Virtual Summit Seeks to Galvanize Climate Change Adaptation

Wind turbines are seen on a dike near Urk, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. A group of scientists, including five Nobel laureates, called Friday for more action to adapt the world to the effects of climate change, drawing comparisons with the faltering response to the coronavirus crisis, ahead of a major online conference on climate adaptation starting Monday and hosted by the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Wind turbines are seen on a dike near Urk, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. A group of scientists, including five Nobel laureates, called Friday for more action to adapt the world to the effects of climate change, drawing comparisons with the faltering response to the coronavirus crisis, ahead of a major online conference on climate adaptation starting Monday and hosted by the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Virtual Summit Seeks to Galvanize Climate Change Adaptation

Wind turbines are seen on a dike near Urk, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. A group of scientists, including five Nobel laureates, called Friday for more action to adapt the world to the effects of climate change, drawing comparisons with the faltering response to the coronavirus crisis, ahead of a major online conference on climate adaptation starting Monday and hosted by the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Wind turbines are seen on a dike near Urk, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. A group of scientists, including five Nobel laureates, called Friday for more action to adapt the world to the effects of climate change, drawing comparisons with the faltering response to the coronavirus crisis, ahead of a major online conference on climate adaptation starting Monday and hosted by the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

World leaders are converging - virtually - on the Netherlands Monday for a summit that will seek to galvanize more action and funding to adapt the planet and vulnerable communities to the effects of climate change.

The Netherlands-based Global Center on Adaptation last week called on governments and financiers around the globe to include funding for adaptation projects in their COVID-19 recovery spending.

Dutch Overseas Trade and Development Cooperation Minister Sigrid Kaag got the ball rolling by announcing that the summit's host nation will pump 20 million euros ($24 million) into an adaptation fund for the world's least-developed nations and 100 million euros ($121 million) into a program for sustainable farming in Africa's Sahel region.

Kaag said that by using new and existing adaptation techniques, "we can build a climate-proof future together and promote sustainable economic growth in all parts of Africa."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use the Climate Adaptation Summit to announce a new Adaptation Action Coalition that brings together more than 120 countries along with the European Union and nearly 90 other organizations to double down on climate adaptation efforts.

Other world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also are taking part in the 24-hour summit, along with new US President Joe Biden's climate envoy, John Kerry.

Last Thursday, Kerry spoke remotely to an Italian business conference and lamented "wasted years" under the Trump administration to slow climate change and urged faster work to curb fossil fuel emissions.

Biden, in his first hours in office Wednesday, signed an executive order returning the United States to the Paris climate accord. It reversed the withdrawal by President Donald Trump, who ridiculed the science of human-caused climate change.

Host nation the Netherlands has centuries of experience in adapting to the threat of water, from major rivers that run through the low-lying nation to its long North Sea coast. It shares and exports the know-how around the world, for example to flood-prone Mozambique, where Dutch experts have helped strengthen drainage systems and coastal defenses.



Axios: US, Israeli Officials Believe Highly Enriched Uranium is Sealed Off Inside Iran’s Damaged Facilities

This handout satellite image courtesy of Maxar Technologies shows cargo trucks postioned near an underground entrance to Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), in Fordo, Iran on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP)
This handout satellite image courtesy of Maxar Technologies shows cargo trucks postioned near an underground entrance to Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), in Fordo, Iran on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP)
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Axios: US, Israeli Officials Believe Highly Enriched Uranium is Sealed Off Inside Iran’s Damaged Facilities

This handout satellite image courtesy of Maxar Technologies shows cargo trucks postioned near an underground entrance to Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), in Fordo, Iran on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP)
This handout satellite image courtesy of Maxar Technologies shows cargo trucks postioned near an underground entrance to Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), in Fordo, Iran on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP)

Highly enriched uranium is currently “sealed off” inside damaged facilities in Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, Israeli and US officials say, according to the America news website, Axios.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview that aired Monday with US journalist Tucker Carlson that the nuclear facilities were seriously damaged, but Iran doesn't currently have access to them to accurately assess the situation.

US and Israeli officials say both countries' intelligence services are monitoring Iranian actions around its nuclear facilities to detect efforts to remove material or restore operations, according to Axios.

Netanyahu's top adviser, Ron Dermer, told officials in closed briefings that he came away from a recent visit to Washington with the impression that the Trump administration would back new Israeli strikes on Iran under certain circumstances, two sources with knowledge told the website.

One scenario would be an Iranian attempt to remove the highly enriched uranium inside the damaged facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, according to the sources.

Another would be if the Iranians start rebuilding their nuclear program, particularly enrichment facilities.

Dermer met last week with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff, Israeli officials said.

Witkoff is planning to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oslo in the coming days to restart nuclear talks.

According to Axios, the Iranians confirmed such a meeting is in the works but so far no final date has been set.

Dermer told Israeli officials the US remains committed to the principle of zero enrichment on Iranian soil in the nuclear talks, the website wrote.