@arunacsekhar
Climate journalist, Carbon Brief. Interested in energy, climate, land, food, politics, rights, critters, culture. Recovering Twitter junkie. “Sekhar” as in “shaker”.📍Mumbai, India. Views, jokes = own.
🌽 New Cropped just dropped 🌽
Cropped: Food inflation strikes | El Niño looms | Biodiversity talks stagnate
✍️ @arunacsekhar.bsky.social @giulianaviglione.bsky.social
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India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses a press conference after the presentation of India’s 2026 budget. Credit: Sonu Mehta / Alamy Stock Photo
NEW – Five key climate and energy announcements in India’s budget for 2026 | @arunacsekhar.bsky.social
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🌽 New Cropped just dropped 🌽
Cropped | Ocean biodiversity boost; Nature and national security; Mangrove defence
✍️ @arunacsekhar.bsky.social @daisydunne.carbonbrief.org
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It's hard to get excited about a new treaty when things seem to be falling apart. But in a week when US backtracking sent shock-waves through the international community, history was quietly made – without the US – as a new oceans treaty covering half the earth's surface entered into force.
The rules-based order has given way to a vibes-based order. That's what those in flagrant breach would have us believe. I tried to unpack my many feelings about international law, accountability and isolationism. Grateful for essential perspective from Lavanya Rajamani & @sivathambisetty.bsky.social
DeBriefed | Trump’s Davos tirade; EU wind and solar milestone; High seas hope
✍️ @arunacsekhar.bsky.social
💻 @daisydunne.carbonbrief.org
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Modi govt raids climate activist Harjeet Singh's NGO, hailed for his work on loss & damage, adaptation.
Indian tax authorities seem to think promoting a non-binding, activist-led fossil fuel treaty "could seriously impact India's energy security." Ridiculous.
www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/e...
Great conversation with anikapatel.carbonbrief.org @carbonbrief.org about my book and China’s climate policy implementation. We discussed how mid-level bureaucrats act as entrepreneurial “bridge leaders” and what this means for China’s climate governance and its emerging global climate leadership.
“Nothing has been discovered against the accused qua [as being] the membership of radical organisations related to Naxalites,” Judicial Magistrate Aridaman Singh Cheema said.
scroll.in/latest/10891...
#delhi #pollutionprotest
WATCH, READ & LISTEN: In a talk for the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, Prof Seirian Sumner (@waspwoman.bsky.social) explained the “natural capital” of wasps and why it is important to “love the unlovable parts of nature”.
NEW – COP30: Key outcomes for food, forests, land and nature at the UN climate talks in Belém | @giulianaviglione.bsky.social @orladwyer.carbonbrief.org @arunacsekhar.bsky.social @daisydunne.carbonbrief.org @yaninequiroz.bsky.social
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At COP30, while public statements talked up "high quality" carbon markets, concerted efforts were made in negotiations to water down the already inadequate Article 6 rule book.
Our conclusion: countries must fix Article 6 and not use carbon credits.
carbonmarketwatch.org/2025/11/22/c...
NEW – COP30: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Belém
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#COP30
Uruguay raising their flag in the closing plenary.
Panama raising their flag in the closing plenary.
At #COP30, Panama, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, & Ecuador denounced the gavelling of the decision on the Global Goal on Adaptation despite their delegations having raised their flags and signalling points of order
They lamented that the indicators erase 2 years of work conducted with expert input
A summary of WTO jurisprudence on "arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination" and "disguised restriction" that may inform how this text is interpreted: www.wto.org/english/trat...
Intervention by 🇮🇳 on behalf of 🇧🇷🇿🇦🇮🇳🇨🇳 BASIC, following the suspension of the closing plenary at COP30
Says intervening countries hold "extreme positions"
Adds: "It is in our interest to make sure climate multilateralism succeeds"
While we wait for the plenary to resume after parties raised points of order: it's official, folks.
Trade measures are on the COP cover that was adopted. Instead of being told to "go to the WTO", the WTO will come to the UNFCCC to dialogue with countries affected by carbon taxes + export bans.
COLOMBIA: "[We] raised a point of order before the mitigation work programme (MWP) was gavelled and that point of order was ignored."
COP30's key text, the global mutirão, just adopted here in Belém 🇧🇷
HOLY SEE gets booed for its statement on gender and climate.
"...any reference to gender-related terms in any document that has been or that will be adopted by the COP or its subsidiary bodies is to be understood as grounded on the biological sexual identity that is male and female."
PANAMA: "Saying these indicators create no financial obligations when we all know that the GGA and adaptation plans cannot move w/o finance makes the entire exercise meaningless.
We do not accept the decision. We understand that maybe our hand was not seen, but we raised our 🇵🇦 before the decision."
PANAMA: "We spent weeks being paralyzed over issues, and now in this plenary, process is not being followed. We cannot endorse a GGA (adaptation) outcome that takes us backwards."
Shots fired #COP30 plenary
PANAMA: "Mr. President, Panama is extremely disappointed. We were promised a transparent process. That is not what we're seeing. I raise my flag and you ignore it. I raise a point of order, and you ignore it. I sustain it, and it can be ignored."
In a year when:
- tariffs, taxes dominated headlines
- countries reported impacts
- Brazil – part of BASIC that tried to get trade measures on the COP agenda 2yrs in a row – is host...
...countries could finally get a bigger stage to talk trade in the UNFCCC, outside the "response measures" forum.
It also requests the UN's subsidiary bodies to:
- to hold 3 dialogues on trade barriers, opportunities and challenges between 2026-28, with countries + WTO, UNCTAD and ITO.
- AND 🆕 a high-level event in 2028 for countries to exchange experiences and views on climate, trade and cooperation.
The mutirão text 3.0 text (L):
- retains a reference from the previous draft to Article 3.5 of the original climate convention (R).
unfccc.int/files/essent...
🆕 UNILATERAL TRADE MEASURES #COP30
After fighting for inclusion on COP agendas in Dubai, Baku and Belém, climate-related trade measures are on the verge of having their big moment on the cover of COP30 climate talks.
