Virginia Furness

A group of former world leaders is urging Europe to keep pushing its green agenda even as trade wars and defence spending distract attention from climate issues, Ireland's former President Mary Robinson told Reuters on Tuesday.

Amazon has begun selling carbon credits to its suppliers, business customers and other companies, the U.S. retail giant said, which can be used to offset their climate-damaging carbon emissions.

Ambitions by the BRICS group to take on a greater climate leadership role, building on success last month at United Nations nature talks, depend on the countries overcoming fractious politics and entrenched disagreements over money.

A gathering of countries in Rome this week agreed a plan to generate $200 billion in finance a year by 2030 to halt and begin to reverse the destruction of the natural world.

Companies who use the genetic coding of the natural world to design products ranging from weight-loss drugs to cosmetics faced renewed calls on Tuesday to help pay to protect it as a dedicated fund was launched at a U.N. conference in Rome.

Countries gather in Rome this week for a second crack at figuring out how to generate $200 billion a year to help preserve the world's biodiversity - and give a shot in the arm to global cooperation as the United States draws back.

The European Commission plans to cut back the number of companies facing EU sustainability reporting requirements, as part of its drive to cut red tape for businesses, a draft document seen by Reuters showed.

Standard Chartered on Friday pledged to cut the emissions linked to the bonds it sells for oil and gas companies and will press ahead with its net-zero strategy, in contrast with other lenders who are reassessing their climate plans.

The European Commission is proposing to provide more support to companies to invest sustainably and make it easier for them to access the money, a draft document seen by Reuters showed.

The acting chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday signaled the regulator may roll back a controversial rule requiring thousands of public companies to disclose the threats their businesses face from risks related to the climate and environment.