Climate change: farmers in Ghana can’t predict rainfall anymore, changing how they work: Established practices of Ghanaian farmers have been affected by climate change. Bernard Keraita/Flickr Climate change affects all spheres of life, particularly those aspects that depend on the environment. Farming communities are a case in point. Most often the effects of climate change …
Participation income: the social welfare model that could help communities fight climate change: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock Universal Basic Income (UBI), a programme in which all adult citizens are given a regular amount of money to spend on what they choose, dominates the debate on the future of social policy. It is based on the idea that in …
How art inspired by peatlands can help us confront the climate crisis: As environments, peatlands have undergone a remarkable transformation over the last few decades from “Cinderella” habitats, regarded as ecologically worthless in the 1980s, to today’s ecosystem superstars – crucial for biodiversity, carbon capture and regulating the water supply. This new appreciation has seen …
Climate crisis threatens truffle production but could put UK species back on the menu: Truffles, the prized fungi coveted worldwide by chefs and food connoisseurs, have long been held in high regard. Often associated with Mediterranean Europe, especially France, Italy and Spain, these tasty fungi grow underground and are unearthed with the help of scent-detection …
Intense downpours in the UK will increase due to climate change – new study: A flash flood in London in October 2019. D MacDonald/Shutterstock In July 2021, Kew in London experienced a month’s rain in just three hours. Across the city, tube lines were suspended and stations closed as London experienced its wettest day in …
Economic growth is fuelling climate change – a new book proposes ‘degrowth communism’ as the solution: I’m often told that degrowth, the planned downscaling of production and consumption to reduce the pressure on Earth’s ecosystems, is a tough sell. But a 36-year-old associate professor at Tokyo University has made a name for himself arguing that …
Climate change in urban Nigeria – 4 factors that affect how residents adapt: A house in Diobu, Port Harcourt Victoria Uwemedimo/AFP via Getty Images Climate change is a long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns. It’s caused by solar cycle variations and human activities such as burning fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas. The impact …
Environmental activists on trial barred from citing climate crisis in their defence: Four Insulate Britain activists recently stood trial at Inner London crown court on a public nuisance charge for blocking a busy London junction in October 2021. Like Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain is waging a civil disobedience campaign to force the government to …
Global inequality must fall to maintain a safe climate and achieve a decent standard of living for all – it’s a huge challenge: Energy consumption is essential for human wellbeing, but there is enormous inequality in energy use worldwide. The top 10% of global energy consumers use roughly 30 times more energy than the bottom …
How climate change could fare in the UK’s new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Prasert Wongchindawest / shutterstock The UK government has announced its business department will be split into separate departments for science, business and energy. The new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, to give it its full name, represents …
‘Blue marble’: how half a century of climate change has altered the face of the Earth: In December 1972, Nasa’s final Apollo mission (Apollo 17) took the iconic “Blue Marble” photo of the whole Earth. Many, including science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, had expected that the sight of Earth from afar would instil the …
Primates colonised the Arctic during a period of ancient global warming — their fate offers a lesson as climate change speeds up: Researchers have found evidence that primates colonised northern Canada 52 million years ago. Kaca Skokanova/Shutterstock Two new species of prehistoric primate were recently identified by scientists studying fossils from Canada’s Ellesmere Island in …
Exxon scientists accurately forecast climate change back in the 1970s – what if we had listened to them and acted then?: Writers of speculative- and science-fiction often identify a key point in time and explore how a seemingly insignificant event might change the path of humanity. One of these moments came in the 1970s when …
Heat stress is rising in southern Africa – climate experts show where and when it’s worst: Being too hot isn't just uncomfortable: it can be dangerous. Angel DiBilio/Shutterstock Most of us have felt either too hot or too cold at some point in our lives. Depending on where we live, we may feel too cold …
Climate change: Africa has a major new carbon market initiative – what you need to know: Activists press for climate change financing during COP27. Mohamed Abdel Hamid/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Climate finance for the African continent got a boost at the 2022 United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), with the launch of the African Carbon …
Climate change is threatening Madagascar’s famous forests – our study shows how serious it is: Urgent action is needed to protect Madagascar's forests. Rijasolo/AFP via Getty Images Global climate change doesn’t only cause the melting of polar ice caps, rising sea levels and extreme weather events. It also has a direct effect on many tropical …
First study to estimate ‘blue carbon’ storage in South Africa is useful for climate strategy: Flamingos feeding in salt marsh on an estuary in South Africa's Western Cape province. Geoff Sperring/Shutterstock Marine ecosystems have a valuable role to play in mitigating the effects of climate change. That’s because such ecosystems – and, particularly, vegetated tidal …
Climate change action could set off a copper mining boom: how Zambia can make the most of it: Batches of copper sheets stored in a warehouse at Mopani mines, Mufilira, Zambia. Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images At last year’s US Africa leaders summit in Washington the US signed an historic memorandum of understanding with Zambia and the …