Everything to know about the environment this week

The UN climate science panel publishes its final report in the current assessment cycle today (Monday), and this time will focus on ways of curbing greenhouse gas emissions, although the consensual nature of the reports means it could steer away from the most dramatic warnings.

The frequency and severity of climate-related disasters are rising faster in the Middle East and Central Asia than anywhere in the world, posing a "major threat" to growth and prosperity, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. A new International Monetary Fund paper showed that climate disasters in the region injured and displaced 7 million people in an average year, causing more than 2,600 deaths and $2 billion in physical damage.

On March 31, the UN announced the members of an expert group that will scrutinize corporate pledges to achieve net-zero emissions, an effort to prevent greenwashing as private sector climate plans proliferate. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the group of 16 experts will analyze the net-zero plans of companies, investors, cities and regions in order to develop stringent and transparent standards to ensure they deliver their promises.

Canada released its first real roadmap to meeting 2030 climate targets on March 29, laying out detailed plans and C$9.1 billion ($7.3 billion) in new spending to cut carbon emissions after years failing to meet its goals.

Sales of new electrified vehicles in France overtook petrol-powered equivalents for the first time in the first quarter, amid high prices at petrol pumps and government subsidies for electrified models.

The Chinese capital Beijing will largely wean itself off coal by 2035, when its total energy use is expected to peak at the equivalent of 90 million tonnes of standard coal, under the municipal government's energy development plan released on 1 April.

Torrential rain that flooded towns on Australia's east coast eased on 1 April, but a combination of two intense weather systems generated wild winds and huge waves at several tourist spots including Sydney's northern beaches.

Norway's $1.3 trillion wealth fund, the world's largest, should push the 9,300 companies it invests in to adopt net-zero carbon emissions targets, the finance ministry proposed on 1 April, in another example of a top investor responding to climate change.

President Joe Biden on Thursday launched the largest release ever from the US emergency oil reserve and challenged oil companies to drill more in an attempt to bring down gasoline prices that have soared during Russia's war with Ukraine.

Floods cost the global economy more than $82 billion last year, accounting for nearly a third of all losses from natural catastrophes, reinsurance agency Swiss Re Institute reported on 30 March.

Global green financing, aimed at environmentally friendly projects around the world, has grown over 100 times in the past decade, a new study from the TheCityUK and BNP Paribas showed.

Global borrowing by issuing green bonds and loans, and equity funding through initial public offerings targeting green projects, swelled to $540.6 billion in 2021 from $5.2 billion in 2012, according to the research.

TheCityUK is an industry-led body representing UK-based financial and related professional services.

The jump in issuance underscores the growing push from governments and corporations to try to rein in carbon emissions and achieve climate goals.

The data showed green bonds accounted for 93.1% of total green finance globally between 2012 and 2021. In 2021, global green bond issuance stood at $511.5 billion, compared with $2.3 billion in 2012.

China and the U.S. accounted for 13.6% and 11.6% of the green bond issuance between 2012 and 2021, the data showed.

They were followed by France and Germany, with about 10% each of the issuance of green bonds during the period.

Solar and wind power can grow enough to limit global warming to 1.5C if the 10-year average compound growth rate of 20% can be maintained to 2030, independent climate think tank Ember said in a report on 30 March.

Solar generation rose 23% globally in 2021, while wind supply gained 14% over the same period. Together, both renewable sources accounted for 10.3% of total global electricity generation, up 1% from 2020, data from Ember showed.

The Netherlands, Australia and Vietnam had the fastest growth rates for the renewable sources, switching around 10% of their electricity demand from fossil fuels to wind and solar in the last two years, they said.

"If these trends can be replicated globally, and sustained, the power sector would be on track for 1.5 degree goal," Ember said in its report.