Day: November 7, 2022

It's a year since the COP26 summit that saw thousands of delegates and more than 100 world leaders descend on Glasgow. As the next annual climate conference gets under way in Egypt this week, BBC Scotland looks at some of the factors from the last 12 months that will influence talks. This year's extreme weather in Scotland and across the globe must focus minds at the COP27 summit, a leading academic has warned. Professor Elizabeth Bomberg says storms, heatwaves and droughts seen since the Glasgow conference are a reminder of the impact of climate change. But there are concerns that the war in Ukraine and associated global energy crisis could derail the process. World leaders are gathering in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh fo...

It is rare for Donald Trump to deliver the same message as Barack Obama and Joe Biden - but it happened when the Republican and two Democrats campaigned in Pennsylvania on the same day. The political foes all urged Americans in the crucial state: go vote. Mr Biden and Mr Obama cast the election as a battle for democracy, while Mr Trump said the country's safety and security were on the line. Tuesday's US midterm elections will determine control of Congress. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are being contested, while 35 are up for grabs in the Senate. In Pennsylvania a razor-thin margin separates Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, 53, from Republican Mehmet Oz, 62. The appearances of two ex-presidents and Presi...

The US Powerball jackpot has risen to $1.9bn (£1.7bn) after there was no winning ticket for Saturday's world-record prize. The premier lottery game has had no winner in more than three months after 39 consecutive drawings. The odds of winning the jackpot in Monday's draw are one in 292.2 million, according to Powerball. The previous world-record jackpot was set in 2016, when $1.59bn was split between three Powerball players. While no-one claimed Saturday's winning prize, there were 16 tickets matching the five main numbers to win $1m (£879,000) each. Powerball tickets cost $2 (£1.76) to buy, and a winner has the option to choose a lump sum payment, which is currently estimated at $929m (£817m) for Monday's draw. Winn...

The UN's climate change summit has opened in Egypt with a warning that our planet is "sending a distress signal". Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was responding to a UN report released on Sunday saying the past eight years were on track to be the warmest on record. More than 120 world leaders are due to arrive at the summit known as COP27, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. This will kick off two weeks of negotiations between countries on climate action. COP27 president, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, urged leaders to not let food and energy crises related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine get in the way of action on climate change. "It is inherent on us all in Sharm el-Sheikh to demonstrate our recognition of the...

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to urge world leaders at COP27 to move "further and faster" in transitioning to renewable energy. Mr Sunak will travel to Egypt on Sunday for the UN climate summit after U-turning on a decision not to go. In his address on Monday, he will say Russia's invasion of Ukraine "reinforced" the importance of ending dependence on fossil fuels. COP27 follows a year of climate-related disasters and record temperatures. The prime minister will also tell leaders gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh not to "backslide" on commitments made at last year's COP26 summit in Glasgow intended to prevent global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. But Petteri Taalas, secretary general of the World Meteorologi...

At this year's COP27 UN climate change summit, money will feature high on the agenda and is sure to be a sticking point in negotiations. Over the last 12 months the developing world has faced severe climate-related crises - from flooding in Pakistan to drought in East Africa. They want developed nations like the US, UK and those of the EU to pay for the "loss and damage" they've suffered. They also want help to make the switch to cleaner energy and infrastructure. So, will they get the finance? What do countries want money for? Money for climate action broadly falls into three buckets. The first is for mitigation - this is money to help developing nations move away from fossil fuels and other polluting activitie...