Category World News

China’s carbon emissions are expected to peak later than previously forecast, a survey of climate experts finds.

Only one in five surveyed experts believe China’s emissions have already peaked or will peak this year, the fourth edition of Chinaʼs Climate Transition Outlook showed on Thursday.

Seven in 10 experts said they expected emissions to peak by the end of the decade with 2028 chosen as the likely peak year by the greatest number of respondents, according to the survey.

In 2024’s survey, 44 percent of respondents said they expected emissions to peak in 2025 or earlier.

The survey is conducted annually by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and the International Society for Energy Transition Studies, based in Helsinki, Finland, and Sydney, Australia, respectively.

This year’s edition surveyed 68 climate analysts spanning universities, government departments, and the energy and sustainable development sectors.

China’s climate policies are closely watched worldwide because the country is the biggest single emitter of greenhouse gases.

Beijing’s climate policies are viewed as especially critical in the context of the United States’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in January by President Donald Trump.

The accord, adopted by 194 countries and the European Union in 2015, calls for the rise in the average global temperature to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

China in September announced it would lower its emissions by 7 to 10 percent from their peak by 2035, marking the first time it had set out a target for cutting them outright.

Climate experts said China’s target falls far short of the action needed to avert catastrophic climate change although many analysts believe the country is likely to exceed its goal.

The Philippines’ disaster agency has confirmed that at least 114 people have been killed by Typhoon Kalmaegi, with another 127 people still missing, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared a state of emergency and warned of another incoming super typhoon.

The worst may also be yet to come with Kalmaegi, as meteorologists with the United States military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that the storm had regained strength as it now bears down on Vietnam’s central regions.

In its most recent alert on Thursday morning at 10am local time in Vietnam (03:00 GMT), the JTWC said that Kalmaegi is “barrelling towards the Vietnamese coast and reaching peak intensity”.

Upgrading the storm to Category 4, the JTWC said “Typhoon Kalmaegi will continue rapid progress … and slam into the Vietnamese coast” just north of the city of Quy Nhon in central Vietnam.

The typhoon, named Tino locally, devastated large areas of the Philippines as it made landfall in eight areas in the centre of the country on Tuesday, in what is officially the deadliest natural disaster to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago nation this year.

Scenes of widespread destruction have begun to emerge from the hardest-hit Philippine province of Cebu, from where the storm receded on Wednesday.

Many of the more than 200,000 people who were evacuated have returned to find their homes destroyed, vehicles overturned, and streets blocked with piles of debris.

The arduous cleanup effort has begun, with communities scraping mud from their homes and removing large pieces of debris from the streets.

“The challenge now is debris clearing,” Raffy Alejandro, a senior civil defence official, told local radio news outlet DZBB.

“These need to be cleared immediately, not only to account for the missing who may be among the debris or may have reached safe areas but also to allow relief operations to move forward,” he said.

Talking to news media following his meeting with disaster-response officials, President Marcos described the storm as a “national calamity”. He said declaring a national emergency will give the government “quicker access to some of the emergency funds” and prevent food hoarding and overpricing.

Marcos also warned of another storm approaching the northern Philippines – known internationally as Typhoon Fung-wong, and locally as Uwan – which he said “could be even stronger” than Kalmaegi.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said it expects Fung-wong to develop into a super typhoon by Saturday.

PAGASA said it could enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility late on Friday or early Saturday, and has “an increasing chance of landfall” in northern or central Luzon, the island on which the country’s capital Manila is located.

On Al Jazeera.

Typhoon Kalmaegi #TinoPH has moved away from the Philippines but left a trail of death and destruction. At least 85 people are confirmed dead but that toll is likely to rise. Search and rescue workers are clearing mud and debris to find those who remain missing…… pic.twitter.com/gdX7enp49l

As Kalmaegi moved over the South China Sea in advance of its landfall in Vietnam on Thursday, authorities there have begun mobilising thousands of Vietnamese soldiers to assist in the evacuation of some 350,000 people in the central highland province of Gia Lai.

Authorities have warned that heavy rains and damaging winds will impact several central provinces, potentially causing flooding in low-lying areas and disrupting agricultural activity, including in the key coffee harvest, which is currently under way.

Phil Foden sent an emphatic reminder to England’s head coach Thomas Tuchel with two brilliantly taken goals in Manchester City’s 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.

“He is back,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “He is a special player.”

Tuchel will name his latest England squad this week after overlooking Foden so far this season, and with time running out before next year’s World Cup.

But the City forward strengthened his case for a recall with an inspired performance against Dortmund. He scored in each half at the Etihad Stadium, with star striker Erling Haaland smashing home his 27th of the season in between. Substitute Rayan Cherki got the other after Waldemar Anton scored for Dortmund.

Tuchel is set to announce his squad on Friday for the final World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, with England having already secured qualification.

Foden has rediscovered some of his best form this season after enduring a frustrating campaign last term as City relinquished the Premier League title. His goals on Tuesday – both swept low into the bottom corner – took his tally on the season to four and could have come at just the right time to capture Tuchel’s attention.

“There’s no person in this country or around the world that doesn’t know his quality and ability, but England is so lucky to have this amount of good players,” Guardiola said. “In his position there are a lot, and that’s why he has to push himself to be better and better and better.”

Foden’s omission from England’s four games this season has been a talking point, with players like Eberechi Eze, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon all adding to the competition for places.

Despite being widely regarded as one of the most gifted English players of his generation, Foden is still to consistently perform for England.

And it appears he is yet to convince Tuchel after being given chances in the German’s first games in charge earlier this season.

“Thomas is so smart and wise and knows exactly what the team needs,” Guardiola said. “I think Thomas knows perfectly [about] Phil. What Phil wants to do is play better and better and better.”

Haaland achieves new goal record

Haaland set another scoring benchmark in the Champions League after finding the back of the net for the fifth consecutive game for City in European club football’s elite club tournament.

According to City, he is the first player to achieve that feat with three different teams, having previously done so with former clubs RB Salzburg and Dortmund.

His latest goal – a powerfully struck effort from close range – was his 54th in 52 games in the Champions League. Lionel Messi has the record for reaching 60 goals in the fewest number of games, at 80. Haaland looks certain to beat that – possibly before the league phase of this year’s tournament is completed.

Rodri didn’t even make the bench after returning from a hamstring injury against Bournemouth last weekend. Guardiola said City was being cautious about the Spain international, but his absence raises doubts over whether he will be available for the league clash against Liverpool on Sunday.

Rodri missed the majority of last season with an ACL injury, and his contribution has been limited this term.

Federal investigators say they have recovered the flight recorder from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least 12 people.

UPS Flight 2976 crashed shortly after takeoff on Tuesday as it departed from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali airport bound for Honolulu, Hawaii.

CCTV footage from the airport showed that the plane’s “left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll” before it caught fire, according to National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman.

“After being cleared for takeoff, a large plume of fire in the area of the left wing occurred during the takeoff roll. The plane lifted off and gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of runway 17R,” Inman said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The NTSB is an independent US government agency that investigates all civilian plane crashes alongside the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Inman said investigators found the plane’s engine on the airfield, but he did not explain how or why it may have detached from the 31-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-11 wide-body aircraft during takeoff or how the plane’s wing caught fire.

Authorities have also recovered the plane’s data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, which have been sent to the lab for processing, he said. It will be months, however, before the investigation concludes.

Flight 2976 hit several buildings near the airport as it crashed, leaving an 800-metre trail of fire and destruction, according to authorities.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg told local news outlet WHAS-TV on Wednesday that 12 people were confirmed dead, while 15 people from the nearby area have been reported missing.

“We believe that three of [confirmed fatalities] are likely the crew, and nine others, all of whom those nine are unidentified at this time,” Greenberg said.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear earlier told a news conference that the deaths had risen to 11, but said he expected it “to reach 12 possibly by the end of the day”.

Among the buildings hit by the plane were a petroleum recycling company and an auto parts company, but it missed hitting a nearby Ford Motor factory and a convention centre, Beshear said.

“I’ve walked the line of an F4 tornado through my dad’s hometown. I’ve seen towns hit by flooding we’d only describe as biblical. What this scene is is violent,” Beshear told the media.

“Where the initial explosion happened, you have significant damage. And then, like a lot of these disasters, just five or six feet [1.5 to 1.8 metres] away, not even the paint disturbed on another vehicle.”

UPS said Wednesday that it will soon reopen its facility at Louisville airport, after suspending operations following the accident, according to the Reuters news agency.

Seven Italian climbers are missing in Nepal’s Himalayan mountains after heavy snowstorms and avalanches have killed at least nine people in recent days.

Three Italian climbers were among five foreigners and two Nepali guides who were confirmed killed on Monday when a huge avalanche smashed through a base camp near the summit of Mount Yalung Ri in Nepal’s Himalayan range, according to reports.

Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday that local authorities had confirmed the deaths of the three Italian climbers, but there “remains no news of seven other Italian nationals” who have been reported missing.

“In recent days, several areas of the Nepalese Himalayas have been affected by a series of avalanches that have struck numerous mountaineers, including Italian citizens,” the ministry said.

“Communication between local authorities, rescue teams, and the diplomatic missions of the countries involved continues to be extremely challenging,” the ministry added.

Nepal’s Department of Tourism director, Himal Gautam, said there was no immediate information about the fate of the seven people reported missing.

Nepal’s Himalayan Times newspaper reported on Wednesday that the bodies of an Italian and a French climber were recovered from the site of the avalanche that struck a group of 12 people at their base camp on Mount Yalung Ri on Monday.

The seven people killed at the camp included three Italians, two Nepalis, a German and a French climber and, according to the newspaper, five others were rescued, including three Nepalis and two French nationals.

7 climbers, including 5 foreigners killed in Yalung Ri avalanche pic.twitter.com/eM424vMQjp

French survivor Isabelle Solange Thaon, 54, who lost her husband, Christian Manfred, in the avalanche on Yalung Ri, told The Associated Press news agency that she was lucky to have survived with another French climber, Didier Armand.

“We were lucky,” Thaon said from her hospital bed in the capital Kathmandu, adding that she had jumped over rocks and swam in the snow of the avalanche until help arrived to pull them out.

“Unfortunately, Christian died … because rocks hit his head,” she said of her late husband.

Mount Yalung Ri, located in the Rolwaling Valley of northeastern Nepal, is a 5,600-metre (18,370-foot) peak considered suitable for novice mountaineers.

On Friday, in western Nepal, contact was lost with two Italian climbers, who were later confirmed to have died while attempting to scale the 6,887-metre (22,595-foot) Panbari mountain.

Nepal was hit last week by unseasonal rains and heavy snow due to the impact of Cyclone Montha, which left many trekkers and tourists stranded on popular Himalayan trekking routes.