| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Thursday, November 11, 2021 by Farouq Suleiman and Katy Daigle | Hello Here's what you need to know. U.S. judge rejects latest Trump request to block release of documents to House riot probe, neighbors of Belarus say migrant crisis risks military clash and Reuters breaks down the biggest polluters. | | | | | Today's biggest stories  A delegate takes a picture of a chart showing sea ice coverage during the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, November 11, 2021. REUTERS/Phil Noble. COP26 Only two days left to this year’s U.N. climate negotiations in Glasgow – officially. Behind the scenes, some delegates worry the COP26 talks could go overtime into Saturday.
But spirits were buoyed Wednesday night by an unexpected joint statement by China and the U.S. pledging climate cooperation in tackling both methane emissions and deforestation.
But earlier Wednesday, a first draft of a so-called Glasgow agreement had still left much of the hard work undone. That text would ask countries to upgrade their emissions-cutting pledges by 2022, and “urged” them to scale up climate finance while telling them to phase out coal use and subsidies for other fossil fuels.
Climate-vulnerable nations said they would press for a stronger deal on financial aid, and some oil producing countries could balk at the mention of fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia has said the climate deal should not swear off oil and gas.
And once again the conclusions from the annual climate talks look set to dodge the details on how - and how much - rich nations should compensate for climate-linked losses and damages incurred by poor nations, who have contributed little to the climate problem.
Meanwhile, talks to resolve the so-called Article 6 rules to govern government-run carbon markets are still ongoing. There is pressure by some forested countries as well as private investors to resolve the rules, which would likely then also inform standards for voluntary carbon markets.
On Thursday, on-stage panelists and speakers were set to focus on urban issues – specifically, how to make sure that the world’s cities, towns and infrastructure are both bringing down emissions, and are preparing for extreme weather in a warmer world.
Denmark and Costa Rica will also officially launch their “Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance” and announce new members who will commit to stop handing out new oil and gas extraction permits and eventually halt domestic production. Britain, an oil producer, has opted out of that club.
But behind the scenes, negotiations will be heating up Thursday as a second draft of the deal is released and delegations dig in on their demands.
Reuters looks at who is to blame for the high level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere?
See our full coverage of COP26
|  A security fence, erected in a single overnight effort, surrounds the U.S. Capitol ahead of an expected rally Saturday in support of the January 6 defendants in Washington DC., September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst U.S. Former President Donald Trump lost another bid to halt congressional investigators from seeing White House records he wants to keep secret.
Kyle Rittenhouse, now 18, is on trial for killing two men and wounding a third with a military-style rifle during protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Here's a look at how Rittenhouse went from cleaning graffiti to shooting three people.
Ten Republican state attorneys general sued to stop the Biden administration's requirement that millions of U.S. health workers get vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying it would worsen staff shortages.
A federal judge approved a settlement worth $626 million for victims of the lead water crisis in Flint, Michigan, in a case brought by tens of thousands of residents affected by the contaminated water.
A federal judge overruled Texas Governor Greg Abbott's ban on mask mandates in schools, clearing the path for districts to issue their own rules.
NASA and private rocket company SpaceX launched four astronauts into orbit, sending a veteran spacewalker, two younger crewmates chosen for future lunar missions and a German materials scientist on their way to the International Space Station.
WORLD
Countries bordering Belarus expressed concern that a crisis over growing numbers of migrants trying to break through its frontiers into the European Union could escalate into a military confrontation.
The European Union will seek to blacklist airlines that transport to Belarus migrants who later attempt to cross the EU border and will coordinate its planned sanctions against Minsk with the United States, the European Commission said.
South Africa's former President Frederik Willem de Klerk, who negotiated the end of white minority rule and a peaceful transfer of power to a Black-led government under Nelson Mandela, died aged 85 after a battle with cancer.
A senior Hong Kong cultural official said that freedom of expression was not above a China-imposed national security law, on the eve of the opening of a contemporary art museum intended to put the city on the global cultural map.
The "stiff competition" between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific does not have to turn into a new Cold War, U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan said, describing Washington as "doubling down" on its presence in the region. |  The Federal Reserve building is seen in Washington, U.S., October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts BUSINESS Inflation pushed more broadly through the economy in October again challenging the Federal Reserve's outlook for only "transitory" price increases, offsetting recent wage hikes in a blow to consumers, and prompting investors to boost bets the central bank will raise interest rates sooner than expected.
U.S. merchant oil refiners like Monroe Energy and PBF Energy are playing chicken with the White House, taking moves in the biofuels credit market that could force them to close plants and fire union workers unless the Biden administration bails them out by changing the rules on blending biofuels in gasoline.
Companies in North America added a record number of robots in the first nine months of this year as they rushed to speed up assembly lines and struggled to add human workers.
Cash-strapped developer China Evergrande Group once again averted a destabilizing default with a last minute bond payment but the reprieve did little to alleviate strains in the country's wider property sector.
China will stand firm on policies to curb excess borrowing by property developers even as it makes financing tweaks to help home buyers and meet "reasonable" demand amid an industry liquidity crunch, say bankers and analysts.
| | | | | | | | | Video of the day  NIH claims co-ownership of Moderna vaccine patent U.S. National Institutes of Health scientists played "a major role" in developing Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine and the agency intends to defend its claim as co-owner of patents on the shot, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins told Reuters. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
