‘Too afraid to have kids’ – how BirthStrike for Climate lost control of its political message: Blythe Pepino, founder of BirthStrike, on the Tucker Carlson show. YouTube In March 2019, Blythe Pepino, singer-songwriter and founder of the environmental activist group BirthStrike for Climate, appeared on the right-wing Tucker Carlson Tonight show on Fox News in …
Climate change threatens food but microscopic algae offer answers: Microalgae are a diverse group of microscopic aquatic organisms. Maryna Lahereva/Shutterstock In 2021 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued the first volume of its latest authoritative report on climate change. The United Nations secretary-general branded its findings a “code red for humanity”. The emerging and …
Net zero: Copenhagen’s failure to meet its 2025 target casts doubt on other major climate plans: Michele Ursi/Shutterstock The city of Copenhagen, often celebrated as one of the world’s greenest for its cycling culture and other initiatives, recently defaulted on its pledge to become carbon-neutral by 2025. This early failure in the global race to …
What Liz Truss’s government means for climate action: The new prime minister Liz Truss has announced plans to reverse the fracking ban and drill for more North Sea gas. Clicksbox/Shutterstock Ever since climate change appeared on the political agenda, there has been general agreement on the need for a robust response. While the implementation of …
Climate change: colonial diaries in South Africa are helping scientists reconstruct weather patterns of the past to protect against future events: A copy of the VOC's registers for April 1789. These daily registers contained rich detail – including about the weather. Tracing History Trust The current climate crisis raises many questions. Some are forward-looking: how …
Pakistan floods: what role did climate change play?: Pakistan is experiencing the most devastating and widespread floods in its history, with the country’s climate minister saying waters have reached across a third of the nation. The growing tally of impacts is dire. More than 1,100 people have been killed, a million homes have been destroyed …
Why defusing ‘carbon bombs’ offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change: Nubli Alwi AlFarisi/Shutterstock A carbon bomb is a fossil fuel extraction project, such as a coal mine, that can cause over a gigatonne of CO? emissions during its lifetime. That’s a billion tonnes – more than twice the UK’s annual emissions from …
Why the aviation industry must look beyond carbon to get serious about climate change: Flying is responsible for around 5% of human-induced climate change Wichudapa/Shutterstock Commercial aviation has become a cornerstone of our economy and society. It allows us to rapidly transport goods and people across the globe, facilitates over a third of all global …
Wooden housing boom needed to boost climate goals, says new study – but is it possible?: Flystock/Shutterstock Housing 90% of people moving to cities in mid-rise buildings made from engineered wood could save the construction industry 106 billion tonnes of CO? by 2100, according to a new study. This, the researchers argued, would rein in …
Climate change: why tech companies must address emissions caused by streaming and scrolling: Technology companies need to tackle data-related emissions, not just electronic waste. tete_escape / Shutterstock Technology companies have been having a difficult year. The increased cost of living is turning people away from streaming, cryptocurrencies are faltering, Amazon has raised its prime membership …
Jellyfish alert: increased sightings signal dramatic changes in ocean food web due to climate change: Joost van Uffelen/Shutterstock Did you see a jellyfish on a recent trip to the seaside? UK beachgoers are more likely to spot one now than in the past, as rising sea temperatures due to climate change have ushered more of …
Why we should abandon the concept of the ‘climate refugee’: Fleeing to safety after a cyclone hits Bangladesh. Abir Abdullah / EPA It is entirely reasonable to assume that as climate change intensifies, it will result in more human migration and displacement. Images of Bangladeshis seeking refuge from the latest cyclone or Californians fleeing suburban …
Climate change will cause more African children to die from hot weather: Young African children are at particular risk of heat stress impacts. Riccardo Mayer/Shutterstock Climate change has already increased global temperatures, greatly increasing extremes. This will continue unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to “net-zero”. The 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement requires emissions …
Britain’s notoriously wet and cold climate is changing – you won’t like what replaces it: The UK had the driest start to a year since the 1970s in 2022, with large parts of southern England receiving less than 50% of their normal winter rainfall. On top of that, southern England recently received just 17% of …
Armed militias in Brazil hold enormous sway over fate of Amazon – and the global climate: Giuseppe Flandoli/Shutterstock The future of the environmental agenda is on a collision course with Brazil’s violent past, as the murders of Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips have recently illustrated. Three men who fished illegally …
Climate change: why we can’t rely on regrowing coastal habitats to offset carbon emissions: Akuditaputri/Shutterstock Removing several hundred billion tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere is now considered necessary to avert the worst effects of climate change. Using nature to help achieve that goal, by allowing habitats to regenerate, would seem to offer a win-win …
Women entrepreneurs in Africa face more climate risks than their male peers: Kate Gannon The world’s climate is changing. All of us will ultimately be affected by climatic shifts – but some will be hit harder than others. On the African continent, for instance, small businesses are on the front lines of climate change. Over …
How likely would Britain’s 40°C heatwave have been without climate change?: A member of the Coldstream Guards succumbs to the heat, June 2022. Lois GoBe/Shutterstock Every heatwave occurring today is made more likely and intense by human-caused climate change. Early estimates by the UK Met Office suggest that days over 40°C have become ten times …