Ukraine’s Zelenskyy urges West to sanction Georgia as anti-Russia protests rage
Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday announced sanctions on 19 members of the Georgian government, who he accused of “surrendering” the country to Russian control.
Zelenskyy’s announcement came after seven nights of massive anti-government protests in the small South Caucasus nation, bordered by Russia to the north and Turkey to the southeast. Pro-Western demonstrators accuse the Georgian Dream government of rigging October’s parliamentary elections with Russian backing.
The protests began last week after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia would suspend European Union membership talks. The country’s long-held ambition to join the bloc is widely popular among Georgians across the political spectrum and is enshrined in the national constitution.
“These sanctions target the part of the Georgian government that is surrendering Georgia to Putin,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
Among those sanctioned are Kobakhidze and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili — the founder and chairman of Georgia Dream, who is widely considered the real power behind the party. Ivanishvili, who is Georgia’s richest person, made his fortune in Russia.
“This is how it works in international affairs: if you do not respond in time or fail to respond with principle, then decades are lost, and countries are robbed of their freedom,” Zelenskyy wrote.
“We must not lose anyone in this region — neither Georgia, nor Moldova, nor Ukraine,” he added. “We must stand united in defending ourselves against Moscow.”
Zelenskyy also urged “Europe, America and everyone in the world to do the same — to act with principle.”
Major protests continued in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Wednesday night despite violent clashes with security forces and mass arrests. Protesters again gathered outside the parliament building on the main Rustaveli Avenue thoroughfare, launching fireworks at the building and at police lines.
Police, meanwhile, continued to use tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators. Security forces wielding clubs sporadically charged protesters to force back crowds and make arrests.
Police also detained opposition leaders away from the protests. The Coalition for Change opposition party said Wednesday that police raided its offices and detained leader Nika Gvaramia. The party published a video showing several officers dragging Gvaramia into a car.
Kobakhidze said of anti-opposition raids, “I wouldn’t call this repression; it is more of a preventive measure than repression.”
The prime minister accused opposition leaders of “systematically” supplying “pyrotechnics” to protesters. “This is absolutely clear,” he said.
Opposition leaders — among them President Salome Zourabichvili — have vowed to continue their protests. Zourabichvili said she would not leave office when her term expires later this month. The president said she would not take instruction from the new parliament formed after the disputed October elections, which she said is illegitimate.
The opposition wants the Georgian Dream government to step down. Leaders hope the protest movement can snowball into a general strike.
Zourabichvili on Thursday thanked Zelenskyy for the sanctions. “I could not say it better,” the president wrote in a post to X. “Russia is trying to get back the control over the Black Sea.”
Georgian opposition leaders have long called on the West to be more assertive in supporting their EU and NATO membership ambitions — and in curtailing Russian influence in the country. Russia occupies around 20% of Georgia via local separatist client states, a situation cemented by Moscow’s victory in the 2008 Russo-Georgian war.
The U.S. State Department this week condemned what it said was “excessive use of force by police against Georgians” and announced it would suspend the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership due to “anti-democratic actions” by the Georgian Dream government.
“We reiterate our call to the Georgian government to return to its Euro-Atlantic path, transparently investigate all parliamentary election irregularities, and repeal anti-democratic laws that limit freedoms of assembly and expression,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
The EU’s new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the bloc stands “with the Georgian people and their choice for a European future.”
“We condemn the violence against protesters and regret signals from ruling party not to pursue Georgia’s path to EU and democratic backsliding of the country,” Kallas wrote in a post to X. “This will have direct consequences from EU side.”
Russian officials have denied any active support of Georgian Dream, while also threatening consequences for the country if it continues its Westward geopolitical pivot.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists Monday that Russia “has not interfered and does not intend to interfere” in events, saying the government in Tbilisi was merely taking necessary steps to restore order.
Dmitry Medvedev — formerly Russia’s president and prime minister, now serving as the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council — wrote on Telegram that Georgia was “moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss.”
Medvedev — who has become known for his hawkish foreign policy rhetoric — framed the protests as an attempted “revolution,” which he said would end “very badly.”
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
US sanctions Hamas leaders as officials say group’s political wing has rebased in Turkey
The U.S. is rolling out sanctions against six senior Hamas leaders accused of facilitating the transfer of weapons and funds into Gaza to support the group’s terror activities as well as smuggling in construction materials to build the underground tunnels critical to its operations, according to the Biden administration.
“There is no distinction between Hamas’ so-called military wing and its political leadership,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement announcing the tranche of sanctions.
Three of the targeted individuals are based in Turkey, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Despite the denials coming from Hamas and the Turkish government, two U.S. officials say that the bulk of Hamas’ political wing has now relocated to Turkey following the group’s ouster from Qatar.
The U.S. has turned a blind eye to Hamas’ relationship with NATO ally Turkey for years, which allows the U.S. designated terror group to openly recruit, fundraise and interface with its government officials.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes to strengthen ties with the U.S. when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. However, Trump’s cabinet is expected to feature many staunchly pro-Israel voices who will object to Turkey’s tolerance of Hamas — potentially complicating Erdogan’s plans.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Hospitals in northern Gaza running out of medical supplies, requesting patient transfers as attacks continue
Kamal Adwan Hospital is running out of medical supplies, and more people with cases of malnutrition are arriving at the hospital because of the lack of food and water allowed into northern Gaza, the hospital director said in comments Tuesday.
“There are a number of cases of malnutrition that have begun to arrive, including children and the elderly,” Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan hospital said.
“The health system is working under extremely harsh conditions to the point that we have started losing numbers of infected people due to the lack of medical supplies,” Abu Safia added.
At least 50 people were killed, and 110 people were injured in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society transferred 15 patients from Al Awda Hospital in north Gaza to Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City Sunday, the ICRC said in a statement Tuesday. The patient transfers were requested by the hospitals, the ICRC said.
The organizations also delivered medical supplies to three hospitals in Gaza City Monday, the ICRC said in a post on X.
“The delivery and medical transfer came in the wake of another large-scale attack in the Beit Lahia area of the Northern Governorate, in which dozens of people were killed and many more injured,” the ICRC said.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Sami Zyara
UN peacekeepers, buildings targeted in 3 incidents in south Lebanon
United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon and facilities were targeted in “three separate incidents in south Lebanon,” Tuesday, UNIFIL said in a post on X.
Four Ghanian peacekeepers on duty “sustained injures as a rocket … hit their base,” UNIFIL said in a post on X. Three of the injured peacekeepers were transferred to a hospital in Tyre, Lebanon for treatment, UNIFIL said.
In a different attack, a UNIFIL building was “impacted by five rockets,” UNIFIL said.
“In another incident, UNIFIL Sector West Headquarters in Shama was impacted by five rockets, which struck the maintenance workshop,” UNIFIL said. “Although it caused heavy damage to the workshop, no peacekeeper was injured. This was the second time this UNIFIL base was impacted by the ongoing clashes in the area in less than a week.”
In a third incident, a UNIFIL patrol was “passing through” a village, and “an armed person directly fired at the patrol,” UNIFIL said. No injuries were reported from this incident.
UNIFIL is investigating the incidents and has informed the Lebanese armed forces about them, UNIFIL said.
“UNIFIL once again reminds all actors involved in the ongoing hostilities to respect the inviolability of United Nations peacekeepers and premises,” UNIFIL said in a post on X.
5 killed, 31 injured after Israeli strike on central Beirut
At least five people were killed, 31 were injured and at least two people remain missing after an Israeli airstrike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.
The Israeli Defense Forces did not issue a warning before conducting this airstrike on central Beirut Monday.
At least 28 people were killed and 107 were wounded across Lebanon from Israeli attacks Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.
Overall, 3,544 people have been killed, and 15,036 have been injured since Israel’s increased attacks on the country began in mid-September, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut Tuesday, according to Lebanese state media.
After meeting with Hochstein for two hours, Berri said the cease-fire negotiations were “good in principle,” but warned Israel could change its minds about the proposal as it has done before.
Berri said the U.S. is managing guarantees about Israel’s position on the proposal, according to Lebanese state media.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Israel kills 5 in central Beirut strike, officials say
At least five people were killed and 31 wounded by an Israeli strike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Two other people are missing.
The Israel Defense Forces did not appear to issue any public evacuation order prior to the strike. ABC News has reached out to the IDF for comment on the target of the strike.
The attack made Monday the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes within central Beirut. To date, the vast majority of airstrikes on the capital have hit the southern Dahiya suburb, known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
Israel has intensified its bombardment in and around Beirut over the past week, while Hezbollah has continued missile fire into Israel. Fresh discussions are ongoing as to a potential cease-fire to end the fighting.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Israel demands ‘immediate’ action against pro-Iran militias in Iraq
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday published a letter sent to the president of the United Nations Security Council in which he called for “immediate action regarding the activity of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, whose territory is being used to attack Israel.”
“The Iraqi government is responsible for everything that happens on its territory,” Saar wrote, noting Israel’s right to self-defense.
“I called on the Security Council to act urgently to make sure that the Iraqi government meets its obligations under international law and to make these attacks on Israel stop,” Saar said.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias have been launching drone attacks into Israel from the east in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with whom Israeli forces have been engaged since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Nearly 100 aid trucks looted: UNRWA
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Monday their aid convoy was “violently” looted over the weekend, one of the largest such cases of looting since the war began.
The 109-truck U.N. convoy was carrying food supplies to people in Gaza when it was looted on Saturday, UNRWA said.
“The vast majority of the trucks, 97 in total, were lost and drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload aid,” UNRWA said in a statement.
UNRWA said the Israel Defense Forces made the convoy leave a day earlier than planned.
The IDF has not yet commented on this incident.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Israel’s October attack damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program: Netanyahu
Israel damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program in its October attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.
Iran’s air defense, ballistic missile production and ability to produce “solid fuel” were impacted, Netanyahu said during remarks to Israel’s parliament.
“There is a certain element of their nuclear program that was damaged in this attack,” he said, though added that its ability to operate “has not yet been thwarted.”
Netanyahu said Iran’s nuclear threat must be dealt with.
“If we don’t deal with the nuclear program, then all the other problems will come back and resurface, both in the axis, and in armaments, and in other things,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also said Israel is “currently talking about possible negotiations for a settlement” to be reached between Israel and Lebanon, but added, “Even if there is a cease-fire, no one says it will last.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US envoy en route to Lebanon for cease-fire talks, official says
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is on his way to Lebanon for talks on a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, an official familiar with the plans confirmed to ABC News.
Hochstein left from the U.S. for Lebanon on Monday, the official said.
Israel is getting close to being ready to agree to the U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal, which is very similar to the proposal that was floated by the U.S. at the end of September. The U.S. needs to see how Hezbollah feels about this proposal, which is what Hochstein aims to do during his trip, according to the official.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
4 killed in Israeli attack in Beirut: Health ministry
Four people were killed and at least 18 injured in an Israeli attack in Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Monday.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
1 killed, 10 injured in strike on residential building in Israel: Officials
A woman was killed and 10 people injured after a Hezbollah rocket directly hit a residential building in northern Israel, Israeli emergency services said Monday.
Dozens of projectiles were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel Monday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces said. Not all of the projectiles were intercepted, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US sanctions entity, 3 individuals tied to West Bank violence
The State Department said Monday it is sanctioning three individuals and one entity for allegedly undermining “peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.”
The department accuses the entity, Eyal Hari Yehuda Company LTD, of having supported Yinon Levi, an Israeli settler who was sanctioned by the Biden administration over accusations of attacks and harassment against Palestinians earlier this year.
The three impacted individuals are Itamar Levi, Shabtai Koshlevsky and Zohar Sabah, the State Department said. Itamar Levi, the brother of Yinon Levi, is being designated for his role as the owner of the aforementioned company, while Koshlevsky is accused of holding a leadership position at Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that provides material support to U.S.-designated outposts in the West Bank and was sanctioned in August of this year.
Sabah is accused of engaging “in threats and acts of violence against Palestinians, including in their homes” as well as “a pattern of destructiveness targeting the livestock, grazing lands and homes of local Palestinians to disrupt their means of support,” the State Department said in a press release.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Hamas denies that leaders relocated from Qatar to Turkey
Hamas denied reports in Israeli media that its leadership has relocated from Qatar to Turkey amid a breakdown in Doha-supported cease-fire talks earlier this month.
Hamas dismissed the news reports as “rumors” spread by Israeli authorities in a statement posted to its official website.
Qatar told Israel and Hamas earlier this month it could not continue to mediate cease-fire and hostage release talks “as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith.”
Doha is under U.S. pressure to expel Hamas leaders. A senior administration official told ABC News earlier this month that the group’s “continued presence in Doha is no longer viable or acceptable.”
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Shannon K. Kingston and Somayeh Malekian
Gaza death toll nears 44,000, health officials say
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that 43,922 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 104,000 more injured.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 96 people and wounded at least 60 in Gaza through the weekend, officials said. The dead included 72 people in north Gaza and more than 20 from other areas of the strip.
Most of those killed were displaced women and children sheltering in residential buildings in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.
Beit Lahiya is at the heart of the Israel Defense Forces’ recent northern offensive, which has been accompanied with sweeping evacuation orders and spiking civilian casualties.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti
Hezbollah positive on US cease-fire proposal, reports say
Hezbollah responded positively to the U.S.-proposed cease-fire deal between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli and Lebanese media reported Monday.
U.S. special envoy for Lebanon Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday to discuss the proposal before heading to Israel to speak with leaders there.
The proposal is reportedly based on the United Nations Security Council’s resolution 1701 that sought to end the last major cross-border conflict in 2006.
That deal ordered Hezbollah to withdraw all military units and weapons north of the Litani River, which is around 18 miles north of the Israeli border. The resolution also prohibited Israeli ground and air forces from crossing into Lebanese territory.
Israeli leaders have demanded open-ended freedom to act against threats in Lebanon, a stipulation reportedly opposed by Hezbollah and Lebanese leaders.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Khamenei meets with ambassador injured in pager attacks
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with the country’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, as the latter continues his recovery from injuries sustained during Israel’s detonation of Hezbollah communication devices in September.
Khamenei’s official X account posted a short video of their interaction on Monday, in which Amani told the Iranian leader he lost around half of the vision in his right eye in the attack.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah media relations chief killed in Israeli strike
Mohammed Afif, Hezbollah’s media relations chief, was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday, Hezbollah confirmed.
The strike on central Beirut partially collapsed a building and injured three others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Israel Defense Forces also confirmed Afif’s death. In a statement, the IDF said he joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and went on to become a “central and veteran figure in the organization who greatly influenced Hezbollah’s military activity.”
Citing one particular incident, the statement claimed that he had played a key role in the drone attack on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea in October.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Pope calls for investigation to determine whether Israeli attacks on Gaza are ‘genocide’
Pope Francis, in an upcoming book to be released ahead of his 2025 jubilee, called for an investigation to determine whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, according to the Vatican.
“In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory,” he wrote in a passage released by the Vatican.
“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope wrote. “It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”
(NEW YORK) — The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it’s happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heatwaves are reshaping our way of life.
The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.
That’s why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the people and places you care about safe. We are dedicated to providing clarity amid the chaos, giving you the facts and insights necessary to navigate the climate realities of today — and tomorrow.
Dangerous hurricanes are being made even worse because of climate change, study finds
Hurricanes are getting stronger, and humans are primarily to blame. A new study from Climate Central adds to a growing body of evidence that human-amplified climate change is indeed leading to more intense storms.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research: Climate, found that 84% of Atlantic hurricanes between 2019 and 2023 were, on average, 18 mph stronger because of climate change. That additional wind speed resulted in 30 hurricanes reaching an entire category higher in strength (Category 3 to Category 4 or Category 4 to Category 5, for example) compared to a world without human-amplified climate change.
The researchers say sea surface temperatures are being made hotter by global warming, fueling these rapidly intensifying cyclones. The authors cite Hurricane Milton as an example. They found that Milton intensified by 120 mph in under 36 hours. At the time, ocean temperatures were at record levels or near record levels, which Climate Central’s Climate Shift Index: Ocean determined were made 400 to 800 times more likely by climate change.
Over the past half-century, the ocean has stored more than 90% of the excess energy trapped in Earth’s system by greenhouse gases and other factors, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Every hurricane in 2024 was stronger than it would have been 100 years ago,” Dr. Daniel Gilford, climate scientist at Climate Central and lead author of the study and report, said in a statement. “Through record-breaking ocean warming, human carbon pollution is worsening hurricane catastrophes in our communities.”
The researchers identified three storms between 2019 and 2023 that became Category 5 hurricanes, the highest level on the scale, because of our changing climate.
When the scientists applied the same study methodology to storms in 2024, they determined it was unlikely Beryl and Milton would have reached Category 5 status without the impact of climate change. And they found that every Atlantic hurricane in 2024 saw an increased maximum wind speed, ranging from 9 to 28 mph, because human-amplified climate change resulted in elevated ocean temperatures.
Since 1980, tropical cyclones, a generic term for hurricanes and tropical storms, have cost communities $1.4 trillion in damages and claimed more than 7,200 lives, according to The National Center for Environmental Information.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser and ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck
Biden pledges $325 million in clean tech funding for developing nations
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced $325 million in funding to the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) for global clean energy projects. The funding comes as climate leadership conferences continue worldwide, with COP29 underway in Azerbaijan and the G20 summit in Brazil.
Projects range from implementing renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, to more efficient energy use in transportation.
The Clean Technology Fund provides money for permanent climate projects for middle-income and developing countries, allowing them to jump the financial hurdle and implement much-needed new green tech and energy.
Nine countries currently give money to the Fund through grants and loans. Operated by the World Bank, the program distributes money to eligible countries through global development banks.
This financial commitment is another example of the Biden administration trying to lock in climate funding and programs before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Since 2022, the U.S. has contributed $1.56 billion in concessional loans to the fund, and in October of this year, they contributed another $20 million in grants. Since it was established in 2008, the Fund has contributed $7.28 billion in loans and grants globally.
A report released last week highlighted that advancing climate progress in middle-income countries is crucial for setting the world on a path to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. These countries are not only the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but they also host the majority of the world’s nature and biodiversity.
-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin
Countries pledge to reduce potent greenhouse gas that comes from food waste at COP29
As the world’s nations try to decide on a plan of action for limiting the impacts of climate change, the head of the United Nations Environment Programme says reducing methane emissions could be the “emergency brake” the world needs.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas responsible for about 30% of the rise in global temperatures since industrialization, according to the International Energy Agency.
“Reducing methane emissions this decade is our emergency brake in the climate remit,” Martina Otto, head of the Secretariat, Climate and Clean Air Coalition at the UNEP, said at a press conference with the COP29 presidency.
“To cut the emergency we need to harness the fact that methane has a much higher global warming potential and is shorter lived in the atmosphere, which means we can curb near-term warming.”
Tuesday is food, water and agriculture day at COP29 – an occasion marked this year by a new agreement to cut methane emissions from food waste.
Over 30 countries have already committed to the Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste, which targets methane emissions from organic waste like food. The move complements additional global efforts to tackle methane emissions, including the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
“Urgent work is needed to help the agricultural sectors adapt to a warming planet,” COP29 lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev said.
Rafiyev explained that the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers — an effort launched by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the COP29 presidency — will give farmers tools for building climate resilience and secure funding.
“We are also committed to taking every opportunity for mitigation, particularly on methane,” Rafiyev said, noting previous COP’s progress on methane emissions. “We must address all the major sources of methane emissions, including fossil fuels, agriculture and organic waste.”
“Transforming agriculture and food systems is going to be critical if we are to achieve the Paris Agreement, whether it’s on the side of adaptation and building resilience, or indeed on the side of mitigation,” Kaveh Zahedi, director of the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at the FAO, said. “And on this food, agriculture and water day, we’re so delighted that the cop 29 presidency has been shining a light on this.”
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Kelly Livingston
UN climate lead says millions of lives are at stake and delegates should ‘cut the theatrics’
As COP29, the annual U.N. global climate conference, heads into its second and final week, the United Nations’ top climate representative is reminding delegates of what’s at stake if they fail to act now.
During his opening remarks on Monday, Simon Stiell, the U.N. climate change executive secretary, chastised the delegates, warning them that they are losing sight of the forest because they are “tussling over individual trees” and that “bluffing, brinksmanship and pre-mediated playbooks burn up precious time.”
“So let’s cut the theatrics and get down to real business,” he said.
Later in the day, Stiell urged climate leaders and public officials to unite on adaptation policy and finance.
“This year, we saw how every bit of preparation – every policy, every plan – is the difference between life and death for millions of people around the world,” Stiell said.
Stiell emphasized that we know how to adapt to our changing climate technologically but need the will to act.
“We have the tools, the science, the ability to achieve these outcomes,” he said.
The biggest roadblock, he said, is ensuring countries have enough money to do the work.
“Of course, we cannot ignore the adaptation elephant in the room: there is a stark financial gap we must bridge,” Stiell said.
According to Stiell, the expenses associated with adaptation are rapidly increasing, especially for developing nations. By 2030, these expenses could amount to $340 billion annually and soar to $565 billion annually by 2050. Without proper funding, he said billions of lives are on the line.
“The IPCC’s Working Group II report told us that almost half the human population live in climate vulnerable hotspots, where people are 15 times more likely to die from climate impacts,” Stiell said.
Stiell encouraged public and private sector funders to rise to the occasion and meet global needs in new ways.
“Think beyond traditional grants and loans,” Stiell said. “Philanthropies, the private sector, and bilateral donors must step up with the urgency that this crisis demands.”
He added, “The funding exists. We need to unlock and unblock it.”
-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin
Hundreds of US counties lack sufficient air quality monitoring
Cities, counties and government agencies use air quality monitors to measure the pollutants and particulates that can cause significant health problems. However, according to a new report, hundreds of counties across the United States lack these essential measurement tools.
According to the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of the Air report, more than two-thirds of U.S. counties do not have official ground-based air quality monitoring stations. As a result, dangerous levels of pollution are going undetected and unaddressed.
The association used satellite data to estimate that 300 of the 2,700 U.S. counties with incomplete or no air monitoring data had potentially failing grade levels of fine particulate matter between 2020 and 2022.
Lexi Popovici, lead report author and a senior manager of the American Lung Association, said satellite data could help fill the data gap left by the missing air monitors and help people and officials, particularly in rural areas, take protective measures. She said the technology could also supplement existing ground monitors and ultimately create a more comprehensive air quality monitoring system.
“Using satellite data actually helps fill in those gaps to identify pollution in places that might otherwise go undetected, and this can help millions of Americans understand what air quality they are breathing,” Popovici said.
Fine particulate pollution is a mix of solid or liquid particles suspended in the air – smaller than a strand of human hair – that can be present even in air that looks clean, according to the EPA. These pollutants are considered the most dangerous forms of air pollution and are linked to asthma, lung and heart disease, and other respiratory health issues.
Popovici said subsequent reports will focus more on the potential of community air quality resources and ways to mitigate environmental injustices.
(WASHINGTON) — America First Policy Institute, a think tank aligned with former President Donald Trump, is presumed by federal authorities to have been attacked by Chinese hackers, sources familiar with the matter have told ABC News.
AFPI’s Chief Communications Officer Marc Lotter told ABC News in a statement that “it is not surprising” that “hostile foreign actors” would target AFPI, noting it’s a leading Trump-aligned policy group.
“As the leading policy group in the America First movement, it is not surprising that hostile foreign actors would attempt to infiltrate our IT,” Lotter wrote. “The tactics, techniques, and procedures of the threat actor are similar to that of nation-state sponsored activities we have seen, allowing us to remediate and respond quickly.”
“Like the America First movement itself, AFPI will not creep at the speed of government but act at the speed of business with the world’s leading cyber experts to even further enhance our already robust security,” he continued.
Politico first reported the alleged hack.
AFPI is a policy advisory think tank group that houses hundreds of former Trump administration officials, including AFPI board chairwoman Linda McMahon, who has been named co-chair of the Trump Transition Team.
The reports of APFI’s being targeted by foreign actors come on the heels of alleged Iranian hacking of the Trump campaign.
The Justice Department unsealed an indictment last month that charged three Iranians over their alleged involvement in the hack of emails from former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
The indictment charged the men with a series of crimes ranging from computer hacking charges, material support to a foreign terrorist organization, identity theft and aiding and abetting.
Prosecutors say the three men were all employed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and engaged in a “wide-ranging hacking campaign” that used spear-phishing and other digital hacking techniques to compromise targets that included current and former U.S. government officials, members of the media, NGOs and “individuals associated with U.S. political campaigns.”
