UN General Assembly enters fourth day
World leaders return to the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday...
European and Chinese officials have held talks in Beijing focused on strengthening climate commitments, as both sides prepare revised targets ahead of the COP30 summit in Brazil later this year.
European Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang in Beijing on 14 July to discuss climate cooperation and preparations for the upcoming United Nations COP30 summit.
Ribera emphasised the importance of global efforts to uphold the Paris Agreement, highlighting the need for both the European Union and China to submit updated emissions targets for 2035. Ding stated that China would release its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) before the COP30 meeting, scheduled for November in Brazil.
Both parties missed the February deadline set by the UN to submit these updated targets. According to Ribera, China’s new commitment is expected later in the autumn, while the EU plans to finalise its own 2035 goal by mid-September.
The discussions included a focus on aligning future targets with long-term carbon neutrality ambitions and addressing emissions across all sectors of the economy.
The meeting took place ahead of a planned EU–China summit marking 50 years of diplomatic relations, where climate policy is expected to be a central theme alongside broader economic and geopolitical issues.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low on Thursday, as Iran reiterated that it will neither enter into new negotiations with the United States nor re-open the Strait as long as its conditions are not met, despite recent indirect talks in New York mediated by Qatar.
As the Ukraine war is highlighted by some leaders during the United Nations' 81st General Assembly meeting in New York, Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The 81st UN General Assembly continues in New York on Wednesday, with another day of high-level speeches and diplomatic meetings. The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, global security and international cooperation remain at the centre of discussions.
Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan will hold an urgent high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis. The meeting comes as Tehran seeks to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies.
The 81st UN General Assembly has wrapped up its third day in New York on Thursday, with world leaders delivering high-level speeches and holding diplomatic meetings.
Türkiye’s COP31 presidency has unveiled an action agenda designed to turn climate commitments into concrete projects and measurable results, focusing on clean energy, waste reduction, resilient cities and industrial decarbonisation.
Greenland and Antarctica have shed a combined 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice since 1979, according to the most comprehensive satellite study of the planet's ice sheets to date, with researchers warning the pace of loss has accelerated sharply in recent decades.
The European Union will continue allowing large-scale plastic waste exports to Türkiye despite concerns over recycling rates, environmental damage and the risk of illegal waste trafficking.
Hundreds of thousands of deep-diving turtles, known as olive ridley sea turtles, have arrived on Mexico’s southern coast for one of nature’s most striking nesting events. But conservation officials warn that climate change is making it increasingly difficult for their eggs to hatch.
August 2026 tied as the hottest month ever recorded globally, pushing average temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold as extreme weather swept across several regions, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
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