Santa Cruz del Islote, part of the San Bernardo archipelago, a few miles off Colombia’s Caribbean coast, is typical of many of the world’s low-lying coastal regions now at the forefront…Continue reading‘All we can do now is run away’: is time up for the sinking Colombian islands of San Bernardo?
Author: Shane White
Approached by motorboat across the Caribbean Sea, Gardí Sugdub, or Crab Island, first appears on the horizon as a densely packed cluster of tin-roofed huts, punctuated by the odd coconut palm.…Continue readingMeet the first climate refugees from the Americas to flee rising seas
Heat waves have always been part of summer, but the familiar short periods of oppressive conditions have grown into weeks to months of sweltering heat. Research has shown that heat waves…Continue readingHere are the places that could become too hot for humans due to climate change
Authorities in Pakistan ordered schoolchildren in the smog-smothered city of Lahore to wear masks during lessons starting Thursday, an effort to protect against hazardous levels of polluted air. The Punjab state…Continue readingStudents ordered to wear masks in smog-hit Lahore
Straight line winds result when rain and hail at high altitudes evaporate and cool the ambient air, which then plummets and, at the surface, spawns intense winds that rush outward. Climate…Continue readingDamaging thunderstorm winds rising in central US: Research finds five-fold increase
According to a new paper in Oxford Open Climate Change, the strategies humanity must pursue to reduce climate change will have to include more than reducing greenhouse gases. This comes from…Continue readingResearchers argue that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not enough to combat climate change
Standing amid a terrain of rugged red craters that looks like something from Mars, Brazilian farmer Ubiratan Lemos Abade extends his arms, pointing to two possible futures for this land fast…Continue readingIn Brazil town turning to desert, farmers fight to hang on
In the wake of the destructive Hurricane Otis, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in the history of weather forecasting. The hurricane roared ashore with 165mph (266kph) winds and torrential…Continue readingExtreme weather is outpacing even the worst-case scenarios of our forecasting models
China’s weather office has said “foggy and hazy” conditions are prevalent in the capital Beijing, the megacity of Tianjin, and parts of the provinces of Hebei, Shandong and Hubei, home to…Continue readingChina’s smog problem
Denmark’s Ørsted has cancelled two big offshore windfarm projects in the US at a cost of more than £3bn amid surging costs facing the global wind industry. Shares in the world’s…Continue readingØrsted cancels two US offshore windfarm projects at £3.3bn cost
Israel’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has awarded 12 licences to six companies to explore natural gas off the Mediterranean coast to enhance competition and diversify suppliers. “The winning companies have…Continue readingIsrael awards 12 offshore gas exploration licences to six companies
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the world Monday to “stop the madness” of climate change as he visited Himalayan regions struggling from rapidly melting glaciers to witness the devastating impact of…Continue readingUN chief urges world to ‘stop the madness’ of climate change
More than 4,000 of England’s vital flood defences are so damaged they are almost useless, including hundreds in areas battered by Storm Babet. An analysis of Environment Agency data obtained by…Continue readingMore than 4,000 English flood defences ‘almost useless’
The remaining budget for a reliable chance (83%) of not exceeding 1.5˚C global warming has been expended – After making all these changes, our best (50%) RCB estimate starting from 2022…Continue readingRemaining Carbon Budget
By Christoper Ketcham The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has assumed Nordhaus is to be trusted. The integrated assessment models used at the IPCC are based on Nordhausian visions of adaptation…Continue readingWhen Idiot Savants Do Climate Economics
From the Great Lakes in the north to Louisiana in the south, the majestic Mississippi is a shadow of its former self. For the second straight year, water levels in North…Continue readingThe mighty Mississippi, America’s water highway, is dangerously low
Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) celebrated with its partners, local officials and supporters the successful completion of the CPV Three Rivers Energy Center (CPV Three Rivers) in Grundy County, IL. Located approximately…Continue readingCompetitive Power Ventures completes 1.25GW Three Rivers natural gas-fired plant
Global destruction of forests increased by 4% last year, compared to 2021, according to a new report. A total of 6.6 million hectares of forests were lost in 2022—an area more…Continue readingDestruction of forests gathered pace in 2022, despite global promises
Siemens Energy is in talks with the German government to secure billions of euros of guarantees for long-term projects after warning that losses at its troubled wind turbine business would be…Continue readingSiemens Energy seeks government guarantees as wind crisis deepens
The Interconnected Disaster Risks Report identifies thresholds it calls “risk tipping points,” defined as “the moment at which a given socioecological system is no longer able to buffer risks and provide…Continue readingUN report warns of catastrophic risks to Earth systems
Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hyundai Engineering have inked a $2.4bn contract with Aramco for the construction of a gas processing plant for the Jafurah gas project phase two in Saudi…Continue readingHyundai affiliates sign $2.4bn contract for Jafurah gas project phase two
Affiliates of QatarEnergy and Eni signed a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) for the supply of up to one million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Qatar to…Continue readingQatarEnergy, ENI sign 27-year LNG supply agreement for up to 1MTPA to Italy
ExxonMobil has signed an all-stock deal worth $59.5bn to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources, an American publicly listed company focused on upstream operations in the Permian shale basin. The merger brings together…Continue readingExxonMobil signs $60bn all-stock deal to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources
Chevron has agreed to acquire rival American publicly listed oil and gas company Hess in an all-stock deal worth $53bn in a move to upgrade and diversify its portfolio. After the…Continue readingChevron signs $53bn all-stock deal to acquire rival oil and gas firm Hess
Earth’s vital signs have worsened beyond anything humans have yet seen, to the point that life on the planet is imperiled. William Ripple, a distinguished professor in the Oregon State University…Continue readingClimate report: ‘Uncharted territory’ imperils life on Earth
Accelerated ice melt in west Antarctica is inevitable for the rest of the century no matter how much carbon emissions are cut, research indicates. The implications for sea level rise are…Continue readingRapid ice melt in west Antarctica now inevitable
The ocean floor is shaping up to be the world’s next theater of global resource competition — and China is set to dominate it. The sea is believed to hold several…Continue readingChina is set to dominate the deep sea and its wealth of rare metals
The EU has abandoned a promise to ban all but the most vital of toxic chemicals used in everyday consumer products, leaked documents show. Other legislation to be dropped includes a…Continue readingEU abandons promise to ban toxic chemicals in consumer products
Plastics-related carbon footprints of China’s transportation, Indonesia’s electronics industry and India’s construction sector have increased more than 50-fold since 1995. In 2015, plastics caused 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover,…Continue readingGrowing environmental footprint of plastics driven by coal combustion
More than 150 species of wild animals across every continent are contaminated with flame retardant chemicals, according to a new map tracking peer-reviewed research worldwide. Polluted wildlife include killer whales, red…Continue readingResearch tracking map shows wildlife polluted by flame retardants on massive scale
Parts of Malawi saw a maximum temperature of 43˚C (109˚F), compared with an average of nearly 25˚C (77˚F) for the time of year. The temperatures had dropped by Monday, but in…Continue readingMalawi swelters in record heat with temperatures nearly 20˚C above average
A crucial meeting on climate “loss and damages” ahead of COP28 ended in failure Saturday, with countries from the global north and south unable to reach an agreement, according to sources…Continue readingClimate ‘loss and damage’ talks end in failure
A withering drought has turned the Amazonian capital of Manaus into a climate dystopia with the second worst air quality in the world and rivers at the lowest levels in 121…Continue readingDrought turns Amazonian capital into climate dystopia
The water level at a major river port in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has hit its lowest point in at least 121 years, as a historic drought upends the lives of hundreds…Continue readingWater level at Amazon port in Brazil hits lowest point in 121 years amid drought
Antarctic fur seals that were hunted to near extinction have recovered but now face dangerous decline because of a lack of food, new research suggests. The study of fur seals, almost…Continue readingLack of food is the new threat to Antarctic fur seals
Seatrium Limited announced the successful delivery of the Floating Production Unit (FPU), Whale, for deployment in the Gulf of Mexico, in accordance with the contract secured in November 2019 with Shell…Continue readingSeatrium delivers floating production unit for Gulf of Mexico project
BP and its partners have shipped the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the newly constructed third liquefaction train at the Tangguh LNG facility in Indonesia. Safely loaded and…Continue readingBP starts commercial operation of expanded Tangguh LNG facility in Indonesia
Australian oil and gas exploration and production company Beach Energy has made a gas discovery at Tarantula Deep-1 well in the Perth Basin, located in Western Australia. “With gas demand in…Continue readingBeach Energy makes new gas discovery at Tarantula Deep 1 well in Perth Basin
Sharjah Electricity, Water, and Gas Authority (SEWA), Sharjah Hamriyah Independent Power (SHIPCO), and GE Vernova began the commercial operations of all three blocks of the 1.8GW Hamriyah Independent Power Plant (IPP)…Continue readingUAE’s 1.8GW Hamriyah independent power plant starts commercial operations
UAE’s integrated gas processing company ADNOC Gas has entered into a multi-year liquified natural gas (LNG) supply agreement with JERA Global Markets, a subsidiary of Japan’s JERA. The agreement, valued between…Continue readingADNOC Gas signs multi-year LNG supply deal with JERA Global Markets
Commenting on this occasion, His Excellency Minister Al-Kaabi said: “We are delighted to sign these two long-term LNG sale and purchase agreements with Shell that will further enhance our decades-long relationship…Continue readingQatarEnergy, Shell sign 27-year LNG supply agreements for up to 3.5mtpa to the Netherlands
A profile of Australia’s energy system has been published on this site.Continue readingEnergy System of Australia
For the past couple of decades, tens of thousands of people living in rural Sri Lanka have been devastated by kidney failure due to unclear causes, also known as CKDu. Similar…Continue readingRoundup herbicide ingredient connected to epidemic levels of chronic kidney disease
ExxonMobil is buying itsoil and gas rival Pioneer Natural Resources in a $59.5 billion megadeal. The latest ExxonMobil deal creates a shale-drilling behemoth in the U.S. Permian Basin, where both it…Continue readingExxonMobil doubles down on fossil fuels with $59.5 billion Pioneer deal
TotalEnergies has signed a 27-year agreement with Qatar to secure liquefied natural gas, extending France’s commitment to fossil fuels beyond 2050 in one of the longest ever LNG supply deals. Qatar…Continue readingFrance’s Total signs 27-year LNG deal with Qatar
The deadly heat in central South America over the past two months was made 100 times more likely by human emissions that disrupted the climate, scientists have shown. Temperatures have exceeded…Continue readingHuman emissions made deadly South American heat 100 times more likely
If global temperatures increase by 2°C above pre-industrial levels, the 2.2 billion residents of Pakistan and India’s Indus River Valley, the one billion people living in eastern China and the 800…Continue readingClimate-driven extreme heat may make parts of Earth too hot for humans
The air was dry and warm and the skies over Dushanbe were gray without a hint of sun during another recent toxic sand storm that enveloped the capital of Tajikistan. Storms…Continue readingToxic storms blamed on climate change cloud Tajikistan
US carmaker Ford, Brazil’s Vale, China’s Tsingshan and Hong Kong’s Jardine Matheson are invested in Indonesian nickel projects responsible for the clearance of large swaths of some of the world’s most…Continue readingNickel miners linked to devastation of Indonesian forests
Bill Gates is emphatic: “I don’t plant trees,” he declared recently, wading into a debate about whether mass tree planting is really much use in fighting climate change. The billionaire philanthropist…Continue readingIs planting trees to combat climate change ‘complete nonsense’?
At least 1,000 birds died from colliding into a single building in Chicago on Thursday, 5 October, as they migrated south to their wintering grounds. Volunteers are still recovering bird carcasses…Continue readingAt least 1,000 birds died from colliding with one Chicago building in one day
Afro-Siberian red knots migrate from the Arctic to winter in Africa, where they recover from the arduous journey. But warming in Siberia is causing physical changes in the birds that hinder…Continue readingClimate Change Is Pushing These Migratory Birds to the Brink
As the ice melts, the hunters in the village of Ittoqqortoormiit—home to one of the last Inuit hunting communities—worry where they will get water. On a headland of barren tundra some…Continue readingGreenland’s Inuit falling through thin ice of climate change
Tropical coral reefs could end up being one of the first victims of climate change. The marine diversity hotspots are threatened and declining as a result of global warming, ocean acidification,…Continue readingGrowth of coral reefs likely cannot keep pace with rising sea level
North Dhaka is particularly vulnerable to the urban heat-island effect due to its densely populated city centre, with some urban hotspots more than 10˚C (18˚F) higher than the surrounding countryside. With…Continue reading‘Only the rich can bear this heat’: how Dhaka is battling extreme weather
The carcasses of 120 river dolphins have been found floating in a tributary of the Amazon River in Brazil over the last week in circumstances that experts suspect were caused by…Continue readingDeaths of 120 Amazon dolphins linked to severe drought, high temperatures
When scientists started pouring over data to assess Canada’s fire season this year, they struggled to find the right superlatives. “Never before seen,” was thrown around, as was “exceptional in scale,…Continue readingCanada left battered by ‘never before seen’ wildfire season
The Netherlands halted extraction from Europe’s biggest gas field on Sunday, which was resulting in earthquakes that have shaken local residents for decades and threaten to persist. Authorities are keeping 11…Continue readingNetherlands halts extraction from Europe’s biggest gas field
Experts predict there will be fewer than 100 individuals of the species by 2031 as the rate of decline in population grows faster. This month, the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, received…Continue reading‘Watching extinction in real time’: conservationists losing hope for Australia’s swift parrot if logging continues
New York City and its adjoining areas have been brought to a standstill after a bout of torrential downpours triggered flash flooding, disrupting subway service, inundating ground-level apartments and delaying flights.…Continue readingFlash flooding inundates New York City
There is “no contradiction” between Brazil’s plans to step up oil and gas exploration, including in waters off the Amazon rainforest, and its aspiration to lead the world’s transition to green…Continue readingBrazil minister says oil and green ambitions are not contradictory
Antarctica has likely broken a new record for the lowest annual maximum amount of sea ice around the continent, beating the previous low by a million square kilometres. The new mark…Continue readingAntarctic sea ice shrinks to lowest annual maximum level on record
As many as eight in 10 brown bear cubs born this year in a remote part of northern Japan have died amid a shortage of salmon, with experts blaming rising sea…Continue readingBrown bear cubs in Japan die of starvation amid salmon shortage
The vast swaths of pine, spruce and larch forest that blanket much of Canada have been prized for generations. Not only do they provide a home to hundreds of species –…Continue readingWildfires turn Canada’s vast forests from carbon sink into super-emitter
When 6PPD, which occurs in tire dust, is exposed to ground-level ozone, it’s transformed into multiple other chemicals, including 6PPD-quinone, or 6PPD-q. The compound is acutely toxic to four of 11…Continue readingRoad Hazard: Evidence Mounts on Toxic Pollution from Tires
The flash flood that has killed thousands of people in Libya this week followed a “medicane”, a rare but destructive weather phenomenon that scientists believe will intensify in a warming world.…Continue readingMedicanes: rare, ‘supercharging’ Mediterranean storms
Australian oil and gas company Woodside Energy announced that its Shenzi North project has commenced production in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. Discovered in 2002, the Shenzi platform achieved its…Continue readingWoodside announces start of production at Shenzi North project
Sea ice insulates the ocean, reflects heat, drives currents, supports ecosystems and protects ice shelves. It also has an annual seasonal cycle—some of the ice melts, then freezes again. Every year,…Continue readingDevastatingly low Antarctic sea ice may be the ‘new abnormal,’ study warns
Half of Britain’s 10 largest fish populations are in a “deeply troubling state”, having been either overfished or depleted to a critically low size, according to a new report. The situation…Continue readingBritain’s fish populations are in a ‘deeply troubling state’
Earth’s life support systems have been so damaged that the planet is “well outside the safe operating space for humanity”, scientists have warned. Their assessment found that six out of nine…Continue readingEarth ‘well outside safe operating space for humanity’
After the northern summer of extreme heat and disastrous fires, we’ve seen more exceptional autumn weather over Europe with record-breaking heat in the UK. Meanwhile, record-breaking rain and intense flash floods…Continue readingFaster disaster: Climate change fuels ‘flash droughts’, intense downpours and storms
Most coastal communities will encounter 100-year floods annually by the end of the century, even under a moderate scenario where carbon dioxide emissions peak by 2040, a new study finds. And…Continue readingCentury’s end may bring annual 100-year floods
Urgewald, a campaign group that tracks global fossil fuel finance, found that the World Bank supplied about $3.7bn (£2.95bn) in trade finance in 2022 that was likely to have ended up…Continue readingWorld Bank spent billions of dollars backing fossil fuels in 2022
Our research shows almost everywhere in Australia is now in a different fire climate than it was just 20 years ago, with falling relative humidity a key factor. Previous research has…Continue readingFire climate regimes around Australia shifted abruptly 20 years ago, and falling humidity may explain why
An Indigenous Sami activist has set up camp outside the Norwegian parliament to protest against wind turbines built on land traditionally used by Sami reindeer herders. In October 2021, Norway’s Supreme…Continue readingSami activist protests in front of Norwegian parliament over wind turbines
Between January and August, the United States was struck by a record-breaking 23 weather and climate disasters where losses exceeded $1 billion in each case. The tally for 2023 has already…Continue readingUS hit by record number of billion-dollar disasters so far this year
Storm Daniel, which wrought devastation across the Mediterranean in the past week, killed 15 people in central Greece where it dumped more rain than previously recorded before sweeping across to Libya…Continue readingMediterranean’s devastating Storm Daniel may be harbinger of storms to come
Floods, wildfires and a deadly train collision this year have raised questions about the competence of state authorities and central government.Continue readingAfter slew of disasters, Greeks wonder what is happening to their democracy
Flash floods were triggered by rainfall from the arrival of Storm Daniel on Monday September 4 which also affected Turkey and Bulgaria. The following day, in the village of Zagora, a…Continue readingGreece’s record rainfall and flash floods: Across the Mediterranean, the weather is becoming more dangerous
No new offshore windfarms will go ahead in the UK after the latest government auction, in what critics have called the biggest clean energy policy failure in almost a decade.Continue reading‘Biggest clean energy disaster in years’: UK auction secures no offshore windfarms
Two women climbed in the dark down the banks of the Greenbrier River in West Virginia on Thursday morning and locked themselves to a massive drill, stopping work on a controversial…Continue readingUS climate scientist risks felony by chaining herself to pipeline drill
Record rainfall in Hong Kong caused widespread flooding in the early hours of Friday, disrupting road and rail traffic just days after the city dodged major damage from a super typhoon.…Continue readingRecord rainfall causes flooding in Hong Kong days after typhoon
Antarctica is likely warming at almost twice the rate of the rest of the world and faster than climate change models are predicting, with potentially far-reaching implications for global sea level…Continue readingAntarctica warming much faster than models predicted in ‘deeply concerning’ sign for sea levels
The death toll from floods in central Greece has risen to four after severe rainstorms turned streets into raging torrents, hurled cars into the sea, and washed away roads and bridges.…Continue readingDeath toll rises to four in Greece after floods, more than 800 rescued
Greenhouse gas concentrations, global sea level and ocean heat content reached record highs in 2022, according to the 33rd annual State of the Climate report. “People are causing the largest known…Continue readingInternational report confirms record-high greenhouse gases, global sea levels in 2022
The pace at which the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has jumped three-fold in five decades. Annual growth in global mean carbon dioxide averaged across the last decade has tripled…Continue readingPace of increase in CO₂ concentration has increased three-fold
Surrounded by idyllic clear waters, the densely populated island of Carti Sugtupu off Panama’s north coast has barely an inch to spare with houses crammed together—some jutting out into the sea…Continue reading‘We’re going to sink’: hundreds abandon Caribbean island home
Meeting the climate goals means we should not only significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also sequester more CO2 in the soil. Research has taught us how to store CO2 in…Continue readingExperts question whether carbon dioxide storage in farming soils helps the climate
Urban stormwater particles from tire wear were the most prevalent microplastic a new Griffith-led study has found. Published in Environmental Science & Technology, the study showed that in stormwater runoff during…Continue readingBit by bit, microplastics from tires are polluting our waterways