1+ day, 12+ hour ago (963+ words) Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with "far-reaching" implications Vast swathes of Europe"s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK. Scientists at University College London (UCL), working with Watershed Investigations and the Guardian, analysed 200224 data from satellites, which track changes in Earth"s gravitational field. Because water is heavy, shifts in groundwater, rivers, lakes, soil moisture and glaciers show up in the signal, allowing the satellites to effectively "weigh" how much water is stored. The findings reveal a stark imbalance: the north and north-west of Europe particularly Scandinavia, parts of the UK and Portugal have been getting wetter, while large swathes of the south and…...

1+ day, 19+ hour ago (504+ words) Pacific lawyer Julian Aguon to be honoured with Right Livelihood award for his work that led to ICJ ruling on climate harm Six years ago, human rights lawyer Julian Aguon received a call from Vanuatu's foreign affairs minister. The minister had an unusual request " he wanted Aguon to help develop a legal case on behalf of dozens of law students who were seeking climate justice from the world's highest court. Aguon, a Chamorro lawyer based in Guam, was excited by the opportunity and believed they could clear up legal ambiguities he says had "long hobbled the ability of the international community to respond effectively to the climate crisis." Over years, Aguon and his team gathered testimonies from all across the Pacific about losses inflicted by climate change. They heard from people in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and other places who…...

6+ day, 47+ min ago (31+ words) It's all in the timingSee more of Fiona Katauskas's cartoons here Continue reading... What do Murray Watt and climate activists have in common? It's all in the timing...

6+ day, 5+ hour ago (404+ words) Firefighters call for long-term investment and say UK is dangerously underprepared as climate crisis worsens Wildfires have devastated more moorland, forests and fields in the UK this year than at any time since records began, putting huge pressure on the country's fire service, figures show. The Global Wildfire Information System estimates that by November, wildfires had burned 47,026 hectares (116,204 acres) in 2025 in the UK " the largest area in any year since monitoring began in 2012, and more than double the area burned in the record-breaking summer of 2022. Now the Fire Brigades Union, backed by climate groups and tax justice organisations, has written to the government asking for long-term investment in the service to help it meet the growing threat from wildfires and floods as the climate crisis worsens. In August, firefighters were drafted from across the UK to tackle a "relentless" blaze…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (379+ words) Australia may not be hosting Cop31, but the unprecedented Turkey partnership is a real chance to secure global influence and turbocharge a new green zeitgeist The Cop30 climate conference has finally come to an end, with Australia having lost out on the grand prize of hosting next year's gathering. But Australia's formal partnership agreement with Turkey nevertheless provides an opportunity to secure unparalleled global influence and turbocharge our own transformation to a net zero, green export economy. Here are three ways to make it happen. First, Chris Bowen's new role as Cop31 "president of negotiations" puts the climate and energy minister at the helm of the most complex and consequential multilateral process in the world. The process is easily and often criticised as a triumph of incrementalism, but the negotiating texts are where the geopolitical rubber hits the road, capturing important statements of…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (180+ words) World governments agreed on Saturday to a compromise climate deal at the Cop30 conference in Brazil that would increase finance for poor countries coping with global warming but omits any mention of the fossil fuels responsible for it. In securing the accord, which was gavelled through by Cop's president, Andr" Corr'a do Lago, countries attempted to demonstrate global unity in addressing climate change impacts, even after the world's biggest historical emitter, the US, declined to send an official delegationCop30 live: Deal agreed at Cop after long negotiations Continue reading... Moment world secures compromise deal at Cop30 that sidesteps fossil fuels " video World governments agreed on Saturday to a compromise climate deal at the Cop30 conference in Brazil that would increase finance for poor countries coping with global warming but omits any mention of the fossil fuels responsible for it. In securing the accord, which…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (1442+ words) Ever decreasing funding for the globally respected government agency mirrors an industry-wide trend that could hinder scientific breakthroughs Sweeping job cuts across the nation's science agency this week have been foreshadowed for months, but the sheer scale of them has left many researchers within laboratories and offices across the country shocked. Up to 350 research roles are on the cutting room floor across key areas " including environment, human health and minerals " as leaders of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) attempt to steer the agency from a steep funding cliff. The CSIRO is a household name for many Australians, a national pride for its involvement in developing technologies like the total wellbeing diet, plastic banknotes, and even Twisties. But over the next financial year, a number of its research and development units will cease to exist as the CSIRO…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (342+ words) Since 1995, when the first Cop was held, carbon levels have increased from 360.67 parts per million to 426.68 parts nowIn 1995, when the first "conference of the parties" (Cop) of the UN's climate change convention met in Berlin, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 360.67 parts per million. The then German chancellor, Helmut Kohl, gave a passionate speech about how greenhouse gases must be reduced to save the planet from overheating. There was a relatively unknown East German woman, the environment minister, Angela Merkel, chairing the conference. She was red hot at keeping order. The UK journalists concluded she would have a bright future.Immediately after the conference I was commissioned to write a book about climate change called Global Warming: Can Civilization Survive? It sold well and was the first of several. Continue reading... As I write my last column, the facts…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (649+ words) Fortnight-long event to be held in Antalya but Australia may lead negotiations Turkey will host the Cop31 climate conference after the Australian government dropped its push to hold the event in Adelaide at the last moment " despite having invested in a more than three-year campaign. Independent sources confirmed to the Guardian that the fortnight-long event would be held in Turkey's Mediterranean resort city of Antalya in November 2026. The details of a deal were thrashed out between the countries' climate ministers, Chris Bowen and Murat Kurum, at the Cop30 conference in Brazil this week. Sources said Australia had proposed an arrangement under which it would take on the Cop presidency and lead the negotiations, in return for backing down on the hosting venue. The agreement was also expected to include a separate leaders' meeting to be held in the Pacific. Pacific islands nations…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (812+ words) Exclusive: Andr" Corr'a do Lago says rise of clean energy must be acknowledged and rich countries need to do more Oil-producing countries need to acknowledge the rise of clean energy, and rich countries will have to provide more assurances on finance if the chasm between negotiating nations at Cop30 is to be bridged, the president of the summit has said. Andr" Corr'a do Lago, the veteran Brazilian climate diplomat in charge of the talks, said: "Developing countries are looking at developed countries as countries that could be much more generous in supporting them to be more sustainable. They could offer more finance, and technology." This does not necessarily involve an increase in the headline amount of money to be provided directly from rich world coffers, set last year at $300bn (230bn) a year by 2035. It could also come from better use of existing…...