Copyright Reuters
Oct 31 - This is an excerpt of the Sustainable Switch Climate Focus newsletter, where we make sense of companies and governments grappling with climate change on Fridays. Hello, Sign up here. The countdown to COP30 begins now! COP, or the Conference of the Parties, is the annual United Nations climate summit. This year, it’s being held in Belem, a port city in Brazil’s lower Amazon region between November 6 and November 21. Brazil was also in the spotlight this week due to one of its bloodiest police operations, which killed at least 132 people. Grisly images showed a favela street lined with corpses. A Brazilian ministry official assured that upcoming COP30-linked events in Rio and other cities will be safe, following the crackdown on a drug gang. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will join Brazilian officials in presiding over the summit, urged Brazil to investigate promptly and ensure police actions comply with international human rights standards. COP30 attendees told Reuters they remain undaunted. Rio will host a climate summit for local leaders next week, alongside Prince William’s Earthshot Prize. Business and banking leaders will meet in Sao Paulo to discuss climate finance, while world leaders gather in Belem for negotiations later in November. Brazil’s COP30 president said the country aims to help developing nations secure more climate adaptation funding. A recent U.N. report estimates the world will need $310 billion annually by 2035 to prepare for rising seas, hotter days, and other climate impacts – 12 times current spending. Adaptation funding still lags behind investments in emissions-reducing technologies. The U.N.’s Adaptation Gap Report was released on Wednesday, the same day Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica with flooding, landslides, and power outages. Scientists say warmer oceans fuel stronger hurricanes with heavier rainfall and greater storm surges, underscoring the urgency of adaptation. WHAT TO WATCH NUMBER OF THE WEEK 53 billion rupees ($603 million) That’s the estimated damage caused by a severe cyclone that battered India’s eastern coast, flooding farms, roads, and buildings across the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, according to authorities. CLIMATE LENS U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider a rule that will speed up the connection of power-hungry data centers to electric grids. The Energy Department said the rule would reduce study times and costs for improving the grid, while also reducing the time needed for additional power to come online. The rule also pushes FERC to consider whether reviews for grid projects, which sometimes take years, can be done in 60 days. Editing by Tomasz Janowski
