A climate activist has been jailed for six months after pleading guilty to taking part in a peaceful slow march protest on a London road. The sentence handed to…Continue readingJust Stop Oil activist jailed for six months for taking part in slow march
Author: Shane White
Global consumption of coal reached an all-time high in 2023, the IEA energy watchdog said Friday, as Earth experienced its hottest recorded year. The International Energy Agency reported that…Continue readingCoal use hits record in 2023, Earth’s hottest year
The failure of COP28 to call for a phase-out of fossil fuels is “devastating” and “dangerous” given the urgent need for action to tackle the climate crisis, scientists have said. One…Continue readingFailure of Cop28 on fossil fuel phase-out is ‘devastating’, say scientists
My colleagues and I overlaid the projections of climate models with data on the geographic distributions of more than 35,000 species on land and in the ocean. We found…Continue readingClimate change research: If warming approaches 2°C, a trickle of extinctions will become a flood
Climate agreement may fail to result in falls in oil and gas production. The world’s largest oil producers have saluted the COP28 agreement’s focus on an “orderly” move away…Continue readingBig oil welcomes COP28 call to move away from fossil fuels in ‘orderly’ way
Australia passed breakthrough climate laws in March this year, 10 months after a new centre-left Labor government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took office. Even as the Albanese government…Continue readingAustralia is preparing to burn – more fossil fuels
Nearly 200 nations meeting in Dubai on Wednesday approved a first-ever call for the world to transition away from fossil fuels. The biggest-ever COP meeting hosted more than 88,000…Continue readingDubai summit adopts world-first ‘transition’ from fossil fuels
Leaders of the IUCN updated their Red List of Threatened Species, a tracker of biodiversity around the globe. It was mainly bad news. The list includes information on 157,000…Continue readingEndangered species list grows by 2,000. Climate change is part of the problem.
The elephants are gone. The trees are logged out. The Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary in central Cambodia is largely destroyed, after being handed over by the government to a…Continue readingHow Mounting Demand for Rubber Is Driving Tropical Forest Loss
Nearly a quarter of the world’s freshwater fish are at risk of extinction due to global heating, overfishing and pollution, according to an expert assessment. Nearly a fifth of…Continue readingQuarter of world’s freshwater fish at risk of extinction
New analysis finds the last time the air contained 420 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide was between 14-16 million years ago, when there was no ice in…Continue readingCurrent carbon dioxide levels last seen 14 million years ago
Most people expect that if a system, like someone’s body, an ecosystem, or part of the climate system, becomes stressed, it’ll respond fairly predictably—double the pressure, double the impact,…Continue readingClimate tipping points are nearer than you think. Our new report warns of catastrophic risk.
Norway has secured a parliamentary majority for its plans to open up for deep-sea mining despite opposition from environmentalists and the fishing industry, who warn the move risks further…Continue readingNorway’s parliament backs deep-sea mining plans
Rishi Sunak, David Cameron and King Charles are just three of the more than 70,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries at the latest UN climate summit in Dubai, COP28.…Continue readingWhy are people still flying to climate conferences by private jet?
The COP28 climate talks have been flooded with announcements hyping controversial carbon credits before rules for them have been hammered out, with environmental groups fearing “greenwashing” on a massive…Continue readingControversial carbon credits flood COP28, yet still no rules
Many of the gravest threats to humanity are drawing closer, as carbon pollution heats the planet to ever more dangerous levels, scientists have warned. Five important natural thresholds already…Continue readingEarth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn
Saudi Arabia is driving a huge global investment plan to create demand for its oil and gas in developing countries, an undercover investigation has revealed. Critics said the plan…Continue readingRevealed: Saudi Arabia’s grand plan to ‘hook’ poor countries on oil
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has slammed the door shut to agreeing to phase down fossil fuels at the UN’s COP28 climate talks, setting the stage for difficult negotiations in…Continue readingSaudi Arabia says ‘absolutely not’ to oil phase down at COP28
The world is on track to have burned more coal, oil and gas in 2023 than it did in 2022, according to a report by the Global Carbon Project,…Continue readingGlobal carbon emissions from fossil fuels to hit record high
The president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, has claimed there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5˚C, the…Continue readingCOP28 president says there is ‘no science’ behind demands for phase-out of fossil fuels
The vast amount of electricity that India’s growing number of ACs will require presents a significant challenge. Already during peak summertime hours, ACs have accounted for 40% to 60%…Continue reading‘A matter of survival’: India’s unstoppable need for air conditioners
Simultaneous episodes of extreme heat and drought could occur earlier and repeatedly in Europe, reports a study published in Communications Earth & Environment. Laura Suarez-Gutierrez and colleagues investigated how…Continue reading‘End of century’ extreme heat and drought conditions in Europe could occur much earlier than previously thought
In the ocean, tropical species are moving from the equator towards the poles as sea temperatures rise. Meanwhile, temperate species are receding as it gets too warm, they face…Continue readingGlobal marine life is on the move due to sea temperature rises
More than two million people across the Horn of Africa have been forced from their homes by torrential rains and floods, according to an AFP tally compiled Thursday from…Continue readingHorn of Africa floods displace more than two million, inp
More than 400 oil and gas projects were approved globally in the last two years despite calls to abandon all new hydrocarbon development, new figures showed as the UN…Continue readingHundreds of new oil and gas projects approved despite climate crisis
A new investigation by human rights experts appointed by the United Nations has expressed alarm at evidence of pollution from a North Carolina PFAS manufacturing plant, describing it as…Continue readingUN human rights experts express alarm over PFAS pollution in North Carolina
Potentially toxic “forever chemicals” have been detected in the drinking water sources at 17 of 18 England’s water companies, with 11,853 samples testing positive, something experts say they are…Continue reading‘Forever chemicals’ found in drinking water sources across England
Nearly half of the whales and dolphins found in UK waters over the past five years contained harmful concentrations of toxic chemicals banned decades ago, an investigation has found.…Continue readingLevels of toxic PCB chemicals found at 30 times ‘safe’ limits in stranded whales
Spain, the world’s biggest producer of olive oil, suffered a very difficult year in 2022 and drought this year has compounded the problem. In Italy, this year’s olive harvest…Continue readingWinter isn’t coming: climate change hits Greek olive crop
Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is a term for fine particulates that are typically the by-product of car exhausts or coal-fired power plants. Their tiny size enables them to…Continue readingAir pollution behind over 250,000 deaths in Europe in 2021: agency
Haiyan was one of the strongest typhoons ever to make landfall. More than 6,300 people were killed as the storm swept across the island of Leyte, flattening homes and…Continue reading10 years after Haiyan, are mangroves protecting Philippine coastal areas?
The number of listed threatened species in Australia’s world heritage northern rainforests has increased by 25% since 2020, as ecologists say they are now clearly observing the long-predicted impacts…Continue readingQueensland’s wet tropics see 25% rise in threatened species in three years as climate change bites
Cyclone Freddy lasted a record 38 days. The storm barrelled 5,000 miles across the Indian Ocean, pummelling Madagascar and Reunion before striking the African mainland. It swirled over southern…Continue readingAfter the Storm, Malawi’s Farmers Face a Precarious Future
Total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020 were 54.5GtCO2e, and grew to 57.4 in 2022. The emissions gap for 2030 is defined as the differencebetween the estimated total…Continue readingEmissions Gap Report 2023
US industry disposed of at least 60m pounds of PFAS “forever chemical” waste over the last five years, and did so with processes that probably pollute the environment around…Continue readingUS industry disposed of at least 60m pounds of PFAS waste in last five years
Germany’s finance minister, withdrew his party’s support for a crucial agreement between the governing parties to phase out the nation’s coal-burning power plants by 2030. “Until it is clear…Continue readingShifting Political Winds Threaten Progress on Europe’s Green Goals
More than half the seabird species breeding on British and Irish coasts have declined over the last 20 years, according to the most comprehensive census to date. Some species…Continue readingMore than half of UK and Ireland seabirds in decline
Germany’s top court has ruled the government broke the law with a €60bn off-budget fund, throwing Berlin’s plans for financing its energy transition and climate policy into disarray. The…Continue readingGerman top court strikes down €60bn climate funding
All aquatic species in the river mouths flowing into the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean are contaminated with microplastics, with mollusks being the most affected due to their ability…Continue readingAll aquatic species in river mouths are contaminated by microplastics
Extreme drought in northern Italy has doubled over the past two decades, creating a climate that increasingly mirrors that of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. The southern Shabelle…Continue readingExtreme drought in northern Italy mirrors climate in Ethiopia
Fire ravaged Canada in 2023 like no other year, by a stupendous margin. A record 45.7m acres (18.5m hectares) went up in flames, an area about twice the size…Continue readingAfter a record year of wildfires, will Canada ever be the same again?
When scientists examined pellets from recycled plastic collected in 13 countries they found hundreds of toxic chemicals, including pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The results are published in a study led…Continue readingScientists find hundreds of toxic chemicals in recycled plastics
The UK government presented the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill to Parliament with the aim of enhancing the country’s economy, ensuring energy security, and facilitating the transition to a net-zero…Continue readingUK Government tables Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill in parliament
UK-based mining company Anglo American has secured mining lease approval for the expansion of its Lake Lindsay coal mine in Australia. The mining lease for the coal mine expansion…Continue readingAnglo American gets mining lease for Lake Lindsay coal mine expansion
Excelerate Energy, a US-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) company, and Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla), a government-owned national gas company of Bangladesh, have entered into a long-term…Continue readingExcelerate Energy signs 15-year LNG supply deal with Petrobangla
Populations of the hazel dormouse, perhaps the most elusive native British mammal, have plummeted by 70% this century. The nocturnal, tree-dwelling animals are now extinct in 20 counties in…Continue readingHazel dormice becoming endangered in UK amid 70% decline
Greenland’s thousands of peripheral glaciers have entered a new and widespread state of rapid retreat, a Northwestern University and University of Copenhagen study has found. To piece together the…Continue readingStudy finds Greenland’s glacier retreat rate has doubled over past two decades
According to a new paper by scientists from a dozen institutions, the world’s average temperature will surpass 1.5°C above preindustrial times within the next several years—much faster than most…Continue readingWorld temperatures will blow past Paris goals this decade
The world’s fossil fuel producers are planning expansions that would blow the planet’s carbon budget twice over, a UN report has found. Experts called the plans “insanity” which “throw…Continue reading‘Insanity’: petrostates planning huge expansion of fossil fuels
UK forests are heading for “catastrophic ecosystem collapse” within the next 50 years due to multiple threats including disease, extreme weather and wildfires, researchers have warned, with trees dying…Continue readingUK forests face catastrophic ecosystem collapse within 50 years
Extreme droughts that have wrecked the lives of millions of people in Syria, Iraq and Iran since 2020 would not have happened without human-caused global heating, a study has…Continue readingHuman-caused heating behind extreme droughts in Syria, Iraq and Iran
EnBW has awarded two orders to GE Vernova for the supply of H-class natural gas-fired combined cycle power generation equipment for two combined heat and power (CHP) power stations…Continue readingEnBW awards orders to GE Vernova for two CHP power stations in Germany
British oil and gas company BP, together with its partners Neptune Energy and JAPEX, has started production from the Seagull oil and gas field in the UK North Sea.…Continue readingBP, Neptune, JAPEX start production from Seagull field in UK North Sea
Saudi Aramco’s net profits surpassed analyst expectations as it revealed the impact of deeper production cuts this summer after the kingdom moved to prop up the oil price. The…Continue readingSaudi Aramco profits exceed expectations on back of buoyed oil price
October, November and December are usually a period of transition. By now, the dry season would normally have peaked, and rivers and aquifers would start to replenish. But the…Continue reading‘Everything is parched’: Amazon struggles with drought amid deforestation
Unprecedented in Greece in its intensity, the Dadia fire has been classed by the European Commission as the largest ever recorded in the EU. Burning for three weeks, the…Continue readingDesolation in Greece’s Dadia park after Europe’s biggest fire
Elkhorn corals are already considered “functionally extinct” in the upper Keys, and other elkhorn and staghorn populations in the Florida Reef are following suit, according to Liv Williamson, an…Continue readingCoral researchers see ‘mass mortality’ amid Florida Reef bleaching crisis
An unprecedented rise in ocean temperatures off the coast of Florida early in the summer made headlines as it caused countless dead fish to wash ashore. But the impact…Continue readingResearchers report mass bleaching of coral reefs in warming Florida oceans: ‘Like a forest without trees’
Santa Cruz del Islote, part of the San Bernardo archipelago, a few miles off Colombia’s Caribbean coast, is typical of many of the world’s low-lying coastal regions now at…Continue reading‘All we can do now is run away’: is time up for the sinking Colombian islands of San Bernardo?
Approached by motorboat across the Caribbean Sea, Gardí Sugdub, or Crab Island, first appears on the horizon as a densely packed cluster of tin-roofed huts, punctuated by the odd…Continue readingMeet the first climate refugees from the Americas to flee rising seas