In Brief: Bid to block wording opposing fossil fuels

GLASGOW • China and Saudi Arabia are among a group of countries seeking to prevent the United Nations COP26 climate deal in Scotland from including language that opposes fossil fuel subsidies, according to two sources close to the negotiations.

Existing drafts of the agreement negotiated over the past two weeks would request that governments unwind public financial support for fossil fuels, which scientists say are the primary drivers of human-caused climate change.

REUTERS

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Morrison urges MNCs to offer solutions

MELBOURNE • Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, facing growing domestic and global disapproval of his climate policies, urged multinational companies yesterday to start offering cheaper and more sustainable solutions to combat climate change.

Mr Morrison told The Age newspaper that businesses should change their corporate mindset, drive down costs to help tackle climate change and stop relying on taxpayer subsidies.

REUTERS

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Deforestation in Amazon hits record

BRASILIA • Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest hit a new record last month, a Brazilian government agency said on Friday, just days after President Jair Bolsonaro announced ambitious environmental goals at the COP26 climate summit.

An area more than half the size of Rio de Janeiro - 877 sq km - of the Amazon rainforest was cleared, the largest ever recorded for October since Brazil's National Institute for Space Research started documenting deforestation in 2016.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE