Passenger traffic reached 74% of pre-pandemic levels in September as people rushed back to travel following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA)…Continue readingGlobal air travel rebounds to 74% of pre-pandemic levels
The Anthropocene
More and more scientists are now admitting publicly that they are scared by the recent climate extremes, such as the floods in Pakistan and west Africa, the droughts and…Continue readingWhy scientists are using the word scary over the climate crisis
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, stated:Continue readingUN: World is on ‘highway to climate hell’
There is “no credible pathway to 1.5C in place”, the UN’s environment agency has said, and the failure to reduce carbon emissions means the only way to limit the…Continue readingUN: ‘No credible pathway to 1.5˚C in place’
Pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions will lead to global heating of 2.5˚C, a level that would condemn the world to catastrophic climate breakdown, according to the United Nations.…Continue readingUN: Current emissions pledges will lead to catastrophic climate breakdown
Approximately 90 world leaders are attending COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt from November 6 to 18, 2022. However, key figureheads from some of the globe’s most polluting States are…Continue readingLeaders of world’s largest emitters a no-show at COP27
Global warming is responsible for bigger and bigger fires in Siberia, and in the decades ahead they could release huge amounts of carbon now trapped in the soil. Researchers…Continue readingArctic fires could release catastrophic amounts of carbon dioxide
Greenhouse Gas Emissions on this site has been updated with newly published data from the Global Carbon Project.Continue readingUpdate to Greenhouse Gas Emissions
ExxonMobil’s Uaru development is targeting approximately 1.319 billion barrels of oil. MODEC has won a contract to undertake engineering and design for a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel…Continue readingMODEC wins contract for FPSO of ExxonMobil’s Uaru oil project
The Ugandan government has secured support from the African, Caribbean, Pacific -European Union (ACP-EU) for proceeding with the East African crude oil pipeline project (EACOP), a 1,443km (896 mile)…Continue readingUganda secures support from ACP-EU for East African crude oil pipeline
At the bottom of a crater in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20,000 people work at a cobalt mine, in shifts of 5,000 at a time.Continue readingDR Congo’s faltering fight against illegal cobalt mines
The fossil fuel industry is experiencing a remarkable rebound, with sudden momentum behind more than 80 projects that range from coal-fired power plants to hulking gas export terminals, many…Continue readingFossil fuel projects were stalled a year ago. Now they’re making a comeback.
Plastic recycling rates are declining even as production shoots up, according to a Greenpeace U.S. report out Monday that blasted industry claims of creating an efficient, circular economy as…Continue readingPlastic recycling remains a ‘myth’: Greenpeace study
ExxonMobil reported $19.7 billion in third-quarter net profit, or $4.68 a share, almost triple the $6.8 billion, or $1.57 a share, earned a year ago. The company was “driving…Continue readingExxon profit triples to record $20 billion
The heart-shaped Lake Eyre Basin covers about one-sixth of Australia. It contains one of the few remaining pristine river systems in the world. The Lake Eyre Basin is probably…Continue readingThe magnificent Lake Eyre Basin is threatened by 831 oil and gas wells, and more are planned
None of the 134 companies assessed for disclosure of climate-related risks passed basic tests. The annual review by independent non-profit Carbon Tracker group found that carbon-intensive companies were not…Continue readingCorporate polluters fail basic tests
The stresses of warming temperatures and forest losses are driving dozens of species of monkeys and lemurs that normally shelter and feed high in the tree canopy to spend…Continue readingAnthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions driving monkeys and lemurs from trees to the ground
Mitsubishi Power said that the fourth and final unit of the Chonburi power plant, a 2.65GW gas-fired power facility in Thailand, has commenced operation. The Chonburi power plant is…Continue readingMitsubishi fully commissions 2.65GW gas power plant in Thailand
The first LNG (liquid natural gas) import terminal in Finland has been connected to the transmission network. Hamina LNG provides LNG storage services, regasification and injection services into the…Continue readingFinland’s first LNG import terminal has started commercial operations
Norwegian oil and gas major Equinor said that Peregrino phase 2 was executed within the original cost estimate of $3 billion. The phase 2 project is aimed at extending…Continue readingEquinor begins production from $3 billion project in Brazil
Severe to exceptional drought conditions remain common in the West, which has been battling its driest period in the past 1,200 years. But the drought is now far more…Continue readingNearly 82% of the U.S. is facing troubling drought conditions
“We are getting hotter, drier summers and wetter winters and that is making trees more susceptible to disease. Climate change is already having some really significant effects”, said Rob…Continue readingDisease ravages UK’s fragile woodlands
More than 90% of the heat caused by adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels is taken up by the ocean. 15 scientists carried out a…Continue readingOcean heat found to be accelerating and fuelling extreme weather
Concerns about climate change shrank across the world last year, with fewer than half of those questioned in a new survey believing it posed a “very serious threat” to…Continue readingConcern about climate change shrinks globally
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), a system of ocean currents that carry warm water from the tropics into the North Atlantic, and transport cold water from the northern…Continue readingScientists discover mechanism that can cause collapse of great Atlantic circulation system
MidOcean Energy, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company formed and managed by EIG, has agreed to acquire the stakes of Tokyo Gas in four integrated LNG projects in Australia…Continue readingMidOcean to acquire Tokyo Gas’ stakes in Australian gas projects for $2.1 billion
Heatwaves will become so extreme in certain regions of the world within decades that human life there will be unsustainable, the United Nations and the Red Cross said Monday.…Continue readingHeatwaves will make regions uninhabitable within decades: UN, Red Cross
Fracking and drilling for new oil and gas in the North Sea is green and good for the environment, Liz Truss’s new climate minister said on Wednesday. Graham Stuart…Continue readingUK fracking and oil drilling good for environment, claims climate minister
A report published on Wednesday by the upper house’s environment and climate change committee urged ministers to lead a public campaign and use regulations and taxation to guide public…Continue readingThird of emissions cuts must come from behaviour changes, say Lords
An ADB report presented during the bank’s annual board meeting (26-30 September) warns that sea levels in the Asia-Pacific could exceed two meters by 2100. “For short- to medium-term…Continue readingSea-level rise ‘may cross two meters by 2100’
Earth’s wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% in just under 50 years, according to a leading scientific assessment, as humans continue to clear forests, consume beyond…Continue readingAlmost 70% of animal populations wiped out since 1970, report reveals
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of about 12,000 chemicals typically used to make thousands of products water-, stain- and heat-resistant. They do not naturally break down…Continue readingToxic ‘forever chemicals’ detected in commonly used insecticides in US, study finds
Human-driven climate change made the droughts that gripped large swaths of Europe, China and North America this year at least 20 times more likely, an international group of scientists…Continue reading2022 droughts ‘virtually impossible without climate change’, study finds
Toxic air pollution particles have been found in the lungs, livers and brains of unborn babies, long before they have taken their first breath. Researchers said their “groundbreaking” discovery…Continue readingToxic air pollution particles found in lungs and brains of unborn babies
China needs up to $17 trillion in additional investments for green infrastructure and technology in the power and transport sectors to meet its goal of net-zero emissions by 2060,…Continue readingChina needs $17 trillion to meet climate goals
Everybody likes trees. There is no anti-tree lobby. A global push to go beyond conservation of existing forests and start creating new ones goes back to 2011, when many…Continue readingPhantom Forests: Why Ambitious Tree Planting Projects Are Failing
Despite decades of social and environmental campaigns aimed at protecting the Amazon, the threats now are greater than they have ever been, thanks to the relentless expansion of activities…Continue readingLast stand in the Amazon
As Hurricane Ian barreled toward Florida this week, it did what six other storms did over the past six years as they approached the United States: It intensified, quickly.…Continue readingHow climate change is rapidly fueling super hurricanes
Some of the world’s biggest central banks are unwittingly helping to finance agri-business giants engaged in the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon. The banks buy corporate bonds issued by…Continue readingWorld’s central banks financing destruction of the rainforest
Nearly half of the planet’s bird species are in decline, according to a definitive report that paints the grimmest picture yet of the destruction of avian life. The State…Continue readingHalf of world’s bird species in decline as destruction of avian life intensifies
It was the river that is said to have watered the biblical Garden of Eden and helped give birth to civilisation itself. The Tigris’s course through Iraq begins in…Continue readingCradle of civilisation dying
Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers account for 2.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, new research shows. Unlike organic fertilizers, which come from plant or animal material, synthetic fertilizers are made by…Continue readingFertilizers cause more than 2% of global emissions
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) have closed financing for a $3.8 billion project to decarbonise ADNOC’s offshore oil and gas extraction…Continue readingADNOC and TAQA close financing for 3.8 billion dollar decarbonisation of oil and gas extraction
Sprawling coastal cities in South and Southeast Asia are sinking faster than elsewhere in the world, leaving tens of millions of people more vulnerable to rising sea levels. Vietnam’s…Continue readingAsian coastal cities sinking fast
Pine Island Ice Shelf in West Antarctica, which holds back enough ice to raise sea levels by 0.5 meters, could be more vulnerable to complete disintegration than previously thought.…Continue readingScientists expose vulnerabilities of critical Antarctic ice shelf
In 2014, Los Angeles cut its annual carbon emissions by 43% and saved $9 million in energy costs by replacing the bulbs in more than half of the city’s…Continue readingHow an effort to reduce fossil fuel use led to another environmental problem: Light pollution
Colombia lost more than 174,000 hectares of woodland in 2021 — an area 30 times the size of Manhattan — with illegal clearances fuelling the surge. It was the…Continue readingColombia’s battle against Amazon deforestation: ‘The jungle is disappearing’
This summer, heat waves struck Europe, North Africa, the U.S. and Asia with temperatures reaching over 40°C in places—breaking many long-standing records. Images from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission show…Continue readingImage: UK heat wave
At least 10 people died and 4 were missing after an extraordinary thunderstorm sparked major flooding in central Italy. Prime Minister Mario Draghi confirmed the toll, while saying it…Continue reading‘Like a waterfall’: deadly Italian storms spark climate debate
France’s TotalEnergies has signed a new investment deal in Qatar’s natural gas production expansion. Speaking alongside TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanne on Saturday, Qatar Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi…Continue readingEuropean countries invest in Qatar gas
A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in the Horn of Africa, which is in the grip of its worst drought in at least four decades. More than 20 million people…Continue readingWhy East Africa’s Facing Its Worst Famine in Decades
The waters of the EU are in a “dismal” state, with only a third of fish populations studied in the north-east Atlantic considered to be in good condition, according…Continue readingEU slammed over failure to protect marine life from ‘destructive’ fishing
Caption for figure above: Grid-cell specific rankings of 22-yr negative soil moisture anomalies (drought rank) in 2000–2021 compared to the driest 22-yr period in each previous drought event back…Continue readingMegadrought in the American south-west: a climate disaster unseen in 1,200 years
Out of 26 countries, Indonesia accounted for 58.2% of the tropical deforestation directly caused by industrial mining activities. The data covered 26 countries representing 76.7% of the total tropical…Continue readingIndustrial mining in Indonesia accounts for 45% of global tropical deforestation
The world’s chances of avoiding the worst ravages of climate breakdown are diminishing rapidly, as we enter “uncharted territory of destruction” through our failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions…Continue readingWorld heading into ‘uncharted territory of destruction’
The Biden administration on Wednesday reinstated $190 million worth of leases to companies bidding to explore for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico. The administration sought to…Continue readingU.S. administration awards Gulf of Mexico drilling leases to oil giants
Higher high tides, supercharged by rising sea levels, could flood all or parts of an estimated $34 billion worth of real estate along the nation’s coasts within just 30…Continue readingRising seas fueled by climate change to swamp $34 billion in US real estate in just 30 years
The latest assessment by risk company Verisk Maplecroft brings those two threats together to calculate that heat stress already poses an “extreme risk” to agriculture in 20 countries, including…Continue readingCountries growing 70% of world’s food face ‘extreme’ heat risk by 2045
Smoke from hundreds of wildfires has darkened skies over the Alaskan interior this summer with the state experiencing its fastest start to the fire season on record amid hot…Continue reading‘Nothing left to burn’: Wildfires blaze through the Arctic
The climate crisis has driven the world to the brink of multiple “disastrous” tipping points, according to a major study. It shows five dangerous tipping points may already have…Continue readingWorld on brink of five ‘disastrous’ climate tipping points