris clime accord to bounds planetary warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. So far, astir 3 twelve planetary companies successful galore sectors person committed to changing their purchasing practices to favour improvement of zero-emission technologies by 2030.

Designers of the task accidental fractional of the emissions simplification projected betwixt present and 2030 volition stem from innovations – similar capturing c retired of the aerial – that aren’t operating astatine a ample scale.

“It’s a large deal,” Kerry told galore firm leaders down the task successful Glasgow connected Thursday.

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GLASGOW, Scotland — U.S. clime envoy John Kerry has joined the tens of thousands of attendees who’ve been humbled by pugnacious introduction procedures astatine the U.N. clime summit.

Kerry apologized Thursday for appearing astir 20 minutes precocious for a renewable vigor lawsuit astatine the United States’ pavilion wrong the acme site.

Kerry said helium had been “off-campus” visiting a venue extracurricular the acme successful Glasgow, Scotland.

“As you each know, getting backmost successful is not easy,” helium told the crowd. “Even for those of america who thought it mightiness be.”

The summit’s organizers person imposed steadfast rules for accreditation badges, masks and impervious of regular antagonistic results connected tests for COVID-19. Lines to get successful lasted good beyond an hr aboriginal this week, but person shrunk noticeably since.

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GLASGOW, Scotland — The British authorities says pledges of caller oregon earlier deadlines for ending ember usage person travel from much than 20 countries including Ukraine, Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia and Chile.

Meanwhile, Poland, the second-biggest idiosyncratic of ember successful Europe aft Germany, appeared to backtrack connected immoderate ambitious caller commitments wrong hours of the announcement astatine the ongoing U.N. clime conference.

“Energy information and the assurances of jobs is simply a precedence for us,” Anna Moskwa, Poland’s curate for clime and environment, said successful a tweet, citing the government’s existing program which “provides for a departure from hard ember by 2049.”

Earlier successful the day, it had seemed that Poland mightiness bring that deadline guardant by astatine slightest a decade.

Campaigners reacted angrily to the evident U-turn.

“Moskwa has underscored that her authorities cannot beryllium trusted to motion a postcard, fto unsocial a liable clime pledge,” said Kathrin Gutmann, run manager of the radical Europe Beyond Coal.

Meanwhile, the United States, Canada, Denmark and respective different nations signed a antithetic pledge to “prioritize” backing cleanable vigor implicit fossil substance projects abroad.

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HELSINKI — Finland's superior metropolis says it volition nary longer service nutrient dishes astatine seminars, unit meetings, receptions and different events to trim Helsinki's c footprint.

Instead, the metropolis authorities plans to connection vegetarian nutrient and sustainable section fish.

Liisa Kivela, Helsinki's communications director, told The Associated Press connected Thursday that the alteration takes effect successful January and excludes schoolhouse and workplace cafeterias tally by the metropolis of astir 650,000 residents.

Kivela said the the argumentation adopted by the City Council besides allows deviations for definite “high-level visits oregon akin events” organized by Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen oregon the city’s elder managers.

The argumentation besides stipulates that coffee, beverage and items similar bananas offered astatine events volition person to beryllium sourced from just commercialized producers. In addition, oat beverage volition regenerate regular milk, and snacks and refreshments nary longer tin beryllium served successful single-use containers.

The section authorities said successful a connection that the measurement is portion of a broader effort “which aims to trim the clime interaction of nutrient and trim the magnitude of earthy resources utilized by the city.”

The mayor, who assumed Helsinki’s apical station successful August, said helium was gladsome the metropolis retains the enactment of serving nutrient connected immoderate occasions.

“For example, should the king of Sweden get for a visit, past home crippled tin beryllium offered. Or immoderate radical for whom it would beryllium earthy to connection meat, past determination indispensable beryllium discretion and communal sense,” Vartiainen told the Finnish paper Iltalehti.

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PARIS — French astronaut Thomas Pesquet utilized a video telephone from abstraction to picture the presumption from the International Space Station of planetary warming's repercussions.

Pesquet told French President Emmanuel Macron during the telephone connected Thursday that the abstraction station's portholes revealed the haunting fragility of humanity’s lone home.

“We spot the contamination of rivers, atmospheric pollution, things similar that," the astronaut said. "What truly shocked maine connected this ngo were utmost upwind oregon clime phenomena.”

“We saw full regions burning from the abstraction station, successful Canada, successful California,” helium continued. “We saw each of California covered by a unreality of fume and flames with the bare oculus from 400 kilometers (250 miles) up.”

This is Pesquet’s 2nd ngo to the abstraction station. He besides spent 197 days successful orbit successful 2016-2017. The destructive effects of quality enactment person go progressively disposable successful the interim, helium said.

Macron said the extremity for negotiators astatine the U.N. clime league successful Scotland indispensable beryllium to velocity up humanity’s response.

“There is inactive a immense occupation up of us, and I deliberation we are each alert of that,” the French person said.

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GLASGOW, Scotland —Several large coal-using nations announced steps to wean themselves disconnected of the heavy polluting fossil fuel, though for immoderate the weaning volition hap slowly.

The pledges connected Thursday to signifier retired ember travel connected apical of different promises made astatine the U.N. clime acme successful Glasgow, Scotland. The caput of an planetary vigor enactment said the earlier commitments trimmed a fewer tenths of a grade from projections of aboriginal warming.

But extracurricular experts termed that remark — lone successful a tweet, not a rigorous study — “optimistic.”

Optimism besides abounded successful narration to the promises connected coal, which has the dirtiest c footprint of the large fuels and is simply a important root of planet-warming emissions.

“Today, I deliberation we tin accidental that the extremity of ember is successful sight,” said Alok Sharma, who is chairing the league of astir 200 nations, known arsenic COP26.

Forecasters with a much skeptical presumption noted that respective large economies inactive person not acceptable a day for ending their dependence connected the fuel, including the United States, China, India and Japan.

Outside the COP26 venue, protestors clad arsenic animated characters blasted Japan’s continued ember use.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The Danish authorities said Thursday it volition donate 100 cardinal kroner ($15.6 million) to efforts to acquisition and decommission ember powerfulness plants and put successful caller vigor sources.

“As portion of our broad clime efforts, the Danish authorities is moving to signifier retired ember portion besides investing massively successful caller greenish vigor sources,” Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said successful a statement.

Minister for Climate and Energy Dan Joergensen said the wealth “will assistance coal-intensive countries trim their ember depletion and make caller income opportunities successful section communities, which is perfectly captious to accelerating the vigor transition.”

Denmark's wealth volition spell to the Climate Investment Fund’s caller Accelerating Coal Transition program, and the superior absorption volition initially beryllium connected South Africa, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The Danish authorities said the programme includes efforts supporting alternate employment of the section colonisation successful impacted areas.

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SOULAINES-DHUYS, France — Nuclear powerfulness is simply a cardinal sticking constituent arsenic negotiators crippled retired the world’s aboriginal vigor strategy astatine the clime talks successful Glasgow, Scotland.

Critics decry its mammoth terms tag, the disproportionate harm caused by atomic accidents, and the radioactive discarded near behind.

But a increasing campy of vocal and almighty proponents - immoderate clime scientists and biology experts among them — reason that atomic powerfulness is the world’s champion anticipation of keeping clime alteration nether contro.

They enactment that it emits fewer planet-damaging emissions and is safer connected mean than astir immoderate different vigor source. They reason that atomic accidents are scary but exceedingly rare, portion contamination from ember and different fossil fuels causes decease and unwellness each day.

Many governments are pushing to enshrine atomic vigor successful clime plans being hashed retired astatine the league successful Glasgow, known arsenic COP26.

The European Union, meanwhile, is debating whether to statement atomic vigor arsenic officially “green” — a determination that volition steer billions of euros of concern for years to come. That has implications worldwide, arsenic the EU argumentation could acceptable a modular that different economies follow.

But atomic discarded remains a large problem, with the astir radioactive worldly inactive toxic for tens of thousands of years.

___ GLASGOW, Scotland — Britain’s authorities has claimed that the “end of ember is successful sight” aft 18 countries including Poland, Vietnam and Chile committed for the archetypal clip to signifier retired and not physique oregon put successful caller ember power.

The statement, issued precocious Wednesday during the U.N. clime acme successful Glasgow, said much than 40 nations are committing to extremity each concern successful caller ember powerfulness procreation domestically and internationally, arsenic good arsenic rapidly standard up cleanable powerfulness generation. Participating nations besides perpetrate to phasing retired ember powerfulness successful the 2030s for large economies, and the 2040s for smaller economies.

Separately, the connection besides said that Chile and Singapore person joined a U.K.-led confederation connected phasing retired ember that includes implicit 150 countries and businesses specified arsenic HSBC and NatWest bank.

U.K. concern caput Kwasi Kwarteng said it was a “milestone infinitesimal successful our planetary efforts to tackle clime change.”

But Ed Miliband, the absorption Labour Party’s concern spokesman, said determination were “glaring gaps” specified arsenic a deficiency of committedness from China and different ample emitters to halt expanding ember astatine home. There was besides thing connected the phasing retired of lipid and gas, helium said.

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