Climate and environment updates: Millions of lives at stake, UN climate lead says

Cities, counties and government agencies use air quality monitors to measure the pollutants and particulates that can cause significant health problems. However, according to a new report, hundreds of counties across the United States lack these essential measurement tools.

According to the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of the Air report, more than two-thirds of U.S. counties do not have official ground-based air quality monitoring stations. As a result, dangerous levels of pollution are going undetected and unaddressed.

The association used satellite data to estimate that 300 of the 2,700 U.S. counties with incomplete or no air monitoring data had potentially failing grade levels of fine particulate matter between 2020 and 2022.

Lexi Popovici, lead report author and a senior manager of the American Lung Association, said satellite data could help fill the data gap left by the missing air monitors and help people and officials, particularly in rural areas, take protective measures. She said the technology could also supplement existing ground monitors and ultimately create a more comprehensive air quality monitoring system.

"Using satellite data actually helps fill in those gaps to identify pollution in places that might otherwise go undetected, and this can help millions of Americans understand what air quality they are breathing," Popovici said.

Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency introduced a more stringent national annual average standard based on the risk to human health.

Fine particulate pollution is a mix of solid or liquid particles suspended in the air – smaller than a strand of human hair – that can be present even in air that looks clean, according to the EPA. These pollutants are considered the most dangerous forms of air pollution and are linked to asthma, lung and heart disease, and other respiratory health issues.

Popovici said subsequent reports will focus more on the potential of community air quality resources and ways to mitigate environmental injustices.

--ABC News' Gaby Vinick

As COP29, the annual U.N. global climate conference, concludes its first week, the United States energy secretary, spoke out about a post-Biden energy future. The message to conference delegates: We will be here tomorrow.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, reducing the country's influence and participation in global climate negotiations. However, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said that other leaders, like governors, mayors and community groups, will continue to work on climate challenges.

"The future of U.S. climate policy may be less certain than it was last week, but this moment is not unprecedented," said Granholm in a press conference on Friday. "We've been here before and this time we are feeling even more bullish."

"The economy around the clean energy transition, the actual economics of this transition, is inexorable," she said.

The energy secretary touted the country's work in clean energy, highlighting the 400,000 workers hired and 900 clean energy factories opened in the U.S. since the passing of the bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021. She also highlighted the work done across the political aisle and the significant clean energy investments in red and blue districts.

"The absence of leadership in the White House does not mean that this energy transition is stopped," Granholm said, referring to the Trump administration.

At another COP29 event, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee echoed the secretary's sentiments, saying he's confident climate work will continue thanks to state leadership and multistate coalitions.

"We know that despite the election of Donald Trump, the incredible momentum, the incredible dynamic growth, the incredible support that has preexisted his administration will continue and continue unabated through the administration," Inslee said. "The reason I came here is to make sure people's ambition, ability to work together and aggressive actions are not slowed down at all because of that election."

"We know in the states that our destiny is in our hands and the tools are in our toolbox. And we cannot be stopped," he added.

-ABC News' Charlotte Slovin

During the first week of COP29, the U.N. climate conference in Azerbaijan, delegates learned global fossil fuel emissions hit record highs in 2024, the world's emissions reduction efforts are not good enough to meet 2050 net zero carbon goals and the international response to climate change has "flatlined."

Now, a group of veteran climate leaders and scientists, are calling for a significant overhaul of future COP conferences, including Christiana Figueres, head of the Paris climate talks in 2015; Ban Ki-moon, former secretary-general of the U.N.; and Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and a climate advocate.

In an open letter, the 22 signatories begin by praising the past accomplishments of the COP conferences and the framework that has been established.

"We recognise the important diplomatic milestones of the past 28 years of climate negotiations," the letter states. "A remarkable consensus has been achieved with over 195 countries having agreed to strive to hold global warming to 1.5°C."

But the signatories go on to say that despite the COP successes, including agreements to phase out fossil fuels, "it is now clear that the COP is no longer fit for purpose. Its current structure simply cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale, which is essential to ensure a safe climate landing for humanity."

The group says the world needs to "shift from negotiation to implementation" and listed seven recommendations for reforming what's become the most significant climate meeting in the world.

One suggested change is implementing "strict eligibility criteria" for future COP presidents to "exclude countries who do not support the phase out/transition away from fossil energy." That would also prevent their countries from hosting the event. Some climate advocates have criticized the decision to hold the last two COP meetings in countries where oil is a primary export.

The group is also calling for changing the meeting structure from one giant yearly convention to "smaller, more frequent, solution-driven meetings," improving implementation and accountability and better tracking of climate response funding, specifically interest-bearing loans the group says "exacerbates the debt burden of climate vulnerable nations."

In response to the letter, Laurence Tubiana, the head of the European Climate Foundation, posted on social media, "I know some are frustrated with the COP and UNFCCC processes, given the urgent need to accelerate action. While reforms are needed, let's not forget: multilateralism is the foundation of climate progress. The Paris Agreement happened because every country had a voice."

-ABC News Climate Unit's Matthew Glasser

Before a single delegate arrived in Azerbaijan for COP29, the U.N. climate conference, the event was being billed as the “finance COP.” The expectation was that world climate leaders would reach an agreement on how to fund global efforts to curb climate change and aid developing countries who are bearing a great burden of climate-related loss and damage.

From highlighting global policy advancements to the gaps in funding climate progress, Thursday’s conference activities had a clear message: invest now.

Leaders from the Taskforce on Net Zero Policy published a report on how well the world is doing in reaching net zero, a state where the carbon emissions we generate can be absorbed and stored by nature or technology. To be in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, countries must be on target to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

While the report indicated significant advancement in achieving net zero, it found that emissions reduction efforts are not ambitious enough to meet the 2050 target.

During his remarks on Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres pushed for businesses, financial institutions and governments to all work towards more aggressive net zero policies while maintaining high levels of transparency.

“We need a massive global effort to steer our world onto a path to safety; a path to net zero by mid-century. Cities and regions, businesses and financial institutions play a pivotal role. And you are out in the front: Helping consumers, investors and regulators understand what credible net zero looks like,” the Secretary-General said.

But to make those policies possible, the money must be there.

Since COP26, the Independent High Level Expert Group on Climate Finance has released a report on how much it could cost to meet the Paris Agreement targets. In their latest report, they estimate that $6.5 trillion is needed yearly by 2030.

“The transition to clean, low-carbon energy, building resilience to the impacts of climate change, coping with loss and damage, protecting nature and biodiversity, and ensuring a just transition, require a rapid step-up in investment in all countries,” the report stated.

The question of who pays is a heated topic. Delegates are using their time in Baku to negotiate a global finance agreement. Whether they can come to an agreement is yet to be seen.

The report, however, emphasized the importance of acting now.

“Any shortfall in investment before 2030 will place added pressure on the years that follow, creating a steeper and potentially more costly path to climate stability,” the report continued. “The less the world achieves now, the more we will need to invest later.”

-ABC News' Charlotte Slovin