The western United States and Canada would likely have experienced a heat wave in the past week even without climate change. But the scale and severity of the record-breaking temperatures were undoubtedly multiplied by the changes to our atmosphere, experts say. The US states of Washington and Oregon, as well as British Columbia in Canada, […]
climate
UK mandates climate disclosure for companies
The UK government on Thursday will detail plans to safeguard the City of London’s future under a post-Brexit agenda that requires companies to disclose their impact on the climate. Finance minister Rishi Sunak will vow to “make this country the world’s most advanced and exciting financial services hub for decades to come”, according to Treasury […]
Dozens dead as heat wave grips Canada, US: police
At least 69 people in the Vancouver area have died in a record-smashing heat wave engulfing western Canada and the US Pacific Northwest, police said Tuesday. Most of the dead in the Vancouver suburbs of Burnaby and Surrey over the past 24 hours were elderly or people with underlying health conditions, the Royal Canadian Mounted […]
Some in Madagascar ‘on verge of starvation’: UN
The famine ravaging Madagascar — the first country to experience such conditions due to climate change — is forcing people to eat locusts, cactus fruits, leaves and even mud, and some are on the verge of starvation, a UN official warned Friday. The current situation — brought on by years of persistent drought — prompted […]
Amazon hydropower plant contributes significant greenhouse emissions: study
When climate researcher Dailson Bertassoli went to measure greenhouse gas emissions at the Belo Monte hydropower plant in Brazil, the first thing he noticed was the bubbles. Developers have built hundreds of hydroelectric plants in the Amazon basin to take advantage of the allegedly “green” energy generated by its complex of rivers. But climate researchers […]
Thunberg says UN climate draft forces world to ‘face reality’
A draft UN report on a warming planet unveiled by AFP allows the world to “face the reality” of climate change, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg said Wednesday. While the draft from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed that the “situation is very dire” and that there is a “need to act right […]
Crushing climate impacts to hit sooner than feared: draft UN report
Climate change will fundamentally reshape life on Earth in the coming decades, even if humans can tame planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, according to a landmark draft report from the UN’s climate science advisors obtained by AFP. Species extinction, more widespread disease, unliveable heat, ecosystem collapse, cities menaced by rising seas — these and other devastating […]
Australia to challenge UNESCO downgrade of Great Barrier Reef
Australia said Tuesday it will strongly oppose a UNESCO plan to list the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger” over deterioration caused by climate change. The UN body released a draft report on Monday recommending the reef’s World Heritage status be downgraded because of its dramatic coral decline, after years of public threats to do so. […]
Mexico’s bee guardians on mission to save species
Adriana Veliz whispered affectionately as she removed a colony of bees from inside a statue in a Mexican backyard — part of her mission to help save them from extinction. “Relax babies, relax. You’ll be fine,” the 32-year-old veterinarian said as the bees swarmed around her and clung to the white suit she wore to […]
Climate activists file lawsuit against French PM, ministers
Environmental campaigners on Wednesday launched a legal case against the French premier and four ministers for failing to act against climate change, part of a wave of litigation on the issue. Pierre Larrouturou, a member of the European Parliament, and activists Cyril Dion and Camille Etienne filed the complaint against Jean Castex and the four […]