99pc banks committed to cutting coal investment

Nearly all internationally available development financing is now committed to reducing or ending investment in coal-fired power after moves by China and the G20 to stop supporting new projects overseas, new research showed yesterday. According to new research from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, the G20 pledge means that 99% of all development finance institutions are committed to cutting coal investment and raising support for renewables.

Nordic, UK pension funds commit $130b

Nordic and British pension funds yesterday committed to invest $130 billion by 2030 to fight climate change, and report annually on the progress of their green investments. Denmark said $75 billion of the funds were new commitments. The pledge, launched at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, included asset owners in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the United Kingdom, plus a fund from Greenland. Analysts at Bernstein estimate that $2-4 trillion must be invested each year to reach net zero C02 emissions by 2050 and limit global warming to 1.5C above preindustrial levels.

Climate change main cause of fires in US west: study

Climate change caused overwhelmingly by human activity is the primary source of the unprecedented forest fires regularly ravaging the western United States, according to a study published Monday. Fires destroyed an average of 13,500 square kilometers per year in the American west between 2001 and 2018 -- twice as much as between 1984-2000. A team of American researchers analyzed various factors at work in the "vapor pressure deficit" (VPD), which indicates how dry the air is. Scientists have determined that the increase in wildfires in the western United States is closely linked to this deficit during the warm season.