Global Climate News

Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), partner in the EU-funded UBDPolicy project, published a new infographic summarising the health impacts of urban environments. - **Main announcement:** HEAL (Health and Environment Alliance), as a partner of the **EU‑funded UBDPolicy** project, has published an infographic that summarises how **urban conditions** (air and noise pollution, lack of green space, traffic, climatic conditions) and **accelerating climate change** affect residents' health; the infographic is available in multiple languages and can be downloaded from HEAL's website. - **Background and details:** The **UBDPolicy** project aims to estimate health and socio-economic costs and benefits of **air quality, noise, lack of urban green spaces, heat and temperature, physical activity, and inequity** for **nearly 1,000 European cities**; stakeholder dialogue to strengthen uptake of health impact assessments in policymaking is a project objective. PDFs are provided in **EN, BG, NL, ES, FR, PL**.

The Government of Canada announced Budget 2025’s Build Communities Strong Fund investments and highlighted a previously announced $27.9-million investment in the Lively‑Walden Wastewater System in Sudbury. - **Main announcement:** The Budget 2025 **Build Communities Strong Fund** will **invest $51 billion over 10 years**, followed by **$3 billion per year ongoing**, with streams including a **$17.2 billion provincial/territorial stream (10 years)**, a **$6 billion direct delivery stream**, and a **$27.8 billion community stream**; the release also reiterates the **$27.9-million** Lively‑Walden Wastewater System project that is expected to **enable 3,300 new homes** in the City of Greater Sudbury. - **Background and conditions:** The provincial/territorial stream requires **cost-matching by provinces and territories** and includes **$5 billion over three years** for a new **Health Infrastructure Fund**; project funding is **subject to signing a contribution agreement** and federal funding is conditional on **consultation with Indigenous Peoples**.

The Government of Canada announced Budget 2025's Build Communities Strong Fund to deliver major, multi‑stream infrastructure investments to strengthen local hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, water systems and community spaces. - **Main announcement:** The Build Communities Strong Fund will **invest $51 billion over 10 years**, followed by **$3 billion per year ongoing**, delivered through three streams: a **$17.2 billion provincial and territorial stream (10 years)** with a **$5 billion Health Infrastructure Fund over 3 years**, a **$6 billion direct delivery stream** for regionally significant projects (including **clean-energy generation and storage, flood protection, large retrofits**) and a **$27.8 billion community stream** for local roads, bridges, water systems and community centres. - **Background and additional details:** Budget 2025 aims to **enable $1 trillion in investments over the next five years**, includes an initial **$60 billion in savings over five years**, plans to catalyze **$500 billion of new investment**, references the **Major Projects Office, Build Canada Homes and the Defence Investment Agency**, and notes a prior **$15 million (March 2025)** federal contribution for a Montréal‑Nord sports centre.

The Honourable David McGuinty hosted an event in Orléans to highlight Budget 2025 investments under the Build Communities Strong Fund, including proposed funding for the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex. - **Main announcement:** Budget 2025 proposes the **Build Communities Strong Fund** to **invest $51 billion over 10 years** plus **$3 billion/year ongoing**, including a **$6 billion direct delivery stream**, a **$17.2 billion provincial and territorial stream (10 years)** with **$5 billion over 3 years** for a new **Health Infrastructure Fund**, and **$27.8 billion** for a community stream to support **local roads, bridges, water systems, and community centres**. The event was held **November 8, 2025** at the **Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex, Orléans** (hosted by David McGuinty, Marie-France Lalonde, and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe). - **Background and program details:** The direct delivery stream covers **regionally significant projects, large building retrofits, climate adaptation, clean-energy generation and storage, and flood protection**; provinces/territories must **cost match** federal investments and reduce development charges. The Budget also references an initial **$60 billion in savings over five years** and aims to catalyze **$500 billion** of new investment into Canada over the next five years.

The Government of Canada released Budget 2025: Canada Strong, highlighted by MP Corey Hogan in Calgary, announcing the Build Communities Strong Fund and enabling $1 trillion in investments over five years. - **Main announcement:** Budget 2025 will **enable $1 trillion in investments over the next five years** and creates the **Build Communities Strong Fund** which will **invest $51 billion over 10 years, followed by $3 billion per year ongoing**; the Fund includes a **Provincial and Territorial stream ($17.2 billion over 10 years)**, a **Health Infrastructure Fund ($5 billion over 3 years)**, a **Direct Delivery stream ($6 billion)**, and a **Community stream ($27.8 billion)**. Implementation details: provinces/territories must **cost match** federal investments and reduce development charges; the Health Infrastructure Fund is dedicated to upgrading hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent care centres. - **Background and additional details:** The federal government previously announced **$8.2 million** through the **Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program** for the MDCAH (a **net-zero** arts facility in Calgary); Budget 2025 also includes an initial **$60 billion in savings over five years** and aims to catalyse **$500 billion** of new investment over the next five years. Complementary initiatives named: **Major Projects Office**, **Build Canada Homes**, and **Defence Investment Agency**.

The Government of Canada announced Budget 2025 investments and highlighted a $16.1-million federal contribution to the Avonlough Sanitary Pumping Station in Belleville. - **Main announcement/action:** The federal government is highlighting **Budget 2025** investments in Belleville, including a **$16.1-million** investment (originally announced March 2025) in the **Avonlough Sanitary Pumping Station** funded through the **Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund** to construct a new pumping station, force main, and gravity and pressure sewers to service **approximately 9,000 new residential units** in the City of Belleville's west end. - **Background and program details:** Budget 2025 establishes the **Build Communities Strong Fund** to **invest $51 billion over 10 years, followed by $3 billion per year ongoing**; program streams include a **provincial and territorial stream ($17.2 billion over 10 years)** with a **$5 billion Health Infrastructure Fund over three years**, a **direct delivery stream ($6 billion)** for regionally significant projects (including **clean-energy generation and storage, flood protection, large retrofits**), and a **community stream ($27.8 billion)** for local roads, bridges, water systems; provinces/territories must **cost match federal investments** and ensure measures to reduce development charges. Additional referenced initiatives: **Major Projects Office**, **Build Canada Homes**, and **Defence Investment Agency**. The release also cites broader fiscal figures: a plan to enable **$1 trillion in investments over the next five years**, **$60 billion in initial savings over five years**, and an expected catalysis of **$500 billion of new investment** over five years.

The Government of Canada announces Budget 2025 measures to build communities strong, highlighting the Build Communities Strong Fund and related infrastructure investments. - **Main announcement:** The Government will establish the **Build Communities Strong Fund** to **invest $51 billion over 10 years, followed by $3 billion per year ongoing**, with streams including a **$17.2 billion provincial and territorial stream (10 years)**, a **$6 billion direct delivery stream**, and a **$27.8 billion community stream**; from the provincial/territorial stream **$5 billion over three years** is dedicated to a new **Health Infrastructure Fund**. The Budget also proposes **up to $7.9 million** in support for **Espace Hubert-Reeves**, a carbon-neutral scientific interpretation centre in La Malbaie. - **Background and implementation details:** Budget 2025 frames these investments as part of a broader nation-building agenda including the **Major Projects Office**, **Build Canada Homes**, and the **Defence Investment Agency**; the Budget includes an initial **$60 billion in savings over five years** and aims to catalyze **$500 billion of new investment into Canada over the next five years**.

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc highlighted Budget 2025’s investments to support infrastructure projects and local communities through the Build Communities Strong Fund. - **Main announcement:** The Build Communities Strong Fund will **invest $51 billion over 10 years, followed by $3 billion per year ongoing** to revitalize local infrastructure; as part of Budget 2025 the community of **Beaurivage, New Brunswick will receive up to $300,000** to build Place Marcel-François-Richard, and **National Acadian Holiday celebrations will receive $4 million over four years** to strengthen participation and community identity. - **Program details and timelines:** The fund includes a **provincial and territorial stream** providing **$17.2 billion over 10 years** (including **$5 billion over three years** for a new **Health Infrastructure Fund**), a **direct delivery stream** with **$6 billion** for regionally significant projects (including **clean-energy generation and storage, flood protection,** and major retrofits), and a **community stream** of **$27.8 billion** for local roads, bridges, water systems, and community centres.

Parliamentary Secretary Tom Osborne announced the Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove Breakwater Installation project will receive federal investment from the new Build Communities Strong Fund as part of Budget 2025. - **Main announcement:** The Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove Breakwater Installation will **benefit from a federal investment** through the **Build Communities Strong Fund**, announced by **Tom Osborne, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board**; the specific project investment amount was **not specified** in the release. - **Budget context and details:** Budget 2025 is described as an **"investment budget"** that includes **$60 billion in savings and revenues over five years** and aims to enable **$1 trillion in total investments over the next five years**, with priorities including **housing, infrastructure, defence, productivity and competitiveness**.

The preprint presents Flood Radar, an integrated multi-sensor system for near-real-time flood mapping and evacuation planning demonstrated on the Central Texas July 2025 flood. - **Main announcement/action:** Flood Radar fuses C-band Sentinel-1 SAR, L-band UAVSAR and ALOS-2/PALSAR-2, **NASA GPM IMERG** precipitation fields, Copernicus DEM and SRTM, and **OpenStreetMap** infrastructure layers; inputs are standardized (orbit correction, radiometric calibration, speckle filtering, DEM-assisted geocoding) and fed to a pretrained **U-Net/FCN** deep-learning segmentation at **10 m resolution** to classify water/land, produce flood-extent maps, and generate evacuation-route assessments via road passability analysis. Demonstration details: **Central Texas flood, July 2025** (remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, **>508 mm** rain in two days), detected **≈ 9.8 m** Guadalupe River rise and **~740 acres** flooded in Kerr County; operational web interface: **https://evacuation-map-sar.vercel.app/**. - **Background and implementation details:** Hydrodynamic modelling with **HEC-RAS** estimated water depth and flow velocity and identified potential road inundation; authors note limitations including **speckle noise**, **sparse revisit intervals**, and **misclassification in urban environments**. Code/data and processed outputs are publicly available (Flood Radar platform and supplementary presentation), DOI: **https://doi.org/10.31223/X5GJ08**, licensed CC BY 4.0.

The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree highlighted Budget 2025’s investments and the Build Communities Strong Fund while meeting with the Hamilton Downtown Family YMCA to promote local infrastructure projects. - **Main announcement:** The federal government will establish the **Build Communities Strong Fund** to **invest $51 billion over 10 years, followed by $3 billion per year ongoing**, to revitalize local infrastructure (hospitals, universities/colleges, roads, bridges, water and transit). The Fund includes a **provincial and territorial stream** ($17.2 billion over 10 years), a **direct delivery stream** ($6 billion) for regionally significant projects (including **clean-energy generation and storage**, flood protection, large retrofits), and a **community stream** ($27.8 billion) for local roads, bridges, water systems, and community centres. From the provincial/territorial stream, **$5 billion over three years** is dedicated to a new **Health Infrastructure Fund** for hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent care centres. - **Background and related details:** Budget 2025 aims to **enable $1 trillion in investments over the next five years** and implements the government's **Comprehensive Expenditure Review**, which includes **$60 billion in savings over five years** and plans to catalyze **$500 billion of new investment into Canada over the next five years**. The release also references the **Major Projects Office**, **Build Canada Homes**, and the **Defence Investment Agency** as complementary nation-building initiatives.

The Solomon Islands Government, with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), launched the Planned Relocation Guidelines in 2022. - **Main announcement/action:** The article reports on the implementation and context of the **Planned Relocation Guidelines (2022)** supported by **IOM** to manage community moves from high-risk areas; it highlights **Sikaiana** specifics: population **~300**, area **less than two square kilometres**, located **more than 200 kilometres** from the nearest main island, and the atoll rises **just four metres above sea level**. Seawalls are described as **too costly**, leaving **relocation as the only viable option**. - **Background and other details:** The piece documents daily impacts—**saltwater intrusion**, **contaminated wells**, **flooded gardens**, and **water scarcity**—and notes the issue will be discussed at **UN Climate Conference (COP30)** in Belém, Brazil. - COP30: **location:** Belém, Brazil; **subject/agenda:** threats to small islands and planned relocation measures (as noted in the article).

EESI reports that COP30 opens in Brazil and that the Brazilian presidency launched the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), which collected endorsements from 53 countries and secured over $5.5 billion in pledges. - **TFFF launch and funding details:** The Tropical Forests Forever Facility **collected endorsements from 53 countries** and **received more than $5.5 billion** in initial pledges (breakdown announced at launch: **$3 billion from Norway**, **$1 billion from Brazil**, **$1 billion from Indonesia**, **$500 million from France**, **$250 million from Colombia**, **$5 million from the Netherlands**, and **$1 million from Portugal**); **20% of payments** are designated to **Indigenous and local communities**. - Agreed action: TFFF **will pay** heavily forested developing countries to keep forests intact; additional pledges expected during COP30. - **Context, timing, and related announcements:** COP30 runs **November 7–24, 2025** (newsletter series covers Nov 7–24); key preparatory events include the **COP30 Local Leaders Forum (November 3–5, Rio de Janeiro)** and the **World Leaders Climate Action Summit (November 6–7, Belém)** where leaders debated global commitments. - U.S. context: **Top U.S. federal officials are largely absent** (Trump Administration not sending top officials); multiple **Congressional delegations canceled** travel due to a government shutdown (Senate delegation led by Sens. John Curtis and Chris Coons called off their trip). - Finance highlights: **Green Climate Fund reported $19.3 billion mobilized to date** and its board **approved a record $3.26 billion** for projects; UNEP and Rhodium releases (Emissions Gap Report and Rhodium Climate Outlook 2025) flagged that the world remains off track to meet 1.5°C targets.

The authors from Noakhali Science and Technology University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong have published a preprint analyzing spatiotemporal patterns of five air pollutants (NO2, SO2, O3, CO, PM2.5) and NDVI in Sylhet Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh for 2019–2023. - **Study details & main results:** Used Sentinel-5P (TROPOMI) and MODIS (MOD13Q1, MCD19A2) imagery processed in **Google Earth Engine (GEE)** for the period **2019–2023** to map NO2, SO2, O3, CO and PM2.5 and compute NDVI. Reported peak values include **NO2 85.7 μmol m-2 (winter)**; **CO 0.047 mol m-2, O3 0.127 mol m-2, SO2 137 μmol m-2, PM2.5 40.74 μg/m³ (pre-monsoon)**. **NDVI** peaked post-monsoon at **0.66** and was lowest in winter at **0.48**. Significant negative correlations reported: **NDVI vs NO2 (r = -0.41, p < 0.05)** and **NDVI vs PM2.5 (r = -0.36, p < 0.05)**. - **Methods, scope & support:** Analysis used **IDW interpolation**, union-level monthly Pearson correlations across five years, and AOD-to-PM2.5 regression. Study area: **Sylhet Sadar Upazila** (population ~487,000). Data sourced from **ESA/Copernicus** and **NASA LP DAAC (USGS EROS)**. Funding/support: Research Cell, Noakhali Science and Technology University (grant NSTU/RC-ESDM/T-23/108) and RGC Hong Kong SAR award (PDFS2425-4S05).

The UK Government has announced a new Defence Housing Strategy backed by £9 billion to modernise, refurbish or rebuild service family homes and unlock housing development on surplus MoD land. - **Main announcement:** The **Defence Housing Strategy** (to be published by the Government) commits **£9bn over the next decade** to a 10-year **"generational renewal"** of Armed Forces housing, modernising more than **40,000 service family homes**, with around **14,000** receiving substantial refurbishment or replacement; it establishes a standalone **Defence Housing Service** and proposes a **Defence Development Fund** to recycle proceeds from surplus MoD land for further projects. - **Background and implementation details:** The programme builds on the return of **36,000 properties** from the **Annington Homes** deal (cited taxpayer savings of **£600,000 per day** being reinvested), follows earlier commitments including **£1.5bn** in this Parliament from the **Strategic Defence Review**, and includes concrete near-term actions: **rapid improvement works at 107 service houses in mid and west Wales**, **801 Service Family Accommodation properties in Wales** overall, and completion of improvements to **1,000 homes across the UK by the end of this year**; the Strategy also proposes **'Forces First' homeownership** prioritisation on selected surplus sites and interim **rental support** while new homes are delivered.