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Serious labour rights violations have taken place at Brazilian farms linked to some of the largest international coffee certification systems, including Rainforest Alliance and UTZ, according to an investigation by Repórter Brasil. Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world, with about one-third of all coffee consumed planted in the country. These violations include workers' pay packets being falsely docked resulting in some receiving less than half Brazil's minimum wage, and workers being hired informally and without mandatory medical tests. One farm even promoted its output with a Fairtrade certificate it was not entitled to use.

The World Bank will provide India with more than $1 billion to support its plans to increase solar power generation to 100 GW by 2022 and derive at least 40% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030. The Bank also announced its support of the India-led International Solar Alliance's efforts to mobilize $1 trillion in solar investments globally by 2030.

Signatories of the Indonesia Palm Oil Pledge (IPOP) will disband as a result of "recent ground-breaking policy developments" in Indonesia that have fulfilled the purpose of the IPOP consortium. The signatory companies - including Cargill, Golden Agri Resources, and Wilmar International - plan to continue their sustainability commitments independently.

A partnership of leading international public and private organizations launched the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard at the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) 2016 Summit today in Copenhagen. The FLW Standard is the first-ever set of global definitions and reporting requirements for companies, countries and others to consistently and credibly measure, report on and manage food loss and waste. The standard comes as a growing number of governments, companies and other entities are making commitments to reduce food loss and waste.

Global carbon dioxide emissions were flat for the second consecutive year in 2015 due, in part, to renewables, according to the International Energy Agency. The report said that renewables accounted for about 90% new installed capacity last year, and wind represented at least half of that total. Meanwhile, the world's economy jumped about 3% last year, "offering further evidence that the link between economic growth and emissions growth is weakening," said the report.

The citizens of four major European countries think the impacts of climate change such as severe floods and storms are already affecting them, according to a major new polling study. The research dispels the idea that global warming is widely seen as a future problem, and also shows strong support for action to tackle global warming, including subsidies for clean energy and big financial penalties for nations that refuse to be part of the international climate deal signed in Paris in 2015 - as US president Donald Trump has threatened.

The world's biggest palm oil company, which supplies to consumer giants including Unilever and Procter & Gamble, is pledging to halt deforestation

some of the biggest public companies in the United States -- including Wal-Mart, Walt Disney Co., Microsoft and many energy giants -- recently have gone public with strategies to set an internal price on their carbon pollution.

Mondelēz International released a sustainable palm oil action plan that requires its suppliers to achieve full traceability by the end of 2015. The policy also requires suppliers to publish their sustainable sourcing practices and implementation timelines.

President Barack Obama will announce a new executive order at the United Nations meeting on climate change Tuesday, directing federal agencies to consider climate change in all international development programs.

Microsoft's internal carbon pricing has helped the company recoup $10 million a year in energy savings and has reduced companywide emissions by the equivalent of 7.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. "Microsoft has been a pioneer in facing the facts, which are that climate change is happening and is going to mean a certain amount of change in the economy," said Paula DiPerna, a special adviser to the Carbon Disclosure Project. "Companies need to know what the hidden costs are."

Continuing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change could cause Nepal's Everest region to lose 99% of its glaciers by the end of the century, researchers say. "The numbers are quite frightening," said Joseph Shea, a glacier hydrologist at Nepal's International Center for Integrated Mountain Development

A committee of the International Civil Aviation Organization has proposed standards for aircraft carbon dioxide emissions. "When fully implemented, the standards are expected to reduce carbon emissions more than 650 million tons between 2020 and 2040, equivalent to removing over 140 million cars from the road for a year," the White House said in a fact sheet

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and provincial leaders met Thursday and pledged to double clean energy investment and meet or exceed Canada's international emissions-reduction commitments. "We are moving toward a pan-Canadian framework for clean growth and climate change," the leaders said in a joint statement.

Britain will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 in an attempt to reduce air pollution that could herald the end of over a century of reliance on the internal combustion engine. Britain's step, which follows France, amounts to a victory for electric cars that if copied globally could hit the wealth of oil producers, as well as transform car industry jobs and one of the icons of 20th Century capitalism: the automobile itself.

businesses that support the Paris climate deal are pressuring President Trump to keep the United States in the accord. They argue that by staying involved in the international talks, the U.S. can discourage policies that could hurt the oil, gas and coal industries. Coal companies, oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, renewable energy groups, and major American manufacturers such as General Electric are among those arguing that the United States should stay in the deal. The White House has promised that Trump will decide on the United States' involvement in the Paris deal before next month, a high-stakes decision with major diplomatic and economic implications.

Shipowners are increasing pressure on the International Maritime Organization to craft carbon dioxide limits to help curb climate change. Critics contend IMO is moving too slowly, while the IMO says it needs to gather data to make an informed decision.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top official at the Environmental Protection Agency said Friday the ongoing legal fight over regulating carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants won't delay the nation's accelerating shift to cleaner sources of energy. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy spoke at Climate Action 2016, a conference in Washington on efforts to curb global warming. Seeking to reassure her international audience, McCarthy said the United States will absolutely meet its obligations to cut carbon emissions as agreed to in the landmark climate treaty signed in Paris last December.

news broke of a pending decision by the RSPO Complaints Panel to lift the suspension of IOI Group's certification under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification system. If successful this move would do irreparable harm to the RSPO's credibility. Less than five months after the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) suspended Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Group's certification, that suspension has been lifted - much to the dismay of NGO campaigners. While the RSPO's Complaints Panel has said it is "satisfied that IOI has met the conditions set out in its letter to IOI," Greenpeace Indonesia and the Center for International Policy says they have yet to see any real action on the ground. This was the second time a suspension has been placed on an IOI subsidiary. A coalition of NGOs has rapidly issued an appeal, urging the RSPO to maintain its suspension of IOI Group stating that it is far too premature to lift the suspension given that the company has not come into full compliance with the RSPO Certification Systems nor resolved outstanding complaints. There are fears that any change at this stage would seriously hinder the resolution process between the complainant and the company.