It's easy to feel overwhelmed by bad news about climate change. Even for those of us used to covering it every day as journalists, it can sometimes seem relentless.

But as delegates try to reach a deal at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, there are some real reasons to be optimistic too. Here's a look at some of them:

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Madeleine Finlay hears from the biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield, who is reporting for the Guardian from Cop28 in Dubai. He describes the rollercoaster first week of highs and lows, which included an important agreement on loss and damage and a tetchy press conference from summit president, Sultan Al Jaber.

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The UN climate change conference in Dubai is close to a big breakthrough on reducing the gases heating our planet, its United Arab Emirates hosts believe.

Expressing "cautious optimism", the UAE negotiating team believes COP28 is gearing up to commit to phasing down fossil fuels over coming decades.

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Trinity Square, Nottingham

Temperatures are rising. Corporate profits are rising. Now we’re rising.

The hottest summer on record. Politicians backtracking on climate commitments. Continued corporate profiteering fuelling the climate and cost of living crises. It’s time for us to take action.

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BBC

The country hosting COP28 climate talks aimed at cutting fossil fuel emissions is massively ramping up its own oil production, the BBC has learned.

The United Arab Emirates' state oil firm Adnoc may drill 42% more by 2030, according to analysts considered the international gold standard in oil market intelligence.

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Until 12 Dec 2023

At the COP28 opening today all parties showed solidarity by agreeing to operationalize the loss and damage fund and funding arrangements.

Amid scenes of applause and jubilation in the Plenary Hall, several countries pledged money to the fund totaling some $300 million.

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Idle Valley, North Road, Retford, Nottinghamshire

We're looking for passionate volunteers to help share their enthusiasm for nature with young people at Idle Valley

As part of our activities with Rotherham and North Nottinghamshire College, The Trust offers brief sessions on Tuesdays to young people with special educational needs at the Idle Valley Nature Reserve during term times.

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The US and China have agreed on measures to tackle climate change but stopped short of committing to end fossil fuels, a joint statement said.

The world's biggest carbon emitters will step up co-operation on methane and support global efforts to triple renewable energy by 2030.

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If humanity wants to have a 50-50 chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, we can only emit another 250 gigatonnes (billion metric tonnes) of CO₂. This effectively gives the world just six years to get to net zero, according to calculations in our new paper published in Nature Climate Change.

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The world is falling behind on commitments to protect and restore forests, according to the recent Forest Declaration Assessment. There is no serious pathway to fixing climate change while forest losses continue at current rates, because global climate targets, sustainable development goals and forest commitments depend on each other.

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Storm Ciarán made landfall in south-west England and northern France overnight on November 1, with heavy rain and winds blowing up to 180 kilometers per hour (108 mph).

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Climate scientists are tearing their hair out, so why are millions not in the streets demanding #ClimateActionNow?

Watch and share @MrNishKumar helping @FrediOtto rouse the masses in the latest punchy "Climate Science Translated" video!

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Accelerated ice melt in west Antarctica is inevitable for the rest of the century no matter how much carbon emissions are cut, research indicates. The implications for sea level rise are “dire”, scientists say, and mean some coastal cities may have to be abandoned.

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In 1998, the climate scientist Michael Mann published a simple graph shaped like an ice hockey stick: a long straight line which curves suddenly upward at the end. It was based on decades of intrepid work by scientists around the world. But the line held a stark warning. For Michael, notoriety, abuse and a global battle over the reality of climate change followed.

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Despite the Government promising to keep UK environment standards in line with the EU after Brexit, there are still 36 highly hazardous pesticides allowed in the UK that are banned in the EU, some of which are highly toxic to bees.

We, the public, demand you bring UK standards back in line with the EU to protect our bees, human health, the agriculture industry and the environment.

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When the famous Sycamore Gap tree, thought to be more than 300 years old, was cut down last week it caused not just anger but deep sadness. The Guardian north of England correspondent Robyn Vinter travelled to Hadrian’s Wall to report on it and was struck by the grief people felt. Even the police on the scene had stories to tell of their personal connections to the tree, which had become one of the most photographed in Britain.

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Forty-five per cent of the world's known flowering plants could be threatened by extinction, scientists have warned.

Those under threat include orchids, varieties of pineapple, and many important crop species.

Of the nearly 19,000 new plants and fungi species discovered since 2020, 77% are thought to be endangered.

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A pristine garden can come with an environmental cost. The chemicals we use to kill weeds and bugs rely on fossil fuels, and can disrupt local wildlife.

But gardening doesn’t have to be a guilt-inducing chore. In fact, it can be a liberating act of eco-conscious laziness.

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In 2017, the Chinese environmental NGO, Friends of Nature, sued the developer of a dam in Yunnan province in the country’s south west. The NGO alleged that the project’s environmental impact assessment had failed to fully capture how the dam would affect the surrounding rainforest, and particularly the endangered green peafowl that lives there.

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We want to create a Wilder Nottinghamshire by 2030, where 1 in 4 people are taking positive action for nature and the climate, and where at least one third of land and water in Nottinghamshire is in recovery for nature, with pressures reduced on wildlife everywhere else. 

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Our planet has just seen its hottest month on record, with many places on fire or flooded. Few events can be directly attributed to climate change, but the likelihood of extreme weather keeps increasing – and people are noticing.

However, not everyone notices or feels this threat to the same extent. Our new research shows there is a contrast in how people in different locations perceive this threat, largely along urban and rural lines.

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