"As in past years, commodity-driven deforestation was the leading cause of tree cover loss." Intentional deforestation as well as drought-induced wildfires made more frequent and severe by the climate crisis drove a significant acceleration of global rainforest loss in 2020, with new figures showing that 12.2 million hectares of tree cover were destroyed in the tropics last year. According to data from the University of Maryland and Global Forest...

"As long as countries do not put the right energy policies in place, the economic rebound will see emissions significantly increase in 2021. We will make the job of reaching net zero harder." For the past year, climate campaigners and experts have urged heads of state around the world to "build back better" in the wake of the economic devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. But rather than pursuing a just and sustainable recovery, coun...

"Not a dime of our tax dollars should go towards corporations that poison our communities and wreck our climate." Greenpeace USA responded critically on Wednesday after the U.S. Department of the Treasury released a new report offering more details about President Joe Biden's Made in America tax plan—part of the $2 trillion jobs and infrastructure proposal that the president unveiled last week. Specifically, the environmental advocacy group took ...

The world needs "to stop focusing on dates and numbers" and recognize that taking immediate action is what must be done, says the 18-year-old Swedish climate leader. Global climate leader Greta Thunberg in a new interview published Wednesday expressed frustration with inadequate future climate targets by world governments that fail to address the urgency of the climate crisis. "We need to stop focusing on dates and numbers and actually accept and...

A new study shows climate change - not water and land management - plays a crucial role in changes in rivers and streams at the global level.Researchers analyzed data from 7,250 measuring stations worldwide and found systematic change in river flow between 1971 and 2010.They compared the observations with simulations from climate models calculated once with man-made greenhouse gases and once without. Climate change affects the water balance of ou...

A new study has endorsed protecting 30% of the world's land and ocean by 2030 to meet 3 overall goals.These are preserving biodiversity, restoring fisheries and tackling climate change.During the study, 26 researchers determined which areas of the ocean should be protected, in order to meet each of the 3 above goals.This information will lay the foundations for countries' decision-making and allow them to drive action based on their areas of prio...

Australia is home to around 2% of the world's mangrove forests and is the fifth most mangrove-forested country on Earth. Mangroves play a crucial role in the ecosystem thanks to the dizzying array of plants, animals and birds they feed, house and protect. Mangrove forests help protect coastal communities from cyclones and storms by absorbing the brunt of a storm's energy. They help our fight against climate change by storing vast amounts of carbo...

When fish die naturally, their bodies and the carbon they contain sink to the depths of the ocean.Yet when fished, this carbon is released into the atmosphere as CO2.As the world has overlooked the ability of fish to act as a natural carbon sink, scientists now estimate carbon emissions from fishing are 25% higher than previously believed. A fish that dies naturally in the ocean sinks to the depths, taking with it all the carbon it contains. Yet,...

In 2018, a map named after an oceanographer went viral. The so-called Spilhaus projection, in which Earth is viewed from above the South Pole, was designed to show the connected nature of the ocean basins. It is a perspective that comes naturally to those who live in the ocean-dominated southern hemisphere. The Southern Ocean, also called the Antarctic Ocean (or even the Austral ocean), is like no other and best described in superlatives. Storing...

Tipping points could fundamentally disrupt the planet and produce abrupt change in the climate.A mass methane release could put us on an irreversible path to full land-ice melt, causing sea levels to rise by up to 30 metres.We must take immediate action to reduce global warming and build resilience with these tipping points in mind. The speed and scale of the response to COVID-19 by governments, businesses and individuals seems to provide hope th...