The Latest: COP26: Ecuador vows to expand Galapagos reserve

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso delivers his message during the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (Adrian Dennis/Pool Photo via AP)

A woman walks past climate change carbon emissions posters as the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit is held in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland's biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

A zero carbon electricity advert is displayed on the side of a building as the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit is held in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland's biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

A cycle rickshaw displays an awareness poster on how much carbon a whale can store in its lifetime as the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit is held in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland's biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

People gather gather at a table inside the venue of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland's biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

A mural, refers to the goal to limit global warming to a 1.5 Celsius temperature limit, inside the venue of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland's biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Climate campaigners protest on the fringes of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit, in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland's biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a meeting during the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (Phil Noble/Pool via AP)

The latest on U.N. climate summit COP26:

GLASGOW, Scotland — Ecuador’s president has announced that his country is expanding the marine reserve around the Galapagos Islands by almost half.

President Guillermo Lasso told the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow on Tuesday that the government has agreed with the fishery, tourism and conservation sectors to establish a new marine reserve in the Galapagos Islands of 60,000 square kilometers (more than 23,000 square miles).

Lasso said this would be added to an existing marine reserve of about 130,000 square kilometers (50,000 square miles).

Experts says oceans are particularly vulnerable to climate change and the Galapagos Islands are considered one of the world’s biodiversity jewels.

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GLASGOW, Scotland — More than 100 countries are pledging to end deforestation, which scientists say is a major driver of climate change.

Britain hailed the commitment as the first big achievement of the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow.

But campaigners say they need to see the detail -- such promises have been made, and broken, before.

The U.K. government said it has received commitments from leaders representing more than 85% of the world’s forests to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.

More than $19 billion in public and private funds have been pledged toward the plan, which is backed by countries including Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia and the United States.

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GLASGOW, Scotland — The mayors of Seattle and Freetown in Sierra Leone greeted each other like long lost sisters on a train hurtling toward Glasgow.

They have been bonded by years of Zoom calls and collaboration in the fight against climate change. They lead cities on different sides of the economic and climate divide.

One is in the cool and northwestern corner of the one of the world’s richest nations. The other is the capital of an impoverished country in the tropics of west Africa.

But Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Freetown counterpart Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr are both on the front lines of global warming and they are working to ensure their cities are prepared for rising sea levels, torrential rains and extreme heat.

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POINTE-AUX-CHENES, Louisiana — Faith leaders and activists across the world are increasingly joining the fight against climate change driven by a moral imperative to preserve creation for future generations.

Christian pastors have joined forces with Native American tribes to protect their hurricane-prone coastal lands as climate change contributes to rising sea levels.

Hindu groups joined river cleanups. And mosques organized tree-planting campaigns. But they believe systemic change to protect those most vulnerable to the climate crisis must also come from world leaders.

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BEIJING — China is the largest contributor to global warming and China’s people are already suffering the brunt of climate change.

Historic floods that destroyed farms this summer in the country’s agricultural heartland are a preview of the kind of extreme conditions the country is likely to face as the planet warms.

Chinese government reports also predict rising sea levels will threaten major coastal cities while melting glaciers imperil western China’s water supply. Those with the least resources to adapt are often on the frontlines of suffering in a common pattern around the world. As one farmer in Henan province said, “Ordinary people suffer most.”

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GLASGOW, Scotland — President Joe Biden is seeking to whip up climate change-fighting efforts abroad at a time when his own climate legislation at home is again in limbo.

Biden is attending a U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, for a second and final day Tuesday. He’s due to promote global efforts to preserve forests and stem methane leaks before flying home to Washington.

But Biden’s climate efforts on the global stage are playing out as Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has again raised doubts about Biden’s social spending package, including its $555 billion in climate provisions.

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WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is launching a wide-ranging plan to reduce methane emissions, targeting a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming.

Methane packs a stronger short-term climate punch than even carbon dioxide. The plan was being announced as President Joe Biden wraps up a two-day appearance at a U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. It would tighten methane regulations for the oil and gas sector and crack down on leaks from pipelines.

A proposed rule would for the first time target emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focus only on new wells.