Environment
COP28 lines up new climate pledges - but do they work?
While the world's climate diplomats huddle over draft decisions to be made at the end of this year's U.N. climate summit, governments at COP28 are firing off a flurry of new promises for action. Among the expected pledges at COP28 are a goal to triple renewable energy capacity and initiatives… Read
Climate activists fear COP28 clampdown in UAE
Rights groups are attending the COP28 climate talks Nov 30-Dec 12 in the United Arab Emirates with trepidation, fearing surveillance and detention under the oil-rich monarchy's strict criminal justice system. Highly attuned to international scrutiny, the UAE, where unauthorised protests are illegal, has said it would permit demonstrations in designated… Read
COP28 kicks off with climate disaster fund victory
The U.N. climate summit clinched an early victory Thursday, with delegates adopting a new fund to help poor nations cope with costly climate disasters. COP28 President Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber said the decision sent a "positive signal of momentum to the world and to our work here in Dubai." In establishing… Read
What's the plan for this year's COP28 climate summit?
Following a year of record heat and drought, this year's U.N. climate summit will feature a contentious set of issues for countries working to find common ground in tackling climate change, including whether to phase out fossil fuels and how to finance the energy transition in developing countries. Here are… Read
Texas Republicans take aim at climate change – in textbooks
The scorching summer in Texas this year was the second hottest on record -- but students in the southwestern U.S. state might have a hard time understanding why. That's because a slew of science textbooks submitted to the state Board of Education (BOE) were rejected last week, as the Republican-dominated… Read
Peru lost more than half of its glacier surface in just over half a century, scientists say
Peru has lost more than half of its glacier surface in the last six decades, and 175 glaciers became extinct due to climate change between 2016 and 2020, Peruvian scientists from the state agency that studies glaciers said Wednesday. “In 58 years, 56.22% of the glacial coverage recorded in 1962… Read
Fossil fuels in the crosshairs at pivotal COP28 talks
World leaders will face a reckoning over humanity's failure to curb climate-heating emissions and polluting fossil fuels when they meet for U.N. climate talks this week, as the planet swelters in likely the hottest year in human history. Pope Francis, King Charles III, political leaders, activists and lobbyists will be… Read
Lizards, fish and other species evolving with climate change, but not fast enough
Climate change is threatening the survival of plants and animals around the globe as temperatures rise and habitats change. Some species have been able to meet the challenge with rapid evolutionary adaptation and other changes in behavior or physiology. Dark-colored dragonflies are getting paler in order to reduce the amount… Read
COP28 turns attention to potent methane emissions
Climate talks often revolve around reducing the most dangerous greenhouse gas CO2. But other powerful heat-trapping emissions -- of methane -- are also likely to be in the crosshairs of negotiators at the crucial COP28 meeting in Dubai next week. Methane -- which is potent but relatively short-lived -- is… Read
Climate conspiracy theories flourish ahead of COP28
Climate conspiracy theories are flourishing with lifestyle influencers joining in the misinformation war and scientists hounded on social media, researchers say, as pressure rises on leaders at the COP28 summit. "Mis- and disinformation about the climate emergency are delaying urgently needed action to ensure a liveable future for the planet,"… Read
