Environment

Lower reservoir on El Hierro island

Spanish island dumps diesel for wind, water and sunshine

El Hierro, a tiny island in the Canaries, is halfway to the UN goal of ditching fossil fuels. But finding just the right renewable energy mix is proving tough.

Spanish island dumps diesel for wind, water and sunshine
The traditional Iñupiaq village of Teller sits on a long spit of land separating two bodies of water off Western Alaska’s Seward Peninsula.

China cut graphite imports to the US, worrying EV carmakers. Can Canada come to the rescue?

China cut graphite imports to the US, worrying EV carmakers. Can Canada come to the rescue?
A person in all black walks past a logo at the media center ahead of the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit.

Confidence in UN climate talks at a low point ahead of COP28 in Dubai

Confidence in UN climate talks at a low point ahead of COP28 in Dubai
Salah Fareeq Al-Feroun's farm sits unattended without the necessary water to cultivate Iraq's signature anbar rice, Al-Meshkhab, Najaf Province, Iraq, Aug. 30, 2023.

Iraq's signature anbar rice is disappearing amid water shortages

Iraq's signature anbar rice is disappearing amid water shortages
People marching in street with a Panamanian flag

Copper mine protests roil in Panama

Copper mine protests roil in Panama
Two young Panamanians view the solar eclipse.

'The cosmovision of our ancestors': Panama witnesses first solar eclipse in 25 years

Saturday’s solar eclipse cut across the western United States, dipping down into parts of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Brazil. It was Panama’s first eclipse in 25 years and it came at an auspicious time when scientists are promoting an interest in astronomy. 

'The cosmovision of our ancestors': Panama witnesses first solar eclipse in 25 years
Aerial view of the village of Mutucal, Mãe Grande Curuçá Extractive Reserve.

Rural communities in the Amazon face a complex world of carbon credits

Brazil has embraced carbon credits as a way to protect the Amazon and mitigate climate change. But many community activists in the Amazon say carbon offset projects can be problematic.

Rural communities in the Amazon face a complex world of carbon credits
cows in the wild

Rewilding in Spain brings back ancient bovine

Rewilding Spain has reintroduced “back-bred” cattle from nearly 10,000 years ago. They hope the aurochs roaming here once again benefits the environment as well as the economy.

Rewilding in Spain brings back ancient bovine
Panelist for the online event on the environmental impact of the war in Ukraine.

LIVE Event: The Environmental Cost of the War in Ukraine

Join The World’s Carolyn Beeler for a conversation with Ukrainian environmental scientist Kateryna Polyanska and Doug Weir from The Conflict and Environment Observatory.

LIVE Event: The Environmental Cost of the War in Ukraine
People affected by an earthquake camp outside their homes, in Moulay Brahim village, near Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. 

'Organizing chaos': Moroccans in Spain send aid convoys home after devastating earthquake

Moroccans continue digging out victims from this month’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the Atlas Mountains. The death toll now stands at nearly 3,000 people. Many more have been left homeless. Morocco’s government has so far only accepted aid from a handful of countries, but Moroccans overseas are stepping up. In Spain, they’re collecting supplies to send to victims, but it isn’t always easy.

'Organizing chaos': Moroccans in Spain send aid convoys home after devastating earthquake
beach

Why corals in American Samoa are thriving despite warmer oceans 

Despite prevailing narratives of coral bleaching and decline, the reefs of American Samoa have been particularly resilient to warming temperatures that have laid waste to other corals. Scientists there are finding out why, and looking for ways to use this knowledge to help reefs in other parts of the world.

Why corals in American Samoa are thriving despite warmer oceans 
Wind turbines turn behind a solar farm in Rapshagen, Germany, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. 

War in Ukraine spurs 'rapid deployment' for renewables, energy chief says

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent energy costs surging, European leaders scrambling for alternative suppliers of gas, and redirected flows of Russian oil toward Asia. Some European countries also burned more coal in response to the energy shock. But the most transformational long-term change will be in increased investments in renewable energy, according to International Energy Agency chief energy economist Tim Gould.

War in Ukraine spurs 'rapid deployment' for renewables, energy chief says
man at podium

Coalition of small island states makes a case that greenhouse gas emissions are covered by UN Law of the Sea

​​​​​​​In Hamburg, Germany, an international tribunal makes rulings on the UN’s Law of the Sea, which deals with marine territorial rights and navigation, and requires states to prevent and control marine pollution. This week, a coalition of small island states is asking the court to rule on an unusual case: that greenhouse gas pollution is covered under this law of the sea. 

Coalition of small island states makes a case that greenhouse gas emissions are covered by UN Law of the Sea
Left to right: Streets are flooded in Kherson, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 7, 2023 after the walls of the Kakhovka dam collapsed; Screen shot form video; Vehicles on fire at an oil depot after missiles struck the facility in an area controlled by Russian-bac

VIDEO: The environmental impact of the war in Ukraine

Damages to the environment are widespread and will continue to impact Ukrainians for decades to come.

VIDEO: The environmental impact of the war in Ukraine
The Rhine River passes through Basel, a Swiss city that sits near the borders of Germany and France.

Salmon are returning to Europe's Rhine River, but a key barrier remains

European countries that border the Rhine River are working together to restore an old migration route, but manmade structures present a major hurdle.

Salmon are returning to Europe's Rhine River, but a key barrier remains