Climate change will force up to 113m people to relocate within Africa by 2050 – new report: A young Fulani pastoralist from the Tatki region of Senegal who must learn another craft because his future is uncertain. Selim Harbi, CC BY-NC Adapting to a world that is warmer than today is a huge undertaking, even …
COP27: five things to expect from this year’s UN climate summit: rafapress / shutterstock The world’s leaders are gathering for another global climate meeting, this time in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Expect a bustle of promises and pacts from countries and companies. Expect pressure on states to support people who are most and permanently affected by …
COP27: a year on from the Glasgow climate pact, the world is burning more fossil fuels than ever: Lane V. Erickson/Shutterstock The burning of fossil fuels caused 86% of all CO? emissions during the past ten years. Despite being the primary culprits of global heating, coal, oil and gas were barely mentioned in the official …
Vanuatu: why a chain of tiny Pacific islands wants an international court opinion on responsibility for the climate crisis: Mark and Anna Photography / shutterstock Small island states are losing their patience with big polluting nations as they suffer the devastating impacts of climate change. Without significant movement at the forthcoming COP27 climate talks in …
Climate change: the effects of extreme heat on health in Africa — 4 essential reads: shutterstock Scientists are sounding the alarm about the extreme increases in the Earth’s temperature. A new report by UNICEF warns that 2022 could be the “coldest year of the rest of our lives”. Heatwaves are becoming stronger and lasting longer. …
Public order bill: new law is designed to stop climate protests – but it could actually give activists a legal tool: The UK’s environmental movement has a long history of using protest as a strategy. Disruption is often at the heart of this, either disrupting infrastructure projects themselves in an attempt to stop them going …
What long-term economic stagnation means for climate change: maradon 333 / shutterstock The financial shock the UK has recently suffered is of course bad for green investment. The Rishi Sunak-led government is also likely to use this crisis to push for further public spending cuts that will rule out a truly transformative green agenda. However, …
Crime, COVID and climate change – South African tourism faces many threats, but it’s resilient: A family of African elephants walk through the Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. EPA-EFE/Jon Hrusa South Africa’s tourism industry has been rocked by the murder of a German visitor during an attempted robbery. The development …
Facing the dual threat of climate change and human disturbance, Mumbai – and the world – should listen to its fishing communities: The Koli community depend on fishing, but fish stocks off Mumbai's coast have been declining. Akella Srinivas Ramalingaswami/Shutterstock Coastal cities and settlements are at the forefront of climate disruption. Rising sea levels, warmer …
To address climate change, lifestyles must change – but the government’s reluctance to help is holding us back: Without changes to people’s behaviour and lifestyles, it will be impossible for the UK to reach net zero emissions by 2050. But the government is failing to put in place the conditions that would enable this to …
Climate change: UK test for new oil and gas fields’ impact on emissions targets is not fit for purpose: Mr.PK/Shutterstock Liz Truss’s government is expected to fast-track permits for new North Sea gas fields to boost fossil fuel extraction on the UK’s continental shelf. In a recent letter, the Committee on Climate Change (an expert …
Climate tipping points could lock in unstoppable changes to the planet – how close are they?: Tipping points in the climate become more likely beyond 1.5°C of warming. Desdemona72/Shutterstock Continued greenhouse gas emissions risk triggering climate tipping points. These are self-sustaining shifts in the climate system that would lock-in devastating changes, like sea-level rise, even …
Climate change: the fairest way to tax carbon is to make air travel more expensive: A tiny minority flies more than once a year. ImYanis/Shutterstock Despite the fact that poorer people generally have lower emissions, taxes on the carbon dioxide (CO?) our activities emit tend to affect people on low incomes more than richer people. …
Hurricane Ian: how climate change is making North Atlantic tropical storms worse: Hurricane Ian first made landfall in western Cuba as a category 3 storm, wiping out power for 11 million people. It continued northwards over the Gulf of Mexico where it strengthened over exceptionally warm ocean water (which meteorologists describe as “rocket fuel” for …
‘Decarbonisation is too expensive’ – how to sell climate change action to bean counters: Scharfsinn/Shutterstock The three most prevalent myths about tackling climate change allege that transitioning to renewable energy jacks up household bills, requires massive amounts of government subsidy and creates mass unemployment. These concerns are all (thankfully) false. With fellow academics, I studied …
Red kite chicks born during droughts are scarred for life – study exposes hidden threat of climate change to wildlife conservation: Werner Baumgarten/Shutterstock Take a drive down England’s M40 motorway and chances are you’ll see a large bird with a forked tail overhead searching for roadkill: the red kite. The conservation status of this species …
Direct air capture: how advanced is technology to suck up carbon dioxide – and could it slow climate change?: Humanity must remove up to 660 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO?) from the atmosphere by the end of the century to limit global warming to 1.5°C. That’s according to the most recent report by the …
Climate change is making rain difficult to predict – we trained an AI to help tropical countries adapt: Muhammad Qadri Anwar/Shutterstock While rivers and reservoirs run dangerously low in Europe, there is catastrophic flooding in Pakistan and the US. Whether it’s a drought or a deluge, being able to accurately forecast rain is important to …