Brazil
A Full-Court Press on Methane, Climate in the Governor’s Race
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
Replacing high-carbon fossil fuels with clean energy while also adapting to climate change — that’s the ballgame. But we may not get to the ninth inning in one piece if we don’t deal with methane first. That’s one takeaway from the COP30 UN climate summit. Pick your metaphor — and there are many — but …
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CONTINUE READINGGood COP, Bad COP in Belém, Brazil
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The United Nations mega-conference focused on climate change known as COP (“Conference of the Parties”) is well underway in Belém, Brazil with 193 countries plus the EU, 57 heads of state, 39 ministers and hundreds of governors, mayors, and local officials participating. Two of my UCLA Law colleagues are on the ground in Belém this …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat to Know About the TFFF Announced at COP30
A bold new investment fund aims to channel billions into tropical forest protection – one key change can make it better.
The world is losing vast swaths of forests to agriculture, logging, mining and fires every year — more than 20 million acres in 2024 alone, roughly the size of South Carolina. That’s bad news because tropical forests in particular regulate rainfall, shelter plant and animal species and act as a thermostat for the planet by storing carbon, keeping it out of …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change is Coming for Your Coffee
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
My drug habit is becoming more expensive thanks to the dangerous duo of climate change and Donald Trump. The cost of coffee keeps going up. I saw firsthand why this is happening back in May on an eye-opening trip to Acre, Brazil, where I toured a couple of farms in the Amazon. One was a …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Do Heat Pumps Have a Bad Rap? Lies
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
I just listened to dozens of people tell me that heat pumps don’t work, may cause homelessness, and can bankrupt small businesses. This was shocking news to me, in no small part because I’m currently in the process of installing a heat pump in my condo. Obviously, I don’t want to waste money, sleep on …
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CONTINUE READINGGas Price Politics and Desperate Moderates
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
In 18 years of working in newsrooms around Los Angeles, I talked with lots of political campaigns — but a phone call from Antonio Villaraigosa in spring of 2018 stands out. I was at my desk in the cramped newsroom of KCRW, sitting in between All Things Considered host Steve Chiotakis and producer Ben Gottlieb, …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Problem is Not Brazil. The Problem is COP
The Drain is a weekly roundup of climate and environmental news from Legal Planet.
“Crazy.” That’s how one young Brazilian described what’s happening in Belém to get ready for COP30, the annual UN climate negotiations which will take place in the Amazon this November. We struck up a brief conversation while I was visiting the Museu Afro Brasil in São Paulo, a museum that chronicles the history and culture …
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CONTINUE READINGGovernors Lead the Fight on Forests and Climate
To see how governors are leading the fight against deforestation, look no further than a meeting happening this week in Brazil.
When the annual U.N. climate conference descends on the small Brazilian rainforest city of Belém in November 2025, it will be tempting to focus on the drama and disunity among major nations. Only 21 countries had even submitted their updated plans for managing climate change by the 2025 deadline required under the Paris Agreement. The U.S. is pulling out of …
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CONTINUE READINGIs Brazil Ready for COP30? No One Is Ready for COP30
The Drain is a weekly roundup of climate and environmental news from Legal Planet.
It’s officially less than 6 months until COP30 — when tens of thousands of people will descend on the Brazilian city of Belém for the annual UN climate conference — and no one is ready. For one thing, Belém is an impoverished city of 2.5 million that can’t build enough hotels for the 50,000 expected delegates …
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CONTINUE READINGBrazil Steps Ahead of the U.S. on Climate Policy
A new emissions trading system is a major step for Brazilian climate policy.
Hopefully, Brazil’s actions will encourage other countries, particularly in South America, to take similar actions. The EU and California have been leaders in this arena, but carbon trading systems are now beginning to get traction outside of the developed world in China and now Brazil. That’s an encouraging sign.
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