Matteo Civillini

London

Reporter at Climate Home News

Reporter @climatehome Investigative Journalist @irpinvestigates Previously at @bbcworld, @BloombergTV

Articles

Forest loss hits "frightening" record high with climate-fuelled fires

2 weeks ago | climatechangenews.com | Matteo Civillini

Forest destruction surged to record highs in 2024 as the effects of climate change supercharged human-made fires in some of the planet’s most critical carbon stores, an annual survey by the World Resources Institute (WRI) found. The world lost 6.7 million hectares of primary tropical forest last year – nearly twice as much as in 2023 – at a rate of 18 football fields vanishing every minute, said the report based on new data from the University of Maryland.
Brazil calls on local groups to "inspire" a boost in climate action

4 weeks ago | climatechangenews.com | Matteo Civillini

Brazil’s COP30 presidency wants to elevate grassroots solutions to the climate crisis to the global level in a bid to spur governments to bolster their national climate plans. With six months until the climate summit gets underway in the Amazon city of Bélem, only 21 countries have put forward updated targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions through to 2035, despite a self-imposed end-of-February deadline, which has now been extended until September.
First carbon credit scheme for early coal plant closures unveiled

1 month ago | climatechangenews.com | Matteo Civillini

Carbon registry Verra has launched a new rulebook for generating carbon credits from the early phase-out of coal power plants that are replaced with cleaner energy sources. Carbon credit projects using the methodology will aim to monetise emissions avoided through the retirements of plants ahead of schedule.
Trump backs Canadian deep-sea mining, risking international clash

1 month ago | climatechangenews.com | Matteo Civillini

President Donald Trump’s move on Thursday to kickstart deep-sea mining could be a lifeline for the Canadian company that is pushing to be the first to supply strategic minerals from the ocean floor. The firm signalled its intention weeks ago to seek permits from the US administration for the activity in a challenge to UN governance, but whether the gambit pays off remains to be seen.
China commits to full climate plan, emission ambition still unclear

1 month ago | climatechangenews.com | Matteo Civillini

President Xi Jinping has committed China to producing a comprehensive emissions reduction plan, covering for the first time all economic sectors and greenhouse gases, under the UN climate process. In a speech widely seen as reaffirming the commitment of the world’s biggest polluter to global climate action, Xi said on Wednesday that “no matter how the international situation changes, China will not slow down its efforts to address climate change”.
Loss and damage fund to hand out $250 million in initial phase

1 month ago | climatechangenews.com | Matteo Civillini

The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) will spend $250 million until the end of 2026 on an initial set of interventions to help developing countries deal with the aftermath of climate-driven disasters. At a three-day meeting in Barbados, the UN fund’s board agreed on the strategy for the start-up phase of the mechanism, which will initially focus on strengthening national responses to climate catastrophes rather than community-level action – something activists had called for.
Power-hungry AI data centres seen driving demand for fossil fuels

1 month ago | climatechangenews.com | Matteo Civillini

Surging artificial intelligence (AI) use will drive up demand for fossil fuels to power data centres, but widespread adoption of AI applications could reduce greenhouse gas emissions overall, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report. Power-hungry data centres will consume as much electricity by 2030 as Japan uses today – more than double their current demand – largely as a result of the global AI rush, the Paris-based watchdog forecasted.
African banks back oil export pipeline despite climate commitments

2 months ago | climatechangenews.com | Vivian Chime |Matteo Civillini

Speaking at COP29 in Azerbaijan about the impact of climate change on Africa, the executives of Afreximbank promised to double-down on their commitment to a just energy transition on the continent. But, four months later, the multilateral lender has confirmed its support for a controversial pipeline that would carry crude oil from Uganda to the Tanzanian coast for export overseas.
Carbon credit auditors suspended in sham rice-farming offsets

2 months ago | climatechangenews.com | Matteo Civillini
Electricity demand surges, expanding renewables and fossil fuels

2 months ago | climatechangenews.com | Matteo Civillini

Despite record additions, clean energy sources could not fully meet a surge in electricity demand in 2024, driven mainly by the effects of rising temperatures, an annual review by the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed on Monday. Renewables and nuclear energy provided four-fifths of the rise in electricity generation, which increased by 4% last year – marking “a significant acceleration” from the average annual growth seen in the last 15 years, the IEA said.