September 15, 2025 - ClimaTalk - Climate is Talking

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Several major US banks have exited the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) citing political backlash, legal risks, and expanding obligations under the alliance, followed by several Canadian and Japanese banks. These departures raise serious concerns about the credibility of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and the broader role of voluntary commitments in private finance for achieving global climate goals. As the NZBA weakens and cuts down its ambitions, the future of climate-aligned banking may be contingent upon regulatory reform rather than voluntary commitments.

Climate Change And Pollinators: An Introduction

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Climate change is driving a rapid decline in pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds, threatening biodiversity and food security by disrupting plant reproduction and drastically reducing nectar availability. Pollinator loss threatens biodiversity and food security because these species are essential for the reproduction of most flowering plants and many crops, supporting ecosystems and human nutrition. Protecting pollinators through policies, regional plans, sustainable farming, and community action is a vital and achievable way to combat biodiversity loss and climate change.

Deep Sea Mining: Technological Feasibility vs. Environmental Morality

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Deep sea mining is rapidly becoming technologically feasible, but it poses profound and potentially irreversible risks to fragile deep ocean ecosystems, climate regulation, and undiscovered biodiversity. While proponents argue it could supply critical minerals for the energy transition, scientific consensus warns that the environmental and ethical costs far outweigh current benefits, especially given uncertain long-term impacts and weak governance. A precautionary global moratorium, stronger regulations, and prioritizing recycling and alternative technologies are necessary before proceeding with any large-scale exploitation of the deep sea.

A Timeline Of The CBD COPs

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The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was established in 1992 as a legally binding treaty to conserve biodiversity, promote sustainable use, and ensure fair benefit-sharing from genetic resources. Key milestones of the CBD are the Cartagena Protocol on biosafety, the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing, and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which guide conservation efforts, leading to the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. COP15 and 16 were pivotal in creating and implementing the “30x30” goal to protect 30% of the planet’s land and waters by 2030, along with securing financial commitments to support biodiversity efforts.

Reforestation: What Is Its Potential Impact In Mitigating the Climate Crisis

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Planting trees is widely recognised as an important form of climate mitigation, but it comes with major challenges, including competition for land use and high risks of reversal. Yet even conservative analyses of its potential place reforestation at the top of the list of climate solutions needed to achieve global net zero.

Results-Based Climate Financing: Rewarding Real Climate Action

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Results-based climate finance ties payments directly to independently verified environmental outcomes, ensuring climate funds deliver measurable impact. This approach increases transparency and accountability, but faces challenges around upfront costs, technical capacity, and climate justice. Mechanisms like REDD+ and the Amazon Fund demonstrate both the promise and complexity of results-based model in practice.

How Are Wars Affecting Climate Change?

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Wars have a significant and often overlooked impact on climate change, with recent studies showing that military operations and related activities do account for around 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the annual emissions of many countries. Under the Paris Agreement, nations are not required to report on their emissions from military activities which means that national inventories vastly underestimate real emissions.As conflicts like those in Gaza and Ukraine demonstrate, the carbon footprint of war, including from direct combat, from the destruction of infrastructure, and the process of rebuilding, can reach tens or even hundreds of millions of tons of CO2. This underscores the urgent need for mandatory military emissions reporting and military mitigation strategies.