Joseph Confino
@josephconfino.bsky.social
Communications Director for @paulpolman.bsky.social. Former Chief of Staff, Director Strategic Partnerships.
Working across nature, climate, sustainable development, & human rights.
Working across nature, climate, sustainable development, & human rights.
COP30 fell short: no fossil roadmap, no deforestation plan, weak finance. But momentum is shifting. $1T+ in clean energy plans, billions for forests and health, and new alliances point the way. The next economy will be built by those who act now.
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
The World Is Moving Forward on Climate Action Whether Countries Like It or Not | Paul Polman | 21 comments
COP30 opened with a moment that should have set the tone for a new era. President Lula declared it the “COP of Truth”. He urged leaders to deliver a plan to overcome dependence on fossil fuels, a stra...
www.linkedin.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:56 PM
COP30 fell short: no fossil roadmap, no deforestation plan, weak finance. But momentum is shifting. $1T+ in clean energy plans, billions for forests and health, and new alliances point the way. The next economy will be built by those who act now.
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
Reposted by Joseph Confino
Im hearing from NGO colleagues in Rome that COP16 is currently falling short of a quorum, again! It would send a terrible message around the world if we failed to operationalise the Global Biodiversity Framework due to a lack of interest #RestoreNature www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Crucial UN nature talks are about to reopen in Rome – but will enough countries turn up?
After last year’s Cop16 biodiversity talks in Cali left key issues unresolved, the extra summit will attempt to seek consensus, especially over funding
www.theguardian.com
February 25, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Im hearing from NGO colleagues in Rome that COP16 is currently falling short of a quorum, again! It would send a terrible message around the world if we failed to operationalise the Global Biodiversity Framework due to a lack of interest #RestoreNature www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Joseph Confino
In the midst of one of the most gruesome periods of modern human history, whales experienced a rare moment of peace.
Now, a long-forgotten post-war museum collection is revealing how the slaughter has literally been etched into the very fibers of those whales.
www.biographic.com/how-whales-f...
Now, a long-forgotten post-war museum collection is revealing how the slaughter has literally been etched into the very fibers of those whales.
www.biographic.com/how-whales-f...
How Whales Found Peace in War - bioGraphic
A forgotten museum collection reveals how a pause in industrial whaling during World War II changed whales at the molecular level.
www.biographic.com
January 22, 2025 at 10:25 AM
In the midst of one of the most gruesome periods of modern human history, whales experienced a rare moment of peace.
Now, a long-forgotten post-war museum collection is revealing how the slaughter has literally been etched into the very fibers of those whales.
www.biographic.com/how-whales-f...
Now, a long-forgotten post-war museum collection is revealing how the slaughter has literally been etched into the very fibers of those whales.
www.biographic.com/how-whales-f...
Reposted by Joseph Confino
World’s addiction to fossil fuels is a “Frankenstein’s monster’, warns UN chief
- ‘The monster has become master’ António Guterres told Davos leaders, says after Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement
#climatecrisis
story by me
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
World’s addiction to fossil fuels is ‘Frankenstein’s monster’, says UN chief
António Guterres issues warning at Davos, days after Donald Trump pulled US out of Paris climate agreement
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2025 at 11:36 AM
World’s addiction to fossil fuels is a “Frankenstein’s monster’, warns UN chief
- ‘The monster has become master’ António Guterres told Davos leaders, says after Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement
#climatecrisis
story by me
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Joseph Confino
🚨NEW from me: "We plant trees in shell craters and collect honey from mined fields." Read my interview with Ukraine’s minister of environmental protection, Svitlana Grynchuk.
Why, Amid The Horrors Of War, Ukraine Is Fighting For Nature
Ukraine's minister of environmental protection has a seemingly impossible task: defending nature in a country at war. She explains how her fight gives her hope.
www.forbes.com
December 30, 2024 at 12:51 PM
🚨NEW from me: "We plant trees in shell craters and collect honey from mined fields." Read my interview with Ukraine’s minister of environmental protection, Svitlana Grynchuk.
Reposted by Joseph Confino
NEW – Analysis: Why the $300bn climate-finance goal is even less ambitious than it seems | @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social w/comment from @joethwaites.bsky.social Li Shuo @cgdev.org
Read here: https://buff.ly/4fUmwVX
Read here: https://buff.ly/4fUmwVX
December 3, 2024 at 4:44 PM
NEW – Analysis: Why the $300bn climate-finance goal is even less ambitious than it seems | @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social w/comment from @joethwaites.bsky.social Li Shuo @cgdev.org
Read here: https://buff.ly/4fUmwVX
Read here: https://buff.ly/4fUmwVX
Reposted by Joseph Confino
Is a plastic production reduction target on the cards at #INC-5?
The PSIDS group submitted a proposal on Tues that calls for a 40x40 target (40%⬇️ on 2025 levels by 2040): https://buff.ly/4eUAXrs
We show that 40x40 could cut plastics cumu. emissions between 2024-50 by half* wrt to BAU.
1/
The PSIDS group submitted a proposal on Tues that calls for a 40x40 target (40%⬇️ on 2025 levels by 2040): https://buff.ly/4eUAXrs
We show that 40x40 could cut plastics cumu. emissions between 2024-50 by half* wrt to BAU.
1/
November 29, 2024 at 11:44 AM
Is a plastic production reduction target on the cards at #INC-5?
The PSIDS group submitted a proposal on Tues that calls for a 40x40 target (40%⬇️ on 2025 levels by 2040): https://buff.ly/4eUAXrs
We show that 40x40 could cut plastics cumu. emissions between 2024-50 by half* wrt to BAU.
1/
The PSIDS group submitted a proposal on Tues that calls for a 40x40 target (40%⬇️ on 2025 levels by 2040): https://buff.ly/4eUAXrs
We show that 40x40 could cut plastics cumu. emissions between 2024-50 by half* wrt to BAU.
1/
Reposted by Joseph Confino
Five charts: Why a UN plastics treaty matters for climate change | @vernerviisas.carbonbrief.org @ayeshatandon.carbonbrief.org w/ comment from Daniela Durán González
🎨 @jjgoodman.bsky.social Kerry Cleaver @tomoprater.carbonbrief.org
Read here: https://buff.ly/40XL63u
🎨 @jjgoodman.bsky.social Kerry Cleaver @tomoprater.carbonbrief.org
Read here: https://buff.ly/40XL63u
November 25, 2024 at 2:15 PM
Five charts: Why a UN plastics treaty matters for climate change | @vernerviisas.carbonbrief.org @ayeshatandon.carbonbrief.org w/ comment from Daniela Durán González
🎨 @jjgoodman.bsky.social Kerry Cleaver @tomoprater.carbonbrief.org
Read here: https://buff.ly/40XL63u
🎨 @jjgoodman.bsky.social Kerry Cleaver @tomoprater.carbonbrief.org
Read here: https://buff.ly/40XL63u
Reposted by Joseph Confino
Negotiations over a U.N. treaty to cut plastics have been bogged down. Environmental groups blame the oil and gas industry.
Plastic waste is everywhere. Countries have one more chance to agree on a solution
Negotiations over a U.N. treaty to cut plastics have been bogged down. Environmental groups blame the oil and gas industry.
www.npr.org
November 25, 2024 at 5:05 PM
Negotiations over a U.N. treaty to cut plastics have been bogged down. Environmental groups blame the oil and gas industry.
Reposted by Joseph Confino
The outcome of INC-5 talks in Busan will have profound implications for natural ecosystems, climate, & human health.
Despite mass awareness of the devastating impact of plastic pollution & four previous rounds of global talks, plastic production is currently projected to surge by over 300% by 2060.
Despite mass awareness of the devastating impact of plastic pollution & four previous rounds of global talks, plastic production is currently projected to surge by over 300% by 2060.
Time to Seal the Deal: The World Must Deliver a Strong Plastics Treaty in Busan
Countries from around the world gather this week in Busan, South Korea, in a bid to finalise negotiations on a binding global treaty to tackle plastic pollution. The outcome could have profound implic...
www.linkedin.com
November 27, 2024 at 10:47 AM
The outcome of INC-5 talks in Busan will have profound implications for natural ecosystems, climate, & human health.
Despite mass awareness of the devastating impact of plastic pollution & four previous rounds of global talks, plastic production is currently projected to surge by over 300% by 2060.
Despite mass awareness of the devastating impact of plastic pollution & four previous rounds of global talks, plastic production is currently projected to surge by over 300% by 2060.
Reposted by Joseph Confino
It feels like we just left Baku - but now we're reporting from Busan!
Delegates from 175 countries have descended on South Korea’s second-largest city for what’s supposed to be the final round of talks aimed at clinching an international treaty on plastic.
www.climatechangenews.com/2024/11/25/u...
Delegates from 175 countries have descended on South Korea’s second-largest city for what’s supposed to be the final round of talks aimed at clinching an international treaty on plastic.
www.climatechangenews.com/2024/11/25/u...
UN plastic pollution treaty talks kick off talks in Busan
Delegates from 175 countries will finalise a new UN treaty aimed at tackling plastic pollution in Busan, South Korea.
www.climatechangenews.com
November 25, 2024 at 3:24 PM
It feels like we just left Baku - but now we're reporting from Busan!
Delegates from 175 countries have descended on South Korea’s second-largest city for what’s supposed to be the final round of talks aimed at clinching an international treaty on plastic.
www.climatechangenews.com/2024/11/25/u...
Delegates from 175 countries have descended on South Korea’s second-largest city for what’s supposed to be the final round of talks aimed at clinching an international treaty on plastic.
www.climatechangenews.com/2024/11/25/u...
Reposted by Joseph Confino
"[L]ast year saw a sixfold increase in climate disaster-induced displacements...'Sometimes conflict and disaster overlap, such as in Nigeria, where people fleeing the violence of Boko Haram find themselves fleeing again from floods that come almost every year.'"
Thirty-five million Africans driven from homes by war and climate disasters – report
Data shows a threefold increase in internal displacement across the African continent since 2009, with flooding and drought posing a growing threat
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2024 at 10:27 AM
"[L]ast year saw a sixfold increase in climate disaster-induced displacements...'Sometimes conflict and disaster overlap, such as in Nigeria, where people fleeing the violence of Boko Haram find themselves fleeing again from floods that come almost every year.'"
Reposted by Joseph Confino
Amidst #COP29, you might have missed it but, the most important environmental treaty since the #Paris is being negotiated THIS week!
At the #INC-5 in Busan, countries are hoping to strike an agreement on a global treaty to reduce #plastic pollution.
But why is this relevant for climate? A 🧵
1/
At the #INC-5 in Busan, countries are hoping to strike an agreement on a global treaty to reduce #plastic pollution.
But why is this relevant for climate? A 🧵
1/
November 25, 2024 at 3:37 PM
The outcome of INC-5 talks in Busan will have profound implications for natural ecosystems, climate, & human health.
Despite mass awareness of the devastating impact of plastic pollution & four previous rounds of global talks, plastic production is currently projected to surge by over 300% by 2060.
Despite mass awareness of the devastating impact of plastic pollution & four previous rounds of global talks, plastic production is currently projected to surge by over 300% by 2060.
Time to Seal the Deal: The World Must Deliver a Strong Plastics Treaty in Busan
Countries from around the world gather this week in Busan, South Korea, in a bid to finalise negotiations on a binding global treaty to tackle plastic pollution. The outcome could have profound implic...
www.linkedin.com
November 27, 2024 at 10:47 AM
The outcome of INC-5 talks in Busan will have profound implications for natural ecosystems, climate, & human health.
Despite mass awareness of the devastating impact of plastic pollution & four previous rounds of global talks, plastic production is currently projected to surge by over 300% by 2060.
Despite mass awareness of the devastating impact of plastic pollution & four previous rounds of global talks, plastic production is currently projected to surge by over 300% by 2060.
Reposted by Joseph Confino
At the Shangri-La Dialogues in 2022, Fiji's Chief of Defense noted, "“In our blue Pacific continent, machine guns, fighter jets, gray ships, and green battalions are not our primary security concerns. The single greatest threat to our very existence is climate change.”
“Fiji has always considered climate change a national-security threat,” the reporter said. “And we have President-elect Trump who considers climate change a hoax and who has also in the past pulled out of the Paris Accord.” What, he asked, should the Pacific expect in the way of U.S. leadership?
In Fiji, defense diplomacy and rain-soaked rugby
SecDef Austin advanced two agreements and faced a question about Trump and climate change.
www.defenseone.com
November 26, 2024 at 11:24 AM
At the Shangri-La Dialogues in 2022, Fiji's Chief of Defense noted, "“In our blue Pacific continent, machine guns, fighter jets, gray ships, and green battalions are not our primary security concerns. The single greatest threat to our very existence is climate change.”
Reposted by Joseph Confino
Great explanatory🧵 from @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social
Other ways of putting the #COP29 $300B "mobilisation" goal in perspective:
💣it amounts to just "45 days of global military spending" ($6.7 B/day in 2023)
💣it's "the price tag for all the crude oil used by the world in a little over 40 days"
Other ways of putting the #COP29 $300B "mobilisation" goal in perspective:
💣it amounts to just "45 days of global military spending" ($6.7 B/day in 2023)
💣it's "the price tag for all the crude oil used by the world in a little over 40 days"
November 26, 2024 at 8:16 AM
Great explanatory🧵 from @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social
Other ways of putting the #COP29 $300B "mobilisation" goal in perspective:
💣it amounts to just "45 days of global military spending" ($6.7 B/day in 2023)
💣it's "the price tag for all the crude oil used by the world in a little over 40 days"
Other ways of putting the #COP29 $300B "mobilisation" goal in perspective:
💣it amounts to just "45 days of global military spending" ($6.7 B/day in 2023)
💣it's "the price tag for all the crude oil used by the world in a little over 40 days"
The airborne water cycle, destabilised by industrial logging and other land use, may be a hidden force behind superstorms.
As forests decline, atmospheric moisture shifts oceanward, intensifying cyclones & underscoring the broader systemic risks of ecosystem degradation.
Via @hakaimagazine.com
As forests decline, atmospheric moisture shifts oceanward, intensifying cyclones & underscoring the broader systemic risks of ecosystem degradation.
Via @hakaimagazine.com
Is Deforestation Supercharging Cyclones? | Hakai Magazine
The airborne water cycle, destabilized by industrial logging and other land use, may be a hidden force behind growing superstorms.
hakaimagazine.com
November 26, 2024 at 11:02 AM
The airborne water cycle, destabilised by industrial logging and other land use, may be a hidden force behind superstorms.
As forests decline, atmospheric moisture shifts oceanward, intensifying cyclones & underscoring the broader systemic risks of ecosystem degradation.
Via @hakaimagazine.com
As forests decline, atmospheric moisture shifts oceanward, intensifying cyclones & underscoring the broader systemic risks of ecosystem degradation.
Via @hakaimagazine.com
Reposted by Joseph Confino
"The clean-energy transition is happening and it is unstoppable because economic prosperity and tackling the climate crisis now point in the same direction" - @edmiliband.bsky.social in @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Here’s what I learned at Cop29. Rows aside, an unstoppable transition to clean energy is happening | Ed Miliband
Britain wanted much better outcomes on many issues, but seeing the ambition at the conference gives me hope for the future, says energy secretary Ed Miliband
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2024 at 6:17 PM
"The clean-energy transition is happening and it is unstoppable because economic prosperity and tackling the climate crisis now point in the same direction" - @edmiliband.bsky.social in @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Joseph Confino
A global treaty to curb plastic pollution is on the line as final talks begin in South Korea. Countries are divided over the best solution
Can the World Unite to End the Plastic Pollution Crisis?
As the last negotiations for a global plastic treaty begin in South Korea, countries are divided over whether to cap production of the ubiquitous material.
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2024 at 1:28 PM
A global treaty to curb plastic pollution is on the line as final talks begin in South Korea. Countries are divided over the best solution
Reposted by Joseph Confino
COP29 president has written an op-ed about how the deal came about. First time I've seen something like this. Have you seen anything like it?
An attempt at telling the truth or an attempt to take hold of the narrative? You decide: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
An attempt at telling the truth or an attempt to take hold of the narrative? You decide: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I'm glad we got a deal at Cop29 – but western nations stood in the way of a much better one | Mukhtar Babayev
My negotiating team tried in vain to push up support for the global south. Lessons must be learned before the next summit in Brazil, says Mukhtar Babayev, president of Cop29
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2024 at 4:59 PM
COP29 president has written an op-ed about how the deal came about. First time I've seen something like this. Have you seen anything like it?
An attempt at telling the truth or an attempt to take hold of the narrative? You decide: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
An attempt at telling the truth or an attempt to take hold of the narrative? You decide: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Joseph Confino
it's day 1 of the final negotiations for a global plastics treaty and 2 US senators and an influential representative have called out Big Oil's tactics using mine and @emmahoward.bsky.social's investigation
@whitehouse.senate.gov @edmarkey.bsky.social @repjayapal.bsky.social
@whitehouse.senate.gov @edmarkey.bsky.social @repjayapal.bsky.social
November 25, 2024 at 8:31 AM
it's day 1 of the final negotiations for a global plastics treaty and 2 US senators and an influential representative have called out Big Oil's tactics using mine and @emmahoward.bsky.social's investigation
@whitehouse.senate.gov @edmarkey.bsky.social @repjayapal.bsky.social
@whitehouse.senate.gov @edmarkey.bsky.social @repjayapal.bsky.social
Reposted by Joseph Confino
“Some plastics can take up to one thousand years to decompose. Even then, they break down into ever smaller particles that persist, pervade and pollute.”
At #INC5 opening, @ingerandersen.bsky.social called for urgent action to deliver a #PlasticsTreaty to end pollution: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
At #INC5 opening, @ingerandersen.bsky.social called for urgent action to deliver a #PlasticsTreaty to end pollution: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
November 25, 2024 at 1:29 PM
“Some plastics can take up to one thousand years to decompose. Even then, they break down into ever smaller particles that persist, pervade and pollute.”
At #INC5 opening, @ingerandersen.bsky.social called for urgent action to deliver a #PlasticsTreaty to end pollution: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
At #INC5 opening, @ingerandersen.bsky.social called for urgent action to deliver a #PlasticsTreaty to end pollution: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
Reposted by Joseph Confino
Just published: The new edition of my newsletter for journalists (and anyone else) interested in biodiversity, the ecological crisis and nature-based solutions to climate change. It has news, resources, jobs, great stories, and more. 🌏🧪 thenaturebeat.substack.com/p/nature-bea...
Nature Beat #48
Updates, stories, resources and opportunities
thenaturebeat.substack.com
November 24, 2024 at 11:13 PM
Just published: The new edition of my newsletter for journalists (and anyone else) interested in biodiversity, the ecological crisis and nature-based solutions to climate change. It has news, resources, jobs, great stories, and more. 🌏🧪 thenaturebeat.substack.com/p/nature-bea...
Reposted by Joseph Confino
In my Forbes piece on the COP29 climate finance agreement, I pointed out that the $300bn figure could be made up from all sorts of sleights of hand, from private loans to blended finance. In other words, it's exactly what the least-developed and vulnerable countries did not want.
November 25, 2024 at 1:01 PM
In my Forbes piece on the COP29 climate finance agreement, I pointed out that the $300bn figure could be made up from all sorts of sleights of hand, from private loans to blended finance. In other words, it's exactly what the least-developed and vulnerable countries did not want.
Reposted by Joseph Confino
Monday briefing: Where #COP29 failed – and the limited reasons for hope
#ClimateCrisis
With @fionaharvey
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...
#ClimateCrisis
With @fionaharvey
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...
Monday briefing: Where Cop29 failed – and the limited reasons for hope
In today’s newsletter: The view from Azerbaijan is of disappointingly low direct finance guarantees to the developing world, although it is ‘less bad than nothing’
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2024 at 9:57 AM
Monday briefing: Where #COP29 failed – and the limited reasons for hope
#ClimateCrisis
With @fionaharvey
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...
#ClimateCrisis
With @fionaharvey
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...