Your Party conference thrown into chaos as Zarah Sultana boycotts first day Sultana skips Saturday’s proceeding in solidarity with delegates expelled over links to other parties

I see that Your Party has temporarily mislaid half its leadership, expelled a whole swathe of members and cannot agree on a name. The Judean People’s Liberation Front already having been taken, may I respectfully offer Party McPartyface?

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Not so good COP • Inside Story The latest UN climate summit was buffeted by geopolitical headwinds

The conclusion of COP30 in Brazil has left a bitter taste in the mouth. A new ‘axis of obstruction’ has emerged to block stronger commitments to reduce emissions - Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Russia - with Donald Trump urging them on. My analysis for inside Story: insidestory.org.au/not-so-good-...

It's 1pm on Thursday here in Belem, but since yesterday morning time has stood still at COP30. That was when the Brazilian presidency told us they would issue a 'Mutirão' / 'Belem Poli... It's 1pm on Thursday here in Belem, but since yesterday morning time has stood still at COP30. That was when the Brazilian presidency told us they would issue a 'Mutirão' / 'Belem Political Package' t...

On the penultimate day of COP30 we are still waiting for new text from the Brazilian presidency. The key issue is whether there should be a ‘roadmap on transitioning away from fossil fuels’. I have tried to explain what this is and why it’s important. www.linkedin.com/posts/michae...

So, COP30: what’s happening? I have tried to explain in a post on LinkedIn:

It's Day 4 of the COP, and the agenda is becoming clearer even as it remains mired in fog. In a 'presidency consultation' which has now had three plenary meetings - delegates referred to... It's Day 4 of the COP, and the agenda is becoming clearer even as it remains mired in fog. In a 'presidency consultation' which has now had three plenary meetings - delegates referred to it despairi...

What’s happening at COP30? A very significant shift in the dynamics of climate diplomacy. With the US absent, the faultlines between countries are becoming clearer - between countries that want faster collective action on climate and those that don’t. Me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/posts/michae...

For whom will Belém toll? • Inside Story President Lula’s climate summit failed to defy Donald Trump in the way some had hoped, but COP30 has the chance to tackle two key challenges — if they can get on the agenda

COP30 is up and running. What are the issues on the agenda? This is my first report from Belem, which is not actually ‘the capital of the Amazon’, but is nevertheless an appropriate venue for a conference in search of sustainable and equitable economic development. insidestory.org.au/for-whom-wil...

The UN climate summits are working – just not in the way their critics think Many say UN climate summits are pointless. They’re wrong.

So this COP30 thing. You’ve probably heard about it. It’s a talking shop. It has way too many people attending, burning fossil fuels as they fly in. 30 years of COPs have failed to stop emissions rising. And so on. But the criticisms miss the point. My analysis: theconversation.com/the-un-clima...

#cop30 #climateaction #geopolitics | ODI Global Our COP blog series is back! Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting daily insights and reflections on the negotiations on our dedicated resources hub. To kick things off, Sarah Colenbrander and S...

So what’s this COP30 all about? I shall be posting regular explainers from Belem. To kick-off here’s a very readable analysis of climate geopolitics and geoeconomics by my ODI Global colleagues Sarah Colenbrander and Shandelle Steadman. For more, watch this space! www.linkedin.com/posts/odi_co...

BREAKING: Govt has published a new plan to hit UK climate goals out to 2035

(Unlike prev govt's plans) it says it'll deliver **100%** of required reductions under the sixth carbon budget 2033-2037, 96% of the 2030 NDC and 99% of the 2035 NDC

We'll have full details tomorrow
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Trump vs. Earth • Michael Jacobs Threatening behaviour at this month’s maritime negotiations continued the US administration’s efforts to turn back the sustainability tide

Donald Trump’s impact on global climate policy is not as great as feared. In this piece for Inside Story I give both the ‘glass half full’ and ‘glass half empty’ versions: what Trump is doing, and how rapid the clean energy transition has now become, despite him. insidestory.org.au/trump-vs-ear...

It sets out a comprehensive range of measures which would stimulate a major scaling-up of finance by multilateral development banks, the private sector and concessional funds. It will feed into the ‘Baku to Belem Roadmap’ to be presented to COP30. But then what? My take here: odi.org/en/insights/...

Report of the COP30 Circle of Finance Ministers launched during IMF and World Bank meetings A Ministerial Declaration was also presented, highlighting the countries’ recognition of Brazil’s initiative in bringing them into the debate on the implementation of climate ambitions

… Not just because Northern aid budgets are declining, but because the projects to finance aren’t there, the cost of capital is too high and many countries are too indebted. But the launch by Brazil of its ‘Circle of Finance Ministers’ report last week offers new hope. cop30.br/en/news-abou... 2/3

International climate finance can be obscure for those who are not in it, and frustrating for those who are. Last year’s COP29 adopted an ambition of $1.3tn a year in flows to developing countries by 2035. But few people in the finance world thought it remotely likely. odi.org/en/insights/... 1/3

Disunited kingdom • Michael Jacobs Keir Starmer’s Labour government is struggling to position itself in a fragmented political landscape

What on earth is happening in British politics? A far right party topping the polls barely a year after Labour won an election landslide, 100,000 white nationalists marching through London…

I have written an article for Inside Story trying to explain.

insidestory.org.au/disunited-ki...

Starmer can help shape the future of the world at Cop30. He can’t let fear of Farage stop him | Michael Jacobs The battle inside No 10 about whether the PM should attend an absolutely crucial climate summit in Brazil is ludicrous. He must assert himself – and go, says economist Michael Jacobs

We’re told that Keir Starmer may not attend the critical Leaders’ Climate Summit in Brazil just before the start of COP30. This would be an appalling abdication of responsibility - handing victory to Donald Trump. Me in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Can the world be governed without the US? • Inside Story A UN conference discovers the absence of the United States can be an opportunity rather than a hindrance

It’s been a hot (41C!) and fascinating week at the 4th UN Financing for Development Conference in Sevilla. I have written an article for @insidestory on what happened, and the implications of the US’s non-participation for wider global governance:

insidestory.org.au/can-the-worl...

🚨🚨The White House is pissed off about this ad so you know what to do, share it everywhere! ICE is disappearing people just because of the color of their skin! No Warrant! No Due Process! This is not who we are as Americans! #MAGAKidnappers want an all white America, fuck that‼️

Interesting survey of Labour MPs on the Chancellor’s options ahead of the Spending Review. Adds to the pressure on Rachel Reeves to bend fiscal rules and/or raise taxes to avoid spending cuts.

Exposing the extreme wealth of the super-rich and the profiteering of big corporations | Share The Wealth We expose the extreme wealth of the super-rich and the profiteering of big corporations.

Why would the government choose to cut vital benefits and services rather than tax the richest? And why aren’t the main opposition parties calling for taxes on the super-rich either? Our full Sunday Times Rich List analysis at sharethewealth.org.uk

Labour’s economic agenda has all the right ideas – but it’s a race against time to make it work | Michael Jacobs This government needs to reverse at least three decades of financial woes, and it needs to show progress before its plan gets Trumped, writes economist Michael Jacobs

I have written an article in the Guardian on the economic policies of the Starmer government in the UK. It seems to me that it is (seeking to be) much more radical than people have generally appreciated, and indeed than it publicly admits. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Neither triumph nor Trumped • Michael Jacobs Another cliffhanger climate conference achieves a kind of progress

I have written an account of what happened at COP29, what it means and where we go from here: insidestory.org.au/neither-triu...

Biden administration moves to forgive $4.7 billion of loans to Ukraine The Biden administration has moved to forgive about $4.7 billion in U.S. loans to Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday, as outgoing officials seek to do what they can before leaving office to bolster Ukraine in its war against Russia.

US set to forgive US$ 4.5 billion in loans to Ukraine. To place this figure in context, it’s equivalent to 4.5 times the debt forgiven to 31 countries through the IMF CCRT between 2020 and 2022 (US$ 967 million). Debt relief has always been a matter of political will. www.reuters.com/world/biden-...

Michael Jacobs Archives • Inside Story

Hello Bluesky people! My first post. I’ve written an analysis of COP29 and the G20 and the relationship between them. insidestory.org.au/authors/mich...