Global Carbon Budget report finds emissions from fossil fuels will rise to another record high this year

Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, is now speaking at the leaders’ event, reports my colleague Damian Carrington, having “arrived late and a little out of breath.”

Meloni points out that the world population will be 8.5bn by 2030 and global GDP much higher, all bringing more demand for energy. As well as renewables, she says “gas, biofuels, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage” all have a role, though scientists are clear all fossil fuels must be phased out.

She also cites nuclear fusion as a potential “gamechanger”, though the joke that fusion is always 40 years away is not showing much sign of getting old. Large scale power from nuclear fusion is very unlikely to arrive in time to stop the global heating aleady wrecking communities around the world.

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has missed her slot at the leaders summit part of Cop29. Meloni and the UK’s Keir Starmer are the only G7 leaders to attend.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, pledges to cut his nation’s carbon emissions by 80% by 2040, which sounds very impressive but is very unlikely to include the state’s substantial oil and gas production.