69 m. ago ‘It’s death by a thousand cuts’: marine ecologist on the collapse of coral reefs

David Obura believes humans have been using nature for free, and tipping points at some reefs have already passedThe Kenyan marine ecologist David Obura is chair of a panel of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the world’s leading natural scientists. For many decades, his speciality has been corals, but he has warned that the next generation may not see their glory because so many reefs are now “flickering out across the world”. Continue reading...

Events

20 h. ago Prince William calls for more united action on the global environmental crisis as he opens London Climate Week

The heir to the throne spoke out during a panel discussion at the start of London Climate Week as he highlighted the 'optimism' of his passion project, the Earthshot Prize.

Politics

25 h. ago ‘This is a fight for life’: climate expert on tipping points, doomerism and using wealth as a shield

Economic assumptions about risks of the climate crisis are no longer relevant, says the communications expert Genevieve GuentherClimate breakdown can be observed across many continuous, incremental changes such as soaring carbon dioxide levels, rising seas and heating oceans. The numbers creep up year after year, fuelled by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.But scientists have also identified at least 16 “tipping points” – thresholds where a tiny shift could cause fundamental parts of the Earth system to change dramatically, irreversibly and with potentially devastating effects. These shifts can interact with each other and create feedback loops that heat the planet further or disrupt weather patterns, with unknown but potentially catastrophic consequences for life on Earth. It is possible some tipping points may already have been passed. Continue reading...

Economics

39 h. ago Canada and EU sign defense pact amid strained US relations and global instability

Amid Trump’s disrespect of old allies, EU and Canada vow more support for Ukraine and joint work on climate crisisCanada has signed a wide-ranging defence pact with the EU, as Donald Trump and global instability prompt traditional US allies to deepen their alliances.Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, on Monday joined European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and head of the European Council, António Costa, in Brussels, where they signed a security and defence partnership, pledged more support for Ukraine, as well as joint work on issues from the climate crisis to artificial intelligence. Continue reading...

Events

39 h. ago Canada and EU sign defence pact amid strained US relations and global instability

Amid Trump’s disrespect of old allies, EU and Canada vow more support for Ukraine and joint work on climate crisisCanada has signed a wide-ranging defence pact with the EU, as Donald Trump and global instability prompt traditional US allies to deepen their alliances.Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, on Monday joined European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and head of the European Council, António Costa, in Brussels, where they signed a security and defence partnership, pledged more support for Ukraine, as well as joint work on issues from the climate crisis to artificial intelligence. Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago ‘The world is cutting foreign aid – but there is a better way to tackle the climate crisis’

Leslie Maasdorp, boss of British International Investments, speaks to Nick Ferris about the changing global aid landscape – and reveals that the agency gave a record amount to climate causes in 2024

Events

56 h. ago In London and Paris, we’ve experienced vicious backlash to climate action. But we’re not backing down | Sadiq Khan and Anne Hidalgo

Around the world, well-funded, organised climate deniers are spreading lies about the crisis. We call on governments and tech companies to step upSadiq Khan is mayor of London and Anne Hidalgo is mayor of ParisAs mayors of two of the world’s great cities, we see every day how the climate emergency is already reshaping people’s lives, affecting the people and places we love. From deadly heatwaves and devastating floods to rising inequality and health crises driven by air pollution, the costs of inaction are not theoretical; they are measured in lives taken, homes destroyed and business revenue lost.Ten years ago, the Paris agreement was signed, marking a turning point in the global fight against climate breakdown. But today, progress is being undermined by a deeply concerning threat: a surge in climate deniers and delayers spreading virulent disinformation. We mustn’t let this hope disappear as the world gathers in Belém at the end of 2025 for Cop30.Sadiq Khan is mayor of London and ...

Politics

66 h. ago The Guardian view on extreme weather: build national readiness – or let everyday life keep breaking down | Editorial

Britain faces rising climate threats, yet lacks a country adaptation plan. Urgent, coordinated investment is needed to protect lives and infrastructureBritain’s four-day heatwave – made 100 times more likely by the climate crisis – is expected to claim about 600 lives. Researchers say high temperatures from Thursday to Sunday would lead to a sharp rise in excess mortality, especially among older people in cities such as London and Birmingham. They forecast the deadliest day as Saturday, with temperatures above 32C and about 266 deaths. These are not abstract figures, but lives cut short by a threat we understand, yet remain unprepared for.Young people seem to grasp this. In a YouGov poll last week, roughly a quarter of 18- to 24-year-olds said they hoped there wouldn’t be a heatwave – while more than two-fifths of older people welcomed the sunshine. That generational split isn’t just cultural. It reflects an entirely rational anxiety: younger people face a future living in a climate...

Politics

3 d. ago In the shadow of melting glaciers: life in the heartland of the Incas’ former empire – a photo essay

Ancient rituals and a profound respect for ‘Mother Earth’ bolster fragile Andean communities as the climate crisis and unchecked mining take their tollWords and photographs by Giordano SimonciniIn Cusco, the Quechua people are at the forefront of the climate struggle. Amid Peru’s sacred mountains and ancestral plateaux, they confront daily challenges, such as parched pastures, melting glaciers, disruptions to agricultural cycles and persistent mining that damages the land.In this context, survival itself becomes an act of resistance.Sheep grazing in the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba River, once the heartland of the Incas’ empire Continue reading...

Culture

4 d. ago The Guardian view on Our Story With David Attenborough and The Herds: a new theatre of the Anthropocene | Editorial

A cinematic immersive experience and stampeding animal puppets are bringing the climate emergency into the cityAs parts of the UK swelter, this week brought yet more alarming reports of increasing temperatures, extreme weather events and dwindling chances of meeting the global 1.5C target. It was the UK’s warmest spring on record and its driest in more than 50 years.Communicating the urgency of our predicament without provoking despair and hopelessness is an intractable challenge, especially when it comes to children. But two trail-blazing theatre experiences are bringing the breakdown of the natural world into urban metropolises, and raising the alarm with such immediacy that even those of us fortunate enough to live in places that have so far been relatively unaffected by the climate crisis must pay attention. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago UK heatwave 'made 100 times more likely' by climate crisis as 'deadliest extreme weather' sparks amber alert

Scientists have warned that the extreme 32C heat hitting the UK this weekend was made more likely by human-caused climate change

Events

5 d. ago Deadly weekend heat in England ‘100 times more likely’ due to climate crisis

High temperatures likely to cause deaths and will worsen in future as global heating intensifies, scientists warnThe dangerous 32C heat that will be endured by people in the south-east of England on Saturday will have been made 100 times more likely by the climate crisis, scientists have calculated.Global heating, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is making every heatwave more likely and more intense. The 32C (89.6F) day forecast on Saturday would have been expected only once every 2,500 years without the climate crisis, the researchers said, and June heatwaves are now about 2-4C (3.6-7.2F) hotter than in the past. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago A climate crisis, a ballot, and a chance at a new life in Australia

World-first agreement that creates a visa in the context of climate change stirs hope among young people in TuvaluOn the sandy shores of Vaiaku, as coconut trees sway gently in the breeze, Tekafa Piliota sits in his small classroom and dreams of becoming a doctor. The 13-year-old, who lives in Tuvalu’s capital Funafuti, knows that would mean leaving his homeland. There aren’t any universities in the small Pacific island nation, which lies between Australia and Hawaii. The country has another problem: it is predicted to be one the first countries to become uninhabitable due to rising seas.“I would like to go to Australia to study. There is higher ground in Australia, and it might be safer during natural disasters,” Piliota says. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Pupils in England face lost learning from flooding and extreme heat, study finds

School leaders call for action on adaptation measures as DfE research warns of potential impact of climate crisisChildren in England face prolonged “lost learning” caused by extreme heat and flooding at school, according to research on the potential impact of the climate crisis on education.School leaders and teachers said the scenarios published by the Department for Education made for grim reading and urged ministers to move quickly to improve school resilience. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Climate misinformation turning crisis into catastrophe – major report

False claims obstructing climate action, say researchers, amid calls for climate lies to be criminalisedRampant climate misinformation is turning the crisis into a catastrophe, according to the authors of a new report.It found climate action was being obstructed and delayed by false and misleading information stemming from fossil fuel companies, rightwing politicians and some nation states. The report, from the International Panel on the Information Environment (Ipie), systematically reviewed 300 studies. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Only two years left of world’s carbon budget to meet 1.5C target, scientists warn

Breaching threshold would ramp up catastrophic weather events, further increasing human sufferingThe planet’s remaining carbon budget to meet the international target of 1.5C has just two years left at the current rate of emissions, scientists have warned, showing how deep into the climate crisis the world has fallen.Breaching the target would ramp up the extreme weather already devastating communities around the world. It would also require carbon dioxide to be sucked from the atmosphere in future to restore the stable climate in which the whole of civilisation developed over the past 10,000 years. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Key crop yields could fall due to climate crisis even if farmers adapt, study finds

Researchers say average daily losses for every 1C the planet heats up could add to equivalent of not having breakfastSome of our critical staple crops could suffer “substantial” production losses due to climate breakdown, a study has found, even if farmers adapt to worsening weather.Rice, maize, soy, wheat, cassava and sorghum yields are all projected to fall by as much as 120 calories per person per day for every 1C the planet heats up, according to new research in Nature, with average daily losses that could add up to the equivalent of not having breakfast. Continue reading...

Society

6 d. ago Climate crisis could hit yields of key crops even if farmers adapt, study finds

Production of staple crops projected to fall by as much as 120 calories per person per day for every 1C of heatingSome of our critical staple crops could suffer “substantial” production losses due to climate breakdown, a study has found, even if farmers adapt to worsening weather.Maize, soy, rice, wheat, cassava and sorghum yields are projected to fall by as much as 120 calories per person per day for every 1C the planet heats up, according to new research in Nature, with average daily losses that could add up to the equivalent of not having breakfast. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago World’s largest banks pledged $869bn to fossil fuel firms in 2024, new report finds

Two-thirds of the biggest 65 banks increased financing by $162bn from 2023 to 2024, walking back climate promisesThe world’s largest banks boosted the amount of financing given to fossil fuel companies last year, committing $869bn to those involved in coal, oil and gas despite the worsening climate crisis and the banks’ own, fraying, environmental commitments, a new report has found.The report, compiled by a coalition of eight green groups, shows that while the amount loaned by big banks to fossil fuel firms had been declining in 2021, last year saw an abrupt reversal. Two-thirds of the world’s largest 65 banks increased their fossil fuel financing by $162bn from 2023 to 2024. Continue reading...

Economics

8 d. ago Warning as England faces 5bn litre a day water shortage without urgent action

Pressures on the public water supply include the climate crisis, population increases and emerging technologies, as well as the need to generate energy and to grow food

Events