The global mean temperature in September 2023 was 0.93° C warmer than the 1991–2020 average, breaking the previous record set in 2020 by a margin of 0.5° C. This was the…Continue readingThe jump in global temperatures in September 2023 is difficult to explain by natural climate variability alone
Author: Shane White
The EPA told stakeholders it was ditching specific search requirements for glider den trees, which must currently be retained with a 50-metre logging exclusion zone around each one. Instead, Forestry Corporation…Continue readingGreater glider put on path to extinction by NSW environmental watchdog
The Queensland government approved the Vulcan South coalmine in the Bowen Basin earlier this month without requiring an environmental impact statement (EIS). But the project still needs approval from the federal…Continue readingTanya Plibersek urged to block ‘climate-wrecking’ Queensland coalmine that would raze koala habitat
Through the process of photosynthesis, trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere to produce new growth. Yet, under stressful conditions, trees release CO2 back to the atmosphere, a process called photorespiration. With…Continue readingTrees struggle to ‘breathe’ as climate warms
Shell, Equinor, bp, Total and NEO are among the 17 separate companies which have been offered a total of 24 licences in the second tranche of the 33rd oil and gas…Continue reading24 licences offered in second tranche of 33rd oil and gas licensing round
QatarEnergy has awarded four main engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract packages, collectively valued at over $6bn, for the next development phase of the Al-Shaheen field located offshore Qatar. The…Continue readingQatarEnergy awards $6bn worth contracts for further development of Al-Shaheen field
The world’s main system for warning about heat stress on the planet’s coral reefs has been forced to add three new alert categories to represent ever-increasing temperature extremes. Underlying the warning…Continue reading‘Literally off the charts’: global coral reef heat stress monitor forced to add new alerts as temperatures rise
The World Meteorological Organisation confirmed on Tuesday that continental Europe recorded in 2021 its highest ever temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit), and warned that new extremes were expected. The…Continue readingUN confirms Europe hit record high temperature in 2021
Plastic microparticles released into the environment from common road tires should be treated as a “high concern” pollutant that may exceed chronic safety limits in some heavily contaminated environments, new research…Continue readingMicroparticles from road tires are ‘high concern’
Located in West Bengal state in eastern India and neighbouring Bangladesh, the Sundarbans forest system is a cluster of low-lying islands and represents the largest mangrove ecosystem in the world. It…Continue readingThe Sundarbans dilemma: Islands swallowed by water, and nowhere else to go
“We have the expertise, the supply chains and the teams ready to build Hinkley Point C safely, on time and on budget,” Vincent de Rivaz, then chief executive of EDF, said…Continue readingHinkley Point C delay deals blow to UK energy strategy
Despite strict EU regulations on plastic recycling, there is little oversight on plastic waste shipped from the EU to Vietnam. About half of Europe’s plastic waste is exported to a number…Continue readingA large percentage of European plastic sent to Vietnam ends up in nature
The climate crisis turned the drought that struck the Amazon rainforest in 2023 into a devastating event, a study has found. The drought was the worst recorded in many places and…Continue readingDevastating drought in Amazon result of climate crisis
Rainfall has been lower than the average in Catalonia for the past three years, with the drought lasting more than twice as long as the previous dry spell of 2008, the…Continue readingHeavens remain shut over Catalonia as three-year drought persists
A total of 144 animals, plants and ecological communities were added to the list, five times more than the yearly average and double the previous record year (2009). “The problem is…Continue readingMore Australian wildlife added to threatened species list in 2023 than ever before
Norway’s annual exploration round, which is known as APA, focuses on the most mature regions of the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). The Norwegian Ministry of Energy has awarded ownership interests to…Continue readingNorway awards 62 production licenses in APA 2023 licensing round
“Chronic arsenic poisoning from drinking water … is a real problem, not a theoretical exercise,” said the lead researcher, Dr Seth Frisbie, an emeritus professor of chemistry at Norwich University, in…Continue readingClimate crisis to increase cancer risk for tens of millions of people in Bangladesh
A team of researchers at the University of Sassari, in Sardinia, used GPS collars equipped with motion sensors to track the activity of the Alpine ibex, a species of mountain goat,…Continue readingGlobal heating pushes mountain goats into more nocturnal lifestyle
An Australian court has dismissed an attempt by members of the indigenous population of the remote Tiwi Islands to block a new gas pipeline being built by oil and gas major…Continue readingAustralian court allows Santos pipeline to proceed after dismissing Tiwi Islanders’ case
In one of the first of several teams of science agencies to calculate how off-the-charts warm 2023 was, the European climate agency Copernicus said the year was 1.48 degrees Celsius (2.66…Continue readingEarth shattered global heat record in ’23 and it’s flirting with warming limit
The U.S., Mexico and countries in the Caribbean are being battered by hurricane-induced ocean waves that have grown in areal size by 80% over the past 40 years, a new study…Continue readingHurricane waves hitting Americas grow 20% per decade
In recent years, there has been rising concern that tiny particles known as microplastics are showing up basically everywhere on Earth, from polar ice to soil, drinking water and food. Formed…Continue readingBottled water can contain hundreds of thousands of previously uncounted tiny plastic bits
Tropical raptor species including the martial eagle, the bateleur and the dark chanting goshawk have vanished from swathes of the African continent over the past 40 years, new analysis shows, as…Continue readingBirds of prey in Africa experiencing population collapse
Petrobras and its partners have started production from the second phase of development of the Mero field (Mero-2 project) located on the Libra block in the pre-salt area of Brazil’s Santos…Continue readingPetrobras and partners begin production from Mero-2 project offshore Brazil
Warm-water coral reefs are facing unprecedented Anthropogenic driven threats to their continued existence as biodiverse, functional ecosystems upon which hundreds of millions of people rely. We draw upon a literature search…Continue readingAssessment of warm-water coral reef tipping point thresholds
A research study for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics focused on the number of daily trips taken in the United States. In 2021, 52% of all trips, including all modes of…Continue readingMore than Half of all Daily Trips in US Were Less than Three Miles in 2021
How the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) responded to warmer climates in the geologic past has obvious relevance to our understanding of what its future could be as global temperatures rise…Continue readingIce sheet collapse closer than thought
More than 20 stations posted all-time December lows in the early hours of Thursday. They included Hohhot, capital of the northern Inner Mongolia region, where a reading of -29.1 degrees Celsius…Continue readingMore records tumble as China cold snap persists
Hundreds of thousands of people rely on the Amazon’s rivers and streams for food, transportation and income. But the historically low water levels have forced residents to reimagine their relationship to…Continue reading‘Everything is dead’: How record drought is wreaking havoc on the Amazon
Flowers are “giving up on” pollinators and evolving to be less attractive to them as insect numbers decline. A study has found the flowers of field pansies growing near Paris are…Continue readingFlowers ‘giving up’ on scarce insects and evolving to self-pollinate
The president of the COP28 climate summit will continue with his oil company’s record investment in oil and gas production, despite coordinating a global deal to “transition away” from fossil fuels. Sultan Al…Continue readingCOP28 president says his firm will keep investing in oil
A climate activist has been jailed for six months after pleading guilty to taking part in a peaceful slow march protest on a London road. The sentence handed to Stephen Gingell,…Continue readingJust Stop Oil activist jailed for six months for taking part in slow march
Global consumption of coal reached an all-time high in 2023, the IEA energy watchdog said Friday, as Earth experienced its hottest recorded year. The International Energy Agency reported that nations would…Continue readingCoal use hits record in 2023, Earth’s hottest year
The failure of COP28 to call for a phase-out of fossil fuels is “devastating” and “dangerous” given the urgent need for action to tackle the climate crisis, scientists have said. One called it…Continue readingFailure of Cop28 on fossil fuel phase-out is ‘devastating’, say scientists
My colleagues and I overlaid the projections of climate models with data on the geographic distributions of more than 35,000 species on land and in the ocean. We found that limiting…Continue readingClimate change research: If warming approaches 2°C, a trickle of extinctions will become a flood
Climate agreement may fail to result in falls in oil and gas production. The world’s largest oil producers have saluted the COP28 agreement’s focus on an “orderly” move away from fossil…Continue readingBig oil welcomes COP28 call to move away from fossil fuels in ‘orderly’ way
Australia passed breakthrough climate laws in March this year, 10 months after a new centre-left Labor government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took office. Even as the Albanese government passed its…Continue readingAustralia is preparing to burn – more fossil fuels
Nearly 200 nations meeting in Dubai on Wednesday approved a first-ever call for the world to transition away from fossil fuels. The biggest-ever COP meeting hosted more than 88,000 people, including…Continue readingDubai summit adopts world-first ‘transition’ from fossil fuels
Leaders of the IUCN updated their Red List of Threatened Species, a tracker of biodiversity around the globe. It was mainly bad news. The list includes information on 157,000 species, about…Continue readingEndangered species list grows by 2,000. Climate change is part of the problem.
The elephants are gone. The trees are logged out. The Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary in central Cambodia is largely destroyed, after being handed over by the government to a politically well-connected…Continue readingHow Mounting Demand for Rubber Is Driving Tropical Forest Loss
Nearly a quarter of the world’s freshwater fish are at risk of extinction due to global heating, overfishing and pollution, according to an expert assessment. Nearly a fifth of all threatened…Continue readingQuarter of world’s freshwater fish at risk of extinction
New analysis finds the last time the air contained 420 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide was between 14-16 million years ago, when there was no ice in Greenland and…Continue readingCurrent carbon dioxide levels last seen 14 million years ago
Most people expect that if a system, like someone’s body, an ecosystem, or part of the climate system, becomes stressed, it’ll respond fairly predictably—double the pressure, double the impact, and so…Continue readingClimate tipping points are nearer than you think. Our new report warns of catastrophic risk.
Norway has secured a parliamentary majority for its plans to open up for deep-sea mining despite opposition from environmentalists and the fishing industry, who warn the move risks further damage to…Continue readingNorway’s parliament backs deep-sea mining plans
Rishi Sunak, David Cameron and King Charles are just three of the more than 70,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries at the latest UN climate summit in Dubai, COP28. But they…Continue readingWhy are people still flying to climate conferences by private jet?
The COP28 climate talks have been flooded with announcements hyping controversial carbon credits before rules for them have been hammered out, with environmental groups fearing “greenwashing” on a massive scale. The…Continue readingControversial carbon credits flood COP28, yet still no rules
Many of the gravest threats to humanity are drawing closer, as carbon pollution heats the planet to ever more dangerous levels, scientists have warned. Five important natural thresholds already risk being…Continue readingEarth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn
Saudi Arabia is driving a huge global investment plan to create demand for its oil and gas in developing countries, an undercover investigation has revealed. Critics said the plan was designed…Continue readingRevealed: Saudi Arabia’s grand plan to ‘hook’ poor countries on oil
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has slammed the door shut to agreeing to phase down fossil fuels at the UN’s COP28 climate talks, setting the stage for difficult negotiations in Dubai. A…Continue readingSaudi Arabia says ‘absolutely not’ to oil phase down at COP28
The world is on track to have burned more coal, oil and gas in 2023 than it did in 2022, according to a report by the Global Carbon Project, pumping 1.1%…Continue readingGlobal carbon emissions from fossil fuels to hit record high
The president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, has claimed there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5˚C, the Guardian and…Continue readingCOP28 president says there is ‘no science’ behind demands for phase-out of fossil fuels
The vast amount of electricity that India’s growing number of ACs will require presents a significant challenge. Already during peak summertime hours, ACs have accounted for 40% to 60% of total…Continue reading‘A matter of survival’: India’s unstoppable need for air conditioners
Simultaneous episodes of extreme heat and drought could occur earlier and repeatedly in Europe, reports a study published in Communications Earth & Environment. Laura Suarez-Gutierrez and colleagues investigated how soon end-of-century…Continue reading‘End of century’ extreme heat and drought conditions in Europe could occur much earlier than previously thought
In the ocean, tropical species are moving from the equator towards the poles as sea temperatures rise. Meanwhile, temperate species are receding as it gets too warm, they face increased competition…Continue readingGlobal marine life is on the move due to sea temperature rises
More than two million people across the Horn of Africa have been forced from their homes by torrential rains and floods, according to an AFP tally compiled Thursday from government and…Continue readingHorn of Africa floods displace more than two million
More than 400 oil and gas projects were approved globally in the last two years despite calls to abandon all new hydrocarbon development, new figures showed as the UN COP28 climate…Continue readingHundreds of new oil and gas projects approved despite climate crisis
A new investigation by human rights experts appointed by the United Nations has expressed alarm at evidence of pollution from a North Carolina PFAS manufacturing plant, describing it as “alleged human…Continue readingUN human rights experts express alarm over PFAS pollution in North Carolina
Potentially toxic “forever chemicals” have been detected in the drinking water sources at 17 of 18 England’s water companies, with 11,853 samples testing positive, something experts say they are “extremely alarmed”…Continue reading‘Forever chemicals’ found in drinking water sources across England
Nearly half of the whales and dolphins found in UK waters over the past five years contained harmful concentrations of toxic chemicals banned decades ago, an investigation has found. Among orcas…Continue readingLevels of toxic PCB chemicals found at 30 times ‘safe’ limits in stranded whales
Spain, the world’s biggest producer of olive oil, suffered a very difficult year in 2022 and drought this year has compounded the problem. In Italy, this year’s olive harvest is down…Continue readingWinter isn’t coming: climate change hits Greek olive crop
Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is a term for fine particulates that are typically the by-product of car exhausts or coal-fired power plants. Their tiny size enables them to travel deep…Continue readingAir pollution behind over 250,000 deaths in Europe in 2021: agency
Haiyan was one of the strongest typhoons ever to make landfall. More than 6,300 people were killed as the storm swept across the island of Leyte, flattening homes and causing a…Continue reading10 years after Haiyan, are mangroves protecting Philippine coastal areas?
The number of listed threatened species in Australia’s world heritage northern rainforests has increased by 25% since 2020, as ecologists say they are now clearly observing the long-predicted impacts of global…Continue readingQueensland’s wet tropics see 25% rise in threatened species in three years as climate change bites
Cyclone Freddy lasted a record 38 days. The storm barrelled 5,000 miles across the Indian Ocean, pummelling Madagascar and Reunion before striking the African mainland. It swirled over southern Mozambique and…Continue readingAfter the Storm, Malawi’s Farmers Face a Precarious Future
Total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020 were 54.5GtCO2e, and grew to 57.4 in 2022. The emissions gap for 2030 is defined as the differencebetween the estimated total global GHG…Continue readingEmissions Gap Report 2023
US industry disposed of at least 60m pounds of PFAS “forever chemical” waste over the last five years, and did so with processes that probably pollute the environment around disposal sites,…Continue readingUS industry disposed of at least 60m pounds of PFAS waste in last five years
Germany’s finance minister, withdrew his party’s support for a crucial agreement between the governing parties to phase out the nation’s coal-burning power plants by 2030. “Until it is clear that energy…Continue readingShifting Political Winds Threaten Progress on Europe’s Green Goals
More than half the seabird species breeding on British and Irish coasts have declined over the last 20 years, according to the most comprehensive census to date. Some species have declined…Continue readingMore than half of UK and Ireland seabirds in decline
Germany’s top court has ruled the government broke the law with a €60bn off-budget fund, throwing Berlin’s plans for financing its energy transition and climate policy into disarray. The judges said…Continue readingGerman top court strikes down €60bn climate funding
All aquatic species in the river mouths flowing into the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean are contaminated with microplastics, with mollusks being the most affected due to their ability to filter…Continue readingAll aquatic species in river mouths are contaminated by microplastics
Extreme drought in northern Italy has doubled over the past two decades, creating a climate that increasingly mirrors that of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. The southern Shabelle region of…Continue readingExtreme drought in northern Italy mirrors climate in Ethiopia
Fire ravaged Canada in 2023 like no other year, by a stupendous margin. A record 45.7m acres (18.5m hectares) went up in flames, an area about twice the size of Portugal,…Continue readingAfter a record year of wildfires, will Canada ever be the same again?
When scientists examined pellets from recycled plastic collected in 13 countries they found hundreds of toxic chemicals, including pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The results are published in a study led by scientists…Continue readingScientists find hundreds of toxic chemicals in recycled plastics
The UK government presented the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill to Parliament with the aim of enhancing the country’s economy, ensuring energy security, and facilitating the transition to a net-zero future. Under…Continue readingUK Government tables Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill in parliament
UK-based mining company Anglo American has secured mining lease approval for the expansion of its Lake Lindsay coal mine in Australia. The mining lease for the coal mine expansion was granted…Continue readingAnglo American gets mining lease for Lake Lindsay coal mine expansion
Excelerate Energy, a US-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) company, and Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla), a government-owned national gas company of Bangladesh, have entered into a long-term LNG sale…Continue readingExcelerate Energy signs 15-year LNG supply deal with Petrobangla
Populations of the hazel dormouse, perhaps the most elusive native British mammal, have plummeted by 70% this century. The nocturnal, tree-dwelling animals are now extinct in 20 counties in England and…Continue readingHazel dormice becoming endangered in UK amid 70% decline
Greenland’s thousands of peripheral glaciers have entered a new and widespread state of rapid retreat, a Northwestern University and University of Copenhagen study has found. To piece together the magnitude of…Continue readingStudy finds Greenland’s glacier retreat rate has doubled over past two decades
According to a new paper by scientists from a dozen institutions, the world’s average temperature will surpass 1.5°C above preindustrial times within the next several years—much faster than most existing forecasts.…Continue readingWorld temperatures will blow past Paris goals this decade
The world’s fossil fuel producers are planning expansions that would blow the planet’s carbon budget twice over, a UN report has found. Experts called the plans “insanity” which “throw humanity’s future…Continue reading‘Insanity’: petrostates planning huge expansion of fossil fuels
UK forests are heading for “catastrophic ecosystem collapse” within the next 50 years due to multiple threats including disease, extreme weather and wildfires, researchers have warned, with trees dying on a…Continue readingUK forests face catastrophic ecosystem collapse within 50 years
Extreme droughts that have wrecked the lives of millions of people in Syria, Iraq and Iran since 2020 would not have happened without human-caused global heating, a study has found. The…Continue readingHuman-caused heating behind extreme droughts in Syria, Iraq and Iran
EnBW has awarded two orders to GE Vernova for the supply of H-class natural gas-fired combined cycle power generation equipment for two combined heat and power (CHP) power stations in Germany.…Continue readingEnBW awards orders to GE Vernova for two CHP power stations in Germany
British oil and gas company BP, together with its partners Neptune Energy and JAPEX, has started production from the Seagull oil and gas field in the UK North Sea. Seagull is…Continue readingBP, Neptune, JAPEX start production from Seagull field in UK North Sea
Saudi Aramco’s net profits surpassed analyst expectations as it revealed the impact of deeper production cuts this summer after the kingdom moved to prop up the oil price. The state-run company,…Continue readingSaudi Aramco profits exceed expectations on back of buoyed oil price
October, November and December are usually a period of transition. By now, the dry season would normally have peaked, and rivers and aquifers would start to replenish. But the rains refuse…Continue reading‘Everything is parched’: Amazon struggles with drought amid deforestation
Unprecedented in Greece in its intensity, the Dadia fire has been classed by the European Commission as the largest ever recorded in the EU. Burning for three weeks, the fire consumed…Continue readingDesolation in Greece’s Dadia park after Europe’s biggest fire
Elkhorn corals are already considered “functionally extinct” in the upper Keys, and other elkhorn and staghorn populations in the Florida Reef are following suit, according to Liv Williamson, an assistant scientist…Continue readingCoral researchers see ‘mass mortality’ amid Florida Reef bleaching crisis
An unprecedented rise in ocean temperatures off the coast of Florida early in the summer made headlines as it caused countless dead fish to wash ashore. But the impact had an…Continue readingResearchers report mass bleaching of coral reefs in warming Florida oceans: ‘Like a forest without trees’