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Typhoon Fung-wong leaves flooded Philippine towns in its wake

Entire villages lay submerged and scores of towns remained without electricity on Monday as Typhoon Fung-wong left the Philippines after killing at least two people and displacing more than a million.

Tanzania Maasai fear VW 'greenwashing' carbon credit scheme

Namnyak, a Maasai herder in north Tanzania, fears a carbon credit scheme linked to Volkswagen -- dismissed by NGOs as "greenwashing" -- could destroy her community's way of life.

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Two dead as police, illegal miners clash in Venezuelan Amazon

Clashes between illegal gold miners and soldiers trying to dislodge them from a natural reserve in Venezuela left two civilians dead and six people injured, authorities said Thursday.

Maldives frontrunner eyes closer ties with China

The Maldives stands at a geopolitical crossroads ahead of its presidential runoff vote with the frontrunner, a former construction minister, set on demolishing India's influence and building stronger ties with China.

Heat, drought, fires threaten Lebanon's northern forests

Heatwaves, low rainfall and the threat of wildfires are compounding the woes of people in the forested north of Lebanon, a country where economic pain has long taken prominence over environmental concerns.

EU confronts Chinese subsidies with electric car probe

Brussels will investigate Chinese state subsidies for electric cars, the EU chief said Wednesday, vowing to defend Europe's industry from unfair competition.

Breathless Indonesians irate over pollution crisis

Soaring pollution in Indonesia's capital has left 35-year-old Asep Muizudin Muhamad Darmini hooked up to breathing tubes at a Jakarta hospital, gazing at the dense grey haze outside.

Colombia deadliest country for green activists in 2022: report

Environmental activist murders doubled in Colombia last year, making it the most dangerous country in the world for those trying to protect the planet, a watchdog said Tuesday.

IEA sees 'beginning of the end' of fossil fuel era

For the first time, world demand for oil, gas and coal is forecast to peak this decade due to the "spectacular" growth of cleaner energy technologies and electric cars, the International Energy Agency's chief said Tuesday.

Fossil fuel demand to peak this decade: IEA chief in FT

World demand for oil, gas and coal is forecast to peak this decade for the first time as the use of cleaner energy and electric cars accelerates, the International Energy Agency's chief wrote Tuesday in the Financial Times.

Australia logging ban to create koala haven

Australia's most populous state announced Tuesday a logging ban in a forest haven for koalas, aiming to protect the local population from being wiped out.

Lead poisoning causes far more death, IQ loss than thought: study

Lead poisoning has a far greater impact on global health than previously thought, potentially contributing to over five million deaths a year and posing a similar threat to air pollution, modelling research suggested Tuesday.

Cyclone upturns Venezuelans' dreams of better life in Brazil

When Ani Aponte fled Venezuela with her family four years ago to escape her home country's economic collapse, she dreamed of a better future in Brazil.

French Pacific archipelago divided over shark hunt

After killing seven people in the past five years, sharks are enemy number one in France's Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia where the authorities have declared open season on the species in the hope of making beaches safe again.

On Brazilian island, revered Asian buffalo claims its place

An incongruous sight meets visitors to the northern Brazilian island of Marajo: thousands and thousands of water buffalo, animals endemic to India and Southeast Asia that have found a new home in South America.

Ecuador to reintroduce species on Galapagos island

Ecuador's government has announced it will spend $3.4 million on reintroducing 12 endemic bird and turtle species that have disappeared from an island in the Galapagos archipelago where Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution.

Oil permits and wind crisis threaten UK net zero pledge

With the provision of a swathe of new oil and gas exploration licences and a crisis in offshore wind energy, clouds are gathering over the UK's net zero promises.

Scientist shocks peers by 'tailoring' climate study

In a controversial bid to expose supposed bias in a top journal, a US climate expert shocked fellow scientists by revealing he tailored a wildfire study to emphasise global warming.

Almost 50 people missing after deadly Brazil cyclone

Brazilian rescue workers were on Friday searching for almost 50 people still missing after a devastating cyclone unleashed torrential rain and flooding in the south of the country.

Delightfully strange: Mystery 'golden egg' found on ocean floor

A golden egg, or an alien, on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean?

No offshore wind in latest UK green energy auction

No offshore wind power projects received public funding in the latest round of support for British green electricity projects, which jeopardises plans to decarbonise the power sector by 2035, environmental groups warned Friday.

Japan's Mount Fuji 'screaming' from too many tourists

With its millions of visitors every year and the buses, supply trucks, noodle shops and fridge magnets, Japan's Mount Fuji is no longer the peaceful pilgrimage site it once was.

From the rear end of a pheasant, Brazil's best coffee

In Brazil, the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg is in reality something closer to a pheasant that excretes coffee beans.

Africa climate demands zero in on finance, debt and taxes

Renewables funding, global finance reform and carbon taxes head the demands formulated by African nations at a summit in Nairobi this week as the world heads towards annual climate negotiations.

At least 36 dead in Brazil cyclone, many still stranded

The death toll from a cyclone that unleashed torrential rain and flooding on southern Brazil rose to at least 36 Wednesday, authorities said, as the region braced for more violent weather.

Pace of increase in CO2 concentration has increased three-fold: report

The pace at which the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing -- due mostly to the burning of fossil fuels -- has jumped three-fold in five decades, an international report said Wednesday.

Storms kill 12 in Mediterranean, east Europe

Storms have killed at least 12 people in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, with a Greek region hit by more rain in 24 hours than it normally sees in a year, officials said Wednesday.

Olympic chief Bach 'confident' for Seine swimming at 2024 Games

Olympic chief Thomas Bach said Wednesday he was "confident" and "optimistic" swimming events in Paris's Seine River will go ahead at the 2024 Games despite recent cancellations due to pollution.

Africa demands global finance reforms to unleash its green growth

African leaders on Wednesday demanded sweeping changes to the global financial system and urged the international community to back a surge in renewable energy as they wrapped up a landmark climate summit in Kenya.

Rains kill 11 in Mediterranean, east Europe

Storms that unleashed torrential flooding in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria have killed at least 11 people, authorities said Wednesday, as extreme heat gave way to heavy rain.

2023 likely to be hottest year on record

2023 is likely to be the hottest year in human history, and global temperatures during the Northern Hemisphere summer were the warmest on record, the EU climate monitor said on Wednesday.

Indonesia halves output at coal power plant as pollution spikes

Indonesia has nearly halved output at a major coal-fired power plant near the capital Jakarta after the city faced major pollution spikes in recent weeks, its operator told AFP Wednesday.

African leaders seek united front to press green growth goals

Landmark African climate talks are set to wrap up Wednesday with leaders seeking a united voice to highlight the continent's green growth potential provided the world steps up help for funding and debt.

Six bn tonnes of sand extracted from world's oceans each year: UN

Some six billion tonnes of sand and other sediment is extracted from the world's seas and oceans every year, the UN said Tuesday, warning of the devastating toll on biodiversity and coastal communities.

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