Selection of news pieces #2025. Reporting from the frontline of the global climate crisis in an era of fake news

Eskom’s coal fleet must prepare for a new role on the grid

By Nick Hedley, News24

Link to published article (behind paywall)

So Who Exactly Protests at COP?

As the COP30 climate meetings wrap up in Belem, one of the most enduring takeaways has been the protests.

By Soumashree Sarkar, The Wire

Link to article – accessible

Colombia declares itself the first nation in the Amazon with its entire forest free from oil and mining activities

Colombia’s minister of environment and sustainable development, Irene Vélez Torres, made the announcement Thursday (Nov. 13) at a meeting of Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) ministers during COP30.

By Fabio Bispo, InfoAmazonia

Link to article – accessible

Komati illustrates the human cost of South Africa´s energy transition

“I’m appealing that please don’t use South Africa as an example on how the just transition is being done. That has nothing to do with just transition. We only came to know about it when we couldn’t put food on our table.”

By Dianah Chiyangwa

Link to published article

As a sponsor of COP30, Vale buys carbon credits from an area in the Amazon accused of irregularities in timber management.

A mining company presents the ABC Norte REDD project as its environmental trump card, but Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) found problems with timber extraction within the climate compensation area – which formed the basis of a complaint filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against the J & Y Timber Company. The territory in the Amazon region of Pará also registers deforestation, authorization for mineral research, and land conflicts with traditional communities.

By Fabio Bispo, Journalist at Info Amazonia, Brazil

Link to published article

Amplifying community voices in South Africa’s green transition

The green transition towards renewable energy is about more than investments, Governments’ plans, rules and regulations. It is also about how these initiatives take root in communities and how citizens put them into practice. Semeyi Zake brings this aspect to light in a news feature on Business Day TV in South Africa.

By Semeyi Zake, Journalist for Business Day TV, South Africa

Link to published article

‘Finance Is Not Coming’: Developing Countries’ Climate Adaptation Needs Are 12 Times What the Money Allows

Estimated adaptation finance needs of developing countries range from US$310-365 billion per year by 2035. But international public adaptation finance flows from developed to developing countries fell from US$28 billion in 2022 to US$26 billion in 2023, the UNEP’s 2025 Adaptation Gap Report says.

By Soumashree Sarkar, Journalist for The Wire, South Africa

Link to published article

In the high Himalayas, women and communities build a shared future for the snow leopard

In Himachal Pradesh’s Kibber village, a team of local women were a key part of the scientific monitoring effort to estimate the region’s snow leopard population.

Forest officials say collaboration with local communities through Eco-Development Committees, livelihood programmes, and awareness efforts has improved trust and reduced conflict in the Trans-Himalaya.

By Manish Chandra Mishra, Journalist for Mongabay, India

Link to published article