Energy

In this photo taken Wednesday Sept. 2015, a man buys kerosene at a road side stall in Harare, Zimbabwe. 

Zimbabwe struggles to keep the power on

Along the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia sits Lake Kariba, where low water levels have interrupted power supply to both countries — profoundly impacting the economy. 

Zimbabwe struggles to keep the power on
Guyana faces risks from climate change that include rising sea levels that could eventually submerge the capital Georgetown.

Guyana’s discovery of oil reserves has the nation split between boosting the economy and preserving the environment

Guyana’s discovery of oil reserves has the nation split between boosting the economy and preserving the environment
A coal-fired power station in Witbank, South Africa , Monday, Oct. 11, 2021.

Scheduled blackouts roll South Africa into electricity crisis

Scheduled blackouts roll South Africa into electricity crisis
A general view of Mes Aynak valley is seen some 25 miles southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, March 2, 2022. Buildings on top are offices of Chinese mining company MCC that won the contract to exploit the world's second-largest copper mine.

A Chinese company strikes a deal with the Taliban to extract oil from Afghanistan

A Chinese company strikes a deal with the Taliban to extract oil from Afghanistan
Shopkeepers and workers wait for electric power at a market following a power breakdown across the country, in Lahore, Pakistan, Jan. 23, 2023.

Lights out in Pakistan as energy-saving move backfires

Lights out in Pakistan as energy-saving move backfires
Felled trees on Karipuna territory in the Amazonian state of Rondônia.

Lula empowers Brazil's Indigenous peoples with their own ministry. But environmental protection remains a key concern.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made good on a series of campaign promises to defend the Amazon and empower Indigenous peoples. He already signed an executive order to relaunch a billion-dollar Amazon fund, where foreign governments can contribute to forest protection, among six other orders.

Lula empowers Brazil's Indigenous peoples with their own ministry. But environmental protection remains a key concern.
firefighters in a line

The world kept warming in 2022. Is the 1.5-degree Celsius target within reach?

Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is the most-repeated goal in the fight against climate change. But as each new year is among recorded history’s hottest, is it still a viable one? 

The world kept warming in 2022. Is the 1.5-degree Celsius target within reach?
The beach at the popular tourist resort of Puerto Peñasco in the state of Sonora, Mexico, September 2018.

Mexico’s clean energy plan could run into trouble at leaders’ summit

The North American leaders will be discussing immigration and the recapture of the son of drug cartel kingpin “El Chapo.” But also high on the agenda: a dispute over energy.

Mexico’s clean energy plan could run into trouble at leaders’ summit
grassy mountain

An unseasonably warm winter in Europe threatens ski resorts, tourism

​​​​​​​Countries across Europe are experiencing unseasonably warm weather this January, causing a headache for ski resorts and broader concern for what it might mean for the year ahead.

An unseasonably warm winter in Europe threatens ski resorts, tourism
Baker David Buelens puts the baguettes into a basket at a bakery, in Versailles, west of Paris, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. 

A bakers’ rebellion looms in France to defend baguettes

Due to soaring electricity costs, bakers in France can’t afford to turn on their ovens to bake bread. They’re demanding help from the government and threatening the unthinkable — to turn off their ovens.

A bakers’ rebellion looms in France to defend baguettes
a mom and son

Barcelona’s children find safety in numbers as they bike to school in herds 

Across Spain's Barcelona province children are getting to school in organized convoys of bikes, dubbed "bicibus," or  bicycle-bus. As with traditional bus lines, each bicibus route has stops where other cycling students can join along the way. Parents, teachers and other volunteer adults ride, too, to ensure the kids’ safety.  

Barcelona’s children find safety in numbers as they bike to school in herds 
Delegates began to share their concrete visions on what they believe the future plastic treaty could look like at the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1).

Negotiators meet in Uruguay to map out global plastics treaty

With a 2024 completion deadline that was voted on in March, the future treaty aims to reduce plastics pollution on a global scale. Organizers plan to mitigate the costs and effects of plastic production as a whole and engage workers’ concerns within the industry.

Negotiators meet in Uruguay to map out global plastics treaty
Demonstrators show "stop oil in Africa" written on their hands during a protest with Stop Pipelines coalition against pipelines in East Africa.

Land issues at the heart of Uganda’s oil showdown

Residents in Uganda's oil-rich Hoima district say their land is up for grabs as an ambitious oil pipeline project plans to run more than 800 miles from the western part of the country all the way to neighboring Tanzania.

Land issues at the heart of Uganda’s oil showdown
After the discovery of commercial quantities of oil in 2006, Hoima, Uganda, is being referred to as “Oil City,” Hoima, Uganda, November 2022.

Why African countries like Uganda are investing in fossil fuels

Uganda is seeking to develop and refine its oil in partnership with the French energy company Total, and a state-owned Chinese corporation.

Why African countries like Uganda are investing in fossil fuels
Evaporation ponds in the Atacama salt flat

Global demand for lithium is changing Chile's Atacama Desert

In the past 10 years, the global demand for lithium has skyrocketed, and the production increase of electric vehicles is expected to raise this demand by at least 300% in the next 10 years. Chile meets about a third of the lithium demands, and plans to boost its production in the next few years.

Global demand for lithium is changing Chile's Atacama Desert