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Brazil’s new climate pledge, launched at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as two-thirds by 2035 compared to 2005 levels.

The new pledge makes Brazil one of the first countries to release its latest plan – known as a “nationally determined contribution” (NDC) – ahead of the February 2025 deadline.  

NDCs are updated every five years under the Paris Agreement, with countries outlining how they intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of global efforts to limit warming.

Brazil is hosting the next UN climate summit, COP30, in November 2025, where NDCs from all around the world will be assessed.

Brazil’s submission is keenly watched as it is one of the largest economies in the world, as well as a top-10 annual and historical emitter. It is also the world’s most biodiverse country, hosting tens of thousands of animal and plant species, with major biomes such as the Amazon and Cerrado

In order to implement the NDC, Brazil will also be updating its national climate plan, which will include national mitigation and adaptation strategies. These will be broken down into 16 sectoral adaptation plans and seven sectoral mitigation plans, “which are intended to be finalised around the mid[dle of] 2025”.

The NDC sets two headline targets: a “less ambitious” target of cutting emissions to 1.05bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2035; and a more ambitious target, which would mean cutting emissions to 0.85GtCO2e by 2035.

These would result in a 59% or 67% reduction in emissions, respectively, compared to 2005 levels.

A 2016 pledge from Brazil set reduction targets of 37% by 2025 and 43% by 2030 – corresponding, respectively, to emissions levels of 1.3GtCO2e and 1.2GtCO2e. 

The new targets are “ambitious, but also feasible”, Brazil’s vice-president Geraldo Alckmin told COP29. 

The establishment of dual targets is a “confirmation that [Brazil] could do much more” when it comes to its ambition, Claudio Angelo, the international policy coordinator at Brazilian climate NGO group Observatório do Clima, tells Carbon Brief. 

A technical note from this group warns that, while other countries – including Brazil – previously included a “band” of targets in their NDCs, the size of Brazil’s target range “creates complications to both analysis and implementation”.

Below, Carbon Brief analyses Brazil’s NDC to identify five key points that will define the country’s emissions trajectory over the next decade.

  1. Combat deforestation and restore degraded lands 
  2. Fossil fuels and energy transition
  3. ‘Sustainable’ expansion of agricultural production
  4. Funding the transition, including carbon markets 
  5. Adaptation and sustainable development

1. Combat deforestation and restore degraded lands

Since his 2022 election win, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pledged to reach “zero deforestation” in the country by 2030.

The country’s new NDC, however, does not explicitly contain this pledge.

The plan outlines the “coordinated and continuous efforts to achieve zero deforestation, by eliminating illegal deforestation and compensating for the legal suppression of native vegetation and the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from it”.

Observatório do Clima, a coalition of Brazilian civil-society organisations, warns that this “still allows high levels of deforestation by 2035” within the higher and lower ends of Brazil’s emissions-cutting target.

Dr Ane Alencar, the director of science at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), notes the uncertainty with illegal deforestation because laws can change over time. She tells Carbon Brief:

“I think it’s important to have a clear target that cannot be challenged. Brazil knows that fighting deforestation is very important for many reasons.”

(Brazil accounts for almost 60% of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest.)

Aerial view of rainforest deforestation near the Amazon River in Brazil.
Aerial view of rainforest deforestation near the Amazon River in Brazil. Credit: Chad Ehlers / Alamy Stock Photo

A 2023 adjustment to Brazil’s previous NDC committed to reaching zero deforestation by 2030. A 2022 update, sent when former president Jair Bolsonaro was in power, said the country committed to “eliminating illegal deforestation” by 2028. 

Forest restoration will be a “key factor” in Brazil’s climate action, the new NDC says, “as it consists of the nature-based removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and, at the same time, allows the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 to be achieved”.

To halt deforestation and preserve native vegetation, it adds that current restoration work will need to be “strengthen[ed] and deepen[ed]”, with more “positive incentives” to maintain forests and vegetation on private rural properties.

Alencar says that existing incentives against deforestation, such as direct payments to conserve forests, “seem not to be enough”, telling Carbon Brief: 

“We need more than payments for these areas, paying them for the environmental services. We need the engagement of the private sector, for example, and we need the engagement of local governments.”

Nonetheless, Alencar notes, the Brazilian government has “done a very good job” to reduce deforestation levels in recent years.

Deforestation rates in the Brazilian section of the Amazon dropped by almost one-third between 2023 and 2024, the NDC said. Deforestation is also falling in the Cerrado after rising in recent years. 

Alencar notes that stopping all deforestation is near-impossible, telling Carbon Brief:

“There are many people like smallholders and also some producers that will keep deforesting. It’s part of their rotation system…So zero deforestation, I think, is something hard to reach. But I think we can have deforestation at the minimum level.”

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2. Fossil fuels and energy transition

According to Brazil’s new NDC, renewable energy sources – primarily, hydropower, but with growing contributions from wind and solar – already comprise 89.1% of the country’s electricity mix and nearly half of its energy mix.

Still, the document says, the country will “seek to expand electricity generation with an increased share of technology and clean sources”.

Several of the sectoral mitigation plans sit under this overarching goal, including one on energy (including electricity, mining and fuels), one on industry and one on transportation.

In terms of industry, the country will “reduce emissions intensity by progressively replacing fossil fuels with biofuels and electrification”. The NDC also calls for developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies in certain industries.

Similarly, the mitigation plan for the transportation sector will seek to “replac[e] fossil fuels with electricity and biofuels”, according to the NDC. It also says that infrastructure improvements will “contribute to an immediate reduction in fuel consumption”.

While there are references to other national plans and policies, there are no specific numerical targets laid out in the NDC for any of these sectors.

Heavy traffic on Avenida Abdias de Carvalho in Recife, Brazil in August 2024.
Heavy traffic on Avenida Abdias de Carvalho in Recife, Brazil in August 2024. Credit: AGIF / Alamy Stock Photo

The NDC’s 26 “priority issues” include many that relate to creating a legal and regulatory framework to accelerate a transition to clean energy, including on:

  • Offshore wind energy production.
  • Low-carbon hydrogen production.
  • Production of sustainable aviation fuel.
  • Carbon dioxide capture and storage.
  • Synthetic-fuel production and biofuels.

A technical note published by Observatório do Clima notes that Brazil “keeps silent about its own fossil-fuel expansion plans, implying that the problem is all in the demand side”.

On fossil-fuel phase-out, the NDC quotes the deal struck at COP28, saying:

“Brazil would welcome the launching of international work for the definition of schedules for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”

It caveats that this would be done “with developing countries taking the lead” and reflecting “common but differentiated responsibilities”. (This is the principle that all countries are responsible for addressing climate change, but not to the same degree – and that those more responsible for causing climate change should bear greater responsibility to address it.)

Oil drilling rig on Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in May 2024.
Oil drilling rig on Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in May 2024. Credit: Donatas Dabravolskas / Alamy Stock Photo

Multiple NGOs have praised this aspect of Brazil’s NDC, with the ECO NGO newsletter calling it a hidden “jewel” in the pledge.

Política por Inteiro, a Brazilian publication from the Talanoa Institute climate-policy thinktank, says that it “demonstrates that Brazil is ready to position itself as a climate leader among oil, gas and coal-producing nations”.

Alencar says the plan could have been more ambitious, but adds that she believes it is notable that Brazil was among the first to submit an updated climate pledge. She tells Carbon Brief:

“Even with all the difficulties we have in Brazil, there is a commitment of the government to actually move forward and be more ambitious [on climate change]. I think they did that, they renewed their commitment and they were more ambitious, even though I think it could be a little bit more. But I think this is an important step.”

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3. ‘Sustainable’ expansion of agricultural production

Agriculture is an important sector in Brazil, with agribusiness making up almost half of the country’s exports. The sector also accounts for around a quarter of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions each year.

The country produces and exports vast amounts of meat, coffee, soybeans, corn and other products. Brazil intends to encourage and incentivise more “sustainable” agriculture as part of its emission-cutting efforts, the NDC says.

One of the country’s “national mitigation objectives” is to encourage the “widespread adoption of sustainable agricultural and livestock production models with low greenhouse gas emissions, guaranteeing food security for all”, the NDC says.

It adds that, in this sector, Brazil wants to “continue to demonstrate that it is possible to sustainably expand agricultural production while guaranteeing food security and energy security through the sustainable production of biofuels”.

For this, the country will rely on “two fundamental transformations”:

  1. Converting new areas, mostly from degraded pastures, for agricultural production, while also expanding “integrated systems” where crops, livestock and trees are grown on the same land. 
  2. “Productivity gains” in agriculture through these integrated growing methods and an “increase in high productivity systems”.
Farmer harvesting cress in a field in São Paulo, Brazil.
Farmer harvesting cress in a field in São Paulo, Brazil. Credit: Alf Ribeiro / Alamy Stock Photo

The NDC further outlines a number of plans the country has or will put in place to achieve this, such as a 2021 agriculture adaptation plan.

Further agriculture and livestock mitigation and adaptation strategies are among the sectoral plans in development in Brazil, the NDC says. Alencar tells Carbon Brief:

“I think the agriculture sector is one that can provide lots of contribution, by improving their practices, investing in technologies to reduce cattle contributions and also with soil management.”

One “barrier” for emissions-cutting in agriculture is “land grabbing in the Amazon” and other illegal activities, she notes, saying these actions “generate a burden to the sector as a whole”:

“If the Brazilian agriculture sector really goes in the direction of sustainability, then I think it’s possible to actually fulfil the NDC targets. But, the thing is, part of the sector is actually not [going] in that direction.”

Dr Karen Silverwood-Cope, the climate director of the World Resources Institute Brasil, said in a statement:

“To position itself as a climate leader, Brazil must make progress in the energy and agriculture sectors, which are projected to be major sources of pollution in the years to come.”

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4. Funding the transition, including carbon markets

Brazil’s new NDC lays out an ecological transformation plan (ETP) for the country, which contains a range of financial mechanisms – both existing and proposed – that can be used to fund the transition to a net-zero economy.

The Amazon Fund is one of the most well-known financial mechanisms for supporting efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation, with more than 100 projects in its portfolio. Last year, the fund committed R$1.3bn ($226.3m) for such projects.

Brazil’s Climate Fund, established by law in 2009, but “reformulated” last year to include new financial streams, is “one of the main instruments for financing Brazil’s ecological transformation in the short- and medium-term”, according to the NDC.

The plan also points out the benefits of tax reform, noting that Brazil’s simplified consumption tax, amended into the constitution last year, created funds that have been used for “reducing regional and social inequalities”.

Sustainable sovereign bonds are another potential financing source for positive ecological change. (Sovereign bonds are essentially loans issued by the government with the promise of future repayment on a specific date.) The government has pledged to allocate the net proceeds to projects with positive environmental outcomes.

The NDC notes that Brazil issued $2bn in sustainable sovereign bonds in November 2023 and again in June 2024. These funds “will be used to control deforestation, to conserve biodiversity, to replenish the [Climate Fund], with a focus on renewable energy and clean transport, and to programs against poverty and hunger”.

(L-R) Marina Silva, Brazil’s minister of environment; Aloízio Mercadante, president of the Brazilian Development Bank and Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s minister of Indigenous peoples discussing the Amazon Fund in February 2023.
(L-R) Marina Silva, Brazil’s minister of environment; Aloízio Mercadante, president of the Brazilian Development Bank and Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s minister of Indigenous peoples discussing the Amazon Fund in February 2023. Credit: Salty View / Alamy Stock Photo

At COP28 in 2022, Brazil proposed the creation of a new financing mechanism, the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF). The TFFF “uses blended finance to generate financial returns” to pay countries for keeping their forests intact, including allocating a percentage of the funds raised directly to Indigenous peoples.

The NDC also calls for the “approval of the legal framework and regulation of the carbon market” as one of its 26 priority issues.

The Brazilian Congress is currently considering legislation to create the Brazilian emissions trading system, with revenue directed towards encouraging decarbonisation and low-carbon technology development.

The new NDC is the first time that the country “has openly stated its plan to trade emissions reductions with other countries under the rules of the Paris Agreement”, according to Política por Inteiro.

According to the NDC, the government will use the lower-ambition target of 1.05GtCO2e as the “reference for assessing the progress and ambition of future contributions” and, if it surpasses this target, “may” authorise transfers of emissions-reductions up to that level.

Claudio Angelo, international policy coordinator at Observatório do Clima, tells Carbon Brief:

“I think the institutions are there, the tools are there, and this is one of the reasons why we don’t understand why Brazil aimed so low in the NDC – because we have the institutional capacity. We have the finance tools to go much further than we are going.”

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5. Adaptation and sustainable development

Adaptation measures – which aim to improve the resilience of populations, ecosystems and species to the impacts of climate change – feature prominently in Brazil’s new climate commitment.

The country will review its national adaptation plan and encourage the creation of local adaptation plans and sectoral plans (16 for adaptation and seven for mitigation) by mid-2025. Such plans will lay out sector-by-sector contributions to emissions reductions.

The NDC also commits to mainstreaming adaptation into policies and projects vulnerable to climate change, promoting public awareness of climate change and transparency and adopting ecosystem-based adaptation approaches.

The government will widen the presence and strengthen the capacities of the three branches of government – Congress, head of state and courts – to implement the goals of the NDC.

Observatório do Clima says the NDC “makes extensive and important references to the topic of adaptation”. It adds:

“This is an extremely relevant issue for a country whose population is already experiencing the consequences of the climate crisis.”

Hand in hand with adaptation, Brazil’s new NDC sets out plans to use the state’s institutional and financial capacity to “foster” sustainable development and a just transition while reducing inequalities.

For example, its national adaptation objectives include increasing the resilience of populations by promoting water and energy security and socioeconomic development.

Fishermen in Para, Brazil in November 2023.
Fishermen in Para, Brazil in November 2023. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

The NDC mentions a “renewed emphasis on promoting sustainable development” and cites recent policies such as the National Bioeconomy Strategy, which aims to ensure that products and services derived from biological resources are produced in a sustainable way. The bioeconomy strategy will aid the state in conserving biodiversity, decarbonising energy use and promoting recycling of such resources, the NDC says.

Elsewhere, the NDC says that the country aims to develop the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy, a classification system of projects that benefit the climate, environment or society.

Additionally, Brazil will expand financing and improve insurance mechanisms for sustainable sectors and practices. It will deploy an investment plan for boosting sustainable development called the Ecological Transformation Plan, comprising various economic instruments to encourage sustainable investments. (See: Funding the transition, including carbon markets.)

Angelo, from Observatório do Clima, tells Carbon Brief:

“Policy-wise, it’s a pretty good NDC. It does mention a series of policies that are already in place or being planned…But the NDC [emissions reduction target] is very weak; it is [not] 1.5C aligned. I would say the direction of travel is right, but the speed is totally wrong.”

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Germany election 2025: What the manifestos say on energy and climate change

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A federal election is taking place in Germany on 23 February, following the collapse of the coalition government at the end of last year.

Germans will vote to elect 630 members of the nation’s parliament.

Polling suggests there will be a political shift to the right, with the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the lead and far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) set to make significant gains.

A “traffic light” coalition of parties has ruled since 2021, led by the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), alongside the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

However, successive crises led to its breakup at the end of 2024, when the liberal, free market-oriented FDP split from the rest.

This prompted a vote of no confidence by the German parliament, which, in turn, triggered a snap election several months earlier than previously scheduled.

The coalition government has been plagued by ideological differences, particularly between the FDP and its two centre-left partners.

Climate policies were at the heart of many of the disputes. 

The centre-left SPD and Greens have broadly favoured more public spending on climate issues, while the FDP is opposed to state intervention of any sort.

In the interactive grid below, Carbon Brief tracks the commitments made by each of the main parties in their election manifestos, across a range of issues related to climate and energy.

The parties covered are:

  • Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU): The centre-right CDU and its regional Bavarian “sister party”, CSU, has been the dominant political force in modern Germany and is currently polling highest ahead of the election.
  • Social Democratic Party (SPD): The centre-left SPD has led the ruling coalition in Germany since the last election in 2021 and has traditionally been the other dominant party in the nation’s politics.
  • Green Party: The centre-left and environmentalist Greens have been part of the coalition government since 2021.
  • Free Democratic Party (FDP): The FDP is an economically liberal party that prioritises free markets and privatisation. It was part of the coalition government, but its departure at the end of 2024 ultimately triggered the federal election.
  • Left Party: In recent years, this left-wing, democratic-socialist party has lost much of its support base in the east of the country.
  • Alternative for Germany (AfD): The far-right party has become a major force in the country’s politics over the past decade, particularly in eastern Germany.
  • Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW): The party was only founded last year, as an offshoot of the Left Party, but it has rapidly risen in popularity with a left-wing economic message and a conservative approach to some social and cultural issues.

Each entry in the grid represents a direct quote from a manifesto document.

Net-zero and climate framing

Climate action has become a divisive topic in German politics.

This is evident in the major parties’ manifestos, which range from supporting more ambitious net-zero goals to outright climate scepticism.

Germany is currently aiming to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, with interim targets including a 65% cut by 2030.

Government climate advisors on the Council of Experts on Climate Change have stated that the nation is on track to miss the 2030 target.

Despite starting out with ambitious aims, the coalition’s climate progress has faltered, with the FDP successfully pushing for weaker climate policies. Moreover, a major court ruling curtailed the government’s climate spending by enforcing Germany’s limit on debt. 

Amid these wider tensions, Germany’s two traditionally dominant parties still want to retain the nation’s headline climate target. The CDU, which is leading the polls in the run-up to election day, commits to meeting the Paris Agreement goals in its manifesto, saying its sights are “firmly set” on net-zero by 2045.

The SPD, which is currently third in the polls and likely to end up in coalition with the CDU, also supports the 2045 net-zero target, as well as the interim goals.

However, the two parties differ substantially in their approach to meeting the 2045 target. The CDU prioritises carbon pricing and rejects the tougher policies to decarbonise heating and transport favoured by the SPD. (See: Heating dispute and Combustion engine phaseout.)

Meanwhile, the AfD manifesto repeatedly questions the “supposed scientific consensus” on “man-made climate change”. The party, which is currently second in the polls, “therefore rejects every policy and every tax that is related to alleged climate protection”.

Mainstream German parties across the spectrum have long agreed to a “firewall” against far-right groups, meaning they will not form coalitions with the AfD. However, the CDU recently sparked controversy when it backed an anti-immigration policy with the AfD.

The Green Party also supports the 2045 net-zero target in its manifesto, emphasising Germany’s status as the EU member state with the highest emissions. The Left Party goes further, calling for a 2040 net-zero goal.

As for the FDP, its manifesto argues for the 2045 net-zero goal to be pushed back to 2050, stating that this would align Germany with the EU target. Prior to exiting the coalition government last year, the party had demanded this policy change, claiming that it would be a way to boost the German economy.

(Germany already revised its net-zero target, bringing it forward by five years, following a supreme court ruling in 2021 that its 2050 goal was insufficient. Moreover, even with a later goal, Germany would still need to align with wider EU targets, meaning its climate policies may not change much due to its “effort sharing” obligations.)

Finally, the BSW is not specific about when the net-zero goal should be achieved, but pushes for a “departure from the wishful thinking of quickly achieving complete climate neutrality”.

It does not reject climate policies outright, stating that climate change should be “taken seriously”. However, it frames many climate policies as being “extremely expensive and often unrealistic”.

Heating dispute

Home heating has become a major political issue in Germany. Along with transport, buildings make up one of the key German sectors that have repeatedly missed their decarbonisation goals, prompting the coalition government to take action.

Towards the end of 2023, the German parliament passed an amendment to the Building Energy Act, meaning that newly installed heating systems had to be powered by at least 65% renewable energy. 

This covered heat pumps, “hydrogen-ready” gas boilers and other low-carbon systems. There are caveats to ensure the law is phased in gradually in different areas and types of homes, starting with new builds.

The amendment had been watered down compared to the coalition’s initial proposal, with allowances for people to keep gas boilers for longer. This followed relentless campaigning by the AfD and the right-leaning tabloid newspaper Bild, which dubbed the policy the “heizhammer” – or “heating hammer”.

There were also attacks from within the coalition, with the FDP criticising the law proposed by its partners in the Greens and SDP. Opponents framed the policy as an excessive burden on consumers.

These disputes are reflected in the election manifestos, with many parties outright rejecting the amended law. The CDU, FDP and AfD all say they would abolish it, as does the populist left BSW.

Meanwhile, the Green Party pledges to provide more government support for the installation of new heating systems by covering up to 70% of the price. The Left Party commits to covering 100% of the cost for low-income households.

(The current law covers 30% of the cost as a starting subsidy, with more available for low-income households and people who replace their boilers before 2028.)

Combustion engine phaseout

Several German political parties are pushing back against the EU-wide ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, which is set to come into effect in 2035.

The CDU says the “ban on combustion engines must be reversed”, while the AfD says the “one-sided preference for electromobility must be stopped immediately”.

(EVs are “likely crucial” for tackling transport emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC].)

The FDP and the BSW also argue that the 2035 phaseout date should be dropped, with less focus on the transition to electric cars. (This is in spite of Germany being the second-biggest manufacturer of electric cars in the world.)

These parties also favour getting rid of supposed “anti-car” policies. For example, they oppose speed limits on the German “autobahns” and support funding for alternative fuels, such as synthetic fuels.

The issue with ending the 2035 ban on new combustion-engine cars is that this policy is set at the EU level. Far-right and centre-right coalitions within the EU, including German parties, have been pushing hard to weaken the ban across the bloc. 

However, the centre-left parties that may end up forming a coalition with the CDU, notably the SPD, stand by the 2035 phaseout date.

There is growing pressure on Germany’s car industry, linked to global competition and slow economic growth. Some German industry figures have stressed the need for consistent policy signals from the government, regarding the transition to electric vehicles.

Clean energy and fossil fuels

Broadly speaking, German parties on the left tend to be more supportive of renewables, while strongly opposing nuclear power. Those on the right are generally more open to nuclear and in some cases coal power.

Germany, which uses more coal than any other EU member state, has a coal power phaseout date of 2038. This is supported by the CDU and the FDP, but the Greens and the Left Party want a quicker phaseout by 2030.

(When the coalition government formed in 2021, the parties agreed to “ideally” move the coal phaseout date to 2030, but this has not happened formally. The SPD manifesto does not include any mention of coal power,)

Only the AfD advocates for the construction of new coal power plants, framing them as filling a gap until new nuclear plants are built.

Last year, Germany closed down its final nuclear reactors, bringing an end to a long-term plan to phase out the power source. However, nuclear power continues to be a politicised topic, with some arguing that its continued use is necessary to ensure the nation’s energy security.

Notably, the CDU suggests in its manifesto that it is open to reviving nuclear power in the future. It proposes an “expert review” around restarting closed plants and advocates for research on advanced nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors.

Despite this wording, CDU leader Friedrich Merz has conceded that it is unlikely any old reactors will be restarted. This echoes views expressed by German utility companies and energy experts.

Both the CDU and the SPD support the expansion of renewables in their manifestos. The Greens include a specific target to achieve a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. By contrast, the AfD calls for an end to wind power expansion, in favour of other technologies.

Finally, both the far-right AfD and the BSW say the German government should repair the damaged Nord Stream pipelines in order to import what the BSW refers to as “cheap” gas from Russia. (The Baltic Sea pipelines were blown up in 2022 under mysterious circumstances.)

Germany has tried to wean itself off Russian gas since the country’s invasion of Ukraine, with considerable success. However, both the AfD and the BSW are more open to cooperating with Russia, and less supportive of Ukraine, than mainstream German parties.

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Guest post: How atmospheric rivers are bringing rain to West Antarctica 

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“Atmospheric rivers” are bringing rain to the frozen slopes of the West Antarctic ice sheet, hitting the ice shelves that play a major role in holding back rapidly retreating glaciers.

In a new study, my colleagues and I show how rain is occurring in sub-zero temperatures due to these “rivers in the sky” – long, narrow plumes of air which transport heat and moisture from the tropics to the mid-latitudes and poles.

Rain in Antarctica is significant, not only because it is a stark indicator of climate change, but because it remains an under-studied phenomenon which could impact ice shelves.

Ice shelves in Antarctica are important gatekeepers of sea level rise.

They act as a buffer for glaciers that flow off the vast ice sheet, slowing the rate at which ice is released into the ocean.

In the study, we explore the causes of rain falling on ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea embayment region, which stand in front of the critically important Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers.

Researchers have warned the collapse of ice shelves in this region could trigger the loss of the entire West Antarctic ice sheet over several centuries.

Rivers in the sky

Atmospheric rivers are typically associated with bringing extreme rainfall to the mid-latitudes, but, in the frigid Antarctic, they can deliver metres of snow in just a few days. 

In West Antarctica, atmospheric rivers deliver a disproportionate quantity of the year’s snowfall. Research shows they account for around 13% of annual snowfall totals, despite occurring on just a few days per year.

But what makes atmospheric rivers in Antarctica so interesting is that snow is only part of the story. In extreme cases, they can also bring rain.

To explore how extreme precipitation affects the Amundsen Sea embayment region, we focused on two events associated with atmospheric rivers in 2020. The summer case took place over a week in February and the winter case over six days in June.

We used three regional climate models to simulate the two extreme weather events around the Thwaites and Pine Island ice shelves, then compared the results with snowfall observations.

During both the winter and summer cases, we find that atmospheric rivers dumped tens of metres of snow over the course of a week or so.

Meanwhile, the quantities of rain driven by these events were not insignificant. We observed up to 30mm of rain on parts of the Thwaites ice shelf in summer and up to 9mm in winter.

Amundsen sea, map.
A map of the Amundsen Sea embayment region in West Antarctica. Source: Produced by the British Antarctic Survey’s Mapping and Geographic Information Centre, 2025.

A mountain to climb

Antarctica’s cold climate and steep, icy topography make it unique. It also makes the region prone to rain in sub-zero temperatures.

The first reason for this is the foehn effect, which is when air forced over a mountain range warms as it descends on the downward slope.

Commonly observed across Antarctica, it is an important cause of melting over ice shelves on the Antarctic peninsula, the northernmost point of the continent. 

When air passes over the mountainous terrain of the West Antarctic ice sheet during atmospheric river events, temperatures near the surface of the ice shelves can climb above the melting point of 0C.

This can accentuate the formation of rain and drizzle that stays liquid below 0C – also known as “supercooled drizzle”.

Another factor which leads to liquid drizzle, rather than snow, in sub-zero conditions is a lack of dust and dirt – particles which are usually needed to trigger the formation of ice crystals in clouds.

In the pristine Antarctic, these particles – which act as “ice nuclei” – are few and far between. That means that pure liquid water can exist even when temperatures are below 0C.

The origins of rain over ice shelves

It is easy to assume that rain that reaches the surface in Antarctica is just snow that has melted after falling through a warm layer of air caused by the foehn effect. Indeed, this is what we initially supposed.

But our research shows that more rain reaches the surface of Antarctica when the air near the ground is within a few degrees of freezing.

At times when the foehn effect is strongest, there is often little or no rainfall, because it evaporates before it gets a chance to reach the surface.

However, we saw rain falling well above the warm layer of air near the surface, where temperatures were universally below 0C – and, in some cases, as low as -11C.

Rare rain

Rain in Antarctica is a rare occurrence. The region’s normally frigid temperatures mean that most precipitation over the continent falls as snow.

However, exactly how rare rain is in the region remains relatively unknown, because there are virtually zero measurements of rainfall in Antarctica.

There are a number of reasons for this – rain falls infrequently, and it is very difficult to measure in the hostile Antarctic environment.

Our results show that extreme events such as atmospheric rivers can bring rain. And it is likely that rain will become a more common occurrence in the future as temperatures rise and extreme weather events occur more frequently.

However, until rain starts being measured in Antarctica, scientists will have to rely entirely on models to predict rain, as we did in this research.

It is also not yet known exactly how rain could impact ice in Antarctica.

We do know that rain falling on snow darkens the surface, which can enhance melting, leading to greater ice losses. Meanwhile, rain that refreezes in the snowpack or trickles to the base of the ice can change the way that glaciers flow, impacting the resilience of ice shelves to fracture.

So, if we want to understand the future of the frozen continent, we need to start thinking about rain too. Because while rain may be rare now, it may not be for long.

The post Guest post: How atmospheric rivers are bringing rain to West Antarctica  appeared first on Carbon Brief.

Guest post: How atmospheric rivers are bringing rain to West Antarctica 

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Colombia’s COP16 presidency in suspense as minister resigns

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Susana Muhamad, Colombia’s minister of environment since 2022 and president of the COP16 UN biodiversity negotiations, has announced she will step down from government, but has asked President Gustavo Petro to let her stay in her post to conclude the UN nature talks later in February.

In her resignation letter, addressed to the president and dated February 8, Muhamad said she was quitting as a minister but urged him to consider “the need to conclude COP16” – the summit left unfinished in Colombia last year and now scheduled to resume from February 25 to 27 in Rome.

“I’ve led the complex negotiations in progress and I exercise the role of president (of the COP). Therefore, if you so decide, this resignation could be made effective from March 3,” the letter reads.

Muhamad has been one of the most vocal opponents of the recent appointment of former senator Armando Benedetti as Petro’s chief of staff. Benedetti has faced allegations of domestic abuse and corruption, and was previously fired as ambassador to Venezuela by Petro himself.

In a televised session of the council of ministers held last week, Muhamad heavily opposed Benedetti’s appointment and threatened to resign if he remained in the cabinet. “As a feminist and as a woman, I cannot sit at this table of our progressive project with Armando Benedetti,” she told Petro.

According to Oscar Soria, veteran biodiversity campaigner and CEO of think-tank The Common Initiative, the Colombian government is likely to keep Muhamad as COP president, but her resignation could have a negative impact on the talks.

“To have a good result in Rome, proactive and energetic diplomatic work by the presidency was needed in the last months. However, some key issues have not been discussed recently. The internal political crisis (in Colombia) has likely been a great distraction,” Soria told Climate Home.

Since Muhamad’s announcement, several other ministers have also resigned, leading Petro to place all of his cabinet on hold and asking for “protocolary resignations” from every member.

“It’s not clear how much support from the president and ministers (Muhamad) can count on when her counterparts from other countries need to be approached by the Colombian foreign service,” Soria added.

Upcoming nature talks

The COP16 biodiversity negotiations are set to resume later this month, with important decisions coming up on finance for nature and a monitoring framework to track progress on nature restoration. These decisions were left pending after negotiators ran out of time in Cali, Colombia, last year.

One of the most pressing issues is the future of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), which currently sits under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) until 2030. Some developing countries have called for the creation of a new fund, citing barriers at the GEF to access the funds.

Observers said COP16 could play an important role in the future of biodiversity finance, especially as the new US president, Donald Trump, cuts development funding for climate and nature projects.

“In Rome, countries must give a firm response to the measures and visions promoted by the Trump administration, reaffirming [their] commitment to protecting biodiversity,” said Karla Maas, campaigner at Climate Action Network (CAN) Latin America.

“This implies guaranteeing public resources for conservation instead of depending on the will of private actors or philanthropy,” Maas added.

(Reporting by Sebastian Rodriguez; editing by Megan Rowling)

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Colombia’s COP16 presidency in suspense as minister resigns

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