A massive new protected area in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – equal to the size of France – has so far failed to include Indigenous people and local communities in its design, and appears to be a tool to promote trade rather than safeguard nature, environmentalists have warned.
Last month at the World Economic Forum (WEF), DRC President Felix Tshisekedi announced the creation of a 2,600 km-long “Green Corridor” stretching from Virunga National Park in the conflict-torn eastern region of North Kivu through the vast forests of Ituri and the Congo River to Kinshasa in the southwest and the Atlantic coast.
According to WEF, the reserve will form the world’s largest protected forest area, also a vital carbon sink as part of the Congo Basin, whose trees absorb and store planet-heating carbon dioxide.
“This project aims to protect some of the most intact tropical forests on the planet, while preserving extraordinary biodiversity, including some iconic species that are very unique to the Congo Basin, ” Tshisekedi said. “DRC is on the way to becoming a global model, proving that economic prosperity and environmental protection can go hand in hand.”
The project will facilitate the transportation of commodities, strengthen agricultural value chains and advance sustainable development in the resource-rich country, he added.
But Indigenous and local groups in eastern DRC told Climate Home they have no idea how the flagship project – slated to safeguard more than 540,000 km² of tropical forest – will be implemented, and fear it could impinge on their land.
“As native peoples, we know nothing,” said Kapupu Diwa Mutimanwa, president of the League of Indigenous Pygmy Associations of Congo. “We have not been consulted about this project – nor have local communities, people that own the land where it will take place been contacted in advance”.
He expressed concern that the project could spark tensions on the ground. “As Indigenous peoples, we might say to the authorities that we do not want this project passing through our cemeteries, as we do not know how it will be operationalised,” he said.
Sustainable – not illicit – activities
Greenpeace Africa said the project, partly funded by the European Union, could perpetuate neo-colonialism, and so far lacks an inclusive approach as it has not respected the principle of gaining buy-in from affected local communities during the planning stage.
Other supporters include Grameen Bank, the Schmidt Family Foundation and the WEF’s 1t.org initiative.
President Tshisekedi has promised that the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor will revitalise the country’s economy, strengthen communities and promote lasting peace in eastern Congo. The region has recently seen Rwandan-backed M23 rebels make significant advances while reportedly committing atrocities on the civilian population.
The government hopes the project will improve the lives of 31 million people. Tshisekedi promised it will create 500,000 jobs, including at least 20,000 for young men and women who have been demobilised from armed groups.
Over half of Virunga National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site that is famous for its endangered mountain gorillas, is currently under rebel control and the long-running conflict has led to increased deforestation.
“By replacing illicit activities with sustainable agricultural and mineral sustainable value chains, we will build an economy that respects both people and nature,” DRC’s leader added in Davos.
Jozef Síkela, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, who announced 42 million euros ($44 million) in new grant funding for the initiative, said in a post on social media platform X that it would promote job creation and biodiversity conservation.
It will also advance “eco-friendly trade” through the use of “hydrogen-powered boats and solar logistics hubs which will transport up to 1 million tons of goods annually, boosting regional trade and supporting sustainable agriculture”, he added.
Key aspects of the project:
Eco-Friendly Trade: Hydrogen-powered boats and solar logistics hubs will transport up to 1 million tons of goods annually, boosting regional trade a supporting sustainable agriculture.
Jobs and Growth: Over 20,000 jobs will be created, improving… pic.twitter.com/Qo8sFr6Dvw— Jozef Síkela (@JozefSikela) January 22, 2025
The DRC corridor – which Síkela described as a “lifeline for green economic transformation” – is part of the Commission’s Africa-EU Global Gateway, a package running from 2021-2027 that is investing 150 billion euros in the African continent to boost infrastructure projects.
Over the past decade, the EU and five of its member states have already provided around 1 billion euros for the area covered by the DRC’s Green Corridor to support conservation, security, energy, transport as well as agricultural value chains.
Tristan Smith, professor of energy and transport at University College London, is sceptical of some of the proposed ideas such as boats running on hydrogen, which he said is not a competitive or efficient energy source compared with electric batteries.
He warned the project might be “green/development PR” for the EU unless the solutions are thought through in the local context, and set up to operate over a time-frame of 20 years or more.
Imposed from the outside?
Pygmy representative Diwa Mutimanwa said there is a contradiction between the Green Corridor being presented as a community project while it is managed by the state-run Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN).
Furthermore, the plan seems to have been imposed on DRC from the outside, he added.
”The idea of creating this protected area is not a Congolese concept,” he said. “We notice that this has come from a foreign source even though we don’t know what the motivations are behind it all.”
The ICCN did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
After US cuts cash, Green Climate Fund head urges others to step up
Daniel Makasi Mahamba, an environmental analyst and journalist based in the eastern rebel-held city of Goma, said previous natural parks with similar aims had done little to benefit local communities.
“Wanting to create more means depriving Indigenous communities of their rights to use the natural resources in these lands which were once part of their cultural heritage,” he said.
Meanwhile, efforts to ensure that such projects contribute to local development have not always worked in the past, he noted, citing an electrification initiative for communities around Virunga where high levels of poverty made it difficult for local people to access the electric power.
Potential for communities
Joe Eisen, executive director of Rainforest Foundation UK, said he was yet to be convinced that the project can achieve its “lofty aims”. He told Climate Home its ethos appears to be less of a protected area or community reserve and more of a “vehicle to promote green investments” along the corridor.
“A lot of the details – such as how it will protect 100,000 km2 of primary forests and create 500,000 jobs – remain to be seen,” he added.
The proposed reserve is intended to be a “community-managed protected area”, implying active involvement and governance by local communities, according to Tshisekedi.
But a report by the Rainforest Foundation points out that a ministerial decree establishing the corridor “lacks clear measures in terms of how it will function specifically as a Community Reserve”.
Nonetheless, Eisen said there could be upsides if there is genuine willingness on the part of the authorities to develop participatory governance of the area and unlock green investments in things like community forests.
“Some of the provisions built into the decree, such as the requirement for large development of conservation projects to obtain the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of impacted local populations, can also in theory change the rules of the game in their favour,” he added.
The post DRC’s huge Green Corridor project lacks buy-in from forest communities appeared first on Climate Home News.
DRC’s huge Green Corridor project lacks buy-in from forest communities
China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 3.1% in the third quarter of 2026, as the Hormuz crisis continued to hit oil demand and coal use also dropped.
This guest post is by:
Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air
This was the largest quarterly reduction since the 2022 Covid lockdowns and means that China’s CO2 emissions have now fallen by an estimated 0.5% in the year to date.
The new analysis for Carbon Brief, based on official figures and commercial data, shows that coal use fell by 3% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2026, while oil was down 4%.
The main drivers were a fall in power-sector coal consumption, a continued sharp reduction in transport oil consumption and slowing growth in the coal-to-chemical industry.
The sharp decline in China’s CO2 emissions extends a “flat or falling” trend that began in March 2024 and has now lasted more than two years, as shown in the figure below.
The outlook for China’s CO2 emissions depends on the balance between rising energy demand, clean-energy growth and the government response to a GDP slowdown.
Decline drivers
Key drivers of the fall in CO2 in the third quarter of 2026 included a 3.3% drop in coal-power generation, after demand growth slowed and the amount of “wasted” wind and solar fell.
Power generation from solar, wind and nuclear increased by 110 terawatt hours (TWh) year-on-year, more than twice as much as the growth in total electricity demand. This added clean-power generation equal to Germany’s total power output in the same time period.
The fall in coal-power output and CO2 emissions came despite the fact that China continues to build new coal-power capacity at near-record rates. This means that average running hours for coal plants are falling even faster than total generation, eroding their profits.
Meanwhile, transport oil consumption continued to fall sharply, down 9% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2026. Electric vehicles (EVs) continued to gain market share, hitting a record 67% of passenger car sales and 50% of heavy trucks in September.
The amount of electricity used by EVs grew by 53%, much faster than the number of EVs on the road, showing increased usage of the existing fleet in preference to fuelled vehicles.
Elsewhere, growth in the coal-to-chemical industry continued to slow down in the third quarter of 2026. The sector has been a key source of emissions growth, but high coal prices have weakened profitability and higher output prices hurt downstream demand.
Finally, CO2 emissions from cement and steel production continued to fall in the third quarter, as the contraction in construction volumes accelerated.
Outlook for emissions
Energy consumption growth has been falling after a period of exceptionally high growth during Covid, while clean-power growth has been robust.
This makes it likely that the growth in clean-power generation will exceed total energy demand growth this year, maintaining the structural fall in fossil-fuel use.
Looking ahead, this balance also relies on progress in removing barriers to new solar and wind power being added to the grid, which result in some clean electricity being “wasted”.
The recent slowdown in energy demand growth is partly – but not fully – explained by exceptionally mild weather in the third quarter.
Another key factor is weaker GDP growth. Since reported GDP growth remains within target, however, there is reduced pressure for further stimulus policies.
The focus of the economic stimulus announced to date is “six networks”, which includes the power grid and the transportation network.
These networks are highly relevant for energy and emissions – and they are already covered by policies that emphasise “green” and zero-carbon solutions.
The post Analysis: China’s quarterly CO2 falls 3% in largest drop since Covid appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Analysis: China’s quarterly CO2 falls 3% in largest drop since Covid
Climate Change
Coles, Woolworths grilled as beef buyers receive fail grade on new deforestation scorecard
MELBOURNE, Friday 6 November 2026 — As Coles holds its Annual General Meeting today, Greenpeace Australia Pacific has branded the major supermarkets with a fail grade on their commitment to source deforestation-free beef, with an updated scorecard revealing none of the major beef buyers are following through on forest sustainability commitments.
It comes after Woolworths’s AGM last week where the board copped a grilling by environmentalists and shareholders over its failed sustainability commitments. Both Coles and Woolworths committed to eliminating deforestation in their supply chains by the end of 2025, but a year past the deadline, neither company could guarantee that their beef was not sourced from deforested pastures.
From outside the Coles AGM, Adele Chasson, Nature Policy Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said:
“This is a report card Coles and Woolworths should be ashamed to take home. While all major beef buyers had promised to take deforestation off the shelves, none of them followed through. Shareholders and the public demanded answers from Woolworths last week and from Coles today, and we will continue to hold their feet to the fire on their promises.
“Beef is the leading cause of deforestation in Australia, and Coles and Woolworths keep putting off action while koalas continue losing their homes. Aussies must be able to get their groceries without having to worry if their dinner is contributing to the bulldozing of forests or driving extinction of iconic Australian animals.
“Without strong, rapid implementation plans, these companies continue with business as usual, flying in the face of Australia’s deforestation crisis. Big beef buyers like Coles and Woolworths must stop the bulldozers now, make good on their sustainability promises and play their part in stopping Australian forest destruction.”
The scorecard assesses how eight of Australia’s largest beef buyers stack up against a conversion and deforestation-free target. It charts whether the major supermarkets, Aldi, McDonalds, Hungry Jacks, Teys, Metcash/IGA and JBS are taking proper action to end Australia’s deforestation crisis. They all failed.
-ENDS-
Media contact: Kimberley Bernard on 0407 581 404 or kbernard@greenpeace.org
Coles, Woolworths grilled as beef buyers receive fail grade on new deforestation scorecard
Özgür Özel is the leader of Turkey’s main opposition “New Party” and a member of parliament from Manisa.
The world is running out of time to deliver on the Paris Agreement. The UN Environment Programme’s latest Emissions Gap Report concludes that the chance of keeping warming below 1.5C without overshooting it is gone. Even if every country delivers its current national pledges, the planet is heading for about 2.6C of warming this century.
This is the backdrop as governments and their leaders gather in Antalya for COP31, ten years after the Paris Agreement took effect. Turkey lies in the Mediterranean, one of the regions most exposed to climate change, and hosting the summit is a real opportunity.
It is also a responsibility, and that responsibility begins at home. The world does not lack targets. What it has lacked – almost everywhere – is delivery. If Antalya is remembered for anything, it should be for shifting the focus from what countries promise to what they actually do.
For many people in Turkey, the climate crisis is already part of daily life. In 2021, forests in Manavgat, a district of Antalya, burned for more than a week. Last year, wildfires forced more than 50,000 people from their homes around the western coast city of Izmir. This October, Istanbul had its heaviest rainfall in more than 80 years, with the floods killing at least eight people.
COP31 Briefing: What to expect from the Antalya climate summit?
Electrification, the fossil fuel transition, adaptation to rising impacts, climate science and trade are key themes as governments gather for COP31 in TürkiyeBrazil’s fossil fuel roadmap sketches out first global timetable
The COP30 presidency’s voluntary timetable asks countries to plan first, then build up clean energy – only turning to oil and gas supplies from 2031
Measurable outcomes
Two weeks of climate negotiations cannot deliver everything that is needed to resolve the crisis, but COP31 can push for a few things that can be measured. The first is a voluntary fossil-fuel transition roadmap, with national milestones for 2030 and 2035 reported in the same format every year.
The second is a stronger commitment to protecting forests, with progress tracked over time. The third is yearly reporting on progress towards the agreed $1.3 trillion a year in climate finance by 2035, backed by a financial roadmap.
On adaptation, the indicators agreed in Belém should become funded national plans. By COP32, we should be able to see how many countries have an adaptation plan and the financial commitment behind each one.
Regional resilience partnership
The summit also has an unusual shape. Turkey hosts, Australia leads the negotiations, and the Pacific island nations play a central role. Climate diplomacy now sits at the centre of energy security, trade and development, and Turkey, which bridges developed and developing economies, is well placed to help build consensus between them. The lasting value of its presidency will depend on the practical partnerships it leaves behind.
One such partnership could connect two very different regions. On a map, the Mediterranean and the Pacific seem to have little in common, but their problems look similar: eroding coastlines, salt creeping into aquifers, failing harvests, fishing towns with fewer fish.
Turkey and Australia could launch a Mediterranean–Pacific Climate Resilience Partnership, linking coastal cities, scientists, institutions including development banks and island governments. It does not need a new bureaucracy. It can start with a few projects: shared satellite data and early-warning systems, better coastal flood defences, and trials of water-saving farming in the communities most at risk. What matters is visible results on the ground, not a ceremony.
Turkey’s track record
Turkey does have progress to point to. It has committed to net zero by 2053, and its solar and wind capacity has grown fast. The sunshine, the wind and the industrial base are all there. But the long-term direction of the energy mix is still unclear.
Turkey also signed the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use at COP26, pledging to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. With four years left, COP31 is a chance to show how that promise will be kept.
COP30 roadmap says faster use of existing tools can halt forest loss by 2030
And while the summit celebrates zero waste, Turkey took in more than half a million tons of European plastic waste last year, much of it bound for Mersin and Adana. On Novem